Seraph of the End is a dark fantasy anime series set in a post-apocalyptic world. This anime, where we can find similar points from our world during the pandemic period we are in, was first published in 2015. It was adapted from the manga series of the same name written by Takaya Kagami. Also known as Owari no Seraph, the anime was created by Wit Studio, which has produced successful productions such as Great Pretender and Vinland Saga in recent years. Originally aired in two parts on Tokyo MX, MBS, TVA, BS11, AT-X local channels between April 4, 2015 – December 26, 2015, it has also been licensed by many big distributors such as Funimation. Netflix, Hulu TV, and Tubi also published anime worldwide. It is wondered whether there will be a third season of this anime that attracts vampire-themed anime lovers. Last, we had watched the OVA episode, which was last aired on May 2, 2016. Is a new season possible after about five years?
What is the plotline of the Seraph of the End?
Imagine a world where an undetectable virus destroys all people over the age of 13, deaths occur suddenly, and the whole world is left to children. Growing up in the orphanage, Yuichiro Hyakuya (Yu-chan) saw the people around die one by one while having fun outside with friends from the orphanage. Returning to the orphanage together, the team saw that the headmistress died as well. Insulting people in the streets, the vampires collects all the children whose parents died and were abandoned and take them to underground cities. Using all children as blood banks, vampires continue to be fed for their blood needs. Yuichiro’s best friend Mikaela Hyakuya (Mika) deals with a top vampire named Ferid Bathory for her blood. Annoyed by this situation, Yu-chan learns that he can get all the materials he wants from Ferid in exchange for Mika’s blood.
Receiving the city map from Ferid, Mika tells Yu-chan all the facts, gathers all the children in the orphanage, and makes his plan to escape the vampire city. After passing the officers, our team approached the main gate one by one encounters an unprecedented surprise, Ferid! The silhouette of Ferid that suddenly appears at the door scares Mika. Ferid threatens Mika and says he will kill all of his friends if they don’t come back. While Ferid, who first killed the other children, tried to kill by sucking the blood of Mika, Yu-chan shook the weapon that Mika stole from Ferid on Ferid’s head, Ferid fell to the ground. Trying to transport the seriously injured Mika, Yu-chan leaves at Mika’s request and throws herself from the vampire city.
Story deals with human-vampire rivalry on a different level than normal vampire-werewolf rivalries or the stories of vampire hunters like Hellsing. But whether it’s his drawings or the music used, it is a complete shounen. The drawings of Yuichiro and Mikaela’s main characters are good examples.
Will there be a third season of Seraph of the End?
As of May 23, 2022, the studio of the first season, Wit Studio or any related company with the anime, has not yet renewed the anime for a third season. In the past years, fake news had been published that it would be a third season. We even see a Season 3 title on IMDb. However, nothing has been decided officially so far. Since there is no statement from official channels, we can only comment on this issue at the moment. Even after years, anime can meet the audience with a new season. We’ve seen many examples of this, such as Mob Psycho 100. We will speculate about the new season’s possibility of Seraph of the End, evaluating some of the main factors.
Manga status of the anime (Source material)
Seraph of the End is originally a manga series written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto. The manga series published by Shueisha in Jump Square magazine in Japan started its publication life in 2012. It is also possible to read the manga series in English thanks to Viz Media, the manga’s global publisher.
The good news is that the manga is still ongoing. Considering the manga is the main source material of the anime, still airing the manga is pretty good news. So, are the volumes published so far enough for a new season? Takaya Kagami’s manga series consists of 26 volumes so far, and the last volume was released on February 4, 2022. At the time of writing, the manga series consists of 114 chapters with the chapters not in tankobon format yet. The first season of the anime covered the first 25 chapters and the second season up to 41 chapters. It seems that there are enough manga scripts available for the third and even fourth seasons of the Seraph of the End. This is a clear signal that we may see a new season in the future. Source material availability is an important factor but is not sufficient by itself.
Popularity and Disc (BluRay – DVD) sales
The first and second seasons of Seraph of the End were actually split into 2 of an already prepared season. For this reason, there is a short time between the first and the second season. The anime’s first season sold 6,228 units in the first volume in terms of disc sales, while the second season sales saw a sharp decline to 2,586.
| Season 1 | |
| Volume 1 | 6,228 |
| Volume 2 | 2,718 |
| Volume 3 | 2,503 |
| Volume 4 | 2,687 |
| Season 2 | |
| Volume 1 | 2,586 |
| Volume 2 | 2,225 |
| Volume 3 | 2,183 |
| Volume 4 | 2,099 |
Financial evaluations say that for a new season, at least 4,000 units must have been sold. In this case, the sharp drop in season two made the anime fall short of this target. However, Seraph of the End anime is still very popular on online platforms, and in recent years, income sources other than disc sales have started to be evaluated. According to Myanimelist, the anime is currently ranked among the 100 most popular anime of all time. (#88)
The manga series is also very popular. With the spin-off series, it has exceeded 10 million sales in total, and a new anime season could be a good decision to further increase the manga sales. More than 140 thousand users follow the official Twitter account of the series. On the other hand, anime such as Seraph of the End with smartphones and Playstation games is always one step ahead for the possibility of a new season. This shows that the producers also turn to alternative studies to keep this brand on the agenda.
When is the third season of Seraph of the End?
Wit studio, which has taken part in projects such as Attack on Titan, is one of the most successful studios in getting approval for the new season. However, there is no renewal for Seraph of the End yet. But after the evaluation, we can say that the possibility of a new season is very high. We have to wait for the official renewal first. The average production time will also take a year. If the expected renewal comes within this year, we can see a new season in 2023. We will be sharing official information with you as it comes to light. Till then we recommend you to watch Goblin Slayer in the dark fantasy genre.