The Asterisk War is a typical female harem, magic battles, and a high school anime fanbase.
Will fans have The Asterisk War Season 3 to watch?
What happened so far in the Asterisk War
The Asterisk War is set in the 21st century after a meteor shower called the Invertia almost destroyed the world. What is now left of society is controlled by megacorporations forming the Integrated Enterprise Foundation. The catastrophe is the reason behind the emergence of a new species of superpowered humans: the Genestella. Fearing their abilities, normal humans tend to harass and discriminate against them.
Attempting to flee from the intolerance, many Genestella ends up in Asterisk. Asterisk is a city comprising six academies, and each one is owned by a company that is part of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation. Other Genestella goes to Asterisk hoping that they will win the Festas (battle performances) held there for the masses’ entertainment. Doing so allows the victor to see their wish fulfilled.
Ayato Amagiri, the protagonist, is a transfer student at Seidoukan Academy who enrolled to investigate the whereabouts of his sister, Haruka. Through a series of events and a big misunderstanding, he gets acquainted with Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, the Witch of Resplendent Flames. Julis later shares the wish she wants to have granted and why she decided to go to Asterisk. Ayato decides that he wants to help her and vows to protect Julis. They enter the Phoenix Festa together.
During the Phoenix Festa, it is revealed that Ayato possesses a strong ability called “savage force” that he can only use for five minutes as his sister Haruka used her power to seal it. However, his strength and ability threaten Steering Committee Chairman Madiath Mesa, who has a secret plan that Ayato is disrupting. While fighting in the Phoenix Festa, Ayato and his friends will clash with external threats linked to their past.
What is going on with A-1 Pictures?
The Asterisk War is directed by Ono Manabu and Setou Kenji, a character designed by Tetsuya Kawakami with the music composed by Rasmus Fiber. The first season was broadcast from October 3 to December 19, 2015, and the second season started on April 2, 2016, and ended on June 18 of the same year. Each season has twelve episodes. The anime is an adaptation of the light novel Gakusen Toshi Asutarisuku written by Yuu Miyazaki and illustrated by Okiura.
The anime is often considered to be pretty basic, if not decently mediocre. A-1 Pictures did not take many risks when working on it and reused too many clichés and easy tropes. In addition, some elements from the novels have been glossed over, which gives the feeling that the anime is rushed and unbalanced. Season 1, in isolation, covers volumes 1 to 4/5. The animation is okay to bland, and the characters do not stand out much, partly since some unneeded ecchi fanservice cancels out any proper development they go through. Scores on various websites illustrate the average work delivered by A-1 Pictures. Season 2 offers better scenario elements and better opportunities for some characters to grow (read Julis), even if the harem/fanservice tropes continue to plague the rhythm.
Right now, A-1 Pictures has big licenses such as Uta Prince Sama, The Idolm@ster; The Seven Deadly Sins; or Sword Art Online under its wing. The studio is currently working on the original work Visual Prison.
What do we know about the Asterisk War Season 3 so far?
There is no new information concerning a third season at the moment. The studio has not pronounced anything about Asterisk in the last five years.
What are fans saying about the Asterisk War Season 3?
The Asterisk War has a niche fanbase (even in Japan) interested in anime and light novels.
Fans are primarily active on Reddit, where they mainly discuss material from the novels. It seems the busiest spot where the fandom gathers, as even Twitter is pretty devoid of content.
Will there be the Asterisk War Season 3?
As said before, the anime is the adaptation of the light novels, of which there are sixteen published from September 25, 2012, to June 25, 2021. Yen Press started publishing them in North America from August 30, 2016, to January 19, 2021. It is an ongoing series. From 2014 to 2016, a manga illustrated by Ningen was compiled into five volumes.
Miyazaki also wrote a spinoff titled Wings of Queenvale from April 25, 2016, to April 25, 2019, only released in Japan. Shou Akane illustrated the manga adaptation from August 2014 to September 2016 in four volumes.
Google Trends shows that the search interest is pretty erratic, with the graph peaking higher around the release of a new light novel. Otherwise, The Asterisk War Season 3 often reaches low scores showing a chronic lack of interest from people.
Four Blu-ray volumes are available in a limited or standard edition and published by Aniplex. The sales were below average in Japan, often occupying the bottom of the charts. It is possible to find merchandise online, but they are not official, meaning that Aniplex has not licensed them.
Considering the low sales of the Blu-ray and the lack of goodies on the market, The Asterisk War has its small fanbase mainly following the novels. Therefore, it is possible to understand why A-1 Pictures is not interested in a third season for now.
When will the Asterisk War Season 3 be released?
There is no official date nor announcement regarding the production for Season 3, and the staff has already been reassigned to the successful Sword Art Online.
What can we expect in Season 3 of the Asterisk War?
If we ever received Season 3, we have seen stranger things in the anime industry, the story will follow the novels as they provide ample material. Viewers will discover the evil plan concocted by a specific group hiding in the shadows, follow the next Festa, see what fate has in store for Haruka and Ayato or Julis and Ophelia, among others.
