Kekkai Sensen, aka Blood Blockade Battlefront, is an action and science fiction anime series that was first released in 2015. The series, which is an adaptation of a famous manga series in Japan, is now followed worldwide. The manga was written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. Although the first manga has been completed, it is currently ongoing with a sequel series. In 2017, the anime made its fans happy with its second season. Bones Studio is the creator of the Funimation licensed series. The series, a powerful studio behind it, comes out of the same Studio with record-breaking animes such as Boku no Hero Academia and Mob Psycho 100. The anime’s second season has originally aired on MBS, Tokyo MX, BS11 local networks from October 7, 2017, to December 23, 2017. So has the anime been renewed for a third season?
What was the plotline of the anime?
Kekkai Sensen, like many others, does not take place in Tokyo or even in Japan. The center of our story is New York. But a New York that had a great collapse a few years ago is home to creatures from the “other world” since the “door” opened. Of course, this part of the city has also been given a different name. We can say that there is complete chaos in this part called Jerusalem’s Lot. On the other hand, Libra is a secret organization made up of people with special powers – usually to control their blood – that protects the city from specific criminal organizations and especially repels attacks from the other side.
On the other hand, Leonardo Watch is a young man with special eyes who can see everything during this collapse. But his sister’s eyes were taken in return. Leonardo, who wants to do something for his sister, comes to the city to find Libra, and things unfold. Focusing on attacks from the “other side” in the first chapters, the series then touches on issues related to the big collapse.
Will there be a third season of Blood Blockade Battlefront?
Bones or any company related to the anime has not yet renewed Kekkai Sensen for a third season. The first season of the anime was released in 2015, then returned to the screens with its second season in 2017. There has been no official news for a new season in about four years. Although there is a lot of speculation about a new season, official channels remain silent. The new season decisions of anime usually depend on a few main factors. Factors such as source material availability, disc sales, and popularity are the leading factors. Under these items, we had detailed speculation about a third season. Let’s check it out together.
Manga status of the anime
The series is a manga adaptation; therefore the manga must be providing enough source material for a new season. Written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, the manga series was first published by Shueisha in 2009. After 10 volumes were released, the first manga of the series was completed on February 19, 2015. However, this was not the end. The sequel manga series, titled “Back 2 Back” from the same author, is currently running and has reached 8 volumes at the time of writing.
In the first and second seasons of the anime, the entire initial manga was adapted. Also, in the second season, the story extended to the sequel manga, and the first 2 volumes of the 8 published volumes were used in the second season. Considering that a total of 12 volumes were adapted in the first and second seasons, the remaining 6 volumes seem sufficient for a new season. However, how much source material the production team will use may vary. When at least a few more volumes are released, we can definitely say that there will be enough source material for a new season. Since the sequel manga series continues, the source material status will not be an obstacle for a new season.
Disc sales and the popularity of the anime
Animes are for-profit productions, and disc sales are important accordingly. Although disc sales have declined in recent years, it was important at the time of Blood Blockade Battlefront’s release. In addition, disc sales are an important data to see the popularity in Japan. In general, an anime is expected to sell 4,000 copies per volume on average. When we look at the anime’s disc sales, we see that this target is easily achieved. Although the first season’s disc sales are much better than the second season, the target seems to be achieved in both seasons. When evaluated in terms of disc sales, a third season of the anime is very likely.
| Season 1 | Sales | Season 2 | Sales |
| Volume 1 | 22,208 | Volume 1 | 6,865 |
| Volume 2 | 17,66 | Volume 2 | 6,232 |
| Volume 3 | 15,792 | Volume 3 | 5,816 |
| Volume 4 | 14,755 | Volume 4 | 5,681 |
| Volume 5 | 14,219 | Volume 5 | 5,621 |
| Volume 6 | 14,082 | Volume 6 | 5,934 |
However, it is not all limited by disc sales. On the other hand, the actual popularity attracts the producers for a new season. When we look at the anime’s current popularity, we see a popularity score of 93.4%. The anime, which Myanimelist ranks among the top 200 most popular animations of all time, is followed by 86.6k people on Twitter. When we look at the Google search volume, it is pretty OK. Anime has half the search volume of the same studio’s beloved ‘Mob Psycho 100’, but that’s not bad value in general.
Will there be a third season of Kekkai Sensen?
The anime’s third season has not yet been confirmed. Bones studio made its fans happy with Season 5 of My Hero Academia in recent months. However, as for Mob Psycho 100, the wait continues for Kekkai Sensen. We speculated above about a new season of the anime under some main factors. It seems that the manga provides sufficient source material, and there is quite sufficient popularity. A third season looks quite likely. The manga has just provided the source material for a new season, and this could turn into a new season decision in the coming days. There is no official statement yet, but considering the renewal and production period, it is possible to see a new season like 2023.