Staff for the Nigejouzu no Wakagimi (The Elusive Samurai/ 逃げ上手の若君 ) TV anime have confirmed that the anime’s second season will premiere in July 2026. A teaser video and visual for the second season have also been revealed.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKX-4t39CK4]
Yamazaki Yuta (Love Kome -We Love Rice) directed the anime’s first season at CloverWorks studio, which premiered in July 2024. All 12 episodes of the anime can be streamed on Crunchyroll under the name The Elusive Samurai. Crunchyroll describes the anime’s story below:
“In the year 1333, the Kamakura shogunate government comes crumbling down. A trusted vassal, Ashikaga Takauji, betrays the shogunate and organizes a rebellion. Hojo Tokiyuki, the rightful heir, escapes the massacre with a Shinto priest named Suwa Yorishige to Kamakura. On the run and fighting to stay alive, Tokiyuki sets in motion his plan to reclaim his birthright.”
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6A5NHaXvvk&t=1s]
The anime is based on Matsui Yuusei’s Nigejouzu no Wakagimi ongoing manga. Matsui (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro) launched the manga in January 2021 in the Weekly Shounen Jump magazine, and the manga’s first tankoubon volume was published in July 2021. The latest volume, number 23, was released on December 4th, 2025.
Viz Media releases the manga in English under the name The Elusive Samurai, and it will release the manga’s 18th volume on January 6th, 2026. Viz Media describes the manga story below:
“After the massacre of his family by the traitor Ashikaga Takauji, Tokiyuki flees with the help of a handful of loyal retainers who have also survived the purge. One of them is Suwa Yorishige, an ally of the Hojo clan and lord of Suwa Province. The slightly odd Yorishige also claims to be clairvoyant and foretells that Tokiyuki will one day become the ruler of Japan. But for the moment, escaping from enemy territory is the priority!”
The manga’s new chapters are also released digitally in English via Viz Media and MANGA Plus.
