Will 'Hero Mask' return for season 3?
'Hero Mask' is an animated series produced by Studio Pierrot for Netflix.
The anime takes place in a fictional London and follows James Blood, a hot-blooded officer from the elite "Special Service of Crime" (SSC) division within the Capital Police Department. He teams up with Sarah Sinclair, a subordinate to Crown Prosecutor Monica Campbell. The two of them try to investigate a high-profile case that involves the powerful LIVE Corporation. They end up embroiled in a much deeper conspiracy and mysteries that involve special masks that grant the user superhuman abilities.
The second season of the anime premiered in 2019, and fans are still wondering if it will return in the future. Let us find out.
The second season of 'Hero Mask' premiered on August 23, 2019. Sadly, it is also going to be the final season of the animated series. There is no plan to come up with the third season. However, there is a chance for the team behind 'Hero Mask' to return as they revealed that they are interested in working again with Netflix in the future.
According to 'Hero Mask' producer Mikio Ono, the animated series was planned for two seasons with 24 episodes since the beginning.
"It was originally planned to be 24 episodes which consist of 12 episodes respectively for the part 1 and part 2, but when we signed the deal with Netflix, we didn't have to follow the format of a regular TV anime, so we could make the first part 15 episodes long to suit the story, while the second part would be nine episodes," Ono told Anime News Network.
Although it's not the first time for Studio Pierrot to produce short animated shows, it is still in contrast with the studio's other famous titles like 'Bleach' (which has over 300 episodes) and 'Naruto: Shippuden' (500 episodes). Both 'Naruto' and 'Bleach' have volumes of manga to adapt, while 'Hero Mask' is based on an original story. That is one of the reasons why 'Hero Mask' only has 24 episodes.
"The hurdle is extremely high," Ono tells Anime News Network about why it is hard for original animes to get a renewal. "particularly when it comes to getting funding at the end. You need a lot of luck like we had when Netflix came along."
Apart from the lack of source material, the budget is also partly why it is hard to renew the anime for season 3. Hero Mask is more expensive to produce than most animes. It uses distinctly fast-paced editing, which requires animating more backgrounds for action sequences.
"If a veteran director were handling [Hero Mask], they'd be well aware of the TV anime standard and would strive for more labor-saving methods," producer Ono admits.
Although season 2 will be the final chapter of 'Hero Mask,' we won't be closing our doors to the possibility of seeing the anime again through a spinoff. The creators of the anime admit that they are interested in working again in the future.
"Personally speaking," Ono says in the same interview. "I think that Netflix has a strong user base overseas, so it would be a good challenge to try working with them."
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