All anime fans share the same existential crisis: When will the next season come out? The anime industry isn't necessarily as interested in seeing a compelling story through as much it just wants to act as a revolving door of different content. For some series, this is just simply a way of advertising the manga. For others, they're held back by production issues.
In any case, it's already hard enough to get one anime season out, and it really takes a special series for studios to get a second one out. This is especially the case after extended hiatuses. A second season may typically come out after a year, but any time frame longer than that is a death sentence. That's why this list will be running down a few of the miracles that were able to bypass industry standards and production issues and going over whether or not they were worth the wait.
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10 NOT WORTH IT: Black Butler II (2 Years)
Black Butler's first season was everything that anyone would ever want out of a television drama. It had a compelling conspiracy that kept fans asking questions. It had a Victorian, macabre style that allured with both its mystery. It had a lot of really cute guys. There so much going for this series, and it was able to satisfy many fans when it reached its epic conclusion.
That is until Season 2 came along, and the industry more than beat down a dead horse. It took away the consequences of the previous seasons, reveled a little too much in the macabre, and explicitly kept the main characters from having a satisfying true end.
9 WORTH IT: Gintama° (4 Years)
Gintama is the Shonen comedy king that has proved time and again that no hiatus can keep a good series down. The first one came in between different technical generations, showing just how long this goofy anime has been going.
Several months after the series' final standard definition release, it would return to fans in hilarious and wonderfully detailed new definition. After that, it would disappear for about three, long, unfunny years to bring back smiling faces to its fans... only for the story to quickly take them away with its heartbreaking and intense Shogun Assassination Arc.
8 NOT WORTH IT: FLCL Progressive & Alternative (7 Years)
To many, FLCL is an anime classic that both defined Toonami's early, nostalgic generations and somehow naturally connected with its fans in a way that can't even be explained to this day. It's such a unique yet masterfully made series that fans, for the longest time, were shocked that it only consisted of six episodes. It wasn't until more than a decade later that fans would realize why.
It's hard to capture the same animated magic and organic nostalgia of the original. Progressive and Alternative respectively tried to accomplish either with varying results. While ambitious projects within their own right, they were nowhere near in their goal of capturing that same lightning that the original did.
7 WORTH IT: Mushishi-Next Passage (9 Years)
Some anime can take a year to come back. Others may make their fans wait two. If they come back after three or more, it's nothing less of a miracle to the dedicated watchers. Mushishi manages to exceed expectations, not only by having an amazing second season, but by managing to bring it after a nine-year grueling wait.
When it finally came back, it almost seemed like Ginko never left the homes of his fans. Like Ginko's jacket, Mushishi-Next Passage comfortable fits into the lives and imaginations of its fans as it brings new, beautiful adventures across its mystical wood.
6 NOT WORTH IT: Psycho-Pass 2 & 3 (1 & 5 Years)
Psycho-Pass was an incredible, modern standard-bearer for what original anime should look like. It was an intriguing, tautly paced masterpiece that got fans through the door with its cyberpunk setting, enraptured them in its conspiratorial cat-and-mouse chase, and stayed with them to this day with its ethical reflection.
Fans would have to wait nearly two years for the second season and a whopping five for the third, and the receptions have been... mixed, to say the least. Many consider Psycho-Pass 2 a poor follow up that lacked a compelling villain like the original's charismatic antagonist, Shougo Makashima. Meanwhile, Psycho-Pass 3 improves a little more than its predecessor but treads the same territory, never expanding past the hard questions of the original.
5 WORTH IT: Spice & Wolf II (More Than 1 Year)
Spice and Wolf is a fantasy series like no other, as it doesn't use its mythical, old world setting to go over the conflicts of knights and overlords but instead the humble rise of a merchant and his magical business partner.
It's a unique, Slice-of-Life story whose romance still sticks out from other romance series. It was enough of a feat for the series to come back after well more than a year and, even more so, to retain the first season's magic and more by jumping to a new anime studio.
4 NOT WORTH IT: The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival Of The Commandments (3 Years)
The Shonen anime world is constantly seeing new competitors to its stage. Black Clover, My Hero Academia, and Demon Slayer have taken the community by storm and show no signs of stopping. Knowing this, it may seem odd to some that The Seven Deadly Sins, at one point, was considered to be in the same conversation as its Shonen colleagues.
When the first season came out, it entertained with its masterclass sense of hype, world-building, and action. And while its follow up seasons tried to do the same (after weathering a few production and localization issues with Netflix), it failed to capture the original's wonder and even continues to disappoint fans with how it adapts the manga.
3 WORTH IT: Durarara!! x2 (5 Years)
Durarara!! was the Aniplex anime that had character writing like no other series. It's Gotham-esque world was rife with mystical beings, hardened gang members, and a few confused kids going through a transitional period of their lives.
It's a unique, dark, and charming series that easily stands apart from other anime. That same potential was recaptured more than five years after the original through Durarara!! x2. The new season brought in new stories and characters that both expanded on the established world and cast of the original, excitedly telling a new chapter in Ikebukuro's underworld.
2 NOT WORTH IT: One-Punch Man (4 Years)
ONE has certainly made a name for himself these days as one of the most subversive yet consistent mangaka within the industry. When two of his greatest works got adapted into anime, they both tantalized with his incredible writing and the jaw dropping production from their respective issues.
While Mob Psycho 100 was able to retain its momentum and more with both a speedy and exceptional second season, the same can't be said for One-Punch Man. Its first season was made by Madhouse, as the acclaimed studio showed their sense of high octane animation at their peak. However, production would switch to J.C. Staff for the second season. Not only would it take four years for the follow up to appear, but its animation failed to meet Madhouse' legendary rendition. The story may have still been there for some, but the impact was gone.
1 WORTH IT: Attack On Titan (4 Years)
Much like the Titans on Wall Maria, Attack on Titan took the anime community by storm with its incredible action, beautiful animation, and tender characters. When the soldiers hung up their boots in 2013, it would take about another four years for them to strap in again, yet the series showed no rust.
It had the same momentum of the original and brought fans in with a few, new plot threads to quickly keep them invested. While it wasn't long enough to justify its long wait, the anime production was back at full swing and was more than enough to bring back its loyal, addicted fans.