sequel – Anime QandA

10 Anime That Need A Second Season

10 Anime That I Personally Think Need A Second Season The Most

There’s nothing worse than becoming invested in a series only for it to end after a single season, plot lines unresolved, characters unfulfilled and an empty space in the audiences’ collective hearts. The following anime are shows that I personally think are most needing of a second season–chances are my picks won’t align with yours but that’s to be expected, after all I’ve got weird taste in anime! I’ve tried to pick shows that left me with more questions or that made me want to know what happened to the characters–rather than just pick shows that’d I’d solely love to see more of. Also, spoiler warning for any given show listed as I may talk about final episode plot points. Let’s get this started with the 10 Anime That Need A Second Season!

~Number 10~
How Not To Summon A Demon Lord

The thing about anime based on long running light novel series’–especially in the isekai genre–is that answers to overriding plot arcs are going to be mostly left out in service of completing shorter story arcs. There’s so many factions whose ultimate motives going forward are left on the sideline that one can’t help but long for more episodes to answer these questions–also more Shera.

~Number 9~
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

The “will they/won’t they” has been a tried and tested formula of romantic comedies the world over and even if we know in our heart of hearts that Kaguya and Shirogane will end up together that doesn’t make the fact that we don’t get to see as much as a kiss between the two throughout the season! We need more, we need closure! As the newest show on the list there’s still an iota of hope a second season will eventuate but I’m not holding my breath.

~Number 8~
Citrus

The thing that makes ‘Citrus’ such a bitter tease is that its first (and to date, only) season ends on something of an artificially happy note that kind of shoo’s away the potential of a sequel but likewise leaves things otherwise unresolved. This is a “will they/won’t they” where I’m not especially rooting for the couple but just for them to find some happiness, the intrigue would then come from ‘how’ and ‘with who’.

~Number 7~
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

Cliffhanger endings are the worst–especially if you’re an anime who isn’t guaranteed a second season! While by no means the worst unresolved anime cliffhanger in history this show builds and builds in its final episodes and by the time we’re halfway through the season (now series) finale we come to the gut-wrenching realisation that they’re not going to wrap this up in time. And indeed the show ends just as the story is about to enter a new and interesting phase. Why must you do this to us!

~Number 6~
A Sister’s All You Need

There’s a lot of really interesting things about this series that make it worth watching–even if its polarising opening scene had you scrambling for the stop button. For me, beyond the seemingly endless scenes of playing board and card games, the lengthy fantasy sequences and the wish fulfilment writer life paired with crippling reality actuality the most interesting thing about this series was Chihiro–who had a secret whose inevitable reveal was something that could rock the foundation of the series to its core. But alas in 12 short episodes we never got to see a full reveal of said secret and we were all left wondering what would happen.

~Number 5~
The Devil Is A Part Timer!

There’s so many interesting and nuanced pieces of character development and world-building that NOT revisiting this series feels like a crime. Plus I want to see if Maou and Chiho ever get together properly–I ‘ship them so hard!

~Number 4~
Killing Bites

The only thing worse than a cliffhanger ending is blatant sequel baiting in the form of an epilogue after a series is more or less wrapped up. Had ‘Killing Bites’ ended where it ended with our protagonist Yuya dying at the hands of Hitomi in a a massive betrayal it would have served as a powerful ending to a series that was pretty much never going to get a second season. But instead they tease us with a post credit scene that shows not only did Yuya survive but much time has passed and the world is a very different place then it was. I want to know more! But sadly we never will know!

~Number 3~
Slow Start

I know what you’re thinking, “what’s a mediocrely received CGDCT show doing on this list?” First of all, how dare you ‘Slow Start’ is amazing and secondly while it’s true CGDCT shows don’t generally lend themselves towards forwarding any kind of dramatic narratives. But where ‘Slow Start’ excelled was its side characters, specifically Eiko and her homeroom teacher Kiyose whose relationship moves (rather aptly) slowly but steadily throughout the first season. But it’s never enough, every intense and suggestive encounter leads to wanting to see what will happen next between this student and teacher–it’s utterly irresistible but sadly will be relegated to the pages of the manga and not any subsequent anime season…

~Number 2~
No Game, No Life

The movie doesn’t count! It was a prequel/side story! We need a second season of this now!

~Number 1~
Watamote

This choice is purely motivated by having read (most) of the manga and wanting to see the rest of Tomoko’s growth from socially awkward loser with no friends to social awkward loser with some friends in an animated form. It might not seem like a lot–especially for the Number 1 spot–but I’ve always had a sort of personal affinity towards Tomoko and her struggles in life. Its a journey that deserves to be continued in anime form.

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And those are my picks! I’m sure you’ve all got anime you think should have gotten a second season so let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!

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Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 12 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 12

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re, Episode 12.

Season finale? Season finale!

So what kind of epic scenes and dramatic moments does the finale hold? It should go without saying that if you’ve read this far in these reviews you must know they have spoilers, but all the same spoiler warning–we’re talking about character deaths!

Deaths? As in multiple? Yes, although most of the deaths are named but seldom scene characters but we do get a death in the main cast of characters!

You sound so excited? Meaningful character deaths are great dramatic material, meaningful character deaths that actually elicit an emotion reaction from me–even better!

So who dies then? Everyone’s favourite blonde haired, sharp toothed CCG ghoul Shirazu gets a big piece ripped out of his side while taking down an SS-class rated ghoul and damn is it a well-paced, well-voice acted and altogether just plain beautifully sad scene… I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear or two during it! And what’s more it’s not some neat and tidy heroic death, yes he dies taking out a massively threatening and dangerous ghoul but he dies with unfinished business with his terminally ill sister in need of an operation–but lacking the funs, he dies without getting to see ‘Mr. Sass’ again (Haisie) and he dies with genuine terror and regret in his heart. It’s very real and raw and gives an emotional core to an otherwise kind of silly episode.

Oh? Does the episode have issues? A few–though nothing catastrophic or episode breaking. Early in the episode when Like I found ‘The Owl’s’ “final form” kind of absurd looking to the point where it wasn’t even a bit intimidating. Like Eto–the girl inside ‘The Owl’–is far more scary in her human form! Also, I don’t usually like to comment on the animation quality but it’s quite a bit choppier here, like it’s missing some key-frames–seems like they could have benefited from taking a week hiatus to polish it up a bit.

Other than the death scene is there anything else good about the episode? Despite the uptake in action–specifically between Haisie and The Owl, it’s a very introspective episode–at least towards the start, which was something I really appreciated. The scene between Haisie and his younger self in his mind was very well done and led into arguably this episode’s most important development–the return of Ken Kaneki! Yup, that’s right our sweet little Haisie is now hard assed jerk Ken Kanieki!

And that’s important? Probably. There’s still another season of this to come starting in October 2018 and now that a lot of things from this season are resolved and we’ll no doubt see the return of some briefly shown but important Season 1 characters–like Touka, Yomo and Chie Hori–who rescue Tsukiyama (The Gourmet) after he’s thrown off the family skyscraper by Ken.

Right. So how does this finale rank among the rest of the season? I’ll save my thoughts on the season as a whole for a proper 20 Question Review some time down the track, but my specific thoughts on this final episode are–it’s good, very good in fact. I think with a bit more time and polish this could have been even better but ultimately it serves as a satisfying conclusion to some things as well as a promise of even more interesting things to come in the future.

Previous Tokyo Ghoul:re Episodes:
Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review
Episode 9 Review
Episode 10 Review
Episode 11 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 11 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 11

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re, Episode 11.

The last episode ended on a cliffhanger did it not? Indeed, The Gourmet was holed up in his father’s company’s skyscraper as the CCG approached with a more ‘scorched earth’ approach as opposed to ‘subdue and arrest’.

Ah… so safe to say there’s a lot of casualties as a result of this episode? I could be wrong—and I’ll probably be proven wrong next episode— but this episode appears to have the highest body count of any episode this season!

Anyone important? Probably… but there’s so many damn characters in this episode and I can’t remember most of their names and to be honest I can’t be bothered looking it up.

Wow. And you want to do this blogging thing professional, huh? Shush you. Besides, the only really meaningful ones are creepy sadistic fuck Kijima and creepy sadistic (and beautiful) fuck Hariu and while the latter I’m kind of sad to see die, the other one totally got what was coming to him!

I mean I wouldn’t mind poking a hole in her myself, just not the lethal kind…

Right and what about our main cast? What do they get up to this episode? Nobody is exempt from the carnage—that said none of Haisie’s team suffers any significant damage. Ginshi finally works up the courage to use The Nutcracker’s quique and Saiko gets a chance to shine!—except it’s all kind of presented in an underwhelming fashion and is very rushed, like the events of this episode feel more important and need way more time to breath than the brief 20~ish minutes allows.

Oh that sounds disappointing… so what about the central point of this arc Haisie and The Gourmet? It’s really really good… except…

Except what? It suffers from the same problems the rest of the episode does, its hurried and that in turn effects everything from the dialogue to the quality of the flashbacks and the action scenes. It could have been truly amazing but in this truncated format it’s just kind of a shadow of what could have been.

That’s just an assumption though. You don’t actually know if it’s rushed—you haven’t read the manga after all. That’s true, but if I’m wrong I’d happily retract these statements but I really don’t think I am. The point of an anime adaptation is to animate a manga’s story and art, but things move so quickly here it’s like watching someone flip through the pages rather than meaningfully elaborate on the content.

This flashback was kinda amazing, more of this please! — I actually *really* loved this ‘flashback’, very stylish!

This reviews kinda negative, huh? You always seemed to defend this show but has it finally worn out it’s welcome? I wouldn’t go that far, I still really enjoy this show and it’s characters and the setting and this arc is really satisfying in a lot of different ways but the execution is significantly lacking—something that gets harder and harder to defend week-by-week.

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Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 10 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 10

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re, Episode 10.

And how’s the show this week? Top quality entertainment with a minimal of confusion—which is always a plus!

So no ~new~ characters introduced then? Come now, this is Tokyo Ghoul:re we’re talking about! Of course they introduced a “new” character, by which I mean an awesomely creepy girl who is probably someone I should know but because this show has like a thousand characters and I’ve only seen the first season of course I don’t know who she is. But I’m glad whoever she is is here, her scene at the start of the episode would have been the highlight were this episode not packed to the brim with great scenes!

I’ve heard about ‘strangers with candy’ but loli’s with apples is a new one…

So what happened this episode? A lot, and seemingly a lot of important stuff too! To succinctly surmise it, Kanae wants to kill Haisie, Haisie and his team play dress-up as ‘masked’ ghouls, Haisie has more ~flashbacks~ about what he was like in his past life, The Gourmet struggles with his feelings for Haisie while Haisie presses him for information. The CCG authorises an attack on The Gourmet’s estate and are ruthless about it, while The Gourmet is saved by his father’s sacrifice and he retreats to a hideout.

Yeah… that is a lot of stuff. Indeed, and you’d think with so much going on it would feel confusing or rushed but I found it to be perfectly paced throughout. I got a sense of everything they wanted to say and there was even time for more contemplative character moments like with Ginshi reminiscing about his poor sister and her ‘medical condition’ and how that ties to his apprehension about using Nutcracker’s Quinque.

And what else? This episode also perfectly highlights the divide between the ruthless CCG—who if you’d not been paying attention you might mistake for the ‘good guys’—and the ghouls. But it’s abundantly clear here from the actions of some of them—especially the lunatic Kijima—that just being on the side of ‘the law’ doesn’t make a person in any way ‘good’ or ‘right’. This is Tokyo Ghoul firing on all cylinders; when it’s emotional and complicated and visceral.

“Visceral”? Poor ghoul girl gets chopped in half with a chainsaw by Kijima, that bastard! Also the episode is perfectly bookended by having the creepy bandage girl from the beginning doing a number on Kanae’s everything, she’s one twisted little girl…

Yikes! So uh, a very good episode then, all things considered? Probably among the best Tokyo Ghoul:re episodes this season, though it goes without saying… still needs more Saiko!

Previous Tokyo Ghoul:re Episodes:
Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 9 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 9

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re, Episode 9.

Have they stopped introducing new characters for a second? Thankfully yes, this episode is a lot more focused with the continuing of The Gourmet arc—which started in proper last week.

And is it good? More than any arc this season I’m immediately way more invested in this storyline, it’s got depth and history and it’s depth and history I can actually remember from the first season which is always a bonus!

What’s the arc about? More or less it’s The Gourmet trying to reconnect with Ken Kaneki—or Haisie as he goes by now—trying to get him to remember his lost memories. More than anything it’s the story of a troubled, misunderstood man whose lost a dear friend and is trying to get any semblance of it back, because without it he’s a mere shell of a ghoul.

But isn’t The Gourmet like a psychopath who eats people? That’s a tiny bit more than just ‘troubled’ and ‘misunderstood’. True, but if pop-culture has taught us anything it’s that there’s just as much depth and pathos in the three-dimensional villain. I don’t usually like to bring up live-action shows but one of the rare ones I actually watched and loved was ‘Hannibal’ from a few years back. The Gourmet kind of reminds me of that character both aesthetically, intellectually and personality, right down to him obsessing over someone (in Hannibal it’s Will Graham).

Uh-huh… I didn’t think you watched live action tv-shows? I make time for one or two per season… but that’s off-topic.

Right, so he’s a well-rounded villain then? I think even “villain” is a bit far in a show like this, but yes you could put it like that.

So it’s a good episode then? It is, it was a lot more consistent than some others, at least narratively. Though it’s got a lot of comedic moments, and I’m not sure all of them were intentional… like the way The Gourmet’s assistant Kanae throws in his random German words and delivers them with such gusto. Also, The Gourmet’s just so damn quirky I can’t get enough of him!

And what about the rest of the episode? It’s all good too, there’s an interesting little skirmish in a parking garage between Aogiri Tree and Haisie’s team, though I don’t like how Saiko’s just told to hide and wait out the fight rather than participate—like I know she has some ~issues~ and might not be the best fighter on the team but it does feel a bit sexist (from a characterisation stand-point). Saiko ends up getting attacked by a crazy Ghoul but is “rescued” by a cloaked figure, who I’m probably supposed to recognise but at this point I’m just glad Saiko is okay. She’s my special girl, nobody touches Saiko!

Okay then… so uh anything else to add? Not really. Oh there’s a cool little scene with Uta the mask maker and Haisie’s team, it doesn’t amount to much but I liked the character interactions and personality on display. Less stuffy CCG scenes and more of this please! Overall, pretty on track with the rest of the season, just with a more immediately engaging story-arc to accompany, at least in my opinion.

Previous Tokyo Ghoul:re Episodes:
Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 8 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 8

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re, Episode 8.

After the respite that was last week’s episode are we back into action this week? Nope, still pretty chilled.

Oh? Well okay, not exactly, it’s more a case of setting up the story to come and set it up they do! I get a feeling that whoever’s scripting this series really likes The Gourmet (or whatever he’s called now). Because they’re sure as heck laying a lot of groundwork for whatever kind of ~confrontation~ is about to come. And kudos where it’s due, it is very intriguing groundwork—even if this episode has more than a few unintentionally (presumably) comedic moments.

Like what? Well there’s this old guy who works for The Gourmet, who upon hearing of his employers worsening condition yells out a window in a ridiculously over the top fashion, then apologises for doing so. I literally laughed out loud. Similarly, another of The Gourmet’s underlings bashes his head against a tree in the woods and I couldn’t help but snicker… probably not the intended reaction.

Fair enough, so is this episode entirely about the Gourmet story? Oh my no. As ever with this show we’ve got to check in with a bunch of characters and their various subplots. Ginshi is having nightmares about killing The Nutcracker, which I love this idea! It really humanises not only Ginshi but also the villain, which to do posthumously only adds to his anxieties.

If Saiko’s in a scene just look at her face to experience joy.

Anything else? Well we get introduced to even more characters, three more in the CCG and I’m not even sure how many in The Gourmet’s estate. I know I’m probably repeating myself here but I’ve kind of stopped trying to figure out who all these people are and their relationships to each other.

Do you ever feel like you’re opinion of the show is unfairly skewed because you are so clueless as to what’s going on? Harsh but fair. Maybe that’s the case but if anything I’ve been unfailingly positive to this show because even though I am lost a lot of the time when I watch this show I still enjoy it a whole lot. The characters are just so enjoyable to watch and the world is still interesting if crazily busy. If anything I think my opinion is perhaps more relatable to people who are just casual viewers of this series and who haven’t read the manga at all.

Fair enough. Also Saiko is so adorable in this episode. Get all that bread, girl!

I didn’t ask but thanks for adding that. So, how would you say your opinion of the show has changed since say the third or fourth episode? Oh, that’s a different question… I guess since I’ve read more than a fair share of reviews from other anime bloggers who are either well versed with the manga or significantly more impatient one thing has become obvious. The manga is better and this anime is skipping a lot of arguably important details. I still enjoy watching this show every week and I doubt that’s going to change much but I do admit the cracks are starting to form. It’s the high quality of the source material and the attachment to various elements of the show that stop it from being an unwatchable mess even though any other show that was this hastily developed would be just that.

Contender for best girl? I don’t know but she’s pretty damn cool!

Previous Tokyo Ghoul:re Episodes:
Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 1 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA Review for Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 1.

What’s the show? Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 1.

Oh you reviewed the first season of this show a couple of weeks/months ago, didn’t you? So is this the second season? Nope, third!

Uh, then come how you didn’t review the second season? It’s not canon.

How’s that? Well it’s a side story, or rather something that didn’t happen in the manga, I don’t know, it’s confusing. Suffice to say it was unpopular with a lot of critics and fans and so this third season is in line with where the manga went.

Okay, so this takes place after the events of season 1 then? Nope! Well I mean technically, but no this is like a while after the events of season one, there’s whole swathes of the story not adapted in anime form.

Well that just sounds confusing and annoying… You’d think so but actually it all flows pretty straightforwardly, at least if this first episode is anything to go by.

Huh, well kudos to the writers I suppose? Indeed, like its obvious, a lot has happened since the end of season one, but as long as you’re aware of that fact it doesn’t feel like we’re missing all that much. Yes it’s a different kind of show than the first season was, but it’s still very watchable and the protagonist Ken (or is it Haise Sasaki now?), while having grown a bit in the interim is still the same likeable and conflicted character he was in the first season.

He’s kind of adorable? Wait I didn’t say that out loud did I?

Is he the only character that’s there from the first season? If you remember my previous review I had a hard time remembering a lot about that show to the point of it becoming a running gag of sorts, but I don’t think there are any other returning characters but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. Plus the character designs are a little different too, yeah that excuse will do…

Sure sure, so what about the other new characters then? They’re all pretty great, all interesting and unique, I think—even though we only saw a little of her—my fav character so far is Akira Mado, who is like the handler of the main cast of Quinx’s who are like half human half ghouls (or humans implanted with ghoul ‘abilities’ who work for work for the Commission of Counter Ghoul (they’re like the police, except they hunt bad ghouls).

And I’m guessing this season has a big bad ghoul that they’re hunting? Yup, his name is Torso because he kills women and only steals their torso’s, except there’s another bigger and badder ghoul that crashes the scene towards the end of episode one. It’s all very interesting!

Okay cool, so what’s your verdict on this first episode of a third season that’s actually a second season that’s actually a— I’ll stop you there. It’s a great continuation and one that doesn’t (at least at the moment) seem to require having read the intervening manga’s to enjoy. It’s similar in tone to the first season but it feels a lot more focused because of the fact that most of the main characters including Ken (Haise) work for the CCG, It kind of reminded me of Psycho Pass, though not nearly as polished. Still, if you were a fan of the first season and have doubts about this I’d say it’s definitely worth a watch and I’m interested to see where the story they’re setting up goes.