Kekkai Sensen, also known as Blood Blockade Battlefront, is an action-packed science fiction anime series that originally premiered in 2015. This anime is based on a popular manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, which has garnered a global fanbase. The anime’s second season, which delighted fans, aired in 2017. The series was produced by the renowned Bones Studio, the same studio responsible for hit anime such as Boku no Hero Academia and Mob Psycho 100. Funimation holds the licensing rights to the anime outside Japan, making it accessible to international audiences. The second season of Kekkai Sensen originally aired from October 7, 2017, to December 23, 2017, on local networks like MBS, Tokyo MX, and BS11. Fans are still wondering today: will the anime have a third season? Let’s delve into what we know about a second season so far.
What is the plot of Kekkai Sensen?
Kekkai Sensen is set in an alternate version of New York City, not Tokyo or Japan as one might expect. Several years before the series begins, a great collapse occurred, resulting in the opening of a mysterious “door” that allowed creatures from another dimension to enter the human world. This transformed part of New York into a chaotic and dangerous zone now known as Jerusalem’s Lot.
In the midst of this turmoil, a secret organization called Libra exists, made up of individuals with special abilities—often linked to controlling their blood. Libra’s primary mission is to protect the city from criminal organizations and fend off attacks from the “other side,” where dangerous entities dwell.
The protagonist, Leonardo Watch, is a young man with a unique power: his eyes allow him to see everything, even the hidden dangers of this collapsing world. However, there is a tragic price for his gift—his sister’s eyes were taken in exchange for his own. Driven by a desire to restore his sister’s sight, Leonardo arrives in New York, where he joins forces with Libra. As the story unfolds, Kekkai Sensen dives into the conflicts between the human world and the otherworldly threats, while exploring the mysteries surrounding the collapse of New York.
Will there be a third season of Blood Blockade Battlefront?
The anime’s first season premiered in 2015, and the second season followed in 2017. As of December 30, 2024, neither Bones Studio nor any affiliated company has officially renewed Kekkai Sensen for a third season. Despite the long gap of over seven years without any official announcements, we are familiar with renewals coming after years in the anime industry.
The decision to greenlight a new season of an anime typically hinges on several key factors. These include the availability of source material, the series’ overall popularity, studio status, and profits. In the case of Kekkai Sensen, let’s take a closer look at these factors to understand the potential for a third season.
Manga Status of Kekkai Sensen
Since Kekkai Sensen is an anime adaptation of a manga series, it’s essential that enough source material is available for a potential third season. The original manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, concluded in February 2015, with 10 volumes released. Following this, the sequel manga Kekkai Sensen: Back 2 Back ran from 2015 to 2022, spanning 10 volumes.
With the conclusion of Back 2 Back in August 2022, the momentum for the Kekkai Sensen franchise remained strong. Nightow has since launched a new manga series titled Kekkai Sensen: Beat 3 Peat in October 2022, continuing the world of Blood Blockade Battlefront. This new manga is currently ongoing and adds fresh material to the franchise, providing ample content for a potential third anime season.
Considering that the anime adaptation covered the original manga and the first two volumes of Back 2 Back, there are now 8 volumes left from the sequel manga, plus new material from Beat 3 Peat for a potential third season. With the continued success of the manga and the release of a new series, there is more than enough source material for the anime to continue, ensuring that the franchise’s momentum remains high.
Popularity and Other Key Factors
Anime productions are typically profit-driven, and factors such as disc sales play a crucial role in determining the success and potential for a new season. While disc sales have seen a decline in recent years, they were a key indicator of an anime’s success when Kekkai Sensen was first released. In Japan, an anime is generally expected to sell an average of 4,000 copies per volume.
Looking at Blood Blockade Battlefront’s disc sales, we see that this target was easily surpassed, with more than 6,000 units sold per volume for its second season. Although the first season outperformed the second season in terms of sales, both seasons achieved the desired sales figures. When considering disc sales alone, the prospects for a third season of the anime seem promising.
However, the decision to greenlight a new season is not solely based on disc sales. The anime’s overall popularity plays a significant role in attracting producers for a new season. Currently, Kekkai Sensen enjoys a solid ranking on MyAnimeList’s popularity chart. It is ranked among the top 200 most popular anime of all time and still has over 80,000 followers on its official X page. While renewals for anime often require more than 100,000 followers, this level of popularity is still a strong sign of ongoing interest in Japan.
However, when we look at current global search interests, some concerning trends emerge. Kekkai Sensen seems to have lost more than half of its previous search volume over time, which could be a source of concern for the production studio. Taking all these factors into account, we can conclude the following.
Will there be a third season of Kekkai Sensen?
The third season of the anime has not yet been confirmed. While Bones Studio has recently delighted fans with the upcoming second season of SK8: The Infinity, Kekkai Sensen fans continue to wait for news. Based on the factors discussed earlier—such as the availability of source material, disc sales, and overall popularity—there are indications that a third season is possible. But this possibility is not looking more than we concluded above. The seven-year silence since the second season’s release raises concerns, as this gap is longer than typical for anime renewals. While no official statement has been made yet, considering the time needed for renewal and production, we may see the third season arrive as early as 2026, depending on the studio’s decisions. Fans will have to stay tuned for official updates.