No Game No Life: Will Season 2 Ever Happen? | CBR

No Game No Life: Will There Ever Be a Season 2?

The reason No Game No Life only has a single anime season has nothing to do with its widespread popularity. Will it ever continue with a second?

A big hit early for the ongoing isekai trend for anime, manga and light novels, No Game No Life has remained quite popular despite its erratic release schedule. The anime, in particular, has amassed many admirers, with fans and critics alike lauding the series' characterizations, premise and incredibly vibrant animation and color palette.

Though it's still quite popular, especially in its original light novel form, No Game No Life's anime got only one season. The reason for this likely has nothing to do with its popularity and instead stems from a lack of source material to continue the show. Here's what fans should know about a potential new season of No Game No Life and why it's taking so long.

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The Plot & Origin of No Game No Life

The story follows two shut-in step-siblings named Shiro and Sora, who are known for their prevalence and success in the online gaming world. Their knack for games even allows them to win a game of chess against the interdimensional god Set, who rewards them by allowing them to live in a world based around games called Disboard. In this realm, conflicts are settled through gambling, with different kingdoms being represented by consistent winners. Shiro and Sora join up with Stephanie, the Duchess of the kingdom of Elkia, going about the land and beating people at various games in an attempt to make a name for themselves.

The franchise began in 2012 as a light novel from Yuu Kamiya, which has so far achieved 10 volumes and, along with the manga adaptation, remains ongoing. Madhouse produced an anime adaptation in 2014, but it ran for only one 12-episode season.

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Will There Be a Season 2 of No Game No Life?

So far, the closest thing to a continuation is the 2017 animated film No Game No Life: Zero. As its name would suggest, this movie is a prequel set before the anime and adapts the light novel's sixth volume. The lack of a Season 2 comes despite the franchise still being incredibly popular and profitable. The biggest reason for this has been the light novel's schedule. By the time of the first season's release, only six novels had been published, with the last of those not even directly continuing the story. Thus, a long break between Season 1 and a potential Season 2 makes sense.

Creator Yuu Kamiya has suffered unfortunate health problems during the series' production, which prompted him to initially make it into a light novel instead of an illustration-heavy manga. These health issues have since become worse, and are likely the reason there hasn't been a new light novel volume published since 2018. This doesn't leave much content to adapt for a second season of the anime, especially if the producers are afraid of catching up with the source material again. Therefore, a Season 2 of No Game No Life hinges on more of the series' light novels being published first.

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