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HBO Max Sets May 9 Premiere for ‘Song of the Samurai’ Live-Action Adaptation

The series reaches HBO Max through a U-Next partnership, signaling a broader drive to export Japanese drama.

Overview

  • The jidaigeki drama is adapted from Umemura Shinya’s long-running manga ‘Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem’ and draws on a decade of published volumes and prior anime and stage versions.
  • Production unites TBS, U-Next, and The Seven, with scripts by Sakai Masaaki, direction by Watanabe Kazutaka, and producing by Morii Akira, Inoue Mamoru, and Shimomura Kazuya.
  • Set in late-Edo Kyoto, the story follows the Shinsengumi with Yamada Yuki as Hijikata Toshizo, joined by Go Ayano and Nakajima Kento in key roles.
  • Japan gets a two-night TBS broadcast on March 26–27 with immediate streaming on U-Next, followed by a second chapter rolling out weekly on U-Next as a streaming exclusive.
  • HBO Max launches direct-to-consumer service in select Asia Pacific markets on March 26, with local-language subtitles and dubs available in select territories.