After many delays and postponements, Netflix announced that season two of "The Seven Deadly Sins" would be released on February 17, 2017. The banner that appeared on Netflix's home screen tickled the delight of many American anime lovers, who had been waiting for this day for over a year!
Netflix's bait and switch
While Netflix got the hopes up of many people, on February 17th when fans went to view the series, they were left confused. Season two is officially listed as having 24 episodes, so why was there only a mere four episodes listed? Many fans took to Reddit to express their frustrations.
It turns out that instead of the actual season two being released, Netflix released the OVA (original video animation) "Signs of Holy War", which was a four-episode special that was meant to be the sequel to season one.
Netflix releases "The Seven Deadly Sins" OVA
Four episodes could hardly be considered an entire season. At best, the OVA could be considered an extension to season one. Marketing it under the guise of "season two" is a bit much. It is unclear whether or not Netflix did this intentionally, or if it was an honest mistake. However the uproar from the masses is sure to have caught their attention by now, yet, as of February 20th, 6:15 pm EST, no changes have been made.
"The Seven Deadly Sins" was just the second (in a slew of subsequent) anime that Netflix purchased exclusive distribution rights for.
The entire first season was made available on Netflix on November 1, 2015 and was received positively by American audiences. It is also one of the most highly rated animes of all time, ranking #159 on MyAnimeList.net.
While it is still unclear when the real season two will be released, the four episode OVA serves as a great teaser for fans, keeping the story fresh in viewers' minds as well as getting people hyped up for season two.
Indeed, this tactic has worked, as people are flooding the internet with speculations of what is going to happen in the next season. The general consensus is that you can expect a whole lot more action and fighting scenes to occur, as well as new characters to be introduced. But perhaps the thing that everyone is looking most forward to is the revelation of Meliodas' dark secret (the sin that he committed). Viewers will have to be a little more patient before the answer to that big question is revealed.
