In an interview with pop culture website Akiba Souken, Kemono Friends 2 director Ryuichi Kimura confirmed that the series will continue to have sci-fi elements.

He said, "I've been trying to include everything that I thought was interesting about the first series: the relaxing feeling you get from watching it after a long day at work, the science fiction elements, the simple story with a compelling mystery at the heart of it, and so on."

He also claimed not to be an important figure in the creation of Kemono Friends , saying. "Frankly, I think that anyone could be the director [of Kemono Friends 2 ]. I think that everyone would be happier if they were able to enjoy an interesting anime without thinking about who created it."

In an earlier interview with Newtype, Kimura said that he did not want to over-emphasize the science fiction element because it could make the story too heavy.

Kimura otherwise re-iterated many of the points he shared in that interview: he enjoys and respects the first season, and he is working with many returning members of the Kemono Friends staff, including series conceptual artist Mine Yoshizaki , to create a new TV series that will do justice to the story and characters.

Although the narrative structure of Kemono Friends 2 will be "hardly any different" from the previous series, Kimura said in the latest interview that the new protagonist and the new character Caracal will change the dynamics. Kimura has also promised that the opening and ending themes of Kemono Friends 2 will have a different approach.

Kemono Friends 2 will premiere on January 7. The new anime's story begins with Serval and Caracal finding a "human" child in the forest. As they travel with the child, they meet new Friends, uncover the secrets of Japari Park, and become involved in an event that will "shake the earth."

Nexon 's original Kemono Friends app game launched in early 2016 and ended service in December of that year — before the Kemono Friends anime even aired. The 12-episode television anime then premiered on TV Tokyo and TV Osaka in January 2017 and ended in March 2017. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired, and is also currently streaming the Welcome to the JAPARI PARK spinoff anime worldwide outside of Asia.

Last year, it was confirmed that TATSUKI , the director of the previous Kemono Friends TV anime series, would not return to direct the second season.

Source: Akiba Souken via Hachima Kikō