The Elusive Samurai Season 2 Episode 1: Japanese Fans React — "The Live-Action Takauji Is Way Too Scary"
『逃げ上手の若君』第二期 第1話 実写演出に日本ファンの反応
On July 17, The Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君) opened its second season, and the Japanese reaction video covering the premiere drew 38 comments — and the top comment, 21 likes, wasn't even about the episode's biggest talking point. That honor went to the anime's choice to cut to live-action footage twice in a single episode: once for an opening narrator, once for Ashikaga Takauji himself. The comment section split down the middle over it. Some viewers called the live-action inserts an obvious way to cut animation costs, pointing to a spike in still frames as proof; others argued the effect was doing exactly what it should — marking Takauji as something that doesn't belong in the same reality as everyone else. Once that argument cooled off, the thread turned warm fast: fans got emotional over a manga-faithful flashback of Tokiyuki's brother sharing his own sashimi, cracked jokes about a new character's uncanny resemblance to the manga's own author, and traded regional trivia about why the story's setting is packed with sushi restaurants. Underneath the jokes, a couple of commenters admitted they're already a little nervous — not about anything that happened on screen, but about whether the show's broadcast slot can be trusted to see the story all the way through.
This titleJapanese reactions to The Elusive SamuraiRead all 2 roundups on the title pageThe Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君) came back for Season 2, and the Japanese reaction channel Chokotto Hannou-shuu had its recap of the premiere up within a day. The video only pulled in 38 comments — small next to some of this show's bigger threads — but almost everyone who showed up was talking about the exact same thing: the anime cutting to live-action footage, twice, inside its very first episode back.
“Live-action evil-god Takauji is way too scary — I'm watching this live at night, please stop doing that 😭 It's genuinely bad for my heart.”
実写尊氏の悪神こわすぎる、個人的に夜リアタイで見てるからあの演出はやめて😭ホンマガチ心臓に悪い
That's basically one half of the room. Season 2 opens with a live-action kōdan storyteller setting the scene, then swaps to a live-action Ashikaga Takauji every time he taps into something inhuman, and a chunk of commenters were not into it — to them it read less like a bold swing and more like a shortcut.
“Why did they make the 'hand it all over' line a live-action scene??? I was so hyped for this and it instantly felt cheap. If that's supposed to be a directing choice, it's not a good one — is live-action really 'better' than the animation? Absolutely not. Using live-action for the occasional explainer bit would be one thing, but this feels like way too much for a single episode. Same with the temple-parishioner explainer at the start — this season is leaning on live-action way too hard, and honestly it's ugly and hard to watch. I was so excited for Season 2 and this is just disappointing.”
全部よこせ全部のセリフのシーンなんで実写にしたの？？？ 凄い楽しみにしてたのに一気にショボくなった。あれが演出だとしたら良くないね。アニメより実写の方が上だから？絶対にそれはない。 実写のシーンはごくたまに説明で使うならまだしも、1話でこれは多過ぎる気がするな。 冒頭の檀家の説明シーンといい、今期はやけに実写が出張ってきて本当に醜いし見にくい。めちゃくちゃ楽しみにしてた2期なのにガッカリだわ。
- “Mixing in live-action is obviously a workaround to cut down on the animation budget... There are already way too many still frames in episode one, and that's not a good sign.”👍4
Not everyone agreed, though. A few replies pushed back hard, arguing the live-action cuts aren't a budget dodge at all — they're doing exactly what they're supposed to do, marking Takauji as something that doesn't belong in the same reality as everyone else.
“Isn't the Takauji thing meant to read as something alien, something not of this world? Just like 3D live-action is a whole different dimension to someone living in a 2D anime world, I think it's saying Takauji is a being outside the natural order.”
尊氏のは、異質なもの、この世ならざるものという演出じゃない？ 2次元(アニメ)の世界の住民にとって3次元(実写)が別次元のものであるように、尊氏はこの世の理から外れた存在ということを言ってるんじゃないの？
- “I do think the live-action worked to give episode one some impact. They're not going to cut to live-action every single time Takauji uses his god-power or a demon shows its face, right?”👍1
Once the live-action fight cooled down, the thread got a lot warmer. Episode one also adapts a manga arc longtime readers already loved — Tokiyuki's older brother quietly handing over his own sashimi — and it landed just as hard on screen, on top of fans just being happy to have the returning cast back.
“When it opened with the live-action storyteller I genuinely thought it was a Blu-ray ad for a second lol. I loved the sea bream episode in the manga too, so I was happy to see it kick things off here. It really shows how tight-knit and loyal the Escape Squad is. And this is right before everything turns into a blizzard...”
実写の講談で始まった時はいきなり円盤のCMかと思ったw 鯛のエピソードは原作でも好きだったからこれから始まるの嬉しかったなあ。逃若党の結束と忠義がよくわかる。この時はここから吹雪が……。
- “Next episode is the one where Sadamune — the funny old guy with the bug eyes — gets a massive likability boost.”👍20
- “Moronao, Takauji AND Morotoyasu all showing up — I was genuinely hyped.”👍6
From there it turned into exactly the kind of tangent this fandom is known for — a joke about a new character looking suspiciously like the manga's own creator, and a burst of regional trivia nobody asked for but everyone appreciated, about why Kofu, the story's own setting, is stacked wall-to-wall with sushi restaurants.
“Yusei Matsui, the original creator, walks in like: 'Um, excuse me — is this the qualifying round for the All-Japan Heartfelt Enka Karaoke Championship?'”
松井優征(作者様)「あのーちょっとすみません、全日本心の演歌カラオケ大会の予選会場はどちらでしょうか？」
- “That's basically Yoshito Usui 😂”👍2
“The reason Kofu has an absurd number of sushi restaurants is the 'fish-tail line' (it's genuinely #1 in Japan for sushi shops per capita).”
甲府にやたらと寿司屋があるのは魚尻線のせいなのだ(人口当たりの寿司屋数一位)
- “The whole reason the protagonist is struggling is that the shogunate collapses after Kublai — Tolui's second son from The Yurt of the Jaduhgar — invades Japan. Fun fact: the guy said to be one year older than Tokiyuki is the radiant Zhu Chongba.”👍8
Under all the jokes, though, there was some real worry too. A couple of commenters pointed out that Season 2's comment section is noticeably quieter than Season 1's ever was, and that the anime's noitaminA broadcast slot doesn't have the cleanest record for actually finishing what it starts.
“There were a lot of people reacting during Season 1, but for Season 2 hardly anyone's showing up to react anymore 😢 Personally I still think it's a fun show though 😅”
1期の時は結構リアクションする人達いたけど2期ではごく僅かしか反応する人がいなくなりました😢 個人的には面白い作品だと思いますが😅
- “It's airing in the noitaminA slot, and that block has a habit of dropping anime that look like they'll run long, so honestly I'm pretty worried. That slot has a track record of not being able to promise a show actually airs all the way through, every season.”👍7
Nobody in the thread sounded ready to bail on the show over any of that, though. If a handful of viewers are already worrying about whether it sees the story through before episode two has even aired, that says a lot more about how badly they want this one to stick the landing than any complaint about a few live-action cuts ever could.
FAQ
- What sparked the biggest disagreement among Japanese fans watching Episode 1?
- The anime's use of live-action footage — for the opening narrator and for a live-action Ashikaga Takauji — split the comment section. Some called it an obvious way to cut animation costs, pointing to extra still frames as evidence; others argued it was a deliberate choice to mark Takauji as something inhuman.
- Did fans like anything else about the premiere?
- Yes — commenters got emotional over a manga-faithful flashback where Tokiyuki's older brother shares his own sashimi with him, and were happy to see returning characters and new villains make their debut, alongside some good-natured jokes and regional trivia.
- Are Japanese fans worried about anything going forward?
- A couple of commenters pointed out that Season 2's comment section is noticeably quieter than Season 1's ever was, and that the anime's noitaminA broadcast slot has a track record of not always finishing a show's full run.
The Elusive Samurai Season 2 ED: Japanese Fans React to the Hinatazaka46 Collab — "I Know Nothing About Anime, But Is This Song Riding a Divine Wind?"
“I don't know the first thing about anime, but… is this song riding some kind of divine wind right now?”
Read this roundupThis is one of 2 Japanese-reaction roundups for The Elusive Samurai. See them all →
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I Read Both Comment Sections Every Night. Yours Is Louder.
I split every night between two rooms. The English comment section and the Japanese one. Same anime, same game, sometimes the exact same video, and the air changes the moment I walk through the door. You already know your room. What you probably haven't seen is ours, because for once the language lock is working against you. So let me show you around both.