List of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World episodes  The "" anime television is an adaptation of a light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka. The adaptation was announced by Kadokawa in July 2015. The series is directed by Masaharu Watanabe and written by Masahiro Yokotani, with animation by the studio White Fox. Kyuta Sakai is serving as both character designer and as chief animation director. The 25-episode series aired from April 4, 2016 to September 19, 2016 with an extended 50-minute first episode. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, and AT-X. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The series has been licensed by Anime Limited in the United Kingdom. A series of shorts featuring chibi style versions of the characters, titled and produced by Studio Puyukai, aired on AT-X after each episode of the series, starting on April 8, 2016. It was replaced by a new series of shorts, titled , which began airing on June 24, 2016. Crunchyroll acquired the streaming rights to both shorts. On March 23, 2019, it was announced that a second season is in production. The cast and staff will reprise their roles for the second season. It will premiere on July 8, 2020. The second season is being released in a split-cour format, with the second half scheduled for January 2021. Before the second season premiered, an edited version of the first season aired from January 1, 2020 on AT-X and other channels, with the edited version recapping the first season through one-hour episodes. It also included new additional footage.