Dead Manga Will Release New Story to Celebrate Anime Return

While many manga have given birth to anime, in fact, the majority of television and movie projects have their origins in the medium, it can often take time for an adaptation to reach the same story beats. Series like Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man still have years before they wrap their eventual anime to follow their source material, for example. In a wild return, Studio MAPPA is planning to return to a universe this year that isn’t Hell’s Paradise or Jujutsu Kaisen, and the original manga for the Netflix series is planning something special. Prepare yourselves, anime fans, because the lizard-headed protagonist is set to return to both the anime and manga world in 2026.

Dorohedoro is considered one of the strangest manga stories of all time, and for good reason. Following a world of sorcery where the protagonist has a lizard’s head, the original anime ended in 2020 with twelve episodes to its name. In a shocking twist, Studio MAPPA confirmed that it would be returning to this world to weave stories from the manga to the screen, and luckily, the original creator is returning to create a new story. Writer Q Hayashida is creating a brand new one-shot to celebrate the second season, set to arrive next month. Landing as a part of the publication Shogakukan, the brand new chapter will hit stands in Japan on April 11th.

Dorohedoro’s Surprising Return

Dorohedoro originally ended its manga in 2018, two years prior to the start of the anime adaptation from MAPPA. First kicking off in the year 2000, the series has plenty of material to potentially warrant seasons beyond season two, though, considering the gaps between the first and second seasons, it might be years before we see the eventual finale animated. The material of the manga is so out-there that it’s often hard to believe that any anime studio could adapt its tale, but MAPPA has the goods when it comes to bringing supernatural stories to the screen.

For those who haven’t seen Dorohedoro, it’s a wild ride. The first season introduced audiences to the protagonist Caiman. Sporting a lizard head thanks to a spell placed upon him, the hero of the tale is looking for whoever cursed him with this affliction, while also looking to regain the memories he lost in the process. Joined by his sidekick Nikaido, the duo hunts evil sorcerers while struggling in a supernatural world.

While the first season was exclusive to Netflix, season two has been announced to land on Crunchyroll this time around, proving that the streaming wars are still raging on within the anime medium. As of the writing of this article, it has yet to be confirmed if the English Dub cast is making a comeback. Fingers crossed that the likes of Aleks Le and Reba Buhr, who played the protagonists, will return.

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Via Comic Natalie

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