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In the anime I've been watching lately, I see a lot of episode 0s popping up,
which usually are published after the final episode and usually are not very
comprehensible unless you have watched the series itself.

Where did this originate from and why do they do this?

Sample show:

![list of Kyousougiga episodes](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8wKYf.png)


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2013-12-21T00:22:48.493
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question
anime-production
Where does the idea of "Episode 0" originate from?


I don't know that many or most anime use the Episode 0 format, but a few
exceptionally popular series will do whatever they can to continue making
money. Extra DVD episodes with full box sets, Episode 0 prequels, theater-
release movies are all ways anime series can continue to maintain fan interest
after the series has finished on TV.

Other ways series keep or increase fan interest is licensing goods, radio
shows, Drama CDs, live events and manga creator appearances.

Anime is a corporate product and corporations want to make money.


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2013-12-21T01:50:06.713
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Based on a google search for [`site:myanimelist.net "episode
0"`](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Amyanimelist.net+%22episode+0%22),
we find the following episodes:

  * [Candy Boy Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/3456/Candy%E2%98%86Boy_Episode_0) (a pilot, airing 6 months before [Candy Boy](http://myanimelist.net/anime/4535/Candy%E2%98%86Boy))
  * [Nichijou Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/8857) (a pilot, airing a month before [Nichijou](http://myanimelist.net/anime/10165/Nichijou))
  * [Haganai Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/10897/Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Episode_0) (a pilot, airing a few weeks before [Haganai](http://myanimelist.net/anime/10719/Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai))
  * [One Piece: Strong World Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/8740/One_Piece%3a_Strong_World_Episode_0) (a prequel to [One Piece: Strong World](http://myanimelist.net/anime/4155/One_Piece%3a_Strong_World))
  * [Koroshiya 1: Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/2346/Ichi_The_Killer%3a_Episode_0) (not sure about this one - Japanese Wikipedia says that it's about Ichi's past, so I guess it's a prequel?)
  * [Hakuouki Hekketsuroku Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/2346/Ichi_The_Killer%3a_Episode_0) (a recap of the first season, and hence a sort of "prequel" to [the second season](http://myanimelist.net/anime/9065/Hakuouki_Hekketsuroku), which aired a week later)
  * [Ichigo Mashimaro Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/4156/Ichigo_Mashimaro_Episode_0) (not sure about this one; it may be worth noting that it's called "Prologue" rather than "Episode 0" in Japanese)
  * [UN-GO Episode 0 - Inga-ron](http://myanimelist.net/anime/11531) (a prequel to [UN-GO](http://myanimelist.net/anime/10798/UN-GO))
  * Also, [Kyousougiga Episode 0](http://myanimelist.net/anime/20723/Kyousou_Giga_%28TV%29_Specials) is a recap of [the Kyousougiga ONAs](http://myanimelist.net/anime/15359/Kyousou_Giga_%282012%29), which are sort of pilot-y with respect to the [Kyousougiga cour-length anime](http://myanimelist.net/anime/19703/Kyousou_Giga_%28TV%29)

There's a lot of prequels and pilots1 here. Prequel episodes typically occur
chronologically before "episode 1" in terms of show timeline, while pilot
episodes typically occur chronologically before "episode 1" in terms of the
real world, and so it makes sense for either a pilot or a prequel to be
numbered "episode 0".

* * *

1 By "pilot", I mean any short piece that airs before a longer anime, whether
or not it's a [pilot in the US television
sense](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_pilot), so this label includes
teasers, animation test runs, etc.


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