VIZ Media Confirms YAIBA: Samurai Legend Anime To Debut on Netflix and Hulu

SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2025 – VIZ Media, a global leader in manga and anime production and distribution, announced today at Emerald City Comic Con that the highly anticipated series YAIBA: Samurai Legend will premiere on April 5, 2025. The series will be available on Netflix in North America, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, and will also stream on Hulu in the United States.

The exclusive acquisition of the YAIBA: Samurai Legend anime is a landmark deal granting VIZ Media the master license rights, including theatrical, television, digital, home entertainment, ancillary, and merchandise for North America, Latin America (including the Caribbean), Australia, and New Zealand.

YAIBA: Samurai Legend, based on the manga created by Gosho Aoyama, is a classic shonen series that follows the adventures of young samurai Yaiba Kurogane, who, alongside his friends, embarks on a journey to defeat evil forces threatening his world. Known for its dynamic action scenes, humor, and imaginative storylines, YAIBA: Samurai Legend is a celebrated work that has garnered a loyal fanbase in Japan and across the globe.

“We’re excited to bring Yaiba to a wider audience,” said Brian Ige, Sr. Vice President, Animation. “This series has been a fan favorite in Japan for years, and we’re eager to introduce its unique blend of action, adventure, and humor to the global market. This acquisition reinforces VIZ Media's commitment to delivering the best in manga and anime entertainment.”

Additionally, VIZ Manga will release chapters 1-23 of YAIBA: Samurai Legend manga series digitally in English for the first time on March 20, 2025, with Volume 1 set to publish in print on July 8, 2025, allowing new and returning fans to experience the thrilling saga from the very beginning. The acquisition of YAIBA: Samurai Legend is part of VIZ Media’s ongoing mission to expand its portfolio of iconic anime and manga titles, ensuring fans have access to the best content from Japan.

Official synopsis:
Yaiba Kurogane has spent his days training in the jungle in order to attain his goal of becoming a real samurai. By a twist of fate, he returns to Japan and starts living with the Mine family, who are connected to his father, Kenjuro. Yaiba constantly baffles the Mines’ daughter Sayaka as she witnesses his wild and reckless ways.

One day, Yaiba tags along with Sayaka to school and has a fateful encounter with Takeshi Onimaru, a kendo expert. Yaiba and Onimaru repeatedly clash, and as if in response to their search for strength, two ancient powers are unleashed: the Fujinken, the Wind God’s Sword, and the Raijinken, the Thunder God’s Sword. Both supernatural blades that have jolted the world since ancient days have reawakened…and the truth behind them is revealed!

About Gosho Aoyama:
Gosho Aoyama made his debut in 1986 with Chotto Mattete (Wait a Minute), which won Shogakukan’s prestigious Shinjin Comic Taisho (Newcomer’s Award for Comics) and launched his career as a critically acclaimed, top-selling manga artist. In addition to Case Closed, which won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 2001, Aoyama created the popular manga Yaiba, which won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1992. Aoyama’s manga is greatly influenced by his boyhood love for mystery, adventure and baseball, and he has cited the tales of Arsene Lupin and Sherlock Holmes and the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa as some of his childhood favorites. 

The Case Closed series, including both the main manga and derivative works, has printed a total of 220 million copies in Japan. The animated feature film series Detective Conan, which is part of the Case Closed franchise, recently saw its 27th film, Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram(released on April 12), gross over 15.7 billion yen at the box office, making it the 10th Japanese film to surpass 15 billion yen in the history of Japanese cinema. Meanwhile, the Yaiba manga series has printed more than 17 million copies, including those sold in Japan.

About VIZ Manga:
VIZ Manga is a leading digital manga subscription service, with over 10,000 chapters featuring legendary manga creators across a wide range of interests. The latest chapters are free and published simultaneously with Japan. The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and at viz.com/vizmanga. Territories include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

About VIZ Media:
Wherever manga and anime fans are, we are! VIZ Media is No. 1 in Japanese pop culture, introducing fans to what’s now, new, and next. Home to the world’s most influential and groundbreaking storytellers and artists, who today drive multiple industries from publishing and animation to film and gaming. If it’s big in Japan, you can find it at VIZ.

VIZ Media is proudly certified as a Most Loved Workplace® in America and Inc Magazine’s Best Workplace. For more information on VIZ Media visit: https://www.viz.com/

Contact:
Chantelle Sturt
Head of Global PR & Publicity
chantellesturt@viz.com

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