is a Japanese

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

series written by Kōshi Tachibana and illustrated by Tsunako.

Fujimi Shobo , formerly , was a Japanese publisher that specialized in light novels, manga, Japanese role-playing games, role-playing games and collectible card games. Founded in 1972 and reorganized three times, it was at times an independent company and at ...

published 22 volumes from March 2011 to March 2020 under their

Fujimi Fantasia Bunko is a light novel publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Fujimi Shobo, a brand company of Kadokawa Corporation , formerly is a Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Fujimi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. C ...

imprint.

Yen Press Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published '' Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, ...

holds the license to publish the light novel in English. Five

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

were published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

and

in ''

Monthly Shōnen Ace is a monthly '' shōnen'' manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 1994. Unlike the big ''shōnen'' weeklies with circulation figures in the millions, ''Ace'' is aimed at a less mainstream audience, and has a particular em ...

'' and ''

Monthly Dragon Age is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between ''Monthly Comic Dragon'' and ''Monthly Dragon Junior'', two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in ...

''. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation produced by AIC Plus+ aired between April and June 2013. A second season by

Production IMS , or Production IMS, was a Japanese animation studio established on February 14, 2013, by former staff members from AIC Spirits. Its headquarters were located in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. Financial problems On December 20, 2017, animator Teru Miyaz ...

aired between April and June 2014. An original anime film, '' Date A Live: Mayuri Judgement'', was released in August 2015. A spin-off light novel series, '' Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet'', began publication in March 2017. A third season by J.C.Staff aired between January and March 2019. A fourth season by Geek Toys aired from April to June 2022. A fifth season aired from April to June 2024. A new anime project has been announced.

Plot

The series begins with a strange phenomenon called a " spatial quake" devastating the center of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, resulting in at least 150 million casualties. For the next 30 years, smaller spatial quakes plague the world on an irregular basis. In the present, Shido Itsuka, a seemingly ordinary high school student, comes across a mysterious girl at the

ground zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

of a spatial quake. He learns from his adoptive sister Kotori the girl is one of the "Spirits" from different dimensions who are the real cause of the spatial quakes, which occur when Spirits manifest themselves in the real world. He also learns Kotori is the commander of the airship ''Fraxinus'', crewed by the organization Ratatoskr and its parent company Asgard Electronics. Shido is recruited by Ratatoskr to make use of his mysterious ability to seal the Spirits' powers thus stopping them from being a threat to mankind. However, there is a catch: to seal a Spirit's power, he must make each Spirit fall in love with him and make her kiss him. Moreover, Shido and his companions face the opposition of the AST (Anti-Spirit Team), a special unit designed to suppress the threat posed by Spirits by eliminating them, which is backed by DEM (Deus Ex Machina) Industries, a conglomerate led by Sir Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott who intends to exploit the powers of the Spirits for his own agenda. As Shido successfully keeps sealing more and more Spirits, he gains allies to help him with his dates with other Spirits but also increases the competition among them for his attention and affection, much to his chagrin.

Media

Light novels

''Date A Live'' began as a

series written by Koushi Tachibana with illustrations by Tsunako. The first volume was published on March 19, 2011, under

's ''

''. Twenty-two volumes have been released in Japan. During their panel at the 2020 Crunchyroll Expo,

announced that they have licensed the light novel.

Manga

The series received a total of five

adaptions, all of which were published by

and

in ''

'' and ''

''.

Anime

The anime adaptation was directed by Keitaro Motonaga and produced by AIC Plus+. The series was streamed in lower quality on

Niconico , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese sound symbolism, Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, accordi ...

, with each episode available a week before its TV premiere. The first episode was streamed on March 31 and aired on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

on April 6, 2013. The final episode was streamed on Niconico on June 16 and aired on Tokyo MX on June 22. The opening theme is titled sung by sweet ARMS, a vocal group consisting of Iori Nomizu, Misuzu Togashi,

Kaori Sadohara is a Japanese voice actress and singer. One of her most notable roles was Chocolat in '' Noucome''. Filmography Anime *'' Upotte!!'' – Sig *'' Noucome'' – Chocolat *'' Amagi Brilliant Park'' – Chiba *'' Date A Live'' � ...

, and Misato. The series makes use of four ending themes: "Hatsukoi Winding Road", by Kayoko Tsumita, Risako Murai and Midori Tsukimiya; "Save The World", "Save My Heart" and , all three by Nomizu. Following the TV broadcast of the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced, which was set to air in April 2014. The opening theme is sung by sweet ARMS titled "Trust in You" and the ending theme is sung by Kaori Sadohara titled "Day to Story". The animation production was held by

. An unaired episode was bundled with the third volume of the ''Date A Live Encore'' short story collection was released on December 9, 2014. The first and second season have been licensed by

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

for streaming and home video release in North America and by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...

in Australia. In his Twitter account, Tachibana announced ''Date A Live'' would get a third new anime series. Animation production was held by J.C.Staff, with the cast and staff reprising their respective roles from the previous seasons. The series aired from January 11 to March 29, 2019. The opening theme is sung by sweet ARMS titled "I Swear", and the ending theme is sung by Erii Yamazaki titled "Last Promise". The third season ran for 12 episodes.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

simulcast the third season, while Funimation produced a

simuldub Funimation was an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime and other foreign entertainment properties in North America. It streamed popula ...

. In Australia and New Zealand, AnimeLab simulcast the third season. On September 17, 2019, a new anime project was announced. It was later announced to be an anime adaptation of the '' Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet'' spin-off novels. On March 16, 2020, it was announced that the series would get a fourth season. The season is produced by Geek Toys and was scheduled to premiere in October 2021, but was delayed to 2022 for "various reasons". Jun Nakagawa directed the fourth season, with

Fumihiko Shimo is a Japanese anime screenwriter and novelist, best known for writing the scripts for Kyoto Animation's anime adaptations of Key visual novels. Novels *, illustrated by You Shiina (July 2014, Famitsu Bunko, ) Screenwriting Head writer credit ...

writing the series' scripts, Naoto Nakamura designing the characters, and Go Sakabe returning to compose the series' music. It aired from April 8 to June 24, 2022. The opening theme is sung by

Miyu Tomita is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is signed to Amuse. After aspiring to become a voice actress while studying in elementary school, she participated in two voice acting auditions in 2014, winning one of them. Some of her roles inclu ...

titled "OveR" and the ending theme is sung by sweet ARMS titled "S.O.S". Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved from Funimation to Crunchyroll. On April 21, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the season would receive an English dub, which premiered the following day. After the conclusion of the fourth season, a fifth season was announced. The main cast and staff of the fourth season returned. It aired from April 10 to June 26, 2024. The opening theme is sung by Miyu Tomita titled "Paradoxes" and the ending theme is sung by sweet ARMS titled "Hitohira". Crunchyroll also licensed the season. Another new anime project was announced on April 10, 2025.

Theatrical film

An animated theatrical film was announced via the official

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account of the television series as the airing of the second television season concluded. On the event of "Date A Live II", the staff unveiled the film's title and the premiere date of August 22, 2015, with an original story supervised by the original light novel author, Koushi Tachibana.

Nobunaga Shimazaki is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He won the Best Rookie Actor Award at the 7th Seiyu Awards and the Best Actors in Supporting Roles at the 15th Seiyu Awards. Biography On January 1, 2023, Shimazaki announced on Twitter ...

, the voice actor of Shido Itsuka, introduced a silhouette of the new title character, named . During the events of "Tohka's Birthday" on 10 April, Sora Amamiya was confirmed to be voicing Mayuri.

Video games

A video game named produced by

Compile Heart is a Japanese video game developer founded on June 2, 2006 as a subsidiary of Idea Factory. The company was formerly managed by Compile (company), Compile's former executive Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, most well known as the creator of the ''Madou ...

and

Sting Entertainment is a Japanese video game developer, game development studio. Some of their titles include ''Treasure Hunter G'', ''Evolution: The World of Sacred Device'', and the Dept. Heaven, ''Dept. Heaven'' series of games. Its active properties currently ...

released on June 27, 2013, for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. A promotional video was shown at Anime Contents Expo 2013. The game features a new original character named , voiced by

Kana Hanazawa is a Japanese actress and singer. A prolific voice performer in anime, she has amassed several film and television credits since her debut in 2003. She won the Seiyu Awards, Seiyu Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2015, and won the Newtype A ...

. A

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

version of the game was released in on July 30, 2015, and features new characters and scenarios. Another video game, titled , was released on June 26, 2014, for the

, featuring another new character named , voiced by

Suzuko Mimori is a Japanese actress and singer. She is represented by HiBiKi Cast. She voiced Umi Sonoda in ''Love Live!'', Hikari Kagura in ''Revue Starlight'', Anju Shiratori/Hakuccho in '' Kiratto Pri☆Chan'', and Asumi Fuurin/Cure Earth in ''Healin' Good ...

. A new installment for both past games, named produced by

and

was released on July 30, 2015, for the

. It is a de facto sequel with new characters and new scenarios. The game features the Yamai Sisters, Miku Izayoi, Rinne Sonogami, Maria Arusu, as well as Marina Arusu, and a new original character named , voiced by

Ayane Sakura is a Japanese voice actress. She is affiliated with Aoni Production. Her roles included Natsumi Koshigaya in '' Non Non Biyori'', Shiromi Iori in '' Blue Archive'', Secre Swallowtail in '' Black Clover'', Ochaco Uraraka in '' My Hero Academia' ...

. A promotional video was shown at the events of Date A Fes II. An English version of ''Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation'' has been released on

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

platforms on July 23, 2019. Two CGs were modified in the English PlayStation 4 version of the game. A fourth video game produced again by Compile Heart, titled , was scheduled to be released on July 18, 2019, for the

, in Japan. The limited edition of the game includes a Tsunako-designed box, special books (Koushi Tachibana-written short story, etc.), and a drama CD. Due to various reasons, the release date had been pushed back to September 24, 2020. A free-to-play mobile game titled ''Date A Live: Spirit Pledge'' was released in China on September 21, 2018, for Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

. A beta test of a global version started on July 26, 2020.

Reception

The first volume of the first anime season placed eighth place amongst Blu-ray sales in Japan during its debut week within the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

charts. The PS3 game ''Date A Live: Rinne Utopia'' sold 23,340 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan. By October 2015, the series as a whole had sold over four million copies. On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed ''Date A Live II'' among 38 anime and manga titles banned in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Date A Live
at

* {{Authority control 2011 Japanese novels 2013 video games 2014 anime television series debuts 2014 video games 2015 video games 2019 anime television series debuts 2022 anime television series debuts 2024 anime television series debuts Anime International Company Anime and manga based on light novels Anime and manga set in schools Book series introduced in 2011 Censored television series Cross-dressing in anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Dystopian anime and manga Dystopian novels Fujimi Fantasia Bunko Fujimi Shobo manga Funimation Geek Toys Harem anime and manga J.C.Staff Japan-exclusive video games Japanese science fiction novels Japanese science fiction television series Kadokawa Corporation franchises Light novels Muse Communication PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Vita games Production IMS Romantic comedy anime and manga Science fantasy anime and manga Shōnen manga Television censorship in China Television shows based on light novels Tokyo MX original programming Video games developed in Japan Works banned in China Yen Press titles