Crunchyroll’s Onyx Equinox Season 2 anime may have a chance considering how popular the first season of the Aztec anime was on the streaming service. What will happen to the characters like Izel, gods like Mictlantecuhtli, and the bet between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl?
Already, creator Sofia Alexander has been talking about her ideas for the future of the franchise. Alexander says she would like to see an OST (official soundtrack), an art book, Nendoroids, and other merch released.
She would also like to create “a Zelda-like open-world game of the world and myth of Onyx Equinox. I have ideas.”
“If you want [Onyx Equinox] season 2, merch, and other goodies related to Onyx Equinox, you have to show your enthusiasm and ask Crunchyroll for it all,” Alexander tweeted. “The OST/ art book/game/ figures/ apparel, etc. The team and I have no power to bring you any of the above, you have to ask CR!”
This message is being broadcast loud and clear at least in one country. Interestingly enough, although the anime was targeting Western audiences with its Mesoamerican tale based in Mexico, it was the Japanese who found the adult-oriented story the most appealing.
In fact, Crunchyroll’s 2020 most popular anime list revealed that the first season was the number one fan favorite in Japan for the year, beating popular anime like Black Clover, Jujutsu Kaisen, Boruto, Attack On Titan, My Hero Academia Season 4, Tower of God, Re:ZERO, and The God of High School.
Mexico itself favored My Hero Academia while Jujutsu Kaisen was the most popular in the United States and 70 other countries throughout the world. Latin America was watching Attack On Titan: The Final Season and Jujutsu Kaisen the most.
Another measure of success was the first season’s odd release schedule. The anime series premiered on November 11, 2020, and new episodes were coming out weekly at first. The finale, Onyx Equinox Episode 12, was originally supposed to be streaming in February 2021.
Instead, the demand for binge-watching was so high that Crunchyroll decided to release the entire second half of the first season on December 26, 2020.
This article provides everything that is known about Onyx Equinox 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.
Crunchyroll’s Onyx Equinox Season 2 release date predictions
As of the last update, Crunchyroll or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Onyx Equinox Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of an Onyx Equinox 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 Onyx Equinox Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
The best news, of course, is that the anime was very popular in Japan. The first season was also one out of only 9 anime to make the 2020 most popular list which bodes well for the series being renewed.
The Onyx Equinox anime is considered one of the first Crunchyroll Originals anime that launched in 2020. Others include Tower of God, In/Spectre, The God of High School, Noblesse, Meiji Gekken: Sword & Gun, FreakAngels, and High Guardian Spice.
Thus far, the Crunchyroll Originals don’t have a good record of being renewed quickly. The In/Spectre Season 2 anime was the first to be confirmed and that was after eight months of waiting so a similar wait should be expected for the Onyx Equinox Season 2 announcement.
Another issue is that Sony’s FUNimation bought Crunchyroll in December 2020 for $1.2 billion. It’s currently unknown how that will impact the Crunchyroll Originals like Onyx Equinox Season 2 and whether the two streaming platforms will merge into one.
Another major issue is the availability of the studios and staff. For example, Sofia Alexander just took a job at Disney TVA.
That’s not unusual since the main staff on animation/anime projects are almost always contractors who hop from studio to studio for each project. When fans expressed worry that Onyx Equinox Season 2 would be impacted Alexander assured them on Twitter that wasn’t the case.
“Hi all! I see many of you are discouraged about a potential 2nd season for Onyx Equinox because I started work at Disney TVA. Don’t worry! Nothing has been decided. These things take time,” Alexander tweeted. “I’m also going to be working on multiple other projects so DTVA won’t be my only job. All of these are a limited contract because that’s the nature of animation. Again, this doesn’t mean anything for the future of Onyx Equinox.”
That tweet also revealed that Onyx Equinox Season 2 hasn’t yet been greenlit for production (or at least Crunchyroll isn’t ready to make the decision public).
Animation projects are scheduled years in advance since studios are often booked up for multiple projects. It also takes time to gather the voice talent and animation contractors. A regular anime season of 12 episodes often takes 6 to 12 months to animate and that’s not taking into account the months of pre-production.
Therefore, in the best-case scenario, the series is renewed in the second half of 2021. That would mean the Onyx Equinox Season 2 release date would be scheduled for late 2022 or 2023.
#OnyxEquinox Finished all the episodes yesterday. Quetzalcoatl is a must to doodle! pic.twitter.com/KUhTq9PzNq
— 𝔅𝔬𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔠𝔞 (𝔐𝔦𝔡𝔦𝔲𝔰) 🐉 (@BotanicaXu) January 17, 2021
Onyx Equinox anime was produced by Crunchyroll Studios and Korean companies
Besides being a Crunchyroll Originals anime, the first season was the first original series to be produced entirely out of Crunchyroll Studios. Sofia Alexander was both the creator and the executive producer alongside Margaret M. Dean.
Much of the animation work was supported by studios Tiger Animation and DR Movie, both of which are based in South Korea, not Japan. As such, Onyx Equinox is considered to be anime-inspired animation due to its connections to western cartoons.
In a statement, Alexander discussed these issues and her desire for the TV show.
“For anime fans, I want them to view Onyx Equinox the way they experienced some of their first anime, like for example, Naruto or Inu-Yasha. Both those series are deeply connected with Japanese culture, history and mythology. Even if you know nothing about Japanese culture, you connect with the characters and their emotions and struggles, and you become more familiar as you watch, and become more interested in learning about those things. I hope that you have the same draw to mesoamerican culture as well. For fans of Western animation, I hope they see the appeal of action-drama animation for adults. For Mexican fans, I hope they feel at home watching this series and recognize some of the locations we visit. Lots of Latin Americans grew up on anime, so I hope they feel seen in some way by this series, and feel inspired to tell their own stories from their own experiences.”
Tiger Animation has previously worked on many Western animation projects including Netflix’s Castlevania, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and multiple Justice League/Superman/Batman/Spider-Man projects. But they’ve also collaborated on true anime like Berserk.
DR Movie is partially owned by Studio Madhouse and works frequently with Japanese companies on anime projects. Notable anime include Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Cowboy Bebop. They’re also co-producing the 2021 The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 anime with Studio Kinema Citrus.
Let’s just hope the wait for the Onyx Equinox Season 2 release date isn’t too long. Stay tuned!