Chainsaw Man fans have been waiting for more information on a second season, ever since Season 1 of the anime ended. Although the animation of the show received some criticism for the studio’s heavy-handed use of CGI, fans were excited for the next installment of the anime, which would go deeper into Makima’s role in the series.
With no new updates mentioned during the Chainsaw Man Festival held in April 2023, fans were convinced that Studio MAPPA would use their annual event to confirm the return of anime. But with the studio failing to live up to their expectations has led viewers to come up with a number of theories regarding why MAPPA seems to be sidelining the popular series this season.
MAPPA Stage 2023 disappoints Chainsaw Man fans with information about official merch instead of Season 2 updates
Announcements made during the Chainsaw Man event
thank u mappa stage 2023 for this pochita pic.twitter.com/MQD3c0lvFO
— choobaka (@soyabananasplit) May 21, 2023
The Chainsaw Man MAPPA Stage 2023 focused on a discussion panel of the main cast of the anime, including KIkunosuke Toya (Denji), Ai Fairouz (Power), and Shougo Sakata (Aki) chatted about their favorite moments from Season 1. Unfortunately, Makima’s voice actor, Tomori Kusunoki, was unable to join the panel after testing positive for COVID and feeling unwell.
The Studio MAPPA event also featured a special guest in the form of a giant Pochita who appeared on stage. The event further hosted giveaways and advertised figurines and other official merchandise now available for sale at online stores.
Why MAPPA Stage 2023 is holding off on updates on Season 2
#chainsawman
`
Manabu Otsuka says Chainsaw Man was a complete success financially (I mean obviously). However he wanted to sell even more BDs. He is still mixed on whether it had the same impact as Jujutsu Kaisen pic.twitter.com/hSO9kopjKZ— Etienne Law (@law_etienne) May 17, 2023
Chainsaw Man fans have already begun speculating why the studio has not confirmed the return of a second season, with many viewers even fearing that the show might be canceled completely. One major issue that fans highlighted was the CEO of Studio MAPPA, Manabu Otsuka’s comment from a recent interview, where he confessed that while the anime was a success financially, it did not seem to be as impactful as Jujutsu Kaisen.
According to Otsuka, Chainsaw Man fell into the category of shows that garnered a lot of viewership through distribution, but did not sell as much DVD, and Blu-ray packages. He assured the interviewer that they were currently exploring the target demographic who would pay money for Chainsaw Man content.
It's sad that potentially Ryu Nakayama is gone for Chainsaw Man Season 2, considering the cinematic approach was a love letter to Fujimoto & his love for films.
Nakayama long term would be perfect to build Part 2, Goodbye Eri, Look Back etc, they want anime for all these. pic.twitter.com/i7VNiXVRGM
— Sufferent (@Sufferent) May 20, 2023
This disbalance may have risen out of fans’ mixed emotions towards the hyper-realistic animation style of the series, featuring lots of CGI which gave it a cinematic aesthetic over a more traditionally animated look. This also triggered rumors that the MAPPA CEO has decided to drop Ryu Nakayam, the director of Chainsaw Man Season 1 and is currently looking for a new director, forcing the studio to postpone confirmation of the series.
A third reason why MAPPA Stage 2023 did not feature any significant announcements for the anime might be because of the immense workload that animators working for the studio have been under. MAPPA is notorious for picking up big-name series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Hell’s Paradise, Vinland Saga left and right, leaving fans in uproar over whether they can do justice to the various projects.
No Chainsaw Man 2nd cour announcement at Jump Festa? Hmm…if they dont announce it by the end of S1, we may very well see it 2024. Mappa's lineup is STACKED for 2023 #chainsawman #JumpFesta2023
— Dj Milez (@Djmilezz) December 18, 2022
The studio continued stall updates on Chainsaw Man Season 1 for over a year after announcing in December 2020 that they were picking up the series, and finally scheduling it for a 2022 release. Since this seems to be a pattern which the studio has followed for a number of series in the past, it is unsurprising that MAPPA Stage 2023 did not include updates for the upcoming season of the anime just a few months after the completion of Season 1.
