Yaiba: Samurai Legend is launching a space-themed promotional project that will send an original illustration by manga creator Gosho Aoyama, along with other promotional materials, to the International Space Station. The project will use the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s paid-use programme for the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module aboard the ISS, ahead of the anime’s upcoming Kaguya Arc.
The announcement confirms that a poster featuring Aoyama’s specially drawn space illustration will travel to Kibo. Promotional footage has also been released, including video filmed at the Rocket Plaza and Space Dome at JAXA’s Tsukuba Space Center. The project will have further developments, although the announcement does not give a specific launch date for the materials.
More information about the promotional items will be released after they arrive at the ISS and astronauts photograph and document them inside the Japanese experiment module. For now, the project is focused on taking Aoyama’s artwork and related material into space, rather than sending the anime itself or its episodes aboard the station.
The promotion accompanies the upcoming Kaguya Arc, which continues the story of Yaiba Kurogane, an energetic young samurai raised in the forest by his father. After returning to Japan, Yaiba clashes with rival swordsman Takeshi Onimaru. Their rivalry takes a supernatural turn when Onimaru gains a magical sword and begins pursuing greater power.
Aoyama created and illustrated the original Yaiba manga, which ran in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday from 1988 to 1993 and was collected in 24 volumes. The original television adaptation aired for 52 episodes in 1993 and 1994. Wit Studio produced the newer Yaiba: Samurai Legend adaptation, which premiered in April 2025. Its second season, covering the Kaguya Arc, is scheduled to begin in January 2027.
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