I saw the other day that season 5 of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is coming later this year. While it’s great that some popular series (Konosuba, Date A Live, My Hero Academia) are blessed to get endless new seasons made, there are plenty of series without even a season two. Let’s explore the worst examples in this blog post!
Happy New Year from your Friend in Japan, J-List! We hope 2026 is a year of happiness and peace for you. To get things off right, we’re having a huge site-wide New Year’s Sale through Jan. 6, giving you 15$ off all in-stock products. Start browsing now!
Why Don’t Some Anime Get a Season Two Made?
Let’s look at some reasons!
- For an anime to get a season two made, it generally needs to have had successful Blu-ray sales inside Japan. Yes, those delightful limited Blu-ray packs do more than just look good on your shelf, they actually fund future seasons of your favorite anime.
- Often there isn’t enough source material for a new season. Other times the writer is slow and difficult to work with, causing issues with the studios.
- Staff or studio availability. Obviously, there’s a limited number of great animators, producers and directors.
- Perhaps anime studios know that fans are fickle. We might demand a season two of our favorite series…but decide to blow it off when it arrives, for one of many reasons.
12 Anime That Didn’t Get New Seasons
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
The anime that made me wary of watching anime from Doga Kobo, who don’t properly resolve their stories. It’s similar to This Art Club Has a Problem, made by the same creator as Nozaki-kun and starring the same voice actress in the leading role…which also refused to resolve its love story for fans. I guess fans of romance anime should just read the manga?
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
One anime series that defined the decade of the 2010s is Haruhi, and it’s still one of my favorites. While we did get a season two, the negative reaction by fans to the Endless Eight seemed to make a proper continuation difficult, even though there’s enough material in the novels for at least two full seasons. We did get The Disappearance of Yuki Nagato, which was enjoyable but wasn’t what fans really wanted.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two
Fans were overjoyed when season two of The Saga of Tanya the Evil was announced. It’s been a few years, and we’re still waiting. I’m sure it will arrive as soon as the promised Zombieland Saga film!
Will We Ever Get Season Two of Drifters?
I really loved Drifters, a bizarre anime about a special place where all the great warriors of past historical conflicts are reincarnated and engage in new battles with each other. It features many famous names, like Oda Nobunaga, Butch Cassidy and Scipio Africanus, all interacting together in a violent afterworld. Is it really too late for us to get a season two?
Another Anime With No Season Two: Deadman Wonderland
Sometimes anime series are super popular in the West, but not so much inside Japan. This might have been the case with this series.
Gabriel Dropout, The Vampire Who Lives Next Door to Me, Flying Witch
Sometimes a wonderful anime comes along and perfectly scratches the itch fans have in a single anime season. We might want more seasons, but studios realize (perhaps wisely) that “always leave them wanting more” is a smart approach.
What anime let you know they were amazing right from their first episodes? Read some examples here!
Monster Musume to Iru Nichijou
The anime that made us all want to find a snake girl or centaur to marry, Monster Musume was the perfect ecchi anime because it came in broadcast-friendly and sexy Blu-ray versions of the episodes. I’d love a season two of this show…please?
No Game No Life
A beloved anime by many fans, the promised season two got canceled because the artist was accused of tracing, which is a big cultural no-no in Japan. At least we got an excellent prequel movie, and lots of gorgeous figures.
What anime fell off hard after their first season? Here’s a blog post for you!
HOTD: Highschool of the Dead
HOTD must have been the perfect gateway anime for so many new fans when it aired back in 2010. Zombies! Action! Sexy girls and pantsu! The creator’s work was interrupted by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and he died from heart failure two years later, making a continuation impossible.
Bonus: Promised Neverland
Season one was so good, it’s a shame we never got a season two. Oh well!
Thanks for reading this blog post about anime that promised us a season two but failed to follow through. Which anime are you waiting on a new season of? Tell us in the comments below!
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Happy New Year from your Friend in Japan, J-List! We hope 2026 is a year of happiness and peace for you. To get things off right, we’re having a huge site-wide New Year’s Sale through Jan. 6, giving you 15$ off all in-stock products. Start browsing now!
