Assassin's Creed Shadows - My Thoughts on the Trailer and Controversy 

Please read this if you have any questions on Yasuke being considered a samurai. www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1css0ye/was_yasuke_a_samurai/

Remember, the best thing about Ubisoft games are the trailers.

I'm Japanese. Before Edo era, only upper class bushi was called Samurai. Bushi and Samurai are two different words in Japanese but in English they are translated as samurai. So this is the problem of the Wikipedia war.

- Did Yasuke existed? Definitely. - Was he a samuraï as status and position go? Possibly. - Was he a samuraï in all manners of a native one including the fighting style and knowledge? Considering he stayed a couple of years in Japan, probably not. - Hence is he a fine choice for someone who wants to play as a typical samuraï and have insight on Japan from that era (i.e anoptimal choice for a video game protagonist)? No. - Would Yasuke still make an interesting and cool game protagonist if the marketing and story type were different to match this? Most certainly yes. - Do I trust Ubisoft (or any big western company for that matter) to tell that story in an accurate and inspring way? ... DEFINITELY NO.

"What is the game about?" "Ah, it's just an assassin's creed game, this time set in [region name]" The series started as a really interesting concept, but it slowly become tiring with many recent installments having barely any fresh new things to experience. Basically, the fast food of videogames.

I think Yasuke would be honoured to know people are fighting wars over him 😂

What bothers me more than anything is that it is being developed by Ubisoft. Their terrible business practices and monetization that favor pay to win even in single player games should be a deal killer for a lot of people.

日本史研究家なら当然日本語は堪能でしょうから、日本語で質問します、 日本語の読み書きも出来ないのであれば日本語の史料の解読もできませんからね。 質問 ・ヤスケが武士だったと記述する史料を教えてください。 ・次にその史料の何処の部分に記述があるのか教えてください。 ・ヤスケが武士であれば、当然ヤスケには官位役職が与えられているはずですから、 　ヤスケに与えられた官位役職を教えてください。

I only have one question. If Yasuke was a Samurai why eas he returned to slavery when Nobunaga died? Why did he not remain as a Ronin?

The fact that every other Ass Creed protagonist is fictional except Yasuke is hilarious.

Even if you werent bothered by yasuke. That 130$ price tag is wild. Crazier is paying 60$ for an incomplete game. Like outlaws star wars. Where you need to pay 100$+ for the full game. Or youll have chunks missing.

Great break down on the historical accuracy of this game. Thank you for deciding to make it because I would not have watched any other channels response to the issue. Much appreciated.

The points you brought up about Naoe being super skilled and openly carrying weapons only further increasing the tropes of mythical Japan in older periods kinda fall flat when pretty much every other game in the series have their protagonists be represented in a similar fashion. This is after all Assassin's Creed, not "roleplaying as a historically accurate samurai in the Sengoku period" kind of game. Regardless, never pre-order games, whether it be from Ubisoft or anyone else, reading the fact that pre-orders for AC:Shadows has been solid from Tom Henderson has made me disappointed that people still haven't learnt from countless of times with Ubisoft.

My thing is why couldn’t they just make the original AC Shadows a game starring both male and female Japanese protagonist, have Yasuke a major side character and crucial key to the turning point of the story, Build off that and come out with AC Shadows 2, and have that Be Yasuke’s full story of how he got to japan??? No?? Wouldn’t that have been much better??, I think Ubisoft got trigger happy ran across Yasuke’s origin story and fell in love with it, and totally scratched there original Idea, To me, that’s how it feels, it feels rushed, AC Shadows II Yasuke wouldve been hard, and if they ever do Yasuke main game, please just stick to 1 main protagonist, like shii bruh

This was excellently well said. I just got done putting 96 hours into rise of the ronin, that felt like a love letter to Japanese history, from each landmark having a historical blurb, to almost every character being real and extremely loveable (RYOMA AND SAITO ESPECIALLY) and then the combat felt deep and crisp. I just...dont think this is gonna reach that, i get a bad feeling its gonna be the same shallow stealth, with 2 button combat. Imma wait and see reviews. I almost hope they go for a more tenchu feel then AC feel, and for the love of god no hidden blade please

弥助は侍じゃない、歴史を捏造するな

People complaining about Yasuke. Me complaining the price tag + Hattori Hanzo is not a playable character.

I know we can’t take much stock in a cgi trailer, (gameplay should always be king) however I wanted to say thank you for sharing your thoughts on it regardless:)

My problems can be summed up with your comments from 2:00 to 2:30. I have other problems with how they run the series, and frankly this open world thing should have been its own project seperate from AssCreed. As for Yasuke, he's fine. Yes, Ubisoft is probably pandering. Normally we play as historical unknowns and meet the famous figures, like playing Ezio and meeting Da Vinci, etc. However, the hordes of people on twitter who suddenly think they know Japanese history are honestly more insufferable.

It wouldn’t be such a controversial take, if Wikipedia didn’t change the history of Yasuke right when the trailer was released. That reeks of Netflix Cleopatra all over again. But my biggest complaint is $170 for an ultimate edition of a live service game, that is utter nonsense.

Ill wait for Ghost of Tsushima 2

If this game had come out years ago, I might have thought about getting the game. For me, Yasuke’s presence as a protagonist is a draw, mixing up the usual tropes. After years of Ubisoft’s corporate practices and at the likely price points we are talking about? I guess I might get it on a sale after the whole game is out. (AKA, base game with DLC or Season pass or whatever they call it anymore)

I have Japanese in-laws. I asked them about this "controversy" and they just laughed. They couldn't care less about "cultural appropriation." This isn't an uncommon sentiment in Japanese culture, they honestly don't tend to care much if others wanna check out their culture and even adopt their ways of dress and such. This is widely seen as a compliment more than anything.

Please, reconsider making a new video, thomas lockley is not a good source and honestly his mistakes will increase in the following days. I say this not to mock you or anything, but from a position of a fan of your work, don't want you to lose credibility for using him as a source and defending him, is not worth the trouble.

People probably wouldn't complain if Yaskue was a character you could interact with rather than play as. Then after the main game have him be a playable character in DLCs. Also I guess this also goes against the lore of AC where you go into a machine you play the memory of ancestors and throughout the series you play fictional characters who interact with historical figures. Personally I stopped play AC after the French Revolution one, only playing Odyssey but never finished, because they changed the gameplay and the writing for me started to get pretty bad and the series felt like it overstayed its welcome. Honestly with the amount of diversity that has been shoved into entertainment media these days it should come at no surprise the reaction by the internet whether it was the intent of the creators or not.

Same old mush we have been getting for years now. And if we complain about it, they go after the fans. Its Ubisoft, hard pass.

I bet it'll be like that netflix yasuke anime where he barely matters and the woman is the real main character that progresses the plot and does the important stuff, Yasuke never gets good treatment.

I think Yasuke is a unique character, both because of his background and for being in the center of a lot of major events. He rubbed shoulders with all the future leaders of including Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. So a game with him at the center could be very good (if done well).

You nailed it! I also didn't care about the ethn!c stuff, but when I saw her flying over walls, beating 15 guards, carrying weapons in public (a capital offense for a non-samurai), etc., I went, "Uhh..." And if they chose a historical figure in Yasuke, why not pair him with Tanba Momochi?! His legendary exploits and uncertain fate made him a prominent figure in folklore and theater, and he would fit their timeline perfectly. He was even in AC Memories, a terrible defunct mobile game from a decade ago.

IMO, I have no problem with Yasuke being a protagonist in a samurai game, and think it can work… However, in an Assassin’s Creed Game, it’s a bit mixed. Yasuke is practically the only black guy in game, sticking out like a sore thumb. The whole stealthy assassin angle is gone when you’re the most notable foreign retainer of Oda Nobunaga, and massive. Also, another part, is how it breaks all AC conventions, as Yasuke is the first playable historical character (excluding temporary ones like Leonidas) Honestly, it’s says more about how Assassin’s Creed has gone downhill, as it become less become about assassins, and more RPG. Yasuke being a protagonist in a game like Nioh, IMO works. But not for Assassin’s Creed

Nice video and thanks for the mention!

So, Naoe is an issue because, I quote your video "Female warriors were extremely rare in feudal japan", yet the one and only black man out of millions is not "extremely rare" ?

8:07 yes, Nioh was a Japanese created game, and their culture to augment. With Ubisoft, they’ve taken their own liberty (with a sprinkle of modern politics), to make Yasuke the main protagonist. I totally agree - most historical records show Yasuke to be a samurai, but I wouldn’t consider him a representative of Japanese samurai in the Sengoku period. As an Assassins Creed Odyssey fan, I would have been pretty upset it Alexios and Kassandra were non-Greek characters. There is a sense of historical representation here, and Yasuke - a blip in Japanese history, spending only 3 years in country - is not a fair representation of the Japanese samurai. I know a few Japanese that are pretty upset with this, and feel Ubisoft is trolling Japanese culture. I feel the same. This feels less like a representation of Japanese samurai, than a representation of Ubisoft political views. Side note; do you think there would have been an uproar about the characters if both were Japanese? No one would have been upset about that. Ubisoft chose to pick the controversial route… which says a lot about the way they see the world nowadays. Rant over. 😊

I think making someone not apart of the natural environment is how you learn about the world through them. People think hes gonna start break dancing and spittin bars during feudal wars.

I guess I'm "counter culture" here, but having platinum-ed both Sekiro and Tsushima, which have very different levels of alignment to historical fact and authentic "Japanese" messaging, there can absolutely be a balance to strike. There's unexplored territory in the genre that AC is well equipped to explore, notably stealth! Story Delivery? No chance AC can be better than Sekiro. Historical Accuracy? It has no place trying to trump japanese made Rise of Ronin. But it doesn't have to, it can still stand on its own. Is a western representation of Japan a crime in an of itself? Does historical accuracy have to be everything? I wouldn't say so: it says a lot about what westerners hope to see in any context, and ancient Japan seems to be a backdrop that allows us to imagine it. It's like when we learned that Katana WEREN'T the main weapon of the samurai. It might have been a splash of cold water, but it qualified our understanding of what actually happened, and still it shouldn't take away from our ability to appreciate things entirely. Historical accuracy doesn't have to be everything, and having historical characters given more clout than they really had and women take up the role of the stronger-than-life ninja can give us a chance to inhabit a world we want to visit. It says a lot about us! tl;dr, if AC Shadows can give me a ninja game with pretty/idealized japan, cool characters, and the good stealth that AC sometimes delivers, (which sekiro and tsushima didn't really deliver), I can judge it as a good addition to the array of samurai/ninja games that exist today.

There was actually an outcry when william became the protagonist in Nioh

As an Asian dude who has never been interested in the AC universe , I want to say that I’m all for more diversity and representation. It’s important to showcase characters that aren’t just white and male. Where I think you miss the mark is that there is such limited representation of Asian men in leading roles ANYWHERE that the fact that a leading game like AC set in Japan doesn’t have someone I can relate to is incredibly disappointing. I think there should have been a third character, Japanese male, and it would have made this whole issue nonexistent. I’m still waiting for someone like me to get opportunities across media.

As much as I love the character of Yasuke, the ulterior motive part is when my BS alert went ringing when I saw the trailer.

''To the people who are rallying around the idea that we should be playing as a japanese man, all i really have to say is this, just go play a different samurai game'' we will, and when the game flops (if ubisoft doesn't change course), remember, you said so

If they had to add Yaske they should at least give us a male shinobi maybe since they did historical charracters maybe give us that legendary guy

On Yasuke being a samurai or not, it depends on the definition of the word "samurai." There is actually no fixed definition, but most people would define it broadly as any person fighting in the service of a warlord, or more narrowly as the warrior caste that has certain privileges and status in society compared to a common foot soldier (who would be someone who probably came from the farmer caste but ended up having to pick up a spear or sword instead of a hoe). It is a recorded fact that Yasuke was given some kind of recognition by Oda Nobunaga, so Yasuke was definitely a retainer of Oda Nobunaga; however, there is no record to show that he was given the more special privileges of the warrior caste, including the right to a surname (for example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took on the surname of Hashiba while under Oda). As a retainer of Oda, Yasuke was a samurai in a very broad sense, but when it comes to whether he was anyone of significance, given that he wasn't even given a surname, it is hard to say that he was part of the more privileged warrior caste of samurai.

Did you delete the video of your interview with Lockley?

Here we go. You and Metatron are the only opinions on the game I was hoping to see. Apologies for the obligation! As excited as I am to see Ubisoft's rendition of Japan, I think we all know that the story and writing overall is going to be the weakest element of the game.

Both sides of the Yasuke debate are wrong in how certain they are in their arguments. There are good arguments for both but no conclusive evidence either way.

What ppl should me mad about is the ridiculous prices. There's nothing wrong with Yasuke.

as an asian, theres been no reasonable argument said to me at all yet, why yasuke should represent the male character in asian culture. all the arguments online are championing representation, so why is an african male the stand in for asian male?

This game is about 10-15 years too late, feels like Ubisoft just trying to catch up with other studios having seen other work these locales better. I remember when Ubisoft came out and said they'd never make an AC set in sengoku Japan.

We all know WHY they chose Yasuke... That's why it's controversial. It's the intent behind the action, not the action itself.

8:53 last point get - for those that are fans of AC games, the point of “go play something else” doesn’t hold much water unfortunately. I get your point though.

Bring back Tenchu, end

I think the technicality of whether Yasuke should or should not be portrayed as a samurai in the context of an Assassin's Creed game seems trivial since the second game ends with Ezio fist fighting the pope and then immediately talks to a hologram of some ancient alien god.

Your thoughts and opinions were the only ones I cared about in regard to this situation. I appreciate your insight as always sensei!

I’ve never seen where people expect realism and historical accuracy from a video game. It’s always been a very creative medium. Ninjas vs zombies vs knights, dragons etc. Anyone expecting realism or historical accuracy of any kind from a video game needs their head checked

I think it would have been cool for them to have committed to the historical figure bit and made the shinobi be Hattori Hanzo with Yasuke as the samurai as he is right now. It’s not an inconceivable pair up especially given the Oda-Tokugawa alliance that was incredibly relevant in the fight against the Takeda and the involvement of Iga. So having a Tokugawa retainer be the shinobi alongside Yasuke the Oda retainer would be a cool representation of that alliance. And I just plainly like those two figures by default.

I'm not a fan of the Assassins Creed games either but I am here because of the time period as a Samurai Warriors fan and a fan of the history I'm curious to see how it's depicted here. Especially so close to Nobunaga death. So no Nagashino which would have been great to see. As someone who only knows the history primarily in Samurai warriors was there any other character close to Nobunaga. The only characters I could see were Hattori Hanzo but I associate him more with Leyasu so the game would be more Leyasu focused. I'm curious where we leave off and who Yasuke joins. Yes I'm hopeful I know it's Assassins Creed. Us Hideyoshi going to make an appearance will Leyasu?

Were any of the other Assassin's Creed protagonists real?

Totally agree with you! I live in Japan and have been exposed to all of depicting of Yasuke in many places from people who couldn’t give a damn about DEI!

Feels like Ubisoft just taunting "he's real, can't get mad.. he's real, can't get mad🤪" While most gaming journalists also cannot held the urge to look superior and educated on this situation by arguing about "umm actually, he is real🤓" (even tho feels like it's a well known fun fact already) And we just forget about how absurd their prices are

The thing we should all be upset by is that this is a Ubisoft game and is already being monetized out the ass.

People who say this disrespects Japan and japanese culture are just racist westerners wanting to speak on japanese people's behalf, especially when they never cared about any of this until Yasuke was made into an Assassin's Creed protagonist. Where were these guys when the only Assassin's Creed game set in Turkey feature a white italian man as the protagonist?

There's the Samurai title argument but beyond that it's the insinuation that Yasuke was a badass in combat after having some training in India and then only spending 3 years in Japan, 15 months serving Nobunaga. Do we have any records of Yasuke slashing down other warriors on the battlefield? Do even have any record of Yasuke as a legendary warrior? Again, there's the title of Samurai and then there's doing Samurai stuff. All we have (as far as I know) is the report of Luís Fróis saying, "A black man whom the visitor [Valignano] sent to Nobunaga went to the house of Nobunaga's son after his death and was fighting for quite a long time, when a vassal of Akechi approached him and said, 'Do not be afraid, give me that sword', so he gave him the sword." That's all we get, "fighting for quite a long time." This is where the only argument that can be made is, "we don't know but it doesn't mean he wasn't." Then you have to just say that Ubisoft is taking creative liberties like other historical based entertainment properties do. Problem is there's people who will see, "black samurai," and think Yasuke was actually taking down 10 guys at once and think that's historical fact and if you don't immediately believe it then you're some kind of -ist. Look, I don't get offended when I'm told Gladiator or 300 or The Patriot aren't accurate. It's just junk food entertainment. Not that anyone should be supporting Ubisoft regardless of where you stand on all this. I think we can all agree that company is trash. "Be comfortable not owning games." Yeah no, fck them.

They could have made him a dlc playable character and made a japanese guy as the main one thats way more better

This controversy is the dumbest crap ever. Being a game player is so exhausting.

I’m a bit sad about this. I am glad about Yasuke. However, there is 0 doubt that there is an agenda here with all the controversies of modern gaming and the rewrites of consulting companies. I truly think the AC controversy would be way lower if they gave a legendary shinobi like Hanzo Hatori or Sasuke Sarutobi. But instead the entire cast of this AC games are “the exception”. In Nioh, only the beginning and last level take place in Europe, the rest is Japan Boogaloo. I can’t help but to think that this AC game will also have “exceptions” in the main story and side quests. That’s that. Short version, Yasuke has been collateral damage of modern gaming and the true evil was the other main character, not Yasuke.

I've been playing Assassin's Creed games for years lol. I know they are not always historically accurate & the storytelling has declined drastically, but I play them for the pure enjoyment.

I recommend to watch Metatron's Video about the Question about Yasuke being a Samurai. He took a further Deep Dive on that Topic and pretty much came to a very different Conclusion after analyzing the Facts.

I would have been more interested if we played as a glorified western version of hanzo. The real issue is $150+ AUD for the ultimate edition which gives you rubbish

My problem with Yasuke isn't him being Yasuke, or a black guy. But that a black (the only one in the entire country), tall man being a head taller than everybody else running around on rampages isn't the best stealthy assassin working for a secret order. And is equally stupid to the feamle Hollywood ninja. But idk. Assassins Creed stopped being Assassins Creed over a decade ago and have devolved into "we have Witcher 3 at home" with some psuedo historical nonsense and much worse writing. I would love to see a character like Yasuke as a badass demonslayer in an Onimusha game though:D

Love your insight and how objective you were.

You know what is odd? In a game that was predominantly located in old England, I saw no one complain that you cannot play as an English warrior, but only as a norse invader. Double standard anyone? I think Yasuke is a fascinating, mysterious figure and really like that he gets more light.

I have to say, I love that Naoe wears dark blue in the trailer, rather than jet black. From what I’ve heard, it’s more historical and I much prefer how it looks.

I prefer all this nonsensical controversy to focus more on Ubisoft rather than Yasuke himself. He is cool; Ubisoft isn't.

My only gripe is that why doesnt ubisoft pull the same stunt when creating games like unity set in their historical setting(ubisoft is french) During the french revolution they had the legendary general Thomas Dumas(who appeared in unity as a side character) who himself was of black ancestry. why was he not the main character or rather why not create a black character set in revolutionary france?. That would have kept in line with Ubisoft's"a fish out of the water storyline"as they always claim instead of the boring caucasian lead which is arno? why is it that when it comes to(their) european history we do not play as historical significant black characters but when it comes to asian cultures they will look for every nook and cranny for even a slight hint of a foreign element in the said culture and put them in the game?This seems like a form of covert racism to me. For me its not that yasuke is a playable character its the fact that ubisoft is secretly practicing DEI when it comes to showcasing non european cultures that irritates me tbh. Next game should have a black "aethiopian" as a roman assasin set during the republic or Ubisoft is a fraud lmao

It seems like people are reaching for any excuse to complain and exercise their hatred and at every point they are wrong and are being corrected: -He's a fake character who's completely out of place for the time period that they just created to force DEI. Turns out he's actually a historical figure who existed in the time period the game is set in. -He wasn't actually a samurai so it's historically inaccurate. Actually, according to the sources it turns out he was a sort of samurai. Though, seeing as it's a series that regularly dabbles in alt history it really doesn't matter in the first place. -Every Assassin's Creed game up until now has been led by a fictional character and have been about stealth, why change now? Naoe, is not only a fictional character but a stealthy ninja which by default makes her the lead. So, no changes there. -It's a story set in feudal Japan, therefore the story should focus on a Japanese protagonist. Again, Naoe is Japanese, and being the assassin in the game makes her the main protagonist. Yasuke, then, just acts as an interesting addition to the story and gameplay that helps differentiate the title from the countless other games set in feudal Japan. Ultimately, Japanese people generally don't really care that much about this. It's mostly reactionary (bigoted) people outside of Japan making a big stink over it and trying to get people riled up - going so far as posting in Japanese spaces to spread it and nitpicking the few supposed Japanese comments the share their sentiment while ignoring the ones that don't.

personally i think a whole game based on Yasuke would be interesting.

Thank you for the gameplay video

Those who become samurai are given a surname, but Yasuke does not have one. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a farmer, but when he became a samurai vassal to Oda Nobunaga, he was given the surname.

nioh is purely fantasy games that only use historical record as refrence in their games, which isn't really fair comparison since Ghost of Tsushima exist

Complaining about Yasuke instead of Complaining about how this is another game that completely disrespects the OG LORE of AC like the last 3 games before Mirage, idk about mirage didn't play it, is Wild to me.

Honestly I think it would've been cooler if we play as an Emishi-Izumo or Emishi-Ainu character, AC protags has always been original fictional characters so idk why they pick Yasuke (I lied, it's for brownie points). Just imagine if you play as an ancestor to the Matagi hunters, maybe he'll have an affinity with firearms and bows instead of the typical samurai archetype that we can find in practically every other game set in historical Japan; plus being of discriminated ethnicity in his own homeland would mirror Connor from AC3 who lately has been receiving a cult following. PS: it would be cool if instead of the cliche action heroine Naoe is depicted as, she's a more historically accurate Kunoichi spying by blending in plain sight. She would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate the latest few Hitman game's stealth playstyle into the series, infiltrating using disguises and assassinating with clever methods to make the murder seem like an accident. Huge wasted potential, but then again it's modern Ubisoft and they're not competent enough to do such a thing.

By the way , you mentioned in the video that you reviewed the samurai games that you gonna make a samurai warriors : spirit of the sanada review And I’m actually been waiting for it lol I hope you make a review about it since it’s my favorite SW game

I honestly like the idea of Yasuke being a primary character. The Assassins had to make their way to Japan and that would have only been done by outside influence. I could see him starting the order in Japan though when being kicked out by Mitsuhide Naoe may take up the role as the master in Japan.

I agree, I wouldn't mind Yasuke as a playable character, but yeah, the woman should absolutely be a male samurai. The thing I find most egregious is the historical revisionism with AC games in general, Valhalla being among the worst. The wikipedia editing schism happening only heightens this, and further the theory that there's an agenda being pushed, why else would they revise an article after the trailer launch?

Thanks for the intelligent video

I couldn't care less about Yasuke. But what bothers me is why couldn't they go the route of adapting any of the Japanese Assassins established in the lore (with their own wiki pages) like Yamauchi Taka, Mogami Yoshiaki, or even the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo.

There's so many reasons not to buy Ubisoft games. Yasuke isn't one of those, not even close.

A female Ninja is known as a "Kunoichi".

Price tag is god awful. Trailer looks more Chinese than Japanese. We know EXACTLY why they picked Yasuke (DEI, and strong connections to Sweet Baby Inc.). The Japanese audience seem to be universally rejecting it. It’s a disaster. I like your level headed take, definitely agree that the female character is stupid too.

It's a lot of people talking about Assassin's Creed but they do not know nothing about it if they did they would know about the apples of Eden it's an ancient item created by a ancient race that can literally been time and project images and even make thoughts into reality guys these games are pretty much fantasy people on the internet need to stop taking things so seriously the entire franchise of Assassin's Creed is full of fantasy and make believe with bits of reality so please people get a life touch dirt grass sand all of that let's do more living instead of whatever this is get away from the internet culture wars and rage baiting channels and I wish you all better Mental Health and I truly mean that

Nothing you linked proves he was ever a samurai.

Had they made this game 10-15 years like everyone was asking for back then, then Yasuke being the main character would have been accepted without question. Games GTA San Andreas had set a precedent for black protagonists and Adewale for AC black flag also demonstrated this. But unfortunately the political climate in the West was vastly different from now. Media is a political engine that is being used to push an agenda. Many people dont want to be involved with politics at all and just want to enjoy their hobby, but the "culture war" is in almost every form of media. Yasuke is another ploy in this vain, unfortunately.

The "ackchyually" crowd really clutching those pearls they only care about now because of this. The worst of Yasuke being a main character is that he's a main character in a Ubisoft game, AC at that. The DEI people think it's a woke moment when it's more a moment for a cynical corporate entity to frame an "exciting, new experience" under their god awful pricing and probably microtransactions. The thing is that, in theory, a well rounded depiction of Yasuke in a game would offer many a chance to experience alienation, racial difference to a stark contrast of being objectified for the appearance of your whole body being foreign, and thus not one to ever accept as Japanese in those times

You are correct that Ubisoft has an insidious motive. That motive being to make money. While the Culture war loves to argue that Yasuke being a protagonist is part of a somkescreen plan to generate controversy and hide the pre-order scheme in reality it is more likely that since AC has moved more in the realm of pop history they went with a charecter that is well known in the pop history space when talking about Japanese history.

Part of the theming of the Assassin's Creed games since they started is that the Assassin's Order often takes in people on the fringes of (or were intentionally expelled from) "polite" society. They're (generally) people who were ahead of their time or who don't fit the mold their adversaries the Templars are eager to impose on societies everywhere to facilitate control. A foreigner Samurai, especially a black man, and a female warrior are exactly the kind of people an AC game should be focused on. How quickly people forget that Altair was part of a fringe group in a small castle town outside of the main political and military games during the Third Crusade and that Ezio was an outlaw criminal who operated almost exclusively in the shadows even if he started off as a nobleman. But then, we all know why the Gamergate Crybabies are REALLY angry that a "western studio's agenda," dared to make a black man and a woman the main characters of their game. People don't need to give credence to their pretend arguments when you know that their real goal is just to wage Culture War against anything that is in any way inclusive or diverse.

This has aged poorly. The Shogunate, I love your channel but this one video just left a sore stab to the heart. You need to address the whole controversy of the source materials now that new evidence has come out. The Canadian Tom the historian who created the whole black Samurai myth faked the entire thing. He even sourced himself which allowed him to create a buzz on Wikipedia which he himself boosted as fake 3rd person verified academics to back himself. Also the whole controversy of the other anchor of this who has media control, the ardent Communist historian/ news director on Pony Canyon who hates Japanese culture. He is tied to the globalist agenda to erode and demonize Japanese culture by beating it down to insignicance. From what I gathered besides the fraud Tom.the Canadian historian who made this myth in order to sell books, this actual Media Exec at Pony Canyon liked what he saw, gave him even more credibility and this spurred all of this nonsense of Yosuke. I am, to this day, shocked and appalled someone as dedicated to the cause of Japanese history could fall for this propaganda. Please make another video with the controversy lies exposed. Yosuke was not a Samurai, he was a companion and simply an entertainer for his exotic background. Had he been a Samurai, there was two events where he most likely didn't even participate in but was still there for battles. Other people committed Sepuku or actually died with their Oda faction Lord's because they were genuine Samurai. Yosuke being the help or just an entertaining clown got to live and eventually go home. Please if you love Japanese history, update and redact almost everything you said. This hits me deeply at home. Your promoting Afrocentricism by calling Yosuke a Samurai. This ticked me off because for the longest time where I grew up I had to remind groups or individuals that my ancestors were the original Amerindians and all the pre-Columbian works, customs, monuments and discoveries were each separate groups achievements. Then these Afrocentrics with their book They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima and Dr. Ben works brought for a cancer called Afrocentricism. Do you know how many times I have to tell people to stop robbing our legacy and history from these confused people of Sub-Saharan descent? If you love the Japanese people don't bend the knee to this silly idea. Yosuke existed, but he was nothing more than a servant or entertainer. You not only bring discredit to your channel but actual Japanese as a majority now despise this game, and the Yosuke myth which it is. He was no Samurai. This has gotten so bad The Enclyopedia Brittanica has now added Yosuke with the source being Tom again. Also I like to note something else, the whole plot of this game and story is promoting Asian hate. Take this for example in San Francisco, California USA Asians make up twice than the black population. What do you suppose average physical attacks are then, are Asians attacking blacks twice as much despite being 2x the population? No not even close blacks rob and attack Asians 22 times more often than Asian rob blacks. Shogunate why are you promoting a myth which gave rise to a man born in Madagascar, set in historical Japan listening to hip-hop music from America, rob, murder and kill Asians only? Remember this is a percentage if you do the math that's 2,200% percent. Something is going on here will you ever address what this game will do to Asians, are you going to neglect this or even mention The Stop Asian Hate now that you got yourself on the pro side of this agenda?

the fact you called naoe "historical revishen" really goes to show you have no idea what your talking about when it comes to AC

I don’t understand the hate in changing historical facts when Assassin’s Creed has always taken creative liberties. I mean when in history did Leonardo de Vinci or Benjamin Franklin be known to befriend/help a secret sect of Assassins? I mean the whole thing was science fiction to begin with, with people travelling through time using the animus. Be prepared for history to be altered because that’s what the series has always done.

Thank you. I was way more bothered about the ninja character. She's literally running around and fighting like she just graduated from Konoha 😂

UBISOFT HAD CHOICES: -Akechi Mitsuide -Kato Kiyomasa -Ishida Mitsunari -Uesugi Kenshin -Date Masamune or even Nobunaga himself.

I wish they don't make Yasuke combat-focus hero and the chick a stealth-focus heroine. Assassin like Ezio are literal John Wick, both of them should excel at both but maybe in different way.