Ah, isekai, isekai.
You gave us everything and nothing: from original storylines with charismatic protagonists to more specific content with a lot of charm. You gave us lethargic nonsensical material (way too much, in fact). Mondaiji, as nicknamed by the community due to the original title being a whole book by itself, belongs to the fourth group. It is mindless entertainment to watch between better animes. This is undoubtedly a product that is not trying to be something it is not.
After its short Season 1, containing ten episodes, is it on the table for Mondaiji to produce Season 2?
What Happened So Far In Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They
Sakamaki Izayoi, Kasukabe You, and Kudou Asuka are teenagers originating from three different periods in time on Earth.
Their common purpose? The three of them have unmatched psychic powers and unpredictable characters.
The arrogant and perverted, Izayoi can negate and destroy other powers; Asuka is an arrogant and spoiled young lady who can command other people, reinforce objects, and summon a Golem; the stern and quiet You can control animals and use their attributes.
Bored with their world, the three children dream of something more exciting and tailored to their powerful abilities. Their wish is fulfilled when they all receive a mysterious envelope that whisks them away to a whole new world: Little Garden.
Little Garden is a world where people with supernatural powers called “Gifts” live in different communities and play games using their Gifts to solve conflicts. Everything and anything can be gambled, won, or lost: people, land, wealth, and so forth. There, they are welcomed by Black Rabbit, who is behind their summoning.
Black Rabbit’s community, “No Name,” lost everything to a mighty Demon Lord: from their social status to their name. Enthralled by those new perspectives, the three prodigies decide to join “No Name” and set off on a quest to retrieve the group’s dignity and prosperity and overthrow the despotic Demon Lords.
What Is Going On With Diomedéa?
Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? premiered on January 11, 2013, and ended on March 15, 2013, after ten episodes. The anime is directed by Keizou Kusakawa and Yasutaka Yamamoto, written by Noboru Kimura, and Shirou Hamaguchi composed the score.
In all its aspects, Mondaiji does not claim to be more than what it has to offer: what you see is literally what you get.
It is reminiscent of those simple animes with a target market for kids that you could find on TV on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. These include Doraemon, Anpanman, Panda Go Panda, and Pokemon as examples. With a bit of a wilder streak and way more sexual innuendo. But the sense of childish adventure and excitement is there. Mondaiji is senseless and shallow fun that you can watch and understand with an unplugged brain, with no need to examine situations more carefully to understand the product at hand.
Not like it will allow you to do so anyway: Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? has no character development, exposition, or strong narrative to offer. It might sound negative, but it is not. At all.
Bear in mind that the show is not trying to impress. It is a “come as you are” moment, so take it as such and enjoy watching the cast playing games and partaking in friendly banter and gimmicks. It is not like Pokemon has been selling wisdom and introspection, and many people will happily sit through a whole season. The principle is the same here.
Mondaiji is fast-paced, which serves the structure the anime follows pretty well since all it has to do is take the group from one point to the other without thinking about nurturing the narrative too much. The games follow each other quickly, the plot is barely developed, and there is no real tension. The games are supposed to be high-stakes, but our overpowered protagonists take everything that could help build some pressure away. We already know the good guys are going to win. Still, in contrast with No Game No Life, when they are supposed to be in a pickle, the big boss is suddenly dumbed down, and the anime tries to make us believe that the strategy the heroes come up with is revolutionary and oh-so-smart-wow. Surprisingly enough, for an isekai, there is no harm and no attempt to create anything remotely romantic. There is some gratuitous fanservice, but that is all. The jokes are on the weak side, but that is just fine because they are also a reminder that Mondaiji does not take itself seriously like that. You will not be caught laughing out loud, but the simplicity of the comedy will make you smile, and they go well with the tonal code of the anime. The world-building is poor, and that is a shame considering the premises introduced. The plot is taken from point A to point Z so quickly that the show is already switching gears as soon as you start wondering about the setting.
The cast of characters is not going through significant changes, none at all for the majority. The only people worth mentioning are our three protagonists and Black Rabbit. In general, characters in Mondaiji have nothing particular in their personality to get attached to, nor are they fleshed out in a way that would give them a real presence. It’s all clichés and stereotypes. Izayoi is in another league of his own: super strength, super speed, super-intellect, super abilities. He has everything, and he knows it. Izayoi is arrogant and rude, only looking for something challenging enough to be considered good fun. His willingness to first choose violence paired with his smarts make him look like the AliExpress version of Katsuki Bakugou.
Asuka is a spoiled brat going around ordering people around and looking at them as if they belonged under her shoes. You are a quiet character that is supposed to look mysterious, but she fails hard at that and ends up being boring and bland. Black Rabbit plays a significant sister role, with her optimism and cheery vibe, constantly pushing through for her community. Even when she continuously is the target of most of the fanservice and sexual jokes. If it sounds like the most prominent characters are uppity jerks (minus Black Rabbit), the situation is slowly turned on. Nothing too big, mind you. You start making more friends by allowing herself to be more assertive, Asuka turns into a loyal friend thanks to You’s genuine wish to make more friends, and Black Rabbit is still her likable self. If you are wondering where Izayoi is in all that, it is simple: nowhere.
From the beginning, the story is trying to force us to like him even if he is a convinced asshole: he decides to help the weak “No Name” and is always there and ready to fight the big bad guys. The ‘big bad guys’ are vile and vicious that you do not have the choice but to cheer for Izayoi. Only, when you think about it and remember what he is really after, the real question is: did Izayoi decide to help “No Name” as their weakness and circumstances meant that he would have the opportunity to challenge stronger enemies instead of doing it out of the goodness of his heart? The rest of the cast…exists. They are on the screen, and they talk sometimes; they also do some things. There.
Staying in line with its “everything simple and average” policy, the animation in Mondaiji is fatally average: it is not stiff, but it is far from being fluid either. Action sequences go for still shots and pans without taking any risk in terms of composition. Everything is done just right enough to avoid falling into the below-average category. The character design is charming but forgettable. The landscapes and backgrounds are colorful but forgettable. The music is not ugly or discordant but forgettable.
Diomedéa is working (or will start, since the director is still unknown) on the adaptation of Futsal Boys!!!! Aligned for 2022.
What do we know about Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? Season 2 so far?
It has been eight years since the anime ended, and nothing new has been announced in between.
The studio has been busy with other projects, and the light novel and the manga ended ages ago. After only ten episodes, fans might have thought that Mondaiji would receive Season 2, but it does not look like that would be the case.
What are fans saying about Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? Season 2?
Eight years of silence from the studio.
Manga and the light novel have ended on a conclusive note ages ago. Nevertheless, nothing has been said. For fans, it seems clear that receiving Season 2 is asking for a miracle at this point. Anyway, the crowd agreed on one point: the anime series was most likely to promote the other mediums.
It is extremely short and only adapts the first two volumes of the light novel while skipping a lot of essential elements, leaving only enough for people to understand the core of the story. It worked well since weekly sales of the light novel skyrocketed a week after the anime started airing. There is a barely active subreddit, and conversation has dried up on Twitter. Mondaiji scored nicely on IMDB, AniList, MAL, and Crunchyroll.
Will there be Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? Season 2?
Mondaiji is a light novel that began serialization in April 2011 and ended in April 2015 after 12 volumes. It is written by Tarou Tatsunoko and illustrated by Yuu Amano. By 2013, 850 000 copies were estimated to be in circulation, with more soon added. Tatsunoko started a sequel titled Lost Embryo in June 2015.
It is illustrated by momoco and has eight volumes (ongoing). It was #43 on Japan’s yearly Light Novel Ranking (2016) with 43 742 copies. None of the light novels are licensed in English. However, it is possible to read up to volume two of Last Embryo thanks to fan translations and it is still ongoing. Two manga were also released: the first one had its original run from July 2012 to January 2014 (four volumes) and covered the first two volumes of the light novel; the second one started in January 2013 and ended in January 2014 (three books) and covered events happening after volume two and five of the light novel.
Sentai Filmworks released the complete series on Blu-ray in 2014, but a new version with more bonus content will be released in November 2021. The merchandising around the franchise is pretty limited: figures, booklets, character cards, hand towels, CDs, and posters are all you will find. It is a bit surprising since, even if it is not a big deal, Mondaiji is still prevalent in Japan.
The lack of goodies for the first part of the series might be due to how old the anime is and no stock left. Google Trends in Japan prove that: the graph sometimes reaches zero, but never for a long time, and it stays mostly above it. In the west, the chart is way more silent and is struggling to a value of twenty-five.
When will Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? Season 2 be released?
No date is available, and there is a good chance it might stay this way.
Objectively, considering its format and execution, the anime might have been produced solely to serve as a tool to promote the light novel.
What Can We Expect In Season 2 Of Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They?
Since the light novel for the first part of Mondaiji reached its conclusion in 2015, one would think that Season 2 should have been on the table.
Season 1 was showing so many weaknesses and was barely hiding the promoting nature of the material. Mondaiji is a light novel before anything else, and that is where its creator wanted to see the most significant success. A shame, though, because it ended on a big cliffhanger, starting a whole new arc in the last seconds of the previous episode. With no translation available for the light novels, it looks like it will stay a mystery.
