Ask anyone who remotely knows me and they’ll tell you that my all-time favorite anime is the adaptation of Yusei Matsui’s manga Assassination Classroom. Once that series was over and Matsui moved on to his new manga series The Elusive Samurai (Japanese title: Nigejōzu no Wakagimi), I’ve been waiting patiently for the day when I could finally type these words: The Elusive Samurai has been confirmed for a TV anime adaptation!
Another series currently running in Weekly Shonen Jump, The Elusive Samurai began running in the magazine in January 2021 and has already been compiled into nine volumes in Japan as of January of this year. Viz Media is simul pubbing the chapters on Shonen Jump and have also released up to volume five in English.
In the historical action-comedy, the setting is Japan somewhere between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (so roughly the 1100s to early 1300s). The main character, Hojo Tokiyuki, holds rank among the nobility. Still, after a traitor named Ashikaga Takauji kills his family, Tokiyuki must flee from his homeland with the help of a couple of loyal retainers who survived the violence. Tokiyuki is armed only with his friends and his super ability of always being able to escape from danger.
Unfortunately, we aren’t aware of when this series will hit the airwaves, but we can confirm that studio Cloverworks will produce the animation with Yuuta Yamazaki (Wonder Egg Priority assistant director) heading up the production as the director. He’ll be working off series composition written by Yoriko Tomita (My Dress-Up Darling) and character designs provided by Yasufumi Nishitani (Ni no Kuni).
It’s much too early to have any real opinion on what The Elusive Samurai will be like in anime form. While studio Cloverworks can produce some excellent series, they have had production issues in the past, which already makes me a little nervous and causes me to pause ever so slightly.
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Sources: Anime News Network, Crunchyroll News, MyAnimeList
