Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活), often referred to simply as Re:Zero and also known less commonly as Re: Life in a Different World from Zero, is a Japanese light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka.It started serialization as a web novel on the user-generated website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in 2012.44 light novels, as well as six side story volumes and thirteen short story collections have been published by Media Factory under their MF Bunko J imprint.The story centers on Subaru Natsuki, a who suddenly finds himself transported to another world while on his way home from a convenience store.
The series' first four arcs have been adapted into separate manga series. The first, by Daichi Matsue, was published between June 2014 and March 2015. The second, by Makoto Fugetsu, has been published by Square Enix between October 2014 and January 2017. The third, also by Matsue, was also published between May 2015 and September 2019. The fourth, by Haruno Atori, with composition by Yu Aikawa, has been published since September 2019. Additionally, Media Factory has published two anthology manga with stories by different artists. In March 2017, game developer 5pb. released a visual novel based on the light novels.
An anime television series adaptation produced by White Fox aired from April to September 2016, starting with an hour-long first episode.
Two original video animations (OVAs) were released in October 2018 and November 2019.
A second season aired in a split-cours format, with the first half airing from July to September 2020, and the second half airing from January to March 2021.
A third season also premiered in a split-cours format, with the first half airing from October to November 2024, and the second half airing from February to March 2025.
A fourth season is set to premiere in April 2026.
The novels and all three manga adaptations are published in North America by Yen Press.The overall series (light novel and manga volumes) had over 13 million copies in circulation by March 2023 (including digital versions), while the anime series has sold more than 70,000 copies on home video.The light novels have been praised for their fresh take on the "another world" concept, fleshed-out characters, complex world and lore, and thought-provoking topics and themes.
Plot
Subaru Natsuki is a NEET who is suddenly summoned to a fantasy-like world.Just after arriving, he is killed while trying to help a young half-elf he befriends, Emilia, who is a candidate to become the next ruler of the Kingdom of Lugunica, only to revive some hours in the past. After dying a few times, Subaru realizes that he has the power to turn back time after his death. After successfully helping Emilia, Subaru starts living in one of the Mansions of Roswaal L. Mathers as a butler. Out of gratitude and affection for Emilia, Subaru makes use of his newfound ability to protect her and help on her ambition to be successfully appointed as the next queen, also providing assistance to other friends he makes along the way, while suffering due to the pain inflicted on him every time he dies, and carrying along the memories of everything that happened before his power activates, which is forgotten by everybody except for him.
Production
In the late 2000s, the light novel series The Familiar of Zero (Zero no Tsukaima) spawned a number of fan fiction on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō ("Let's Become Novelists"), also known as Narō.Tappei Nagatsuki initially began writing The Familiar of Zero fan fiction on Narō, before building on its isekai ("other world") concept to write his own original web novel series on Narō, called Re:Zero, which began serialization in 2012.[5]
The series' editor at MF Bunko J, Masahito Ikemoto, first became aware of the web novel in April 2013, when it began to appear on his Twitter feed.[6] He was immediately impressed by the series' use of Return by Death, and how it was a "depressing, yet surprising, twist on the fantasy genre", and began working with Nagatsuki to adapt the series into a light novel.[6][7] Most light novels are around 250 pages in length, but Nagatsuki submitted a manuscript of more than 1,000 pages for the first novel, forcing Ikemoto to edit it heavily.[7] While Nagatsuki wanted to engage in worldbuilding early on, Ikemoto felt that it was more necessary to make the readers feel engaged with the characters.He ended up rearranging the story so that parts focusing on the world and its lore were pushed back to the third arc of the series.[7]
Prior to his involvement in Re:Zero, illustrator Shinichirou Otsuka worked on video games, which led him to draw the backgrounds first when illustrating the series.[8] After reading the web novel, he submitted a number of character designs for the major characters to Ikemoto.[6]Subaru's initial design made him look like a delinquent,[6] with Otsuka later describing it as "not the face of a boy in his teens",[9] leading Ikemoto to request that the character be "more friendly and less fierce" so that the audience could empathize with him during emotional scenes.[7] Originally, Emilia's character design appeared extremely plain, so a number of features were added to make her more interesting.[7] Ikemoto specified that she must fit the "archetypal heroine" mold.[6]
Media
Web novel
The Re:Zero web novel was initially serialized by Tappei Nagatsuki (writing under the username "Gray Cat" (鼠色猫)[10]) on the user-generated content site Shōsetsuka ni Narō from April 20, 2012, onwards.[11][12] As of June 2, 2024, eight story arcs have been completed and five "EX" side stories have been published, with the ninth arc in progress.In total the webnovel has 609 chapters available.[12]
Light novels
Following the web novel's publication, Media Factory acquired the series for print publication.[11] The first light novel volume, with illustrations by Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka, was published on January 24, 2014, under their MF Bunko J imprint. As of March 2026, 44 volumes have been published, as well as six side story volumes and thirteen short story collections. Nagatsuki and Otsuka began publishing a series of short side-stories focusing on characters from the series in Monthly Comic Alive, starting with the character Elsa in August 2016.[13][14] It was followed with one focused on Petra Leyte on November 26, 2016,[15] and one featuring Ram and Rem on January 27, 2017.[14] The light novels are published in English by Yen Press, who announced their acquisition of the license via Twitter on December 2, 2015.[16] The publisher has also acquired the license to the Re:Zero EX side novels.[17]
Manga
A manga adaptation by Daichi Matsue, titled Re:ZERO: -Starting Life in Another World- Chapter 1: A Day in the Capital (Ｒｅ：ゼロから始める異世界生活 第一章 王都の一日編), began serialization in the August 2014 issue of Media Factory's manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on June 27, 2014.[18][16] The final volume was released on March 23, 2015.[16] On December 2, 2015, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series.[16]
A second manga, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 2: One Week at the Mansion (Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活 第二章 屋敷の一週間編), with art by Makoto Fugetsu, began serialization in Square Enix's magazine Monthly Big Gangan on October 25, 2014.[16]
Internet radio show
An Internet radio show to promote the series, named Re: Radio life in a different world from zero (Re：ゼロから始める異世界ラジオ生活), began broadcasting on March 27, 2016.[35][36] The show was aired every Monday and was hosted by Rie Takahashi, the voice actress for Emilia.[35] Guests that appeared on the show included Yūsuke Kobayashi (Subaru Natsuki), Inori Minase (Rem), Yumi Uchiyama (Puck), Rie Murakawa (Ram), Satomi Arai (Beatrice), Chinatsu Akasaki (Felt), Kana Ueda (Anastasia Hoshin), and Yui Horie (Felix).The series ran for 33 episodes and concluded on December 19, 2016.[37] The first radio CD, which contains episodes 1–8 of the show, was released on June 27, 2016.[38] The second, which contains episodes 9–16 of the show, was released on September 28, 2016.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced by Kadokawa in July 2015.[42] The series is directed by Masaharu Watanabe and written by Masahiro Yokotani, with animation by the studio White Fox.Kyuta Sakai is serving as both character designer and as chief animation director.[43] Music for the series is composed by Kenichiro Suehiro.[44] Kentaro Minegishi is the series' director of photography, and Yoshito Takamine serves as art director. Jin Aketagawa handled sound direction for the anime, and sound effects were produced by Yuji Furuya. Other staff members include Hitomi Sudo (editing), Yu Karube (3D director), Saaya Kinjō (art configuration), Izumi Sakamoto (color design), and Noritaka Suzuki and Gōichi Iwabatake (prop design).[44]
The series also became part of Isekai Quartet, a crossover comedy series with characters drawn in a style, which also features characters from other
Video games
In August 2016, game developer 5pb. announced that they were developing a visual novel based on the series, titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Death or Kiss (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 -DEATH OR KISS-).[45][46] The game follows an original story that differs from the light novel and the anime, and allows the player to choose between routes featuring Emilia, Rem, Ram, Felt, Beatrice, Crusch, Priscilla, or Anastasia.[47][48] A DLC allows players who pre-ordered the game to replace the character's costumes with swimsuits.[49][50] The opening theme, "yell! magic starts with a kiss" (yell！～くちびるからはじまる魔法～), was performed by Suzuki, who sung the anime's first opening theme, while the ending theme, "Dai Dai Daisuki" (ダイ・ダイ・ダイスキ), was performed by Minase and Murakawa.
Other media
Kadokawa published a 272-page guide to the series' first three arcs, titled Re:zeropedia, alongside the 10th volume of the novels on October 24, 2016.[65] An official art book was published at Comiket, with art by Ponkan 8 (Shirobako and My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected), Yuka Nakajima (Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!, Amagi Brilliant Park), and TakayaKi (Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou).[66] A crossover with Natsume Akatsuki's light novel series KonoSuba, titled Re:Starting Life Blessing This World was published on December 21, 2016.[67] The book featured interviews with each series' authors and illustrators, as well as the principal voice actors in their respective anime adaptations.A one-shot crossover manga by Daichi Matsuse and Masahito Watari (illustrator of the KonoSuba manga adaptation) was also included.
Reception
According to Japanese light novel news website LN News, the series had 1 million copies in print by June 2016;[71] over 2 million by September of the same year;[72] and over 3.1 million by May 2017.[73] It had over 11 million copies in circulation by January 2022.[74] The overall series (light novel and manga adaptations volumes) had over 13 million copies in circulation by March 2023 (including digital versions).[75] The light novel series was the tenth best-selling light novel series in Japan between November 2015 and May 2016, selling 263,357 copies.[76] During that period, the first and second volumes were the 35th and 48th best-selling light novel volumes, selling 49,194 and 41,617 copies, respectively.[77] The series was the fourth best-selling series in 2016, selling 1,007,381 copies between November 2015 and November 2016.[78] Its first three volumes were the fourteenth, 21st, and 30th best selling volumes of the year, selling 155,363, 127,970, and 110,574 copies, respectively.[79] In 2017, the series was the third best-selling series, with 925,671 copies sold.[80] Its first, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth volumes respectively ranked nineteenth (60,135 copies), 25th (56,001 copies), seventh (101,480 copies), and twelfth (79,431 copies) in the period between November 2016 and May 2017.[81] In 2019, the series sold 550,202 copies.[82]
Theron Martin of Anime News Network reviewed the first book, praising it for being a somewhat fresher take on the "transported to another world" concept, but leveled criticism at it for bumpy and awkwardly timed dialogue and a tendency for redundancy.[83]
The light novels and the anime both took first place in their respective categories in the 2017 Sugoi Japan Awards.[84]
In a survey of (primarily female) Otamart users, the series was ranked second on a list of the most successful media franchises of 2016.[85]
also underwent significant changes from the first draft: their original designs lacked the characteristic hair parts, and their maid uniforms were longer and more "traditional".
A third manga by Matsuse, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 3: Truth of Zero (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 第三章 Truth of Zero) began serialization in Comic Alive July 2015 issue on May 27, 2015.[16][27] The final chapter was published on September 27, 2019.[28] Yen Press also publishes the third adaptation.[29]
A fourth manga, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 第四章 聖域と強欲の魔女), with art by Haruno Atori and composition by Yu Aikawa began serialization in Comic Alive November 2019 issue on September 27, 2019.[28]
A fifth manga, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Chapter 5: Stars that Engrave History began serialization under the Comic Alive+ label on the ComicWalker website on February 19, 2024.[30]
A manga anthology, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Official Anthology Comic (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 公式アンソロジーコミック), was published by Media Factory on June 23, 2016.[31] A second anthology was published on September 23, 2017.[32] A third volume was released on March 23, 2018.[33]
A manga adaptation of the novel Re:Zero Prequel: The Frozen Bond (Re：ゼロから始める前日譚 氷結の絆), released with the Season 1 Blu-rays, was illustrated by Minori Tsukahara and released from 2020 to 2021. It was licensed by Yen Press.[34]
In Japan, the game was originally scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on March 23, 2017,[47][53] but was delayed to March 30, 2017, due to certain circumstances.[54] The limited edition of the game came with a soundtrack CD and either a Ram (for the PS4 version) or Rem (for the PSVita version) SD figure.[49]
A virtual realityapp that allows the user to interact with the character Rem was released for iOS and Android on May 26, 2017.[55] A version featuring the character Emilia was released on June 6, 2017.[56][57] The game was later ported to both PC and to the PlayStation VR.[58]
A role-playingmobile game called Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Infinity that was made by Tianjin Tianxiang Interactive Technology and authorized by White Fox was released on January 14, 2020, in China.Another mobile game that made by Sega titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Lost in Memories (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 Lost in Memories) was released for Android and iOS on September 9, 2020.[59] In the game, the player can become protagonist Subaru Natsuki and relive the story of the anime. From there, the player can branch into "What If" stories. Furthermore, a new story original to the game was produced under the full supervision of original author Tappei Nagatsuki.[60]
A tactical adventure video game was developed by Chime and published by Spike Chunsoft titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: The Prophecy of the Throne (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 偽りの王選候補) and was released for PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch in January 2021.[61] The game has an original story and was produced under the full supervision of original author Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by the series' illustrator Shinichiou Otsuka. It is the first official Re:Zero game to have an English release.
A role-playingbrowser game called Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Forbidden Book and the Mysterious Spirit that was made by DMM Games released on July 14, 2021, in Japan.On March 14, 2022, DMM Games has announced the game will be shut down on July 14, 2022.[62]
A mobile game called Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Witch's Re:surrection was announced at the series' stage in AnimeJapan 2023.[63] It was released for iOS and Android on August 26, 2024.[64]
A fanbook containing commentary on the episodes of the anime, as well as the collected Animate Times cast and staff interviews, was published on December 31, 2016.
