Lakeith Stanfield’s Mystical ‘Yasuke’ Revisits Black History in Feudal Japan
The Netflix anime is based on the real-life Black samurai of 16th-century Japan, though the series incorporates elements of magic and lore to dizzying effect
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On Thursday, Netflix premiered
Yasuke, an anime series about a Black samurai in a strange land. The titular hero, voiced by Lakeith Stanfield, moves through scenes with a certain wooziness. He’s drunk, he’s aged, he’s disillusioned, he’s out of place: He’s a washed-up ronin with colossal stature and dark skin, the rare Black man in feudal Japan.