Netflix announced that Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, the new animated series inspired by Stan Sakai’s Eisner-winning comic book series Usagi Yojimbo, will debut on April 28th. The series is mainly CG-animated but with hand-drawn flashback sequences. According to Netflix’s synopsis, “Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles follows the teenage rabbit, Samurai Yuichi, descendent of the great warrior Miyamoto Usagi, on his epic quest to become a true samurai. But he isn’t alone! He leads a ragtag team of misfit heroes – including a roguish bounty hunter, a cunning ninja, an acrobatic pickpocket and a faithful pet lizard – as he battles depth-charging moles, metal-tipped winged bats, and monsters from another dimension, all in the pursuit to become the best Samurai Usagi!”
The show’s voice cast includes Darren Barnet as Yuichi, Shelby Rabara the thief Kitsune, Aleks Le as the bounty hunter Gen, and Mallory Low as the ninja Chizu. Stan Sakai is an executive producer with Gaumont, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Atomic Monster. Candie and Doug Langdale are executive producers and showrunners. Ben Jones is the Supervising Producer, and Khang Le is the show’s Art Director.
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Sakai has written, drawn, and lettered Usagi Yojimbo for 37 years. He said during the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel that he’s heavily involved in the Samurai Rabbit‘s development.
“I approve everything,” Sakai said. “And have input at every stage of the animation process, from the story to design to animatics, even to the choice of voice actors. It’s something I’m very involved in. Gaumont, Netflix and I have a great working relationship. There’s a mutual respect all around — respect for each other, respect for the property of Usagi and also respect for the Japanese culture, which is very important to me.”
When Netflix announced the series, Sakai said in a statement, “It is a pleasure working with Gaumont and Netflix. I am involved in each step of the production and am enthusiastic with the direction we are going into. It is wonderful to expand the Usagi universe by collaborating with so many talented people. I am working with an awesome team and I’m looking forward to finally seeing an Usagi series on the screen! I thank my wonderful fans, friends and family for their support and encouragement over the last 35+ years.”
Are you excited about Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles? Let us know in the comments. Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles premiers on Netflix on April 28th.
