The Elusive Samurai (Japanese: 逃げ上手の若君, Hepburn: Nige Jōzu no Wakagimi, "The Young Lord Who Is Skilled at Escaping") is a Japanese historicalmanga series written and illustrated by Yusei Matsui. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since January 2021, with its chapters collected in 16 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks premiered in July 2024.
Set between the late Kamakura and early Muromachi periods, during the Kenmu Restoration, the story follows the tale of Hojo Tokiyuki, a boy on the run after his family is overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji. With his only allies being a shady priest and his followers, the young lord must seek revenge and regain his glory, with his only weapon: a superhuman ability to flee and hide.
Written and illustrated by Yusei Matsui, The Elusive Samurai started in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on January 25, 2021.[6][7] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on July 2, 2021.[8] As of July 4, 2024, 16 volumes have been released.[9]
In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media, who simultaneously publishes the chapters digitally as they are released in Japan on its Shonen Jump website.[10] In October 2021, Viz Media announced that they would publish its volumes in print, with the first one released on July 5, 2022.[11][12] Shueisha also simulpublishes the series in English and Spanish for free on the Manga Plus platform.[13]
Ananime television series adaptation was announced in March 2023. It is produced by CloverWorks and directed by Yuta Yamazaki, with scripts supervised by Yoriko Tomita, and character designs handled by Yasushi Nishiya.[40][41] Yusuke Kawakami serves as assistant director, and Gembi and Akiyuki Tateyama composed the music.[42] The series premiered on July 6, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[43][44] The opening theme song is "Plan A" (プランA, Puran A), performed by Dish, while the ending theme song is "Kamakura Style" (鎌倉 STYLE, Kamakura Sutairu), performed by Botchi Boromaru [ja].[5]
By May 2022, the manga had over 1 million copies in circulation;[51] over 1.5 million copies in circulation by April 2023;[52] over 2 million copies in circulation by March 2024;[53] and over 3 million copies in circulation by July 2024.[54]
Anthony Gramuglia of Comic Book Resources wrote that the series has become one of the "highlights of [Weekly] Shōnen Jump's newer titles", adding that "[it] is not only surprisingly emotional but also surprisingly intense, starting with all cylinders at full-throttle and never letting up".[61]