Akane-banashi Season 2 Set for January 2027
The early renewal and swift season-two timeline signal strong network confidence in the rakugo drama, which wrapped its debut season with a full arc conclusion and a clear narrative hook for the next chapter.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner.
TV Asahi announced on Saturday that the Akane-banashi anime will return for a second season in January 2027. The announcement came with the conclusion of the first season's Karaku Cup Arc. Six new cast members were revealed for characters who appeared in the season finale: Hochu Otsuka as Miroku Kashiwaya, Ryotaro Okiayu as Shomei Tsubakiya, Hiroshi Naka as Enso Sanmeitei, Mutsumi Tamura as Urara Ransaika, Shinichiro Miki as Ryu'un Kenputei, and Tomokazu Seki as Chocho Konjakutei. The second season will follow Akane after she graduates high school and becomes an apprentice of Shiguma Arakawa, starting her professional career as a rakugoka under the name Akane Arakawa. Studio ZEXCS returns for animation production, with Ayumu Watanabe directing. The first season aired on TV Asahi's IMAnimation block starting April 4. The anime is based on the manga by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, which launched in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2022. Viz Media publishes the manga in English.
Kii Tanaka, the first season's character designer, drew a celebratory illustration for the second season. The first season's assistant director Yu Harima returns as co-director. Tanaka also returns as character designer and chief animation director. Michihiro Tsuchiya returns for series scripts, and Akio Izutsu returns as composer. Professional rakugo performer Kikuhiko Hayashiya again serves as rakugo supervisor.
The first season's full opening and ending credits list the main voice cast: Anna Nagase as Akane Sakurazaka, Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Nerimaya, Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koragi, Jun Fukuyama as Shinta Arakawa, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Maikeru Arakawa, Chiaki Kobayashi as Koguma Arakawa, Yohei Azakami as Kyoji Arakawa, Seiichiro Yamashita as Guriko Arakawa, Akihisa Shiono as Kaisei Arakawa, Masaki Terasoma as Shiguma Arakawa, and Akio Otsuka as Issho Arakawa.
The anime has its own "Akane-banashi Global" YouTube channel, where full episodes stream for free in North America and Latin America after their television broadcast in Japan. Netflix debuted the English dub for the first two episodes on May 17 and is launching later episodes weekly. The series streams on multiple services across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including aniverse in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; ADN in France, Monaco, Andorra, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg; Anime Box in Spain; and Anime Generation in Italy.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Akane-banashi Anime Gets 2nd Season in January 2027
- Anime Corner Akane-banashi Season 2 Announced for January 2027