The production committee delivered a cold bucket of water wrapped in a spectacular promotional video. Although originally planned to debut next July, the second season of The Detective Is Already Dead (known in Japan as Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru) has been officially delayed until October 2026. The announcement came with a second main trailer that, alongside new promotional images of the cast, confirmed who will set the pace for this new mystery stage.

ENGI solidifies its production and musical team

For this continuation, the animation studio ENGI decided to keep its key players on board. Manabu Kurihara remains in the director’s chair, backed by veteran Deko Akao in script structuring and Yōsuke Itō handling character design. The major news lies in the sound department, led by renowned producer 40mP, who not only composes the general soundtrack but also wrote and arranged both musical themes. The opening will be titled “Kono Shinzō ni Hanabata o” and performed by Kōme, while the ending theme, “Hakuchumu,” marks the return of artist Kagura Nana to the franchise.

Voice Cast

• Arata Nagai (rising star in the industry) as Kimihiko Kimizuka.
• Saki Miyashita (rising star in the industry) as Siesta.
• Ayana Taketatsu (Nino Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets) as Nagisa Natsunagi.
• Kanon Takao (Hina Tsurugi in Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater) as Yui Saikawa.
• Saho Shirasu (Mio Kofune in Summer Time Rendering) as Charlotte Arisaka Anderson.

Siesta’s untouchable legacy

Despite this setback in the broadcast schedule, the health of the original literary license remains enviable. The original story, written by Nigojū and illustrated by Umibōzu, began publishing under Kadokawa’s MF Bunko J label at the end of 2019, winning the best debut work award that same year. Its premise of a young man with terrible luck who ends up as an assistant to a world-class legendary detective, only to deal with the void and global consequences of her mysterious death years later, resonated strongly with the community. Its universe has recently expanded with a manga that concluded in 2023 and spin-off novels published up to mid-2024.

Considering the first season’s uneven visual quality, do you think this three-month delay will allow studio ENGI to deliver much more polished animation?