HYPEEEEE

People keep mentioning Netflix, but they're not involved. They didn't make the first season, they only licensed it. Crunchyroll is the one licensing this one.

How could they create a sequel that's already a masterpiece...

More like a spin-off if they're going to change the main characters.

@Smurf Many people here in general don't seem to understand how forums work, using them as Twitter-style monosyllabic comment feeds. I can understand when people use Twitter for this, but on full-fledged forums it seems weird, to be honest.

Interesting. Tnx for the heads up.

@astralkill00 This is pure speculation, but as far as I remember, the original show already used fake death several times. Well, unless we take into account that we had some hint of this in the finale of the first season.

@RobertBobert That is Laurent's girlfriend if you go back to the final episode there is an after credits scene showing she was still alive but has amnesia.

@Plantman3503 I know who she is, but I didn't remember if there was actually a scene at the end about her fate, thanks.

@RobertBobert No problem. I didn't mean for my comment to come off as if you didn't know who she was so if it did my bad. I really just wanted to bring up the after credits scene as they don't seem to be as common anymore and can be missable. I've personally just beaten it into my mind to always check the last 30 seconds or so of anything I watch to see if there is one lol.

@Plantman3503 No problem at all. I really recognize her, but I didn’t remember whether we were actually hinted that she was alive or not. My only complaint about the show was the lack of overt romance between MC and Abby, but it seems the sequel will focus on a slightly different cast.

@RobertBobert I agree besides that I didn't like how the final heist had them teaming up with all the other antagonists considering they weren't the nicest of people but their own individual endings I found to be good. I hope if the main cast does have a major presence it at least doesn't mess with that. I always have a little bit of worry about direct sequels harming the original endings.

@Plantman3503 I hope they're actually going to develop this as a franchise or at least a universe. Original anime of this type, especially with an international cast, rarely develop beyond one seasonal anime and a couple of manga or LN.

@RobertBobert I hope so too I'm always trying to find new franchises to invest in. This series does have the potential to be one. It has got its international cast and setting so they could do a plethora of interesting locations and heists. Having a season 2 is a good sign so if it does good and sells well I could see the IP going for a while.

@Plantman3503 Yes, I hope the industry can once again reignite the trend of experimentation and breaking boundaries with original shows. Thankfully, Licorice Recall and DIY put to rest my fears that it would be a run-of-the-mill CGDCT, but overall I'm a little upset that so many original shows these days are just generic anime with no source material but no bold experimentation.

@RobertBobert Yeah unfortunately people want to just play things safe instead of trying to be innovative which in turn just gives us generic and/or copycats of already great products out there. My hope is these shows become trailblazers to fire up the industry to produce more unique stuff. I understand it's easier said than done but I can at least respect you for trying and if it does become successful not only would the company get more profits but also more exposure and in turn potentially become one of the greats. It's the epitome of high risk high reward.

@Plantman3503 Unfortunately, nowadays, original shows are often attempt to create genre anime from scratch, in order to control the plot and chareacters yourself, without looking back at the author and the source material.

@RobertBobert you're right but a guy can dream lol. All I can do is hope my wishful dreams become a reality. Until then I'm just gonna be thankful for what we got and be happy with the gems we do have at the moment.

@Plantman3503 I don't know which genres you prefer most, but if peak SoL and well animated adventure shows is among them, then you might like anime from PAWORKS.

@RobertBobert I'm kinda of basic and still primarily stick to action haven't really dipped my toes into SoL except for the Kobayashi series because it was popular and I did enjoy it. I've watched a fair amount of their works with Angel Beats and Charlotte being 2 shows I've personally rated 10. I'll have to try some of their SoL and romance shows as they aren't my go to genres and I have to be in the mood for them.

@Plantman3503 Well, these two shows were quite a long time ago and were written by the same person. Nowadays they also mostly alternate original (or not so) SoL shows with mindless but well-animated action.

@RobertBobert Yeah I know they are old they are just my personal favorites from them. The only recent things I've watched from them have been Buddy Daddies and Akiba Maid Wars which were shows I did enjoy prior to that it was the first season of Fairy Gone which I wanted to be good because it definitely had an abnormal premise but it unfortunately fell flatt.

@Plantman3503 I believe that this is more or less the right path for them, since despite the enormous potential and talent, at one time PAWORKS perceived the rivalry with KyoAni to personal, that almost every show they had was a “take that!” response to the Kyoto anime. This also makes Wit and IG studios' original shows a plus for me, as they complement each other perfectly with their different themes, inspirations and performance styles.

@RobertBobert I'll take your word for it I haven't put that much research into it so I never really knew about that rivalry tbh. But going off my memory of these studios' original works plus adding your insight and perspective I feel like my opinion is similar to yours and I agree with you.

@Plantman3503 It started somewhere in the early '10s, when they went so far as to even try to beat them with more visually impressive character designs (Another, Iroha, Nagi no Asukara). But this almost ended after PAWORKS became disillusioned with Glassip and started doing Girls work animes. It's better to be a unique PAWORKS than a second KyoAni, I think. But anyway, now we are talking about the Wit studio show, so far they have always been consistently good with bright action and adventure. I still regret that Kabaneri was left by them and Ichiro at the open end.

@RobertBobert I still hope to this day that Kabaneri comes back. I know it's almost guaranteed not to but never say never crazier things have happened.

@Plantman3503 Well, we finally got a second season of Great Pretender after 3 years, although the entire time before that the show was treated like a regular one-off original anime.

@RobertBobert true also I think Kabaneri got overshadowed by AOT. I was honestly surprised when AOT switched to Mappa that they didn't announce more Kabanari but with the anime being over I'd say now could be a good time for its resurgence.

@RobertBobert That is Laurent's girlfriend if you go back to the final episode there is an after credits scene showing she was still alive but has amnesia.

I'm guessing they didn't want to create friction between the two franchises. Especially since Kabaneri was often seen as a rip-off of the Titans in the wake of the latter's popularity. But now I'm wondering what motivated them to start working on a new Pretender. Did the show sell well or have a very good reputation?

@Plantman3503 iirc she was only pretending to have amnesia

@RobertBobert That'd be my guess since the ending of season 1 would've also fit as a conclusive ending.