Blog Post: Anime that deserved another season

So I finally got around to writing a follow-up to my ‘Manga that never became an Anime’ article. This time, we delve into Anime that never got a fair crack of the whip.

The concept here is similar to the aforementioned article about Anime that never was. Like me, you’ve probably been in the situation where you’ve watched an Anime and decided that it was just so good that you had to hunt down the second season, then found that … there wasn’t one. Below are four of mine.

Dogs: Bullets and Carnage: I’m starting with this one because the source Manga is one of two series that I get genuinely excited about seeing come up for pre-order (the other being listed immediately after this one). Penned by Shirow Miwa, Dogs is a seinen series that started life a six part short called ‘Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark’, then went on to become the ongoing dark sci-fi noir tale that it now is. The original OVA was released in 2008 and covered the original six part series that was designed to introduce the four man protagonists: genetically modified albino gunslinger Heine Rammsteiner, chain smoking information broker Badou Nails, female sword wielder Naoto Fuyumine, and aging retired assassin Mihai Mihaeroff.

The problem here is twofold. While important parts of the overall tale, the original stories are by far the weakest chapters of the story. To top that off, the four episodes that were made appear to have a far lower budget than you would probably expect. The result of this is that you get something decidedly average to look at that only touches the tip of the iceberg. For an example of this, check out THIS AMV. The series is now over 100 chapters into the main story, and so it’s not like there’s a lack of material to adapt. Unfortunately, the books being criminally underrated makes it unlikely that we’ll see another run at the show. This being the case, I recommend that you check out the books that are available now and immerse yourself in what we have.

D-Frag!: My original review of this rather surprising seinen comedy can be found HERE. As the main details of the show can be found there, I won’t go into too much here other than to say that the first season and the subsequent ‘Shrine Water Arc’ OVA cover the first 23 (I think) chapters of the Manga, meaning that there’s a lot of additional material that could be drawn upon.

Given the popularity of the series (in both Anime and Manga form) and the release of the OVA, there is every possibility that we may yet see another run of D-Frag! The source material is still in its relative infancy compared to a lot of others and it’s certainly barmy enough to keep drawing people in. That being the case, I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Until then, have THIS AMV.

Gunsmith Cats: Another title, another seinen series … I’m beginning to see a pattern here. Anyway, out of all those on this list, this is the most unlikely to get another season. Why? Because Anime is used a tool to sell the Manga. The original Gunsmith Cats Manga series finished in 1997 and the second in 2008. While the huge gap between seasons of the manga would indicate that another series could happen, the fact is that the second series of the Manga tied up all the loose ends and left no need for another story. That being the case, there’s nothing left to sell.

The anime itself was an OVA that could be termed ‘filler’ given that it wasn’t a story from the Manga. In truth though, it nails the feel of the source material so well that it really doesn’t matter. You want to see what the feel is? Check out THIS AMV. The OVA is great fun for how short it is, but the story that the two Manga series told is so glorious that it’s a real shame that they likely won’t see the light of date in animated form.

Spice and Wolf: Honestly, if you don’t know this series, you’ve missed out. Originally a series of Light Novels, this is one of the most original seinen series you could find. Telling the tale of a travelling merchant and his wolf deity companion, the story takes on a long voyage through commerce and slow-burning romance. The Anime ran for two seasons and covered the first five of seventeen books. Given the overwhelming popularity of the series in all forms, it really is surprising that a third season didn’t arrive.

Much like Gunsmsith Cats, Spice and Wolf came to an end, in this case in 2011. With no new material being released, there is little hope of us seeing another season. That is something to be genuinely sad about. Still, what we have is very good. Very, very good in fact. So here’s AN AMV.

So what about yourselves? Do you have any favourites that you thought deserved another season? If so, feel free to comment below.