A second season of rakugo anime Akane-banashi will begin airing in January 2027. An announcement trailer has been released along with some cast announcements.
The cast additions are Hocho Otsuka as Miroku Kashiwaya, Ryotaro Okiayu as Shomei Tsubakiya, Hiroshi Naka as Enso Sanmeitai, Mutsumi Tamura as Urara Ransaika, Shinichiro Miki as Ryu’un Kenputei, and Tomokazu Seki as Chocho Konjakutei.
The first season of Akane-banashi debuted on April 4. The anime is based on the Shueisha-published manga written by Yuki Suenaga and drawn by Takamasa Moue. Manga Plus describes the manga as such:
Rakugo–the ultimate form of storytelling, where everything in a story is expressed with just your body and words. Shinta and his daughter Akane have been seduced by this wonderful form of classical entertainment. Having observed her father strive to pass the shin’uchi rakugo test, Akane will take her own steps into this unique world!
Ayumu Watanabe (Summer Time Rendering, Children of the Sea, the upcoming Witch Hat Atelier) directed the anime at ZEXCS. Anna Nagase voiced protagonist Akane Osaki.
The manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2022 and has 22 volumes as of June 2026. It was a finalist of the 47th Kodansha Manga Award’s Shonen category and placed second at Manga Taisho 2023.
Production credits
• Director: Ayumu Watanabe
• Assistant director: Yu Harima (Summer Time Rendering Episode 7 and 20 director)
• Character designer and chief animation director: Kii Tanaka (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead)
• Series composer: Michihiro Tsuchiya (Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt compilation, Aikatsu! x PriPara scenario writer)
• Sub-character designer: Yasunari Nitta (Shadowverse Flame)
• Costume designer: Noriko Shimazawa
• Music composer: Akio Izutsu (Akuma Kun)
• Rakugo supervisor: Kikuhiko Hayashiya (manga)
• Animation production: ZEXCS
Cast
• Anna Nagase as Akane Osaki
• Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Nerimaya
• Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koragi
• Tohru Osaki as Shinta Arakawa
• Nobunaga Shimazaki as Maikeru Arakawa
• Chiaki Kobayashi as Koguma Arakawa
• Yohei Azakami as Kyoji Arakawa
• Seiichiro Yamashita as Guriko Arakawa
Sources: Press release, @akanebanashi_PR (1), (2)
Disclosure statement: Anime Trending may have business or collaborative relations with one or more of the subjects, or one or more of the parties involved with the Akane-Banashi anime, mentioned in this article.
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