Onimusha: Way of the Sword Carries Period Drama Into Action Games
The impression argues that a televised period drama tradition, largely gone from terrestrial golden time, survives in action games rather than in the format that produced it.
Reporting from 1 source: Automaton.
An impression piece on Onimusha: Way of the Sword, released September 4, 2026, reads the Capcom title as a continuation of Japanese period drama culture. Set in Edo-period Kyoto, it follows Miyamoto Musashi wielding an oni-powered gauntlet against creatures called Genma. The writer traces the connection through expressive character facial acting, the growth of a blunt, hot-blooded Musashi, and the formal beauty of sword-fight choreography.
The piece opens on a memory: period dramas that ran almost daily in terrestrial golden time, watched at a grandparent's house. It notes the end of Mito Komon on December 19, 2011, closing 42 years and 1,227 episodes, and says period dramas effectively left terrestrial golden time after that.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword, released September 4, 2026, is described as the series' first completely new title in about 20 years. The writer locates the old feeling in Musashi's rich expressions, his shift from a muscle-brained swordsman into someone fighting for another's sake, and the choreography of the sword fights.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.