Netflix has released the first trailer for its upcoming Onimusha anime, and it looks like exactly what you’d want from an Onimusha adaptation.
The series is being produced by the same company that worked on the Dragon’s Dogma anime, and it’s being helmed by legendary director Takashi Miike as well.
This debut trailer shows Miike-san’s vision for the show, and as you might expect, it’s full of stylish samurai action, undead warriors, and Japanese political intrigue. In other words, it’s Onimusha to the letter.
Onimusha won’t focus on any of the games’ protagonists; rather, it revolves around legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
In this series, Musashi is visually based on legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, and his voice is provided by Akio Otsuka.
Musashi will travel a land “plagued by poverty”, according to Netflix, and it looks like he’ll be accompanied by a young traveler who seeks vengeance for their village being destroyed and their parents being kidnapped.
Of course, this being an Onimusha adaptation, Musashi must also destroy the monstrous Genma and seal their souls in a gauntlet he has been entrusted with.
Onimusha may not seem like the most obvious series to adapt given that there hasn’t technically been a new installment for a while, but the series is a long-running cult hit.
The first Onimusha game, a hack-and-slash action-adventure title with Resident Evil-style puzzles, was released for PlayStation 2 in 2001, with an Xbox port following in 2002.
Sequels and spinoffs were sporadically released throughout the next two decades, with the latest Onimusha project being a remaster of the original game for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.
Since then, no new game projects have been announced. Let’s hope that Netflix’s anime adaptation revives some interest in Onimusha, as it’s a series I think deserves to be revived.
The Onimusha anime premieres on Netflix on November 2nd. We’ll bring you more news on all things Onimusha, including any potential game revivals, as soon as we get it.
