Nearly a year after her design sparked wave after wave of pearl-clutching discourse, Hana Uzaki is officially set to bring back her bullying ways (and likely set social media ablaze once more), as Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out! has officially received a 2022 release date.
Announced by series production studio Studio Engi via Comic Natalie on August 7th, the Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out! team also released the season’s first key visual, which depicts Hana and Shinichi playing video games as the former’s younger sister, Yanagi Uzaki, and de-facto series mascot Kuso Cat look on.
In celebration of Studio Engi’s announcement, as well as both the release of the manga’s seventh volume and Hana’s birthday (August 7th), series creator and original mangaka Take released a new illustration of the series’ lead characters.
While many fans are undoubtedly excited for the series’ return, it’s likely, given the ‘offense-seeking’ nature of the first round of discourse surrounding Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out, that the release of its second season will revive the tired accusations that Hana’s ‘busty’ body type and anime-styled appearance were promoting pedophilia.
The outrage essentially boils down to, as summarized by Twitter user @ThotPuncher in an accusation they made when the series’ first season began airing, “She looks 5. She was designed to look 5. Stop trying to play mental gymnastics with the fact that you’re attracted to children.”
Related: Fans Defend Uzaki-Chan From Accusations of Pedophilia and Child Sexualization
The second season of Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out! Was first announced in 2020 in a short preview that was aired immediately after the conclusion of the first season’s finale.
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