It has been more than five years since the fans last saw Noragami, and now they are getting impatient to see Noragami Season 3. It is one of the most popular anime series which suddenly went into a hiatus five years back. And it now became one of the most anticipated anime shows of all time as everyone is eagerly waiting to see the third installment of the series. They are curious to know what will happen next in the life of Hiyoki, Yato, and Yukine on the other side of the world.
Noragami is a Japanese fantasy anime series. It is a remake of the manga series of the same title by Adachitoka. He published 22 volumes of the manga series so far. The anime made its debut on January 5, 2014. It created as much hype as possible because of the immense popularity of its manga. The following installment premiered on October 2, 2015, and the last episode was aired on December 25 of the same year. Ever since then, everyone is eagerly waiting to see the next season of the anime series. So will there be a third installment of Noragami? Here’s everything to know.
Noragami Season 3: Renewal Status!
Over the course of these five years, the fans have grown anxious to know the future of the anime series. The story of the original source material is still moving forward. However still, the creators haven’t provided any details on the anime. It suddenly vanished after the completion of the second season—the disappearance of this anime show this popular has stunned everyone for obvious reasons. Plus, the silence of the creators is only worsening this situation.
Bones Studio picked the manga for the anime adaptation. However, they didn’t cancel the show for the third season as well. The future of Noragami Season 3 is still up in the air as the makers aren’t revealing anything about it. The previous two seasons of the series weren’t enough to fulfill the craving of the otakus, and they want to see more of it as soon as possible.
Noragami Season 3: Is There Enough Source Material?
Just like most of the animes shows, Noragami is also based on its source material. Adachitoka created its manga series, which began serializing from July 15, 2011. The manga started growing to be popular in no time, and it became the 14th best selling manga in that very year. The makers have published 22 volumes of this manga so far, which consists of a total of 88 chapters—the latest volume of the manga series recently released on June 17, 2020.
The debut season of anime only covered the first three volumes of the manga. In contrast, the second season adapted the volumes from four to nine. And that means Bones Studio has more than enough source material to create not one, but two seasons of the anime. If they still follow this sequence, then Noragami Season 3 will cover volumes from ten to fifteen. And they’ll still have seven volumes in spare for the further installments.
Busy Schedule Of Bones Studio!
Bones Studio which produced the first two seasons of the anime is one of the most renowned and busiest studios in Japan. It is behind the animation of brilliant masterpieces like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Mob Psycho 100, My Hero Academia and many more. These names are enough to describe the level of this animation studio. Therefore it is always busy with several projects. After releasing the second season of Noragami, the studio got busy in the production of My Hero Academia. And it became one of the most popular new-gen anime shows. Along with MHA, Bones released a lot of new animes, films, and video games as well. And their busy schedule won’t allow them to work on the production of Noragami Season 3.
Bones Studio already announced the release of My Hero Academia Season 4, Bungo Stray Dogs Wan, SK8 the Infinity, and Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution 3 for 2021. It’s safe to assume the studio’s pipeline is packed till 2021, and if the third season is on the cards, they will work on it only after they complete their current projects.
Noragami: Stray Stories!
Along with the main manga series, which is publishing in Shonen magazine, the authors published an additional manga as well with the title Noragami: Stray Stories. It is a side story created by the same author, Adachitoka. Stray Stories made its debut in 2013. So far, the creators have only released a single volume of this series, which was published on November 15, 2013. However, in 2019, they released a second volume, which was an add on and a special limited edition version of Volume 20 of the main story. It is unknown whether the creator will release its third volume or not.
OAD Episodes Of Noragami!
Original Animation DVD (OAD) is a new term that just began to come into use over the past few years. An OAD is a different form of OVA, but it’s precisely an OVA that comes bundled as an additional with a volume of the manga. The franchise of Noragami has released four such ODA episodes. Two in the debut installment and two in the following one. And it is likely that the viewers will get two more whenever the creators will release Noragami Season 3.
Profit Generated By The Franchise!
The main reason behind creating any anime or manga series is the profit generated by it. The sales of the manga have witnessed a huge drop. By Volume 12, it used to sell over 300,000 copies. In comparison, Volume 21 has sold 120,000 copies. And that was a significant decrease that the creators will certainly worry about. The creators made a lot of money with the debut season of the anime. However, that amount dropped by 50% after the release of the second season. Sales of the manga also dropped by a huge margin. And that’s one of the main reasons why the fans haven’t seen Noragami Season 3 yet.
Will Noragami Season 3 Ever Release?
Some anime series made its return even after a long gap of five or six years. However, in the case of Noragami, five years have already been passed, and even the production isn’t started. And the chances are that it won’t even start by the end of next year because of the busy schedule of Bones Studio. The manga of the series is also releasing at a very slow speed. There was a time when the fans used to see the new chapters of the manga frequently. But now they have to wait for quite a while.
Over the course of these five years, the popularity of the franchise also decreases gradually. Still, there are some loyal fans of the series who are solely waiting for the third installment of it. However, there are many who got tired of waiting and joined the fandoms of different shows. Usually, the demand increases with time, but in its case, it decreases. Back in 2014-2016, Noragami used to be the most popular anime show, and the fans were crazy about it. But now it clearly lost its spark.
The only positive thing is that the second season didn’t conclude the storyline and ended with a cliffhanger. And the makers have more than enough manga chapters to create Noragami Season 3. Currently, there are 50-50 chances that the show will return. However, the fans don’t have to lose hope because this industry is very uncertain, and here you can expect the unexpected.
Will There Be Any Film, Spin-Off, Or ODA?
As we mentioned above, along with the main manga, the authors published a second manga as well, which feature side stories of it. And by the chapters from this manga, the makers can easily create any film or spin-off series of Noragami. There is a great probability that the fans will see any one of these in the near future. It might also provide the required boost to the franchise that is needed now. And ODA only came with a full-fledged season of the series. So if the creators ever release Noragami Season 3, the fans will certainly see some more ODA episodes.
Noragami Season 3: Plot Details!
The anime tells the story of a schoolgirl, Hiyori Iki, whose time takes turns upon facing a bus accident while rescuing a stranger. The event makes her soul to frequently slip out of her body and drop between two parallel universes. One of them is the Near Shore, where normal creatures and humans live. Whereas the second one, the Far Shore, is a realm where devils and human souls crawl. Soon, Hiyori joins Yato, a nameless god without a reliquary and his Regalia joins her. The three become great friends and try on various experiences struggling with their friendships, integrity, and pasts.
Narogami Season 3 will be a difficult one for our characters. The fans of the series will ultimately get to know Yato’s real identity with a huge revelation of his dark past. On the other hand, it will also be revealed that the random man who kisses Hiyori is Yato’s father. The third season will go deeper into the father-son duo’s bond.
Yato wants to be the god with a lot of worshippers. Additionally, Bishamon pardons him for destroying his first family. Hence, he quickly starts to assemble allies as much as possible. However, it will not be as easy since Yato’s former Regalia, Nora, is reverting to seek revenge. Whereas, Yato is still uninformed that he now has a new nemesis.
Moreover, Noragami Season 3 will highlight Yukine assisting Yato to be the god of possessions. Well, we might even get to witness how Yato aids Hiyori in limiting her death. The upcoming installment of the anime series still has a lot of subjects to answer. It will come up with new twists and turns. Plus, the creators have a lot of chapters for the third season, and that means he can add all the interesting plots they want in it.
Noragami Season 3: Release Date
Most of the franchises got their third season only because they are making a lot of money from it. However, in the case of Noragami, it decreased by a considerable margin. There were a lot of rumors making their rounds regarding the arrival of its third season. However, none of them came to be true. Since the second season concluded with a cliffhanger, therefore the wait is even more excruciating for the fans.
Bones Studio currently has a very tight schedule for the upcoming years. And currently, its main focus is on My Hero Academia Season 5, which will release next year, and only after that, they can begin the production of the third installment. If Bones picked up the show for its third season, then the fans can expect Noragami Season 3 to release by the sometime in the year 2023.