Hamuo and Mo's fantasy light novel series Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing is officially getting a TV anime adaptation. The announcement, which was shared on the official accounts of publisher Earth Star Entertainment today, confirmed that the anime is set to premiere in 2025. An announcement trailer was released, but there are no additional details about the upcoming anime at this time.
The announcement also revealed that the light novel series has over 1.6 million copies in circulation.
What is Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer about?
The fantasy anime is based on the Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing (Japanese: Heru Mōdo: Yarikomizuki no Gēmā wa Hai Settei no Isekai de Musō Suru) light novel series written by Hamuo and illustrated by Mo. The series began serialization online in November 2019 on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website, and was later acquired by Earth Star Entertainment, who have published 10 volumes since July 2020 under their Earth Star Novel imprint.
The series also received a manga adaptation by Enji Tetta, and Earth Star Entertainment's Comic Earth Star website has serlialized it online since October 2020 and nine volumes have been published. J-Novel Club licensed both the original light novel series and the manga adaptation in English, and here's an official description the publisher shared for Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer:
“‘Level up even while offline’?! That’s not a game on ‘easy mode’—that’s just an AFK game!” The online game Yamada Kenichi had been playing religiously is shutting down its servers, leaving him with a void in his heart. He looks for a new game to fill it, but everything he finds is way too easy. The kind of game he likes—the kind punishing enough to make players want to spend thousands of hours on it—just isn’t around anymore. “What’s this? ‘You are invited to a game that will never end.’” Kenichi stumbles upon an untitled game, one promising incomparable challenge with unprecedented potential. Without hesitation, he selects the “Hell Mode” difficulty. Lo and behold, he finds himself reincarnated in another world as a serf! Now called Allen, he sets out to unlock the secrets of his mystery-laden Summoner class; without the convenience of walkthroughs, game guides, or online forums, he must grope his way to the top of his new world!
You can check out the announcement from Earth Star Entertainment's official X account below:
