Tag Archives: Weekly Shonen Jump

Akane-banashi anime Season 2 confirmed for January 2027 key visual
Manga Anime

Akane-banashi Season 2 Confirmed for January 2027

Leave a comment

Japan’s hottest rakugo anime just wrapped its first season — and Aniplex wasted no time. Akane-banashi Season 2 has been officially confirmed for a January 2027 premiere on TV Asahi, with the announcement dropping at the end of the Season 1 finale that aired in Japan tonight.

Akane-banashi official key visual — Season 2 confirmed for January 2027
Image courtesy of Aniplex / TV Asahi

What Is Akane-banashi?

For anyone who missed Season 1: Akane-banashi is based on the Weekly Shonen Jump manga by Yūki Suenaga, brought to television as a TV Asahi/Aniplex production. The show follows Osaki Akane, a teenage girl with one driving ambition — to reach shinuchi, the highest rank in traditional Japanese rakugo comedy. Season 1 adapted 12 episodes covering the Karaku Cup Arc, concluding tonight with Episode 12, “Graduation.”

What sets it apart is the craft on display: full-length rakugo sequences are performed on screen, the staging feels theatrical in the best way, and the character work is sharp. Its opening theme, Hitotarashi, was composed and performed by Keisuke Kuwata — marking the legendary singer-songwriter’s first-ever anime theme in a career spanning since 1978.

The Apprentice Training Arc Begins

Season 2 adapts the Apprentice Training Arc (前座修業篇). Having graduated from high school and entered formal discipleship under master Arakawa Shiguma, Akane takes the professional stage name Akane Arakawa (阿良川あかね) and begins life as a zenseki — a first-rank apprentice. The arc covers her earliest steps in the professional rakugo world, where every performance, every interaction with senior performers, and every small bit of recognition or rejection carries real weight.

Season 2 will air on the TV Asahi nationwide network’s “IMAnimation” block and BS Asahi starting January 2027.

Akane-banashi Season 1 main visual — Season 2 coming January 2027
Image courtesy of Aniplex / TV Asahi Animation

Six Big-Name Voice Actors Join the Cast

Alongside the Season 2 announcement, six new cast members were revealed — all of whom made cameo appearances in tonight’s Season 1 finale. The new additions are a notably veteran lineup:

  • Hochu Otsuka as Miroku Kashiwaya
  • Ryotaro Okiayu as Shomei Tsubakiya
  • Hiroshi Naka as Enso Sanmeitei
  • Mutsumi Tamura as Urara Ransaika
  • Shin’ichiro Miki as Ryuun Kenputei
  • Tomokazu Seki as Chocho Konjakutei

Between them, these six voice actors cover several decades of iconic anime and game roles. Their presence suggests the Apprentice Training Arc introduces some of the most formidable — and most colourful — senior rakugo figures that Akane will have to navigate on her climb up the ranks.

Where to Watch in Singapore

Akane-banashi Season 1 is available on Crunchyroll with English subtitles, accessible to Singapore subscribers. Episodes have also been uploaded to the official Akane-banashi Global YouTube channel — making it one of the more accessible simulcasts of the year with free viewing on YouTube after broadcast. Season 2 is expected to follow the same distribution model in January 2027.

If you have not started yet, all 12 episodes of Season 1 are a solid weekend binge before S2 rolls around. Full details on the announcement via Anime News Network (confirmed June 20, 2026) and the official website.

Last Words

Rakugo anime doesn’t show up often on Singapore streaming calendars — this corner of Japanese culture rarely gets the full anime treatment at this level of production quality. The fact that Akane-banashi earned a Season 2 with a cast this stacked waiting in the wings, announced on the same night as the Season 1 finale, signals that Aniplex is treating this as a proper long-runner. January 2027 feels like a long wait, but the Apprentice Training Arc is where things really get interesting in the manga — and now the anime gets to bring it to life. Keep an eye on our anime coverage for updates as the premiere date draws closer.

Manga Anime

Hunter x Hunter Volume 39: July 3, and 20 Chapters Already Waiting

Leave a comment

The first new Hunter x Hunter volume in nearly two years is almost here: Volume 39 lands in Japan on 3 July 2026. But the bigger story is not the volume itself — it is how much further Yoshihiro Togashi has already pushed the story beyond it.

Volume 39: The Essentials

Shueisha has officially listed HUNTER×HUNTER Volume 39 for 3 July 2026, priced at ¥572 (approximately S$5.90 at current rates), with 208 pages. The volume collects chapters 401–410 — the stretch that briefly ran in Weekly Shonen Jump between October and December 2024, before Togashi once again stepped back from the weekly schedule due to his ongoing chronic back pain.

The previous volume, Volume 38, came out in Japan on 4 September 2024. That makes the gap between tankobon releases roughly 22 months — an uncomfortable but not unusual wait for one of manga’s most notoriously interrupted series. The English edition of Volume 38 (via Viz Media) landed in January 2026; Volume 39’s English date has not been announced.

Gon Freecss in Hunter x Hunter anime
Image courtesy of Yoshihiro Togashi / Shueisha

Succession Contest Arc — Where We Left Off

Volume 39 continues the Succession Contest arc, the sweeping multi-faction storyline centred on the thirteen princes of the Kakin Empire vying for the throne while Gon and Killua remain apart and the cast expands at a pace only Togashi would attempt. Chapters 401–410 advance the Nen-beast plotlines and the political maneuvering that has been building since Volume 34. If you left off after Volume 38, this picks up exactly where you stopped.

The Bigger News: Togashi Has 20 Chapters Waiting

Here is what makes this moment feel different from previous hiatuses. According to Shonen Jump News, the verified English-language tracker for Weekly Shonen Jump, Togashi has been posting chapter-progress updates on his social media — and the numbers are encouraging.

  • Chapters 411–420: Fully completed.
  • Chapter 421: Manuscript confirmed finished as of late May 2026.
  • Chapters 422–429: In the “latest stages of production” — effectively near-complete.
  • Chapter 430: Inking confirmed completed as of April 2026.

That is roughly twenty chapters — a full two volumes’ worth of story — that are either done or essentially done, sitting in reserve. Shueisha has not confirmed when regular serialisation will resume, but a buffer that large signals real momentum. Previous hiatuses often began with Togashi having little or no runway. Right now, he appears to be ahead of the curve.

English Edition: A Long Wait, but Import Options Exist

Viz Media typically releases English volumes 12–16 months after the Japanese edition. If that pattern holds, Volume 39 in English is a 2027 arrival at best. Singapore readers who want it sooner can order from Amazon Japan or Rakuten — both ship internationally, with standard delivery to Singapore taking around one to two weeks. Kinokuniya’s branches at Ngee Ann City and Bugis+ also regularly stock Japanese-language Jump manga, so it is worth checking their shelves in early-to-mid July.

Last Words

For Singapore’s manga community, Volume 39 is proof that Hunter x Hunter is alive and, by the looks of Togashi’s chapter buffer, in better shape than at any point since the series resumed in 2022. The July 3 release date is a milestone — but the chapter-progress updates are the real signal to watch. Keep an eye on our manga and anime coverage for any English-edition date announcement from Viz Media, and for the inevitable buzz when Shueisha finally sets a return-to-serialisation date.