Those Snow White Notes (aka Mashiro no Oto) first appeared in 2009 as a manga by Marimo Ragawa. The anime adaptation of the manga, which has been going on for 12 years, was announced in the magazine that the manga is published, on August 6, 2020. The anime in the Coming-of-age genre, created by Shin-Ei studio, aired on JNN and was also listed on Crunchyroll. We also know the anime’s studio from beloved anime like Teasing Master Takagi-san. The anime’s first season aired weekly from April 3, 2021, to June 19, 2021. Fans of the anime, which gained viewers worldwide thanks to Crunchyroll, are now wondering if there will be a second season. Let’s remember the anime and then look at all the known about the second season, which we have compiled for you.
What is the Plotline of Those Snow White Notes?
At the beginning of the story, the main character Sawamura Setsu’s grandfather Matsugorou has recently died. The value of the grandfather is very great for Setsu and his brother Wakanda because it was Matsugorou who raised them. Since the grandfather was a great shamisen (a traditional three-stringed Japanese musical instrument similar to a guitar) master when he was alive, the two brothers had the chance to grow up listening to their grandfather’s music.
Thanks to grandfather’s music exposure, they learned to play the shamisen. When grandfather Matsugoru is about to die, he tells Setsu to either create his own style of making music or stop playing shamisen instead of imitating others. After the death of their grandfather, Setsu, who is already in the throes of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, drops out of high school and flees his village to move to Tokyo. He believes that here he will find the inspiration that is needed to create a unique musical style. But the big city of Tokyo, with its crowds and noise, is a disappointment for Setsu. Life in Tokyo is more difficult than he expected. He even faces robbery in there, but the landlady Yuna, aka Yuka, saves Setsu from being robbed. He falls into a void as he doesn’t know anything but to play shamisen.
Meanwhile, his rich and career-successful mother, Umeko, enters his life and endeavors to smarten Setsu up. She makes him enroll back in school; Umezono Academy. In the academy, he meets a girl named Shuri Maeda, who is a big fan of Tsugaru Shamisen. With this encounter, Setsu will rediscover his passion for shamisen.
Will there be a second season of ‘Those Snow White Notes’?
Manga publisher Kodansha or animation studio Shin-Ei has yet to renew the anime for a second season. If the anime has a new season, it will be announced on the official Japanese Twitter page, but there is no news about the second season yet also there. If you are a good anime follower, you know that very few of the animes are approved for the new season (unfortunately). Animes usually renew under some major criteria. As always, we’ve taken into account the status of the manga, the anime’s popularity, and other factors to examine the possibility of a new season.
With the increase in online streaming opportunities, disc sales are no longer as valuable as they used to be. When we look at the exclusive distributors of the anime, we do not see a large overseas distributor, but Amazon Prime and U-Next broadcast the anime in Japan. This means an extra source of income for anime. But the important thing is how popular the anime is. A second season might be a very risky decision if it doesn’t gain enough popularity.
The popularity of the anime
The anime’s search volume on Google is quite low, indicating that it did not have a strong worldwide hit. On the other hand, the official Twitter account in Japan is followed by only 27k people, which is quite below average compared to other beloved animes. In particular, we observed that animes that received new season approvals have at least 100k followers. It seems that things are not going well in terms of popularity.
Does the manga provide enough source material?
As we mentioned at the beginning of our anime article, it is adapted from the manga written and illustrated by Marimo Ragawa. The manga series published since 2019 has reached 27 volumes in total. In the first season, only 8 volumes were adapted to anime. The remaining stock material is enough to create a new season, but the current popularity seems to be an obstacle for a renewal.
Conclusion and the release date of the second season
Anime is fairly new, and there is still a chance for it to become popular in the future, but it’s also worth noting that the hit period of anime is usually the period they are aired. Our honest opinion is that the possibility of a new season of the anime is very unlikely. A surprise confirmation isn’t impossible because the manga is ongoing, and enough source material is available. It is unlikely, but we may see a new season in 2023, but remember that this is just speculation. Stay tuned for official updates.
What can happen in Season 2?
In the first season of the anime, we watched the first 8 volumes. The new season will come up with a story about the 9th volume at the beginning. Setsu’s passion for shamisen is growing day by day. We will watch a new storyline at the Take no Hana music bar. Despite his efforts, Setsu continues to have difficulty with his voice and music. We will continue to watch his struggle in this season. We also see one of Setsu’s shamisen rivals in Take no Hana! Let’s see if Setsu can overcome his fears in the upcoming episodes.