Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 14

Never have I wished so much for a main character to die and not have it be out of spite. Todays episode shows us what Subaru will likely be fighting to prevent for the rest of the series and it is quite brutal. First let us have a moment of silence for the first Opening and ending. Poor souls never got much use in the end but well enough of that, the new opening hints at plenty of new developments and things to come. The song isn’t all that great but the visuals make up for it, particularly like the ending part with Subaru reaching out to a Emilia being engulfed in dark hands. Our main enemy this time around looks to be the witch cult and damn if they are not intimidating. They have a certain disturbing aura that just makes they unnerving and based on the strange way they showed up in front of Subaru, they don’t seem quite human. What makes the scene most interesting is that the hooded figures bowed to Subaru and left him alive despite killing an entire village. I was already certain of it but it’s clear than Subaru’s power and presence is tied to the Jealous witch and somehow these figures recognise that. Either way the sound work was top notch during this scene and throughout the anime now that I think about it. The unnerving choir notes are the most notable and well used as they do add a layer of mystical malevolence to the scene.

So after the spat with Emilia, Subaru isn’t in the best mood, nor has he come to his senses. I like that he isn’t following the typical pattern of locking himself away from people and curling up in a ball moaning “Woe is me”. He is actively going out of his way to break out of his funk but the problem is that his answer for doing so really isn’t the right one. Subaru as he is right now isn’t particularly likeable but there’s a difference between being unlikable because of poor writing or unsympathetic protagonists, and being unlikable because the protagonist is heading down a path the audience knows won’t do him any good. No one is supposed to agree with Subaru here because it’s clear that his motivations are wrong. It’s funny because if we take only take Subaru’s dialogue without context then in a regular light novel it would be the path to victory. Snapping out of your depression because there only something you can do and brashly running to a battle. In another story Subaru would be celebrated and encouraged. However Re:Zero is not that kind of light novel and it’s clear that Subaru’s problem runs a whole lot deeper. I have sympathy for him, for throughout all of this it’s easy to forget that Subaru is just a teenager and that he has gone through events that would leave a lesser man mentally crippled for life. I say he has more right to go off the rails than a certain Eva unit pilot, that’s for sure.

Subaru is busy convincing himself that only he can help Emilia, that he is the only person on her side and that she needs him. This is very dangerous thinking and I think Subaru needs to come to terms with his limitations. He needs to see Emilia for who she is and stop making her his end all for all problems and if he wants to get out of this he needs to recognise that he needs help from others to do it. Rem is likely the best person to show him that and by god I don’t know how she hasn’t nabbed the main heroine spot yet because in my book she’s earned it more than Emilia. She sticks with him even when she sees he’s making mistakes and even stops him from getting himself killed as she goes to the mansion alone. However that action could cost her as I doubt Subaru’s mental state will allow himself to trust her after being tricked like that. Crusch and Wilhelm seem to hold some sort of respect for Subaru and are actively trying to help him come to terms with things. With Wilhelm it’s easy to see, as he recognises that Subaru has indeed faced death before based on his eyes. Crusch is a bit more of a mystery, maybe she’s a romantic at heart or maybe she sees something in Subaru. Or maybe she’s tired of seeing him depressed, who knows. She does hold a firm set of principles so it could be just a matter of wanting him to look forward and prove himself. But she certainly accidently planted a dark incentive in Subaru’s mind. After all there is something only he can do and he might be thinking of using it as his get out of jail free card. Regardless of intention, I hope Subaru does make use of return by death because Rem just died. I certainly am not in favor is staying in the dead end were the best heroine is dead. After a weak start episode and a flustrating episode this is now when this arc has kicked into gear and I am certainly excited for it. The stakes are higher, the circumstances difficult and enemy unsettling. Subaru’s suffering is of a higher degree but my wait till Sunday will be arduous indeed.

~AidanAK47~