is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fūta Kimura. Originally released as a one-shot in February 2021, it later began serialization the following month, with its chapters collected in thirteen volumes as of September 2026. An anime television series adaptation produced by Bones Film is set to premiere in April 2027.
The story follows the adventures of Chrono, a young boy who joins a secret order of time travelers utilizing special temporal-manipulation device in their right eye to undo tragedies across time and space, hoping to solve and prevent the death of his beloved sister.
Synopsis Setting Fate Rewinder centers around the , a secret order of time travelers serving to prevent catastrophes on a larger scale across time and space itself.
Operating from a dilapidated building in the year 2087, they send special agents called to undo the deaths of their designated targets by repeatedly utilizing their , an eyepatch-hidden prosthetic right eye with a built-in time machine that allows its user to rewind time and use prior knowledge of the events that transpired to avert a doomed target's demise. It can also revive recently deceased Rewinders, though at the cost of those revived Rewinders having their memories of the prior loop wiped clean, necessitating the importance of bringing them up to speed on the task at hand. A major drawback of repeatedly using one's Retry Eye is that its user starts suffering psychological damage and physical exhaustion with each successive use after rewinding more than a hundred times. Furthermore, damage to the Retry Eye may occur through various methods, which could make it inoperable unless it is repaired in a timely manner. Additionally, in certain cases, a Rewinder's Retry Eye might awaken its full potential in the form of , a special ability unique to each Rewinder that grants limited access to a particular aspect of space-time itself, albeit with caveats that restrict it to at most a single use per loop.
Given the complex nature of a designated target's death and the circumstances leading to it, a Rewinder's mission can quickly turn into a war of attrition, necessitating the completion of their objective by any means before their body gives out under psychological and physical strain. The unit employs a ranked system to classify mission difficulty, with the prestigious "SS Grade Rank" reserved for the most complex cases, such as the infamous , of which no Rewinder has ever successfully solved so far.
At times, the Space-Time Strategic Enforcement Unit frequently clashes with the "Clock Hands", a notorious criminal organization that wields time-traveling technology for illicit purposes and disrupts the Rewinders' operations.
Plot After a personal tragedy that took something from him, a young boy named Chrono is inducted into the Space-Time Strategic Enforcement Unit as its new Rewinder, under the mentorship of Shirai, a former Special Grade Rewinder. Shirai, who lost his ability to rewind after a traumatic event damaged his Retry Eye, trains Chrono for several years. With his Retry Eye, analytical intuition, photographic memory, and an inhuman mental durability, along with the aid of his sentient flying smartphone, "Smartphone," 14-year-old Chrono rises through the ranks, aiming to solve "Case 999", an unsolvable case involving the death of his sister, Tokine, and a member of the notorious "Clock Hands" terrorist organization.
In the process, he have made numerous allies as he working alongside them in various missions: Akaba, a katana-wielding 16-year-old Rewinder and self-professed disciple of Shirai; Lemon, a monotonic 12-year-old gynoid; and Chainu, a meek and timid 18-year-old Rewinder with a mysterious past. Together, they tackle various cases of increasing complexity as Chrono often coming into conflict with the "Clock Hands", whose members are constantly hindering their mission(s) and preventing Chrono from rising up the ranks and tackling "Case 999" for reasons beyond everyone's understandings.
Characters Main protagonists
Chrono (born September 9, 2049) is a kind-hearted 14-year-old boy who often goes out of his way to help others, even if it involves the smallest of things. Compassionate to his core, he tried his best to be as supportive to everyone around him, especially children, though younger kids find him intimidating due to his unique laugh—characterized by the onomatopoeia —and his somewhat expressionless face. His absent-mindedness, as often pointed out by Smartphone, has led to incidents like food poisoning from unfamiliar nuts and reckless behavior while focusing on helping others. Nonetheless, Chrono's stubbornness and positive, almost optimistic outlook are evident in his determination to overcome challenges, even when confronted with the looming possibility of failure and the sheer overwhelming odd stacked against him. Due to witnessing Tokine's unusual death during "Case 999" and his inability to save her even with Shirai's help, Chrono developed a seething hatred toward any and all concepts of fate, as well as any attempts of giving up on the chance to avert one, often escalating into physical blows as he refused to allow such notions such as pre-determined events to define one's self. As a Rewinder, Chrono is driven by an unwavering dedication to saving lives, regardless of the obstacles or personal sacrifices involved. This commitment requires him to possess an extraordinary level of mental fortitude, enabling him to tirelessly retry missions, often repeating the same sequence of events thousands upon thousands of times, until he achieves his objective of successfully saving his target. His remarkable photographic memory serves as a crucial asset in this endeavor, allowing him to meticulously strategize and memorize a vast array of routes and possibilities. He analyzes each attempt, learning from his mistakes, until he can identify the "clear route" – the optimal path that leads to the successful completion of his missions and the preservation of the lives he is sworn to protect. Before becoming a Rewinder, Chrono faced bullying and social isolation during his elementary school years. He often compared himself unfavorably to his popular sister Tokine, leading to feelings of self-loathing. Chrono's Version Up is , allowing him to summon a copy of himself from three minutes in the future. This copy can act independently on his own, providing assistance in critical situations. Once three minutes has passed, the original Chrono rewinds to a prior timeframe, leaving only the copy behind.
Akaba (born October 4, 2056) is a 16-year-old Rewinder who uses a single katana as his weapon, typically carrying it on his back, secured with a belt. A contemporary of Chrono, Akaba was promoted to Second Grade Rewinder after taking the "Second-Grade Promotion Exam" alongside him. He uses the pronoun and speaks with a Hiroshima accent, often using phrases like "I'm ____" and "I can ____". His distinct appearance includes jagged teeth, and unlike most Rewinders, he does not wear an eyepatch, as his Retry Eye is hidden by his bangs. Akaba is cheerful and lively, though somewhat violent and very reckless. He does not hesitate to be a little tyrannical in order to complete his missions, yet despite this, he is capable of calmly assessing and judging situations. Originally destined to die in a boat accident at the age of six on May 16, 2062, coincidentally the same date as he and Chrono's current mission at the airport, Akaba was saved by Shirai and now serves as a Rewinder. As a result, he holds Shirai in high regard, decorating his room with posters and photos of the two of them together, and often attempts to imitate Shirai by recreating the idol's iconic ability. Although Akaba initially disliked Shirai's only student, Chrono, even beating him during the martial arts test of the entrance exam, the two have since developed a good relationship. Having passed the promotion exam, they now go camping together, meet up to hang out, and Akaba often tries to help Chrono in times of danger. Akaba sometimes refers to others by the name of their species, such as calling Lemon "Android" or Smartphone "Smartphone", rather than using their real names. He is also a poor cook, producing "dark matter" through his cooking, though he remains unaware of this and continues to act normally around others. Akaba's Version Up is , allowing him to move 200 times faster for 3 seconds, making him appear as an incomprehensible blur in the blink of an eye.
Lemon (born June 10, 2075), originally designated as , is a combat gynoid created with enhanced strength, speed and endurance, though the name "Lemon" was given to her by Shirai out of amusement. She possesses a Retry Eye of her own and a wide array of combat abilities, including her "rocket fist", her palm cannons and a variety of combat modes: , which summons a variety of hidden weapons from her body; and , which allowed her to fly and fire a barrage of missiles at her targets. As a "Second Grade Rewinder", Shirai describes her as a "Rewinder with fighting power on par with Shirai's." Lemon is characterized by her calm and collected demeanor, keen insight, and a lack of visible emotions. It was only during a critical moment involving her and her designated target, when she received defiant words from Chrono against Kibaku/"12 O'Clock" during a mountain mission, that Lemon's capacity to experience emotions awakened for the first time in her life. Lemon's Version Up is , enabling her to stop the flow of time for herself and other Rewinders for a maximum of 20 seconds. However, since it consumes energy, it can only be used once per mission.
Chainu (Born November 1, 2005) is an 18-year-old "Second Grade Rewinder", who excels in infiltration, earning her the title of "infiltration expert" from Shirai, partly due to her Version Up ability and unassuming appearance. She wields retractable spears, typically carrying two hidden in her right pocket, and is able to shrink them to fit inside. It is believed that she took the second-grade promotional exam alongside Chrono. Despite this, she is a very timid person and has expressed fear and hesitation, saying, "After failing the Rewinder missions several times, I became afraid of seeing people die." Notably, she wears an eye patch for medical purposes. It is later revealed that Chainu is a Clock Hands spy and the granddaughter of Hyde/"3 O'Clock." However, they are not related by blood as Chainu was raised by Hyde to gather intel on the Rewinders, particularly Chrono who joins her on a particular mission. Additionally, Chainu's seven personas were not all that existed, for Hakugin, another Second-Grade Rewinder, is actually "Chanee", the eighth persona, lacking the cloud-like hair typical of her other forms. According to Hyde, Chainu was abandoned by her biological parents. Her mother, a Rewinder, gave birth to Chainu after falling in love with a target during a mission. Through DNA testing, it is discovered that Chainu's mother was actually Chainu herself, leading to a bootstrap paradox in which she gave birth to herself. Struggling with her existence after learning the truth, Chainu manifested her Retry Eye's Version Up in despair, developing eight personalities and the ability to transform to protect her emotional well-being. Fearing she eventually disappear by defying fate, she initially followed Hyde. However, after receiving Chrono's encouragement to "fight against fate", Chainu made a comeback as a Rewinder and helped Chrono and Goro defeat Hyde. Following the mission, all other Rewinders, already aware of her status as a Clock Hands spy, pointed their blades at her. Despite this, Chainu chose to continue as a Rewinder, partly inspired by Chrono's support, urging her to live for herself.