Starting as a classic fantasy adventure, Rokka no Yuusha, also known as Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, quickly subverts expectations by turning into a whodunit. As the anime ended on a non-conclusive note, is there a probability of Rokka No Yuusha Season 2?
What happened so far in Rokka No Yuusha
A thousand years ago, The Demon God and his minions were defeated and sealed by the Saint of the Single Flower (also called the Goddess of Fate). However, the Saint predicts that every 300 years, they will be able to come back due to the seal weakening. She chooses a group of six warriors each time to prevent a catastrophe, marking them with a flower. Two generations of Brave have already emerged in the past, and now, the world is in danger again.
Enter our protagonist: Adlet Myer, the self-proclaimed “strongest man in the world.” We meet him as he interrupts a holy tournament. He is promptly thrown in jail, where he expresses his wish to become a Brave, a wish that he sees fulfilled on the same night. Princess Nachetanya, another Brave, then rescues Adlet, and both run away toward the Demon God. They encounter Flamie (called the Brave-Killer) and Goldov (Nachetanya’s bodyguard), and the group heads to a temple, which they have been told hides a barrier that should be helpful in their quest. They find the barrier already activated and three more Braves (Hans, Maura, and Chamot). Quite the predicament as Braves is supposed to be six, not seven. The group starts to suspect that the fake one is here to kill the real heroes.
Adlet is quickly pointed at as the culprit under the pretense that his story has too many holes. Trying to make a run for it, he gets stabbed by Hans and passes out, bleeding. He wakes up all patched up, thanks to Flamie, and both start getting closer and share their background. They finally decide to return to the temple to find the identity of the fake Brave and prove that Adlet is innocent. An arduous task as the five other characters are convinced that Adlet should die. The mystery thickens slowly as the characters fight each other with questions, deductions, and lies are thrown around.
What is going on with Passione?
Rokka no Yuusha premiered on July 4 and ended on September 19, 2015. It is directed by Takeo Takahashi, written by Tatsuhiko Urahara, and composed by Michiru Oushima. It ran for 12 episodes.
The story’s direction in Rokka no Yuusha is a breath of fresh air in the overcrowded fantasy genre. The viewers are smartly tricked through the first 2-3 episodes until the shocking reveal that it is about a locked room mystery…without the murder for once. The goal here will be to avoid that said murder actually happens. Meaning that most anime will focus on the same seven characters and will use the same backgrounds, something that can be difficult to manage considering how short the season is. Rokka no Yuusha is definitely a slow burner. As a whodunit, what is expected from the audience is to start doubting all characters and try to find clues and hints about the culprit in every scene and dialogue. Yet, that is quickly shot down as not all seven characters benefit from the same characterization treatment. They all have their own story, abilities, and personality, but only a select few enjoy some growth and proper screen time. As a result, it limits the number of people the viewers will seriously consider as potential suspects.
The animation is average but suffers from some hiccups (weirdly drawn faces, awkward CG). It does shine during action scenes with neatly choreographed fights and resorts to a more static approach during quiet scenes. The backgrounds and environments have a South American approach to them and are actually quite pleasing. The art indeed is the same once they enter the temple and jungle, though it still manages to be pretty even in all its monotony.
Passione is working on Higurashi’s When They Cry: Sotsu at the moment and has another project in the works (Mieruko-chan) due for this year.
What do we know about Rokka No Yuusha Season 2 so far?
The anime has not been renewed, and therefore, new information is not available.
What are fans saying about Rokka No Yuusha Season 2?
One surprising thing is how Rokka no Yuusha did not gain much traction in Japan but hit the international audience. The fandom is still loyal to the license, and with such a short season that ended way too open-ended, the fans turned to the light novels. Where they hit a wall as the author has been on hiatus since 2015. Nonetheless, fans still try to rep for their favorite by sporadically exchanging on social media. They celebrated the 10th anniversary of the light novel in August, hoping that Passione would announce, which did not happen. It is safe to assume that the fandom’s hopes for a Season 2 have been thoroughly crushed.
Will there be Rokka No Yuusha Season 2?
Rokku no Yuusha is originally a light novel published on August 25, 2011, and is considered ongoing. The author, Ishio Yamagata, has been on hiatus since 2015, but the title has not been canceled. It is illustrated by Miyagi and has 6 volumes, with the anime covering only the first volume. Fortunately for new readers, the 6 volumes conclude the big arc that started in volume 1. A spinoff was released on March 25, 2016. A manga illustrated by Kei Toru and written by Yamagata himself was published from February 25, 2012, to November 20, 2014 (4 volumes). The light novel and manga have been licensed in English by YenPress.
As said before, international viewers took a big liking to the series. The map on Google Trends shows that the interest in anime covers several countries, with North America being the frontrunner. The graph reaches the dreadful zero quite often, pointing at regular voids in terms of search queries. Ponycan USA released the 12 episodes through three well-furnished collector’s editions. The franchise has some interesting merchandising with a nice variety of goodies: from artbooks to character songs, from keychains to bookmarkers, the fans choose.
When will Rokka No Yuusha Season 2 be released?
As of now, the studio has not shared any updates about the status of Rokka no Yuusha. It might be another case of an anime used purely to stimulate the sales of the light novel.
What can we expect in Season 2 of Rokka No Yuusha?
The anime only covered the first volume of the light novel, and there are still five volumes left. Logically, there is enough content to adapt into an anime.
Regardless, when considering the fact that the six volumes bring a satisfying conclusion to the first arc and the mystery behind the seventh Brave. It adds character development for each cast member and mixes mystery with more action on the side.
