To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 is a necessity simply because the first season of the anime left audiences hanging in the middle of the story. Yes, Hank Henriette managed to take down many of his former Incarnate comrades, but the vampire Incarnate Cain Madhouse still lurks in the shadows.
The good news is that the manga is now long enough to make a 2nd season. But will Studio MAPPA return to animate the sequel?
(Check out the above video for a peek at the key animation process.)
This article provides everything that is known about To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts 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.
Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e Season 2 release date predictions: Renewal unlikely?
As of the last update, MAPPA or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced.
Once the studio official confirms the news, we will update this article with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
Anime streaming revenue is now the most significant factor when it comes to producers deciding to renew an anime series. Thankfully, on that front, Sacred Beasts seem to be doing decently, often coming close to the top of the Crunchyroll popular anime list whenever a new episode aired.
But Oricon rankings of the Blu-Ray/DVD box sets are still considered a metric of success. Four volumes were released, with each volume containing three episodes. The first Blu-Ray volume was released on September 26, 2019, but it did not make the Oricon Top 20 for BD/DVD sales during that time period.
Considering that by early 2023 the manga provided plenty of source material for making an anime sequel, Anime Geek is predicting that the producers will not renew this series and have it canceled. That means anime-only fans will need to turn to the still ongoing manga to see how the story ends.
To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts manga compared to the Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e anime
The story for the anime is based on the Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e manga by writer and illustrator Maybe (yes, that’s the pen name). Serialized monthly since June 2014 in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, the manga series is already up to Volume 14 as of October 7, 2022.
Starting in May 2016, the official English translation of the To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts manga series began being published in North America by the publisher Vertical. As of July 12, 22022, the official English Sacred Beasts manga was already up to Volume 13.
The anime is a straight-forward adaptation of the manga series. It’s certainly not a panel-by-panel adaptation since the very first episode was an original opening to the entire story that attempted to give audiences a reason to empathize with the beasts. The manga could be more dialogue-heavy. It delves down to the struggle against losing your humanity due to the psychological and emotional trauma of war while the anime leans more toward spending time on depicting the action and violence.
The anime also made some story tweaks while adjusting the in-story tech to increase the action. The “Coup de Grace” Anti-Incarnate military unit was initially composed of brave soldiers fighting beasts with standard equipment. In the anime, they used specialized, high-tech gear.
Some could argue this makes the action scenes more interesting since they have that Attack On Titan feel due to the enhanced gear. On the other hand, it reduces the weight of the battles since the beasts suddenly feel less overwhelmingly powerful. The upgraded tech also removes that feeling of the post-U.S. Civil War time period. This change makes the introduction of chemical warfare near the anime’s ending not nearly as shocking as it should be considering what tech is available.
Other than these changes, the first season of the anime focused episodes on an “Incarnate beast of the week.” That’s also an issue with the manga since the first three manga volumes had two to three mini-story arcs per volume. Even by the manga creator’s admission, Volume 4 was “dogs from beginning to end” with its focus on Nancy Schaal Bancroft and Hank Henriette. He also said, “Volume 5 turned out to be nearly entirely an arc about Centaurus.”
Starting with later volumes, the manga author intended on having more characters involved in the plot. “From now on we’re going to use a wider perspective,” said Maybe in the Afterword of Volume 4.
The author kept his word. One of the longest story arcs, Memories of the Beginning, spanned two volumes with 10 chapters.
The first season ends right before the story arguably starts to become interesting since it begins delving down into the secrets of this world. To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Episode 12 concluded by adapting the story of the Incarnate centaur Dr. Miles Byron in the Immortal Beast arc, which ran from Chapters 24 through 28 of Volume 5.
The final episode also dipped down into the first couple chapters of Volume 6, but the way it adapted the fight between Hank and Cain was arguably better. Having Hank essentially go Super Saiyan and give Cain a nice punch was much more satisfying than the one-side whooping that Cain gave everyone in the manga.
It was not a great stopping point since it leaves audiences on a “go read the manga” cliffhanger. However, it’s the best the anime could have done without increasing the pacing to an unhealthy extent. It’s also not the fault of the anime since the manga itself ends Volume 5 on a cliffhanger ending with Hank’s battle against Cain still lingering.
The anime also had the North seize Bold Creek fort without a certain significant event from the manga ever occurring (see the spoilers for details). This event was probably stripped out since it allowed the protagonists to have more than a pyrrhic victory in the anime’s ending.
The last several scenes were also anime original segments intended to give resolution to the story whereas the manga just jumped straight into the next story arc. It could be argued that the final ending scene of Episode 12 teased To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 since it showed that Cain was keeping Elaine alive in a holding chamber.
That means To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 will likely pick up the story again in Chapter 30 of Volume 6. The good news is that English-only manga readers can read of the anime immediately since Volumes 6, 7, 8, and 9 are already out in North America.
Better yet, the manga already provides enough source material for MAPPA to produce Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e Season 2 as a single-cour anime sequel. Since new manga chapters are released monthly, it took several years before there were enough chapters for two cours or To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 3.
To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 spoilers (plot synopsis/summary)
The last time we watched Hank Henriette’s quest, the Incarnate Centarus was felled by chemical weapons during the battle to capture Bold Creek Fort that were developed by researching the Incarnate Hydr’s corpse. Hank confronted Cain Madhouse and discovered to his horror that Cain can now use new abilities even during the day. Worse, Cain’s New Patria has subdued the South by killing the leadership who’d previously pledged to stay neutral.
The Patrian government is developing new weapons using Incarnates like guinea pigs, and the military leaders are perfectly willing to sacrifice their own soldiers, which makes you wonder whether the government or the rebel army is on the side of justice.
“Wouldn’t you say the humans who use such terrifying methods are the true beasts here?” Cain Madhouse asks Claude.
But Cain is conducting some dark experiments of his own, and they somehow involve a young girl named Miglieglia.
These experiments result in a new type of threat when the dead people of Bold Creek Fort rise again and rush the troops like a horde of undead zombies. The northern forces don’t want to harm civilians, but they’re forced to defend themselves.
This is the story event from Chapter 30 that was skipped by Episode 12. Although the anime showed the Northern soldiers holding the fort with no problems, it’s possible that To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 could retcon the first season’s ending slightly by having the civilians become zombies after Hank and Schaal left. It’s not like the scene should be skipped entirely since it’s the very reason everyone suspects Miglieglia is an Incarnate.
The government and the rebel leadership meet when Cain requests a face-to-face meeting with the Patrian President. Cain portrays the events in Bold Creek as if the northern troops fired upon and killed the civilians in a massacre, which angers people in the south.
Cain argues that he could march his troops on the northern capital but doesn’t want to lose any of his Incarnates. As such, he offers a truce and the northern president reluctantly agrees to peace negotiations. That means the surviving Incarnates are now under the protection of New Patria and momentarily safe from being executed by Coup de Grace.
In the anime’s ending, Hank and Schaal just kinda walk away from the fort with soldiers waving goodbye, but in the manga they are deserting from the military which means they’ll be surviving on savings alone. Hank and Schaal investigate a small logging village called Double Walker Town, completely deserted except for a kindly ex-Incarnate soldier named Robert “Robin” Arbell.
Known as the Doppelganger Incarnate, Robin can create innumerable soldiers and make them fight. Robin claims he hasn’t used his powers in ages and whenever he tries his head hurts and a fog comes over his mind.
Robin has forgotten his role in the war, and just days ago, he came to his home town to find it empty. Although Cain sheltered him in New Patria, Robin believes Cain is wrong to keep fighting since more people are coming to harm.
Regardless of Robin’s kind actions and words, Hank is suspicious of Robin. But when night falls it may turn out, there’s a more substantial threat in the small town.
In uncovering the truth of the disappearance of the townsfolk, Hank receives a tip to travel to Ecole. This locale is an underground facility built into a mine. He’s warned that Cain is attempting to figure out how to make more Incarnates.
Hank travels with Schaal and Liza back to Ecole, the place where the Incarnates were made. The facility was abandoned six years ago, and locals claim that at night the site is full of ghosts. There, they uncover the truth of how Incarnates were created and Hank recalls his memories of the genius who created the Incarnates, Elaine Bluelake.
Unfortunately, anime fans who want to know those secrets will have to wait until the To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 release date. Stay tuned!
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts Season 2 studio, staff, and music
The first season of the Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e anime was animated by animation studio MAPPA. Pretty much all the central staff worked together in the past on either Yuri On Ice or Banana Fish. The exception is scriptwriter, Shigeru Murakoshi, who worked on the MAPPA original Zombie Land Saga. He presumably will also be working on the upcoming sequel Zombie Land Saga Revenge.
Jun Shishido has experience as an episode director. The Sacred Beasts anime was his first time as the principal director. Then there’s character designer Daisuke Niinuma, who is also the chief animation director. Takayuki Sano is the character designer for the Incarnates, while Chikako Kamata is the color designer, and Hirofumi Morikawa is the art director.
As for the main cast, Katsuyuki Konishi plays as Hank, Ai Kakuma as Nancy Schaal Bancroft, Yūichi Nakamura as Cain Madhouse, and Kurodo Wizasu as Claude Withers.
The opening theme song for the first season was “Sacrifice” by Mafumafu, while the ending theme song was “HHOOWWLL” by Gero×ARAKI.