Onimusha (Netflix Anime, 2023)
Onimusha（Netflixアニメ、2023年）
A Netflix original anime based on Capcom's popular Onimusha video game series, released worldwide on 2 November 2023. Blending hand-drawn backgrounds with 3D CG characters, it follows Miyamoto Musashi battling demonic forces, with Takashi Miike serving as chief supervisor.
Description
Overview
Onimusha is a Netflix original anime based on Capcom's popular Onimusha action-adventure video game series, first released for PlayStation 2 in 2001. It premiered worldwide on Netflix on 2 November 2023. Animation was produced by Sublimation, blending hand-drawn backgrounds with 3D CG character animation. Takashi Miike, known for the swordplay choreography of films such as 13 Assassins, served as the series' chief supervisor.
Story
Set in the early Edo period as Japan's long era of warfare fades into peace, an aging swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, takes up the "Oni Gauntlet," a soul-consuming demonic weapon, and joins a band of samurai to fight a resurgent horde of vengeful spirits and demons.
Musashi as a Character
The protagonist is the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, designed with a likeness evoking the classic film star Toshiro Mifune. Within the broader Onimusha brand, this differs from the original 2001 game (Onimusha (Capcom), also catalogued on this site), whose protagonist is Akechi Samanosuke, and from the upcoming 2026 game Onimusha: Way of the Sword (also catalogued on this site), which likewise stars Musashi — making this Netflix series its own distinct take on the character.
Reception and Legacy
The series drew attention for its hybrid hand-drawn-and-CG visual style and for Takashi Miike's supervision of its swordplay, helping extend the two-decade-old Onimusha brand into a new medium and a new international audience.
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This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.