The wine-soaked rivalry between Shizuku Kanzaki and Issei Tomine is entering its final stretch. Episode 23 of The Drops of God (Kami no Shizuku) arrives on Friday, September 11, 2026, and it takes both men to France’s Médoc region for a tense detour involving counterfeit wine, a desperate mother, and roughly 1,000 bottles that need to be sorted by touch and smell alone. The episode is titled “幼き者よ” (Osanaki Mono yo, meaning “O Young One”). It follows Shizuku’s decision on whether to continue the Apostle contest after his crushing loss to Issei in the Seventh Apostle battle, and it brings the two rivals together as reluctant partners rather than direct opponents.
What Happened in Episode 22: Shizuku Steps Back
Episode 22, titled “遠き日の優しき香り” (The Gentle Fragrance of a Distant Day), aired on September 4, 2026. The episode dealt with the fallout from Shizuku’s defeat in the Seventh Apostle challenge. Feeling the overwhelming gap between himself and Issei, Shizuku grew suspicious that the entire competition was rigged in Issei’s favor by their late father, Yutaka Kanzaki. He skipped the opening of the Eighth Apostle’s will entirely.
Issei refused to accept a victory by default. He went on television and publicly shared the description of the Eighth Apostle, knowing Shizuku would not be able to resist the challenge. The description pointed toward Bordeaux, specifically the Médoc AOC, and referenced the idea of running — a clue tied to the Médoc Marathon, an event that mixes wine tasting, oysters, steak, music, and costumes in a celebration of Bordeaux life.
Shizuku’s childhood connection to the Médoc region became central. He had traveled there often with his father as a boy, and his sharp palate could still identify châteaux by cork alone.
“Each brother thinks the competition was rigged in favor of the other. That’s a testament to Yutaka’s manipulative genius — that he could make each of his sons believe that.”
This line of thinking from a recap by Lost in Anime captures the emotional core of the episode: Yutaka designed the contest to bring his sons together as brothers in death, something he could never do in life.
What to Expect in Episode 23: Counterfeit Wine and a Dangerous Trip to France
Episode 23 picks up with Shizuku flying to Médoc, France, the wine region he visited often as a child. He is there to decide whether to keep fighting in the Apostle contest and to learn more about his father. At the airport, he runs into Issei. Before they can even leave the terminal, a group of thugs tries to drag them away. A woman named Marie intervenes and saves them.
Marie learns that Shizuku is Yutaka Kanzaki’s son and begs him to help her and her child. She leads both men to her father’s wine shop, run by a merchant named Hayama. The shop is a mess of contradictions: genuine first-growth Bordeaux like Latour sits right next to fake bottles — same bottle shape, same label — that Hayama was tricked into buying by criminals.
Shizuku and Issei decide to expose the fraud. They take on the challenge of finding the counterfeit bottles among roughly 1,000 wines without pulling a single cork. They must rely entirely on sight, weight, and whatever clues the bottles themselves offer.
Exact Streaming Times for Episode 23 in Every Major Region
For viewers outside Japan, Crunchyroll is the primary platform for the anime. New episodes arrive on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time / 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. In Japan, the episode airs on TOKYO MX and other channels at 11:30 p.m. JST on Friday, September 11. It becomes available for streaming on Anime Times, Hulu Japan, and Lemino at 12:30 a.m. JST on Saturday, September 12 — just one hour after the TV broadcast ends.
Here is the complete breakdown of when Episode 23 becomes available worldwide:
- Japan (JST): Saturday, September 12 at 12:30 a.m. on Anime Times, Hulu Japan, and Lemino; TV broadcast on TOKYO MX at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, September 11
- United States (PT): Friday, September 11 at 8:30 a.m.
- United States (ET): Friday, September 11 at 11:30 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): Friday, September 11 at 4:30 p.m.
- Canada (ET): Friday, September 11 at 11:30 a.m.
- Australia (AEST): Saturday, September 12 at 1:30 a.m.
- Germany (CEST): Friday, September 11 at 5:30 p.m.
- France (CEST): Friday, September 11 at 5:30 p.m.
- UAE (GST): Friday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m.
- India (IST): Friday, September 11 at 9:00 p.m.
Crunchyroll streams the anime in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and the CIS. The platform offers both English subtitles and an English dub. In some regions, Crunchyroll is available through Prime Video Channels. Japanese streaming options include ABEMA, Prime Video, U-NEXT, DMM TV, FOD, and Bandai Channel for viewers inside Japan.
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The Bigger Picture: A 24-Episode Adaptation of a Manga Classic
The anime adaptation of The Drops of God comes from Satelight and YANCHESTER, with Kenji Itoso directing and Sodai Suwa handling character designs. The series premiered on April 10, 2026, and runs for 24 episodes across two consecutive cours. It adapts the manga written by Tadashi Agi (the pen name of siblings Yuko and Shin Kibayashi) and illustrated by Shu Okimoto, which ran in Kodansha’s Morning magazine from 2004 to 2014 and has over 15 million copies in circulation worldwide.
The story follows Shizuku Kanzaki (voiced by Kazuya Kamenashi) and Issei Tomine (voiced by Takuya Sato) as they compete for the wine collection and estate of the late Yutaka Kanzaki (voiced by Banjō Ginga). The will promises everything to whoever can correctly identify the 12 Apostles — legendary wines chosen by Yutaka — plus the ultimate bottle at the top: the “Drops of God” itself.
Episode 23 is the second-to-last episode of the series. Episode 24, the finale, is scheduled for September 18, 2026.
Also Read: The Drops of God Episode 22 Release Date, Time and Streaming Guide
For more streaming guides and episode breakdowns across the world of entertainment, stay tuned to VvipTimes.
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