Ask John: What is the Likelihood of a Second Beck Anime?

Question:
What is the likelihood of a second Beck anime? It has been two years now since the first one ended, giving the manga more material to act as a buffer. I believe the series was popular in Japan, or at least popular enough that there are MTV credit cards. I also read on Wikipedia that a second series should be starting up in May of this year but I do not know how reliable the source is. What are your thoughts on this?

Answer:
Contrary to the hopes and wishes of its fervent fans, I think that the odds of a second Beck anime series are slim. As you’ve mentioned, the Beck television series ended in Japan two years ago. In the anime industry, two years can be as long as an eternity. In other words, on average, series that go without a sequel for more than a year usually don’t get sequels. There are, of course, exceptions, but there are a far greater number of shows that don’t get sequels than those that do. When it was current the Beck anime was reasonably successful, but it was never a smash hit in Japan or in the American fan community. Madhouse, the studio that produced the original anime, has never announced plans for a second series, and the official Japanese Beck anime homepage includes no mention of plans for a second series. Especially if a second Beck anime was only a month away from release, I think the fan community would have heard about it.

My personal observation tells me that the Beck anime has a relatively small but very devoted and vocal audience. That fan base contributes to the impression that the Beck anime is a much bigger critical and fan success than it really is. Although I haven’t finished watching the series, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve watched, and I do think that Beck is a good anime. However, it’s an anime targeted at a small audience. It’s a niche market show in an unusual genre. That uniqueness doesn’t make it more likely to succeed. That uniqueness makes it less likely to be continued with new anime. Fans should be grateful that they got one good Beck anime series because I highly doubt that there will be another. Beck may have been successful enough to get a Playstation 2 game and themed credit cards, but there are many anime series that have gotten multiple video game, manga, and merchandise spin-offs but no new animation.