The Regression of Great Sage Riddle

The Box of Malice — a shadowy organization — wipes out everyone Riddle cares about and the entire world along with them, so he spends a thousand years — not days, not months, a full millennium — learning how to reverse time. By the time he actually pulls it off, he's barely recognizable. But he makes it back, landing in his younger body with a thousand years of knowledge crammed into his head and one goal: stop the apocalypse before it starts. The setup hits familiar notes if you liked Re:Zero or Erased — someone armed with future knowledge trying desperately to rewrite a doomed timeline — but this one leans harder into the fantasy side with a world that feels more like a Steins;Gate-level puzzle wrapped in swords-and-sorcery dressing. The format is worth mentioning too: these are five-minute episodes, fully colored and tightly paced, so there's zero bloat. Each episode drops you right into the tension without padding. The early episodes do a good job establishing Riddle's desperation and the weight of what he's carrying, plus there's a character named Norn who seems like they'll matter a lot going forward. The tone is action-packed but grounded in that specific kind of melancholy you get from someone who's lived too long and lost too much. It's a quick watch that doesn't waste your time, which honestly is refreshing.