Taku Yashiro and Yoji Ueda have joined the cast of the second season of the TV anime Akane-banashi, which begins airing in January 2027, according to an Anime!Anime report. The casting was announced during a livestreamed special on October 25, 2026, along with a new key visual and a teaser PV.
Yashiro plays 今昔亭朝がお and Ueda plays 椿家八正. Both new characters can be heard in the teaser.
Season 2 begins the apprentice training arc (前座修業篇). Akane has graduated from high school and been formally accepted as a disciple of her master, Shiguma. She now starts her career as a rakugo performer under a new stage name. The key visual shows her in front of one of the jōseki theaters, which hold rakugo shows almost every day. Karashi, Hikaru and other formidable rakugo performers appear alongside her. The teaser shows Akane's apprentice training at that theater and the characters around her.
In his comment, Yashiro said the manga had appealed to him strongly since he first read it. He described it as a story about rakugo that is also a coming-of-age tale, a human drama and a youth story, and something that could even serve as a textbook for him and his peers. He added that he hopes to play the role while feeling the weight of portraying someone in the world of rakugo.
Ueda said joining in season 2 in a role addressed as shishō (master) is quite a heavy burden. He recalled hearing classical performing arts on TV and radio as a child and being friends with members of rakugo clubs as a student, and said he hopes to repay some of what he received from that era.
The anime adapts the manga by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. The first season premiered in April 2026. Season 2 will air on TV Asahi's 24-station national IMAnimation block, BS Asahi and other channels.