Staying strong in its diligences towards the world of animation, Netflix has recently ordered the Japanese comic strip Usagi Yojimbo for a CGI adaptation.
Titled Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, the animated thriller will be based on the globally successful 35-year-old comic book’s first animated adaptation.
The book was the brainchild of legendary comic artist Stan Sakai.
Set in the far future in a world that mixes modern high-tech images with classic Japanese references, the series follows the teenage Rabbit Samurai Yuichi on his epic quest to become a true samurai.
He leads a team of misfit heroes – a roguish bounty hunter, a cunning ninja, an acrobatic pickpocket and a faithful pet lizard – and battles depth-charging moles, metal-tipped winged bats, and monsters from another dimension!
The legendary comic artist Stan Sakai, is returning except this time as the executive producer of the Netflix adaptation of his famous comic series Usagi Yojimbo.
He will be, of course, the co-EP along with the team from Gaumont, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Atomic Monster. Candie and Doug Langdale (Maya and the Three, The Book of Life, Puss in Boots, Niko and the Sword of Life, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness) are also involved as executive producers and showrunners for the adaptation.
Ben Jones (Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teen Titans, Iron Giant) is Supervising Producer while Khang Le (Big Hero 6, Little Big Awesome) will serve as Art Director on the series.
Mumbai-based 88 Pictures (Trollhunters, 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, Fast & Furious Spy Racers)has been appointed as the CGI animation studio.
Winning Hearts And Awards
The acclaimed comic series Yojimbo Usagi has received a number of awards over the last three decades. These include the Parents’ Choice Award, an American Library Association Award, and the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Award.
Usagi Yojimbo has also been named on Empire Magazine’s Top 50 comic-book characters of all time, IGN’s Top 100 comic-book characters of all time and Rolling Stone’s Top 50 non-superhero graphic novels.
Creator and writer Sakai is a six-time Eisner Award winner, the recipient of multiple Haxter Awards, and won the Best Cartoonist Harvey Award in 2016.
Expressing gratitude at being associated with this beloved comic, Nicolas Atlan, President, Gaumont US said: “All of us at Gaumont were honored when Stan trusted us to develop his iconic property into an animated series.
This is a first for Usagi Yojimbo. We are thrilled to have Netflix on board as our creative partner so we can together, with the combined artistic talent of Stan Sakai, Dark Horse Entertainment and Atomic Monster take this iconic brand to the next level.”
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