Netflix has just released the first sneak peek of their new anime film Bright: Samurai Soul. Fans are still patiently waiting for Netflix to also drop Bright 2, as three years have passed since the very first Bright installment. Bright's huge success combined with Netflix simultaneously expanding and exploring anime has led to an ultimate unison. The fact that Netflix is taking on such a narrative with two very different genres colliding is unprecedented and has not been replicated much before. Netflix is merging two very different audiences.
It’s quite clever of them given the fact that both anime and the original Bright are loved dearly and held in high regard by fans. Netflix will have to adhere to high expectations, surmounting pressure, and any unforeseen challenges that may emerge throughout the process. There isn’t much difference between the original story behind Bright and the new spinoff in the works. They both share the same end goal and overall plot: the main characters must escort and protect a female elf who carries a magic wand that contains the brightness in the world.
Two warriors have to deliver the wand to the right hands in order to thwart the dark organization of Inferni. Inferni seeks to obtain the wand and bring forth the re-emergence of the Dark Lord to Japan. Although both the original film and spinoff share the end goal of saving this elf and protecting the light from the darkness, that’s pretty much all they have in common. The promotional video for Bright: Samurai Soul that Netflix dropped reveals the artwork behind the vibrant colors and images in contingency with the animation. Director Kyohei Ishiguro concocted his own anime-style in order to ensure that he was delivering Japanese culture to the Hollywood world of Bright.
Ishiguro takes inspiration from Japanese woodblock print art and combines it with 3D technology in order to create this effect, with motion studio Arect producing the film. Instead of Will Smith walking around downtown, the environment of Japan is stark different. The integration of anime and classic style film is a revelation for the industry. The opening up of the intersectionality of different cultures and environments grants freedom for exploring and experimenting in the future.
The main character (Izou) is a one-eyed roaming samurai, and first-time voice actor Simu Liu has landed the role for the English version. The Japanese speaking cast members in the film are Yuki Nomura, Daisuke Hirakawa, and Shion Wakayama. The combination of different dialects goes even further to suggest that Bright: Samurai Soul will be a groundbreaking, eccentric film.
Netflix will be premiering Bright: Samurai Soul on October 12th, 2021.
Source: Netflix/Twitter