Lakeith Stanfield Ventures Into Anime for Flying Lotus’s ‘Yasuke’

Netflix seems to be the go-to place for musicians to try their hands at making anime. We already have the Ezra Koenig-led, Jaden Smith-starring high-society toon Neo Yokio. And now Flying Lotus is executive producing a new anime called Yasuke. 

According to Deadline, Yasuke is set in an alternate, war-torn Japan full of mech suits and magic. The industry website reports that the series will follow “a retired ronin who must take up his sword when he is charged with the task of transporting a mysterious child who dark forces want to eliminate.” Breakout Atlanta star Lakeith Stanfield will voice the eponymous lead and LeSean Thomas of The Boondocks will direct. In addition to executive-producing, FlyLo is putting together the soundtrack. 

Yasuke is part of a whole slate of new anime originals from Netflix. In addition to the Stanfield-starring series, the streaming giant is adding four more series, including an animated take on Altered Carbon and the robots vs. kaiju popcorn flick Pacific Rim. 

The anime titles are part of a slate of 17 Asian productions intended to move the service into new markets. If you can’t tell from choices like Stanfield, they are also hoping that the shows play well outside of Asia.  

“More than half of Asian content hours viewed on Netflix this year are viewed outside the region, so we have confidence that our upcoming slate of Asian productions will find fans in their home countries and abroad,” Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said during a recent showcase.