Crunchyroll’s Major Fantasy Director Breaks Silence on New Anime After 10 Years: A Practical Look
Fantasy anime series have always been at the top of the industry as they explore unique worlds, characters, power systems, and captivating plots. The genre is broad, as every series includes a supernatural theme and setting. Produced by studio Lerche, a magical girl fantasy series was released in 2016, and it featured some of the most shocking plot twists fans have ever seen. Titled Magical Girl Raising Project, the anime is streaming on Crunchyroll, and it’s finally planning to return after a decade. Beneath the bright and adorable visuals, it’s actually one of the darkest fantasies of all time. The anime is based on a light novel written by Asari Endō and illustrated by Maruino.
Following the shocking first season, the animation studio washed its hands of the project, which is why the return took longer than expected. However, director Hiroyuki Hashimoto, who was responsible for the first season, continued working on the sequel, Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart, which is scheduled to be released on October 6th, 2026. As the release date of the second season draws near, the director discussed the anime production and the ten-year-long gap before its return.
Magical Girl Raising Project Director Explains The Long Wait For a Sequel
In an interview with Anime News Network, Hashimoto discussed the long wait between the anime seasons. He shared, “As you might expect, there are various problems to be overcome when trying to make an anime. While anime is a work of art, it is also a business—so you have to have a viable business model. If there’s no clear prospect of recouping the investment, it’s difficult to move forward with making an anime.”
Even though the light novel is still ongoing, the anime’s future seemed uncertain. It’s especially difficult for a series to get a new studio after the first season, and even if it did get investment, the transition could take a few years. This is exactly what happened when the producers decided that after the first season, the anime might not be worth continuing.
Luckily, Hashimoto continued to stay dedicated to the project, and it eventually went to Studio SynergySP. While the anime was announced in January 2023, the production took more than three years before it was finally ready to be released. Established in 1998, the studio has released dozens of series, including A Couple of Cuckoos and Solo Camping for Two.
What to Expect From Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart
The anime sequel will premiere on October 6th as part of the Fall 2026 lineup. Since the first season is streaming on Crunchyroll, we can expect the sequel to land on the same platform as well. The upcoming season is a direct continuation of the story from where the first season left off. It will adapt the second volume of the light novel and might even cover the third volume depending on the number of episodes.
The story is set inside the world of a popular social game, Magical Girl Raising Project, that offers players a 1 in 10,000 chance to become a real-life Magical Girl with unique abilities that can allow them to help people. However, it doesn’t take long for the game to turn into a twisted life-or-death battlefield with a trail of tragedies following the participants.
