This franchise and its anime deserved better
I first watched this anime during the early pandemic around 2020, It was literally one of my first 10 anime.
I binged watched all 24 eps in like 2 days (more like a day and a half) back then.
Then i found time to rewatch all 24 eps again in Aug of 2026 (10 whole years after cour 2 ended) then i got heartbroken all over again that it never got any hopes of a second season.
it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had watching anime, sure it had its flaws and It was years after the peak of the "battle academy" type anime's so A-1 pictures abandoned the idea of a continuation
But from what i heard vol 7 onward had so much more of its lore, PEAK arcs to show and expand on the other academies before it got dropped by A-1 pictures.
A-1 pictures did the bare minimum at the time, it was given a greenlight, a 24 ep anime adaptation to promote the LNs and it didn't work at the time of Cour 2's End. Which was july 2016.
The LN got 6 more volumes after Cour 2 ended with no noticeable increase in LN copies sold after its anime adaptation. The anime only managing to a bring larger dedicated fanbase that only surfaced during the pandemic when everyone started watching anime. Which sadly was too late for publicity to start at least in hopes for A-1 pictures to agree to the idea of a true Season 2.
based on MAL member counts for A-1 Pictures's produced anime's. Cour 1 has the 33rd most members and 5th most members for all time LN anime adaptations A-1 pictures has done, only behind Sword art, Saekano, Grimgar and Eromanga sensei in this regard.
When i heard to its PEAK OP's again during the rewatch being: Brand new day and The Asterisk war again something in my brain just clicked, nostalgia and heartbreak all over again.
It was taken from us when it was about to show us its much bigger world through the anime. Maybe in another life... another timeline there was a season 3/True season 2 of asterisk war..