Summary
While the anime forBlue Exorcistmay be long over, the manga has still been going on for many years. Chapters have been coming out regularly for the past few years, but some bad news came through this week for those who are staying on top of it as it releases. Unfortunately, the mangahas to go on hiatusfor at least a month due to the mangaka’s health.
The announcement came last week via the manga’s officialTwitteraccount. The creator, Kazue Katou, has been diagnosed with COVID-19. During the height of the pandemic, COVID-19 sawmany anime and manga delayedas studios closed and people became sick with the disease. However, it has been less of a factor in recent years as the spread of the illness has become more managed. This proves, though, that the effect of the disease can still have unfortunate consequences.
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TheBlue Exorcistmanga has been published since 2009. The first anime series came out in 2011 and spanned 25 episodes plus an OVA, and then a second season of 12 more episodes and an OVA released in 2017. The popularity of the anime and manga also led to a spin-off manga being published calledSalaryman Exorcist: The Sorrows of Yukio Okumura, which ran from 2013 to 2020 over four volumes. The usualBlue Exorcistmanga is still ongoing.
This isnot the first hiatusthatBlue Exorcisthas seen. The first hiatus for the manga was quite long, spanning from July 2021 to May 2022. The second time was even more recently, from January to May 2023, before resuming again. This makes the third hiatus in the series, but hopefully, it will be shorter than the previous ones. Right now,Blue Exorcistis slated to return in the December issue of Shueisha’sJump SQmagazine.
WhileBlue Exorcisthas not been in the limelight of the anime world in some time, it was extremely popular when it was first aired over a decade ago. Now, it is coming back into the news again because anunexpected third seasonof the anime was announced last year. And now that the new season is just around the corner, currently expected to begin airing in January 2024. The third season ofBlue Exorcistwill be titledBlue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga.
Fingers crossed, everything forBlue Exorcistwill stay on schedule now, including the next chapter of the manga as well as the upcoming anime series. Of course, everything will have to depend on Katou’s health situation. Fans should continue to watch theBlue ExorcistTwitter for more updates on the situation.
