‘Re:ZERO’ English Dub Episode 1 On Funimation Is Streaming – Is ‘Re:ZERO’ Season 2 Likely Based On The Novels?
The unbearable wait for the Re:ZERO Season 2 release date just got a little less grim now that Episode 1 of the Re:ZERO English dub has started streaming on Funimation Now. The plan is to release episodes a little at a time, with the first cour of Re:ZERO Starting Life in Another World (Re:ZERO kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) coming out this spring. Apparently, that means the second cour ending in Episode 25 will probably release through the summer.
The Re:ZERO English dub cast has been announced as follows.
- Sean Chiplock as Subaru
- Kayli Mills as Emilia
- Erica Mendez as Puck
- Ryan Bartley as Ram
- Brianna Knickerbocker as Rem
- Kira Buckland as Beatrice
- Ray Chase as Roswaal
- Christine Marie Cabanos as Felt
- Robbie Daymond as Reinhard
- Faye Mata as Priscilla
- Cassandra Morris as Anastasia
- Sarah Williams as Felix
- Marc Diraison as Wilhelm
- Chris Tergliafera as Marcos
- Beau Billingslea as Rom
- Patrick Seitz as Kadomon
- Cristina Vee as Elsa
- Lucien Dodge as Chin
- Arnie Pantoja as Kan
- Erika Harlacher as Crusch
- Keith Silverstein as Al
- Xanthe Huynh as Kadomon’s Daughter
- Chris Cason as Convenience Store Staff
- Ian Alden as Demon Clan Chief
‘Re:ZERO’ Season 2 Announcement Possible For Late 2018?
For many years, the chances of watching the second season of an anime were largely based on Blu-Ray sales. The anime industry has undergone many changes, and that’s no longer the case, but if Blu-Ray sales are at least a gauge of popularity in Japan then the Re:ZERO anime is popular indeed. The combined sales for all of the Blu-Ray box sets sold in Japan easily reached the tens of thousands since the first disc volume alone sold almost 12,000 copies in the first week of sales.
Any delay is certainly not due to a lack of ready source material. Fans of the Re:ZERO anime may not realize that the story began life as a free web novel self-published by author Tappei Nagatsuki. The web novel is still being updated on a regular basis, and the story released so far is divided up into six major story arcs. The light novel adaptation of the web novel is currently up to the beginning of Arc 5 as of Volume 16, whereas the first season of the anime finished almost all of Arc 3 and that ended with Re:ZERO Volume 9. If anime fans want to read ahead, unfortunately, the official English translation will only be up to Volume 7 by June 26, 2018, but there is a good free Re:ZERO English translation project that is already well into Arc 4.
So what is anime studio White Fox waiting for on producing Re:ZERO Season 2? Most Japanese animation production studios are simply short-handed and they’re also booked out for several years in advance. White Fox just released Steins;Gate 0 and they have a bunch of other projects planned ahead including the Goblin Slayer anime and the Re:ZERO OVA episode called Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – Memory Snow. Assuming that White Fox is scheduled out about three years advance, it’d make sense if Re:ZERO Season 2 is announced in either 2018 or 2019. Stay tuned.
