The end of the Re: Zero anime series this week definitely has hit a lot of fans who are now looking for more of it to dig into. Media Factory and their Bunko J line of light novels is definitely ready to provide more – but they’re also making it clear that more is coming in the form of just the novels, both through the promo below and some advertising in Japan. With most light novels being little more than advertising for said light novels, it’s no surprise that the marketing here is directing fans toward that. But here’s the kicker that the casual fans may not get; the anime adaptation essentially covered the first eight volumes of the series. The ninth volume of the series is set to land in just a couple of days! And the tenth is coming quickly with a planned October 25th, 2016 release date, but the reality is that there won’t be more to animate for some time. I’d hazard a guess that we’ll see some sort of OAD material perhaps or even a movie compilation before anything else.
Based on the light novels from writer Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrator Shinichirou Ootsuka, the series has eight volumes to its name so far and was announced as being a part of the spring season back in December 2015.
The series was directed by Seiji Watanabe working off of series composition by Masahiro Yokotani. Character designs were done by Kyuta Sakai with White Fox handling the animation production. The cast includes Yuusuke Kobayashi as Subaru Natsuki, Rie Takahashi as Emilia, Yumi Uchiyama as Pack, Chinatsu Akasaki as Felt, Rie Murakawa as Ram, Inori Minase as Rem, Satomi Arai as Beatrice and Yuuichi Nakamura as Lineheart.
Plot concept: Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, encounters a beautiful silver-haired girl from another world. Subaru wants to stay by her side and help her, but the burden she carries is far beyond anything Subaru imagined. They’re faced with one attacking monster after another, betrayal, irrational violence… and finally death. Subaru doesn’t want to see her get hurt, so he vows to take down any enemy, any fate that comes his way, to protect her. And so this powerless boy obtains “Return by Death,” a unique ability that allows him to turn back time by dying. It becomes the potential to guide all people to a world where everyone can always be smiling, dependent on Subaru’s life and loneliness. By using his power, the past can be lost, and memories can be rewritten. Subaru must now fight the fate that dooms him to keep all those forgotten memories hidden within, to be perpetually beaten, to see his own heart wearing down, to wager his life… all to protect the people he cares about. To get back the precious times that he’s sure must have happened.
“Even if you forget me, I will never forget you.”
