Category: Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 06 [The Maiden’s Gospel]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

It’s been six episodes and Re:Zero has yet to have an episode that doesn’t go beyond industry standard episode length, on top of excluding the opening and ending just to have more content. I love that these episodes end when they want them to end and if it requires extra work then they are putting it in. Tappei Nagatsuki should be thanking his lucky stars that he has an animation team that cares this much about his work and with hope they might care to adapt the entire story. All the more considering how much current circumstances have affected the animation industry. Frankly, I think we should give this animation team a hand for pumping out another great episode..
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 06 [The Maiden’s Gospel]” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 05 [A Step Forward]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

The great episodes keep coming and hope this continues as we hit the beginning of the death loop. With the start of the episode we have the conclusion to the first tomb trial and as a particular thing I find of note is that Echidna didn’t declare that Subaru had passed the trial until after she planted the idea that his resolution with his parents was merely self wish fulfillment. It’s a particularly devilish aspect of Echidna to point out that the world is fake and suggest that the actions of Subaru’s parents were just how Subaru wished for them to react. In other words that the emotional gut punches of last episode was just Subaru receiving the responses he desired from his parents to remove his guilt. A tactic that looked to be working until Subaru to denied it completely as he could never imagine such responses from his parents. When we see the banter between these two characters it can be easy to forget Echidna’s nature as a witch and it’s great that she displays such shows of manipulation and ill intent. She never even confirms whether what she said is true or that Subaru was correct so we have no real idea if what we saw last episode of Subaru’s parents is indeed their true character. All we know is that Echidna declared the trial completed once Subaru brushed her accusations aside.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 05 [A Step Forward]” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 04 [Parent and Child]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World, Uncategorized

Let me introduce you to the best episode of the second season so far, if not one the best episodes in the series.(Episode 15 remains my top pick with 18 second but this is certainly up there) Re:Zero can sometimes be considered a deconstruction or subversion of the Isekai genre, I myself may have referred to it as such maybe if I look through my old posts, but the fact of the matter is that if it was so then it was subverting tropes that had not even been established yet. Re:Zero is actually one of the granddaddys of the Isekai Genre alongside what can be considered the real kickstarter, Mushoku Tensei(People often wrongly attribute Sword Art Online with the monicar and while the webnovel of that certainly came before Mushoku Tensei, the factors and tropes commonly associated with the genre as well as the popularisation of the concept that lead to many MANY imitators most definitely belongs to Mushoku Tensei. Which is getting an anime by the way.) That was a tangent but essentially in a way Re:Zero acts as a criticism of what the genre would become just by the fact that the tropes that defined it hadn’t been set so the author simply addressed what by accounts most Isekai should address. Namely that a person who is Isekaied to another world did in fact have a life that could affect others before being transported away.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 04 [Parent and Child]” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 03 [The Long-Awaited Reunion]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Thus enters one of my top contenders for favorite Re:Zero character, Echidna, the witch of Greed and while she does not fill that Rem shaped hole in my heart, she certainly does make for a scene stealing character. Hopefully not to the extent that she takes Rem’s place in overshadowing the actual main heroine of the series but if we are to get more of her my only response can be “Yes, Please”. When one considers the witches of Re:Zero we can only base it on the only witch we know of, the Witch of Envy Satella, which does paint them in a nefarious light. To this point we have seen them as a calamitous enemy of the people and Echidna certainly does seem to wish to present the character of a wise fearful character. Indeed if that was all she was then that would be a typical if not boring development but instead we have a character who is far more playful and relatable. The best moment of the episode to me was her ready to play the exposition device for Subaru and a normal protagonist would have sat down and let her worldbuild to her heart’s content. Not Subaru, he just brushes her off by asking to go home and causes her to drop any semblance of the persona she put up to complain about how he is declining a meeting that others would kill to have. Showing that it isn’t so much that Subaru needs to talk to her but rather she wants to talk to him.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 03 [The Long-Awaited Reunion]” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 02 [The Next Location]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Well guess who’s back? That’s right it’s our boy Subaru to continue the Isekai rendition of those hydraulic press compression videos. Let me start the blogging of this season of Re:Zero with a disclaimer and that is that I am approaching this season from a different place than last season. Before when I saw the story unfold it was that of an anime only watcher so the story to come was a complete mystery and gave me much more leeway for speculation. However this time I have read on in the story so I know quite a lot of what is to happen though my experience is with the web novel and the Light novel adaption which this anime is following has cut down the original length of this arc. Make no mistake though that even cut down this Arc is the longest yet and even with a two cour adaption confirmed for this season, we will likely only manage to reach the end of this story Arc and no more. With that said, the fan translations of the web novel only covered up to a certain point before stopping and I do not know how this Arc ends so I certainly look forward to experiencing it as an anime only watcher. Till then I will follow my usual modus operandi where I will act as though I have not read ahead and refrain from “Speculating” story details not hinted or shown in the episode in question. I will only work with information presented anime wise and avoid mentioning spoilers with the best of care, as a solemnly swear.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 02 [The Next Location]” →

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World Review – 91/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World, Reviews by AidanAK47

I will be the first to admit that this is very much a biased review as I have come to love this series very dearly and will now proceed to devour every piece of entertainment related to it that I can find until the day a second season is confirmed. The story involves a boy who is suddenly transported to a fantasy world while shopping and follows his adventure to save a girl from a gruesome fate. However what makes this different for the usual fare is that our protagonist has no magic superpowers or special abilities besides one. When he dies he returns to a point back in time and can use his new knowledge to guide things to a better outcome. With this the story follows the Subaru’s tale as he goes through time loops till the point when he can make things right. All the while dealing with the heavy psychological scars of suffering death time and time again. As you can tell Subaru is the one with the most focus and also gets the bulk of the character development for the show.

His transformation is a fascinating one which makes him one of the more interesting protagonists to come out of anime in a while. Subaru is flawed selfish character which differentiates him from the heroic white knight he wishes people to see him as. It makes him remarkably refreshing when compared to the heroes of these kinds of stories as he is unmistakably human. Subaru usually doesn’t truly fight the villains he faces but instead helps and guides those who can defeat them. The story can get quite dark as Subaru deals with some pretty heavy PTSD and a world that is outright cruel and unforgiving to a normal human being.

White Fox did a great job in bringing this story to life though the art style could be better and when compared to the animation powerhouses of Ufotable or madhouse it does fall short. But it gives the fights of the series the dynamic movement and focus to make action exhilarating. Presentation overall is marvelous and adaption of the source isn’t perfect but is pretty good nonetheless.  The music deserves special mention as the staff aimed for a more cinematic feel to the sound and it really shows. The thing that really makes the best moments of this series hit hardest is the music playing at that time. Though equal praise can go to the voice actors who just did a great job throughout.

One particular standout choice when adapting this was to on several occasions cut out the opening and ending to put in more content. As a result the opening and ending of the show is not often used but in exchange we get over an extra episodes worth of content from the series. As sparingly used as they are, the opening and ending do a decent job of showing what the show is about and the songs are serviceable. Animation remains fairly consistent throughout the run with the director compensating for what drops in quality there are with atmosphere and suitable use of still frames.

Despite my praises for this show I will admit that there are a number of things here which could not to be to anothers liking. I do adore this show but it is far from perfect and if some cannot find enjoyment in it I can at least see why. For a few examples, the main heroine of the show remains a fairly bland one dimensional character for this season and for the most part is completely overshadowed by the female cast of the series second half. As the series continues she seems to assume a role of a plot device to keep the story moving forward. Subaru’s meta jokes can be rather annoying and can grate on a viewer’s nerves. As well as Subaru’s general attitude which can border on obnoxious at times. The villains of each arc while serviceable and likeable to extent lack any real character depth and have motivations that range from gleeful sadism to just performing a job.

When a story arc of the series ends the series feels rather directionless up until the point that Subaru starts looping again. Despite the series going to great lengths to show Subaru as an average human being with no superpowers, the story still cheats and has him perform some clearly superhuman feats such as welding a club his own size with one hand and performing some ridiculous midair acrobatics. This is also the question that the story tends to veer away from is the matter of Subaru’s past and more importantly the family he left behind in his old world which is never addressed or elaborated on.

Due to the adaption cutting out material it can seem at times that Subaru is pulling solutions out of nowhere. The level of sadism the plot pushes on our protagonist can get a bit too much, particularly during the middle part of the series. This sadism is offset by the times when Subaru gets his act together and suddenly everyone is praising him which can feel disingenuous on the author’s part. Moreover even if the story does aim to go against the trends of standard Light Novel storytelling, it still does rely on standard tropes for the fountain of the cast. Therefore the cast that doesn’t get developed can be a bit run of the mill, a primary example being Beatrix who by all accounts is a pretty standard tsundere loli. Subaru also appears to be gathering a harem of girls by series end. Lastly the entirely of this 2 cour series feels only to be a prologue of a much grander story to come which at this point in time may not be animated. Yes if you dislike this series I can at least get as to why that may be but even if the reasons above are not contributing factors, the story is of a kind of love it or hate it quality.

That said if you do take a liking to it then it will have you hooked from start to finish. Re:Zero uses a lot of cliffhangers leaving you scrambling for the next episode and has a very addictive quality about it that can make episodes breeze by in what feels like minutes to the viewer. Characters may start out stereotypical but quite a number of them become absolutely lovable by the shows end. The battles in the show feel high stakes as with the nature of Subaru’s power allows the possibility that everyone can die at any given moment, giving battles a tension not seen often in stories. The cinematic feel can lead to some truly outstanding moments with the end of episode 15 being a massive high point. Re:Zero is a story that starts good, becomes very good ten episodes in and by episode fifteen it becomes great. I do think that this will be an anime to be remember and one still recommended years from now.

It ends with a fairly decent conclusion but it is true that this really needs a sequel to truly make use of the plot points brought in it’s last episodes. Even if you hate it, you must admit there is a reason this show is as popular as it is and when it comes to over excited new anime fans, which would prefer they be throwing at there friends claiming it’s is the pinnacle of anime? This? Or Sword Art Online? An anime where you have to work and suffer to earn your happy ending? Or an anime where everything is handed to you, you are praised for being super special and important for no reason? I know which of the two I prefer and I say instead of a new SAO movie we just pump out two more seasons(Or more) of this. I don’t care what needs to be done to accomplish that, get on it White Fox. Good work, keep it up, I look forward to buying the Blu-Rays and Rem is best girl. I will accept no debate on that last matter. Good day.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 25

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Well it’s over and what a ride it was. Betelgeuse is defeated, everyone is saved and Subaru gets to confess his love to Emilia to leave the series off on a hopeful note. Only thing that would have made it better is more Rem but let us be frank, there is never enough Rem. I did wonder just how Subaru was going to stop Betelgeuse from possessing his body but the way he did it was the ultimate way to take him own. By bringing Sattella out while Betelgeuse was possessing him, he gives Betelgeuse a chance to meet the witch he so desperately loves only to have Sattella herself reject him. He’s crushed, the person he has adored and worked for all this time bashes him out of Subaru like batting away a cockroach. What little sanity Betelgeuse had left is surely gone now but what I find most interesting is the words he shouts to Subaru as he chases him in his new demonic form.

“I haven’t forgotten a single moment of all the things you did for me. Even if you have forgotten.” This words sound oh so very familiar. In fact they sound exactly like that of what Subaru said to Emilia. To a strange degree, Betelgeuse’s and Subaru’s objectives may indeed be the same. Though Subaru wishes to save and repay Emilia. While Betelgeuse wishes to save and repay Sattella. Perhaps Betelgeuse is also someone who was taken from his world and thrown into this one. He may have even had return by Death at one point as he speaks of Sattella not remembering him. Perhaps what Subaru is going through right now is some sort of rite of passage for an Archbishop of sin. Perhaps he is pride after all.

While Subaru’s intentions are for the best, I feel he is being somewhat rude to Emilia in how he planned to keep her out of this as much as possible. It goes to show that he has not got over his issues yet but it is surprising that Emilia took being deliberately removed from the equation so well. Even setting her up with the kids to insure that she didn’t do anything reckless. I seen it a bit in the last episode as well where Emilia seems disappointed in the fact that everything had already been worked out without her involvement. But it seems that any misgivings will not be addressed in this finale. As finales go this was somewhat predictable but not unwelcome as Subaru is given a last minute mission to reach emilia before the bomb he forgot about in the last run explodes. With Betelgeuse chasing after it gives Subaru a moment to shine before the end.

Particularly like that Otto redeemed himself for his actions before and even the oil he bought is put to use as Subaru uses it to set Betelgeuse on fire. Still it was interesting that Subaru kept sidestepping telling Otto what exactly was chasing them as he likely remembers what Otto did before to save his own hide. Subaru save Emilia and confesses his love to her with admittedly some words he outright stole from Rem’s confession. Got to admit that was a really scumbag move to use the words of the girl you rejected to snag the girl you wanted. But C’est la vie. They went overboard on the brightness at the end that it was near blinding but still it’s a good note to go out on.

Overall I see this a very solid ending though I do see there is those lamenting that White fox left out the full ending of Arc 3. Having spoiled myself on what exactly that is I wholeheartedly disagree as if they did go with that ending I would have had to buy a plane ticket to japan, visit White Fox and hold them at gunpoint till they made a second season. This ending at least gives Subaru a happy finale for now and while there are loose story threads at least if this turned out to be the only season of this show we get then this makes for a fitting end. Plus it’s not a filler ending so I believe White Fox can pick up right where this left off with no trouble. So we get a satisfying ending that leaves room to make a sequel so all and all I believe this to be a perfect end point for now. A second season is pretty much guaranteed considering the popularity of the series but when we get it might take a while. After all Attack on Titan is still waiting on it’s second season. For now I would like White Fox to confirm that a second season is planned. It’s highly likely but just having the confirmation would put my mind at ease. Though one thing we can take into account is just what Re:Zero’s success could mean for the industry as a whole.

Chances are that more web novel adaptations are coming our way and there’s even one about to be announced for a Knight’s & Magic web novel series.(Not confirmed but they said they have an important announcement and whenever something has an important announcement, it’s an anime.) Considering that web novel is pretty much trash that doesn’t make me too happy and this does have me concerned that an abundance of utterly terrible web novel adaptations are coming. I mean I wouldn’t turn away a Rising of the Shield Hero or Mushoku Tensei adaption but let me say if you think light novels are horribly written self indulgent power fantasies then web novels are going to be so much worse for you. I hate that a good show like this could lead to a worsening effect on the industry as a whole and thus garner unjust hatred towards this series. Let us hope that is merely pessimism speaking on my part and that doesn’t happen.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 24

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Things seem to be wrapping up as things approach the finale and one of my previous assumptions turns out to be correct in that Subaru died last episode and his “save point” was updated to the point after the White Whale. This really does show that this curse doesn’t just randomly decide where to bring Subaru back to, but it feels calculated. Decided by another entity, namely the jealous witch. Speaking of her we learn of the reason as to why the witches cult is after Emilia and it looks like they plan to test whether she is an appropriate vessel for Satella. However what is interesting is that even if Satella rejects Emilia’s body the witch will still be reborn in some fashion in the future. Given that Puck has frozen over the manor(Or if his contract is true, the world.) in all of Subaru’s previous loops, it’s safe to say that Satella rejects her body as a host.

Perhaps this is merely because it isn’t the right time as I believe Satella really did bring Subaru to the world to protect Emilia till the day she takes her over. On that note Emilia has a small moment as Subaru incognito helps her recognize that the children don’t hold the same animosity towards her as the adults do. Even with this I can’t help but notice that right up to the end of the series she has been a rather flat character. I have heard tales that might change in the future but as of now I see Rem as the true series heroine and Emilia as more of a plot McGuffin.

When I see Subaru succeed it fills me with conflicting emotions. On one hand it’s a great payoff to the long journey of agony he has gone through to reach this point and is is quite satisfying. However when the story turns like this then it edges towards becoming the generic Light Novel setup that it has actively avoided. It is a somewhat silly worry of mine but I know of how fast a story can slip into the trappings of this particular genre and end up derivative. The common main fall factor is when the protagonist gets god modded and thus the remainder of the story becomes a string of battles to show how amazing the main protagonist is to other people. That’s why when I see Subaru succeed and everyone praise the hell out of him, I worry that the story may take a turn into wish fulfilment power fantasy.

But then I remember that the author is a complete sadist and the chances of that happening are quite slim. I will admit that the author has done a great job of setting the tone as in this episode everything goes exactly as planned. Thus because everything is working out it leaves the viewer with immense suspicion that something is going to go wrong. Because we have been here before and last time punched us in the gut. As Subaru leads everyone to a complete perfect victory I had a small part of my mind preparing for the story to stab me right in the heart. The problem is I have no idea as to when the attack comes.

Subaru did remark about how terrifying his existence must be to the witches cult and honestly he has a point in that regard. We know what he has gone through to get to this point but to anyone looking from the outside, Subaru is some random person who showed up out of nowhere and knows your every move. I interests me as to how this will affect Subaru in the future as he is given off the impression that he is some master Tactician and earning massive respect from the people he is leading. What makes this troublesome for him in the future is that he cannot possibly live up to that respect without abusing his “Return by Death” which is ultimately a gift from the final endboss of Re:Zero. When it comes time for him to face Satella then he will be at a massive disadvantage as Satella is most likely not going to let him repeat till the point where he can beat her.

But that is a conflict for another day. This day has Betelgeuse being rightly bewildered by Subaru’s ability to see through all of his plans with little effort. This looks to be the end of the demented psychopath which I admittedly took a liking to despite his crazy act being ridiculously over the top. I think the turning point was when I stopped looking at him as a menacing villain and more see him as a evil anime Jim Carrey. Then his whole act just became rather charming. There were some animation blunders(Namely one point were Julius’s mouth disappeared) but the action in this episode was fairly solid and we have a nice lead into the climax of the series.

Well it’s been a long glorious ride of ups and downs but we finally reach the end of Re:Zero. The next episode should be the last unless there is a 26th episode I am uninformed about. The big question is just how White Fox plans to wrap this all up. I don’t think it is unreasonable to assume a second season is guaranteed as this show has been immensely popular not just in Japan but outside it as well. However I have said before that an ending can change everything when it comes to a show. A bad ending is the thing that can change a shows impression from “great” to “very good”. There are worries that the ending will be rushed to accommodate for a lot of material at the end of the arc and there is the question of this last episode being able to provide a satisfying conclusion while leaving room for a sequel.

The absolute worst case scenario would be the series ending on a sequel hook as that would be cruel beyond measure to wait for the light novels to gain enough material for another season. There enough of web novel material, that’s for certain but I highly doubt they will go ahead with a second season using that. My wish is that we leave this story with a nice temporary sendoff that leaves us happy and patient enough to wait for a sequel. But let us remember, this is Re:Zero. Where suffering is the name of the game and nothing goes according to plan. I can hardly predict what cruel machinations Tappei Nagatsuki has awaiting us poor unsuspecting viewers but I can say that my Sundays will be very lonely from now on without this show. This year’s winter looks to be cold indeed.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 23

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

With another week gone I get my fix of Re:Zero and yet again I have to wait a week to sate my need. The cliffhangers really kill me on this matter as I am leave hanging till the buzz from the last episode runs out and then it gets me again. To future anime viewers, know that you did not have to suffer as an ongoing watcher of this series has and the joy of being able to marathon a show without the wait in between weeks. Quite honestly I don’t know what I will do when this show ends two episodes from now as I cannot binge on the source material and it appears the anime has finally caught up with the light novels. Looks like production of the light novel has sped up with volumes coming out monthly but to gain the amount of material needed for a second second would take a year at the least. I am concerned over just how this series will conclude if there’s another volume of material but I think White Fox won’t trip up at the finish line.

Anyway it appeared the cliffhanger of the previous episode has been defused pretty fast as Ram mistakenly though Subaru betrayed them only to be convinced otherwise within a minute. The letter Subaru sent them which was supposed to explain the situation was just a blank piece of paper which makes me question if Subaru made the boneheaded mistake of misplacing the letter or if someone in the mansion intercepted it. Both scenarios are equally plausible though it is an unfortunate coincidence that a blank letter in this country is a symbol of the messenger deciding to cut off communications. This tradition seems like it could give rise to a lot of misunderstandings as I see it but well the mistake of sending a blank message is rather rare. The village looks to be pointing the finger of blame directly at Emilia for the witches cult coming to attack and what makes this interesting is that despite it being blatant racism, they are not wrong. Emilia really is the reason that the village is going to be attacked by the witches cult. It’s not her fault, that is for certain but it’s hard to deny that if she wasn’t there then no one would be in danger at all. As a matter of fact, the main cause of all of these events that have lead to everyone dying is Emilia herself. The mabeast incident of the village is a matter for debate but Emilia really is the one drawing these events. Which points the direct origin of all of Subaru’s suffering being Emilia herself and perhaps the very reason Sattella has brought Subaru here is to keep Emilia alive till the time she can serve Sattella’s purpose

Ferris and Julius got a bulk of the screentime this episode which is reasonable considering how the episode ends. Ferris is still leaving people in doubt about whether his claims to be a boy is really true but I like that they made it that there is more to him than his trap gimmick. For you information I will let you know that when the merchant witch’s cult member blows up his cart, he did technically kill Ferris with the blast. However Ferris’s healing magic is so overpowered that he can reconstruct his body even if it’s destroyed. Yep, in Re:Zero even the white mage is twenty times more powerful than our protagonist. Still to give Subaru due credit, it was very smart of him to use the Mabeast’s of the forest to take out one of the fingers. At times I really can’t tell if Subaru is smart or stupid but maybe he works better in the moment. It’s nice to see him almost make old mistakes only to have someone give him a push in the right direction. That was a problem with Rem in general. She stood by Subaru’s side but she always went along with whatever he did, rather than provide the kind of support Wilhelm and Ferris have been giving him. But it’s likely the Subaru of those episodes wouldn’t have taken the hint like he does now. Julius also reveals that he is the one who saved Subaru twice by putting him under the protection of one of his spirits and does point out that Subaru does seem to have a high affinity with them. Despite his introduction being typical of the kind of villain in a Light novel, he proves that he is actually a good guy. I applaud that as I find those one shot weak villains to be a poor excuse of empowering the protagonist.

My theory from last episode looks all but confirmed as a number of Betelgeuse’s pop up to attack Subaru and co. I really have to give credit to the number of voice actresses who act out his mannerisms to a great degree. I may not know Japanese but there does seem to be a lot of talent in this series. The end of the episode was brutal in that just when you think everything is fine and maybe this week won’t have a cliffhanger, we have the series throw a gut punch. I was well on my way to believing this was Subaru’s successful run and then this comes out of nowhere to prove that no matter how much Subaru accomplishes, he can still have it all undone at any moment. Well I do think that the remaining episodes are not enough to do a run through of the White Whale again and I think two possibilities exist here. One is that Ferris will find some way of reviving Subaru without Betelgeuse coming with him and the other is Subaru’s save point being moved up to after the White Whale is defeated. Number two seems the most likely as undoing the events of the White Whale and Rem’s confession would be a bad move.

There is just far too much character development there to just do away with. Likely the save point will be before the first attack on the witches cult as that is the point Subaru could make the most use of his knowledge. Still this does put him in a bad spot as simply killing Betelgeuse isn’t going to stop him from possessing his body again. There could be other factors that allow Betelgeuse to take control of someone, with the gospel being a big factor. However if what allows Betelgeuse to take control of Subaru is just the smell of the witch then I don’t see how Subaru can beat him without getting possessed. There are likely more conditions for Betelgeuse to meet before he can possess someone as it is odd that he didn’t choose to take over Subaru on his first death. Perhaps the choice of who he can take over is not up to him and he simply goes into a random person who happens to have the smell of the witch. Though one thing that seems apparent here is that the witches cult is not operating under Satella’s instructions and seem to be acting in what they believe to be what she desires of them in order to earn her love. What is in store for the climax of this series is still a mystery to me but while I doubt it will be completely conclusive, I at least hope it ties up the particulars of this arc and doesn’t leave a cliffhanger for a next season. A week is something I can put up with but making me wait over a year for a continuation of the story would truly be slothful.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 22

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Well the battle against the witches cult has started and…ended. I didn’t quite expect my words in the last episode review to turn out prophetic as Betelgeuse and his minions are taken out so quickly and anticlimactically considering how much this arc has built them up to be the main villain. Through Subaru seems to share my concerns as things go too smoothly that even he is suspicious. This feeling is throughout the first half of the episode as the white whale taught us that when things are going too well then there is a gut punch coming up. I commend Subaru from learning from horror movie tropes and inquiring as to whether Betelgeuse is really dead after Wilhelm chopped him in half. Prompting the little animal girls to incinerate his body to ashes. Despite this it seems Betelgeuse comes back in the form of his follower which is a girl who has his unseen hands and his rather eccentric mannerisms. However it isn’t long before he’s cut down by Wilhelm yet again and props to the clever idea of using falling water to allow Wilhelm to see the hands. Subaru and Co dismissed this as this girl being the true sloth archbishop and the first man was a proxy or the possibly that all members are the archbishop.

I however have my own theory that Betelgeuse doesn’t actually take to the field himself and instead sends his followers and has the ability to possess one of them. It fits with the sloth theme in that the sloth archbishop stay home while controlling others from afar and it leads me to have an interesting thought. When Betelgeuse number 1 got immensely aggravated with Subaru, he started convulsing and blood came out of his eyes which suggests that his body is breaking down. I think it’s possible that all of Betelgeuse’s spasms and erratic moments may actually not be because of his personal insanity but rather because Betelgeuse’s control of the body lessens as he gets more emotional. Thus in these moments the original owner wrestles to gain control of their body. So the biting fingernails, the arching of his back, the self inflicted harm is all the screams of someone trying to remove Betelgeuse’s dominance. There is a question of whether Betelgeuse himself has an original body or is some kind of spirit jumping between bodies. Though this is all just purely speculation.

So it seems that the cult of the witch recruits people by sending out a gospel to those suitable and it’s uncertain as whether this gospel brainwashes people into joining or it contains information that encourages people to. Betelgeuse made a particular interesting comment when he said that the gospel did not mention Subaru at all which seems to suggest it’s some sort of book foretelling future events. Which might explain as to how it could get people to join, after all if it states that the Jealous witch will take over the world or enact some sort of judgement day then people would prefer to join the side that doesn’t get slaughtered in the future. He also insinuates that Subaru is Pride once again and considering that Subaru picks up the gospel it may very well be something to come into play in later arcs. It’s nice that despite apologizing for fighting Julius, Subaru still has a petty grudge against him. As I said before you don’t put a bandaid on trauma and call him cured.

Subaru came close to falling back into a stupor after getting four people killed in the cult attack but Wilhelm managed to keep him focused by telling him to fight and be strong. This speech will likely act as determination for later and I like how when Subaru said he needed to get stronger WIlhelm interrupted to say that he doesn’t need to get stronger but instead be strong. This seems to suggest that what Subaru needs is not physical strength but instead mental strength. This is true as it’s is not Subaru’s job to beat the bad guys but instead to lead the right players to the right places to get the job done. In this the only thing stopping him is his own mental fortitude. When you have the power to try again infinitely then victory is certain. It’s just a matter of how many times you can bring yourself to try.

Our episode ends with Subaru separated from his group with a grim looking Ram looking down on him. The nature of this twist confused me on first seeing it as it seems to suggest that Ram was betraying him. Though considering previous loops and Ram’s history with the cult this is a nigh impossibility. However whether Roswell is a member of the cult is another matter entirely and Ram would obey his orders, regardless of what they were. In fact it is odd that he tends to disappear when the witches cult is about to make a move. He didn’t seem to be present when Puck froze the manor and if he was then taking out the cult members would have been an easy task. In fact taking into account the combat potential of Emilia, Beatrix and Ram it is rather odd that they lost to the cultists. Possibly because Subaru caught them off guard that they didn’t have time to put up a real fight but I still think that with how easily they were killed by Wilhelm and the others that they is likely something else at play here. Perhaps Betelgeuse was only one part of the group coming to attack the manor or there is another enemy to deal with in this arc. WIth three episodes left I think Re:Zero has something entirely different planned for it’s season finale.