Summary
Keeping up with different anime can be frustrating sometimes. Shows that lost their mojo a while back can be kept going for years on end, receiving spin-offs and tie-ins, because it managed to build a big enough base to keep itself going. While promising series get cut down before their prime due to low ratings, peaking too early and running out of ideas for its finale, or their animation studio gets shut down.
Some anime are lucky and get a second chance at life, likeJojo’s Bizarre Adventuregetting a rebirth via its 2010s adaptations. Conversely, certain shows get a season or two and are left unfinished, destined to forever exist in that incomplete limbo. At least some of them have a manga or light novel to fill in the blanks left after their end, but some projects were anime-only and have no other source. Maybe they’ll get their ownJojo-esque resurgence in the future, but it’s likely these anime series will remain unfinished.
Updated on August 01, 2025 by David Heath:An anime’s quality isn’t always enough to keep it going. Fans have been waiting on tenterhooks for No Game, No Life to get a second season, but there hasn’t been any news on it for a while now. Not beyond series creator Yuu Kamiya dispelling fresh rumors that it was coming up soon back on Twitter in 2025. Even so, it still has a better chance of coming than the new additions to this list, as their front has been just as silent for much longer. All entries have also received a few touch-ups, from extra info, to some mild format edits, and have been reordered by how likely they might get their second chance. Some have some mild hope, but others are definitively done by circumstances beyond its control.
Land of the Lustrous' chances of a second season aren’t completely shot, even after nearly a decade since it first hit the airwaves. It followed the Lustrous, gemstone-infused immortal humanoids who live on the last spot of land on the meteorite-ravaged Earth. They protect the land from their Moon-based rivals, the Lunarians, who seek to harvest the Lustrous for their gems. Phos, considered too weak to fight, is left to clerical work, but hopes to find someway to prove their worth to the group as a whole.
Fans loved it, and critics felt it was an inventive breath of fresh air in the seinen genre, and certainly one of the best CG animes. But it only lasted for 12 episodes, covering just a fraction of the manga’s 12-year run. Its second season is long overdue, and Orange are apparently willing to do it, but they haven’t been given the greenlight for it by the execs. In the meantime, they’ve been working on other projects. Hope remains low, but ifThe Devil is a Part Timercould get a second season a decade after its first, there’s a chance forLotL.
Yoshiki Nakamura’sSkip Beat!manga debuted in 2002 and is still ongoing, accumulating more than 50 volumes by this point. Both it and its anime adaptation centered around Kyoko, a girl who joins the entertainment business out of revenge so she can outshine her ex-boyfriend, Shotaro Fuwa. Hilarious, charming, and emotional, the anime managed to hit the same beats as the manga, and even managed a DVD/Blu-ray release with a fresh English dub thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
However, the anime ended in 2009 after 25 episodes, which only scratches the surface of what its source material has to offer. It may have received a second season if its original studio, Hal Film Maker, didn’t go defunct in the same year, merging with Yumeta Company to become TYO Animations Inc. It’s not impossible for a show to get a fresh sequel series years later,even by other studios. But chances are, ifSkip Beat!comes back, it’ll re-adapt the material from the beginning instead of continuing where HFM left off.
Gantzis a unique and interesting manga, one that, prior to the release of its anime, had everything going against its success. The series isviolent, bloody, philosophical,and at times massively brutal. People who loved it enjoyed its story, as Kei and his childhood friend Masaru fight for a second chance at life by taking part in Gantz' alien-murder-based game. Those who hated it felt it was the epitome of edgelord fodder. The anime wouldn’t have changed either side’s minds, as it gave fans more of the carnage and moral debates they wanted.
The only problem was its ending, as it concluded in 2004–9 years before the manga ended in 2013. It left off on an ambiguous note that was meant to keep viewers guessing, but left most of them feeling like the show just stopped in its tracks instead. Still, the manga was popular enough to get live-action adaptations, a CG movie inGantz: O, and spin-offs inGantz: GandGantz: E. There’s a chance it might get a fresh adaptation that’ll adapt the manga’s own bizarre conclusion, but it’s not due to happen anytime soon.
People didn’t even have to be otaku during the mid-2000s to have heard ofThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. They might’ve had to be at least otaku-adjacent to know it was about an after-school club keeping their president happy in order to keep reality intact. But clips from the show became a global phenomenon when the dance during its ED, ‘Hare Hare Yukai’, went viral. It even saw a resurgence during the 2020 lockdown when Haruhi’s VA Aya Hirano posted a video of her showing others how to #HareHareYukaiAtHomeWithAllYourMight.
The anime ended in 2006, but was followed up with plenty of OVAs, ONAs, spin-offs, and feature-length flicks that continued adapting Haruhi’s story. But the original light novel that got the ball rolling is still ongoing, book by book, so there’s still plenty of material to work with. But things have changed a lot in the 15 years sinceThe Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya(10 if one countsThe Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan). With Kyoto Animation’s staff changes, let alone its arson attack, it’s unlikely they’d be able to continue where they left off.
One of the saddest things in the world is missed or wasted potential. In the case ofRave Master(akaGroove Adventure Rave), the anime ended just as the manga was hitting its stride. As evidenced by his earlier work,Fairy Tail, creator Hiro Mashima knows how to tell a gripping story.Rave Mastersaw Haru Glory take his friends Ellie, Musica, and his dog Plue on a globetrotting adventure to gather the Rave Stones and use their power to stop the evil Demon Card organization.
The show took a bit of time to find its footing, as the earlier chapters and storylines of its source material were quite slow and meandering. But then it hit its stride in its second half. Alas, it didn’t make a strong enough first impression for it to get a second season. If it did, it might’ve clicked better with viewers as the following chapters would’ve kept up the momentum the first season’s second half was building up.
Kenichi: The Mightiest Discipleis much like its title character, as it’s no masterpiece. Butthe shōnen serieshad plenty of potential with its great action, hilarious humor, and likable characters. It got plenty of chances to catch on too, with a 50-episode anime and 11 OVAs. That’s more than most up & comers get. Yet they still covered less than half of the full manga, as the OVAs really rushed through its plot beats. As such, they make it hard for viewers to get invested in the story, but at least they have great fight scenes.
After so many tries, there’s not much incentive for other studios to give it a fresh go, even after the manga was completed in 2014. 2000s nostalgia is growing, so some viewers might missKenichi’s turn-of-the-century look and shameless approach to fanservice. But until that demand for mid-2000s action-anime fun grows, those ecchi enthusiasts will have to get their fill fromFood WarsorDress Up Darling.
Technically,Claymoredid end. Clare, a warrior known as a Claymore, kills off demons called Yoma across the land in the hopes of avenging the death of her mother figure, Teresa, on the Awakened Being Priscilla. The 26th and final episode saw the two clash, and Clare learning what revenge can cost a person. But the manga was still ongoing at the time the anime was broadcast, so this was an original ending made by Madhouse, and fans hated it.
It’s a shame, as it’s an otherwise strong adaptation of the manga. But Madhouse’s hands were tied, and they chose to give Clare a sudden strength boost to give fans itsRocky-style ending, instead of adapting the subsequent arcs. The manga also helped develop the characters the anime left rather flat, like Clare’s kiddy companion Raki. Any second season would either have to work with the studio’s truncated ending, or it would have to do whatFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhooddid and truncate its early chapters to reach the unadapted content quicker.
Ambiguity is all fine and good, but sometimes there needs to be some concrete answers.My Little Monsteris an anime that thrives on unanswered questions, as the cold and quiet Shizuku ends up in a will-they-won’t-they kind of relationship with the violent troublemaker Haru. Each time they seem to get closer, something happens that drives them apart. On the one hand, it’s good to challenge viewers' expectations and give them food for thought, as opposites don’t always make for good pairings.
On the other hand, the anime ended after 13 episodes, with Shizuku reflecting on her times with her friends and Haru, and how she still had more stories to tell about them. Stories that were never animated as, aside from an OVA, the show ended there. Viewers seeking a concrete conclusion had to pick up the manga, which ended in the same year as the anime, in 2013. It’s a frustrating note for romcom fans to leave off on, but after 12 years of radio silence, Shizuku and Haru’s stories are likely to remain in print.
Noragamiis a good series that just seems to continually come upon bad luck. It told an intriguing story, as the minor god Yato finds a new (if reluctant) partner in Hiyori, a middle school girl who saved him from a car accident. Together, they take on odd jobs in the hope Yato will get a shrine of his own. The anime series felt rushed at times, even though theanimation was always good. It even managed to get a second season inNoragami Aragato.
Combined with its original animation DVDs (OAD), it did manage to reach a conclusion of sorts. But that was back in 2015. The manga continued past then, despite the occasional hiatus, until Adachitoka finally brought it to an end at the start of 2024. As such, there’s an additional 9 years' worth of material Studio Bones or another animator could cover for a fresh season or two. But withAragotoending on a sweet note, a revival could risk spoiling that if it failed to live up to expectations.
During the 2000s, Madhouse got a craving for some gambling anime. The studio produces the three definitive entries in the genre:Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor,One Outs, andAkagi. None of these series are full adaptations of their source material, withKaijifans still waiting for a follow-up. But both it andOne Outsat least had stop-off points.Akagi’s anime abruptly stops in the middle of perhaps the most epic (or at least longest) match in manga history.
The manga followed its title character as he dove into the criminal underworld to beat yakuza of all stripes at mahong. It culminated in a duel with Iwao Washizu, which lasted for 20 years' worth of chapters, concluding in 2017. The anime lasted for one year in 2005 and ended 4 rounds into Akagi and Washizu’s duel. Needless to say, Madhouse weren’t going to keep their anime going on one mahjong duel alone. There hasn’t been any news on a potential second season or a fresh adaptation in the years since the manga’s end, and it’ll likely stay that way.
