Crunchyroll’s #4 Most Viewed Anime Officially Faces Its First Major Setback

Sometimes, the biggest setback for an anime has nothing to do with its streaming numbers. The World’s Strongest Rearguard had been enjoying a surprisingly strong run on Crunchyroll, reaching the platform’s upper tier and making itself one of Summer 2026’s more noticeable new titles. Now, however, the anime has suffered a far more serious blow. Director Yuji Yanase has died at the age of 59.

【訃報】柳瀬雄之監督逝去のお知らせ pic.twitter.com/iDimtEZo4o

— TVアニメ「世界最強の後衛 ～迷宮国の新人探索者～」公式 (@Rearguard_PR) September 2, 2026

He passed away suddenly on August 22, 2026. The anime’s official X account (@Rearguard_PR) posted the obituary, publicly announcing Yanase’s death on September 2. Yanase was directing Rearguard while the series was still airing. The news comes at a particularly difficult moment for the anime, which is still in the middle of its debut season.

The World’s Strongest Rearguard Suffers Massively as Director Yuji Yanase Dies

Before this devastating news, The World’s Strongest Rearguard had already given viewers something unexpected: genuine early streaming momentum. The anime reached No. 4 on Crunchyroll’s worldwide chart (just below Mushoku Tensei, Black Torch, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess), putting the relatively new Summer 2026 series alongside considerably more established titles. FlixPatrol’s September 1 Crunchyroll chart also placed it at No. 4 in the United States, highlighting the show’s visibility during its first season. But the latest development changes the conversation entirely.

Yanase, who directed the series at MAHO FILM, passed away on August 22. The production committee said staff and those involved with the anime were deeply saddened by his passing, thanking him for his considerable contribution and remembering the passion and warmth with which he led the production.

Yanase’s passing is also being felt beyond this one production. He was simultaneously directing The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for the Throne, another Summer 2026 anime, while his earlier directing credits included Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History, By the Grace of the Gods, If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, and In Another World With My Smartphone.

Importantly, there has been no official announcement that the anime’s broadcast schedule will change. The series is currently planned as a 12-episode production, with Episode 10 scheduled for September 6 and the finale set for September 20.

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The timing makes the loss particularly poignant because Yanase wasn’t simply attached to the project on paper. He was one of the central creative figures behind its adaptation.

What made The World’s Strongest Rearguard interesting from the beginning was its protagonist’s unusual power fantasy. Arihito is not simply another reincarnated hero who wakes up with an absurdly powerful sword and starts flattening monsters. His strength comes from being the party’s support specialist. The rare Rearguard class allows him to contribute through offensive, defensive, and healing abilities, turning the supposedly secondary position at the back of the formation into the center of the party’s strategy.

That unconventional setup helped distinguish the series from the crowded isekai field. Arihito’s party includes Theresia, Kyōka, Elitia, Suzuna, Misaki, Madoka and Melissa, with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Aoi Koga, Sakura Nakamura, Yui Ishikawa and Saori Hayami among the principal cast.

For an anime that had been quietly building momentum on Crunchyroll, this is therefore a setback of an entirely different magnitude. The chart numbers can rise and fall from week to week. Losing the director who helped bring the adaptation to screens is something far more consequential and something viewers will inevitably feel as The World’s Strongest Rearguard heads toward its conclusion.

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The World’s Strongest Rearguard is available on Crunchyroll.