The Fable's second anime season now has its villain. Koichi Yamadera will voice Yamaoka, the central antagonist of the Yamaoka arc that Season 2 adapts. The official site also posted the season's main visual and locked in a premiere: Saturday, January 9, 2027 at 24:55 on the Nippon TV network in Japan, which works out to 12:55 a.m. on Sunday, January 10, local time.

Casting Yamadera is a statement. He's one of the most recognizable voices in Japanese animation and dubbing, and putting him on the villain tells you how much weight the production is placing on this arc.

Why the Yamaoka arc matters

The official site bills the Yamaoka arc as the biggest story in The Fable's history. For anyone new to the series, the setup is simple. Akira Sato is a legendary hitman ordered to lie low and live an ordinary life without killing anyone. The Yamaoka arc tests that rule harder than anything before it.

The main visual sets the tone. Akira sits in the center looking like he senses trouble, while Yamaoka grins behind him alongside his two deadliest operatives, Azami and Eucalyptus. Yoko aims a gun at something off-frame, and the official description says danger is closing in on Misaki too. It ends with the series' central question: can Akira keep his promise not to kill and still protect his peaceful everyday life?

The new cast

Alongside Yamadera, the official staff and cast page adds:

  • Takanori Hoshino as Azami
  • Hiroyuki Yoshino as Eucalyptus
  • Daisuke Kusunoki as Jiro

The main cast is back. Kazuyuki Okitsu voices Akira Sato, Miyuki Sawashiro plays Yoko Sato, Kana Hanazawa plays Misaki Shimizu and Akio Otsuka plays Ebihara.

Tezuka Productions animates again

Tezuka Productions handles animation, with Ryosuke Takahashi directing and Yuya Takashima on series composition and scripts.

The source material has plenty of room to keep going. Katsuhisa Minami's manga ran its first part in Kodansha's Young Magazine until November 2019, followed with a second part that wrapped in July 2023 and is now in a third part, The Fable: The third secret. The official site puts the franchise past 30 million copies in circulation.

Watching from the Philippines

The official site lists Disney+ in Japan as a streaming home for the first season. International streaming for Season 2, including the Philippines, hasn't been announced yet. With the January date now fixed, that's the next piece of news to watch for.