After airing its first season in 2014, The Irregular at Magic High School is finally receiving a follow up this year. Adapted from a series of light novels, the franchise has gone on to become very popular despite the six-year gap between anime adaptations, inspiring a radio show, spin-off manga and video games.
Given the extensive wait between the first and second season, new and old fans alike may want to refresh their memories on what the show is about. Here's a look at the series' origins and off-shoots, the first season of the anime and where the second season will likely go.
WEB NOVELS AND LIGHT NOVELS
The series began in 2008 as a web novel published by Tsutomu Sato through the web novel website, Shosetsuka ni Naro, before being published in light novel format as well. The story takes place in an alternate version of our world in which magic exists, enhanced by futuristic technology. The ensuing wars caused by the uptick in magic leaves four major nations: the United States of North America, the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Alliance and Japan.
In the latter nation, all magic users are made to attend magical schools to hone their abilities, and magic itself is determined by genetics, making it a rarified commodity. The web novel/light novel was eventually adapted into a manga series that tackles each of the story's major arcs. The manga is notable in that each arc features a rotating group of artists that illustrate the stories, many of which are not released in chronological order.
THE ANIME'S FIRST SEASON
The first anime of The Irregular at Magic High School's anime, which aired in 2014, adapted the first seven volumes of the novels, with the exception of the fifth volume. The series combines elements of high school slice of life anime with fantasy, shonen, political intrigue, and even harem elements.
The protagonists are the magically gifted Miyuki Shiba and her bodyguard brother Tatsuya, who is anything but magically inclined. (You could say he's... irregular.) Despite this, his tactical mind and wits allow him to excel at their magical school, earning him the ire of rival clans. This exacerbates the preexisting tensions between the prodigious Blooms and the second class students known as Weeds. It also doesn't help the fact that Miyuki is a top candidate to become the leader of the influential Yotsuba Clan, making the target on her family's back even bigger.
Before this season aired, and during the interim between it and the upcoming one, supplementary material was created for it. These included Get to Know Magic Studies!, a series of shorts starring super-deformed (chibi) versions of the characters, an Internet radio show named Web Radio Full Bloom! Bloom Broadcasting Committee, and a radio drama DVD that adapted the "Recollection" arc from the light novels.
A film was also released in 2017, titled The Irregular at Magic High School The Movie: The Girl Who Calls the Stars. Though it took place between the eleventh and twelfth volumes of the manga (which the anime had not yet reached). The plot of the film, which occurs during Miyuki and Tatsuya's spring break, has their group trying to save a young girl on an island who is on the run after breaking out of a Naval base's laboratory.
A spinoff manga series, The Honor Student at Magic High School, was also launched in 2012 and is still currently running. The series has also had three video game spinoffs, as well as an appearance in the fighting game crossover, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax. It's safe to say that, even before the announcement of a second anime season, fans haven't been starved for content.
SEASON TWO
Not much was known about the show's second season for a while, which seemed to have been pushed back due to the movie. Its release date has been confirmed for July of this year (2020), and it will take place chronologically after the movie.
The cast from the first season, the original character designer composer will return, with a different director and studio, 8-Bit, taking over from Madhouse who handled the first one. An exact number of episodes hasn't been confirmed yet, though it will likely be around half of the first season's length. This is due to it adapting only three manga volumes, which are those comprising the novels' "Visitors" story arc. This storyline dealt with androids being possessed by interdimensional magical beings who act as psychic parasites, attacking the denizens of the school after escaping through a black hole.
The first season was simulcast on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Aniplex and Daisuki, before eventually being added to Netflix. Fans of the upcoming anime season will likely be able to enjoy it on the same networks when it comes out this summer.