Rick and Morty fans might be hungry for more of the current fourth season of the show, but Pocket Mortys just isn’t enough. Thankfully, Adult Swim is still producing content to tide the hordes over until then. The channel has debuted Samurai & Shogun, a brief animated short starring Rick and Morty in a battle reminiscent of classic samurai manga Lone Wolf and Cub. The short was uploaded to Youtube on March 28, 2020 and produced by Japanese anime Studio DEEN. [Thanks, ANN!]
Check it out below. (Warning: It contains violence and gore)
Studio DEEN animated such works as Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, the first anime adaptation of Fate/Stay Night, and the critically acclaimed Descending Stories: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. It also produced anime adaptations of the Hakuoki visual novel franchise. The short is also notable for being entirely in Japanese, featuring Keisuke Chiba and Youhei Tadano, the voice actors who play Morty and Rick in the Japanese dub of the TV show.
Adult Swim creative director Jason Demarco noted that the short took a year to put together:
Yeah so we spent a year putting together a five minute Rick and Morty Lone Wolf & Cub anime short for you guys. Here it is, hope you dig it! Don’t tell me we don’t have the most fun! https://t.co/iOgNzoO4bd
— SPIRAL CURSE DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) March 29, 2020
As for the main Rick and Morty program itself, the fourth season debuted on Adult Swim in November 2019. It ran for five episodes before taking a mid-season break. Reports suggest that the sixth episode, which does not have a premiere date, may be delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on production.
Rick and Morty airs on Adult Swim. It is available for streaming in the US on Hulu and HBO Max, and Netflix internationally.
