If you’re an anime fan, you’ve probably heard of “Date A Live.” It began as a light novel written by Koushi Tachibana and illustrated by Tsunako, known for her work on PlayStation games, including “Date A Live: Rinne Utopia” in 2013.” The story has inspired five separate manga adaptations, a theatrical film, a spin-off light novel, and of course, an anime.
The series premiered in 2013 and is set in Eurasia. The Eurasian continent was devastated by a massive “spatial quake” thirty years ago, resulting in the deaths of more than 150 million people. The world has been plagued with quakes intermittently since then, albeit on a smaller scale.
Shidou Itsuka lives with his younger sister Kotori and seems to be an average high school student. When an imminent spatial quake threatens the safety of Tengu City, he rushes to save her, only to be caught in the resulting eruption. He discovers a mysterious girl at its source, who is revealed to be a “Spirit,” an otherworldly entity whose appearance triggers a spatial quake. Soon after, he becomes embroiled in a skirmish between the girl and the Anti-Spirit Team, a ruthless strike force with the goal of annihilating Spirits.
However, there is a third party that believes in saving the spirits: “Ratatoskr,” which surprisingly is commanded by Shidou’s little sister! Kotori forcibly recruits Shidou after the clash, presenting to him an alternative method of dealing with the danger posed by the Spirits—making them fall in love with him. He must now use his dating skills to charm Spirits in order to save the world.
Animation, plot, action, comedy, and fan service have been praised in the anime adaptation. Fans want to see more of Shidou and his adventures with the Spirits, particularly with Kurumi – known to be the most dangerous of them all.
The fourth season will be aptly called “Date A Live IV.” Here’s what we know so far.
When will Date A Live Season 4 be released?
The anime’s official Twitter account, in March 2021, announced that “Date A Live” would get a fourth season. In addition to the “super important announcement,” there was also a teaser visual featuring Shidou and his Spirit companion, Tohka Yatogami – also known as Tenka when in her Inverse form.
Initially scheduled for release in Fall 2021, the anime’s return has been bumped to its new air date in Spring 2022.
Officially, Season 4 of Date A Live will debut on April 8th in Japan as part of the Spring 2022 anime schedule. To commemorate the confirmed release date of the upcoming fourth season, Date A Live’s official Twitter account has released a new poster showcasing the fact that this newest season might be more action-packed than the previous three.
What is going to happen in Date A Live Season 4?
Unfortunately, there is no information about the plot of Season 4. Considering the previous seasons were adapted from the light novels – Season 3 animated up to Volume 13 – we can assume at the very least that the following five volumes will be adapted.
Based on the source material, you can expect to encounter Nia Honjou and Mukuro Hoshimiya, the ninth and tenth spirits Shidou will try to charm, the struggle between Shidou and Mukuro, whose possessive nature makes sealing her powers difficult, Kurumi Tokisaki’s return, who desires Shidou’s mysterious abilities, and Shidou’s eventual confession to his Spirit friends regarding his plans.
Regardless, fans who have stuck with Koushi Tachibana’s and Tsunako’s work and those who are only following the anime are probably super eager to see what’s in store for their favourite characters.
Want to catch up on the previous Date A Live seasons before the fourth season comes out? The series is available on Crunchyroll with English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The series is also on Funimation with English subtitles.