Will There Ever Be No Game No Life Season 2?
Anime, a type of animation that originated in Japan, consists of shows and movies usually based on either preexisting mangas or light novels. With anime, one thing that's for certain is that there's never a shortage of shows to watch. Everyone has their favorites, whether it's Attack on Titan, Akira, Cowboy Bebop, or anything from the huge variety of genres. And one super popular series is No Game No Life, based on the light novel of the same name by Yū Kamiya.
The show is about two step-siblings named Sora and Shiro who, along with a group of unbeatable gamers, set out to find and defeat the god of games and take over his throne. A god named Tet challenges them to a game of chess, and surprisingly, they win. As a reward, the god offers to send them to a world called Disboard, where all issues are settled with games. They say yes, thinking it's a joke, and as you can imagine, the trouble starts from there. The light novel series began in 2012 and has been extremely popular, with the author, and his wife Mashiro Hiiragi, adapting it into a manga series the next year. Not long after that, a Japanese animation studio called Madhouse produced the anime television adaptation.
The anime No Game No Life aired its first season in 2014, and ended on a huge cliffhanger. Of course, fans of the show clamored for a second season of the anime series. Now six years later, a new season still hasn't been released. But will there ever be a season 2 of No Game No Life, someday?
The potential future of No Game No Life
Following the story from the manga and light novel series, the anime of No Game No Life showcases Sora and Shiro and their battle against the god of games. With only 12 episodes, the show doesn't cover the whole story, and there's a lot left of the step-siblings' adventures to be told. Season 1 introduces the world of Disboard and a tournament being held in this world to decide the next ruler of games. While Sora and Shiro are able to defeat Tet, there are still many various plot lines left unfinished and other questions that need to be answered.
The first season was extremely successful, but after its release, there was no word as to whether or not a second season would be coming. Although it's been over six years since the anime No Game No Life was released, fans have good reason to believe a second season is still possible. The show was very popular during its initial release, but even now, the amount of fans of No Game No Life is only growing. The series is available to stream on Netflix, Hulu (with a premium subscription), Crunchyroll, and a few other places. More and more people are seeing the anime and talking about it, bringing more intrigue into the possibility of a season 2. With Netflix heavily pursuing anime series and creating their own, many fans are also pushing for the streaming platform to produce another season.
The prequel movie, No Game No Life: Zero, came out in 2017
Although there has been no season 2 for No Game No Life, a prequel movie called No Game No Life: Zero was released in 2017. The film is based on the sixth volume of the light novel series and produced by Madhouse, the same studio that did the 2014 anime series. Set 6000 years before the events of No Game No Life, the film focuses on a man named Riku, the leader of humanity's last group of survivors in Disboard, who must team up with a powerful Ex-Machina android named Schwi to save his race from extinction.
The film got relatively good reviews, with some saying that No Game No Life: Zero is an enjoyable experience for people who were fans of the franchise and had seen the original anime — but it is quite confusing for newcomers. Others praised the movie for its original perspective on the material, with Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network saying that No Game No Life: Zero "takes all the interesting themes of the original TV series and peels away all the fanservice and frivolities, resulting in a tonally different narrative that outdoes the original in almost every respect." Looking at the positive response to the prequel film, it's clear that the No Game No Life fanbase is still thriving, and there are many different directions the series could go in the future.
The controversy surrounding No Game No Life might've affected season 2
There are likely a few reasons why a season 2 of the anime has not been released yet — and might never come out. Mainly, there is a controversy surrounding the original light novel series and its author, as Kamiya faced allegations of plagiarism in 2014, right around the time the first season of the anime was released.
Other creators claimed that Kamiya traced over their work for his characters, essentially stealing their designs. The Storify News Times stated that "Kamiya apologized to the artists and even paid them for the work he used," and that the controversy negatively affected the plans for No Game No Life season 2. On top of that, the TV series also received accusations of plagiarism. According to SG Cafe, a Japanese illustrator claimed that a design in episode 7 of the series copied his original work, and the team behind the show apologized. Some people believe that as a result of these conflicts, Madhouse decided to step away from the series and pursue other projects.
Despite all of this, there have never been any official statements about the show's future, but studios very rarely announce that an anime has been cancelled even if they never intend on continuing it. Because of this, fans continue to keep their hopes up that No Game No Life could come back. With so much great material and an already huge fanbase, it seems like a waste not to take advantage of it and keep the story going. Fans will just have to keep waiting and see.