Out of everything I watch in a week, nothing quite gets me excited than to see another episode of Re:Zero and nothing leaves me quite as wanting as when the end credits role and let me know of the week long wait till the next episode. I actually visibly shouted “No!” when I seen those end credits roll. To those in the future who happen to have all the episodes ready to marathon through, know that I envy you. I also hope that general consensus of the second half of this series is quite positive too as there have been beloved darlings of mine that slipped up in the second cour.(Oh Fate/Unlimited bladeworks, so close yet so far.) I even admit that part of the reason why I hunger for the next episode is to see that cliffhanger resolved, only to get left with another cliffhanger. While not a bad way to get the viewer hooked, ending each episode on a cliffhanger can lead to inflating expectations(As evidenced by Erased) or just escalating the story to silly levels when it attempts to one up its cliffhangers constantly.(As evidenced by Code Geass) Considering that Re:Zero is a light novel adaption I am hoping it will manage to avoid both of these missteps. But let’s move on to the actual episode.
So surprisingly, Subaru did not die but this brings up a new problem. While I think we near the end of this arc; Subaru looks to have gotten a new save point. One that puts him in a much worse position than before. Now having been bitten and cursed by a number of dogs, he must killed those dogs or else die when they drain him of energy. In a desperate attempt to save Subaru’s live Rem has ventured into the forest and is killing every dog she sees in berserker mode. Leading Ram and Subaru to go in after her before she gets herself killed. We learn a number of things from Ram about the twin maids, namely that Ram and Rem are Oni. Ram however does not have a horn like Rem does as it was cut off in the past by from what the flashback suggests, Rem. Oni generally have two horns, however twins are born with one each. So twins are normally ostracised from the village. Use this info I think I got a theory on just what happened with Ram and Rem. Basically I believe the two left their village and ended up settling near a human village related to the witch’s cult. Ram tried to get along with the villagers and village did something unforgivable to Ram which pushed her into berserker mode. When the village was in flames Rem came up to Ram and cut off her horn to break her out of it it. This would explain how Ram thought the tale of the Red and Blue Oni would upset her sister and why Rem was particularly distrustful of Subaru. Though we shall see how much of that turns out to be correct.
I have really come to adore just how human Subaru is for a protagonist. It’s true when compared to the power levels of all the cast he’s barely even noteworthy and often fairly useless in a fight. But he has a vulnerability and emotional drive that makes him such a great protagonist. For example, Beatrix was surprised to see Subaru unaffected when she informed him that he would die in half a day and even seemed somewhat impressed. Though we know that Subaru isn’t affected not because he doesn’t fear death or has courage but rather because he’s used to it. He’s experienced death so much that the prospect of dying doesn’t so much as make him flinch. Rather it’s just business as usual. What does make him flinch is Ram using her wind powers or Rem flinging her mace, which does look to be them slightly triggering his PTSD. He brushes off his situation by comparing it to a game or cracking meta jokes but he is truly shaken by it. It makes him unmistakably human. Even at the end of the episode when he had a perfect moment to hit Rem’s horn, he chickened out at the last second. Let’s be honest, in that situation when you had to run up and hit someone who could kill you in a millisecond, we would do the exact same thing. That’s what I love about this guy, he isn’t some perfect superhero who can perform on command with no hesitation. This is just an ordinary guy trying his very best to overcome a dreadful situation. I find it most amusing that he’s given a sword and it breaks before he even gets a chance to use it. Looks like the only thing you can depend on is your fists Subaru, though speaking of which.
I previously complained about Subaru showing a level of superhuman strength, as shown here as he tosses Ram several feet away. However I noticed someone bring up that upon coming to the other world Subaru got a slight strength buff. Whether this is actually true is up for debate as the only evidence is Subaru claiming it when he punched out the thieves on his second run but I am willing to accept it. It’s plausible and happens to negate my complaints about the feats he can accomplish which would be beyond human capacity. So going forward I will assume this is the case, even though it could just be adrenaline and self confidence. Major props to him thinking of using his curse of not being able to talk about responding to his advantage. That was some really clever thinking on his part. Pity he overestimated Ram though and she ran out of juice before she could take them all out. I previously stated that Ram was the more dangerous of the two but considering her lack of stamina it looks like Rem truly beats her in every area after all. Despite that Ram is determined to live up to the expectations of her sister. Yet again I am left hungry for more as I don’t know what this trio will do once they knock Rem back to her senses. Her berserker mode is certainly needed if they plan to get out of this situation. Some other last notes on this episode, fight animation remains excellent and flying Ram made my day.
~AidanAK47~
