DanMachi Season 4 - What We Know So Far

There's no mistaking that anime adaptations of light novel series have seen some major success with fans. For example, the anime adaptation of "The Rising of the Shield Hero" managed to significantly drive up sales of the original light novel series. And "DanMachi," created by author Fujino Ōmori, was no different as, via Crunchyroll, the series' second anime season in 2019 really helped boost light novel sales. In fact, compared to other light novel series that had benefited from an anime adaptation, "DanMachi," also known as "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon," beat out other series like "Sword Art Online" for the top spot.

This may have to do with the anime and light novel series' ability to mix a fantasy adventure with bits of harem comedy. The series centers on the exploits of 14-year-old solo adventurer Bell Cranel who, after meeting the goddess Hestia, is granted some powers and embarks around the city Orario and its connection to the dangerous location known simply as the Dungeon. He strives to become one of the world's best adventurers.

Bell's adventures have been adapted now for three seasons so far. And fans were recently hit with a special OVA episode in late April after the third season of the series wrapped up in 2020. But for those left wanting more "DanMachi," there's another season on the horizon. Here's everything we know about Season 4.

Via Crunchyroll, it was announced earlier this year that "DanMachi" Season 4 is currently slated for release in 2022. Unfortunately, that's the only official release date information revealed so far as a specific date hasn't been listed yet. However, a teaser trailer for the upcoming season was also dropped thanks to Warner Bros. Japan Anime and features English subtitles.

While the wait might be longer than fans had initially hoped, it's not exactly out of the ordinary for the series. There were a few years of waiting between the first two seasons of "DanMachi." Season 1 of the series debuted in 2015 and Season 2 came out in 2019. Via Anime News Network, Season 3 of the series was supposed to come out during the 2020 summer anime season in July but got delayed to an October date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would make sense if the pandemic also played a part in the currently listed date for Season 4, and the recent OVA could have been a way to tide fans over until its release date.

The official cast for "DanMachi" Season 4 has not been revealed yet. However, per Anime News Network, Season 3 featured a returning voice cast from previous seasons. So we can probably expect much of the cast to return next season. The only addition for Season 3 was for the new character Weiss, who made her debut in the Season 2 finale and was prominently featured in Season 3. She was voiced by Rina Hidaka. Much like previous seasons we should still see Inori Minase as Hestia, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Bell Cranell, Saori Ōnishi as Ais Wallenstein, Haruka Tomatsu as Eina Tulle, Yōko Hikasa as Freya and Sōma Saitō as Hermes.

On the production side, J.C. Staff is the animation studio that has done all the previous seasons as well as the OVAs. They also were behind the animation for the "Arrow of the Orion" movie. So, it's likely that we'll see them return for Season 4. Also, via Anime News Network, Hideki Tachibana directed the third season and actually had been director since the second season when he replaced Yoshiki Yamakawa. It's likely that he'll return to direct the next season unless it's announced otherwise.

An official plot synopsis for "DanMachi" Season 4 hasn't been released. However, the teaser trailer does give some clues as to the main focus for the next installment of the anime. The teaser actually goes back and shows off some of Bell's past adventures throughout the series while also managing to mirror much of what Bell figures out he wants for himself by the end of the third season. After losing a battle against the powerful Asterius in the Season 3 finale and reconciling with Ais for some more training, the adventurer wants to become even stronger. We'll definitely see him in his quest to better himself in Season 4.

Season 3 of DanMachi adapted Volumes 9 through 11 of the light novel series. Season 4 will likely adapt Volume 12 of the novels, which actually sets up the beginning of a new adventure for Bell. In Volume 12, having ranked up and earned the respect of Orario, Bell receives a letter for a new expedition. We'll likely see this expedition for Bell in animated form thanks to Season 4.