Junichi Okada Admits Only CGI Could Pull Off a Practically Impossible Last Samurai Standing Scene

For a show that prides itself on old-school, in-camera craftsmanship, 'Last Samurai Standing' does admit to one flashy digital cheat — and it is a wild one. Also: the opening episode sounds like it nearly broke the crew, and there are legit signs the story might continue.

The one time they broke their no-CGI rule

Junichi Okada — the show’s lead, executive producer, and action choreographer — says the team swore off leaning on CGI. Then Episode 3 happened. There is an arrow sequence so stylized they had to go digital, and Okada is refreshingly candid about it.

"There is a scene where arrows fly like fish swimming through the air. We used CGI for it. So even though the arrows are CGI, I told the team, 'Make them fly like fish.'"

To pull that off without it looking like a cartoon, they brought in real archery pros from Denmark and Japan’s Chiba prefecture. The team studied how wood flexes, how arrows actually move through different air conditions, and how instinct shapes technique. It is a very nerdy, very specific way to chase realism — and, combined with the digital assist, it turned into one of the show’s prettiest shots.

Why Episode 1 nearly broke them

Director Michihito Fujii and Okada were set on keeping things tangible. They even ditched the supernatural-style powers some characters have in the source material. Great for authenticity; brutal for logistics.

Fujii says the premiere was the most complex shoot he has ever done. All 292 samurai you see? They are actual people, not VFX crowds. Setting that up took roughly three weeks in the dead of winter. Rehearsing 300 bodies at once was impossible, so an action team of about 20 mapped out every move first to get everyone aligned, then they brought in the full cast and shot the battle in carefully arranged groups. Painful? Yes. But that stubborn commitment to practical effects is a big part of why critics and fans have clicked with the show.

So... is Season 2 happening?

Short answer: Netflix has not announced a renewal yet. Longer answer: the door is very much open.

"Two or three seasons"

That is how creator Michihito Fujii describes his ambition for the series. At the same time, he structured Season 1 to stand on its own because Netflix can take its time between seasons. The source material backs him up: the show adapts 'Ikusagami' — both Shogo Imamura’s historical novel and the ongoing manga by Imamura and Katsumi Tatsuzawa — and there are already several manga volumes out there, so there is runway for more.

• Status: no official Season 2 order yet, but momentum is there from the creative side
• If greenlit: a realistic window looks like late 2027, given the scale of this production and other scheduling factors
• Right now: Season 1 is streaming on Netflix

Bottom line: they bent over backward to keep this thing grounded and tactile, and the one CG flourish they allowed themselves is gloriously odd by design. If you are into craft-first action with a touch of poetry (fish-arrows!), this team is making a case for a return trip.