Re: Zero is a beloved franchise that started off as a light novel series and now has been made into a successful anime show. All the main characters have interesting character developments, while the side characters are still memorable.
If you are new to this show, you may wonder where to start and what order you should watch everything, as there is a lot of content to watch. Well, in this guide, we will let you know what order you should watch Re: Zero.
Re: Zero started life as a light novel series, which was written and published online by Tappei Nagatsuki in 2012. However, since 2015 Re: Zero has been published as three different mangas.
After that in 2016, the Re: Zero anime began airing on Crunchyroll.
Re: Zero follows the story of Natsuki Subaru. He is a young nerdy guy, who enjoys spending his time inside. One day, Subaru goes to his local supermarket and comes home to a strange dark passage.
Subaru has been summoned to another world, yet he doesn’t know why or how. The world that Subarus encounters is just like all the worlds he has seen in video games or fantasy films. Somehow Subaru has ended up in a fantasy world.
On his first day he met the beautiful silver haired Emila. She saved his life, but she has had something stolen from her. As Subaru owes her his life, he vows to help her.
Subaru encounters problems and dangers. Yet every time he dies, he comes back to life and starts the adventure again. He is literally in a video type game world.
He names his ability as ‘Return of Death’. Yet he has now idea who gave him these abilities and why he is now in this world.
The Re: Zero Anime
The production of the anime began after the release of the fifth novel in October 2014, with the original author Tappei Nagatsuki being very active with the production of the anime.
There are two seasons to watch, the second season has only been released recently. There is also a director’s cut of the first season. Alongside that there are also two OVA’s, spin offs and specials to watch.
Below we have compiled the chronological order on how to watch everything. While also there is a release date order and a little bit of information on everything.
Seasons
There are two seasons that you can watch of this anime.
First first season has episodes and started airing in 2016. The first episode of this season is 50 minutes long, while the rest of the episodes have a standard anime run time.
Except for episode 14 and episode 18, which are both 2 minutes longer, and the final episode is 3 minutes longer than a standard anime episode.
The second season is also made up of 25 episodes. However season 2 is broken into 2 parts. The first part aired 13 episodes from July 2020 to September 2020. The creators released 4 episodes a month.
Then the show went on a hiatus , due to production delays and the second part of the second season started airing in January 2021. The second part of the season is made up of 12 episodes.
This show has been growing in popularity, hence fans do hope that there will be a third season. However, as of yet there has been no word of whether there will be another season or a release date.
It is likely that we will get another season, but we are still awaiting news on that.
Directors Cut
A director’s cut of the first season has also been released. It follows the same plot, with a few extra scenes and some tiny changes.
However, with the director’s cut, there are only 13 episodes but they are an hour long. It has to be said that the director’s cut is slightly better quality and animation than the original series.
If you are a first time watcher or want to binge watch the entire show, it is recommended that you watch the director’s cut as it is better quality and the same plot than the original series.
Or you can watch the original season up until episode 5, as after that you will then start to notice little differences from the original series.
Shorts/Spin Offs
Released not too long after the first season. These shorts take place between the episodes of the first season. However they don’t really add anything to the overall plot of the show.
If you just love the show and want some extra content, then you’ll love these humorous shorts. However, you don’t need to watch them as they don’t offer us any new information or insight into the plot Re: Zero.
They aren’t included in our chronicle list below, as they don’t add to the overall plot, but we have mentioned them in our release list. It is up to you whether you watch these or not.
OVAs
Two OVAs have been released, one in 2018 and the other in 2019.
In 2018 Re: Zero – Starting life in another world – Memory Snow (OVA) was released. In this special, Subaru and his friends must defeat the Demon Beast Wolgarm, who is the source of the curse and save the children of the village.
All the characters have a moment of peace, yet Subaur must go on a secret mission that no one can find out about. It has links to the 2019 OVA and takes place between arc 2 and acr 3.
In 2019 Re: Zero – Hyouketsu no Kizuna (OVA) is a prequel to the events of season 1. It tells us the story of how Emilia and her spirit Puck met and formed their contract.
Chronicle Order
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Hyouketsu no Kizuna (OVA)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 1 – Episodes 1-11 (Director’s Cut – Episode 1-5)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Memory Snow (OVA)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 1 – Episodes 12-25 (Director’s Cut – Episodes – 6-13)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 2 – Episodes 1-25
Release Order
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 1 (2016)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Break Time (2016)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Memory Snow (2018)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Hyouketsu no Kizuna (2019)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 1 Director’s Cut (2020)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 2 Part 1 (2020)
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 2 Part 2 (2021)
Final Thoughts
The shorts aren’t mentioned in the chronicle order as they don’t serve any purpose to the overall plot but it is up to you if you choose to watch them or not. The release order makes more sense, if you want to binge watch the entire show.
However, if you want to watch everything in chronicle order then you must watch the memory snow OVA between the first season as suggested above.
Both guides make watching Re: Zero and Subaru adventures really easy. Also as the second season is ending, talk is already about the third season, however for now you can enjoy the first two seasons and OVA’s, knowing what order to watch everything in.
