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‘Fate/Apocrypha’ Season 2 Release Date: Netflix Anime’s Part 2 Confirmed, ‘Fate/Extra Last Encore’ In 2018

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 06:23 PST, Nov 9, 2017

Netflix’s Fate/Apocrypha Season 2 is coming out relatively soon for English anime fans. Officially labeled as Fate/Apocrypha Part 2 by Netflix, the release date for the second half will be coming out in early 2018. Those looking for another Fate/Stay Night sequel won’t have to wait long at all since studio Shaft will also be releasing the Fate/Extra Last Encore anime during the Winter 2018 anime season.

The Fate/Apocrypha anime series is based on the Japanese Feito/Apokurifa light novel series (there is an unofficial English translation project, but it’s incomplete). Originally conceived as a canceled video game, Fate/Apocrypha is a self-contained story that is set in a parallel world to the original Fate/Stay Night anime. That means it’s not a direct sequel to Unlimited Blade Works since it’s an alternate timeline. The final book, Fate/Apocrypha Volume 5, was released back in 2014, and so far, no plans for a direct sequel have been announced.

Higashide Yuichiro, the author of the light novel series, is in charge of the anime script for studio A-1 Pictures. Apparently, the plan was to cover the entirety of the light novel series with two cours (a “cour” is a Japanese TV show season consisting of three-month blocks based on the physical seasons). The anime already ended with Fate/Apocrypha Episode 25, and the series finale was already released in Japan in December of 2017.

Fate/Apocrypha Season 2 Is Lightning Quick For Netflix

Many anime fans have been upset by how Netflix delays the release of anime seasons for international audiences rather than simulcast each episode like Crunchyroll. Netflix Japan releases the episodes as they come out, so why can’t Netflix USA?

But they are rapidly improving. In the past, the release dates for Netflix anime exclusives have been delayed for many months after the episodes finished airing in Japan. This time, Netflix released the Fate/Apocrypha anime midway through the Japanese season, which is not too bad if you consider that Funimation’s English dubs are often delayed by weeks or months. Due to this relatively quick turnaround, the English dub of Netflix’s Fate/Apocrypha Part 2 will be available on February 9, 2018.

It seems like the Netflix strategy is to set up binge-watching in smaller bites by breaking up series. For example, Voltron Seasons 3 and 4 were originally conceived as a single season but were split in half. Similarly, Voltron Season 5 is expected to be broken up.

For a time, Netflix also had a problem with incorrectly labeling two-cour anime seasons. Several OVA episodes were mislabeled as The Seven Deadly Sins Season 2 at first, only to be corrected months later (the second season really is coming out in 2018). Kuromukuro Season 2 is just the second cour of a single season. Netflix’s Little Witch Academia is still labeled as having two seasons, although studio Trigger has discussed their ideas for Little Witch Academia Season 2.

The good news is that Netflix seems to have realized their blunders and have avoided the mislabeling problem this time around. Calling the second cour Part 2 is reasonable, especially since a real Fate/Apocrypha Season 2 probably won’t happen since the light novel series has ended. (However, it is odd how Aniplex USA referred to the “first season of Fate/Apocrypha” on their official Twitter account.)

Fate/Extra Last Encore Anime: Sword Art Online Meets Fate/Stay Night?

The stories based on the Fate/Stay Night series are quite varied in nature because there are several main stories running on parallel timelines in alternate universes. There is even the ongoing Fate/Kaleid series (Season 5 has been confirmed), which some anime fans have derided as lolicon fan service, but even that silly story adopts a serious tone after a while.

The next entry in the anime series is Fate/Extra Last Encore, which is being animated by studio Shaft. Based on the anime’s description, it almost sounds like Sword Art Online since it’s set in the Isekai sub-genre.

“Waking up in a strange virtual world with no recollection of the past, Hakuno finds himself forced to fight for survival in a war he does not understand for a prize beyond value; the opportunity to have one’s wish granted. With only an enigmatic ‘Servant’ by his side, Hakuno Kishinami will have to face both friends and foes in battles to the death in order to not only gain possession of a mysterious object known as the ‘Holy Grail,’ but also to find the answer to the most important question of all: ‘Who am I?'”

The Fate/Extra Last Encore release date is scheduled for January 28, 2018.

[Update January 16, 2018] Added final release dates for Fate/Apocrypha Part 2 and also the upcoming Fate/Extra Last Encore anime.

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