The God Eater anime was created to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the hit video game series of the same title, and started airing in July of 2015. Though it wasn’t the most popular show of the year, its haunting atmosphere, flashy action, and eye-catching animation earned it a good number of devoted fans. Now, five years later, we’re still waiting for a second season.
Will there be a Second Season?
As of yet, the studio responsible for God Eater, Ufotable, hasn’t confirmed a second season for God Eater. The studio is currently working on the smash hit series Demon Slayer, (or Kimetsu no Yaiba in Japan,) which has been so popular that there’s almost no doubt it will have another season after its upcoming film. (The film will be titled Demon Slayer: Infinity Train, no relation to the Infinity Train series that has been airing on cartoon network, another show waiting for its next season. Maybe it’s contagious.)
It won’t hurt us to be optimistic, but the facts surrounding the first season of God Eater don’t bode well for a second. The show was reviewed well, but not excellently, and suffered a loss of viewership partway through its run when some episodes were delayed due to production issues. The unique animation style came at a cost, and might have been more difficult to keep up than the showrunners anticipated. A second season created in the same style might run into the same problems, and it’s possible that executives won’t be willing to take that risk.
Cost of production is another issue. There are no figures available for the budget of God Eater, but according to Masamune Sakaki, a veteren of CG anime production, the average thirteen episode season of anime costs around three million dollars to make. In the case of God Eater, given its ambitious style, that figure could very well be a low estimate. If the first season didn’t make enough money to cover costs, then a second season is unlikely.
Why should we hope?
It’s hard to speculate about the financial health of the franchise as a whole, but we do know that the third game in the series sold over 170K copies in 2018, each at sixty dollars a pop. That comes out to a net sales figure of over ten million dollars. Depending on the budget of the game, that may or may not have been enough to justify a greater investment in the series. As long as the games are going strong, though, there’s still hope to see another season of God Eater.
It’s also important to remember that the entertainment landscape in 2015 was vastly different from the way it is now, in 2020. A world more focused on streaming means that the economics of anime are changing, too. The first season of God Eater aired on television, but it’s available to watch on Netflix now. If Netflix sees that God Eater is popular, they might become interested in buying a second season from Ufotable if the option arises. Presuming a surge of interest in the franchise, maybe accompanying the next game in the series, another streaming company might buy the rights instead, hoping to draw God Eater fans to their platform.
Finally, there’s also the possibility of a fan-made series, or a second season handled by a different studio. The anime D.Gray-man released in 2006, and was followed up by D.Gray-man Hallow in 2016, a full ten years later. The second series was much shorter than the first, and had a different director and cast. Something similar could eventually happen for God Eater.
When Would it Release?
It’s impossible to say exactly when a second season of God Eater would release, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors from flying. There have been rumors of a second season to release in 2017, and 2019. Most recently, some have suggested that the God Eater anime might make a return in 2020 for the tenth anniversary of the first game’s release. (It released on Feb 4 2010, and Feb 2020 is long gone, so it’s reasonable to assume that rumor was false.)
If a second season of God Eater is already in the works, then we’re probably looking at a gap of about six months between the start of production and release. That would mean that if work is already underway, we could see a first episode near the beginning of next year.
What Will be Different?
- There’s some speculation that with Rindou’s arm lost in battle, Lenka will be the new leader.
- If we see a season two helmed by a different director, the art style will change as well.
- If season two is meant to tie in to the next game, the two could share certain elements.
