Konami dropped the third main trailer for Suikoden: The Anime on September 17, and it came with the date fans of the RPG series have been waiting on. The Suikoden II adaptation premieres October 3 on Tokyo MX, and episode one is a full hour rather than the usual half. The trailer also confirmed the ending theme and gave the clearest look yet at the fracture between Riou and Jowy that drives the whole story. Here is the broadcast schedule, the music lineup, and what the footage actually shows.
Premiere Date and Broadcast Schedule
The rollout is staggered across Japanese broadcasters, which is standard for a series this size.
- October 3: Premieres on Tokyo MX at 11:30 p.m. JST, which is 10:30 a.m. EDT
- October 6 to October 9: Rolls out across 31 additional channels, including Kansai TV and BS Asahi
- Episode 1 runtime: One-hour special
Airing on 32 stations nationwide is a meaningful vote of confidence from Konami and the production committee. That is not a quiet late-night slot, that is a push.
The Music Lineup
Both theme songs are now public, and the third trailer plays both.
- Opening theme: "Kanashimi Sae Otonabite" by amazarashi
- Ending theme: "closed eye sun (feat. Honoka Takahashi)" by Koji Nakamura
amazarashi has become something of a specialist in anime openings for series with heavy political or personal stakes, which fits Suikoden II well. Koji Nakamura, formerly of Supercar, brings a much quieter, more washed-out sound to the ending, and the contrast between the two tracks in the trailer does a lot of work setting expectations for the show's tone.
What the Trailer Shows
The third trailer leans almost entirely on the relationship at the center of Suikoden II - the bond between the protagonist and Jowy Atreides, and the war that pulls them onto opposite sides of the same conflict.
Why Suikoden II is the one they adapted
Suikoden II released on the original PlayStation in 1998 and has spent the better part of three decades on lists of the best RPGs ever made. It is remembered less for its combat than for its story: two childhood friends separated by a war neither of them started, a 108-character recruitment system, and an antagonist in Luca Blight who is genuinely disturbing rather than cartoonishly evil.
Adapting that story means the anime has to handle a huge cast without the game's optional recruitment structure to lean on. The trailers so far suggest the production is narrowing focus onto the core cast rather than attempting all 108 Stars of Destiny, which is probably the right call for a television run.
The anime arrives at a good moment for the franchise. Konami has spent the past few years bringing the series back into circulation through the Suikoden I and II HD Remaster, and a well-made adaptation is the kind of thing that pulls in viewers who never touched a PlayStation in 1998. The one-hour premiere on October 3 will tell us quickly whether the production can carry the weight of the source material.
Are you going in as a Suikoden veteran or a total newcomer? Come talk about it in the NerdBlocks forum.
