Highlights
- Sahei is a quiet samurai with book smarts who strategically fights zombies in the anime Onimusha adaptation.
- Sayo, an orphaned girl, shows strength as a guide, cook, and thief, setting herself up for a luxurious future.
- Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest samurai, showcases his incredible strength by battling zombies and becoming even more powerful with the Oni Gauntlet.
Onimusha is Netflix’s latest attempt to turn video games into anime. Their success rate has been good so far, including Castlevania: Nocturne and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix from this year, along with Arcane and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners from years past. Now, it has been some time since the Onimusha franchise has come into the gaming conversation, unlike the other examples, so here is a refresher.
The Best Samurai Anime, Ranked
There have been some great Samurai Anime over the years. Here's a look at some of the best.
The series began on PS2 in 2001, and it was like the samurai equivalent of Resident Evil. The last mainline game was in 2006 and other than mobile spinoffs and a remaster of the original in 2019, it has laid dormant in Capcom’s archives. That’s the setup for the game series, but what is the Netflix Onimusha adaptation about? Also, who are the strongest characters in this samurai vs demon anime? Let’s dive in and find out with full spoilers ahead.
7 Sahei
The Devious Samurai
Sahei is one of the quietest samurai in the group. He is cool and collected, but he isn’t shy about fighting. He can take down zombies as well as anyone. His true strength lies in his book smarts, which he uses to strategize his way out of sticky situations.
While quiet at first, he shows his true colors in the final episode when he poisons Iemon. Sahei was a spy in the group, sent to make sure no one else found out about the gold mines. While he could have killed Sayo, he decided not to, as he isn’t a bad guy. The anime was just keeping things tense for the sake of drama.
6 Sayo
The Guide Cook
Sayo is the youngest character the group meets in the first season. She is an orphaned girl and the sole survivor of her village, which was taken over by demons thanks to Iemon. While Sayo never fights in Onimusha, she shows her strength in other ways.
10 Anime You Need To Watch If You Enjoy Ghost Of Tsushima
Anyone who loves Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima should check out these amazing anime for more samurai-themed goodness and Japanese folklore.
She’s a competent guide for the group, helping Musashi and the others through valleys and forests. She’s also a fine cook, from charring rabbit to making a plant-based meal for Kaizen. She’s also a capable thief as she manages to smuggle out some gold from the mines, seemingly setting herself up for the high life as seen in the final episode.
5 Kaizen
The Warrior Monk
Kaizen is a warrior monk who has been instructed to journey alongside Musashi to keep the “package” safe. This item turns out to be the Oni Gauntlet, which fans of the Onimusha games know all about. Players will defeat monsters in the games, collect their souls, and then those souls can be used for leveling up various upgrades like in an RPG.
Back to Kaizen, he may seem like a meek monk, but he shows his prowess in battle multiple times against zombified soldiers. His ultimate strength as a warrior is shown when he sacrifices his body to save Sayo in episode four. His body burns up, but he is able lift the bell off of Sayo in the end and dies an honorable death.
4 Gensai
The Toad Samurai
Gensai is the first demon the group encounters in the anime. Like his mentor, Matsuki Kensuke, he was secretly a traitor and loyal to Iemon all along. Unlike Kensuke though, Gensai gave his body over to the Genma demons, which gave him toad-like powers.
His eyes bulged out of his head, seemingly giving him more of a visual advantage. He also has a whip-like tongue to strike his enemies. He lasts longer in battle than Kensuke and gives Musashi a bit of a fight in episode one. However, Musashi eventually cuts him down to size.
3 The Yoshiokas
Three Demon Brothers
Most of the warriors that Musashi faces in Onimusha are from his past. The biggest example is The Yoshiokas, comprised of three brothers. There are three sisters later on, but they were added more for a comedic effect than anything else. Like Gensai, the Yoshiokas gave their bodies over to the demons and were blessed with incredible power.
Now, the three brothers look more like Hulks than humans. They killed one of the heroes directly, Goromaru, along with one of his pet birds. They are also the ones who trap Sayo under the aforementioned bell, which leads to the death of Kaizen. They’re strong, but again, they were no match for Musashi once he unleashed the power of the Oni Gauntlet.
2 Sasaki Kojiro
Musashi’s Greatest Rival
Sasaki Kojiro, in Japanese history, was indeed Miyamoto Musashi’s greatest rival. He was not a demon like he is in the Onimusha anime though, which should be obvious to viewers. He has quite the entrance too, as he quickly slays Iemon without a second’s thought.
Best Anime Like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is among the most popular anime ever, and fans looking for similar shows should check out these action series.
Iemon brought Kojiro back to life to fight Musashi. He also wanted him in his demon army, but Kojiro’s spirit was too strong, so he noped out of that idea. Kojiro just wants to be the best samurai in Japan and doesn’t care about taking over territories. It’s unknown if he survives the fight in the final episode, but dead or not, Kojiro has a massive amount of power.
1 Miyamoto Musashi
Japan’s Greatest Samurai
Miyamoto Musashi is thought of as one of Japan’s greatest samurai. The Onimusha series has a habit of using historical figures in wondrous ways. While Musashi doesn’t appear as the protagonist in the games, other figures like Oda Nobunaga do. So, having Musashi appear in the anime seemed fitting. Also, it seems obvious that the main character would be the strongest in the anime.
His strength is showcased even before he gets the Oni Gauntlet from Kaizen’s temple. He takes on the monks barehanded to get what he wants. He slices and dices through zombies like butter, too. Once the Oni Gauntlet’s powers are unlocked, he becomes even stronger. Like Kojiro, it is unknown if he survives the final fight. Maybe that will be answered in season two (if it happens) on Netflix.
