Re-Main

Re-Main is an original Japanese anime television series centered on water polo, memory loss, rehabilitation, friendship, and the pressure created by an exceptional athletic reputation. The series was animated by MAPPA and created through a production led by director Kiyoshi Matsuda and writer Masafumi Nishida. Nishida also served as chief director and sound director, while Kaori Futō created the original character designs, Shiho Tanaka adapted them for animation, and Kana Utatane composed the music. The story follows Minato Kiyomizu, a highly regarded water-polo player whose life changes after an accident during the winter of his third middle-school year. He remains in a coma for 203 days and wakes without memories of the preceding three years. The memory loss removes not only personal experiences but also his practical knowledge of water polo and the athletic identity that others associate with him. After returning to school, Minato encounters the sport again and is pushed toward a difficult choice: accept the expectations attached to his former reputation or rebuild himself through effort and relationships. Minato's return is complicated by a promise involving Chinu Kawakubo, a fellow water-polo athlete. He had previously wagered that he would become Japan's top player, but after the accident he no longer remembers either the bet or the person he had been when he made it. Chinu gives him another opportunity to pursue the goal, with a higher penalty if he fails. This premise combines a conventional competitive-sports framework with a character drama about discontinuity, family support, emotional development, and the difference between talent and hard work. The principal setting is Yamanami High School, whose water-polo club initially has very few members. Minato is joined by younger former teammates and recruits including Eitarō Oka, captain Jō Jōjima, swimmer Shūgo Amihama, Takekazu Ejiri, Yutaka Babayaro Inomata, and Yoshiharu Ushimado. The series also develops rival-school players from Shogakukan High School and Rikka Academy, using matches and team relationships to explore rivalry, resentment, insecurity, and personal growth. Re-Main was announced on March 4, 2021, and broadcast in Japan from July 4 through October 3, 2021, in TV Asahi's NUMAnimation programming block. The opening theme was performed by Enhypen and the ending theme by Shugo Nakamura. Funimation licensed the series for international distribution and later provided an English dub. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the title moved to Crunchyroll. Medialink licensed it in Southeast Asia and South Asia, where it was made available through services including Ani-One's YouTube channel, iQIYI, and Bilibili. The title's market identity is that of a single-season original anime property rather than a long-established consumer brand. Its core offering is the television series, supported by licensed streaming distribution and localized audio. Critical response highlighted its willingness to treat Minato's post-accident recovery and family life as serious drama, although reviewers differed on how successfully it balanced grounded psychological material with the louder conventions of a comedic sports anime. No independently documented corporate owner, headquarters, public listing, or continuing production status is established in the supplied material.

Re-Main was conceived as an original Japanese television anime built around water polo, a sport less frequently used as the central setting of mainstream anime than baseball, football, basketball, or volleyball. The project was announced on March 4, 2021. MAPPA handled animation, with Kiyoshi Matsuda directing and Masafumi Nishida writing. Nishida additionally held chief-director and sound-director responsibilities, giving the production a strong authorial focus. Kaori Futō supplied the original character designs, Shiho Tanaka adapted those designs for animation, and Kana Utatane composed the score. The narrative begins with Minato Kiyomizu, a talented middle-school water-polo player. During the winter of his third middle-school year, Minato is involved in an accident and subsequently spends 203 days in a coma. When he regains consciousness, he has lost his memories of the previous three years. The consequence is unusually broad: he no longer remembers his development as an athlete, his relationships during that period, or the knowledge required to perform confidently in water polo. His return therefore becomes both a rehabilitation story and a reconstruction of identity. Minato's family plays an important role in the premise. He lives with his parents and younger sister, Asumi, and the family runs a small denim shop that also serves as their home. The domestic setting gives the series a way to examine the effects of the accident outside the pool. Instead of treating memory loss only as a device for mystery, the story uses it to show the gap between the person others remember and the person Minato can presently recognize in himself. His renewed involvement with water polo is encouraged by Chinu Kawakubo, who knew him before the accident. Minato had once bet Chinu that he would become Japan's top water-polo player, with a monetary penalty if he failed. Because he no longer remembers making the promise, Chinu offers him another chance under more demanding terms. The arrangement creates an external objective while leaving Minato to determine whether his former ambition still belongs to him. At Yamanami High School, Minato encounters an underdeveloped water-polo club led by Jō Jōjima, its third-year captain and initially its only member. Eitarō Oka, a younger player who had admired Minato, follows him and initially expects to see a natural genius. Eitarō eventually discovers that Minato's previous success was based more on sustained work than effortless talent. Other recruits, including Shūgo Amihama, Takekazu Ejiri, Yutaka Babayaro Inomata, and Yoshiharu Ushimado, give the club a broader ensemble. Each character brings a different reason for joining and a distinct relationship to confidence, competition, or social pressure. The series expands its competitive world through players from Shogakukan High School and Rikka Academy. Rivalries are linked to family history, swimming backgrounds, school identity, and earlier relationships with Minato and his teammates. Matches provide the conventional forward motion of a sports series, while the emotional stakes derive from whether Minato can function as a player without simply recovering the person he used to be. The television broadcast ran from July 4 to October 3, 2021, on TV Asahi's NUMAnimation block. Enhypen performed the opening theme, "Forget Me Not," and Shugo Nakamura performed the ending theme, "Kowareta Sekai no Byōshin wa." Funimation licensed the title internationally and released an English dub beginning in September 2021. After Sony's corporate acquisition of Crunchyroll, the program was moved to Crunchyroll. Medialink handled licensing in South and Southeast Asia, with distribution through Ani-One's YouTube channel and additional platforms including iQIYI and Bilibili. Reception focused particularly on the opening episode's contrast between post-accident family drama and energetic sports-comedy conventions. Some reviewers praised the writing, the treatment of rehabilitation, and the performances, while others felt the tonal shift between psychological recovery and exaggerated team comedy was uneven. The supplied references identify no scandal, lawsuit, recall, bankruptcy, or other controversy involving the title. Re-Main is documented as a completed 2021 television series, while the supplied material does not establish a later corporate owner, sequel, or current commercial status.

• 2021

  Project announced

  [1]Re-Mainen.wikipedia.org

  The original Re-Main anime project was announced on March 4, 2021.

• 2021

  Japanese broadcast begins

  [1]Re-Mainen.wikipedia.org

  The series began airing on July 4, 2021, in TV Asahi's NUMAnimation block.

• 2021

  Japanese broadcast concludes

  [1]Re-Mainen.wikipedia.org

  The television run concluded on October 3, 2021.

• 2021

  English dub released

  [1]Re-Mainen.wikipedia.org

  Funimation announced the English dub on September 24, with its premiere reported for the following day.

An original Japanese water-polo sports anime that combines athletic competition with a memory-loss recovery narrative and character-focused drama.

• Anime television series · 2021

  Re-Main

  The flagship and only documented core product is the original Re-Main television anime. Produced by MAPPA, it follows Minato Kiyomizu, a former water-polo prodigy who wakes from a 203-day coma without three years of memories. The series combines school water-polo competition with a character drama about rehabilitation, family, friendship, lost identity, and the difference between natural ability and disciplined effort. It aired in Japan from July through October 2021 and received licensed international streaming and English-dub distribution.

• 2021

  Launch of the original television seriesProduct launch

  Background

  The production was announced as an original water-polo anime rather than an adaptation of a previously established manga or novel in the supplied reference.

  Action taken

  MAPPA produced the series for broadcast in TV Asahi's NUMAnimation block, with Kiyoshi Matsuda directing and Masafumi Nishida writing.

  Aftermath

  The series aired for one television run from July 4 through October 3, 2021, and was subsequently licensed for international distribution.

  Source

• 2021

  International streaming and localization rolloutStrategy

  Background

  The production was distributed beyond Japan through multiple licensing partners and platforms.

  Action taken

  Funimation licensed the series and released an English dub, while Medialink licensed it in South and Southeast Asia for distribution through several streaming services.

  Aftermath

  Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the title moved to Crunchyroll's platform ecosystem.

  Source

1. 1Re-Mainen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Re-Main at Anime News Network's encyclopediaanimenewsnetwork.com