Please, for the love of all things dramatic and unhinged, do not compare «Last Samurai Standing» to «Squid Game». That is like comparing a ceremonial katana to a plastic picnic knife. They are simply not built the same.

Japanese live-action deathmatch stories have a very specific flavour—brutal, poetic, uncomfortably thoughtful. The masterpieces «Last Samurai Standing», «Alice in Borderland», and the iconic «Battle Royale» walk in with that legacy and distinct style. They do not tiptoe. They do not hold back. They show us the story in all its glory (or gore?), the way we imagine them when reading literature.

Rather than putting them against each other, it is more fun to see how each adds something different to the genre. Because if there is a benchmark for the Deathmatch / Battle-royale genre, I think «Battle Royale» is still the ace, not «Squid Game»."

Cover image: used under Fair Use.

Originally posted on Popfeed on 2025-11-19 at 07:58:14 UTC+8. Popfeed no longer displays social.popfeed.feed.post on its site.

If this work has informed, been useful, or saved you time, please consider sending a tip. 🙇🏽 Your support keeps this sustainable. 🖖🏽

〈《Last Samurai Standing》 is superior than 《Squid Game》〉 © 2025 Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta.
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA-4.0), except where noted.