The performance of samurai schools is leaving much to be desired when it comes to educating our youth. Take the Kyohachi-ryu School, which proudly claims to be “the origin of swordsmanship.” Despite its promise, it operates with just one instructor and eight students. While small class sizes might seem advantageous, the catch is that students must duel to the death to graduate. Such a drastic teaching method would raise eyebrows even in the most controversial of educational circles.

This brutal tradition forms the backdrop for the story of Shujiro, the protagonist of Last Samurai Standing, and several other participants in a deadly contest known as “Kudoku.” Among them is Iroha Kinugasa, played by Kaya Kiohara, the lone female student from the school who holds a grudge against Shujiro for deserting his peers before their ultimate battle—a fate they all knew awaited them.

As chaos ensues, the school’s Master, portrayed by Uzaki Ryudo, decrees that all students must perish to protect the institution’s secretive and deadly skills. To enforce this, he unleashes his formidable enforcer, Gentosai, played by Hiroshi Abe. This near-mythical warrior, with his eerie presence and monk-like staff, has been seen effortlessly dispatching waves of enemies. Iroha, on the run from this relentless pursuer, holds Shujiro responsible for her predicament.

Yet, perhaps Iroha should reconsider her stance. If the Master had his way, only one student would remain alive. Now, alongside Gentosai, there are at least three survivors from the school involved in the game: Shujiro, Iroha, and Sansuke, portrayed by Yuya Endo, who remains undisclosed to the others, possibly due to fear of Gentosai.

Meanwhile, Iroha chooses to ally with Shujiro and his young protégé, Futaba. They are joined by Kyojin, a charismatic ninja who clarifies the grim nature of their predicament. Drawing from a guard’s cryptic clue, referring to them as “three bugs,” they deduce that Kudoku is akin to a cruel game where various insects are trapped in a jar to fight to the death. Though they might eventually have to face off against each other, their immediate goal is survival and uncovering the masterminds behind the deadly contest.

Kyojin even gets them — well, not Iroha — to shake on it. “It’s called a handshake,” he explains cheerfully. “It’s a foreign greeting. It means I’m not holding anything in my hands, and I trust you.” That’s actually a really nice way to put it, Kyojin!

Along the way, the group receive help from another unlikely ally: Kamuykocha (Shota Sometani), the ace archer with the distinctive white-and-black robe. He’s Ainu, a minority group from the northern island of Hokkaido so marginalized by mainstream Japanese society that Futaba has never heard of them and needs Shujiro to explain who they are. He saves our heroes from a group of attackers because, he says, his people regard those who kill children as the lowest of the low, and those who defend them as among the best. As long as Futaba remains with Shujiro and Iroha, the older warriors have nothing to fear from him. 

There are still plenty of reasons Shurjiro and company to worry, however. Gentosai is out there, clearly looking to finish what he started at the school all those years ago. So is Bukotsu, aka the Savage Slasher, whom Shujiro and Futaba narrowly escaped last episode.

Who’s presiding over it all? It may be a mystery to Kyojin, but the government now has the case cracked — to its great dismay. Lord Okubo (Arata Iura), the official who’s been looking into the worrying reports of ex-samurai activity in the area surrounding Kyoto, learns from his police chief, Kawaji (Gaku Hamada), that the four biggest business conglomerates supporting the Meiji government are themselves funding the chaos. 

All the while, the representatives of these companies, known as zaibatsu, place bets on which contestants will pass each checkpoint first. The heads of Mitsui (Yoshi Sakou), Sumitomo (Takaaki Enoki), Yasuda (Satoru Matsuo), and Mitsubishi (Toshihiro Yashiba) — like Okubo and Kawaji, these companies are drawn from real history — enjoy all the amenities of modern Japanese society while they play their part in the big game. All the while they’re attended to by the smiling butler (Daisuke Kuroda) who serves as liaison to the still-unseen Organizer.

Who might that be? I suppose it’s possible it’s the Emperor himself, but it seems more likely it’s someone we’ve already met, most likely a contestant. I’m not sure who fits the bill myself; I’d guess Futaba, just for maximum mind-fuck potential, but we’ve already seen her backstory. Unless that flashback was a full-fledged lie — a dirty trick for a show to pull — we can rule her out. Who knows: Maybe the whole thing was orchestrated by the Master in an attempt to lure his surviving students out of hiding for Gentosai to pick off one by one. 

A pair of smaller mysteries pulls us into the next episode: What is the secret purpose Iroha wants Shujiro to fulfill to make up for his desertion? And what is the “experiment” Kyojin has in mind? With 95 samurai still standing, there’s no guarantee either fighter will get what they’re after. Meanwhile, the finish line awaits them in Tokyo.

Sean T. Collins (@seantcollins.com on Bluesky and theseantcollins on Patreon) has written about television for The New York Times, Vulture, Rolling Stone, and elsewhere. He is the author of Pain Don’t Hurt: Meditations on Road House. He lives with his family on Long Island.