The Spirit of A Dam Opens the Horror Visual Campaign
Instead of a cast lineup or splashy key art, the 2027 announcement leads with a single ghost. The first in a numbered series of "horror visuals," published alongside the date in the official announcement carried by Japanese anime news site Animate Times, puts the spirit of A Dam inside the dam's dim inspection gallery, standing there with nothing else in frame. The announcement itself calls it a visual cold enough to freeze your spine.
Billing it as the first installment suggests more visuals are on the way as the broadcast approaches. The announcement also nudges fans toward the official site, teasing that something suspicious is happening over there. In a series about haunted places and cursed objects, that is exactly the kind of stunt you would hope for.
Season 2 Takes the Ghost Hunt to Kyoto
Dark Gathering follows Keitarō Gentōga, a college student with a constitution that draws spirits to him, who has retreated into life as a shut-in when the story opens. He meets Yayoi Hōzuki, a genius girl hunting for the soul of her late mother, which was carried off by an evil spirit. Together with Keitarō's childhood friend Eiko, they strike up an alliance and battle ghosts all over Japan, rallying around a catchphrase that mashes "let's go" into "ghost": "Rettsu gō! Suto!"
Kenichi Kondō has been serializing the manga in Jump SQ., Shueisha's monthly manga magazine, since 2019, and the series has passed 3 million copies in circulation. The first TV season, a 25-episode run, aired from July to December 2023.
Season 2 moves the setting to Kyoto and picks the story up at "#34 Jōraku" (上洛), the volume 9 chapter whose title is an old word for traveling to the capital. Beyond the location change, the announcement keeps the new season's contents under wraps.
The Season 1 Cast and Staff All Return
Yū Sasahara (篠原侑) is back as Yayoi, joined by Nobunaga Shimazaki (Haruka Nanase in Free!) as Keitarō, Kana Hanazawa (Mitsuri Kanroji in Demon Slayer) as Eiko, and Rina Kawaguchi as Ai Kamiyo.
The production side carries over too: director Hiroshi Ikehata, series composition writer Shigeru Murakoshi, and character designer Yuri Ichinose all return, with OLM again handling animation production.
Looking Ahead
"2027" is as specific as the date gets for now. No season or month has been announced, and the official listing still marks the detailed schedule as undecided. New details will roll out through the anime's official site and social accounts, along with a recurring column in Jump SQ.
On the international side, HIDIVE streamed the first season as it aired, but no streaming partner has been announced for Season 2 yet. The manga is published in English by Viz Media, so the source material for the Kyoto arc is already within reach for readers who want a head start.