'Yasuke' Ending Explained: Will Yasuke and Saki defeat the Daimyo? Episode 6 hints at a possible Season 2
Spoilers for 'Yasuke Season 1
For those of you who have been waiting eagerly for 'Yasuke,' the anime that is inspired by Yasuke, the first foreign samurai, then it's time to get ready to binge-watch all six episodes on Netflix. With Season 1 ending on a cliffhanger, the series as of now feels as though it was a setup for season two, seeing that there are plenty of character arcs and parallel plotlines that are still being pieced together.
With a mix of stunning fight scenes, spectacular lighting effects and some amount of gore, here's what we know about the series thus far.
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'Yasuke': Air time, how to live stream, plot and all you need to know about Netflix's anime series
A recap of the real events that inspired the anime
For context, the real story of Yasuke saw the man arrive in Japan while in the service of Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano. The daimyo or lord Oda Nobunaga thought highly of him and bestowed him with the title of samurai. Yasuke fought for the lord right up until the time of his death and even sided with his son Oda Nobutada. However, Nobutada's forces were captured, Yasuke was brought to Akechi Mitsuhide, the former samurai general of Nobunaga who later rebelled against him, causing the daimyo to commit seppuku or ritual suicide. Mitsuhide is said to have sent Yasuke to a church in Kyoto, but seeing that there is no record of the samurai post this, the same is debated as to what happened to him.
The plot so far
'Yasuke,' the anime, largely borrows from the original accounts but has elements of magic and mecha in the mix. Mecha is a genre that centers around machinery and robots, think 'Pacific Rim'.
The series starts after Nobunaga's death by seppuku, seeing that his general betrayed him and his army has been cornered by the enemy, the Daimyo. His last command is for Yasuke to behead him. With no option left but to obey his orders, Yasuke ends Nobunaga's life.
The series then jumps to his life after these events where Yasuke, who is now known as Yassan, lives life as a boatman, hiding his past entirely, seeing that no one in the village knows who is. His seemingly peaceful life comes to an abrupt end when Ichika, a woman, approaches him asking for help as she needs to take her sickly daughter, Saki, to the North to see a doctor.
Saki seems physically ill, although it is not mentioned what plagues the young girl. Yasuke denies them at first but later helps them. However, as he takes them upstream, they're attacked by a group of mercenaries -- Ishikawa, a knife-wielding bounty hunter, Nikita a Russian hunter, Achoya a shaman and Haruto, a self-piloted robot. Yasuke takes them on but is outnumbered until Saki reveals that her sickness is a deep power that resides within her and she uses it to help Yasuke to take them out.
The group gets separated in the fray and with Ichika's whereabouts being unknown she's presumed to be dead. As the story progresses, turns out there are two main antagonists - Abraham, the power-hunger Catholic priest with supernatural powers and the Daimyo, an ancient witch trapped in the astral plane.
Both of them are out to capture Saki for different reasons, the former wants to use her powers to fix the 'problems' in Europe while the latter wishes to use her powers to stay alive and grow even stronger.
To protect her, Yasuke turns to Morisuke, the doctor Ichika wanted to take Saki to. But Morisuke is no doctor, it's a moniker he's earned while fighting alongside Yasuke for his immense precision when it came to using supernatural powers. Morisuke, who has also retired from his life as a warrior has now taken up a new cause, training children with supernatural powers for when the time comes to defeat the Daimyo, who has been wreaking havoc across the land.
But the Daimyo has plans of her own. After multiple attempts to capture Saki, she deploys her demon general along with a massive army to do the same. Yasuke and Morisuke round up their troops and are ready to fight, however, Saki suddenly enters a painful trance-like state. Morisuke explains that although the Daimyo is not physically present, she is fighting Saki and trying to absorb her energy via the astral plane.
Morisuke works to free Saki and protect her from the Daimyo while it is up to Yasuke to fight off the demon army which comprises enhanced humans and robots as well. It is here it is revealed that the demon general is Mitsuhide, the man who betrayed Nobunaga and which led to his death. The two of them recite a line that they once said while fighting together -- "There is no honor to be had here, only pain and blood," setting the tone for their epic battle. On the astral plane, Saki, with the guidance of Morisuke manages to get the Daimyo to retreat, although she is not defeated yet.
Saki uses her powers to summon the mercenaries who tried to capture her and they swiftly come to her aid, revealing just how strong they are. It's here we see that Nikita, the Russian hunter can transform into a bear and Ishikawa pilots a robot armor. With Saki's help, Yasuke beheads Mitsuhide, bringing the battle to an end. Just when they're at ease, an arrow strikes Ishikawa in the head and kills her instantly -- revealing that the daimyo has now sent a bigger force and even more robots to kill them all and capture Saki.
To give the group a fighting chance, Haruto flies at the troops and self-destructs while Morisuke leads them to a temple to escape. Nikita stays back in an attempt to fight off the soldiers, but this time the Daimyo also sends supernatural power wielders, who use incantations to brutally murder her. Morisuke tells Yasuke that he needs to take Saki and find the Daimyo while he stays back with Achoya and the remainder of his men to protect the people. With no other option left to fight, Yasuke and Saki head off into the darkness ready to face a greater evil.
What can you expect to see in Season 2
There are still multiple questions that the series hasn't answered just yet: Who exactly is Ichika and is she alive? What will happen to Morisuke and Achoya?
Even looking back at episodes 1 and 2, there is mention of Ranmaru, Nobunaga's right-hand man -- is there more to this character than we know? Are there any more supernatural power wielders that are going to show up? And of course, there is the fact that Saki and Yasuke are yet to face off against the Daimyo.
Either way, thanks to its phenomenal score, stunning animation and epic fights, Season 2 might prove to be just as thrilling!
All episodes of 'Yasuke' can be streamed on Netflix.