9 one-season anime that deserved a sequel, but didn't get one

One-season anime series often have the poor luck of not getting a second one, which is mostly due to poor ratings or perhaps not having the greatest of receptions. That is something that has had a lot of ramifications for the series and its fandoms, to the point that there are discussions to this very day when it comes to them.

Moreover, a lot of one-season anime tend to be quite good and don't get the chance for a second one, mainly because of a lack of marketing or because the franchise doesn't have the widest reach within the cultural zeitgeist. However, these nine series do deserve a sequel but, sadly enough, didn't get one.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series mentioned here. Any opinion expressed in this piece belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

9 one-season anime that deserved a sequel

1) No Game No Life

A great example of a one-season anime that didn't get a sequel (Image via Madhouse).

Perhaps one of the most notorious examples of a one-season anime that deserved a sequel and didn't get one since even the author, Yu Kamiya, is constantly asked about it. However, the first season came out in 2014 and had a total of 12 episodes but no information has been given for a sequel.

Sora and Shiro are highly skilled gamers in the online gaming community and, one day, they receive an email challenging them to a game of chess, which they also win. This victory transports them to Disboard, a different reality, where games are used to settle disputes and violence is strictly prohibited.

2) Terror in Resonance

Another one-season anime (Image via MAPPA).

Studio MAPPA currently has a reputation for adapting some of the most prominent battle shonen out there but Terror in Resonance, released back in 2014, was one of those one-season anime that built this company's success and reputation. Moreover, it has the premise of being directed by the legendary Shinichirō Watanabe, most commonly known for Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

In an alternate timeline to the modern world, two teenagers named Nine and Twelve find the prototype of an atomic bomb, which they use to exploit the government of Japan and get something in return.

Both Nine and Twelve are two of the survivors of a secret experiment by the Rising Peace Academy to develop orphaned children with savant syndrome into human weapons. A girl named Lisa also ends up getting involved in this conflict.

3) Yona of the Dawn

A major one-season anime that deserves a sequel (Image via Studio Pierrot).

Yona of the Dawn is widely regarded as one of the best shojo series of all time and its manga run, which started in 2009 and continues to this very day, has been celebrated by fans throughout the years. However, its anime adaptation, which had a total of 24 episodes and 3 OVAs from 2014 to 2015, didn't have the greatest of ratings and there is no information that a new season could be made.

Yona is the sole princess of the Kouka Kingdom and her life is turned upside down when she discovers that her father was murdered by her childhood friend, Su-won. She manages to escape thanks to her lifelong friend Hak and they slowly begin to find their feet while also discovering that Yona is the reincarnation of the Crimson Dragon God and that means that four special dragon warriors would be destined to fight for her.

4) Saint Seiya: Lost Canvas

An underrated anime (Image via TMS Entertainment).

The Saint Seiya franchise has had a lot of spinoffs throughout the years but very few have had the impact on the fandom that Lost Canvas had back in its 2006 to 2011 manga run by author Shiori Teshirogi. It revitalized the franchise and injected new life into a lot of classic concepts, such as the Gold Saints, and is widely regarded as the best story in the franchise apart from the original manga run by author Masami Kurumada.

The story takes place in the 18th century and focuses on the previous Pegasus Saint, Tenma, who is friends with the Athena of this era, Sasha, and Hades' body of this generation, Alone. This leads to massive conflict as a Holy War takes place, with both sides suffering a lot of losses and Tenma dealing with the conflict of having to take the life of his best friend.

It is sadly a one-season anime with 26 episodes and the 25 manga volumes were never adapted. There is still a good percentage of the Saint Seiya fandom that would love to see a new season of this series.

5) Deadman Wonderland

An underrated one-season anime (Image via Manglobe).

Manglobe made 11 episodes of this series back in 2011 and took inspiration from the first 21 chapters of the manga, although the source material had a total of 13 volumes, running from 2007 to 2013. It is the very definition of a one-season anime and has become a bit of an underrated gem as far as the dystopian genre goes.

The story focuses on the main character, Ganta Igarashi, who happens to be a middle school student after a massive earthquake. Everything changes then when a mysterious masked assassin kills everyone in his class but spares Ganta and implants a red crystal shard into his chest, leaving him the only survivor. When he wakes up, he is wrongfully imprisoned for carrying out the atrocity, earning him a place in Deadman Wonderland.

6) Sk8 the Infinity

Another popular series (Image via Bones).

SK8 the Infinity is one of those cases of one-season anime that is apparently still ongoing but is still in perpetual limbo. That is something that is shown by the fact that the anime came out in early 2021 and Studio Bones is yet to provide any updates regarding the series' future.

The story takes place in the city of Okinawa and there is a secret underground skate competition known as "S", with the people involved oftentimes holding beef with each other. The main character is a high school student named Reki who forms a friendship with a guy named Langa, introducing the latter to skating and underground competitions.

7) Highschool of the Dead

A one-season anime that deserved more (Image via Madhouse).

Madhouse is a studio known for taking some small projects and leaving them after the first season, although this case is a bit more peculiar. This series didn't get the best ratings when its 12-episode run started back in 2010 but it has become a cult classic, especially considering that it was made during the zombie craze in the West.

Modern-day Japan is hit by a deadly pandemic that turns a lot of civilians into zombies and a group of high school students have to find a way to survive in the chaos. The bulk of the series focuses on this group adapting to the circumstances and learning to fight these creatures, although didn't get a second season after this.

8) Blue Period

Blue Period is another important one-season anime (Image via Seven Arcs).

The thing about Blue Period is that it took a fairly simple premise (a young man wanting to get into an art school) and managed to pull off something that has appealed to a lot of anime fans. However, despite a very good public reception, it currently remains a one-season anime, running in 2021 with 12 episodes.

Yatora Yaguchi is the protagonist and is a student who excels in most subjects but is often bored and lacking interest in life. It isn't until he discovers the joy of painting that he chooses to pursue this career out of passion, but he eventually discovers that he is going to need more than just love for the craft to be successful at it.

9) Princess Jellyfish

Another significant one-season anime (Image via Brain's Base).

Princess Jellyfish has an interesting element which is that it has gotten more episodes in a live-action setting than in anime format, which is a rarity. Moreover, this one-season anime ran from October to December 2010 with 11 episodes, even though the manga written by Akiko Higashimura had a total of 17 volumes from 2008 to 2017.

The main focus of the story is centered around an apartment in Tokyo named Amamizukan and the lives of the women living there, although most people view Tsukimi Kurashita as the protagonist. She is an illustrator with social anxiety and has to come to terms with that throughout the series, which is coupled with the many different characters living in that apartment.

Final thoughts

There are more one-season anime that perhaps deserve a lot more attention but these are some of the most prominent examples. This is something that shows how much quality is often ignored in the yearly market, to the point that fandoms can spend more than a decade waiting and demanding a new season.

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Edited by Tiasha