‘GATE’ Season 2 Release Date Confirmed: JMSDF To ‘Weigh Anchor’ In ‘Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri’ Book
The GATE Season 2 release date has officially been confirmed to be coming up soon for the light novel series. The story of the JSDF entering a fantasy world was originally told in GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri light novels and now the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) will be entering the picture. As such, they are calling the second season GATE: Weigh Anchor.
Before anyone gets confused, this announcement by print publisher AlphaPolis should not be confused with a new anime season. Instead, GATE Season 2 is referring to GATE Volume 11 (or GATE Volume 21 for the light novels) and beyond. Author Takumi Yanai first self-published the story as web novels and that was turned into 10 books. AlphaPolis reprinted the series as light novels, with each of the 10 books being split in half to make 20 light novels.
However, the last of the GATE novels was released in July of 2015, and the GATE anime released in 2016 was based upon the first five volumes only. The anime storyline ended with GATE book five. The remaining five volumes are all side stories, or gaiden, which focus on the adventures of one or more Gate characters. For years author Yanai has discussed creating a “Season 2” that refocused the story back on main character Yoji Itami, but now it’s official.
According to the official website, the GATE Season 2 release date is set for the Summer of 2017. Apparently, our favorite otaku military man has been promoted to captain after the opening of an artificially-created Gate portal connects back to Japan (to see why this is important, please read the Inquisitr’s previous article about GATE spoilers). The new mission is to travel the seas of the Special Region aboard the Oyashio-Type submarine Kitsashi, and it’s not too long before they are embroiled in island politics, never mind the attacks by pirates.
Warning: The following contains GATE spoilers.
The official announcement says Captain Itami will be joined by Captain Goro Eajima of the JMSDF, along with petty officer Tokujima, a former cook. No mention is made of favorite Gate characters Pina, Rory, Tuka, and Lelei, but presumably they’ll be along for the ride. There’s also no mention of any alien xenomorphs so it’s possible that story angle has been scuttled. The action kicks off when an American journalist is abducted and the team is sent on a special mission to rescue the wayward journalist.
How will all of this translate into a GATE anime? In a previous report by the Inquisitr, it was assumed that GATE Season 2 of the anime might as well be referred to as GATE Season 3 since both CrunchyRoll and MyAnimeList referred to the second half of the first 24 episodes as GATE Season 2. Regardless, many fans insist that the first 24 episodes are a single anime season. That title confusion has yet to be cleared up for the anime, but the second season of the book series is definitely called GATE Season 2: Weigh Anchor.
[Featured Image by Daisuke Izuka/AlphaPolis]
