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Date A Live III Anime Previewed in TV Ad
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Kadokawa began streaming a new ad on Saturday for Date A Live III, the third television anime season based on Koushi Tachibana's Date A Live light novel series. The video previews four-member musical unit sweet ARMS' opening theme song "I Swear."
Columbia Music is also streaming a short music video for the opening theme song.
The anime will premiere on AT-X on January 11 at 9:30 p.m., before airing later that evening on Tokyo MX and KBS Kyoto. The series will also air on TV Aichi, Sun TV, TVQ Broadcasting Kyushu, and BS11. The anime will stream in Japan on d Anime Store, AbemaTV, and other streaming services.
The anime will feature a returning cast, and Ayumi Mano is joining the cast as the "Seventh Spirit" Natsumi.
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. Eri Yamazaki will perform the ending theme song "Last Promise."
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.
Sources: Date A Live anime's website, Kadokawa Anime's YouTube channel
