The Elusive Samurai

Set between the late Kamakura and early Muromachi periods, the story follows the tale of Hōjō Tokiyuki, a boy on the run after his family is overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji. With his only allies being a shady priest and his followers, the young lord must seek revenge and regain his glory, with his only weapon: a superhuman ability to flee and hide. ==Media==

Manga Written and illustrated by Yusei Matsui, The Elusive Samurai was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 25, 2021, to February 16, 2026. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on July 2, 2021. As of May 1, 2026, 25 volumes have been released. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media, who simultaneously publishes the chapters digitally as they are released in Japan on its Shonen Jump website. In October 2021, Viz Media announced that they would publish its volumes in print, with the first one released on July 5, 2022. Shueisha also simulpublishes the series in English on the Manga Plus platform. Anime An anime television series adaptation was announced in March 2023. It is produced by CloverWorks and directed by Yuta Yamazaki, with scripts supervised by Yoriko Tomita, and character designs handled by Yasushi Nishiya. Yūsuke Kawakami serves as assistant director, and Gembi and Akiyuki Tateyama composed the music. The series aired its first season from July 6 to September 28, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. A second season was announced on October 6, 2024. Following a re-air of the first season on the Noitamina programming block on Fuji TV and its affiliates, the second season is set to premiere on the same block in July 2026. Aniplex of America licensed the series and streamed it on Crunchyroll; an English dub premiered on August 3, 2024. Aniplex of America released the episodes on Blu-ray on August 26, 2025. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia. Series overview Episodes ==Reception==

By May 2022, the manga had over 1 million copies in circulation; over 1.5 million copies in circulation by April 2023; over 2 million copies in circulation by March 2024; and over 3 million copies in circulation by July 2024. In June 2021, The Elusive Samurai was nominated for the seventh Next Manga Award in the Best Printed Manga category and placed sixth out of 50 nominees. The series ranked eighth on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022. Along with ''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Sūji de Asobo, and Trillion Game, The Elusive Samurai'' won the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2024. Anthony Gramuglia of Comic Book Resources wrote that the series has become one of the "highlights of [Weekly] Shōnen Jumps newer titles", adding that "[it] is not only surprisingly emotional but also surprisingly intense, starting with all cylinders at full-throttle and never letting up". At the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025, Hōjō Tokiyuki was nominated for "Must Protect at All Costs" Character while the ending theme, "Kamakura Style" by , was one of the nominees for Best Ending Sequence. ==Notes==