The first thing you should know about Yasuke is that the main character is based on a real person. The real Yasuke was a 16th century African warrior who found himself in Japan serving as a samurai.

The second thing you should know is that this series is produced by Netflix in partnership with the Japanese anime studio Mappa.

Now what about the anime itself? It’s a short series of only six episodes, but quite a bit goes on.

Yasuke, now working in small village as a boatman, is still haunted by the memories of his service to a warlord, which ended badly. He has had enough of fighting, but finds himself promising to protect a young girl possessing mystical powers.

His enemies also have mystical powers, and a few mecha bots. Funny how no one in the 16th century anime world thinks mecha is unusual. The battles are bloody, and there are more than a few heads and limbs hacked off.

But this is not just a chop-‘em-up anime. There is a real story here, with many sub-plots and back stories. The animation is very good, with action scenes which flow and move.

I don’t know why there are only six episodes, but there is enough action packed into these six to provide action for twelve episodes of most other series. Though I do think they could have used a few more episodes to develop some of the minor characters, especially the villains. The ending is satisfying, but rather predictable. But though predictable, the fun is getting there.

Yasuke has its pluses and minuses, just like most other series. The pluses outweigh the minuses, making Yasuke a series worth watching. Season 2 is a possibility.