Tokyo Anime Dispatch

What Was Announced On July 4, 2026, Aniplex published a pair of official updates for The Elusive Samurai (Japanese title: 逃げ上手の若君 ) that are clearly meant to be read together. One update focuses on the season 2 main PV, while the other names the opening theme and the artist performing it. Read as a package, the two posts turn the show from a broad summer-return announcement into a much more concrete rollout plan. The headline fact is the return date. According to the official schedule page, The Elusive Samurai Season 2 begins on July 17, 2026, with a Friday 23:30 JST broadcast in Fuji TV's noitamina block. The same page lists AT-X from July 24, 2026, with a Friday 23:00 broadcast and a Tuesday 11:00 repeat. For streaming, the Japanese rollout starts with Prime Video at 24:00 JST on July 17, followed by other platforms from July 21, 2026 at 12:00 JST. The music update adds a second key detail: the opening theme is 鬼事 by Kenshi Nakajima. The official news post links ...

On June 22, 2026, Gokurakuyu Holdings announced a limited-time collaboration between The Elusive Samurai and Gokurakuyu / RAKU SPA. The campaign, titled "Tenka Takkatsu! Ikioi o Yashinau Gokurakuyu," begins on July 9, 2026 and runs through August 4, 2026 at two Japanese spa locations. It is a compact announcement, but it says a lot about how anime promotion works in Japan: the show does not just live on screen, it gets folded into a real outing. What Was Announced The release centers on newly drawn illustrations of Tokiyuki Hojo, Kojiro, and Fubuki. Those visuals will appear across the campaign's goods and venue decorations, along with a set of tie-in food and bath concepts built around the anime's world. According to the official notice, the campaign includes a special entry set, original merchandise, collaboration meals, themed baths, in-store decorations, a digital stamp rally, and a social-media bonus for fans who visit and post about the event. The collabor...