The Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 anime will have “troubleshooter” Makoto Majima solving mysteries for the G-Boys now that the Red Angels disbanded. But when will IWGP Season 2 come out?
The first season of the anime was produced by Japanese animation studio Doga Kobo, which also produced the Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle anime in the same 2020 time frame.
The IWGP anime stands out in their portfolio since the studio is best known for adapting manga slice-of-life comedies like Asteroid in Love, How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift?, and New Game! The feel of the anime seemed more like Madhouse or Bones rather than a Doga Kobo work.
For the first season, the anime project was helmed by director Tomoaki Koshida. He’s best known for directing Helpful Fox Senko-san at Doga Kobo, although he’s been an episode director for popular anime such as Gintama and the Vinland Saga anime (whose lead director has been discussing Vinland Saga Season 2).
Writer Fumihiko Shimo (Amagi Brilliant Park, BOFURI: I Don’t Want To Get Hurt So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Clannad, Fairy Tail, Full Metal Panic!, Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai, New Game!, Talentless Nana, Umineko) wrote the series composition. Artist Junichiro Taniguchi (Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story) was the character designer. Composers Daijiro Nakagawa and Ryuichi Takada (Highschool of the Dead) created the music.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 OP (opening) and ED (ending) theme song music has not yet been announced.
For the first season, the Ikebukuro West Gate Park OP “Needle KNot” was performed by the Pinballs, while the two ED’s “After Song” and “Omou Mama” were both performed by Innosent in Formal.
The first season was originally supposed to be streaming in July 2020 but was delayed to fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the anime industry.
The Ikebukuro West Gate Park anime was a FUNimation Now exclusive in the USA, Canada, and the UK. AnimeLab was streaming the TV series in Australia and New Zealand. FUNimation’s Ikebukuro West Gate Park English dub has not been announced.
The first season’s finale, Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 12, released on December 22, 2020.
This article provides everything that is known about Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 (IWGP 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.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 release date predictions
As of the last update, studio Doga Kobo or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced.
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 IWGP Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
The ending of IWGP Episode 12 definitely seemed to tease a second season since Makoto’s status was restored with King and the G-Boys. The final scene had someone approaching him for a new case and then the anime declared, “Life goes on.” But that’s hardly a confirmation of a production decision.
From a review standpoint, the Ikebukuro West Gate Park anime has averaged a lower score than most of Doga Kobo’s previous works. Notably, the Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle anime scored as well as New Game!, and it received a second season, so we might be watching Sleepy Princess Season 2 in the future.
Otherwise, Studio Doga Kobo isn’t exactly known for producing second seasons. But when they do it seems as if the productions were scheduled in advance since the second season comes out a year later.
Anime productions need to be scheduled out years in advance. Studio Doga Kobo typically produces three to five anime projects per year.
For 2021, they’ve already announced the singing idol anime Selection Project and the anime adaptation of the A Romantic Comedy Where the Childhood Friend Absolutely Will Not Lose light novel series.
They’re also adapting the My Senpai is Annoying manga in an unknown year. In 2022, the studio is adapting a story by Hajime Shinagawa called Mobius Dust.
Even if the first season of Ikebukuro West Gate Park overcomes its lower than average reviews it seems likely that anime fans will need to wait several years for the IWGP Season 2 release date.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park manga/novels compared to the anime
The story for the anime series is based on the Ikebukuro West Gate Park novel series by Japanese author Ira Ishida. The series started way back in September 1998 and finished in 2010 with Ikebukuro West Gate Park Volume 10: Pride.
The Japanese novelist is also known for his Call Boy series and several other standalone novels, with the 2019 Fushichoshonen being the most recent.
The earlier stories for the Ikebukuro West Gate Park book series were adapted into a 2000 live-action TV drama in Japan.
The Ikebukuro West Gate Park manga ran from 2001 through 2004 and was only four volumes long. Written by the original author, it was illustrated by artist Sena Arito.
The IWGP manga sequel Denshi no Hoshi was released as one volume in 2006. Similarly, the Ikebukuro West Gate Park R manga sequel was only one volume and it was published in October 2008.
The manga version’s story was dramatically different from the TV series. Although the same story arcs were adapted some characters were changed and others removed entirely.
Warning: The following contains major spoilers for the IWGP manga series.
The Ikebukuro West Gate Park 2020 anime completely skipped the initial story arcs of the manga series. Rather than focusing on how Makoto first earned his reputation, the anime had a tendency to focus on the short stories where each case was resolved within an episode.
Just like the books, the anime didn’t shy away from controversy. It dived into hot topics like immigration, extreme poverty, prostitution, and restorative justice in a reflective manner.
As a character, Makoto offered a stark contrast to Moriarty the Patriot, which aired in the same season. While hardly a great detective, Makoto stumbles through mysteries in a relatable fashion while doing his best to keep a firm grasp on his morality.
While Episodes 4 and 8 were good, IWGP Episode 10 offered the peak of emotional character development. Starting off with a crazy intro where the client demands that Makoto breaks someone’s leg, the director crafted a scene where silence weighed heavily on the perpetrator, making him consider what he’d done and what he planned to do in the future as everyone, including the victims, looked on.
This moral tale fits in perfectly with the opening line where Makoto predicted how the audience might react: “When it comes to the sentence of any given crime, someone will say it’s fair and someone else will say it’s too lenient. This time, it’s that kind of story.”
IWGP Episodes 11 and 12 capped off the season with a two-episode story arc where the G-Boys and Red Angels finally went head-to-head as promised in the OP. Makoto managed to stop the civil war in such a way that everyone entered a moment of self-reflection.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 anime story predictions (plot summary/synopsis)
When an anime jumps ahead in the official timeline it’s difficult to write spoilers. Where will the story go next?
Considering that the manner of presentation lends itself to non-linear storytelling it’d make sense for IWGP Season 2 to retell the original manga series (or even parts of the TV adaptation).
Originally, Makoto meets a girl named Hikaru who is running from attackers. Later, while hanging out with friends, Makoto becomes interested in Hikaru’s friend Rika as a girlfriend.
After Rika is found murdered, Makoto is beaten by the detectives during questioning until others attest to his good character. Makoto first earns his reputation with the police and the IWGP underworld by solving the mystery of who strangled Rika to death in a hotel.
While Makoto initially targeted the wrong guy, he eventually discovers that a jealous Hikaru masterminded Rika’s death. She had arranged for Yamai, a man from Makoto’s past, to mimic a local serial r*pist.
The case was more tragic than expected. Hikaru’s mind had been warped by being brutally molested by her father throughout her childhood. In the end, Yamai went to prison, and Hikaru is sent away from her father.
But Makoto’s girl problems are far from over. A yakuza boss demands that he track down the whereabouts of his wayward daughter, Princess. Makoto’s mother Ritsuko hires a girl named Kana Matsui to help around the shop and she becomes entangled in another plot.
It’s relationship-based stories like these that could make for an interesting anime sequel.
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Ikebukuro West Gate Park Season 2 release date to watch how the remainder of the stories are adapted. Stay tuned!