I realized the other day that season 2 of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear was currently airing, yet I’d forgotten to watch it, even though I was a fan of the series. This got me thinking about how often I’d either missed or purposely skipped watching second seasons of beloved shows (Bofuri, Arifureta). Why is it some fans don’t watch new seasons of anime they claim to love?
I Forgot to Watch Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Season 2. Why?
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is a chill isekai anime about a girl named Yuna who loves playing an online game called World Fantasy Online. One day she receives a ridiculously cute full-body bear costume, which transports her into another world and gives her amazing over-the-top powers. With her bear costume on, she goes on relaxing, chill adventures, easily overcoming any obstacle thanks to her OP main character status.
I enjoyed the original series, which aired in the fall of 2020, and when I saw a new season was coming I made a mental note to watch it. But when the time came to start the show, I found I wasn’t that interested, or had other things to watch instead, or something.
The new season of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is…fine. There’s certainly nothing wrong with it, and it’s great to hear the deadpan lines delivered by Yuna voice actress Kami Kawase. But when push came to shove, there didn’t seem to be any compelling reason to watch all of it.
Why Do Fans Sometimes Ignore New Anime Seasons?
There’s nothing fans love to do more than complain loudly online that their favorite anime never got another season. Even for shows that are absolutely perfect the way they are, like Toradora! or Your Lie in April, there are fans banging their fists on the table asking for the story to continue. But when a new season drops, a lot of fans don’t bother to watch. Why is this?
Let’s go over some of the reasons why fans fail to support new anime seasons of their favorite shows!
Bad Signaling By the Studio
I remember how much buzz the original Attack on Titan got when it first aired in 2013. We were excited to see where the story was going, but we got nothing over the next four years. It was a big enough gap for me to move on as a fan, and when the show did continue in 2017, it took me time to get back into the show.
I know that making anime is a complex business, and the maneuvering of the various companies inside each Anime Production Committee can take time. But unless fans receive confirmation that a show they loved is definitely going to continue, they might move on to the next shiny object that catches their eye.
(Of course, a good way to keep a show in fans’ minds is to keep a flow of anime figures coming, so fans don’t forget their love for the show’s characters. As an anime retailer, I’m very much in favor of this approach!)
Too Much Time Has Elapsed
Sometimes the space between anime seasons can get ridiculous. Season 1 of The Devil is a Part-Timer was very well-received, and no one wanted a second season more than me. When it finally arrived a full 9 years later, few fans stuck around to finish all the episodes.
Another ridiculously long time gap was for the Code Geass films that came out 12 years after the series aired. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Sometimes The Magic is Gone
All too often new anime seasons have trouble re-creating the lightning-in-a-bottle that the original had. Season 2 of Shield Hero is one example of this.
Pacing Issues Can Turn Off Die-Hard Fans
Obviously translating 14 volumes of light novels into 12 or 24 episodes will involve making decisions about which parts of the story to keep. This can turn off the most die-hard fans of the original work, leading to negative buzz. Other times the animators try to create an original ending, since they know no more seasons will be coming. This can lead to disasters like season 2 of Promised Neverland, which fans refuse to acknowledge.
In the case of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, some fans of the original novels were complaining about what got cut from the novels in order to create the second season.
New Anime Seasons Often Fail Financially
When Osomatsu-san season 1 exploded Japan’s Blu-ray sales, the studios prepared a new season right away…but Blu-ray sales for season 2 fell by 90% or so.
Too Much Competition from Great Anime
As an anime blogger, I generally follow at least a dozen shows in a new anime season so I can write about them for the J-List blog. But with around 50 new anime series pitched at fans each season, even I have to make choices about what to skip. With exciting new anime to watch, who has time for season 2 of the already terrible Fruit of Evolution? Not me.
Sometimes Fans are Better Off Not Watching New Anime Seasons
I personally hate it when a perfectly-executed anime makes a ton of money, guaranteeing new seasons from the studio. This can sometimes mess up the flawless perfection of the original, like Chuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai or season 1 of Madoka Magica. I actively pretend there’s nothing beyond season 1 for shows like this.
“La la la la la! I can’t hear you, anime studios!”
Thanks for reading this blog post about the new Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear season, and why some fans have difficulty keeping up with new anime seasons. What anime series have you been turned off by, or forgotten to watch? Tell us below!
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