The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt Season 2 anime TV series will have Natra Prince Wein Salema Arbalest and his loyal friend Ninym Ralei traveling to unexplored reaches of the ocean. But when will Genius Prince Season 2 (Tensai Ouji Season 2) come out?
The first season of the Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu anime series was produced by Japanese animation Studio Yokohama Animation Lab. The company has been around for about six years and they even created several 1-minute ONA episodes for the Jujutsu Kaisen series back in 2018. Otherwise, they’re best known for animating lesser-known anime projects like Miru Tights, Lapis Re:LiGHTs, The Journey, and Tawawa on Monday Season 2.
The main staff and studio making Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet.
For the first season, the project was helmed by director Makoto Tamagawa (Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou) and assistant director Xin Ya Cai (episode director for Lapis Re:LiGHTs, Arte).
Writer Hitomi Mieno (pen name Deko Akao) handled the series composition. She’s best known for her work on the Noragami anime series. In recent times, she has worked on My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend, Komi Can’t Communicate, The Dungeon of Black Company, Assassin’s Pride, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town?, Pokemon Journeys, The Detective Is Already Dead, and The Case Study of Vanitas.
Artist Ryuunosuke Ouji was the character designer. Composer Toshihiko Sahashi (Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory) created the music.
The Genius Prince Season 2 OP (opening) and ED (ending) theme song music hasn’t been announced yet.
For the first season, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt OP “LEVEL” was performed by Nagi Yanagi in collaboration with THE SIXTH LIE, while the ED “Alone and With You (Hitori to Kimi to)” was performed by Yoshino Nanjou.
The first season’s finale, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt Episode 12, was released on March 29, 2022.
- Updated March 9, 2022: Added Genius Prince English dub info.
This article provides everything that is known about The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt Season 2 (Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu Season 2 / Genius Prince Season 2 / Tensai Ouji Season 2) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news and rumors. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Funimation and Crunchyroll’s Genius Prince English dub release date
In Winter 2022, the first season of the anime TV series was streaming with English subtitles on FUNimation and Netflix Japan (not Netflix USA, Hulu, VRV, or Amazon Prime Video). Crunchyroll didn’t initially stream the series, but after the March 2022 merger was announced all of the Funimation shows slowly moved over.
The FUNimation Simuldub schedule initially listed the show merely as a Simulcast. Oddly enough, the main page on Funimation listed the Genius Prince TV show as being both Dub and Sub even in early March 2022 before the dubbed version was officially announced.
Here is the Genius Prince English dub cast:
- Dallas Reid as Wein Salema Arbalest
- Michelle Rojas as Ninym
- Amber Lee Connors as Falanya
- Kimberly Grace as Fyshe
- Brian Mathis as Hagal
- Elizabeth Maxwell as Nanaki
- Ben Phillips as Claudius
- Gabe Kunda as Raklum
- Alexis Tipton as Lowellmina
The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt English dub release date was on March 8, 2022.
Assuming the second season is produced, the Genius Prince Season 2 English dub will presumably be announced in the future.
Tensai Ouji Season 2 release date predictions
As of the last update, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan, Studio Mausu, Studio Yokohama Animation Lab, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a Genius Prince 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 Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
Some may argue that the Genius Prince anime’s first season suffered from the bad fate of being released in the same time frame as the isekai story How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom anime. While the two stories do seem at first glance to share the same premise of an intelligent ruler leading his kingdom to prosperity, the similarities are rather shallow once you dive down into watching both. In short, Genius Prince is not a discount Realist Hero knockoff.
Realist Hero is largely focused on the nitty-gritty politics and socioeconomic issues of running the king’s harem a fantasy feudal kingdom whereas Genius Prince thrives on its bombastic characterization and the game of manipulation played between the nobility. The double-dealing, intrigue, and political machinations all lend to the humor rather than taking on a serious air.
The main difference in characterization is Prince Wein’s Jekyll and Hyde act where he behaves like the perfect realist leader Souma in front of his peers but in reality, Wein just wants to sell off everything for a kingly price and run for the hills into early retirement. The comedic plot twists are basically a combination of “task failed successfully” and Murphy’s Law, where a very The Producers-like Wein is trying in vain to make failed political decisions for personal gain and reduced responsibility.
The character dynamics are helped by how Ninym is the perfect foil to Wein’s impulsive childishness (when doors are closed) and their chaste love isn’t simply yet another harem trope. Similar to how Re:ZERO’s Subaru only loves Emilia, Wein’s heart belongs to Ninym alone… and she just happens to be another white-haired anime girl of a discriminated race voiced by Rie Takahashi. It’s also great when Wein’s switch is hit and he instantly becomes all murder-y to anyone who dares insult his waifu as a disposable Flahm.
The playful rivalry between Ninym and Princess Lowa comes off as a real friendship rather than forced drama. Better yet, Princess Falanya transformed from a Brocon trope that served as a vehicle for exposition to being fleshed out as a character (you have to wonder why Wein doesn’t consider grooming Princess Falanya into a great ruler in his stead).
Based on all these differences the Genius Prince reviews stand on their own without needing to constantly reference Realist Hero. In that regard, the scores for Genius Prince are only slightly better but still good.
The main difference affecting review scores is that Realist Hero maintained a thoughtful adaptation pacing that gave ample time to explore four light novels in 26 episodes. By contrast, Genius Prince blasted through half of the source material in only 12 episodes (see the light novel comparison section below for more details). While that’s pretty typical for the anime industry, light novel purists hate it when anime adaptations condense the story by skipping over the details.
Regardless, the fact that the Genius Prince anime’s first season still managed to score higher with fans is enough to have hope for the future. We’ll just have to wait and see if it becomes popular enough in 2022 for a continuation to be renewed by the anime production committee.
Genius Prince manga, light novel series compared to the anime
The story for the anime series is based on the Genius Prince light novel series by author Toru Toba and illustrator fal_maro. Like many anime fantasy adventures, the story began as a Genius Prince web novel that was first self-published on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. When the anime premiered in Winter 2022, the light novel adaptation was up to Volume 11.
The series is also known by the longer English title The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt ~Hey, How About Treason?~. The Japanese title Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~ literally translates into English as The Genius Prince’s Method for Revitalizing a Deficit-Ridden Nation – That’s Right, Let’s Sell the Country!, which is more in line with Wein’s actual motives in the anime version since he doesn’t talk about committing treason… well, unless you count selling the country to the Empire as treason.
The original creator teamed up with artist Emuda to create the Genius Prince manga adaptation. Serialized in Square Enix’s Manga UP! online magazine since October 2019, the Tensai Ouji manga is already up to Volume 6 as of March 7, 2022.
North American publisher Yen Press is handling the official Genius Prince English translation, which was up to Volume 9 as of May 17, 2022. Unfortunately, an English manga translation has not been announced yet.
As previously mentioned, the anime adaptation greatly condensed the story of the light novels. While this is par for the course for anime industry, the difficult part with adapting this story is that the books dive down into complex topics at length. Due to the limited runtime of the TV format, even though several episodes skipped the OP and ED videos the anime was forced to simplify dialogue to the point that sometimes the character’s actions and motivations were changed.
For example, Prince Wein’s character wasn’t given enough time to be fleshed out before going to war. Episode 1 pretty much skipped around 100 pages of an entire chapter. Without this missing context, it’s difficult to understand Wein’s behavior and personality until later flashbacks in the anime. Worse, many of the Wein and Ninym interactions hit the cutting room floor.
Even some of his long-term plotting was changed. Wein negotiated with the Empire’s ambassador to train his army as a crucial part of his overall plan to sell off his country. The anime mentioned this training in the context of unexpectedly winning the war with Marden, but his actual plan directly hinged on the Emperor being alive to absorb his country… not Lowa and her brothers busily contesting each for the throne in a succession battle.
Episode 2 then adapted the second half of Volume 1 by skipping the rivalry between two of the Marden king’s retainers, the Mahdia and the Stella. Scenes with ambassadors and other characters were removed, but at least the hilarity of Wein’s reactions to the gold mine was retained.
Episodes 3 and 4 also failed to adequately explain why Flahms were persecuted and how Ninym came to serve Prince Wein. A paragraph from Volume 2 summarizes the issue:
Since ancient times, the Flahm had been persecuted across the continent— particularly in the West. Those who had settled in the Kingdom of Natra after wandering through many lands were only a subgroup. The king at the time had accepted the oppressed Flahm and welcomed their deep insight from a life of traveling the continent. Among them was the leader of their people, a Flahm named Ralei, who had been in the king’s favor and served as his lifelong aide. From then on, a successive line of talented Flahm descendants had been appointed to new generations of kings.
The anime does eventually tell audiences that Ninym would slit her own throat if Wein proposed marriage since the sociopolitical ramifications would be huge. And, no, despite everyone suspecting it, the earlier light novels do not mention whether one of Wein’s secret motives for selling the country is so that he would be free to marry her as a commoner.
Episode 5 finished off Volume 2. Giving more time to Lowa’s introductory story arc was a good move. The only surprise is that the anime didn’t have Wein briefly mention that the whole incident sent Natra’s budget deep into the red.
Episode 6 made the interesting change of not introducing Prince Helmut to Prince Wein like in the books. The light novels also had a Marden ambassador named Jiva, who was originally introduced in Volume 1, claim that Zeno was the ambassador’s nephew. Doing away with a minor character completely didn’t really impact the plot at all so it allowed the anime to simplify the subterfuge while keeping intact the mystery surrounding Zeno’s identity as the Marden princess.
One major characterization change was to Hagel. In the light novels, Hagel didn’t retire, he was ordered by Wein to spread rumors that he was discontented with Wein’s leadership in order to draw out the rebellion and stamp them out. Wein even wrote a book that satirized the actions of the Western nobility in order to weaken them.
Another major issue is whether or not Wein should truly become a Holy Elite. In the books, Ninym suggested that Wein should cut off her race the Flahm by becoming a Holy Elite if it meant Natra would benefit. This scene was important since it showcase Ninym’s loyalty to Wein over the Flahm and her own family.
Episode 8 condensed the beginning of Volume 4 by removing a conversation between Lowa and Falanya intended to lower the guard of the younger woman. More importantly, First Prince Demetrio Earthwold originally tried to intimidate Falanya with an assassination attempt that was foiled by the bodyguard Nanaki.
After all those professional assassins were killed, Demetrio was crazy enough to think he should try again, but an advisor talked him down since security would be tightened after the first attempt. Killing a foreign princess would also have severe ramifications throughout the Empire. Thus, Demetrio confronting Falanya with the marriage proposal was actually the backup plan.
Episode 9 mostly finished Volume 4 by skipping Wein’s meeting with Bardloche and Manfred at Cosimo’s manor. The anime showed the secret meeting between Wein and Lowellmina at the bell tower but skipped their reunion with former classmates Glen and Strang, which made sense since the anime skimmed over Wein’s school days and the two characters don’t play a major role until later books. On the other hand, Ibis was wedged into the plot despite having no role in this light novel story arc.
Episode 10 finally introduced Marden ambassador Jiva but the anime didn’t explain that Jiva (legitimately?) opposed the marriage to the princess since Wein had murdered a ruler in his own kingdom only to set the city on fire. The episode also skipped a humorous scene where Ninym messed up Wein’s hair after he lost a game of cards.
Episode 12 made a bunch of changes that reduced the roles of Tolcheila and General Boren. It was Hagal who delivered the final blow against Gruyere, not Ninym.
Most importantly, the peace deal talks in Episode 12 left out how Natra is given access to Soljet capital’s harbor, which was necessary to set up the beginning of Genius Prince Season 2. It’s not that hard to fix since the second season could simply have a character briefly state one of the results of the peace talks was the harbor access.
Thankfully, despite all the skipped scenes and dialogue, the Genius Prince series is much more focused on comedy than Realist Hero. It didn’t need layers of dense dialogue in order to convey the gist of what was going on while still generating a good laugh along the way. Although Genius Prince has much faster adaptation pacing, it doesn’t suffer from the scene skips and content cuts like Realist Hero would have if the latter series had adapted multiple books per cour.
People looking for a word-for-word adaptation of an entire book series are almost always guaranteed to be disappointed by any anime. This adaptation had quick pacing yet it made the goal of keeping the heart of what made the source material interesting: the Prince’s personality and his relationship with Ninym.
Skimming the first volume allowed the anime to quickly jump past the “less serious Realist Hero” type sections and develop the atmosphere the series is known for. The story shines best when the focus is on politics and humor, not on war and battle story arcs.
All in all, as predicted the ending of the first season’s finale, Genius Prince Episode 12, corresponded to light novel Volume 5.
The good news is that there are plenty of light novels available right now for creating Genius Prince Season 2.
The bad news for manga readers is that by Genius Prince Episode 7, the anime had surpassed the manga. As of manga Volume 6, the manga was close to finishing light novel Volume 3, which means manga readers will need to wait to read ahead of the anime.
Tensai Ouji no Akaji Season 2 anime TV spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
Clear skies. Deep-blue sea. Tropical sun baking the sandy beach. Wein finds himself whisked away to the Patura islands in the tropical south, trying to make the best use of his access to the port in Soljest.
These islands are at the top of Wein’s list of potential trade partners, and if he doesn’t come back to Natra with a deal in hand…let’s just say his monthly expenses might run him completely dry.
It seems, however, that the gods are not on his side: One little slip-up lands him behind bars in the island nation. The only silver lining, it seems, is that his neighbor the next cell over seems like an interesting guy… who might have something to do with the hunt for the Rainbow Crown, a piece of treasure housing magic that can control all of Patura!
After that misadventure, Wein pretty much finds himself in hot water only to end up in the frying pan… and wishing he could use it on the head of a certain Imperial Prince Demetrio! Wein ends up joining a meeting between Demetrio and his advisers, who are quite befuddled since Wein wasn’t invited.
Owing a favor to Princess Lowellmina, Wein had inserted himself at the meeting at her behest in hopes of preventing her three brothers from tearing each other to pieces while seeking the Imperial throne. Demetrio is the least likely of the brothers to become the next emperor of Earthwold, but somehow or another Wein has found himself… teaming up with Demetrio!?
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Genius Prince Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!