Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 release date predictions

Skeleton Knight 2
Will Arc be able to restore his body in Skeleton Knight Season 2? Pic credit: Studio Kai x Studio HORNETS

The Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 anime will have Arc, Ariane, Chiyome, and Ponta traveling to the fabled Lord Crown, the domain of the fearsome Dragon Lord. But when will Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu Season 2 come out?

The studio and main staff making Skeleton Knight Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet.

For the first season, the anime project was produced in a collaboration between Japanese animation companies Studio Kai and Studio HORNETS.

In recent times, Studio Kai is best known for anime such as  The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2, and Super Cub. They also co-developed 7 SEEDS Season 2 with Studio Gonzo. In 2022, Studio Kai also released the Fuuto PI (Fuuto Tantei) anime.

The Skeleton Knight anime was only the second big project for Studio HORNETS. In the past, they teamed up with Studio Satelight to make the Somali and the Forest Spirit anime.

The first season of the Skeleton Knight in Another World anime was helmed by director Katsumi Ono (Symphogear series). Writer Takeshi Kikuchi (Appare-Ranman!) wrote the series scripts.

Artist Tooru Imanishi (Super Cub) was the character designer. Music artists Eba (Saga of Tanya the Evil, No Game No Life) and Tsubasa Itou (Princess Connective! Re:Dive) created the music.

The Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 OP (opening) and ED (ending) theme song music hasn’t been announced yet.

For the first season, the Skeleton Knight in Another World OP  “Ah, My Rambling Ways! (Aa, Waga Roman no Michi Yo)” was performed y PelleK, while the ED “Who Called Us Fools? (Bokura ga Oroka da Nante Dare ga Itta)” was performed by Dialogue+.

Crunchyroll’s Skeleton Knight OP trailer.

The first season of Skeleton Knight in Another World was streaming in Spring 2022 with English subtitles on Crunchyroll and VRV (not Netflix, Hulu, Funimation, or Amazon Prime Video).

The first season’s finale, Skeleton Knight in Another World Episode 12, will release on June 23, 2022.

This article provides everything that is known about Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 (Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu 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

Skeleton Knight Season 2 release date predictions: Renewal uncertain?

As of the last update, Studio Kai, Studio HORNETS, Crunchyroll, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Skeleton Knight Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu Season 2 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 Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 release date will occur in the future.

The Skeleton Knight in Another World reviews have been solid but not amazing. But that’s not a surprise considering that the literal first second of Episode 1 was an attempted rape scene that forced me to quickly shut off the TV since kids were in the room.

I’m certain the backlash against just that scene is a factor in the anime fandom’s reaction to the anime. But the elephant in the room is the glut of isekai anime in recent years.

The basic premise of “gamer gets isekai-ed” has been done to death at this point. Virgin: The Executioner and Her Way of Life even makes fun of the concept by having a villain embody the trope. The only notable twist is Arc’s skeleton body since Arc’s former life, even including his Japanese name, doesn’t play any role at all in character development like in better iseaki anime stories like Mushoku Tensei.

There are no overarching motivations related to Arc trying to figure out this world and his place in it. Skelly Boi is basically like, “I like fantasy, I like elves, fan service elf girl is hot so I think I’ll help her on her mission to rescue elves.” He’s also a Good Boi who always says the right things as he roleplays a knight. Thus, Arc’s behavior is way too predictable since he’s basically a template Shonen protagonist.

Besides not caring at all about his former life, the biggest issue with the first season is that the curse of the skeleton body doesn’t have any deeper meaning or significance beyond, “Oops, I forgot that was the character skin I was using in the game! But look at my rad OP armor!” The skeletal body of Ainz Ooal Gown in Overlord directly represented how he was losing his humanity, whereas for Arc it’s just a temporary inconvenience that’s bypassed within several episodes.

At the same time, restoring his body from a curse transforms from a convenient roleplaying backstory to an actual long-term goal for Arc and Ariane, but that goal won’t be a major issue until Skeleton Knight Season 2. In the first season, Arc’s skeletal body is hardly a source of drama or emotional angst since he’s not persecuted and the elves accept him as he is despite wanting to help him find a cure.

(And to be fair, there is a lot more to reincarnated skeletal bodies in this fantasy world, but the anime does not adapt enough books to reach that point in the light novel series’ story. Light novel readers know that actual character development begins in Volume 4, which is unfortunate since that’s where Skeleton Knight Season 2 will pick up the story.)

Skeleton Knight Ariane
The Skeleton Knight anime didn’t exaggerate any of the elf girl fan service scenes since the manga also had the exact same comedic moment for Ariane. Pic credit: Akira Sawano

Regardless of the lack of serious character development or motivation in the first season, Arc is simply fun to follow around on his fantasy-seeking gamer adventures. He’s not quite a self-insert everyman since he does bring personality to the table in this wish-fulfillment power fantasy.

Arc’s antics almost remind me of a fantasy All Might, especially the way he laughs. Plus, everyone loves his pet spirit Pikachu Ponta… never mind the bromance between Arc and Goemon!

As for the side characters, Ariane does have character development, but it’s simply transforming from distrusting tsundere elf to skeleton knight fangirl. Ariane’s racism toward humans is also notable since she can’t even imagine co-existence with humans despite traveling with one. And furry beast ninja Chiyome initially presented a mystery to audiences but otherwise represented wish-fulfillment.

Overall, this skeleton isekai anime feels like the author took a bunch of elements from popular series and combined them into a light-hearted romp… that still features not-kid-friendly-at-all gore and multiple attempted rape scenes ala Goblin Slayer.

All of those better isekai series are getting anime sequels, but the question is whether the anime production committee can justify a Skeleton Knight sequel.

From a financial perspective, the first season was regularly featured on Crunchyroll’s popular anime list in Spring 2022, but it’s not a shoo-in for renewal like SPY x FAMILY Part 2 and The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2.

Another negative data point is that anime did not give a huge boost to the sales of the Skeleton Knight manga or light novel series. The series did not make the Oricon Top 20 manga or the Oricon Top 20 light novels for April 2022.

Therefore, it’s uncertain whether the anime production committee will have Skeleton Knight in Another World renewed for a second season. We’ll just have to wait and see since many isekai anime are receiving sequels.

Notably, Crunchyroll was directly on the anime production committee for this project.

Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 English dub release date

Crunchyroll’s Skeleton Knight in Another World English dub release date for the first season was on April 28, 2022, which was only several weeks behind the series premiere on April 7, 2022.

Here was Crunchyroll’s Skeleton Knight in Another World dub cast:

  • Brandon Johnson as Arc
  • Caitlin Glass as Ariane
  • Emi Lo as Ponta
  • Krystal LaPorte as Lauren
  • Marisa Duran as Rita

Presumably, now that Funimation is being phased out by Sony, Crunchyroll’s Skeleton Knight Season 2 English dub release date will be announced in the future after Skeleton Knight Season 2 has first premiered with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Hopefully, future English dubbing will be faster once the COVID pandemic winds down and becomes endemic. In order to protect voice actors from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, they were forced to temporarily pause production or take extra safety precautions that resulted in slowed work.

Many English dubbing houses have experienced delays since voice actors often travel to the recording studio. By mid-2022 Crunchyroll began switching from remote recording to in-studio recording again (most of the work is done in their Texas studio).

Skeleton Knight in Another World manga, light novels compared to the anime

The story for the anime is based on the Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu light novel series by author Ennki Hakari and illustrator KeG. Published by Overlap’s Overlap Novels imprint since June 2015, the book series up to Volume 10 as of March 25, 2022.

Like many isekai books, the story first was self-published as the Skeleton Knight in Another World web novel on the Let’s Become a Novelist (Shousetsuka ni Narou) website. Unlike many isekai web novels, the story is already finished as of March 2018. Divided into eight story arcs or volumes, the final ending was released as an Extra Chapter on July 16, 2018.

Starting in February 217, the original creator also teamed up with artist Akira Sawano to serialize the Skeleton Knight in Another World manga in Overlap’s Comic Gardo magazine. As of March 25, 2022, the Skeleton Knight manga was up to Volume 10, as well.

North American publisher Seven Seas Entertainment is handling the Skeleton Knight in Another World English translation for both the light novels and the manga. By March 14, 2023, the print light novel books will be up to Volume 10 in English, whereas the English manga will be up to Volume 9 as of September 13, 2022.

Skeleton Knight Volume 4
It’s predicted that Skeleton Knight Season 2 will pick up the story again in light novel Volume 4. Pic credit: KeG

As with all isekai anime based on light novels, the story was condensed in order to fit entire story arcs into the TV episodic format. This meant that some of the worldbuilding details from the light novels were skipped even at the beginning.

For example, there was a purpose behind Arc rescuing the noblewoman Lauren Luvierte and her maid Rita Farren from the bandits. Although Arc refused a reward since he didn’t want to risk meeting Lauren’s father Buckle, the maid did give him a passport token that allowed him free travel within the territory, which tells you a lot about the feudal nature of the society and the control that the nobility exerted on their subjects.

Many of the political details hit the cutting room floor with the anime. The biggest impact was to the parallel story arcs for Princess Yuriarna and the conspiracies with her brothers.

To be fair, the manga also skims over such details. The anime also did not rearrange the beginning too much. Yes, the manga really did open with an attempted rape scene like an edgy dark fantasy only to flashback to Arc waking up in the world.

Otherwise, the anime writer found ways to cut corners without changing anything major. For example, Ponta originally showed up in a later scene with poachers, not the basilisk. The cute fluff fox spirit was found in the cave cages, which also meant that Ariane Glenys Lalatoya showed up much sooner in the anime.

Also, Danka Niel Maple was the first elf that Arc encountered, not Ariane, so much of Danka’s early dialogue about elf slavers and mistrusting humans were given to her character. Ariane originally didn’t show up until Arc stumbled upon Lord Tryton Diento’s son and his bandit goons in manga Chapter 4.

Arguably, this change by the anime was an improvement to the story since it allowed Ariane to learn to trust Arc more slowly. The manga literally had Ariane hiring Arc as a mercenary mere minutes after meeting.

Speaking of enhancing the story, Episode 7 gave a good reason to stumble upon the Princess’ ambush, whereas in the book he just happened upon the dead bodies. Another welcome change was how the Haunted Wolves returned to help Arc after he rescued them by removing the control bracelet.

The adaptation pacing was also relatively good for an isekai anime series. Each episode adapted roughly one light novel chapter. The ending of book Volume 1 (which was only four chapters long) and web novel Arc 1 (web novel chapters are shorter since Arc 1 had 21 chapters) corresponded to Skeleton Knight Episode 4. (The manga finished adapting Operation: Elf Liberation in manga Chapter 8.)

All in all, as predicted the first season’s finale, Skeleton Knight Episode 12, found a stopping point corresponding to light novel Volume 3 (or manga Volume 4: Chapter 20, although the bits about Chiyome finding out Arc was a skeleton and Princess Yuriana essentially ending Ariane’s job came from Chapter 21).

It’s a good stopping point since it allows the season to finish with a climactic battle between Arc and the summoned Demon Ifrit and the monster tamer and his giant hydra. The anime’s depiction of the hydra fight was actually considerably better than the manga. Rather than Ifrit immediately stomping the giant beast, the anime allowed Arc to struggle before unleashing his OP abilities. And the fact that it wasn’t a horribly animated 3D CGI hydra was a pleasant surprise.

Ariane also gets proper plot resolution about the co-existence between humans and elves being possible in addition to some good-ol’ fashioned revenge for the fallen elves. Ariane getting the OP music while torching Fumba was such a satisfying touch. As for the monster tamer sorcerer, the anime was good enough to flesh out the character’s backstory before his demise so we understood why he deserved the flames of hell.

The only surprise is that the anime’s finale didn’t at least tease Lord Crown with a brief cameo since the dragon lord was clearly shown in the OP video.

The good news is that there is plenty of source material for making Skeleton Knight Season 2. Better yet, English-only readers who wish to read ahead of the anime can jump straight to light novel Volume 4 or manga Volume 5: Chapter 21.

Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu Season 2 anime TV spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)

Having made considerable progress toward freeing all of the enslaved elves, Arc and Ariane journey to the fabled Lord Crown, a mysterious forest containing a magical spring that just might be able to restore Arc’s body!

Arc is astonished to find it is actually a hot springs! Deciding to give his weary bones a rest, Arc tries to dive right in via Gating―only to encounter the fearsome Dragon Lord Wiliahsfim who doesn’t take kindly to a stranger wandering into his home and then literally stepping on him.

Tensions quickly rise and the two opponents unleash powerful attacks on each other. But even as the battle between knight and dragon seems to build to a fever pitch, the duel is interrupted by…. Ponta?!

Once the misunderstanding is cleared up the dragon is actually quite polite and hospitable. When Chiyome requests that her people be allowed to migrate to the Lord Crown, the place where Hanzou-sama used to live, the dragon quickly agrees!

When Arc dips his bony hand into the hot springs it immediately turns back into human flesh. So, after the ladies depart to give Arc some privacy, the naked skeleton cannonballs into the springs and is immediately restored from head to toe.

Of course, things can’t be that easy. When Arc immediately collapses from the overbearing weight of his body, Ponta goes running to find Ariane, who is stricken with worry when she discovers Arc passed out at the edge of the hot springs.

Arc awakens to find himself reverted back to a skeleton. Everyone is looking down at him with worried looks on their faces and he’s shocked to discover that he’s been unconscious for an entire month.

It turns out there really is more to the curse than expected. Dragon Lord Wiliahsfim had examined Arc’s body and he explained that Arc’s original human body is contained in another world. Arc’s soul couldn’t handle the sudden transformation, which caused his body to revert to its skeletal form. That means Arc’s quest isn’t over since he’ll need to search for another way to completely restore his body.

Skeleton Knight Arc Human Body
This is definitely a wish-fulfillment fantasy since when is the last time you saw an MMORPG gamer with a chiseled body like that? Pic credit: Akira Sawano

Meanwhile, Princess Yuriarna challenges Prince Sekt’s underhanded bid to take control of the Kingdom. With royalty facing off against royalty, who will emerge victorious?

Arc, Arianne, Chiyome, and Goemon’s adventures take them on a sailing voyage to the southern continent in pursuit of Arc’s newest culinary obsession: chili peppers! Of course, Arc’s belly isn’t the only leader of the expedition since they’re trying to find the legendary tiger clan and check in on their friend, Danka.

Their reunion is cut short, however, when they’re attacked by dark giants… and a dark swordsman from Chiyome’s past returns to haunt her. There are puppet armies, hidden manipulators, religious conspiracies, and even a nightmarish demon that lays siege to a human city. Has Team Skeleton bitten off a bigger bone than they can chew?

Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Skeleton Knight in Another World Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!

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