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Date A Live Anime's 3rd Season Reveals New Cast Member, Staff, January 2019 Premiere (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
A stage presentation at the "Fantasia Bunko Dai Kanshasai 2018" event on Sunday revealed that Date A Live III, the third television anime season based on Koushi Tachibana's Date A Live light novel series, will premiere in January 2019. The anime will air on TV and will also stream on the Docomo Anime Store.
The event also revealed a teaser visual (below), staff, theme song artists, and a new cast member.
Ayumi Mano is joining the cast as the "Seventh Spirit" Natsumi.
Four-member musical unit sweet ARMS will perform the opening theme song, and Eri Yamazaki will perform the ending theme song.
Keitaro Motonaga is returning to direct the anime at J.C. Staff (AIC PLUS+ and Production IMS produced the previous two series respectively). Hideki Shirane is returning to handle the series composition, and Koji Watanabe (key animator for first two seasons) is designing the characters.
Tachibana launched the light novel series in March 2011 with illustrations by Tsunako. Fujimi Shobo's Fantasia Bunko imprint published the 19th volume on August 18.
The first season of the Date A Live television anime adaptation aired 12 episodes and premiered in 2013. The second season aired 10 episodes and premiered in 2014. Funimation streamed the first and second seasons as they aired in Japan. The company also released the first season on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in June 2014 with an English dub, and released the second season on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in March 2016.
Funimation describes the anime's story:
In a world devastated by mysterious Spatial Quakes, Shidoh isn't what you'd expect in a hero. He's an average Joe who gets bossed around by his adorable little sister and mocked by the popular girls at his school. You'd definitely pick him last for dodge ball, but when it comes to saving the planet from imminent destruction, Shidoh's got one thing going for him: intergalactic hotties can't keep their hands off him! When the secret to stopping the Spatial Quakes turns out to be romancing the extraterrestrial Spirits responsible for all the chaos, Shidoh the loveable loser becomes the hero of all humanity. For every Spirit he makes out with, mankind breathes a little bit easier. Kiss the girls – save the world. That name of the game is driving the space babes crazy, and nobody does it better than Shidoh!
An anime film, Gekijōban Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment, opened in Japan in August 2015.
The franchise has also inspired several manga and spinoff manga series, as well as several video games. Date A Live Rio Reincarnation HD, Compile Heart's PlayStation 4 port of the 2015 Date A Live Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation PlayStation Vita game, launched in October 2017.
Update: Staff have also revealed more staff and the returning cast. Source: Comic Natalie
Additional staff members include:
- Chief Animation Directors: Koji Watanabe, Koji Yamakawa
- Art Director: Kōichirō Bizen
- Color Design: Asuka Hino
- Director of Photography: Yoshio Ookouchi
- Editing: yoshiaki Kimura
- Sound Director: Yasunori Ebina
- Sound Effects: Kiyotaka Kawada
- Music: Go Sakabe
- Music Production: Nippon Columbia
Returning cast members include:
- Nobunaga Shimazaki as Shido Itsuka
- Marina Inoue as Tohka Yatogami
- Misuzu Togashi as Origami Tobiichi
- Ayana Taketatsu as Kotori Itsuka
- Iori Nomizu as Yoshino
- Asami Sanada as Kurumi Tokisaki
- Maaya Uchida as Kaguya Yamai
- Sarah Emi Bridcutt as Yuzuru Yamai
- Minori Chihara as Miku Izayoi
Source: Fantasia Bunko Dai Kanshasai 2018 livestream
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