Kengan Ashura Season 3 - What We Know So Far

In recent years, Netflix has gradually grown in its capacity as both a producer and an international distributor of Japanese animation. "Yasuke" is one such entry in Netflix's catalogue of original anime series — a designation which can refer either to Japanese series distributed abroad by Netflix, like "Dorohedoro," or original series made to debut exclusively on Netflix, like "Yasuke."

The first 24 episodes of battle anime "Kengan Ashura" were released on Netflix in 2019. Those 24 episodes were split into two parts, with the first half arriving in June of 2019, and the second batch following in October of the same year. New episodes of "Kengan Ashura" have yet to join "Dorohedoro," "Yasuke," and the growing number of other original anime series on Netflix. Here's everything we know so far about the possibility of a third season of "Kengan Ashura."

Neither Netflix nor "Kengan Ashura" production company Larx Entertainment have announced whether or not "Kengan Ashura" will return for a third season. That said, there's reason to believe that more episodes may eventually see the light of day.

As an example of the show's enduring popularity, Reddit user Emoninja123 shared a screenshot to the official "Kengan Ashura" subreddit of a YouTube channel analyzing fight scenes from popular culture. A video breaking down the combat on "Kengan Ashura" is shown to have been viewed more times than similar videos focused on fights from the likes of "Attack on Titan" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." This seems to suggest that "Kengan Ashura" remains a popular property, with an audience the anime series' producers are likely to want to tap into once again.

That said, given the relative radio silence about the possibility of "Kengan Ashura" Season 3, it's unlikely that a new season will debut until sometime in 2022 at the earliest.

Voice actor Kaiji Tang is responsible for the English voice of the central character of "Kengan Ashura," Ohma Tokita (nicknamed Ashura). Tang is a prolific voice actor, whose credits include the villainous Sanemi Shinazugawa in the smash hit "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train," superpowered mentor Satoru Gojou in "Jujutsu Kaisen," the mysterious Aikawa in "Dorohedoro" and many more. The voice of Ohma in Japan is Tatsuhisa Suzuki, whose prior credits include the lead role in Masaaki Yuasa's "Kick-Heart" and various characters across multiple "Pokémon" animated series, among others.

In English, Keith Silverstein is the voice of series co-lead Kazuo Yamashita, a salaryman who manages Ohma's fighting career. Cho portrays the character in Japanese.

Voice actor Keiji Fujiwara, who provided the voice of Ohma's surrogate father Tokita, died in April of 2020 (via Inquirer.net), so should "Kengan Ashura" return for a third season, its producers will likely have to secure a replacement for Fujiwara. Tang, Suzuki, and the rest of the voice cast for the first two seasons of "Kengan Ashura" are likely to return if the series is indeed renewed.

In "Kengan Ashura," salaryman Kazuo Yamashita is put in charge of managing the powerful Ohma Tokita, who himself is tasked with winning an annual tournament hosted by some of Japan's business elites. The second season of "Kengan Ashura" concludes when Ohma defeats an assassin named Raian midway into that tournament. The third season of "Kengan Ashura," then, will likely pick up the rest of the tournament as Ohma advances into its third round.

"Kengan Ashura" is based on a series of comic books by author Yabako Sandrovich and artist Daromeon. The final episode of "Kengan Ashura" Season 2 corresponds to Chapter 135 of the original manga series. The "Kengan Ashura" manga ends on its 236th chapter, and much of that subsequent material covers the ongoing tournament. The producers of the anime, then, have a wealth of story content to adapt into a new season.

According to one Reddit rumor, however, "Kengan Ashura" Season 3 may not be an adaptation of the balance of its prior source material, but rather of a sequel series titled "Kengan Omega," which stars two entirely new protagonists. In either case, the content of "Kengan Ashura" Season 3 is purely speculative until we get official confirmation that it's coming at all.