The Summer 2024 AniTAY Anime Sequel Guide
Hello friends, Umrguy42 here, taking on the duties of helping to bring you a guide written by my fellow writers here at AniTAY to some of the many sequels coming this summer. If you’re looking for an excuse to stay inside away from the summer heat and that mean old sun, here are a number of shows to keep you cool and make you cooler! [Editor’s note: Anime watching not guaranteed to improve either your body temperature or social standing.]
We have the latest entry in a large franchise that will make you never look at a toothbrush the same way again, as well as the continuation of the adaptation of a popular video game. You can check out a sequel to one of Doga Kobo’s most recent productions, as well as a sequel that’s been 40 years in the making. This season brings us the next iterations of two different ways of running a business, from fighting tournaments to solve disputes between companies to a harem show built around trying to save a café. There’s so much more, we didn’t even have room to put it all — come on, and check it out!
Monogatari Off Season and Monster Season
Presented By: Doctorkev
Studio: Shaft
Genres: Modern Fantasy, Supernatural, Comedy, Drama, Ecchi
Spoiler-Free Synopsis: Koyomi Araragi has graduated from adolescence and now journeys into adulthood. But what of the girls he previously helped with their supernatural “oddity” problems? Author NisiOisin’s four-volume Off Season novel series features stories set at varying points in continuity about each of Araragi’s female friends. The subsequent six-novel Monster Season series picks up the story later, with Araragi in college, continuing his involvement in the world of oddities and aberrations. Studio Shaft plans to animate all ten novels in their inimitable style, with quick cuts and head-tilts aplenty!
Why You Should Catch Up: Monogatari is the epitome of the “Marmite” show — something you’ll either love or hate. I’m definitely in the love category, despite my frequent exasperation with the sometimes creepy fanservice and NisiOisin’s impossibly verbose, circular dialogue. Following Monogatari’s garbled, non-chronological timeline can be something of a challenge to new viewers. NisiOisin tends to group his “seasons” thematically rather than chronologically, so they function like a loosely-connected anthology, but this approach works very well to maintain variety in character and settings.
While the frequently-perverted Koyomi Araragi is the nominal main character, many stories sideline him almost completely, instead focusing on the eclectic and fun female cast.Standout stars like his terrifying girlfriend Hitago Senjogahara, expressionless doll Yotsugi Ononoki, and diminutive blonde vampire Shinobu are among my favourites. Each of their successive tales deepens their characters, provides new insights and developments, and delivers plenty of humour and pathos.
Studio Shaft’s peerless aesthetics really define Monogatari’s unique look, with a plethora of surreal cityscapes, bright colours and whimsical expressionism. Action scenes, while very intermittent, always look amazing. Despite the often maddeningly lengthy, wordplay-filled conversations, there’s always something cool and interesting to look at. Greatly enhancing the emotional and playful vibes is the god-tier soundtrack. Every individual arc gets its own theme song, usually sung by the main female character of that story, with lyrics that sometimes painfully relate to their emotional state.
Monogatari by Shaft exemplifies the way that anime, when made with love, care, intelligence, and no small amount of visual flair, can really elevate the original property. As much as I appreciate NisiOisin’s skill as a prolific novelist, it’s the anime version that makes this franchise an all-time great for me. I’m delighted the same team continues to adapt his work, and here’s hoping they continue after this with the in-progress Family Season of Monogatari novels!
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
For detailed reviews of every Monogatari arc so far, here’s an index of my previous articles.
Note: these are listed in novel publication order, not necessarily production/broadcast order.
- First season: 30 episodes and 3 movies: total: 15.5 hours
- Bakemonogatari: 15 episodes: 6 hours
- Kizumonogatari: 3 movies: total: 3.5 hours
— 1: Tekketsu: 64 mins
— 2: Nekketsu: 69 mins
— 3: Reiketsu: 83 mins
— Alternatively, all three movies edited together as Koyomi Vamp: 144 mins
- Nisemonogatari: 11 episodes: 4.5 hours
- Nekomonogatari Black: 5 episodes: 2 hours - Second season: 28 episodes: total: 11.5 hours
- Nekomonogatari White: 5 episodes: 2 hours
- Kabukimonogatari: 4 episodes: 96 mins
- Hanamonogatari: 5 episodes: 2 hours
- Otorimonogatari: 4 episodes: 96 mins
- Onimonogatari: 4 episodes: 96 mins
- Koimonogatari: 6 episodes: 144 mins - Final season: 30 full-length episodes, 12 half-length episodes: total 14.5 hours
- Tsukimonogatari: 4 episodes: 96 mins
- Koyomimonogatari: 12 half-length episodes: 144 mins
- Owarimonogatari: 20 episodes: 8 hours
- Zoku Owarimonogatari: 6 episodes: 144 mins
Total: 100 episodes, 12 of which are half-length, and three movies: 41.5 hours
Where to Watch: TV show: only some titles are available to stream on Crunchyroll, the rest are available on EXPENSIVE ANIPLEX Blu-ray only.
Nisemonogatari
Monogatari Second Season
Owarimonogatari
Movies: Amazon Prime
Oshi No Ko
Presented By: Nomad
Studio: Doga Kobo
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Romance
Spoiler Free Synopsis: Goro Amamiya, an obstetrician-gynaecologist at a rural hospital, is shocked when his favourite idol singer, Ai Hoshino, goes on hiatus just as her career is flourishing. He is flabbergasted when the star herself appears in his pregnancy ward, a few months away from giving birth to twins! The perception of female ‘purity’ is paramount for presenting women to their audiences as idols worthy of adulation, and so Ai and her managers are determined to preserve her career by keeping her pregnancy quiet from the public. Ever the professional, Goro attends to his patient discreetly. Alas, someone discovers Ai’s whereabouts and Goro is killed just as Ai goes into labour. Miraculously, however, Goro is reincarnated as Aqua Hoshino, one of Ai Hoshino’s fraternal twin children! Alongside his sister, Ruby, Aqua has a carefree lifestyle with his doting new mother, while also being exposed to the harsher realities underlying the professional idol experience.
Why You Should Catch Up: Created by Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish), Oshi No Ko concerns itself with sifting through façades of both personal and societal nature: understanding the real Ai Hoshino behind her performer’s mask is just as important to the series as exploring the seedy underbelly of the Japanese entertainment industry. This is a commentary on the struggles with perfecting the craft, suffering parasocial relationships, and atoning for personal regrets across a career. However, the story is not so cynical as to forget the joy it brings to the people who sing or act on stage and screen for adoring crowds, and so Oshi No Ko remains hopeful as well as sceptical.
Animation studio Doga Kobo has accentuated this potent tonal mixture with its visual direction, juxtaposing a bright colour palette for the aspiring idol storyline against dark blues and greys when exploring the sordid sides of celebrity culture. Bold block colours and complementary secondary colours accent careful shading, which belie the disquieting pulse of a riveting story. Suitably, the star-studded cast and music elevate Oshi No Ko. Success in Japanese entertainment culture often depends on an idol’s personality, and likewise, so much of the effectiveness of this series rests on the voice acting. Everyone from the popular Rie Takahashi as Ai Hoshino, to newcomer Yurie Igoma as Ruby Hoshino, is captivating. Manaka Iwami as Akane Kurokawa is particularly powerful. . Structural choices also improve the narrative flow and impact of story beats, while maintaining the mystery and levity of the original format. The anime is Oshi No Ko presented in its ideal medium.
Oshi No Ko illustrates the long hours of work a singer puts into captivating an audience for a few minutes with their song. This is the occasionally nightmarish path towards reaching an idol’s ephemeral dream and the effect the pursuit of this goal has on those around them. If you can stomach the bizarre premise — a dead doctor is reincarnated as the child of a pregnant teen idol pop star — you will find a thematically incisive story aimed at skewering the harmful fictions deemed necessary by an industry in order to gift aspiring talents their shining moment on top of the world.
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
- Season 1: 11 episodes — (6.5 hours, Episode 1 is approximately 80 minutes)
Where to Watch: HIDIVE
Sengoku Youko: Thousand Demons of Chaos Arc
Presented By: Requiem
Studio: White Fox
Genres: Adventure, Period Dramady, Fox Girls
Spoiler-Free Synopsis:
Set in an alternate Sengoku period Japan, where humans coexist with magical/spiritual creatures called katawara, fox girl (youko) Tama travels the country with her human “brother”, hermit (or possibly wizard, or sage) Jinka to try and foster peace between humanity and katawara. Tama loves humans, while Jinka mostly despises his own kind but goes along for Tama’s sake. They are soon joined on their journey by wannabe swordsman Shinsuke, and human/katawara hybrid Shakugan, and face threats from dangerous katawara as well as an order of monks that ostensibly hunt the creatures, but are also secretly experimenting on them. As they carry on, our intrepid heroes will try to bridge the divide between humans and katawara.
Why You Should Catch Up:
Sengoku Youko is based on a manga from the author of Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer, and given what a remarkable hash was made of that woe-begotten anime adaptation, one could be forgiven for being hesitant to engage with another. Thankfully, Youko is a fantastic little show, full of color and life, comedy and drama, fun characters and silly circumstances coexisting with some real maudlin moments. In other words, it has everything you’d want.
The show’s real strength is in how it balances light and dark story beats, going from comedy to tragedy and back in a manner that, if not entirely seamless, is still quite impressive. The world the characters inhabit is fascinating and adheres to its internal logic quite well, which can be hard in a show with shounen battles that often lead to power creep. But while the story is quite engaging, what will really draw you in and keep you coming back is the excellent cast of characters, from gentle Tama to grumpy Jinka to kinda dumb Shinsuke and super fun Shakugan. Each plays their role well and plays well off the group, representing a point on the human/katawara spectrum, with Tama on one end, Shinsuke at the other, and Jinka and Shakugan in between. I found the arc of initially sadsack swordsman Shinsuke especially effective; at first, he seems like little more than comic relief, but as events unfold he becomes more complex. In fact as we go along all the characters prove to be deeper and more complicated than they originally appear; they’re all like ogres- they have layers.
The upcoming season promises to pick up where the big events at the end of the first left off, with our team dealing with significant changes to the status quo, and a new, even more pressing journey to set out on. I urge you to join them on the road; it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
- Season 1: 13 episodes — (5 hours)
Where to Watch: Season 1 on Crunchyroll
Kengan Ashura Season 2 part 2
Presented By: Alistair Hyde
Studio: Larx Entertainment
Genres: Action, Martial Arts
Spoiler-Free Synopsis: In the world of Kengan Ashura, business deals and disputes are not actually settled in meetings and contracts, but by hiring martial artists to win street fights against each other and participate in tournaments held in underground arenas to decide the issues. In this environment, we follow Ouma Tokita, accompanied by his manager Kazuo Yamashita, through his journey to prove that he is the strongest combatant while representing the Nogi Group in each fight facilitated by the Kengan Association.
Why You Should Catch Up: In 2019, a new challenger appeared to try and claim the title for itself as the greatest anime about people beating the crap out of each other like there is no tomorrow. It gained notoriety due to the cynical dark tone and goofiness of its humor, the absurdity of the plot, the insane moves the fighters pull off, and the visual presentation of the animation, all of which combined to defy expectations and drive discussions among anime-watching veterans and newcomers alike.
Kengan Ashura stands out from other shows like Baki, because it has a unique point of view through the eyes of manager Kazuo Yamashita, rather than through Tokita. Kazuo’s interventions offset the fighting with their comedic relief. (In addition, you should check out the Kengan Ashura crossover with Baki because it is amazing as well.)
The second season continued the awesome CGI animation and kept up the first season’s interest in showing off exotic martial arts styles. The author does a fantastic job driving the plot by focusing on the development of the Kengan Association Annihilation Tournament, allowing every secondary character to get a turn in the spotlight while fighting each other in a UFC-style competition.
Also, I loved the depictions of fictional counterparts to popular brands like McDonald’s and Nintendo because of the irony of watching them invest their money and time in this type of event while trying to appear to the public as family-friendly companies.
The second part of the second season thickens the plot as we approach the conclusion of the original story. The final day of the tournament has arrived and I for one cannot wait to see who becomes champion, so let’s get ready to rumble!
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
Essential:
- Seasons 1 & 2: 36 (total) episodes — (18 hours)
Optional:
- Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura Movie — (1 hour)
Where to Watch:
Kengan Ashura — Netflix
Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura — Netflix
NieR Automata Ver1.1a Season 2
Presented By: Doctorkev
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genres: Sci-fi, Drama, Surrealism
Spoiler-Free Synopsis: In the far future, androids and robots fight a proxy war against each other on behalf of their respective human and alien masters, however nothing about this situation is what it seems. What is the point of continuing to fight if the reasons for conflict are no longer relevant? Three (beautiful) androids question their place in the world, as it descends into madness and chaos.
Why You Should Catch Up: 2017’s best PS4 game NieR Automata was something of a surprise hit for Square Enix, vastly outselling its progenitor, the niche PS3 action RPG NieR Gestalt/Replicant. Developed by eccentric game designer Yoko Taro, also known for the exceedingly odd Drakengard game series, NieR Automata was filled to the brim with quirky characters, brutal narrative twists, philosophical exploration, bitter irony, and very attractive metal ladies. It maximised the story potential integral to videogames to provide an experience hard to replicate in any other medium. So of course they turned it into an anime.
Season 1 is perhaps most remembered for one reason — the unarguable shit-show its repeatedly-delayed production devolved into. This is a shame, because A-1 Pictures made something really special — an unpredictable anime that changed up its story, becoming far more than a mere adaptation. The closely-involved Taro integrated aspects from tie-in novels, manga, and even a stage play, while also creating brand new episodes featuring random side characters, or switching up events in new ways. Even game veterans like myself didn’t know what would happen next.
Infamously, NieR Automata is a game with five different endings, and its first anime season adapted the first two concurrently-running storylines up to endings A and B. That leaves a lot of material left for this second season to mess around and remix. I trust Taro to continue screwing with his audience in a playful, demented fashion. I can’t wait to find out what fresh tortures he has in store for our poor android pals, and I especially wonder how he’ll adapt the iconic and heartbreaking Ending E…
It’s not just Taro’s insane storytelling skills that makes this adaptation special — the anime re-uses Keiichi Okabe’s phenomenal score, which is music that’s primarily made to give you chills. It’s among the best game soundtracks of all time, equalling and sometimes even surpassing his work on the previous game’s score. A-1’s animation is no slouch either, the show looks very good (except for some iffy CG that looks like it’s been ripped from the PS4 game).
I can’t wait for Taro and friends to mess with our heads again. Now everyone, repeat after me in your best robotic voices: “Become as Gods. Become as Gods. Become as Gods.”
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
- Season 1: 12 episodes — (5 hours)
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses
Presented By: Marquan
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Ecchi, Drama
Spoiler-Free Synopsis: Hayato inherits a failing cafe from his late grandmother, and decides to sell it and convert it into a parking lot. Then he learns of the five gorgeous live-in “goddesses” who work there, and they persuade him to keep it open. Now he has to learn how to live with these women and revitalize the cafe!
Why You Should Catch Up: Because Akane and Ami exist in this show. That’s all you need to know for you to catch up with this. On a more serious note, every season we have at least one harem show that provides us with quality candidates to rally behind in the never-ending Waifu Wars. The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses offers us the usual fare: gorgeous women, each harboring either tragic or heartfelt backstories that will have even the most stalwart supporter of their best girl wavering with every flashback we witness.
A big draw of this anime, apart from the “goddesses” themselves, is Hayato, our male lead. He’s far from a genius, but he’s competent, has a sense of humor, and is fallible but not to the point of being useless. That’s a rarity for a harem protagonist. Long gone is the usual spineless, pushover main character of old! Usually I’m watching a harem because I want my best girl to win, and while that is a major component here, with Café Terrace, I want Hayato to be happy and succeed as well.
You want to see the cafe bounce back and prosper, you want to see the girls overcome their hardships and traumas, and you want to see Ami successfully perform a hadouken on an opponent. Seriously, Ami constantly dishing out pop culture references is a blast. The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses gives us lovely waifus to ogle…I mean root for, drama to unpack and a main character that you can actually stomach. What more do you need?
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
- Season 1: 12 episodes — (5 hours)
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc
Presented By: Requiem
Studio: Production I.G.
Genres: Action, Pro Wrestling, Comedy, MUSCLE
Spoiler-Free Synopsis:
Kinnikuman is a chojin — kind of like a superhero crossed with a pro wrestler — and he sucks. One day however, he learns that he is actually the prince of the planet Kinniku. Now he must defeat other chojin in a quest to be the best, and win the throne for himself. Also there’s a bunch of other very silly nonsense.
Why You Should Catch Up:
Kinnikuman, or Muscle Man, was a big hit in Japan in the ’80s, with a complicated history in the United States. The actual show never had an official release over here. Certainly, it wasn’t really available at all in a time before the internet (although there were certainly fansubs of it floating around back in the ‘90s.) However, us ’80s kids DID have access to the line of tiny plastic figures (collectible erasers in Japan) rebranded here as M.U.S.C.L.E. They were a huge hit, especially with a young Requiem, and birthed a nostalgia for the franchise that was later rolled into the sequel anime, known here as Ultimate MUSCLE, which was a hit with a whole new generation of kids.
So fans of both the OG and Ultimate versions were very excited to learn that, for the 40th anniversary of the original (which makes me feel VERY old, thanks) they are releasing a new anime, one that skips Ultimate Muscle and actually takes up after the end of the original anime, starting from where the 2011 revival of the manga picked up. New heroes, new villains, new ridiculous wrestling tournaments, and also all your old favorites like Robin Mask and Terryman, etc. It’s gonna be lit, as the children say.
If you’ve ever enjoyed this franchise from any entry point, we encourage you to get on board with the new hype, and let’s party like it’s 1983.
What You Need to Watch + Time to Catch Up:
- Season 1: 137 episodes — (50 hours)
- Season 2: 46 episodes — (18 hours)
Ultimate Muscle:
- Season 1: 77 episodes — (30 hours)
Where to Watch: Sadly neither are legally available to stream, though you can buy Ultimate MUSCLE on Blu-ray.
Contributors in Alphabetical Order:
- Alistair Hyde
- Doctorkev
- Marquan
- Nomad
- Requiem
- Umrguy42
A special thank you to Stanlick for his continuously creative header images!
First time experiencing our seasonal sequel guide list? Check out last season’s here!
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