Monster Strike (anime)

 is an anime series based on the role-playing physics game of the same name developed by XFLAG for iOS and Android platforms. An anime film adaptation titled "Monster Strike The Movie" was released on December 10, 2016. A second anime film, titled "Monster Strike The Movie: Sora no Kanata", was released on October 5, 2018 in Japan. A third film "Monster Strike the Movie: Lucifer - Zetsubō no Yoake" was slated to be released in June 2020, but was delayed to November 6, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The series' ending theme is a cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You" performed by Japanese vocalist Gloria. After a break, the ending theme switched to several songs by White Ash: "Strike", "Knock On Doors In You", "Mad T.Party (1865-2016)", and "Drop", all of which are from the band's August 17, 2016, EP "Quest", including "Monster", a song composed for the "MS" Grand Prix 2016 Championship.
A second season of "Monster Strike" has been announced and premiered on April 1, 2017. The plot of the second season revolves around Ren, Aoi, Akira, Minami, and a new American transfer student named Mana dealing with problems caused by monsters manifesting in real life outside of the "Monster Strike" game. The season was split into two parts, with "Monster Strike The Animation: The Fading Cosmos" premiering on October 7, 2017.
The "Monster Strike" anime got its first spin-off on May 3, 2017 with the "A Rhapsody Called Lucy -The Very First Song-" OVA episode. This lead into the "MSonic! D'Artagnyan's Rise to Fame" special mini-series that premiered on June 14, 2017. Both "A Rhapsody Called Lucy" and "MSonic!" are set in a separate continuity from the main "Monster Strike" anime.
Plot.
Ren Homura, a middle school student who moves back to his hometown with his mother and sister, but he apparently cannot remember much of his life there. After having to get his cellphone repaired, he finds that the repairman installed "Monster Strike" onto it, and he later is attacked by a man who forces him into a real life game of "Monster Strike", summoning a monster from within the game to attack Ren. Ren manages to summon a monster of his own, the diminutive dragon Oragon, and with help from his classmate Aoi Mizusawa, as well as an alter ego awoken by his own missing memories, Ren defeats the man's monster, seemingly freeing him from the control of an evil entity. This brings Ren into the world of the town's Monster Strike Stadium leagues, where people play "Monster Strike" in what appears to be real life but are advanced holograms, as well as Aoi's desire to reunite her friends Akira Kagetsuki and Minami Wakaba into becoming a team of "Monster Strike" players. However, Akira will not play on a team because Ren is nothing like their former fourth member Haruma, and the air-headed Minami has become possessed by the same evil presence that forced other people to attack Ren and Aoi.
Films.
There have been two anime films based on the "Monster Strike" anime series.
"Monster Strike The Movie".
An anime film adaptation titled "Monster Strike The Movie" was released on December 10, 2016.
"Monster Strike The Movie: Sora no Kanata".
A second anime film adaptation titled "Monster Strike The Movie: Sora no Kanata" was released on October 5, 2018. Studio Orange animated the film.
"Monster Strike the Movie: Lucifer - Zetsubō no Yoake".
A third anime film adaptation title "Monster Strike the Movie: Lucifer - Zetsubō no Yoake" was slated to be released in June 2020, but was pushed to November 6, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reception.
On YouTube, the anime series had been watched 100million times by August 2016, and over 200million times as of June 2017.
"Monster Strike The Movie" grossed () at the Japanese box office. The second film, "Sora no Kanata", has grossed () in Japan as of October 16, 2018. Both films have grossed a combined () at the Japanese box office as of October 16, 2018.