Zaregoto Series

Zaregoto

Ningen

Saikyou

Works

Anime

Characters

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Zaregoto Series
Japanese Title	戯言シリーズ
Romaji Title	Zaregoto Shirīzu
English Title	Nonsense Series
Series Information
Start Date	February 5, 2002 (Original) July 22, 2008 (English)
End Date	November 8, 2005 (Original) N/A (English)
Type	Light Novel
Volumes	9
Publisher	Kodansha (Original) Vertical (English)
Imprint	Kodansha Novels (Original) Kodansha Bunko (Reprint)
Illustrator	Take
Related Series	Ningen Series Saikyou Series

The Zaregoto Series (戯言(ざれごと)シリーズ, Zaregoto Shirīzu), translated in English as the Nonsense Series, is a light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take.

Background

The Zaregoto Series, Nisio Isin's first work, debuted on February 5th, 2002, with the novel Decapitation Cycle: The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User. The book was very well received, winning the Mephisto Prize and earning Nisio a contract with Kodansha. After that, eight more volumes were released, for a total of nine main novels, the series concluding on November 8, 2005 with Uprooted Radical (Part Three): The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User, although two spin-off series followed. The books in the Zaregoto Series have also been rereleased under the label Kodansha Bunko, between 2008 and 2009.

In 2008 and 2010 respectively, the first two novels were licensed and released in English by Del Rey Manga, before the imprint became defunct. The series has since been licensed by Vertical, with the first two books having been republished, starting on January 13, 2017.

Between October 2016 and September 2017, an OVA anime adaptation of the first book was released, produced by Studio Shaft, also known for their anime adaptation of the Monogatari Series.

Premise

The series follows the unnamed narrator, a pessimistic, nihilistic college student, as he runs into many different mysteries and is forced to solve them, only to find out that none of his efforts paid off in the end. In the first volume, he was dragged along by his genius engineer friend Tomo Kunagisa, who had been invited to Wet Crow's Weather Island, an island owned by the disowned mistress of the Akagami Foundation, who has the unusual hobby of inviting geniuses from around the world to the island and spending time with them. The vacation turned deadly, however, when one of the geniuses was decapitated, and the others were forced to figure out who was responsible.

Main Cast

Nonsense User

Tomo

Jun

Akane

Mikoko

Hitoshiki

Miiko

Ichihime

Gaisuke

Neon

Rizumu

Izumu

Takashi

Magokoro

Concepts

• Outer World
• Economical World
• Politics World
• Violence World
• ER3 System
• Kunagisa Organization
• RULE
• Thirteen Stairs
• Killing Names
• Cursing Names

Title

• Each book's title is made up of a Japanese word and an English word put together (for example, Kubikiri Cycle or Hitokui Magical). The exception to this is the fourth installment in the series, Psycho Logical (Saikorojikaru), which is a pun on the Japanese word for "dice" (骰子, Saikoro).
• The six main arcs spread across the nine volumes of the Zaregoto Series feature a thematic cycle, which is mirrored in the structure of the chapter names:
  • Decapitation Cycle and the two parts of Psycho Logical are organized in numbered days.
  • Strangulation Romanticist and Cannibal Magical are organized in chapters, and in both cases, the chapter names have a homophone variant in round brackets.
  • Hanging High School and the three parts of Uprooted Radical are organized in acts.