With a colorful CGI palette, “Samurai Rabbit” mixes traditional Japanese design and cultural elements with futuristic upgrades in the form of flying trolleys and various gadgets, called robottos.

Together they wrangle various Yokai while Usagi tries to disprove the infamous stories about his namesake descendent. Usagi at least makes a few unlikely friends, including bounty hunter rhino Gen (inspired by the original Usagi’s go-to ally), ninja-with-secrets Chizu and thief-with-a-heart-of-gold Kitsune.

Hoping to become a samurai without the help of an experienced sensei, Usagi fumbles into inadvertently releasing hundreds of Yokai, including a giant, bug-looking one who hopes to take control of the city. “Samurai Rabbit” opens with Yuichi Usagi (and his pet lizard/dinosaur-thing Spot, yeep, yeep!) moving from his aunt’s farm to the big city, where he quickly makes trouble with various street gangs (including a batch of creatures who snap their paws like they’re in a production of “West Side Story”).

There’s quite a bit of murder in those comics, so it makes sense that the series on Netflix finds a more family-friendly entry point for younger audiences. Sakai’s “Usagi” comics, which began in the ’80s and still run to this day, mostly focus on the Edo period of Japanese history, replacing humans with talking animals and featuring stories inspired by folk tales and history. The new show, aimed at kids ages 7 and up, focuses on Yuichi Usagi, a teenage descendent of Sakai’s original rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, and his quest to fight Yokai (supernatural entities from Japanese folklore) and become a famed samurai. With news of numerous Netflix series getting the ax recently, it’d be wise to watch, rewatch and urge others to try the shows you’d like to see stick around.Ī personal choice (and a show all four of my kids enjoy): The new animated series, “Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles” takes inspiration from Stan Sakai’s acclaimed comic book series, “Usagi Yojimbo.”

Stan sakai usagi