Ask John: What Shows Got Unlikely Sequels?

Question:
As a fan of the first Darker than Black series, I was really excited that a second season went into production given that it didnt seem like Japan’s run of the mill marketing dream series. I thought the second season was one of the best animated of the 2009 season but, well, there were only 12 episodes with no resolution whatsoever. I know this has happened before (Tokko and Berserk immediately spring to mind), but it seems that having put up the money for a beautiful first half, the production studio might as well finish the job. Why you think this particular series was not continued and what similar but less known other examples were stopped and then picked up? (Black lagoon comes to mind.)

Answer:
While critically acclaimed, the 2007 Darker Than Black television series, like many bleak anime series, did not gain broad Japanese audience support, so its 2009 direct sequel came as a surprise to many viewers. Traditionally the viable half-life of an anime franchise in Japan is about a year. By about a year after an anime series has released its final episode, it has lost half or more of the viewers it had at its peak of popularity, thus losing most of its viability for revival. So with the exception of massively successful blockbuster titles like Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu and perrenial titles like St. Seiya, City Hunter, and Lupin III, titles that go more than roughly 12 months with no new installment usually don’t get a new installment at all. Periodically titles do get revived. Anime fans are familiar with titles including Dirty Pair, Gall Force, Trigun, Berserk, Hellsing, Hanaukyo Maid Tai, and Tenchi Muyo which have gotten revival productions long after their initial series. But these revivals have been fresh starts or remakes. Direct sequels of stories long finished are much less common because, as revivals, they’re already uncommon; then expecting or demanding viewers to recall the prior story from a year or more prior poses a tremendous risk of alienating potential viewers.

Perhaps the most successful and most overlooked instance of a direct sequel reviving a long dormant franchise is Gundam. The 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam television series was not a commercial success. In fact, it was planned as a 52 episode series, canceled at 39, then given a reprieve extension to 43 episodes. The television broadcast ended in 1980. Even the third recap movie opened in 1982. However, in 1985 the canceled series was revived for the direct sequel Mobile Suit Z Gundam television series that turned the franchise into one of anime’s most successful ever. The 1983 Chojiku Seiki Orguss television series got revived with a direct sequel, albeit with a new cast, in 1993. 1983’s Seisenshi Dunbine also got an OVA series sequel five years later, although the OVA series introduced a new cast. Dunbine also got new installments in 1999’s Garzey’s Wing OVA and 2005’s Rean no Tsubasa ONA series, but whether those legitimately count as sequels or revivals is debatable. 1987’s Haja Taisei Dangaioh OVA series unexpected got a narrative sequel – not just a remake or revival – in the 2001 G-Dangaioh television series. The Mashin Eiyuden Wataru franchise was quite popular in the late 80s and early 90s, getting three back-to-back anime series from 1988 to 1991. Then the series, its ongoing narrative, and its familiar characters returned 20 months later for a three episode OVA series. Then it reappeared again four years later for a third television series. Unlike shounen franchises including Beyblade and Digimon which have gotten periodic revivals with entirely new casts and stories, Wataru maintained a constant cast and storyline throughout. The Megami Kouhosei television series, widely criticized for its absolute lack of conclusion, ended its broadcast on March 27, 2000, then returned for a single additional OVA episode released on May 25, 2002. The recently announced Mariaholic sequel will debut nearly two years after the end of its first series. The second Yumemiru Anime On-chan television series that premieres next week will continue the story from the first television series that ended 28 months ago.

Rather than wonder why the Darker Than Black: Ryusei no Gemini television series was only 12 episodes when its predecessor was 26, or why the second series concluded with so many unanswered questions, fans should be thankful to have gotten any sequel at all. I don’t know what motivated the development and production of the sequel OVA mini-series and sequel television series. However, anime fans can’t dismiss the possibility that the show was extended against probability strictly because its studio and creators wanted to continue developing the story and fought to gain funding and support for continued production. While, especially these days, anime fans immediately presume that anime is a commercial product, otaku should also remember that anime creators make anime because they want to. Consumer level fans aren’t the only anime fans that sometimes want to see particular series continue. As Fuji TV producer Kouji Yamamoto recently said about Aoi Hana, sometimes producers want to create sequels but can’t due to financial pragmatics. Existing unlikely sequels like Ryusei no Gemini prove that sometimes shows that weren’t especially successful do still get limited sequels when a limited sequel is preferable to no sequel at all.