There was once a legendary party named Subaru in the globally popular MMORPG Union. The group was made of elementary school friends. They earned fame in the blink of an eye for their unparalleled abilities in the Sense system at the core of the game. However, there was an incident where a player passed away inside the game. As a result of the death, Union ended service. Six years pass. Haruto Amō, who was a key member of Subaru, has become a hopeless high school student. His personality has changed, and he has no friends or ambition. A classmate gets him to log in to the new Re’Union game, and he ends up having a “reunion” that is hard to believe. He meets his former in-game partner and real-world childhood friend Asahi Kuga. The girl who was supposed to have died six years ago was there. – ANN
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
Episodes: TBA
Source: Light Novel
Episode 1 Summary: “Union” is one of the world’s most popular MMORPGs, and the Subaru guild is known as one of the best groups of players within its world. Each member has their own special skill set that meshes well with the other team members strengths. They all also happen to know each-other in the real world and share a tight bond of friendship with each other. The group catches wind of a new, intense challenge in the game, one which has destroyed several other players. The consequences of losing to the final boss include perma-death – a permanent “game-over” for their characters. Though the stakes are high Haruto, a brash fighter and the de-facto guild leader, urges everyone to take on the challenge and they’re all excited to attempt the quest. Their attempt seems like it might be successful because they all reach the final boss room with ease. Very soon, though, the group is overwhelmed by the power of their opponent; even Asahi, a group member with foresight, is unable to anticipate the laser beam that fells her. Her game-over is bad enough, but there are also real-life consequences to her in-game death; soon after the rest of the group logs out, they find out that Asahi has died of heart failure in her home. Haruto receives much of the blame, as it was his idea to attempt the quest in the first place.
Several years later, Haruto catches wind of the fact that Union has been rebooted as “Re’Union” and the new game is highly exclusive. There are incredible rewards for those who reach the upper echelons of game play, and not everyone is even allowed to log in. Though in the ensuing six years Haruto has become a pained and sullen teenager, he’s talked into playing again by some acquaintances who want to use him to gain access to a special area. It’s all child’s play to Haruto, and he doesn’t expect much to come of it when they reach the treasure at the end, but inside the chest is something highly unexpected – Asahi’s player avatar, awaking from a very long slumber.