The series follows an amnesiac cyborg girl named Tari in a world where society revolves around video games, speedrunning & esports as she discovers she has the uncanny ability to warp into video games. A cartoonier version of Tari was introduced in SMG4/Super Mario 64 Bloopers as a new major character to promote this show and get her familiar with the viewers prior to its announcement and release. A cartoony counterpart of Belle was introduced in the YouTube Arc as a counterpart to Tari.
The first episode of Meta Runner was released on July 25, 2019 on the SMG4 channel.
Season 3 was announced and teased on November 29, 2021 on the GLITCH channel, and was been confirmed to be the final season of Meta Runner, and premiered on July 22nd, 2022.
After the finale, a comic book series called "Meta Runner Source" is announced.
In a futuristic world, society is now centered around video games, serving as not just entertainment, but also jobs in live streaming and lifestyle. Among the gamers are “Meta Runners”, a group of gaming individuals who replace their limbs with cybernetic arms that allow them to boost their gaming performance.
The series tells the story of Tari, a Meta Runner who was the subject of an experiment called Project Blue led by former scientist, Dr. Sheridan, who was commissioned by the TAS Corp. organization. In a sudden accident causing an explosion, Dr. Sheridan was apparently killed along with a former Meta Runner, Lucinia, inside the laboratory. After waking up in the now abandoned and wrecked establishment, Tari finds herself in Silica City with no memory of what happened except for a few flashbacks. After witnessing a speedrunning tournament of Ultra Jump Mania performed by Belle Fontiere, Tari decides to play the game for herself, but she suddenly gets teleported into the game where she befriends Theo. Intrigued by Tari’s newfound ability, the head of TAS Corp., Lucks plans to use her to benefit his organization.
Tari and Theo get sucked out of the game and try to escape, but Tari gets captured while Theo escapes and is found by another meta runner, Lamar Williams, who rescues and takes both of them to a hidden base in a ramen restaurant where they meet up with two other meta runners, Sofia Porter and Masa Shimamoto. Together the three are a small undercover group called the MD-5 who've been trying to expose all to TAS Corp. by exposing the corporation's cruel actions to the public, but to no avail. The MD-5 then invites Tari to join them, citing that with her help, they'll finally be able to put an end to Lucks' evil affairs once and for all.
The main protagonist of the series. She is a shy, insecure and amnesiac Meta Runner and a skilled video game player with the unusual ability to warp into the video games she plays. She is trying to avoid the sinister company TAS Corp.. Tari is revealed to be an AI program from Project Blue, with her name actually being T.A.R.I. (Turbo Artificial Rapid Intelligence).
One of the two deuteragonists of the series. He is the main playable character of Ultra Jump Mania. He encountered Tari after she stumbles upon his video game world, Ultra Jump Mania, and later brought him to life in the outside world.
One of the two deuteragonists of the series. He is a calm, composed, and mostly serious friend of Tari who leads MD-5. He was once a team captain of TAS Corp. before he got decommissioned after trying to hack into Lucks’ private server. Since then, he has been at war with his former boss.
The anti-heroic tritagonist of the series and secondary antagonist of Season 1. She is a Meta Runner who was the star of TAS Corp. until she defected to MD-5 in Season 2. She is best friends and later has a romantic interest with Lucinia Porter and seeks to avenge her possible death.
The major protagonist of the series. She is Sheridan's assistant who also worked on Project Blue and likely created Tari. She was theorised to have gone missing after the explosion and is a good friend and later the romantic interest of Belle, as well as the sister of Sofia.
One of the two main antagonists of the series, serving as the primary antagonist of the final season. He is an ex-TASCorp. scientist who worked with his assistant Lucinia to create Project Blue and stop him being fired. He had survived the explosion and currently plotting a revenge on Tari.
One of the two main antagonists of the series, serving as the main antagonist of the first two seasons and a posthumous antagonist in the third and final season. He is the CEO of TAS Corp. and is obsessed with Tari, due to her unexpected ability. He is willing to perform unethical actions for his company. He is also Masa’s arch-nemesis.
The overall secondary antagonist of the series, specifically being the secondary antagonist of the second and the final seasons. She is a member of the Claythorne Family of Great Britain who aims to move to TAS Corp.'s main lineup so that she can have all the attention from the audience. She is also the current rival of Tari and a Meta Runner of TAS Corp..
Common robots found across Silica City, usually with a particular job or function. These professions include showing off a 180-degree gaming chair, runing the gaming store in TAS Corp., making Raman, or even competing in underground fights.
Meta Runner features a wide variety of video games that Tari plays (usually by transporting herself within the game). These usually pay homage to a certain genre of games.
Ultra Jump Mania: A game where a boy named Theo travels through levels across an island known as SimpleFlip Island. He uses coconuts and other fruit-based weapons to attack enemies and reach the goal. The game is an homage to the platformer genre of games. Tari plays this game in the episodes Wrong Warp and Out of Bounds, while she and Belle play a corrupted version of the game made by Lucks in Hack and Slash, Friendly Fire, Nightmare Mode and Fatal Error.
Battle Blaze: A game where you use various weapons to shoot your opponents around the map. The game is an homage to the first-person shooter genre of games. Tari plays this game with Masa in the episode Aimbot.
Tempest: A game where wizard-like characters use magic spells to eliminate their opponents all around a giant map. The game is an homage to the battle royale genre of games. Tari plays this game with Masa, Lamar, and Theo as part of her plan in No Clip, One Shot, The Run, and Shutdown.
War Tech Fighters: A game where war mechs fight in space with swords and shields. The game seems to pay homage to the 2D fighting genre of games. Masa is briefly seen playing this game in Hard Reset.
Turbo Crash 9: A game where players use vehicles to eliminate other players around the map. Players can tag-team, so one player can control the vehicle while the other controls the weapons. It seems to pay homage to the battle royale and racing genres of games. Masa and Lamar play this game against Marco to win a new Meta Runner arm in Unreal Engines.
Pocket Gakusei: A dating simulator where Tari acts as a student in a school and must go out with a girl to gain her trust. The game is an homage to the dating simulator genre of games. Tari uses this game to plan her escape with Lamar, Sofia, and Masa in Transfer Student and Heart to Heart.
Hidden Heroes: A game where cyborgs use swords, bows, and other weapons to defeat hordes of ninja-like cyborgs in a Japanese setting. The game is an homage to the hack-and-slash genre of games. Tari, Lamar, and Masa use this game as part of Tari's plan to escape in Hack and Slash, Friendly Fire, and Soft Lock.
Skybreakers: An open world FPS adventure game which Tari is stated to be spending her time in Season 3.
There are a host of other games that are mentioned or implied through background or dialogue inferences. These games are:
Dragon Kart: This is mentioned by Belle during Season 1 of Meta Runner firstly at Sequence Break. Also was shown in the billboards at Wrong Warp.
Drifters: This was shown in the billboards and background at Wrong Warp.
Nova Explorers: This game was implied throughout the first two seasons as it has a crossover with Pocket Gakusei and was partly shown in the ads in Wrong Warp.
Light Rider: This game was shown briefly alongside with five other games by the street in Wrong Warp.
Mr. Mero: This game was shown briefly alongside with five other games by the street in Wrong Warp.
Borderworlds: This game was shown at billboards prominently in Wrong Warp.
A short clip from our upcoming animated series Meta Runner! Tari warps into the 3D Platformer; "Ultra Jump Mania". She meets the game character Theo and... has a hard time getting use to platforming mechanics.
Season 1 would premiere on July 25, 2019 and end on October 10 of the same year. It consists of 10 episodes. The season's plot follows Tari as she, along with her friend Theo, is being pursued by TAS Corp. and joining a group of meta runners who plan to take down the evil organization.
On August 28, 2020, the season was made into a special movie cut called Meta Runner New Game+ and was shown on the GLITCH channel.
Tari has warped into the video game; Ultra Jump Mania! With the guidance of Theo, what trials will Tari face in a game where terror looms around every corner?
Meta Runner is back! And in this brand new episode Tari and MD-5 practice slinging spells and executing a game breaking glitch in the magical battle royale game - Tempest!
Stakes are high as Tari and MD-5 make their way up The Mountain in Tempest. Will they be able to defeat this group of mysterious assailants in time to execute the glitch?
The final battle with Tari and Belle in Tempest has now begun!
Season 2
Season 2 premiered on October 16, 2020 on the GLITCH channel. It was made with higher quality animation and slight changes to characters and environments.
Season 2 takes place six months after the Season 1 finale as Tari tries to work her way up to shut down TASCorp once and for all.[1] It is slated to move from the SMG4 channel to the new GLITCH channel for the second season premiere.
Thank you all so much for watching the show. We hope you enjoy the final episode of Season 2 💙.
Season 3
Season 3 and the final season of Meta Runner was confirmed by Luke in SMG4: Cooking with Mario & Bowser: World Tour in the SMG4 channel. In the start of the video, he says the sales of the Season 2 merchandise will fund the making of Season 3. Season 3 would premiere on July 22nd, 2022.
The final season of Glitch Productions’ highly successful animated series picks up right where it left off as MD-5 grapple with the repercussions of TAS-Corp's downfall and the discoveries they have made into their own lives. Follow Tari in this eight-part series as she delves deeper into the conspiracies of her past while competing for the survival of both her friends and herself.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END IS HERE. After over a year of waiting we're back with the first episode of the final season. Taking place right after the events of Season 2, Tari is met with a serious fate.
Meta Runner is the show that started it all for us as an animation studio 5 years ago. It's bittersweet that Tari's story comes to an end here but we're genuinely so happy with the community that formed around it. Thank you so much for watching! 💙
Luke revealed that while Tari is the main character, this series takes place in a different universe, outside of SMG4's continuity.
When one of the Meta Runners take up their keyboard like thing on their robotic arm, one of the symbols is the logo for Glitch Productions.
One of the billboards has a picture of a character resembling Saiko's band symbol on it.
The series is animated using both Maya and Unreal Engine.
Meta Runner was originally known as Project Blue in its development. This is a reference to the experiment by Dr. Sheridan that created Tari.
The first episode features cameos of Axol and Tari's SMG4 incarnation in a virtual reality mirror. At the end of SMG4: War Of The Fat Italians 2019, it was revealed that Tari's SMG4 incarnation also saw the version of her from Meta Runner in the exact same way.
The Movie Cut of Season 1’s thumbnail changed from Tari and her Tempest design in a blue futuristic hologram background to just Tari in a sunset background of Silica City.
