'Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles' Trailer Takes Us to Neo Edo

In their quest for the best animated content, Netflix has on numerous occasions turned to the comics world. They have picked up series and movies based on comics from the US, Europe, Japan and elsewhere, both well known series and undiscovered gems.

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles is based on a comic that while hardly a household name will probably be familiar to those who keep up with US indie comics. The series is based on Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comics, although the Netflix series is actually a sequel that follows a descendent of the original samurai rabbit.

Sakai's comics first appeared in 1984 and have been published by Fantagraphics, Mirage, Dark Horse and most recently IDW. The comics have won acclaim for transposing a tale of feudal Japan to a world of talking animals. The character has even cropped up in several incarnations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Set in the city of Neo Edo in the 26th century- Edo being the ancient name for Tokyo- the series follows teenage rabbit Yuichi, a descendent of the original character Miyamoto Usagi. When the city is threatened by fearsome yokai, Yuichi and a ragtag gang of animal warriors must step up to save the day.

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles is produced by Gaumont Animation, Dark Horse Entertainment and Atomic Monster for Netflix. The animation production comes from Indian animation studio 88 Pictures. Doug and Candie Langsdale are the head-writers and showrunners.

We got a sneak peek at the series back at last summer's San Diego Comic-Con At Home, but Netflix has now dropped the first trailer and images ahead of its release this spring.

Lovers of samurai fiction will get a kick out of this, although this is more family-friendly than your typical Akira Kurosawa flick. Fans of Japanese folklore will also appreciate the yokai, which take their inspiration from the real mythology of the land of the rising sun,

The 10-episode first season is produced by Gaumont Animation, Dark Horse Entertainment and Atomic Monster for Netflix. The animation production comes from Indian animation studio 88 Pictures. Doug and Candie Langsdale are the head-writers and showrunners. The series director is Ben Jones,who previously directed episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) and Harley Quinn. Stan Sakai is an executive producer.

The series stars the voices of Darren Barnet, Shelby Rabara, Aleks Le and Mallory Low. You can check out the trailer below.

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles will be available on Netflix from April 28, 2022

Prepare yourself for the adventures of the Samurai Rabbit as he and his friends battle evil and strange yokai monsters to save the world. Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles is available on Netflix April 28!