Zegapain

Zegapain (ゼーガペイン) is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise staff and manga artist Takehiko Itō. Produced by Sunrise, TV Tokyo and Dentsu, it is directed by Masami Shimoda, with Mayori Sekijima handling series scripts, Takehiko Itō and Akihiko Yamashita designing the characters and Ayako Ōtsuka composing the music. The series premiered in Japan on April 6, 2006 on TV Tokyo and later BS Japan and AT-X. As part of the 10th anniversary of the series, a compilation theatrical film with new scenes, titled Zegapain Adaptation (ゼーガペインADP), was released in Japanese theaters by Shochiku on October 15, 2016. A sequel film, titled Zegapain STA, was released by Sunrise's parent company, Bandai Namco Filmworks, on August 16, 2024.

On October 2, 2007, Bandai Entertainment released the first Region 1 volume of Zegapain with the last volume released on August 5, 2008. Following the 2012 closure of Bandai Entertainment, Sunrise announced at Otakon 2013, that Sentai Filmworks has rescued Zegapain, along with a handful of other former BEI titles.[1] However, it was never released. In August 2025, it was announced Discotek Media had rescued the anime and will be releasing it on Blu-ray alongside the films.[2]

Plot

Kyo Sogoru, a high school boy living in a city called Maihama, leads a normal life of school, romance, and the swim club. Kyo's life changes when he sees a beautiful girl, Shizuno Misaki, at the pool one day and discovers he is initially the only person who can see her. In order to keep his high school's swimming club open by recruiting more members, Kyo hopes to enlist Shizuno to appear in a promo video shot by Kyo's close friend, Ryoko. Shizuno agrees, but on the condition that he does something for her in exchange – pilot a mecha for an organization known as Cerebrum.

Agreeing to her request, Kyo is drawn into a world of fighting giant robots in a game-like world that he must save from Deutera Areas formed by aliens known as Gards-orm that threaten to destroy the earth. However, Kyo soon comes to realize that the world that he is living in might not even be real at all and begins to find that everything he is doing is strangely familiar. As he questions the nature of the reality he lives in, Kyo must continue to fight in order to protect the lives of those important to him.

Characters

• Kyo Sogoru (十凍 京)
• The protagonist, Kyō discovers the world he lives in is an illusion and must fight to save the real world and protect the people who still live within the illusory world. He is an enthusiastic and talented pilot and serves as the Altair Zegapain's Gunner.
• Ryōko Kaminagi (守凪 了子)
• Kyo's childhood friend, Ryōko is cheerful girl who dreams of becoming a film director and is a member of the high school Video Club. She is perceptive and is the first of Kyo's friends to "awaken" to the real world with a much easier transition than Kyo; as a Celebrant, she desires to protect things irreplaceable to her. Ryōko cares deeply for Kyo and doesn't want him to carry too many burdens by himself.
• Shizuno Misaki (三崎 紫雫乃) / Yehl (イェル)
• Shizuno is an elegant girl who knew and loved Kyo in his past life, before he was reborn. She acts as the Wizard of the Altair Zegapain, but later becomes Chris' partner after Arque's death. Shizuno is an expert of data salvage and saved Kyo, Ryoko, Toga, and many other Celebrants.
• Shima (シマ)
• Shima serves as President of the Student Council at Kyo's school and is the commander of the Oceanus, the base of operations for Kyo, Shizuno, and other Celebrants, and the leader of Celebram.
• Minato (ミナト)
• Originally from the Sydney server, Minato serves as vice-president of the Student Council and Shima's second-in-command on board the Oceanus. She is generally cheerful and helpful towards Shima, who saved her when the Sydney server was being destroyed, but often left out of the loop concerning Shima and Shizuno's plans. Her true name is Emma Springrain; vice-commanders of Oceanus-class ships are code-named after words meaning port or wharf.
• Kenta Kawaguchi (カワグチ ケンタ)
• One of Kyo's friends, Kawaguchi is member of the Swim Club. He and Kyo have not been on good terms because the latter broke up their old swim team and they frequently end up in fights.
• Takeru Ushio (ウシオ タケル)
• Ushio is of Kyo's friends who is a member of the Swim Club. He rejoins it when Hayase does since he actually had forgiven Kyo, but stayed away from him because of Kawaguchi and Hayase. He later dates Mizuki until the Maihama server is reset.
• Toya Hayase (ハヤセ トウヤ)
• Hayase is of Kyo's friends and a member of the Swim Club. He chooses to rejoin the Swim Club after accepting Kyo's apology and deciding that his desire to swim again is more important than past feelings.
• Kei Tomigai (トミガイ ケイ)
• Tomigai is Kyo and Ryoko's friend who willingly participates in most of Ryoko's film projects.
• Mizuki Tachibana (タチバナ ミズキ)
• Ryōko's friend, a member of the Theatre Club, tennis club, and the volleyball team. She initially has feelings for Hayase, but was rejected when she confessed to him at the summer festival. Mizuki later happily dates Ushio until the server is reset.
• Hayato Kuroshio (クロシオ ハヤト)
• A member of the Student Council, Kuroshio is a Celebrant and serves as an operator on the Oceanus. He originally came from the Shizuoka server and previously acted as a Zegapain Gunner.
• Ayaka Irie (イリエ アヤカ)
• A member of the Student Council, Irie is a Celebrant and acts as an operator on the Oceanus. She previously served as a Zegapain Wizard and originally came from the Shizuoka server.
• Sen'ichi Kurashige (クラシゲ 船一)
• Kurashige is Kyō's science and homeroom teacher at Maihama Minami High School. He is the sponsor for the Swim Club, and is nicknamed "Kurage" by Kyo.
• Mizusawa (ミズサワ)
• The nurse at Kyō's school who seems to be close to Kurashige and later accepts a marriage proposal from him. Kyo appears to go to Mizusawa when he needs advice or to discuss matters concerning school. She has noticed abnormalities with the world they live in, but has not shown any indication of awakening.
• Koji Kaminagi (守凪 浩司)
• Ryoko's younger brother.
• Misaki Sogoru (十凍 未沙季)
• Kyo's younger sister, a junior high school student.
• Sachiko Tsumura (津村 さち子)
• Sachiko is a Celebrant and third year student at school who was dating Hayase. Due to damage to her Meta-body data, she does not appear in the server, resulting in Hayase being unable to meet her in person. She has an expanded role in Zegapain ADP.
• Tōru Kanō (河能 亨)
• Tōru is a Celebrant who recorded the real Maihama on the "last day" before all of humanity was converted into Meta-Bodies shortly before he returned to the Maihama server. As the president of the Video Club, he was a friend of Ryoko. He previously acted as vice-commander Minato for the Oceanus. He appears in Zegapain ADP.
• Funaberi (フナベリ)
• The principal of South Maihama High School. Previously a quantum computer researcher, she is deeply involved in the development of the phantom form of humanity and the quantum server. Funaberi watches the movements of the Celebrants from within the Maihama server, but does not participate in their battles. She appears in Zegapain ADP.
• Natsumi Kohakura (コハクラ ナツミ)
• An older former junior high classmate of Kyo mentioned in passing as Kyo's unrequited crush. While said to have transferred to Okinawa, her meta-body is held in the Maihama server. She has an unwavering trust in Kyo. She appears in Zegapain ADP.

Anime

The anime television series was compiled and released on nine DVD sets from 2006 to 2007. The series was released on Blu-ray boxset in September 2010.

Video games

Two Xbox 360 games based on the anime have been released in Japan. The first, Zegapain XOR, was released in July 2006. The second, Zegapain NOT, a follow-up to Zegapain XOR, was released on December 7, 2006. Both titles were developed by Cavia and published by Bandai Namco Games.

The first game, published by Bandai, is called Zegapain XOR and was released in Japan on July 27, 2006. The game is similar in nature to Zone of the Enders. A mech action game, the player controls Cerebrant Toga Vital and the plot runs parallel to the events of the anime. Zegapain XOR is set on the Oceanus-class ship Dvaraka and commanded by Isola, a recurring character in the anime series. Several characters who appear in the game make brief appearances in the anime series.

A second game, titled Zegapain NOT, was released on December 7, 2006 in Japan. Also based on the anime series, Zegapain NOT is a sequel and companion to Zegapain XOR and continues the storyline of the previous game. The game features a special online mode that allows for cross-disc online play, enabling players with Zegapain XOR to play against players with Zegapain NOT. The game has over 3,000 ways to customize your character.

The main character is Toga Dupe, Toga Vital's lost character and memory data salvaged by Gards-orm, who controls the Anti-Zega Coatlicue. The story is set and told from the point of view of the Gards-orm, the antagonists to the heroes in the anime and Zegapain XOR.

Other media

Further reading

External links