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Zegapain
	Screenshot of the logo from the anime series
ゼーガペイン; (Zēgapein)
Genre	Mecha, romance, action
Created by	Hajime Yatate, Takehiko Itō
Anime television series
Directed by	Masami Shimoda
Produced by	Yoshikazu Beniya; Norio Yamakawa; Fumikuni Furusawa; Shintarō Kogake
Written by	Mayori Sekijima
Music by	Ayako Ōtsuka
Studio	Sunrise
Licensed by	AUS: Madman Entertainment; NA: Sentai Filmworks;
Original network	TV Tokyo, BS Japan, AT-X
Original run	April 6, 2006 – September 28, 2006
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Video game
Zegapain XOR
Developer	Cavia
Publisher	Bandai Namco Games
Genre	Action
Platform	Xbox 360
Released	JP: July 27, 2006;
Video game
Zegapain NOT
Developer	Cavia
Publisher	Bandai Namco Games
Genre	Action
Platform	Xbox 360
Released	JP: December 6, 2006;
Anime film
Zegapain Adaptation
Directed by	Masami Shimoda
Written by	Masami Shimoda
Music by	Ayako Otsuka
Studio	Sunrise
Released	October 15, 2016
Runtime	117 minutes
Anime film
Zegapain STA
Directed by	Masami Shimoda
Written by	Katsuhiko Takayama
Music by	Ayako Ōtsuka
Studio	Sunrise
Released	August 16, 2024
Runtime	90 minutes

Zegapain (ゼーガペイン, Zēgapein) is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise staff and manga artist Takehiko Itō.^[1] 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. 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.^[2] 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.

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

Anime

The anime series was compiled and released on 9 DVD sets from 2006 to 2007. The series was released on Blu-ray boxset in September 2010.

List of episodes

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
01	"Entangle" Transliteration: "Entanguru" (Japanese: エンタングル)	Junichi Watanabe	Mayori Sekijima	April 6, 2006 (2006-04-06)
Kyo Sogoru finds that he is the only one who can see Shizuno Misaki, a beautiful girl who invites him to play a game where he must save the world.
02	"Cerebrum" Transliteration: "Sereburamu" (Japanese: セレブラム)	Masahito Otani	Akira Okeya	April 13, 2006 (2006-04-13)
Kyo finds that strange things are happening in his world – like his friends disappearing from sight and Shizuno appearing only when he is alone. He agrees to continue helping her if she will appear in a film he and his friend, Ryoko Kaminagi, are filming.
03	"Deutera Zone" Transliteration: "Defutera ryōiki" (Japanese: デフテラ領域)	Katsuichi Nakayama	Sadayuki Murai	April 20, 2006 (2006-04-20)
As Kyo plays a game given to him by Student Council President Shima, he begins to question the reality he lives in.
04	"Shanghai Server" Transliteration: "Shanhai sābā" (Japanese: 上海サーバー)	Masakazu Hishida	Masashi Kubota	April 27, 2006 (2006-04-27)
May-Yu, May-Yen, and Lu Sheng are determined to save the corrupted Shanghai Server with help from Kyo and Shizuno. When the server is destroyed, Kyo discovers the truth behind what is reality and what is a dream. Zegapain Caladrius is sacrificed in the mission.
05	"Déjà Vu" Transliteration: "Deja byu" (Japanese: デジャビュ)	Masato Miyoshi	Sadayuki Murai	May 4, 2006 (2006-05-04)
Kyo convinces himself that Maihama is real and so are all his friends. However, in his increasing confusion, he fails to appear for battle when the Oceanus needs him most. The Cerebrants must defend themselves against the enemy who appears at last – Abyss.
06	"Meta‐Body" Transliteration: "Gentai" (Japanese: 幻体)	Hiroaki Kudō	Mayori Sekijima	May 11, 2006 (2006-05-11)
Kyo tries to prove that what he feels and experiences within his world are real, but instead becomes temperamental as he realizes that even his friends may be nothing more than illusions. When he tries to leave Maihama to affirm the reality of his world, Shizuno finally explains the truth. The Oceanus is joined by Chris and Arque Avenir. Zegapain Garuda suffers massive damage, requiring it to be reconstructed.
07	"Lost Soul" Transliteration: "Mayoeru tamashī" (Japanese: 迷える魂)	Masahito Otani	Masashi Kubota	May 18, 2006 (2006-05-18)
Finally convinced that Maihama is an artificial illusion, including those cares most about, Kyo spends the day with Ryoko at the aquarium, who notices he has changed despite how he acts otherwise.
08	"On the Other Side of the Water" Transliteration: "Mizu no mukōgawa" (Japanese: 水の向こう側)	Masato Miyoshi	Akira Okeya	May 25, 2006 (2006-05-25)
Memories that Kyo does not recall and off-hand comments from his comrades hint that Kyo's past is more complex than he realizes. Accompanied by May-Yu, he goes to see the real Maihama so he will experience the pain of reality and know why he must continue to protect his illusory world.
09	"Wet Damage" Transliteration: "Wetto damēji" (Japanese: ウエットダメージ)	Masakazu Hishida	Katsuhiko Takayama	June 1, 2006 (2006-06-01)
Chris reveals to Kyo that while the data of bodies can be reconstructed, memories that are lost can never be recovered – Arque has lost a great deal of hers from wet damage. Kyo and Ryoko get into a disagreement and Kyo questions the pain he feels from emotion.
10	"Again, Summer Comes" Transliteration: "Mata, natsu ga kuru" (Japanese: また、夏が来る)	Hiroaki Kudō	Sadayuki Murai	June 8, 2006 (2006-06-08)
Ryoko uses a video tape from Tōru Kanō to create a new film, not realizing that it is a sign she may "awaken" to the real world soon. She and Kyo make up during the Summer Festival.
11	"Lingering Illusions" Transliteration: "Nokoru maboroshi" (Japanese: 残るまぼろし)	Masahito Otani	Mayori Sekijima	June 15, 2006 (2006-06-15)
Arque spends her last days making lasting memories with Chris, Kyo, Shizuno, and Ryoko. Sin and Abyss return and Ryoko begins to "awaken".
12	"The Awaken" Transliteration: "Mezameru mono-tachi" (Japanese: 目覚める者たち)	Seiki Takuno	Akira Okeya	June 22, 2006 (2006-06-22)
The crew of the Oceanus survey potential Cerebrant candidates, which include Ryoko, Hayase, and Tomigai. Ryoko fully awakens and she spends the day with Kyo and asks to see the real world someday with him.
13	"A New Wizard" Transliteration: "Aratanaru wizādo" (Japanese: 新たなるウィザード)	Naomichi Yamato	Masashi Kubota	June 29, 2006 (2006-06-29)
Ryoko joins the crew of the Oceanus and goes around filming the real world as she wished. She becomes Kyo's new Wizard and proves to be an exceptionally skilled pilot. However, tragedy strikes when the Zegapain Altair is struck by Sin in the Anti-Zegapain Coatlicue and Ryoko's apparition data is destroyed.
14	"Memories of Destruction" Transliteration: "Horobi no kioku" (Japanese: 滅びの記憶)	Masakazu Hishida	Akira Okeya	July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06)
Kyo must overcome his grief over Ryoko's loss while Lu Sheng reveals what caused humanity to be stored within servers in the first place. Shizuno desperately searches through the raw combat data of the Altair and finds Ryoko's data compressed in the mecha's memory.
15	"Reincarnation" Transliteration: "Riinkānēshon" (Japanese: リインカーネーション)	Masahito Otani	Katsuhiko Takayama	July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13)
Things seem to be going right for Kyo – Ryoko will come back, he's finally made up with Kawaguchi, and his friends are happy. But the world itself is acting strange and Kyo finally discovers the server can only simulate a limited time period before resetting itself. Zegapain Hraesvelgr is heavily damaged in the mission in a failed attempt to defeat Anti-Zegapain Coatlicue.
16	"Battlefield of Rebirth" Transliteration: "Fukkatsu no senjō" (Japanese: 復活の戦場)	Hiroaki Kudō	Mayori Sekijima	July 20, 2006 (2006-07-20)
The Maihama server resets and the summer school term starts again; Ryoko returns to the server, but is hospitalized and comatose. Kyo discovers that Ryoko can only exist as herself within the Altair, which causes pain for them as well as those around them.
17	"The Reconstructants" Transliteration: "Fukugen sareshi mono" (Japanese: 復元されし者)	Naomichi Yamato	Masashi Kubota	July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27)
While Shima and Shizuno go on an excursion on the repaired Zegapain Caladrius, Minato and the crew of the Oceanus must defend themselves against Sin, who has successfully infiltrated the ship in order to question the Cerebrants' reasons for fighting the Gards-orm. Pleased upon receiving Ryoko's answer, Sin restores Ryoko's damaged data.
18	"With False Wounds, Pain Withers" Transliteration: "Itsuwari no kizu, itami wa karete" (Japanese: 偽りの傷、痛みは枯れて)	Akira Yoshimura	Katsuhiko Takayama	August 3, 2006 (2006-08-03)
Ryoko's data is repaired thanks to Sin's data transplant, but her emotional data component is locked within the Altair so she is seemingly emotionless in the server. She and Kyo explore the real world, where he affirms that while he and Ryoko are only apparitions, they will some day be able to touch the real world.
19	"Last Supper" Transliteration: "Rasuto sapā" (Japanese: ラストサパー)	Shinya Watada	Akira Okeya	August 10, 2006 (2006-08-10)
A suspicious Lu Sheng confronts Shizuno over dinner in the Maihama server concerning her recent actions and her identity as "Yehl". Kyo and Ryoko attempt to defend the Maihama server from Sin and Abyss in the Anti-Zegapain Coatlicue, but are devastated when it is destroyed, unaware that Lu Sheng and Shizuno are still somehow alive along with everyone else.
20	"Yehl, Shizuno" Transliteration: "Ieru, Shizuno" (Japanese: イェル、シズノ)	Masahito Otani	Sadayuki Murai	August 17, 2006 (2006-08-17)
Shizuno and Shima reveal that the Maihama server is safe because it was moved on to the moon a while back by the previous Kyo with Shizuno and Shima. Shizuno and Kyo work together again and she reveals how they initially met and how he was the one who gave her the name "Shizuno Misaki".
21	"Warriors..." Transliteration: "Senshi-tachi..." (Japanese: 戦士たち…)	Hiroaki Kudō	Mayori Sekijima	August 24, 2006 (2006-08-24)
Shima reveals Cerebrum's plan for the final battle against the Gards-orm and for the resurrection of humanity. When Kuroshio believes the best option would be to become Gards-orm instead of gaining a true body and leaving the server, Shima attempts to reveal the real nature behind their enemies only to collapse from dry damage.
22	"G-Phaetus" Transliteration: "Jifeitasu" (Japanese: ジフェイタス)	Naomichi Yamato	Masashi Kubota	August 31, 2006 (2006-08-31)
Shizuno takes care of Shima, revealing that he is actually a clone of the real Shima, a Gards-orm who turned against his own kind to bring back humanity. Minato takes his place as the commander of the Oceanus and the Cerebrants begin to execute their Final Plan: Project Resurrection. The Gards-orm begin expanding their destructive Deutera Areas on earth.
23	"The Unsinking Moon" Transliteration: "Shizumanai tsuki" (Japanese: 沈まない月)	Shinya Watada	Katsuhiko Takayama	September 7, 2006 (2006-09-07)
The Altair and Garuda successfully infiltrate the Gards-orm base after fighting Abyss and Sin, only to enter the Gards-orm's quantum computer and be confronted by Naga and his views on the nature of life and humanity.
24	"A Drop of Light" Transliteration: "Hikari no hitoshizuku" (Japanese: 光の一滴 (ひとしずく))	Masahito Otani	Akira Okeya	September 14, 2006 (2006-09-14)
Kyo, Ryoko, Lu Sheng, and May-Yu meet the real Shima, who waited for them and believes that they may not be able to execute Project Resurrection. The Altair and Garuda fight back against Sin and Abyss' Anti-Zega unit while the rest of the Oceanus' crew bid a final goodbye to Shima.
25	"Is the Maihama Sky Blue?" Transliteration: "Maihama no sora wa aoi ka" (Japanese: 舞浜の空は青いか)	Katsuichi Nakayama	Sadayuki Murai	September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)
Forced to abandon the Oceanus, its crew returns to the Maihama server and believes they have failed to recover the Maihama server and the resurrection system; however, a parting gift from Shima brings new hope. The battle between the Gards-orm and the Cerebrants enters the Maihama server and Sin is finally defeated. Shizuno's true nature as "Yehl" is revealed while Kyo confesses his love to Ryoko before he and Shizuno leave to finish off the Gards-orm once and for all.
26	"All Things in Nature" Transliteration: "Ari to arayuru mono" (Japanese: 森羅万象 (ありとあらゆるもの))	Hiroaki Kudō	Mayori Sekijima	September 28, 2006 (2006-09-28)
After destroying G-Phaetus, Kyo and Shizuno race to stop the expanding Deutera Areas on Earth by destroying their orbital base while carrying the Maihama server and the resurrection system's data compressed the Altair. Kyo finally defeats Abyss while Shizuno, with help from Minato and the other crew members, stabilizes the system and eliminates the Deutera Areas. Humanity's resurrection and restoration of the world finally begins.

Films

A compilation film, Zegapain Adaptation, was released in 2016 to celebrate the series 10th anniversary. Using footage from the TV series interspersed with new animation and characters, Adaptation uses the concept of the server "loops" in telling its story, and is revealed by the end of the film to be a prequel to the events of the first episode of Zegapain.^[3]^[4]

A sequel film, titled Zegapain STA, was released by Sunrise's parent company, Bandai Namco Filmworks, on August 16, 2024.^[5]^[6]

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

Manga

The manga adaptation by Gou Yabuki, Zegapain Gaiden: AI AlWAYS, was serialized in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh from August 2006 to October 2006. A second manga based on the events of Zegapain XOR, Side-B N, appears on the official site for Zegapain XOR. It has nine chapters available for preview. Both were compiled into tankōbon format in Japan.

Radio drama

The radio drama Zegapain audio drama OUR LAST DAYS was released on October 25, 2006 in Japan.

Episode 1: "The Children of OCEANUS"

Episode 2: "entanglement 13.3"

Episode 3: "our last days"

Guidebooks

Zegapain Visual Fan Book, a guide recording the Zegapain material and plotline, was released on March 13, 2007 in Japan. The guide features illustrations, articles on character, setting, and mechanics, conception of the story and how the setting was chosen, as well as staff interviews, which director Masami Shimoda and series creator Takehito Ito, and voice actors Shintaro Asanuma (Kyo) and Kana Hanazawa (Ryoko).

Another guidebook, Zegapain File Salvage, was released on November 10, 2010 in Japan. Zegapain File Salvage includes information on creation and conception of the series's plot and setting, initial and final designs for characters and mecha, and exclusive illustrations by various artists. The guide also includes interviews by Shintaro Asanuma, Kana Hanazawa, Ayako Kawasumi (Shizuno); mecha designers Rei Nakahara, Sunrise DID, and Kozo Yokota; and staff members Masami Shimoda and Hiroyuki Hataike.

Novels

Two novels were written for Zegapain and are side-stories to the anime series and video games. The first was published in June 2009 and features a recently awakened Cerebrant, Kurou Hayate, who finds Regina, a girl with an unusual meta-body, during an energy supply run aboard a Zega-tank; the story follows how they struggle to learn how they are irreplaceable even as data. The second novel was published in December 2011 and focuses on Mao, a young man with amnesia, who finds himself fighting monsters in order to escape from a town in the desert and suddenly awakens as a Cerebrant.