Hell Mode

Did You Know?

• The series won the grand prize at the 2nd Earth Star Novel Award in 2020.
• By December 2024, the series had over 1.6 million copies in circulation.
• The opening theme for season 2 is titled "○✕△□", performed by Romanha Marshmallow.

Plot

Kenichi Yamada, a 35-year-old office worker and veteran MMORPG player, becomes disillusioned with modern games that cater to casual play. When he encounters a mysterious new game that promises endless progression and an extreme difficulty setting called "Hell Mode", he selects it without hesitation. Upon doing so, Kenichi is reincarnated into another world as a newborn boy named Allen, born into a family of serfs, with no status or wealth. Living under the harsh rules of Hell Mode, Allen chooses the Summoner class, which offers vast potential, but requires significant effort to grow stronger. With only his previous memories and wits to guide him, he painstakingly experiments to understand his abilities while training from early childhood. As he steadily develops his power, Allen works toward improving his family's circumstances and escaping serfdom.

Media

Hamuo began serializing Hell Mode on Shōsetsuka ni Narō on November 17, 2019. Earth Star Entertainment published the first light novel volume under their Earth Star Novel imprint on July 15, 2020, with illustrations by Mo. Thirteen volumes had been released as of January 15, 2026. J-Novel Club announced at Anime Expo Lite 2021 that they had licensed the series for English publication, and at Anime NYC 2022 they announced that print releases would be handled by Yen Press. A manga adaptation illustrated by Enji Tetta began serialization on Earth Star Entertainment's Comic Earth Star manga service on October 15, 2020. The manga's chapters have been compiled into fourteen tankōbon volumes as of July 2026. J-Novel Club announced at Anime Expo 2023 that they had also licensed the manga adaptation for English publication. An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 5, 2024. It is produced by Yokohama Animation Laboratory and directed by Masato Tamagawa, with Daishiro Tanimura handling series composition, Kei Tsushima designing the characters, and Misaki Tsuchida, Moyu Kanazaki, Junko Nakajima, Kanada Sakuma, Reiko Abe, Kaho Sawada, BeauDamian, and Tsugumi Tanaka composing the music. The series aired from January 10 to March 28, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Haku", performed by Atarayo, while the ending theme song is "Sanctuary", performed by Kaya. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America for streaming on Hidive. Following the airing of the final episode, a second season was announced, which premiered on July 4, 2026. The opening theme song is "○✕△□" performed by Romanha Marshmallow, and the ending theme song is "Firetail" performed by ChoQMay.