Date a Live Season 4: Release date, news and rumors

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Ever wondered what’s going on with Date a Live Season 4?

Today we’ll be going over what happened in the story up until this point, any rumors and facts about the new season, plus a check-up to see how the studio behind Date a Live is doing. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

What happened so far in Date a Live

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Without wasting any time, the series starts with a BANG (literally). It starts with a phenomenon 20 years before the present that they refer to as a “Spatial Quake.” This quake destroys the center of Eurasia and results in 150 million casualties or more. From that moment forward, many small spatial quakes occurred in the world and caused destruction. 

In the present, we follow Shido Itsuka, a high school student who, while walking, encounters a girl in the center of a spatial quake. He then learns that this girl is a spirit from another dimension and that spatial quakes occur only when these spirits somehow make their way into the human world. He is later recruited in an organization called Ratatoskr to help out using his special ability. Shido has the potential to seal the spirits away, but it’s not how anyone would expect it. To seal a spirit, he has to make it fall in love with him through dates and have the spirit kiss him; that way, the spirits’ powers get sealed away, and they don’t pose a threat to humanity anymore. 

He gains some allies along the way. One of his classmates turns out to be a special sergeant of the Anti Spirit Team. They’re a unit that specializes in suppressing all threats born by the spirits. Shido manages to seal some spirits and is going for more while his newly recruited allies keep finding new ways to help him have better dates so that the spirits fall in love more. He decides to become an “Open Player” and have the spirits know about one another so that they have to fight for his affection which even betters his odds. He also has to keep maintaining the relationships with the ones he already sealed to keep them sealed, so he’s got a lot on his hands.

In the previous season, we saw Shido being accused of countless wrongs against his classmates and teachers. He’s surprised at first, but it turns out Natsumi disguised herself as him and did all these things. When She attacks him, she’s stopped by Tohka and Origami. The season ends with Shido developing unstable superpowers from all the spirits he’s been with. He starts overheating and is unable to control the powers. The spirits have to take turns kissing him to stop this. They’re in a race against time as he starts having weird spirit signs and starts forming a huge spatial quake that can be more disastrous than the one 20 years ago. The only one left to kiss him is Tohka. They clash, and Tohka is left defenseless. She suddenly starts looking at him differently and comes to realize that she’s actually really in love. She makes her way to him and kisses them. Both his body and personality are cured, and the two share a private emotional moment.

What’s up With the Studio Behind Date a Live?

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Date a Live has had an interesting studio history. The show is notorious for changing studios every next season for one reason or another. AIC Plus+ created the first season of Date a Live. Season 2 was done by Production IMS. J.C. Staff did the third season, and finally, we’ve come to Season 4. 

This season is announced to be worked on by Geek Toys. This is an animation studio located in Nakano, Tokyo. It was founded in October 2017, so it’s a relatively new studio. Founded by Tamotsu Kosano, the studio is recruiting new allies quickly. It has done only 3 series until this point, with the last one being “Plunderer” in 2020. The studio is now officially holding Date a Live as one of their current projects, along with another series named Gensou Sangokushi: Tengen Reishinki.

What We Know About Date a Live Season 4?

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Great news for Date a Live fans!!! On March 16, 2020, it was officially announced that Date a Live would be getting a Season 4 and that it would be done at Geek Toys studio. Jun Nakagawa is in charge of directing the entirety of the fourth season, with Fumihiko Shimo writing the scripts. Naoto Nakamura will design the characters, and Go Sakabe will be returning for the music of season 4. 

We know the season will be available on Crunchyroll since they put an article on their website confirming that they’ll be officially streaming the fourth season. Of course, all the previous seasons are also available for a rewatch, even for non-subscribers. 

A teaser visual was also released with the announcement of the 4th season featuring Shido and Tohka, so we can assume at least part of the season will revolve around developing that relationship as it was a bit rough around the edges in the previous season.

What are fans saying about Season 4 of Date a Live?

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Fans are loaded with excitement as there was a whole year gap between the end of Season 3 and the announcement of Season 4. At that time, no news about the anime was released, and fans wondered whether Date a Live had been dropped. Nevertheless, ever since it was announced searches have been skyrocketing and YouTube.

Theories have been released on the subject, discussing different theories, analyses, and facts about previous Seasons. The announcement surely got fans riled up again. There’s a lot of talk about whether Geek Toys studio will be able to do the anime justice, but fans are usually always skeptical at first when they learn about a new studio. Also, with Date a Live especially, they should be used to it as it changed studios every season. Various posts suggest that that’s a new record. Overall there’s a lot of excitement, and fans can’t seem to wait for the season to come out.

When Is Season 4 of Date a Live Being Released?

Credit: AIC Plus+ / Production IMS / J.C.Staff / Geek Toys

Twitter announced that Date a Live would be coming back with its’ fourth season sometime in October 2021. Even though we don’t have an official date knowing the month and the year is more than enough for people to have a clear idea. 

The Geek Toys studio has two anime in the works, and both are scheduled to come out in October this year. Seeing how soon this is, people are getting more excited, and the search results are staggering even though there has been a little calm before the storm. They’re sure to skyrocket when the anime actually comes out.

There’s currently no official information about the plot of the fourth season, but it’s more than possible to make some predictions. For example, the Date a Live manga is currently up to its 22nd volume. The third season adapts from the 8th to 12th volumes, so we can guess that the anime will cover 4 or 5 of the next volumes for its fourth season. Also, considering how the third season ended, even if you haven’t watched the manga, it’s not hard to deduce that the fourth will be a little more focused on Shidos’ relationship with Tohka. Even the teaser for the fourth season has the two in the same frame. The people who have read the manga expect and can’t wait to meet the 9th and 10th spirits that Shido has to charm. Either way, whether you’ve been following the manga or you’re an anime-only most fans can agree on one thing, they can’t wait to see what’s in store for their favorite characters.

By October 2015, Date a Live had sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Being that we live in an era where everything is streamed, it’s quite the feat. The demand for the show is crazy. Being that the first season has 12 episodes, the second 10, and the third 12. We can assume that the fourth season will also have 12 or 10 episodes when it airs next month. Even though nothing official has been announced, it’s pretty safe to assume. Funimation will dub that season 4. Unlike the studios behind the creation of the anime, all 4 seasons were dubbed by the same company. 

If you’re a dedicated fan of the anime, don’t forget to rewatch the whole thing on Crunchyroll. You have one month before the new season comes out, so good luck!