About The Elusive Samurai
The Elusive Samurai (Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi) is a historical-action anime produced by CloverWorks and based on the manga by Yusei Matsui, the author of Assassination Classroom. Set in 14th-century Japan at the close of the Kamakura period, it follows Hojo Tokiyuki, a young noble and rightful heir to the shogunate, whose carefree childhood is shattered when his clan is betrayed and Kamakura falls in flames. Where the way of the samurai is to stand and die in battle, Tokiyuki survives by doing the opposite, relying on a remarkable talent for fleeing, hiding, and slipping out of any trap.
Saved from the ruins by Suwa Yorishige, an eccentric priest who claims to read the future, Tokiyuki is taken to the Suwa domain and slowly persuaded that running away is not cowardice but a strategy, one that can let him live long enough to reclaim everything he lost. Around him gathers a small band of loyal allies, each with their own gifts, as the boy learns to turn evasion into an art and to dream of taking back his place from the warlord Ashikaga Takauji.
Acclaimed for its expressive animation, its blend of buoyant humor and genuine stakes, and its unusual hero whose superpower is escape rather than swordsmanship, the series reframes a turbulent chapter of Japanese history as a coming-of-age tale about resilience. The Japanese cast is led by Asaki Yuikawa as Tokiyuki, with Yuichi Nakamura as Yorishige and Aoi Yuki as the spirited young retainer Genba, and the show was popular enough to be renewed for a continuation.
