Why do I keep getting dragged out of retirement? Well we have the return of the better alternative to cocaine but there’s another season of LOGH coming and I already resigned myself to covering all that as well. Regardless I wasn’t pulled away from anything important as while I made the resolution to start writing, I have been procrastinating in part due to our current worldwide situation and also from one of the writers of this site kicking me down a certain rabbit hole. You think it will never be you until you find yourself watching an adorable dog girl play Doom with homicidal glee but I at least have not simped on these 2D time succubi. No, in that case gacha has my wallet…is this the anime fan version of becoming the worthless drunk getting sloshed in a bar? Ah screw it, let’s get this post up so I can go back to losing myself in my new VR headset.
I wouldn’t say that Re:Zero returned with a bang as this was very much an episode of setup, we have Subaru running around talking and setting up things. As such this doesn’t make for a good thinkpiece for writing about as while the episode was by no means bad, it also is the kind that could have me filling up this post with nothing but summary of what is going on. I will say that my knowledge of future events is near its end as I only remember what is likely to be the very first scene of the next episode. That does make me wonder as to why people are hyping up this second season to be better than the first and worry if they are blowing up expectations. I feel if it was that great that it would have stuck in my mind better but well reading media is different from watching it and I did experience the story in small chunks over long periods. Not to put a wet towel on anyone’s excitement but more a reminder to keep your expectations realistic. Either way this would mean I am on the same page as you readers which would make writing these posts a whole lot easier, on top of enjoying the show more myself.
On the episode itself I have heard tell that the art was better than last season though truthfully I didn’t quite notice the change myself. If so I would say to not expect that to continue as quality on the first episode of any anime tends to be higher than the rest of the season overall. This run for Subaru might be the most promising yet which is good as the first cour was essentially the Subaru failure reel so it would be nice to see him break out some wins. In this regard this is the best he has treated Emilia so far and a particular notable thing I see is that he’s not pulling his usual behavior of cracking jokes and overreaction. While talking with Emilia Subaru was being pretty genuine and supportive though he did mess up at the end by not keeping his word to stay with her till morning. Though this time it seems because he had a lot to set up with Otto and the end of the episode looks to be the start of a fight between Otto and Garfiel. If you have watched the break time short you would know this isn’t the first time they faced off. Yes the Break time shorts with the chibi art actually have some plot relevant things.
I do like Subaru throwing Roswaal off his game as I love to see the anime mastermind types acknowledge that they literally cannot predict randomness. His response to Subaru’s gambit does seem more to be him indulging him with hopes of making the next run more successful but again it’s nice to see Subaru at least get him off his guard. If this is the last run then we have the removal of two fairly prominent characters with Puck signing off and unlocking Emilia’s memories which may be the factor that prevented her from completing the trail in the first place. I wouldn’t consider Puck to be a major loss to the show as his contributions were fairly limited but I do wonder how this second cour will fare without the most popular character of the second season, that of course being Echidna. It may be early to consider her Rem-ed off the show though her last scene seemed final and Subaru likely doesn’t have the means to start another witches tea party. A pity as some of the major highlights of the show come from his interactions with Echidna and with her gone the other characters will need to make up for the void. Though with best girl number one and two taken out of the show it could finally be time for Emilia to show her status as main heroine. Finally…after three cours of content Emilia might shine enough to steal the show. Well you know at least till Rem comes back.
One thing I didn’t think was clear based off of Crunchyroll’s subs was what Subaru meant when he said, “Unlike Garfiel, I don’t have to worry about dying.” Did Subaru tell Otto offscreen that he can’t die? Or did Subaru mean that if Garfiel tried to get Emilia to spill the beans, that he might die because she’d panic and lose control of her powers since she doesn’t trust Garfiel while that wouldn’t happen with if he himself talked to Emilia since they have a connection. If he indeed told Otto offscreen that he can’t die, maybe that is a convenient way to get around attempting to tell somebody about Return by Death or his looping.
Yeah pretty subdued episode after the high octane entertainment of the closing episodes from the first part.
But I will be honest. I totally did not understand Subaru and Roswaal’s talk. Subaru and Roswaal coming to some sort of agreement seemed to reek of the power of friendship [reminds me of Naruto, which I don’t like] or a deus ex machina. I didn’t get it at all. I mean Roswaal is going to carry out his plan since its been set in motion so what does Subaru get by making this bet. And most of all what does Roswaal get and why would he agree [power of friendship in action here?].
It definitely wasn’t the power of friendship at all as Roswaal is definitely an enemy, and I think there could be nasty consequences if Subaru fails to solve this current loop. I don’t even know what Subaru gets out of the bet as we don’t what Roswaal’s conditions would be if Subaru lost the bet. I trust Re:zero’s writing and believe that this will be answered by the end of this cour why Subaru made such a bet. I don’t think there’s too much of a point in overthinking it right now.
Again, it’s not the power of friendship. Roswaal seemed to think it’s not a bad idea to lay the groundwork for the next loop, which indicates Roswaal thinks that the bet he and Subaru made will affect Subaru in the next loop, which will be something Subaru has never experienced before, having a consequence from a previous loop directly inconvenience him in the next loop.
I’m not sure what kind of bet would be able to transfer over between lives, but I have a theory based off of my theory of souls and soul scents. As you recall from episode 18 of Re:zero, Petelgeuse indicated that in death, he would be reunited with the Witch, which indicates there’s an afterlife and strongly indicates the presence of souls and soul scents in Re:zero. Arbiter Melakuera indicated there was reincarnation in Re:zero in the Re:zero OVAs, which is a second instance that suggests that there are souls in Re:zero. Season 2 confirmed that souls are a thing in a Re:zero when Echidna indicated that her soul was trapped in the Witch’s Graveyard in the afterlife. As we all know, the Witch has a very foul smell given what we know of Subaru and Witch cultists, and I speculate that the reason they reek of her scent is because the Witch’s soul smells horrible considering that her body is very likely sealed and should have no biological function. This suggests that Subaru and Witch cultists have their souls bonded to Satella, the Witch of Envy. I’m now getting to my point. I believe Return by Death just straight up resets time, restoring Subaru’s body and that when Subaru dies, his soul goes to the afterlife, and the reason Subaru smells more strongly of the Witch after a death is because of increased exposure to the Witch. This suggests that the soul does not reset with Return by Death, and the soul is the reason Subaru retains his memories from previous lives, meaning the second step of Return by Death is sending Subaru’s soul back into his restored power. As for why Subaru can’t remember spending time with Satella in the afterlife, remember when Echidna forced Subaru to forget that he had met her after her first tea party with him? That shows that the Witches of Sin have the power to do that and would explain why Subaru wouldn’t remember meeting Satella. So if Roswaal and Subaru’s bet somehow has a mandatory effect on the soul, then Subaru would be forced to do whatever Roswaal wishes even after a death because Return by Death does not reset the soul. This could have some very huge implications if this is indeed what Roswaal has in mind.
meaning the second step of Return by Death is sending Subaru’s soul back into his restored body.
Yeah lets see where the writing takes it, but it was a very weird development for me. Did not see it coming. I mean Subaru doesn’t have the ability to really do much to Roswaal anyway so that could be part of it too.
As for Roswaal changing Subaru’s next, or even all future loops, as his part of the gamble that does make things interesting. But definitely the return to death has a lot more going on than we’ve been told. Echidna hinted at too. That each of his deaths doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is reset. The people that suffer from his deaths, other than Subaru himself, do actually suffer and each world could be a different one. I don’t think it is but it’s still pretty interesting.
I dropped Re:Zero our of sheer boredom. I was sick of watching Subaru crying and weeping all time. I am not sure how the new series is performing but I am sure, Subaru’s character development is the worst and maybe this lack of character development is the USP of Re:Zero’s relevancy over these years.
Oh you poor soul starting an anime blog in this day and age. Resorting to clickbaiting and troll comments for promotion.
You have my pity. Truly.