, also known as'' Battle in 5 Seconds After Meeting'', is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written by Saizō Harawata and illustrated by Kashiwa Miyako. It has been serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''MangaONE'' app and ''Ura Sunday'' website since August 2015. It is a remake of Harawata's

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

by the same name. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation by

SynergySP is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 24, 1998, as ''Synergy Japan'' which originally split off from Studio Junio (which itself was founded by Toei Animation staff). In 2005, the company became associated with Shogakukan-Shueish ...

and Vega Entertainment (with CG animation by

Studio A-Cat is a Japanese animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, a ...

) aired from July to September 2021.

Plot

Akira Shiroyanagi, a 16-year-old high school student with excellent grades and a hobby of playing games, is bored with his normal daily life. He was attacked by a mysterious bandage man who suddenly appeared there, and succeeded in repelling it like a game, but was killed by a magician-like woman who appeared afterwards. Kei wakes up in a mysterious hospital-like facility, and the magician-like woman, Metsune, appears in a venue where only people in similar circumstances are gathered. It is explained that each of them fights using the "ability" given to them. After the 1st program of one-on-one battles, the 2nd program of 1-on-1 battles in groups of 5, and the 3rd program of team battles, the stage shifts to the 4th program, in which 6 groups of 12 people, including one observer, compete.

Characters

Main characters

; : : A 16-year-old

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

who does excellent academically, but likes gaming instead because it is "unpredictable". His ability is called "

Sophist A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...

", an ability that allows him to use any ability which the other person (opponent or partner) believes he has. He is somehow labeled as "My Prince" by Mion. ; : : A 17-year-old high school girl who hates the word "coincidence" because she thinks that all the things that happen coincidentally lead to an unfortunate life. Her ability is called "Demon God" which allows her to multiply her physical ability by five times. She has feelings for Akira. ; : : A delinquent. His ability is to turn any stick into a sword that can cut through anything, including the effects of other abilities. ; : : A wrestler. His ability is to become invincible for two seconds; this is shown visually as a suit of armour. ; : : A seductive and manipulative office lady who has the ability to create torture devices from body fluids. ; : : A petite figured girl whose ability is "Plagiarist", which allows her to copy someone else's ability with about of its real power.

Other characters

; : : A

catgirl A or neko is a female character with feline traits, such as cat ears, a tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. As a type of '' kemonomimi'', catgirls are associated with Japanese anime and manga but may appear in oth ...

who is a cruel sadist, she is interested in seeing people slaughtering each other for her own sake of fun. She is one of the Observers. ; : : Mion's follower, dressed in Chinese style.

Media

Manga

Created by Saizō Harawata, ''Battle Game in 5 Seconds'' was first launched as a

, and a remake illustrated by Kashiwa Miyako began publishing on

's ''MangaONE'' app and ''Ura Sunday'' website on August 11 and August 18, 2015, respectively. In October 2024, Miyako announced that the manga would enter on hiatus due to health and personal issues since the start of the year, stating as well that the series is approaching its end. The series resumed on January 9, 2025. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on February 26, 2016. As of February 12, 2025, 27 volumes have been released. Comikey is digitally publishing the manga in English since July 12, 2021.

Volumes

Anime

In November 2020, it was announced that the manga would receive an

television series adaptation. The series is animated by

and Vega Entertainment and directed by Nobuyoshi Arai with Meigo Naito serving as chief director,

Touko Machida is a Japanese anime screenwriter. She debuted as a screenwriter in 2001, and in 2006 got to become the lead screenwriter for the first time with '' Ramen Fighter Miki''. Since ''Ramen Fighter Miki'', she has done screenwriting for many works, suc ...

handling series composition,

producing the CG animation, and Tomokatsu Nagasaku and Ikuo Yamamoto handling character designs. It aired from July 13 to September 28, 2021, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and BS11. The opening theme song, "No Continue," is performed by

Akari Kitō is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Raccoon Dog. She starred in her first main role for the series '' Time Bokan 24'', and has since received more major and leading roles. Her nickname is Akarin. She made her debut as a solo ...

, while the ending theme song, , is performed by 15-sai to Seiko Oomori.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

streamed the series outside of Asia.

Muse Communication Muse Communication Co., Ltd. (also known simply as Muse) is a Taiwanese distributor and licensor that specializes in the distribution of Japanese animation. Based in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, the company also distributes Asian and E ...

licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia.

Episodes

Reception

As of November 2020, the manga had 2 million copies in circulation. ''Battle Game in 5 Seconds'' was nominated for the 67th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the category in 2021.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Studio A-Cat Action anime and manga Anime series based on manga Crunchyroll anime Japanese webcomics Muse Communication Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Studio A-Cat Tokyo MX original programming Webcomics in print