Blue Exorcist or aka Ao no Exorcist is one of Japan’s most popular anime in the adventure and dark fantasy genre. The anime series, which first appeared on the screen in 2011, excited its fans with its second season published in 2017. The anime is based on the manga series of the same name by Kazue Kato, which has over 15 million copies in circulation. Both seasons were animated by the studio A-1 Pictures, which we know from popular animes such as Black Butler and Kaguya-sama: Love is War. It has been followed worldwide by broadcast by primary streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. After the second season, which premiered in the spring of 2017, anime fans are now waiting for a new season. So has the anime been renewed for a third season?
What is the Plotline of ‘Blue Exorcist’?
The world consists of two mirror-like opposite dimensions: Assiah, inhabited by humans, and Gehenna, ruled by demons. The worlds are not related to each other to keep the balance. Although communication and travel are not possible between these two dimensions, demons can reach Assiah by capturing people’s souls. While passing from body to body, people die, so the devil cannot find a body that he can enter every time anymore. This is where strong people come to the fore. So, who are the powerful people who can harbor the power of the devil? People who can take the pressure and those who are stronger than the Exorcists and who deserve the highest degree, that is, the title of “Paladin”. Satan, the god of demons, is stuck in Gehenna as he could not find a human strong enough to shelter him. To overcome this, he has a child named Okumura Rin from a human woman.
One day, Satan’s son Okumura Rin begins to see demons as his powers begin to unfold. Rin, who was saved by Father Shiro, who raised him after he went after demons who realized his power, learns from him that he is the son of the devil. As soon as he learns all this, the devil comes for his son, but Shiro gives his life to save Rin. Having a great hatred for the devil, Rin vows to go to True Cross Academy, where his twin brother Yukio attends and becomes a demon exorcist and kills the demon.
Will there be a third season of Blue Exorcist?
The Blue Exorcist anime’s second season was aired from January 7, 2017, to March 24, 2017. It has since not been renewed for a third season yet. As of May 29, 2022, at the time of writing, the manga publisher Shueisha, or A-1 Pictures, has kept quiet about the anime’s new season. We speculated about the new season as no official news so far. It is possible to predict whether an anime will receive a new season approval by evaluating some main factors. Let’s look at what result we get when assessing the main elements such as manga source material availability, popularity, disc sales, financial conditions, as the decision committee did.
Source Material: Manga of Blue Exorcist
The manga that the anime is being adapted from is written and illustrated by Kazue Kato, as we mentioned at the beginning of our article. Viz Media brings the manga which Shueisha originally broadcast, to readers around the world in English. The manga series, which started broadcasting in 2009, is still ongoing. Considering that animes were released as an advertising product for the manga, the fact that the manga series is still going on increases the possibility of seeing a new anime season.
The manga series has reached 27 volumes and 130 chapters, with its last volume published on July 2, 2021. The anime’s first season-ending with an alternate finale in the manga series corresponds to Chapter 14 (Volume 4). In the second season, It was adapted up to Chapter 34 (Volume 9). Considering the remaining source material, it seems that there is plenty of source material available for one or more seasons.
A Financial Data: Disc Sales
Disc sales have declined in recent years because online viewing habits have increased. However, disc sales were still popular in 2017 when Blue Exorcist went on sale, and this is good data for popularity comparison with other anime released in the same period. We see that it sells 2177 units on the average of the volumes. For example, considering that Osomatsu-san, which sells discs in the same period (Winter 2017), sold 10.314 units, we cannot say that Blue Exorcist had outstanding sales.
Popularity and the other factors
However, disc sales are not as valuable as they used to be. The exclusive distribution of anime by many major distributors may provide enough financial strength for a new season. Blue Exorcist is currently among the 50 most popular anime according to Myanimelist (34th) and has a strong Google search popularity for a new season. The anime’s official Japanese Twitter page is currently followed by 87k people, with a large audience waiting for the third season.
When is the third season of the anime?
The Blue Exorcist anime has not yet been renewed for a third season. Unfortunately, very few animes get approval for a new season. Fortunately, Blue Exorcist is popular enough to be among these animes and is distributed by many exclusive distributors, which indicates that things are going well financially. The manga series, which has more than 15 million copies in circulation, also provides sufficient source material for a new season, increasing the possibilities for a new season. In our opinion, a new season of the anime is inevitable, but since there is no official renewal yet, it is complicated to predict the release date. There are exactly six years between the first and second seasons. It seems that this interval will occur for the third season as well. We can see the third season of the anime in mid-2023. We will update our article as official data and leaks arrive. Stay tuned.
Until a new season of Blue Exorcist renews, we can recommend Devilman Crybaby, one of the anime in the same genre.
What can happen in Season 3 of Blue Exorcist?
In the next season of Blue Exorcist, we will most likely watch the story of the manga’s sequel five books on screen. Season 2 concluded with Rin and his friends returning to Kyoto once again. The new story will begin with the Illuminati Arc, ruled by Lucifer. This dangerous group, including Sabutota Todou as a member, aims to resurrect the devil. To this end, they fill the world with demons and zombies. In the third season, we will learn the origin story of the Gehenna Gate, which allowed the demons to pass into the world of humans. This portal was invented in Russia by the evil organization Illuminati. But the motor of the Gate malfunctioned. Only the Exorcist could have prevented the dangerous portal from opening, but they failed and the evil spread. The Illuminati’s current goal is to unite Assiah and Gehenna to establish a single world order. Only Rin and his twin brother can stop them. Dangerous and challenging tasks await them.