Based on a popular manga, Noragami is an anime from the Japanese animation studio Bones. Season 1 premiered on January 5, 2014, while season 2 premiered on October 2, 2015. The show earned itself a massive fan base thanks to its thrilling action scenes and colorful cast of characters.
The last episode ended with a cliffhanger, making season 3 one of the most anticipated seasons in the world of anime. Bones Studio has yet to give an official release date for the next installment in spite of its popularity.
The studio’s silence has led to wild online speculation about the next season’s premier. It’s been almost four years since the last episode aired and just as long since Bones released any news of the show, forcing fans to do nothing more but wait.
However, recent events suggest that the wait might soon be over.
Noragami in a Nutshell
Noragami, which translates to “stray god,” is about a middle school student named Hiyori. In season 1, she finds herself capable of astral projection after getting hit by a bus.
This newfound ability allows her to slip between her own world and the spirit world (referred to as the Near Shore and Far Shore, respectively). While in the Far Shore, Hiyori encounters the wandering god Yato and the lost human soul Yukine. From there, the series follows Hiyori,
Yato, and Yukine’s misadventures as they travel through the Far Shore in pursuit of their goals. Hiyori seeks to reverse the damage done to her body from the bus accident. Yato’s greatest desire is to build a temple dedicated to himself. Despite being dead, Yukine is stuck in the world of the living and must come to terms with his own death.
While their goals are realized in season 1, season 2 picks up where the first season left off, with the main characters feeling empty and unfulfilled until the arrival of a new antagonist. From there, our main characters find themselves changing their goals as their individual stories progress.
Each of these characters evolves as a result of their friendship and their own character arcs, thus shaping the plot of the series as a whole.
What we know about season 3
Due to Noragami’s origin as a manga series, it’s likely that most of the third season’s plot has already been written and published. The first two seasons followed the plot of the manga. So, it’s safe to assume that season 3 will remain faithful to the manga as well. With that assumption in mind, viewers can expect the following from season 3:
- Return of the three main characters Hiyori, Yato, and Yukine
- An exploration into Yato’s mysterious past
- Yato’s true identity is finally revealed
- Introduction to Yato’s father
- Illustration of the father-son dynamic between Yato and his father
- A new development in Yato’s quest to become a widely-revered god
- New allies and a new enemy
- An overall darker and more mature atmosphere than previous seasons
Cast of season 3
As the main characters, Hiyori, Yato, and Yukine are expected to be the focus of season 3 as well. Hiyori is voiced by Maaya Uchida in Japanese and Bryn Apprill in English. Yato is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya in Japanese and Jason Liebrecht in English.
Finally, Yukine is voiced by Yuki Kaji in Japanese and Micah Solusod in English. Although the final plot hasn’t been confirmed yet, it’s very likely that these six actors will return to voice their respective characters. If season 3 follows the manga, more familiar characters should also be returning.
These characters include various gods and members of Hiyori’s family, such as Rabou, Daikoku, Kuraha, Nora, and Bishamonten. It would not be a surprise if the voice actors of these characters returned to the cast for season 3 as well.
Possible release date
There are several recent events suggesting a new Noragami season will be announced soon. Volume 20 of the Noragami manga was released earlier this year. At this time, there is enough unadapted material to develop into a season’s worth of animated episodes.
This is the most compelling piece of evidence that season 3 is on the horizon, because many fans believed the long hiatus was due to lack of material. There is no confirmation that Noragami has been renewed for a third season. However, the manga remains the 14th most popular manga series of all time, making renewal more than likely.
Keeping in mind that most anime shows take about a year to produce a season, the earliest possible release date for season 3 is sometime in late 2020. Bones released the first two seasons of Noragami in the fall, which makes a late 2020 release even more likely.
