2022 was an incredible year for anime. The fall 2022 season, in particular, sticks out as arguably one of the best, ever. One series which exemplifies the quality of both is MAPPA’s adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man. Everything about Chainsaw Man’s first season was stunning, from the animation, to the voice acting in both the sub and dub, to the fact that every single episode had a different ending sequence—often sporting songs from top-bill Japanese bands, too. So, if you’re like me, season one left you eager for more. On that note, I have some good and bad news for you about when we can expect season two.
The final moments of season one’s last episode tease the new season outright. You hear a woman asking Denji whether he prefers the city mouse or the country mouse, and then see the exterior of a building before the sequence cuts out on the sound of a door closing and bell ringing. This may seem innocuous at face-value. Fans who have read the manga will recognize the woman—purely from the quote and the hairstyle—as Reze, who will play a major role in the next arc. The building is the restaurant where she and Denji meet.
In other words: MAPPA has already cast Reze, the biggest character introduced in the next arc. And they’ve not only started working on the character designs and backgrounds for the next arc, but they’ve finalized some of them. Just from that, you can easily infer from this that the good, hard-working animators at MAPPA have gone straight from their work on season one into working on season two.
Now, before we get too excited, let’s debunk something. Chainsaw Man’s official Twitter account said something in a new year’s post which, if you just go by Twitter’s translation function, might be misconstrued. My best translation from the original Japanese is: “Once again, in 2023, we appreciate your continued support for the second part of the Chainsaw Man original work, anime special events, and the Chainsaw Man exhibition!” The statement is accompanied by a ridiculously cute drawing, by character designer Kazutaka Sugiyama, of Pochita in traditional garb, eating mochi with some bunnies (2023 is the year of the rabbit).
The confusing point here is that the Twitter auto-translation is “we are looking forward to seeing you again in 2023 with the second part of the Chainsaw Man original work.” Without thinking too hard on the meaning of “original work,” you could take that to mean MAPPA’s adaptation is coming in 2023. But the message is, alas, asking for your continued support of the manga, which is currently serializing “part two” of the Chainsaw Man story. (Don’t worry about it, anime-only viewers.)
By the way, this is the exhibition they’re talking about. It’s a huge exhibition in Tokyo with original art, and I want to go very, very badly. And while anime events tend to coincide with the anime’s season for obvious promotional reasons, events don’t always happen while the anime is currently airing. For instance, they’re doing a tie-in with the small theme park at Tokyo Dome City this winter. I mention this mostly because I want to show you the promotional art, which features Denji and Power looking very excited while Aki and Makima look on, appearing bemused at most. This is very in line with their characters, and it makes me very happy. Also: Pochita coaster!
So, Chainsaw Man’s second season hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it’s almost certainly in production. Guessing these kinds of things is a fool’s errand, but I wouldn’t be surprised if season two premiered in fall 2023 or winter 2024. Attack on Titan’s final season, also by MAPPA, is probably looking at a “one-year-plus-one-or-two-seasons” release date. On the other hand, Chainsaw Man has not only its own dedicated team, but its own studio. So it’s possible the turnover rate might be a little faster.
Either way, we’ll have to be patient for a while. This is not the forte of most characters in Chainsaw Man. But Makima is very good at it. So. I guess we’ll have to try to be like Makima. Which feels bad to say. Never mind.
(featured image: MAPPA
Published: Jan 4, 2023 02:56 pm