Will there still be a Chainsaw Man season 2 after the movie? Possibilities explored

While Shueisha's yearly Jump Festa event is known for its shocking and exciting reveals, the lack of a Chainsaw Man season 2 announcement at the 2024 event was the most surprising. Although fans did get an announcement about the Reze arc film in exchange, it was an unexpected move not to announce the second season at the event.

Fans were not anticipating the Bomb Girl arc, now also officially called the Reze arc, to be where the franchise produced a canon movie. Instead, fans were anticipating Chainsaw Man season 2 to begin with the Reze arc, and the franchise's canon film to cover the final chapters of part 1, which couldn't fit into season 2.

In any case, MAPPA Studios and the rest of the adaptation team for the series have made their choice, resulting in the Reze arc film preceding Chainsaw Man season 2 in release order. However, some fans are now questioning whether or not the series will get a second season at all given the recent developments regarding MAPPA Studios and how season 1 performed financially.

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Chainsaw Man season 2 likely to release, but could be canceled if the Reze arc isn't a fiscal success

Season 2's status, explored

More likely than not, fans will eventually see Chainsaw Man season 2 announced, produced, and released by MAPPA Studios. There would be enough material for a second season even with the production of the coming canon film as mentioned above. The series also remains popular enough as a manga to justify moving forward with the television anime adaptation.

However, some key factors could prevent a second season from ever seeing the light of day. The first major factor stems from how unprofitable the first season was relative to MAPPA Studios' fiscal expectations. This largely stems from the anime's negative perception domestically in Japan, which accounts for a large portion of the Blu-ray market for anime series.

Considering that MAPPA Studios also funded season 1 by themselves, and would likely do the same for Chainsaw Man season 2, this may deter them from moving forward with production. While season 1 director Ryu Nakayama's departure from MAPPA Studios may result in production changes that make the series more domestically successful, this departure also creates another issue.

With Nakayama's departure after allegedly becoming the 'fall man' for season 1’s poor performance, other MAPPA staff could be inspired to leave the studio as well. This will likely prove especially true if Nakayama's new production company, Andraft, becomes a successful animation studio within the anime industry.

One final and major piece of supporting evidence for Chainsaw Man season 2 eventually being produced stems from a quote by MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka. In an interview with IGN France, Otsuka claimed that he wanted to animate all of Fujimoto's works one day via the studio's production. While this was said before the first season's poor financial performance, the sentiment likely nevertheless rings true.

However, likely the single most influential and significant factor in whether or not fans will get a season 2 of the television anime series is the financial success of the Reze arc film. Should the film prove as monetarily profitable as MAPPA is anticipating, it will likely all but guarantee the production of the anime's second season.

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Be sure to keep up with all Chainsaw Man anime, manga, and film news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2024 progresses.