HBO Max has acquired the live-action series Song of the Samurai, adapted from the manga Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem. The jidaigeki drama, set in late-Edo period Kyoto, follows the Shinsengumi samurai corps and premieres on the platform on May 9. Produced by TBS, U-Next and The Seven, it features Yamada Yuki as Hijikata Toshizo.
The series draws from Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem, a manga by Umemura Shinya that has run for over a decade, with 36 volumes and more than three million copies sold. It has previously inspired anime and stage adaptations. Song of the Samurai centers on the Shinsengumi, the shogunate's defenders during Japan's turbulent Bakumatsu era, amid themes of loyalty, betrayal, illness and war.
Hijikata Toshizo, portrayed by Yamada Yuki, forms a key brotherhood with Kondo Isami and Okita Soji as the old order collapses. The cast also includes Go Ayano and Nakajima Kento. Sakai Masaaki wrote the scripts, Watanabe Kazutaka directed, and producers Morii Akira, Inoue Mamoru and Shimomura Kazuya oversaw production.
In Japan, the series begins with a two-night TBS broadcast event, Chapter: Youthful Days in Edo, on March 26 and 27. Episodes then stream weekly on U-Next starting with Chapter: Fateful Showdown in Kyoto every Friday. HBO Max's version arrives via Warner Bros. Discovery's partnership with U-Next, with subtitles and dubs in select markets.
James Gibbons, president of Asia Pacific at Warner Bros. Discovery, stated: “With a growing appetite for this genre, we hope fans enjoy this captivating new samurai story – rooted deep in Japanese culture, with passionate action and a charismatic ensemble cast.”
U-Next's Tsutsumi Tenshin noted: “This project was developed with global distribution and broadcast integration in mind, aiming to expand the reach of Japanese content.” TBS's Masamine Ryuho described it as capturing “the spirit of young men living through one of Japan’s most transformative periods.”
Producer Morii Akira emphasized reimagining jidaigeki for younger audiences, while lead actor Yamada Yuki said: “The samurai spirit is the wish to protect someone; a universal feeling that is shared across borders.”
Coinciding with the Japanese rollout, HBO Max launches directly to consumers in several Asia Pacific markets on March 26, including Bhutan, Fiji and the Maldives.