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Azur Lane: Slow Ahead! Season 2 to Air in 2026

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for Azur Lane: Slow Ahead! 2! (Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin! 2!), the second television anime season of shorts adapting Hori's Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin! four-panel manga, announced on Sunday that the anime will debut in 2026. Along with the announcement, the second season anime's character designer and chief animation director Nana Mori drew an illustration:

Shunji Maki is directing the new season at CANDY BOX. Yū Satō (Kiratto Pri☆Chan) is returning to write the scripts with Hotaru Asafuji. Mori, an animation director for the first season, is the character designer and chief animation director for the second season. Fūga Hatori (My Wife is the Student Council President) is composing the music. Masanori Tsuchiya (New Game!) is returning as sound director.

The first Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin! season premiered in January 2021. Masato Jinbo (Chaos;Child) directed the season, and Satō wrote the scripts. Yostar Pictures produced the season along with studio CANDY BOX. Yokohama Animation Lab was credited with production cooperation. Hiromitsu Hagiwara (Nozo × Kimi) was the character designer, and Hagiwara and Kengo Saitō (SSSS.Gridman) were the chief animation directors. Shade (Miru Tights) composed the music.

The anime stars:

• Nozomi Yamane as Javelin
• Yō Taichi as Ayanami
• Maria Naganawa as Laffey
• Rika Abe as Z23
• Sumire Uesaka as Akashi
• Minami Takahashi as Baltimore
• Ayane Sakura as Prinz Eugen

Hori launched the manga in April 2018 on the franchise's official X/Twitter account and on publisher Ichijinsha's Azur Lane website.

The main television anime of Xiamen Yongshi's Azur Lane smartphone game premiered in October 2019. Funimation streamed the series with English subtitles and an English dub. Episodes 11 and 12 of the anime aired in March 2020.

Tsuchii's Azur Lane Queen's Orders manga also inspired an original video anime.

In the original game for iOS and Android devices, players collect early 20th century warships from various countries and use fleets of six ships to battle enemies. Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi developed the game, and bilibili released it in China in May 2017. Shanghai Yostar released the game in Japan in September 2017. Yostar released an English version of the game in May 2019.

Sources: Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin! anime's X/Twitter account, via Otakomu