Acclaimed Shonen Anime Star Breaks Silence on Season 2 After 6 Years: “It Was a Complete Surprise to Us”

The exciting Spring 2026 anime season is finally here, and the lineup looks as exciting as ever. Like each quarter, Crunchyroll is adding dozens of series to its library and streaming new episodes weekly after the Japanese broadcast. As the largest anime streaming platform in the world, Crunchyroll offers all kinds of series across various regions, including the new ones that you won’t be able to find on Netflix or major streaming services. The latest anime season marks the return of some of the best anime with sequels, including Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3 and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World Season 4. The initial lineup on the official website of Crunchyroll didn’t include a major anime’s return, but it was updated on April 1st.

The new list confirmed the return of Ace of the Diamond Act II Season 2, six years after the first season was released. It’s an acclaimed sports anime based on a series by Yuji Terajima published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. The manga is divided into two parts, and the first one has already been adapted. The series’ return is easily one of the biggest highlights of the season, as the voice behind Eijun Sawamura shares his thoughts on the anime.

Ace of the Diamond Star Opens Up About The Anime’s Return

In an interview with Mantan Web, Ryota Osaka, the voice behind Eijun Sawamura, shares his thoughts on the anime’s return. He expressed his thoughts on the anime’s return, “I was confident that I could make a sequel to this work, so all I had to do was wait for the right time. I never thought that I might not be able to make a sequel, and that period ended up being six years.”

Also, he recalls that after the announcement in May 2024, “I was really happy. It was a complete surprise to us, so I was truly shocked. I remember somehow managing to hold back my tears.”

Osaka is one of the most renowned voice actors in the industry, known for countless famous roles, including Gyutaro in Demon Slayer, Yosuke Hiarata in Classroom of the Elite, Marco Bodt in Attack on Titan, and many more. The role of Eijun remains yet another of his famous works.

The second act of Ace of the Diamond has returned with a second season more than six years after the first season ended. The famous animation studio, Madhouse, has collaborated with Production I.G. for the anime over the years, but the latest season of Act II is being produced by OLM.

Crunchyroll will stream new episodes every Sunday at 2:00 A.M. PT across regions such as North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS. So far, the anime has yet to reveal the dubbed release date, but we can expect an update in the next few weeks.

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