Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World is an isekai-genre anime series with adventure and dark fantasy elements. The series started with Subaru Natsuki, who finds himself in another world on his way home, occupies a good place among the “isekai” animes that have a special place in Japanese culture. The anime series first hit the screens in 2016, but the anime is based on the novel and light novel series that Tappei Nagatsuki took its first steps in the early 2010s. White Fox, who has appeared with popular animations such as Goblin Slayer and Arifureta in recent years, is making animations of the anime. The Crunchyroll-licensed anime began airing originally on TXN (TV Tokyo) on July 8, 2020, with its second season. It was announced that the season would be broadcast in two parts, and the second part was released weekly from January 6, 2021, to March 24, 2021. Fans of the anime are now excited for other seasons, so will the anime have a third season?
What is the plotline of anime?
Our story revolves around our main character, Subaru Natsuki when Subaru suddenly finds himself in another universe after he finishes his grocery shopping. Although Subaru, who devoted himself to computer games in his normal life, doesn’t take this world seriously at first and behaved as if he was in the game universe, of course, the story does not proceed like that. As soon as he arrives in this stranger world, after crossing paths with Felt, a thief, Subaru encounters several bullies. Emilia, the main female character of the anime, is looking for Felt to pursue the item he stole from her. Meanwhile, Emilia, who crosses her way with Subaru, does not remain indifferent to Subaru and helps him get rid of the bullies. Subaru, who wants to repay her favor, wants to help Emilia find Felt and retrieve the item he stole, and the story unfolds.
After the second season second part; The anime ran its first part in the second season, with lots of psychological and thriller elements as in the first season. They also managed to make things interesting by adding new characters. Then, in the second part, there were some changes in terms of the subject of anime. The dose of psychology and tension has decreased in this part. This season we mostly watched what’s behind more of the character stories. It was a good season getting to know the characters more and preparing for a new season. The anime wrapped up the second season with many question marks, and a third season seems to be much more exciting.
Will there be a third season of Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World?
As of May 28, 2022, at the time of writing, Neither Media Factory nor White Fox has not yet renewed the anime for a third season. The second season of the anime has been completed on March 24, 2021, and it may be too early to see a new season considering it’s an anime series. Sometimes it can take many years to renew an anime for a new season. We can see this in about four years between the first and second season of Re: Zero. When we look at the script, we can easily see that the second season is left many open points in many ways. The anime is based on the light novel series of the same name. Therefore light novel source material availability is the main factor in seeing a new season. However, the popularity of the anime, disc sales, and financial conditions also will affect the decision for a new season. We speculated about a third season under these main factors.
Light Novel status of the anime
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the anime is based on the light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shin’ichirō Ōtsuka. Published by Media Factory, the light novel series, which has been published since January 24, 2014, has 29 volumes that have been published so far. The last volume met with readers on March 25, 2022. The anime is also published in English thanks to Yen Press, such as many beloved mangas. In the two seasons aired, the first 15 volumes of the light novel have been adapted into the anime. The remaining 14 volumes seem sufficient for seeing a new season. The light novel stock material will not cause a problem in the shooting of a new season.
Disc sales of the anime
Disc sales have lost their former importance with the increase of digitalization. Many people are no longer as interested in discs as they used to be, but it is still an important parameter to see the popularity of anime in Japan. Generally, an anime is expected to sell 4,000 units in volume’s average to be renewed for a new season. Re: Zero’s second season second part’s disc sales started on the week of April 28, 2021, and 3 more volumes will be sold. When we look at the first volume of disc sales, we see that it sold 5,081 units. Despite the decline in disc sales in recent years, it seems to have reached the target. The anime’s season two sold 5,085 units in the first part, and it seems to be stable. Although these quantities were half of the first season in 2016, the anime is the highest selling anime of the 2021 winter season after SK8 the Infinity and Yurucamp.
| Season 1 | Season 2 Part 1 | ||
| Volume 1 | 12,893 | Volume 1 | 5,387 |
| Volume 2 | 11,649 | Volume 2 | 4,973 |
| Volume 3 | 10,656 | Volume 3 | 4,947 |
| Volume 4 | 10,444 | Volume 4 | 5,034 |
| Volume 5 | 10,102 | Season 2 Part 2 | |
| Volume 6 | 9,439 | Volume 1 | 5,081 |
| Volume 7 | 10,153 | Volume 2 | 4935 |
| Volume 8 | 10,017 | Volume 3 | 4651 |
| Volume 9 | 10,411 | Volume 4 | 4904 |
On the other hand, many distributors publish the anime exclusively. Especially on the Chinese streaming platform, Bilibili Video, the first part of the second season was watched 200 million times, and the second part has 150 million. It means an enormous additional income for the anime. Also, HBO Max published the anime globally. In addition, we see that the producers have invested in the smartphone game industry in recent years. If an anime has a video game, it increases the probability of a new season. There are many games for the anime that have been published so far. In addition, the smartphone game released after the second season began airing achieved good download figures.
Popularity in terms of a new season
Disc sales prove to be a popular anime in Japan, and we see similar results worldwide as well. Re: Zero is ranked among the 25 most popular anime by Myanimelist and has a popularity rating of 99.2%. When you compare this score with other anime scores, you will see that it really is in a special place. On the other hand, it has a strong Google search volume, and 580k people follow its official account on Twitter. In terms of popularity, there seems to be no problem with a new season.
| Release Date | |
| Season 1 | April 4, 2016 |
| Season 2 Part 1 | July 8, 2020 |
| Season 2 Part 2 | January 6, 2021 |
| Season 3 | Expected to be in 2024 |
When is the third season of the Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World?
As of May 28, 2022, the anime has not yet been renewed for a third season. However, as a result of our evaluation above, we see that the light novel has sufficient source materials, the target has been reached in the disc sales, and the anime has enough popularity for a new season. All reviews show that a new season is inevitable. Those who have watched the anime’s last season will know that many points seem to be answered in the third season. We think that preparations for a new season may begin as there is sufficient stock material from LN available now. We estimate a new season of the anime could be released in 2024 based on the production time needed. We will be following renewal news closely. Stay tuned!