Many anime fans might have forgotten about it already given how long it has been since the last anime season. But recently, it was announced that the Blue Exorcist anime will continue with the Shimane Illuminati Saga (effectively Season 3), and it will be released in January 2024.
The show’s release date was revealed at Aniplex Online Fest 2023. A new trailer for the upcoming anime was also released, along with other new info.
Blue Exorcist Will Return With Season 3
Blue Exorcist's new anime project was originally revealed last year, but back then, it wasn’t clear exactly what the new anime would be.
During the initial reveal, it was only mentioned that a new anime project was confirmed. Given that the last anime season was released back in 2017, some were worried that the anime would be a remake instead of a continuation.
Finally, it was confirmed at the recent Aniplex Online Fest that the new anime is a proper new season of the show, and it will cover the Shimane Illuminati Saga of the manga. Effectively, this new anime is Blue Exorcist Season 3.
A continuation does make sense, especially considering that the first and second seasons also had a lengthy five-year gap between releases.
This is because the Blue Exorcist manga is serialized monthly, which means even if it has been ongoing for over a decade now, the manga still has only 144 chapters (as of this article’s writing).
RELATED: Where to Start Reading the Blue Exorcist Manga After the Anime
Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga Gets January 2024 Release Date
While the new anime is a proper third season, the previous studio, A-1 Pictures (of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War fame), will not return for the series. Instead, Studio VOLN is handling animation duties for the continuation.
Studio VOLN is best known for animating shows such as Ushio & Tora and Back Arrow, as well as anime films like I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.
The announcement of the show’s details was made alongside the reveal of the new trailer, which you can watch here:
Blue Exorcist's previous studio for the first two seasons will not return, but the cast members from the previous season are coming back, including VAs Nobuhiko Okamoto (Katsuki Bakugo in My Hero Academia) and Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass).
Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Arc will be released in January 2024. For now, there’s no word yet on a specific release date for its first episode.
Discover the latest anime news and info by following us on Twitter @epicstreamanime.
READ NEXT: The Best Fantasy Anime You Should Watch
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!