Why did Noragami never come back?

The popular supernatural anime "Noragami" received its twelve-episode first season in 2014, immediately followed by a thirteen-episode second season in 2015 by Bones Studios. Despite its success, a third season has not been confirmed after more than eight years. Here's what "Noragami" encompasses in its first two seasons and the likelihood that this series of supernatural adventures will continue one day.

"Noragami" stars a high school student named Hiyori Iki who nearly dies while trying to save a stranger from an oncoming bus. The accident turns her into a half-ghost, where her soul occasionally escapes from her physical body and her spirit form has a tail that acts as her lifeline. Caught between the living and the dead, she comes to know the Near Shore, which contains the living, and the Far Shore, made up of spirits and demons. Frightened and confused by her paranormal state, Hiyori is visited by the boy she tried to save, who turns out to be Yato, a God of Calamity and Depression who can cure her illness.

Yato is considered a dark god that humans have long forgotten. He aspires to become a famous and commonly worshipped god, with several shrines and abundant riches. However, humans don't want to associate with a dark and sinister god known for destroying entire armies single-handedly. Yato's problematic reputation and behavior make him many enemies, especially Bishamon, who blames him for wiping out all of his Regalia long ago. When Yato needs a new Regalia, he makes a pact with the soul of a troubled but gifted young man named Yukine.

Together, Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine become the main trio of "Noragami" and work together to achieve common goals by supporting each other. When Yato gets angry about not having a shrine, Hiyori builds him a miniature one and he cries tears of happiness. Soon after, Yato is exploited and blackmailed by his former Nora and her tainted Regalia, forcing him to abandon Hiyori and Yukine for an extended period of time. This causes Hiyori to forget about Yato's existence until Yukine jogs her memory and they set out on a mission to save Yato. Hiyori is the only one able to bring Yato back from the underworld by pronouncing his real name, which she realizes to be Yaboku. Upon his return, Yato frees Nora forever and vows to become a God of Fortune with Yukine guiding her righteous actions. The series ends with a big cliffhanger in the season two finale, in which the boy who kissed Hiyori during Yato's absence is revived.

The two seasons of "Noragami" were well-received and created an army of fans who were passionate about its supernatural adventures and romantic elements. The recently completed original manga goes far beyond the content currently covered by anime, offering Bones studios a mountain of content to adapt. However, the source material was unexpectedly delayed due to a health complication of one of its two authors.

The manga went into an unforeseen two-year suspension between 2017 and 2019, eventually returned, and was suspended on a few other occasions, until its conclusion in January 2024. Unfortunately, there was a decline in sales from four volumes a year to just one. The "Noragami" anime also saw a steep 60 percent decline in physical disc sales from the second season compared to the first. This underperformance may have convinced the Bones studio that the series would no longer be as profitable as hoped, even after laying the groundwork for a third season in its second season finale.

Even though the anime's popularity continues to grow thanks to streaming services, the third season of "Noragami" is still out of reach. While anything is possible in the world of anime and the series could have its long-awaited continuation in the future, Noragami fans will have to refer to the original manga if they want to experience more of the story in the near future.