Will the Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 anime continue the story of William James Moriarty, nemesis and now friend to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes? If so, when will Yuukoku no Moriarty Season 2 come out?
The big problem is that Moriarty the Patriot manga had reached its first big climax in The Final Problem story arc, which was covered by the ending of the anime’s first season. But the manga’s story has continued beyond this point with a new story arc that’s loosely based on Doyle’s The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
So, it’s a real question of whether or not the manga’s final chapter is right around the corner… or the manga could continue for years with the further adventures of Sherly and Liam!? (Please see the manga comparison section below for more details.)
In the meantime, fans can go watch the Moriarty the Patriot OVA episodes. Released on April 27, 2022, there were two episodes. One of the episodes adapted the previously skipped manga story “The Tea Party” while the other is an anime-original story that’s not in the manga.
Here is the Moriarty the Patriot trailer for OVA episode 1. (Please see the OVA section below for more details.)
A second OVA trailer was released on March 18, 2022.
The anime is being animated by Japanese animation studio Production I.G., which is best known for creating the Haikyuu!!! anime and the Psycho-Pass anime series. In fall 2020, the studio also released the Noblesse anime as a Crunchyroll Originals series.
Director Kazuya Nomura (Robotics;Notes) is helming the project. Writers Go Zappa (We Never Learn: BOKUBEN) and Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!! Season 4 Part 2, Fruits Basket Season 3) are creating the scripts. Artist Tooru Ookubo (Ghost In The Shell 2020) is both the character designer and the chief animation director.
For the first season, Moriarty the Patriot’s opening (OP) theme song music was “Dying Wish” by Tasuku Hatanaka, while the ending (ED) was “Alpha” by Stereo Dive Foundation.
For the second cour, the Moriarty the Patriot Part 2 OP changed to “Twisted Hearts” as performed by Tasuku Hatanaka, while the new ED was “Omega” by Stereo Dive Foundation.
The Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 opening and ending have not yet been announced.
The first season of the anime TV series had 24 episodes in total, but it was a split-cour anime series.
What’s a split-cour, you may ask? A cour is a TV broadcasting unit of time that is based on the four physical seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
A split-cour is when a single season of an anime takes a broadcasting break for several months before resuming.
In this case, the first cour ended with Moriarty the Patriot Episode 11 on December 20, 2020. The episode ended with a climax involving Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes.
The Moriarty the Patriot Part 2 release date (or Episode 12) was on April 4, 2021, during the spring 2021 anime season.
The finale, Moriarty the Patriot Episode 24, released on June 27, 2021.
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Updated March 4, 2022: Added OVA trailer.
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Updated February 7, 2022: Added more OVA info.
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Updated December 2, 2021: Added Moriarty the Patriot OVA release date and related info.
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Updated August 16, 2021: Added FUNimation’s Moriarty the Patriot dub release date.
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Updated June 27, 2021: Overhauled manga comparison and added new spoilers from the latest manga chapters.
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Updated February 3, 2021: Added Moriarty the Patriot Episode 12 key visual.
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Updated January 28, 2021: Added Moriarty the Patriot Part 2 trailer.
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Updated December 4, 2020: Added new info about split-cour.
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Updated November 5, 2020: Added Moriarty the Patriot Volume 14 release time frame and info about The Final Problem climax.
This article provides everything that is known about Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 (Yuukoku no Moriarty Season 2) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
FUNimation’s Moriarty the Patriot English dub release date
The Moriarty the Patriot English dub and sub are streaming on FUNimation Now. Here is the English dub cast:
- Aaron Dismuke as William James Moriarty
- Chris Guerrero as Albert James Moriarty
- Howard Wang as Louis James Moriarty
- Theo Devaney as Sherlock Holmes
- Ryan Colt Levy as Dr. John H. Watson
- Christopher Wehkamp as Sebastian Moran
- Caleb Yen as Fred (Porlock)
- Suzie Yeung as Miss Hudson
- J. Michael Tatum as Mycroft Holmes
- David Matranga as Inspector George Lestrade
- Chris Guerrero as Albert (Young)
- Barry Yandell as Earl of Argleton
- Nicole Hodges as Countess Moriarty
- Robert McCollum as Earl Moriarty
- Anthony DiMascio as Eden
- Matt Shipman as El
- Laura Stahl as Louis (Young)
- Alexis Tipton as Madame Penieres
- Anthony Skordi as Narrator
- Phil Parsons as Richard
- Kevin Thelwell as Roddy
- Gregory Lush as Simon
- Luci Christian as William (Real)
- Emily Neves as William (Young)
The English dubbed version of the first 11 episodes was released on August 15, 2021.
Yuukoku no Moriarty Season 2 release date predictions
As of the last update, Production I.G. or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced (other than Moriarty the Patriot Part 2).
Once the news is officially confirmed, this article will be updated with the relevant information.
In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Yuukoku no Moriarty Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
Hopefully, the Japanese will love James Moriarty, the anti-hero, just as much as they love Sherlock. While the anime industry has shifted to streaming revenue being the most important factor for an anime’s financial success, the first week of Blu-Ray/DVD volume sales are still an indicator of popularity in Japan.
The Moriarty the Patriot Blu-Ray/DVD disc sets will consist of eight total volumes, with each volume having three episodes. The first disc volume released on January 27, 2021.
Unfortunately, if the Blu-Ray sales give us an idea of the anime TV series’ popularity, then Japan isn’t buying. The first Blu-Ray volume only sold 1,373 copies in its first week. But other anime have posted similar numbers yet are still renewed for second seasons (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Season 2 is a recent example).
Also, keep in mind the second cour may be officially labeled as Yuukoku no Moriarty Season 2. For example, Overlord Season 2 and 3 were considered separate seasons despite being released similarly to a split-cour anime. As such, some may consider an anime sequel to be Moriarty the Patriot Season 3.
But the elephant in the room is whether or not the Moriarty the Patriot manga’s ending is coming up soon. The second cour also quickly adapted almost all of the manga chapters that were available by June 2021.
As such, even if the manga continues on long enough for an anime sequel it’ll still be several years before Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 becomes possible.
Moriarty the Patriot 2022 OVA episodes
Although we’ll be waiting for years the second season, at least two new Moriarty the Patriot OVA episodes provided new content in the meantime.
The first OVA episode is titled “Recollection of Lily (Yuri no Tsuioku)”. The story features an artistocratic painter named Baron George Cubid. The painter/philantrophist has created a masterpiece painting that’s very popular for its usage of the lily motif.
“An incident that occurred in Bath, a popular spa resort for the upper class of London,” says the story summary on the official website. “William and Sherlock are intrigued by the truth behind this small incident…”
Braon Cubid will be voiced by Kenji Hamada. Additional guest cast members include Hirofumi Nojima and Atsumi Tanezaki.
OVA 2 is entitled “Moriarty Family Holidy (Moriarty-ke no Kyūjitsu)”. The second OVA will adapt manga Chapter 32: The Tea Party.
According to the official Twitter account, these two Moriarty OVA episodes will be pre-screened at a special event that’s being held in the Nakano Sun Plaza venue in Tokyo on March 5, 2022. The Moriarty Blu-Ray/DVD Volume 8, which released on October 27, 2021, will include an early entry form for event tickets.
The Moriarty OVA episodes will release in Japan on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 27, 2021. It’s currently unknown if streaming platforms like Crunchyroll will eventually release the two OVA episodes.
Is the Moriarty the Patriot manga ending or not? The game is still afoot…
The story for the anime is based on the Moriarty the Patriot manga series by author Ryosuke Takeuchi and illustrator Hikaru Miyoshi. Serialized in Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine since August 2016, the manga series is up to Volume 16 as of December 4, 2021.
VIZ Media is publishing the official English translation of the Moriarty the Patriot manga series. Volume 6 released on January 4, 2022, Volume 7 on April 5, 2022, Volume 8 on July 5, 2022, and Volume 9 on October 4, 2022.
One lingering question is the number of volumes before the Moriarty the Patriot manga’s ending. What is known for certain is that Volume 13 announced that the Moriarty the Patriot: Final Problem story arc reached a climax in Volume 14.
In Japanese storytelling, the climax almost always comes shortly before the ending since there is a four-act structure known as Kishōtenketsu.
- Ki : Introduction
- Shō : Development
- Ten : Twist (complication)
- Ketsu : Conclusion (reconciliation)
During the Twist phase, the story turns toward an unexpected development, and it contains the yama, or climax, of the story. Now, some manga can have multiple climactic moments, especially if the story structure is divided into sagas.
Chapter 48 reached The Final Problem (Saigo no Jiken) story arc, and OG Sherlock Holmes fans know how that ends at the waterfall. But both the anime and the manga went in a different direction where the Lord of Crime symbolically dies and Liam is reborn.
Without getting into spoilers, the manga appears to be stretching out the story between Sherlock and Liam with a new beginning for the former Lord of Crime. Started in April 2021, manga Chapters 57 through 64 told The Adventure of the Empty House story arc.
It’s apparently very loosely based on The Adventure of the Empty House, which was the sixth best Holmes story according to Doyle himself. The original story by Doyle was set three years after the events of The Final Problem and the apparent death of Sherlock.
It involved an unsolvable case of a locked-room murder of a noble. Dr. Watson retained an interest in crime and visits the murder scene where he has a run-in with an elderly deformed man.
When the person reveals himself to be Sherlock in disguise, Watson faints “for the first and last time in my life”! Sherlock explains that he had to fake his death to escape Moriarty’s henchmen and had spent three years traveling the world. Now reunited, the pair resumed their crime-solving.
It’s one of 13 stories that were part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes collection that Doyle released after succumbing to the public pressure to bring back the great detective. Therefore, if the Moriarty the Patriot manga continues to loosely follow the path forged by Doyle the manga’s ending could still be many chapters away.
Yuukoku no Moriarty manga compared to the anime
The Japanese really love Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes character. And so it’s with no surprise that Production I.G. made certain Moriarty the Patriot Episode 1 created the proper thrilling atmosphere required for the chase between the consulting detective and crime consultant… at least until the mood was broken by the studio’s choice for the ED music!
While that jarring change in tone was inexplicable, what was even more surprising was that the entire first episode was an anime original story. Arguably, this was a smart move since it allowed the anime to set the dramatic mood and create some criminal intrigue to draw audiences in before diving down into the backstory of the anti-detective.
Moriarty the Patriot Episode 2 shares the same title as Chapter 1: The Scarlet Eyes. While the opening manga panel starts with a literal cliffhanger by flashing forward to Sherlock and Professor James Moriarty dangling above a certain fateful waterful from The Final Problem, the remainder of the manga’s first chapter started slowly by introducing young William, Albert, and Louis Moriarty as children.
It’s quite the tonal shift since the opening manga chapter is relatively light-hearted until it introduces Albert’s reasons for hating the nobility and England’s unfair class system. The tension builds slowly to a climax, spiking to match the first episode’s raw brutality when Albert’s family members are summarily dispatched as part of the young trio’s first “perfect crime”.
The first episode was a great opening, and Episodes 2 through 9 maintained the same pacing, with Episode 9 corresponding to Chapter 9. Unfortunately, starting with Episode 10 the anime began to skip entire manga story arcs, jumping ahead to Chapters 15 and 16, The Two Detectives arc.
The anime skipped Chapters 10 and 11, The Hunting of the Baskervilles arc, which featured Fred saving kids from children-hunters. It also skipped Sebastian Moran’s backstory in Chapters 12, 13, and 14, The Man with the Golden Army arc.
While the anime condensed the story to focus on the William/Sherlock conflict, a faithful adaptation can only go so far since most scenes are necessary to maintain the plot continuity. The manga chapters are lengthy and filled with dialogue that builds the narrative like one domino at a time.
In the second cour, Moriarty the Patriot Episode 12 picked up the story again with Irene Adler in the A Scandal in British Empire arc, which is the longest story arc thus far in the manga series (Chapters 17 through 23). The final scene in Episode 11 introduced Mycroft Holmes in an audience with the British Queen, which is pulled straight out of the manga panels from the ending of Chapter 16.
The problem is that the anime didn’t establish how Albert James Moriarty is the boss of MI6 and that he knows Mycroft. As a solution, the anime’s writers simply had characters mention the pertinent facts and forge ahead, but such a decision was a detriment to the overall characterization of the story.
Originally, when I wrote this story I predicted that it’s “extremely unlikely that the anime writers intend on adapting all the way to the Final Problem arc. Attempting to adapt the manga’s ending would be foolhardy since adapting over 40 chapters with only 13 episodes would result in a train wreck with a dumpster fire for a caboose.”
I thought it possible that the “anime’s writers simply reordered the presentation of the timeline so that the first cour could end on a high note between William and Sherlock” and that “Moriarty the Patriot Episodes 19 through 24 will adapt the two skipped story arcs.”
How wrong I was. Instead, the anime adapted the Phantom of Whitechapel arc with two episodes, The Riot in New Scotland Yard arc with 1 episode, The Merchant of London with 1 episode, and The White Knight of London with 2 episodes.
Unfortunately, the anime skipped the short The Adventure of the One Student arc. It had Liam and Sherlock teaming up for a mystery at Durham University and it developed their friendly rapport with each other. Chapter 32: The Tea Party and Chapter 39: The Dark Night of London was also skipped.
From there the pacing caused the anime to begin rattling back and forth on the tracks. The Sign of Mary and The Two Criminals, became one episode each despite being four chapters each in the manga.
The anime then lept off the tracks when the first five chapters of The Final Problem were condensed into Episode 23. The finale, Episode 24, then put the production out of its misery by completing the remaining four chapters.
Perhaps I’m being overly dramatic with my description of how the anime adapted the manga. The anime remained fairly faithful to the source material despite trying to squeeze so much into two cours and anime-only audiences enjoyed what was depicted.
The problem is that the manga spent more time fleshing out the budding friendship between Liam and Sherlock. Even Liam’s relationship with his brothers suffered from all the cutting.
The anime did have to alter events in order to provide this conclusive finale where Sherlock and Liam both live to solve mysteries another day. But it did so in such a way where the anime could still reconnect to the manga if an anime sequel is ever greenlit for production.
All in all, the ending of the finale, Moriarty the Patriot Episode 24, corresponded to manga Chapter 56.
The bad news is that it will be years before there are enough new chapters released for Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 to be made. Worse, the official English translation probably won’t catch up to the anime until 2023 when the English Volume 15 is presumably released.
Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 anime spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
The last time anime audiences watched the Moriarty the Patriot anime the final dramatic conflict played out between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Liam publicly admitted that he’s the Lord of Crime and basically went on a killing spree, targeting corrupt nobles left and right.
Fred and Louis disagreed with Liam’s plan to sacrifice himself and approached Sherlock in order to save Liam from himself. In the end, the three brothers were separated, with Albert assuming the public blame for the Lord of Crime and Louis joining MI6 as a secret agent for the British crown.
Liam was assumed dead after the fall from Tower Bridge. Honoring Liam’s wishes, Watson publishes a book detailing him to the public as the evilest criminal Sherlock ever faced. The final scene had Sherlock tracking Liam down to Switzerland, which is a reference to how Doyle’s The Final Problem ended in a confrontation on top of Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.
This meeting happened three months later but what the anime didn’t show is how they reached that point. The manga also didn’t reveal that Liam was still alive until several chapters after the Tower Bridge fall.
After Sherlock and Liam fell from the Tower Bridge into the Thames they were rescued by American secret agent William H Bonney aka Bill the Kid.
It turns out the Americans had been observing the chaos in Britain and decided to take advantage of the situation. The Americans rescued Sherlock and Liam in exchange for both secretly working for the United States.
With the Moriarty brothers no longer being the Lord of Crime, Sebastian Moran, Fred Porlock, and Jack Renfield try to move on with their lives. But the sniper Moran takes Liam’s disappearance badly and eventually begins assassinating corrupt nobles.
As an MI6 agent, Louis investigates the murder and that’s when Sherlock unexpectedly returns to help. At Liam’s behest, Sherlock wants to stop Moran and save him from himself.
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Moriarty the Patriot Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!