Aahana Swrup
The Japanese Netflix anime ‘Record of Ragnarok’ finishes off its season 3 on a somber note for the survival of humanity. The Ragnarok tournament, in which thirteen mortal champions go up against Gods, concludes its ninth round in the latter’s favor, putting them firmly in the lead with a score of 5-3. This means Brunhilde’s champions can barely afford another loss before they would be eternally sealing their species’ fate. Still, despite the bleak reality, neither the Valkyries nor the best of the human fighters are yet ready to give up their hope.
On the other hand, a menacing, secretive plot seems to be afoot, as discovered by Buddha. As it turns out, Odin and even Brunhilde have an ulterior motive with the Ragnarok, which centers around a prisoner, locked away in the depths of Tartarus: Siegfried. As such, these unresolved high-stakes narratives make it inevitable for the fans to crave the next installment in the story. Although a renewal hasn’t been announced yet, if the news arrives soon enough, the series has a chance of returning for season 4 by early 2027.
The Last Three Rounds of the Tournament Will Unravel in Record of Ragnarok Season 4
‘Record of Ragnarok’ is an anime adaptation of Shinya Umemura and Takumi Fukui’s eponymous manga series, illustrated by Azychika. Consequently, even though the specifics of a potential season 4 haven’t been made public yet, a number of assumptions can be made about where the narrative is headed in the future. By the end of season 3, the tournament’s ninth round has ended, where Apollo secures the fifth win for the Gods. This means Zeus’ fighters only need two more wins to ensure their victory in the Ragnarok. Consequently, whether or not humanity would be permitted another thousand years of existence relies solely upon the next three pairs of fighters who enter the arena.
The post-credit scene reveals two of these fighters, Soji Okita and the feared Godslayer, Susano’o no Mikoto. Thus, this fight will be one balanced on the edge of a sword as Okita, the best swordsman in human history, goes up against the Japanese deity, who is worshipped as the God of Swords. Fortunately, thanks to the manga series, the identity of the other competitors is also already known. As per the manga, for the eleventh round, the Mischief God Loki will enter the arena against Simo Häyhä, a Finnish Sniper whose 100% accuracy rate in the Winter War earned him the nickname “The White Death.” As for the final round, Odin will finally take the center stage himself, facing off against Buddha’s friend and a celebrated slayer of demons, Sakata Kintoki.
Record of Ragnarok Season 4 Will Introduce Several New Characters
The format of ‘Record of Ragnarok’ makes it so that every new season presents a group of new pseudo-protagonists. For season 4, this likely means the introduction of six new fighters, three from the Gods’ side and three from humanity’s. Consequently, fans can expect to see some new faces in the potential season 4. Meanwhile, the characters who have been consistently central to the narrative for multiple seasons will also likely return. These include characters like Brunhilde (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro in the original Japanese and Laura Post in the English dub), Goll (Tomoyo Kurosawa/Anairis Quinones), and Buddha (Yûichi Nakamura/Maaz Ali).
On the other hand, Zeus (Wataru Takagi/Chris Edgerly), Ares (Hinata Tadokoro/Tim Friedlander), and Hermes (Jun’ichi Suwabe/ Cory Yee) will likely also make their returns. Additionally, champions of the past matches who survived their battles are also likely to reprise their roles in the potential future season. These include Kojiro Sasaki (Kazuhiro Yamaji/Keone Young), Jack the Ripper (Tomokazu Sugita/Jeff Leach), and Beelzebub (Daisuke Namikawa/Brandon McInnis). Other important characters who might make a comeback include Adamas (Tsuguo Mogami/Elias Toufexis), Heimdall (Yukihiro Nozuyama/Kellen Goff), and Aphrodite (Rie Tanaka/Reba Buhr). Similarly, all the surviving Valkyries, Alvitr (Shiori Mikami/Christina Costello), Hlökk (Honoka Inoue/Kari Wahlgren), and Hrist (Yu Kobayashi/Mela Lee) also have a strong chance of returning. Yet fates of characters like Qin Shi Huang, whose survival is still up in the air, remain ambiguous.
Record of Ragnarok Season 4 Might Expand Upon the Fate of Siegfried
The end of ‘Record of Ragnarok’ season 3 introduces a new plotline that brings the entire tournament and different people’s motivations behind it into question. As per Buddha’s investigation and his final confrontation against Odin, with Beelzebub’s help, there’s a yet hidden aspect to the entire Ragnarok tournament. Part of Brunhilde’s reasoning behind suggesting the competition as a last-ditch effort to save humanity stems from her desire to free her lover, Siegfried, from his imprisonment in Tartarus. The latter was a demigod who is said to have stolen Odin’s sword to slay his most beloved dragon, Fafnir. As punishment, the Norse Allfather has been keeping him imprisoned inside Tartarus.
However, Odin’s motivations in keeping Siegfried imprisoned don’t seem to be simply born from simple revenge. It seems that the demigod’s potential emancipation at the end of Ragnarok holds the key to the One-eyed God’s long-cherished ambition. Beelzebub concludes that these ambitions have something to do with the Primordial Gods and their possible revival. Therefore, it seems there are hidden layers to the Ragnarok tournament that the participants and even Gods like Buddha and Beelzebub hadn’t suspected. In the event that season 4 gets renewed, this plotline is bound to become the center of the narrative, unraveling against the backdrop of the last three rounds of the tournament. As such, fans can expect to delve deeper into Brunhilde’s backstory and learn more about her relationship with Siegfried.
Read More: Record of Ragnarok Season 3 Ending Explained: What Does Odin Want From the Tournament?
You must be logged in to post a comment.