Kemono Friends 2 (lost production material of cancelled second season of anime based on mobile game; 2017)

The only promo art for Kemono Friends 2 by Tatsuki.

Status: Lost

Kemono Friends is an anime show based on Nexon's mobile game, animated by Yaoyorozu and directed by Tatsuki. It aired on TV Tokyo from January to March 2017. The kindness of the characters, the somewhat mysterious atmosphere, and the harrowing developments resonated with viewers, creating a large fan base. Plans for a second season were in the works, but have been scrapped.

Cancellation

On September 25, 2017, Tatsuki announced on Twitter that Kadokawa had notified him that he would be out of production for Season 2.^[1] The tweet was retweeted by the hundreds of thousands, causing great shock and confusion online, with many people demanding that Tatsuki continue to direct, and Kadokawa receiving fierce criticism. (Kadokawa in this description refers to Kadokawa Dwango Corporation, the then holding company of Kadokawa Corporation).

On September 27, 2017, Kemono Friends Project, the production committee, released a statement in response to the confusion, stating that Kemono Friends had already announced a new visualization project, but had not yet decided whether to produce the film under the existing structure or a new structure. The reason for the decision to withdraw was that Yaoyorozu, the animation production company, had offered to withdraw from the project in August, and Yaoyorozu had been using the work without sharing information with the relevant companies.^[2]

On October 3, 2017, Shinichiro Inoue, president of Kadokawa, and Yoshitada Fukuhara, president of Yaoyorozu, began negotiations regarding future production. On December 27, 2017, Fukuhara announced that after negotiations, Tatsuki decision to withdraw as director for Season 2 was not overturned. He further mentioned that production of Season 2 had continued through March upon request. This meant that Season 2, which Tatsuki would direct, was cancelled.

Contradiction in the Director's Withdrawal

In the announcement of the results of negotiations, Fukuhara said that Yaoyorozu's resignation was announced at a meeting of the core members at the beginning of August, where he told Yaoyorozu not to continue working on Kemono Friends from now on. He said he was not sure what they was complaining about and was confused by the notice.^[3] He also said that he had informed the production committee about the information to be shared with the related companies and that he was working on the production.^[4] This was in sharp contradiction to the production committee's statement of September 27.

Inoue responded to a question about Tatsuki's departure at Kadokawa's general shareholders meeting in 2018, saying;

"What I would like you to understand is that KADOKAWA is one of the 13 investment companies, not the managing company. No decision-making power. Although he is said to be in a leading position, he is only a member of the production committee. On top of that, it was not only KADOKAWA's will that dismissed Director Tatsuki, but the unified opinion of each company"^[5]

After Tatsuki's tweet, we asked Yaoyorozu for his opinions and requests. I also asked each company in the production committee for their opinions. After that, it was decided that they did not fit together.^[6] He also stated The statement here says that "Yaoyorozu's withdraw was made unanimous" which contradicts the production committee's statement. Since it is forbidden to lie at a shareholders' meeting, it seems unlikely that Yaoyorozu offered to withdraw from the board.

The Real Cause of Withdrawal

Kemono Friends Project stated that "Yaoyorozu offered to withdraw," while Fukuhara stated that they "were suddenly told to withdraw," and Kadokawa stated that there was a "disagreement between Yaoyorozu and the production committee on the production structure. It is not yet known which was the real cause of the withdrawal. And we still do not know the specifics of "Yaoyorozu's use of the work without sharing the information with the companies involved".

Aftermath

After withdraw, Tatsuki produced another anime show, Kemurikusa, which aired from January to March 2019 to much acclaim. Kemono Friends 2 was produced by a different director and production company and also aired from January to April 2019. Although it is supposed to be Season 2, the content has no connection to Season 1 by Tatsuki and is almost a reboot.

As for Season 2 of Yaoyorozu's production, concept art, plots, and other materials are thought to have been left behind, but they have not been leaked, and no detailed information is known.

External Links

References

↑ Tatsuki's tweet on not being involved in season 2's production. Retrieved 07 Sep '22
↑ Archived Kemono Friends website announcement on season 2 (Japanese). Retrieved 07 Sep '22
↑ Fukuhara's tweet on Yaoyorozu stepping down from the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22
↑ Fukuhara's second tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22
↑ Inoue's tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22
↑ Inoue's second tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[1] Tatsuki's tweet on not being involved in season 2's production. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[2] Archived Kemono Friends website announcement on season 2 (Japanese). Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[3] Fukuhara's tweet on Yaoyorozu stepping down from the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[4] Fukuhara's second tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[5] Inoue's tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

[6] Inoue's second tweet on the project. Retrieved 07 Sep '22

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