Why do anime (in general) have so much time in between seasons?


Many shows in America (I am using the US as example because I live here) have
TV shows announced almost right away. There aren't usually gaps of more than a
year in between seasons.

However, for anime, there are usually several years gaps in between seasons.
For example, _Attack on Titan_ has a couple of years in between seasons, and
the Fate series had several years in between all of them.

Is this because they aren't very popular, or is it due to a different reason?




There are _sooo_ many anime series (and manga for that matter), that
broadcasting companies don't know which will be hits and which won't be at the
time of establishing a contract with a studio.

The fact is, when a studio gets the green light to do a series, it is
typically one season; that is, with the exception of some of the _Jump_ comics
that have long-running series (e.g. Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and so on).

So when the studio gets the green light to start production, the number of
episodes is already decided. For some, this is enough to do a full story arc
and have a clean ending. Others end more openly or on a cliffhanger. This can
drive the audience to pick up the manga to see how the story continues, or to
the hopes of the studio, the popularity will be high enough that the audience
will request or demand a second season. This is evident in the recent
_Shingeki no Kyojin_ ( _Attack on Titan_ ) boom.

This is also true for Japanese dramas. Typically, they are all one season. And
**if** there is a second season, it comes much later because the studio and
the TV broadcasting company weren't originally planning to make a second or
third season from the get-go. This means you also have to account for
production time between the seasons too.

Hope that helps. (My only reference is that I lived in Japan for over 5 years
and saw this happening _a lot_ and heard about it in the news.)




There are _sooo_ many anime series (and manga for that matter), that
broadcasting companies don't know which will be hits and which won't be at the
time of establishing a contract with a studio.

The fact is, when a studio gets the green light to do a series, it is
typically one season; that is, with the exception of some of the _Jump_ comics
that have long-running series (e.g. Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and so on).

So when the studio gets the green light to start production, the number of
episodes is already decided. For some, this is enough to do a full story arc
and have a clean ending. Others end more openly or on a cliffhanger. This can
drive the audience to pick up the manga to see how the story continues, or to
the hopes of the studio, the popularity will be high enough that the audience
will request or demand a second season. This is evident in the recent
_Shingeki no Kyojin_ ( _Attack on Titan_ ) boom.

This is also true for Japanese dramas. Typically, they are all one season. And
**if** there is a second season, it comes much later because the studio and
the TV broadcasting company weren't originally planning to make a second or
third season from the get-go. This means you also have to account for
production time between the seasons too.

Hope that helps. (My only reference is that I lived in Japan for over 5 years
and saw this happening _a lot_ and heard about it in the news.)

