Starring Yuya Yagira, the first season of the hit mystery horror show became Disney’s most-watched local original ever in Japan.
‘Gannibal’
Courtesy of Disney+
More is in store for fans of Disney+’s first Japanese horror-thriller series, Gannibal. The House of Mouse revealed Thursday that the hit Japanese original has been renewed for a second season, dropping a teaser trailer that offers a peek at what’s to come (see it below).
The first season of Gannibal was a pillar title for Disney+’s push into Japanese live-action series production. Following its release in December 2022, it became the streaming service’s most-watched locally produced original series in Japan ever. Gannibal‘s star, Yuya Yagira, also earned a best actor nomination at the Busan International Film Festival’s upcoming Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.
Starring some of the biggest names in the Japanese screen industry, Gannibal‘s second season will see the return of Yagira as police officer Daigo Agawa; Show Kasamatsu as Keisuke Goto, the head of the Goto family; and Riho Yoshioka as Yuki Agawa, Daigo’s strong and supportive wife.
Set in a fictional Japanese village, season one of Gannibal follows recently relocated police officer Daigo as he arrives at his new job and home as a broken man. As Daigo wrestles with his guilt over an event that traumatized his daughter, things start off promisingly, before a series of alarming events quickly lead him to the horrifying realization that something is deeply wrong with the villagers and the mysterious Goto family who seem to run the town. Thrown into a hostile environment with suspense around every corner, the audience is taken on an emotional roller coaster before being left on a heart-stopping cliff-hanger.
Season two will again be directed by Shinzo Katayama, with each episode written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Takamasa Oe (Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car) and produced by Teruhisa Yamamoto (Drive My Car‘s Oscar-nomiated producer). The show is based on a popular Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masaaki Ninomiya.
According to Disney, in season two, “audiences will get to uncover more of the village’s horrifying secrets and discover if Daigo has what it takes to escape the impossible and bring the nefarious Goto family to justice.”
