The Fable is coming back. Nippon TV announced on October 13 that The Fable Season 2 premieres on January 10, 2027 in the Sunday 12:55 a.m. slot (late night January 9 in Japan's broadcast-day count), with Tezuka Productions returning and six new cast members joining for the manga's Yamaoka arc. Outside Japan it streams on Disney+, and on Hulu in the US.
Quick answer
According to SenpaiRanks, The Fable Season 2 (*The Fable 2nd Season*) premieres January 10, 2027 on Nippon TV and streams worldwide on Disney+ (and Hulu in the US), with subtitles and dubs. It's produced by Tezuka Productions, directed by Ryōsuke Takahashi, and adapts the Yamaoka arc of Katsuhisa Minami's Kodansha Award-winning crime-comedy manga. Season 1 ran 25 episodes from April 2024 and currently scores 7.21 on the SenpaiRanks board.
Who's new
The headline addition is Kōichi Yamadera as Yamaoka, the arc's antagonist and the reason this stretch of the manga is the one fans wanted animated. Around him:
- Takanori Hoshino as Azami
- Hiroyuki Yoshino as Yukari
- Taiten Kusunoki as Jiro
- Satoshi Mikami as Koji Mizuno
- Seiyū Fujiwara as Suzumushi
Behind the camera it's mostly the Season 1 team. Takahashi directs again, Yūya Takashima handles series composition and scripts with Mayumi Morita, and Kyūma Ōshita and Saki Hasegawa return as character designers. The one change is music: Yo Tsuji takes over the score.
Promotional visual for The Fable 2nd Season (Tezuka Productions / NTV)
Why the Yamaoka arc matters
The Fable is about a hitman so good he's ordered to spend a year living as an ordinary guy in Osaka, without killing anyone. Season 1 got its tension from that rule. The Yamaoka arc is where it really gets tested: a rival professional who doesn't play by the boss's terms, and a protagonist who has to win without breaking his promise. Minami's manga ran in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine from 2014 to 2019 across 22 volumes and won Best General Manga at the 41st Kodansha Manga Awards, so there's plenty of road left after this.
Season 1's official trailer is still the quickest way to see whether the tone works for you:
Where to watch Season 1 before January
Season 1 is on Disney+ worldwide and Hulu in the US, both with an English dub. It's 25 episodes, so you can catch up in a few weekends. If you like grounded seinen crime with dry humor, it sits close to Liar Game, which just got a second season, and to another Young Magazine classic, Initial D. Our seinen ranking has more.
Season 1 is at 7.21 on the SenpaiRanks board. The Season 2 board opens when the first episode airs, so rate Season 1 now if you've seen it.
Frequently asked questions
Q: When does The Fable Season 2 come out?
A: January 10, 2027, on Nippon TV in Japan (Sunday at 12:55 a.m.). Disney+ and Hulu stream it internationally.
Q: Where can I watch The Fable?
A: Disney+ worldwide and Hulu in the US, with subtitles and an English dub. Season 2 streams on the same services.
Q: What arc does The Fable Season 2 adapt?
A: The Yamaoka arc, with Kōichi Yamadera voicing Yamaoka.
Q: Which studio makes The Fable anime?
A: Tezuka Productions, with Ryōsuke Takahashi directing both seasons.
Q: Is The Fable anime good?
A: Season 1 scores 7.21 on SenpaiRanks. The source manga won the 41st Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.