The Elusive Samurai is CloverWorks best anime to date

Important takeaways

• The Elusive Samurai impresses with a rich story, vibrant animation and unconventional hero.
• Tokiyuki's unique fighting style challenges traditional heroism, making the story engaging and refreshing.
• The series boasts top-notch animation and promising potential, positioning it as a strong contender for Anime of the Year.

It was almost six years ago exactly that CloverWorks was founded, and despite the studio's youth, bold productions such as Wonder Egg Priority or The never promised land left an unforgettable impression on the audience. The elusive samurai is the latest project to amaze with its sights, sounds and story, and just in time for the studio's six-year anniversary, we dare say it's their strongest series to date.

Based on author Yusei Matsui's manga, The elusive samurai is a historical shōnen set in 1333 and loosely based on the life of Hojo Tokiyuki, the surviving heir to the Kamakura shogunate. After Takauji Ashikaga betrays the shogunate and leads to its massacre, a nine-year-old Tokiyuki escapes the slaughter and joins a priest who will give him allies and training to reclaim the nation.

The whimsical creations of an instant classic

The elusive samurais strongest hook is also its riskiest gamble – that it's the sheer splendor of the first few episodes and the high bar it sets early on. To say it's putting its best foot forward is an understatement. Tokiyuki's playful nature and the serene peace of his home are intoxicating when painted in such rich colors and brought to life through such expressive animation.

It doesn't take long before that peace is destroyed. Takauji's betrayal destroys Tokiyuki's world – a world the viewer has barely known for more than 10 minutes, but whose loss will be felt as keenly as if explored for hours. Admittedly, there is a tonal dissonance with the violent presentation that may put off some viewers early on, but those who can persevere will no doubt see the vision rather quickly.

Learn to love the elusive samurai

The most interesting thing about The elusive samurai is its unconventional hero and the context through which the story expresses its thesis. Tokiyuki was young and although he was the heir to the shogunate, he did not care much for his duties as he assumed he would be a puppet ruler like his father. Instead, he lived a life of play, with a tenacity to run and hide that bordered on the superhuman. As charming as he was, his nature doubted his ability to rule.

As his home falls into disrepair, the mores of the time would dictate that he take his own life, to join his fallen family with honor. Yet, just as the shadowy clairvoyant priest – Yorishige Suwa – correctly predicts, he can't. Clinging to life, Tokiyuki avoids the knives of those who would slaughter him for his family name. It's a generational spectacle to behold, enhanced by some of the most immaculate color design and animated direction to be found. And that's just the premiere.

What sets Tokiyuki apart from other Shōnen Protagonists

As seen in our mid-season review from August, The elusive samurai weaponizing the childlike innocence of its protagonist to reject the traditional ideas of heroism and honor inherent in the era. Tokiyuki isn't a strong fighter in the slightest, but his speed and survival instincts allow him to run circles around enemies and wear them down over time. It's a unique spin on the fight scenes where the actions that other stories might call cowardly become triumphant instead.

As a result, the tonal dissonance becomes more negligible, not only because it's a child avoiding death, but because Tokiyuki, in turn, is fighting an idea. The idea that heroism is so naturally tied to killing or that there is honor in death – sentiments the story considers even more childish than its young hero. It may be a more modern philosophy, but that's why Yorishige is there; the priest who can see into the future.

In many ways, the story feels like a skewed, tongue-in-cheek history lesson crossed with some metatextual time travel. The first episode begins in 2024 before jumping back in time. We are then introduced to Takauji Ashikaga before the narrator assures us that he is not the hero of the story. From then on, Yorishige feels like a man out of time, whose visions of the future are reserved solely for the protection and upliftment of Tokiyuki, who – through a modern lens – is the lovable underdog.

The war in hiding

The elusive samuraiThe story is largely episodic, and the first season is nowhere near the full story, as the manga is still ongoing. This season thus follows the formation of the main squad that follows Tokiyuki's leadership – “The Elusive Warriors”. Kojiro Nezu and Ayako Mochizuki are the first to join the party, as is Yorishige's daughter, Shizuku. By the end of episode 12, the thief Genba and the swordsman Fubuki will have joined the party.

Early on, the supporting characters may not grip the viewer as strongly as Tokiyuki. It doesn't help that Kojiro and Ayako just appear as prepackaged companions, but what's important is that they all have good chemistry, and they add a lot to the fight. Also, as the story progresses, the characters get some good moments to shine and their relationships with Tokiyuki deepen, especially with Genba and Kojiro. It's fun to see them all getting so charmed by Tokiyuki.

When it comes to humor, your mileage may vary. It can be quite loud and raucous in a way that could come off as annoying, but it has its charms, especially as a means of conveying the growing bond between the cast. As hinted at earlier, it also serves as a nice counterbalance to the show's darker elements, but even the recurring villains offer some humor to the proceedings. The only exception is Takauji, who may just exude the purest “villain energy” seen in anime in quite some time.

The animation and anticipation of what happens next

When it premiered, we said it looked too good to be true. When it was halfway over, The elusive samurai revealed it had the chops to back up its promising debut. With season 1 over, it's arguably one of the best-looking anime of 2024, and Dandadan has barely started yet so there is time to change that, but it will still be fiercely competitive.

At worst, this series suffers from some CGI that clashes with the rest of the visual style. Looking past that, this show hasn't just consistently delivered beautiful animation – it's consistently created some of the most avant-garde sequences seen in an action show in years. Episodes 1, 6, and 9 in particular are so well constructed that it warrants consideration to rank CloverWorks among the top tier of Japan's animation houses. The big fight from Episode 9 alone is a masterpiece that animator Keisuke Okura should be extremely proud of [watch it here].

There's something nostalgic about this series, the exact nature of which will vary from person to person, but which has nonetheless drawn comparisons to classics like Rurouni Kenshin. Something about the look of it – its colors – harks back to an earlier era of action-adventure anime, yet it's so decidedly modern. In that, it's incredibly exciting to imagine where this series has yet to go.

The elusive samurai
is fantastic and a strong contender for Anime of the Year.

This is CloverWorks' best series to date, and even typing those words feels like tempting fate after how past sensations like The never promised land or Wonder Egg Priority turned out. But not everyone can see the future like Yorishige, so in the meantime, until Season 2 lets us down, let's call it what it is. The elusive samurai is fantastic and a strong contender for Anime of the Year.

The elusive samurai is available to stream on Crunchyroll.