Akane-banashi is heading back to the rakugo stage. TV Asahi released a teaser trailer and a new key visual for the second season of the TV anime over the weekend, along with two new cast members. The new season premieres in January 2027 and adapts the manga's Zenza training arc.
The teaser opens with the line "What you're about to experience is nothing less than the living history of Rakugo," and the key visual carries a tagline about heading onto a stage packed with Shin'uchi, the highest rank a rakugo performer can reach. Check out the teaser below:
New Cast For The Zenza Arc
Two new performers join the cast this season. Taku Yashiro will voice Asagao Konjakutei, and Yoji Ueda will voice Hassho Tsubakiya.
They join a group of veteran voice actors who were announced over the summer as the masters of the Rakugo Association. Those characters debuted in the final episode of the first season, and their cast includes 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 main cast returns as well. Anna Nagase stars as Akane Arakawa, alongside Takuya Eguchi as Karashi Renmaya, Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Koraki, Akihisa Shiono as Kaisei Arakawa, Jun Fukuyama as Akane's father Shinta, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Maikeru Arakawa, Chiaki Kobayashi as Koguma Arakawa, Yohei Azakami as Kyoji Arakawa, Seiichiro Yamashita as Guriko Arakawa, Masaki Terasoma as Shiguma Arakawa, and Akio Otsuka as Issho Arakawa. Nagase, Eguchi, and Takahashi also appeared together on a special livestream on Sunday evening to celebrate the reveal.
The official account shared the teaser alongside the broadcast window:
What The Second Season Covers
The official synopsis picks up after the events of the first season, so mild spoilers follow. Inspired by her rakugo performer father, Akane Osaki aims to become a Shin'uchi. After graduating from high school, she formally joins Shiguma's school and takes her first steps as a professional under the name Akane Arakawa.
Her training begins at Yasaka-tei, a traditional theater where rakugo is performed nearly every day and where the halls are filled with Shin'uchi. As a zenza, the lowest rung of a rakugo performer's career, Akane will have to handle the backstage work of a working theater while she sharpens her own storytelling.
Staff And Broadcast Details
ZEXCS is animating the series, with Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko) directing and Yu Harima as assistant director. Michihiro Tsuchiya is in charge of series composition, Kii Tanaka handles character design and chief animation direction, and Akio Izutsu composes the music. Noriyoshi Konuma is the sound director, and rakugo performer Kikuhiko Hayashiya supervises the rakugo performances. Aniplex is also part of the production.
The second season will air on TV Asahi's IMAnimation programming block across 24 stations in the TV Asahi network, as well as on BS Asahi. Overseas streaming plans for the new season have not been announced yet.
The first season premiered on April 4 and ran through June, ending with the Karaku Cup arc. Outside Japan, it streamed free on the official Akane-banashi Global YouTube channel in North America and Latin America, while Netflix carried the English dub.
About The Manga
Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue launched the manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2022, and it has reached 24 volumes in Japan. The series was nominated for both the Kodansha Manga Awards and the Manga Taisho in 2023. Viz Media publishes the manga in English digitally through its Shonen Jump service and in print, and Shueisha also publishes it on MANGA Plus.
Are you more excited to see Akane's day-to-day Zenza training at Yasaka-tei, or the veteran Rakugo Association masters finally taking the spotlight in the second season?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.