When Does What Will You Do, Ieyasu? Season 1 Come Out? Is It Renewed?
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? ended after Season 0.
TMDB
7.9
Seasons
1
Episodes
50
Diagnostics
- Network
- NHK
- Genres
- Drama, War & Politics
- First aired
- 2023-01-08
- Last aired
- 2023-12-17
- Runtime
- 43 min
Predictive Logic Analysis
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has concluded its run. Production records list the series as ended, meaning the story has been brought to a planned close rather than left open. Barring a revival, there is no Season 2 in development.
What is What Will You Do, Ieyasu? about?
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? tells the intimate story of a man who would become one of history's greatest strategists, but begins as a shattered boy stripped of everything. Jun Matsumoto carries the series as Takechiyo, a hostage-turned-minor-lord navigating the brutal Sengoku period alongside titans of the era: Oda Nobunaga's ruthless ambition, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's cunning pragmatism, and Takeda Shingen's fearsome military prowess. What distinguishes this retelling is its refusal to mythologize Ieyasu from the start. Instead, it asks the central question embedded in its title—what choices would you make when survival itself depends on reading men and moments correctly? Viewers seeking a character-driven war drama will find a protagonist shaped by loss and loneliness rather than birthright, forced to think several moves ahead while still processing the cost of each decision.
The series balances sprawling political machinations with intimate moments of vulnerability, capturing both the scale of Japan's unification struggles and the personal reckoning of a young man learning to trust almost no one. NHK's production maintains the network's signature attention to historical detail and costume design while avoiding the melodrama that sometimes plagues period dramas. The supporting cast—particularly Junichi Okada's frightening rendition of Nobunaga and Mansai Nomura's aristocratic complexity as Imagawa Yoshimoto—grounds the narrative in relationships that crackle with tension rather than exposition.
As a taiga drama, NHK's annual historical epic series, What Will You Do, Ieyasu? delivered a 50-episode arc that completed its narrative arc across 2023. The show resonated with audiences seeking a more psychologically layered take on samurai storytelling, one that emphasizes calculation and survival over honor codes. It stands within a tradition of Japanese historical drama that interrogates power and ambition, positioning itself alongside previous taiga successes by offering a protagonist defined not by destiny but by the grinding, painful process of staying alive and relevant when everyone around him is far more powerful.
Themes
Is What Will You Do, Ieyasu? renewed or cancelled?
Working against it
The series is listed as ended
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? Season 1 Release Date
No new season is expected. What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has ended, so there is no upcoming release to anticipate unless a revival is announced.
Best & worst episodes
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? seasons
Season 12023 · 50 ep
- 1. What Will You Do at Okehazama?2023-01-08 · ★ 7.0
- 2. The Rabbit and the Wolf2023-01-15
- 3. The Battle to Subdue Mikawa2023-01-22
- 4. What Will You Do at Sunpu?2023-01-29
- 5. The Plan to Rescue Sena2023-02-05
- 6. The Plan to Rescue Sena, Continued2023-02-12
- 7. My House2023-02-19
- 8. What Will You Do About the Mikawa Uprising?2023-02-26
- 9. Those That Must Be Protected2023-03-05
- 10. What Will You Do About a Concubine?2023-03-12
- 11. A Secret Agreement with Shingen2023-03-19 · ★ 6.0
- 12. Ujizane2023-03-26
- 13. Ieyasu Goes to Kyoto2023-04-02
- 14. What Will You Do at Kanegasaki?2023-04-16
- 15. What Will You Do at Anegawa?2023-04-23
- 16. Don’t Anger Shingen2023-04-30
- 17. The Battle of Mikatagahara2023-05-07
- 18. The Real Battle of Mikatagahara2023-05-14
- 19. What Will You Do With a Mistress?2023-05-21
- 20. Coup d’Etat at Okazaki2023-05-28
- 21. Save Nagashino!2023-06-04
- 22. The Battle of Shitaragahara2023-06-11
- 23. Sena Awakens to the Truth2023-06-18
- 24. Gather at Tsukiyama!2023-06-25
- 25. A Far Distant Dream2023-07-02
- 26. A Relaxing Tour of Fuji2023-07-09
- 27. Showdown at Azuchi Castle2023-07-16
- 28. The Honnoji Incident2023-07-23
- 29. Cross Iga!2023-07-30
- 30. A New Conqueror2023-08-06
- 31. The Greatest Battle in History2023-08-13
- 32. The Clash at Komaki-Nagakude2023-08-20
- 33. The Traitor2023-08-27
- 34. The Toyotomi Bride2023-09-03
- 35. The Beast of Avarice2023-09-17
- 36. O-Ai’s Diary2023-09-24
- 37. Farewell to the Mikawa Vassals2023-10-01
- 38. Into China2023-10-08
- 39. The Taiko’s Exit2023-10-15
- 40. Ieyasu, Master of the Realm2023-10-22
- 41. Mitsunari’s Counterattack2023-10-29
- 42. The Day of Reckoning2023-11-05
- 43. The Battle of Sekigahara2023-11-12
- 44. Birth of the Tokugawa Shogunate2023-11-19
- 45. The Two Princes2023-11-26
- 46. The Siege of Osaka2023-12-03
- 47. Ghosts of Troubled Times2023-12-10
- 48. Finale: To a Divine Ruler2023-12-17
- 49. Episode 49TBA
- 50. Episode 50TBA
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? cast
View all cast →
Jun Matsumoto
Tokugawa Ieyasu / Takechiyo
Junichi Okada
Oda Nobunaga
Kasumi Arimura
Tsukiyamadono / Sena
Tsuyoshi Muro
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Mansai Nomura
Imagawa Yoshimoto
Hiroshi Abe
Takeda Shingen
Nao Omori
Sakai Tadatsugu
Yuki Yamada
Honda Tadakatsu
Yosuke Sugino
Sakakibara Yasumasa
Rihito Itagaki
Ii Naomasa
Takuma Otoo
Torii Mototada
Shinya Kote
Okubo Tadayo
AI Verdict
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has ended. Its final season has already aired and no further seasons are expected.
Verdict updated 1 month ago
Updated 2026-05-17 · AI-generated analysis
How we predict →Our verdicts have proved right for 59 of 82 decided shows →What Will You Do, Ieyasu? latest news
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Frequently asked
- When does What Will You Do, Ieyasu? Season 1 come out?
- What Will You Do, Ieyasu? ended after Season 0.
- Is What Will You Do, Ieyasu? renewed or cancelled?
- What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has ended. Its final season has already aired and no further seasons are expected.
- How many seasons of What Will You Do, Ieyasu? are there?
- What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has aired 1 season so far.
- How many episodes of What Will You Do, Ieyasu? are there?
- There are 50 episodes of What Will You Do, Ieyasu? across 1 season.