Surfing on the surge of light novels getting adapted into anime with a combo of magic academy, harem, action, and fantasy, the show Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor won hearts and fans who might want to know if Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Season 2 is on the table.
What happened so far in Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor
The Alzano Imperial Magic Academy is one of the most elite schools in the Alzano Empire. There, students study magic with the best teachers to become magicians. Sistine Fibel and her best friend Rumia Tingel are determined to improve their magic skills, even more so, for Sistine who wants to fulfill her grandfather’s wish by unraveling the mysteries surrounding a floating castle.
Everything changes the day their favorite professor retires and is replaced by Glenn Radars, a substitute teacher with no redeeming qualities. The man is lazy, rude, and quite pervy on the side. Whereas Sistine is irritated by the low standards of her new lecturer, Rumia seems to be more accepting of the newcomer.
And with good reason: Rumia is a princess and the sole survivor of an attack by evil mages and remembers Glenn saving her on that fateful day. She has a unique power called Amplifier that underground groups would like to seize for themselves, and when the story starts, she is actually hiding a fake identity.
However, the situation quickly turns when the Academy is attacked by a previous instructor who turns crazy. Glenn is forced to reveal his real strength and identity to repel the enemy: he is, in fact, “The Fool,” a former assassin, part of the Imperial Court Mage Corps, and devoured by remorses found in his past. Glenn, Rumia, and Sistine are connected through events linked to their backgrounds and goals as forces in the shadow relentlessly surround them. They will later be joined by Re-L, an artificial human that Glenn adopted when he was still in the military.
What is going on with Liden Films?
Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor premiered on April 4 and ended on June 20, 2017. It is directed by Minato Kazuto, written by Toko Machida, with Hiroaki Tsutsumi composing the score. The anime ran for 12 episodes. It is adapted from the eponymous light novel.
As is common with this genre, clichés and tropes are easy to pinpoint. The two main heroines fall in love with the protagonist, fanservice is present in each episode, the setting is in a magical high school, and characters adopt specific traits based on their role. If badly exploited, it can kill the whole series…which is not the case with RokuAka. It is not stellar either, but the show is easy to watch.
The animation is clean and average, even if several shots are used and reused (sometimes in the same episode), and the special effects for magic are easy on the eye. The character design uses the one in the light novels: it is nice, but nothing new. We saw those designs a hundred times before. Except for the girl uniform: the whole stripper outfit is a bit disconcerting. The world-building is a bit limited as most of the action takes place in the Academy. However, the magic system is thoroughly explained and perfectly aligned with the rules of the world the characters interact in. As said before, the characters follow their archetypes, but they all have their own goal, which adds some flavor to their characterization.
The story is fast-paced, perhaps, too fast. The storytelling is rushed, and therefore, a lot of the plot is lost in translation. The anime feels like the viewers are just watching Glenn saving the day again and again, but the reasons behind the bad guys’ attacks are blurry, if non-existent at all. The studio skipped over elements present in the light novels, giving the anime a sense of certain emptiness in places, which does not predict the scenario’s predictability. All in all, RokuAka is mindless fun and will do the trick if all you need is something to entertain you.
Linde Films is working on several projects at the moment: “Deji” Meets Girl, Built Divide, a new season for Saiyuki Reload, DiGi Charat, and the movie Child of Kamiari Month.
What do we know about Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Season 2 so far?
It has been a hot minute since we last heard from Liden Films regarding the anime. Nothing new has been released to the Anime community regarding this.
What are fans saying about Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Season 2?
RokuAka is a niche anime in a prevalent genre and thus gathered a small following. Based on the communities they’ve formed, they are pretty active, but they follow more the news about light novels and manga.
There’s a Japanese Twitter account giving regular updates about RokuAka, which is pretty much limited to the print medium. Due to the size of the fandom, fans gave up on a second season but continued to enjoy the series through the novels and manga. Interestingly, RokuAka received pretty good scores across the board, even if it is not considered popular.
Will there be Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Season 2?
The light novel is written by Tarou Hitsuji and illustrated by Kurone Mishima (of KonoSuba fame). Publication started on July 19, 2014, and it’s still ongoing, with 19 volumes out. The manga is also the work of Hitsuji but illustrated by Aosa Tsunemi. It counts 16 volumes published from March 26, 2015, to June 25, 2021. The manga and the light novels are good additions for people who only watched the anime as they include more details and fill in the plotholes. Seven Seas licensed the manga in English; however, the novel is being translated by fans and can be found online.
According to Google Trends, the interest over time is often waning, reaching zero on the graph and observing a sudden peak of relative popularity. This can be due to newcomers checking whether or not there is more material to watch.
Funimation released the combo pack (Blu-ray + DVD) on June 12, 2018. Upon release in Japan, the DVD sold 591 copies during its first week of release.
When will Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Season 2 be released?
The anime has not been renewed, so there is no date available.
What can we expect in Season 2 of Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor?
If season 2 is greenlit on the day, Linde Films will have plenty of material to work with as the manga is over and the light novels have 19 volumes. The first season only covered volumes 1-5. Doing so will surely help viewers forget about the rushed pace of the anime and provide more answers and lore to the existing anime.
You can watch Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor on Netflix, Funimation, and Crunchyroll.
