Category: Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

I didn’t think I would be saying this again but here it is, if this was the end of the series then I would consider it a satisfying ending. Sure there would be loose ends left hanging but the level of conclusion to this particular dilemma would leave me content with the series. But this certainly isn’t the end and we have the battle against the witches cult coming up which admittedly were put out of my mind once the whale showed up. Wilhelm turns out to not be dead as the old man cuts himself out of the whale and has likely earned a place in any fan’s top list of badass anime characters. We even got a conclusion to his flashback where he trained to a level to take Theresia’s sword saint rank and confessed his love for her. I for one am surprised at having such an attachment to this small side story for Theresia only showed up last episode and yet this love story hits harder than many anime devoted to the very concept. In words, this was powerful and the image of Wilhelm declaring his love for his wife after taking revenge on the white whale just makes my heart well up with emotions I thought long whittled down from years of anime watching.

I have heard some argue that Wilhelms desire to take the sword from his wife’s hand was somewhat misogynistic but I feel that is greatly misinterpreting his intent. From what I understand it, Theresia never wanted to be a sword Saint but was forced into it because of her family. If anything Wilhelms efforts were to give his wife the opportunity to be what she really wants to be by taking her inherited mantle from her. Quite frankly this episode was a compilation of great moments fighting the whale. From Crushes speech, Subaru’s daring gamble and even him and Rem having a moment after it was all over. Looking over it I can only see it as just satisfying and perhaps this is the relief that after several loops of Subaru failing miserable we are finally at the first success. Thus this looks to be confirmed to be the last loop of the series.

Still to bring up two bothersome aspects I must point out that Subaru’s gamble was more on the ridiculous side. I appreciated the Gainax callout with Subaru doing the pose many would recognise from Gurren Laggan.(Or if you are really savvy, GunBuster) but I really do think that what he did was something an ordinary person couldn’t accomplish on their first try. I mean he jumped on a ice projectile and jumped off and landed perfectly on the whales horn, not affected by wind resistance in the slightest. I know this is really something you should just say anime logic and leave it at this but come on, this is pushing it. The other thing mainly has to do with something that was left out of this episode and was in the original source material. You see apparently in the last scene Rem was supposed to make it out that she was injured with the tree fell and thus it was made out that she was dying. Subaru then starts confessing that he loves her just as much as Emilia and whatnot before Rem reveals that she was pulling his leg. I actually am rather glad this was left out as it does make Subaru’s declaration of loving Emilia somewhat flimsy but also because this seems to suggest that Re:Zero is going for something that a lot of Another world/reincarnation web novels go for.

That being, Polygamy. In the examples I have read the other world aspect is used to justify polygamy which in turn is really just a convenient way of giving the ultimate wish fulfillment. After all, why choose one waifu when you can have all the waifus? The first time I encountered it in a story I was rather fascinated as I hadn’t really see a story deal with it and ultimately it’s better than have the protagonist remain indecisive even till the end for fear of angering the fanbase. However in other stories it really became a means to show off how godlike amazing the main character is and how he doesn’t need to have just one women, a allurement which just makes me want to retch. I say by now it would be folly to claim that I am not a fan of Rem but even so I am not fond of the idea of Subaru gathering a trophy set of wives. I prefer it that girls be more like Crush here, who admits that his actions pulled her strings a bit but ultimately sees him as a comrade. An important factor that this story needs to keep in mind is that Subaru should not obtain the perfect protagonist status that has caused many another world/Reincarnation story to fail. It would make the stories efforts to portray his weaknesses ring insincere and hollow.

I did wonder as to how Subaru was going to deal with the witches cult and my guess that the army would be fairly devastated by the whales attack seemed on point. However it looks like Subaru has gained a large amount of allies with this feat, the most important of which looks to be Wilhelms loyalty which considering his battle prowess is no small matter. Honestly I think that old man could take them all down before Betelgeuses brain has time to tremble.Though after a battle such as this I wonder if the Witches cult can provide a suitable climax to the series.

I suppose I will start by saying that according to word of mouth, this episode was a complete 1:1 adaption of the source material. Meaning that every line of dialogue, every action is exactly the same as the source material. For an adaption that is quite a feat but in ways it can be a detriment. There are those who believe that as long as an adaption stays as faithful as possible then it will just be as great as it’s source material and truthfully I thought this as well before. However there are many other factors to take into account with an adaption and if it doesn’t adapt the source material for a another medium then the results can feel lesser. I think a perfect example of this is the Watchmen movie, which if you disregard it’s changed ending, is a very faithful adaption of the comic. However despite this it’s considered a weak movie and a disappointment to its source material. Why? Because reading something and watching something are two entirely different experiences. From the New World is a good anime example of something which is hindered by it’s original format as it’s exposition heavy and to me feels like a journey to find the next thing to spout more exposition. For a book that’s fine, but for an anime it’s painstakingly slow and cuts away one for the greatest assets of a visual medium. The ability to show someone a story instead of telling them one.

You may wonder why I am talking about this but I want to try and explain why this episode gave me a mixed response. From a narrative standpoint I like what was accomplished. Subaru looks to finally be snapped out of his rut and this marks the starting point of his long awaited redemption. I certainly am glad for that as if his issues continued further than his character would become completely unsympathetic. However I feel the journey to his revelation was all too long and while I am hesitant to use this word as I feel it is rather harsh, this felt somewhat…contrived. I admit I am certainly not fond of drama where characters recite perfectly a long seemly previously arranged upon script and shout till some sort of revelation. It at often points just feels like a story beating around the bush till the point where it’s reveal could have the most dramatic gravitas. This is why I lost so much patience with Kiznaiver, as an adult i have come to value my time. Thus I have less patience for a show that is evidently wasting it. I feel that some of this conversation was somewhat redundant, yet at the same time it felt necessary. It’s confusing for me, basically I am trying to say that I think this whole thing could have been handled in a manner that would have made it less…dialogue dependent I suppose.

The bulk of the episode was focused on a single conversation between Rem and Subaru but there was some interesting aspects before that. Subaru died once again by Pucks hand but Puck mentioned quite a number of interesting things. One was that his contract with Emilia details that if she dies then he will end the world. For such a saintly figure like Emilia that’s a rather grievous claus to take up, makes me wonder just why she agreed to it. This means that Subaru didn’t just save Emilia in the first arc, he saved the world. Puck also refers to the white Whale as Gluttony which does fit. Does this mean that cardinals of sin need not be human? Upon facing down Betelgeuse he means that he would need at least half the dark hands of Satella to take him down which does seem to suggest that Puck faced Satella at some point. Finally Puck did what everyone did and pointed out just how Subaru had failed.

So having just been told off by the entire cast what solution does Subaru come to? I honestly thought he was starting to get it when he talked before putting forward his proposal. But then he says he wants to run away with Rem. She of course rejects him on this offer but for those interested there is indeed a If story written detailing just what would happen if she accepted his offer. Thus after a long twenty minutes of talking does she convince Subaru to try to fix things again with her fully supporting him all the way. One thing I am concerned about is whether this “fixed” Subaru for good. I have said before that I don’t think Subaru’s problems are something that can be brushed aside with some pep talk and a forehead kiss. It such be a long process of fixing his issues and considering that there is more arcs to come it’s possible that will be the case. If Subaru is essentially going to toss aside all his mental hangups and become a perfect hero then his downfall these past few episodes will feel very cheap. You need to carry that weight with you Subaru and you yourself have shown to be aware of your failings.

I want this to be a bandaid for Subaru’s problems, not a solution. Much like Emilia’s lap pillow in the previous arc, this should be a temporary fix to get Subaru on the right track. I really did like Subaru acknowledging his screwups in the previous episodes and one thing he said that really struck a chord with me was him saying that before coming to Lugnica, he did nothing. That felt like a real jab at those who self insert characters were created for. His claims about being empty almost felt like a meta moment of him coming to see his existence as some self insert light novel protagonist. I also have quite a bit of respect with him for putting it out that he loves Emilia and flat out rejecting Rem. Again that certainly seems to be a trait of light novel protagonists to lead on other girl’s affections without pointing out that they already have someone they care for.(Isn’t that right, Kirito?) I wasn’t quite happy with this at first but I did read an interesting opinion about Subaru falling for Emilia in the same way that Rem fell for Subaru. In that they were both saved by those they desire. Well before this gets any longer I might as well wrap this up by saying that Subaru it was good that you told her and that you are absolutely goddamn insane to reject such an embodiment of pure perfection that is is Rem! Bloody hell.

~AidanAK47~

Looks like the new opening and ending won’t be getting much use in this second cour either, not that I am complaining of course. This week I  wouldn’t be surprised if people were getting sick of Subaru as his actions continue to be erratic and destructive. The ending of the last episode gave hope that Subaru would be driven to make the right moves and strike back at Betelgeuse however while Subaru has got the right idea, he doesn’t have the know how to achieve it. I think it’s important for people to keep in mind one thing. Subaru is not you and you certainly wouldn’t handle this situation any better if you had gone through what he has. I actually find this aspect rather interesting as Subaru is at a simplistic level the kind of character you would normally self insert yourself into. However now he’s going against the viewer’s wishes and it forces us to see him from an outside perspective. I sort of see what the author is trying to achieve here but I must admit that his efforts may go to make Subaru too unlikable which would affect how we view his efforts in episodes to come.

What must be taken into account from now is the key to writing great tragedy. For you see what makes tragedy great is the ratio between hope and despair. The very impact of the events themselves depends on the author building a certain set of expectations and hope before ripping it all apart in front of the viewer. A constant tragedy is a dull boring affair that lets the viewer become desensitised to what’s happening on screen, therefore killing any attachment to the characters. I believe this is what caused Attack on Titan to falter in its later episodes and why I believe a second season won’t be quite as well received as the first. When your story is a constant stream of never ending losses then the viewer loses any hope of the characters winning and it just becomes a matter of when all is lost. This is what Re:Zero needs to avoid at this point in time because there is only so long people will put up with Subaru’s act. What we need right now is some small victories, things which give credence to the idea that maybe, just maybe Subaru could beat the witches cult. It is then when you bring out the tragedy again and smash expectations. Then begin the cycle  again by building up hope. My friends, Tragedy is like Dark Souls, a series of failures building hope towards a dream of magnificent victory.

This episode could be seen as each member of the King’s selection candidates telling off Subaru for being so arrogant. To some they may even seem mean spirited in how they lecture Subaru but it is important to take into account their perspective. A boy who previously talked big in front of everyone is now making claims that the witches cult will attack a village and that he needs their help. All things considered it’s actually rather kind that they gave him the time of day to listen to him ramble on like a madman. Each of the Candidates saw past Subaru and realised his true intentions so simply picking the right moves isn’t going to get Subaru through this. However within each telling off Subaru got was some wise words of advice which if Subaru heeds could lead him to victory. Crush is trying to get Subaru to realise that he is working out of his own selfish intentions and not for the sake of others. Priscilla is showing him that begging will get him nothing and that he needs to prove his worth.(Through that may have been unconsciously as I believe she thought that if she made him beg it would be more entertaining, but only found it disgusting.) Anastasia told him the keys to negotiation and that in order to get what he wants he needs to have something to trade.

In these words are the lessons Subaru needs to learn and it’s really a matter of when he decides to heed their advice. Still despite all of Subaru’s missteps this episode I admit that the idea of evacuating the village before the witches cult attack was a rather clever idea. Pity he forgot about the creature Rem previously warned him about in a previous episode, the white whale. I have some idea’s as to what makes this creature so dangerous as evidenced by the final minutes of the episode but I think I will wait to see if my thought is true. Start thinking Subaru, the wait till sunday is too long just to see you fail yet again.

~AidanAK47~

I have a certain belief when it comes to anime and it is that in a great series there is “That” episode. You know the one, the one you will always remember. The one that comes to mind when the series is brought up. Of course depending on personal opinion, that episode can be different for other people. However I think that sometimes in a series, there is one episode that truly hits the hardest. Some examples for me are Madoka’s episode 10, Cowboy bebops final episode or Fate/Zero episode 23. That episode that when the credits roll all you can really say is, wow. This is likely premature of me as we are only over the halfway point but I believe that this is Re:Zero’s, That episode. When this series is brought up in the future I am certain the image that will come to everyone’s mind is that of a decapitated Subaru holding Rem in the snow. The studio might agree on that point as a new Key visual came out on the official site which displays Subaru carrying Rem in the snow. But let me dial back a bit before I am labeled a zealous fanboy.

We finally hit the point where Subaru dies and it’s after finding the corpses of Rem, Ram and the children of the village. The bodies of Beatrix and Roswaal are oddly missing but considering their fighting potential they are likely guarding Emilia and if they are guarding Emilia that means they are dead center of the snowstorm. The room Subaru was about to enter is likely where they hid out and we get a rather unexpected death of Subaru, as he’s frozen to death and shattered. Thus we finally get the first death of the arc and find out where his “save point” is. It looks like it’s in front of the apple salesman again and upon first seeing it I thought Subaru had returned right back to the beginning. However it turns out to be in the middle of the shopping trip he and Rem went on. It also happens to be after Subaru and Emilia’s argument and his foolhardy mistakes at the selection which I am truly grateful for. It could have been so easy for the writer to just undo the mess and put Subaru on top but instead he took the high road and made it that Subaru needs to live with his mistakes and mend his broken relationships. Though he’s not doing that now as he’s gone completely insane and no longer has the mental capacity to deal with things anymore. This is the point where Rem has pretty much won the main heroine title. I don’t care if Emilia is technically the main heroine, Rem’s earned it ten times over by this point. Which is surprising as it wasn’t all that long ago when she caved in Subaru’s skull with a flail.

Subaru has been rendered a unresponsive vegetable at this point and despite not knowing how this suddenly happened, Rem sticks with him. Though she does make an accurate guess in that the witch is likely involved due to the scent of her growing over Subaru. She even fights to the fight to save his life after he’s abducted by the witches cult. That brings me to what I would call the biggest flaw of an otherwise perfect episode, Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse is the main villain of this arc and boy, does he want you to know it. For Subaru’s development he’s perfect as he’s so unredeemable evil and unforgivable that he drives Subaru to fight him. However while in some aspects I like his purpose, I rather dislike his overly cartoonishly exaggerated insanity. He’s trying far too hard to be creepy and unstable that he’s just too hard to take seriously. He bares a heavy resemblance to Gates from Full Metal Panic: The second raid who also had a spastic personality as well as a pendent for killing his own subordinates. This kind of villain suits the needs of the plot but as a character he just comes off as weak. If he can manage to tone down his mood swings I think he has potential in how perceptive he is of others. Particularly he managed to see that Rem had unrequited love for Subaru and more importantly, that Subaru was retreating into insanity.

As the Joker stated in the famous comic and soon to be animated adaption “The Killing Joke” “So when you find yourself locked onto an unpleasant train of thought, heading for the places in your past where the screaming is unbearable, remember there’s always madness. Madness is the emergency exit…” Subaru tried to take that exit but Betelgeuse wouldn’t let he close the door and that’s the strange thing about this. Betelgeuse did horrible things, brutally killed Rem and left Subaru screaming bloody vengeance but in an odd manner, he “helped” Subaru. Well, help might not be the right word, more he gave Subaru drive and focus. With the next loop Subaru is ready to fight back but the look in his eyes isn’t that of a hero. It’s the eyes of someone out to kill a man called Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse put down some nice hints in his scene, with him labeling himself Sloth and aptly wondering if Subaru was pride. It looks like all the archbishops of this “gospel” are representative of a sin and in the manga Betelgeuse does say that he knows everyone’s face but pride. I must admit however that I am really getting tired of the seven deadly sins being used as symbolism. When Full metal alchemist did it that was cool but lately everything under the sun has been using the seven deadly sins motif. At least change it up a bit. After all, there were originally eight deadly sins. Those original sins had despair instead of envy and the eighth sin was vainglory. Vainglory being the human desire to be seen, appreciated, acknowledged, and accepted. If this writer is very smart it could be possible that Subaru is Vainglory and that suits him to a much greater degree than pride.

What is by far the signature of this episode is the closing credits. Rem limped her way to Subaru and released his chains.(Still questioning how she’s still alive seeing as I was sure Betelgeuse broke her neck.) After she confesses her love and dies in his arms, Subaru carries her all the way to the manor which has been overtaken by a sudden snowstorm. After seeing Ram’s dead body a giant beast comes out of the top of the manor and upon locking eyes with Subaru, freezes and decapitates him. As the credits roll and Subaru is buried under snow and fog, this doesn’t feel like the end of a single episode of a series. If feels like the dramatic end of a movie and is just mesmerising. The music on this point as well is just superb with orchestrated violins. I think it’s fairly safe to say that the beast that froze the manor is Puck due to the ice powers, his tendency of calling Emilia his daughter and looking closely at the silhouette you can see the earring Puck wears clearly. It was previously mentioned at the selection and by Puck himself that he is a very powerful spirit and this is likely his true form revealed after the death of Emilia. His killing of Subaru feels like a mercy killing as he didn’t want him to see Emilia dead. Or it could be possible that he is aware of Subaru’s power to a degree as he has shown elements of a mind reading power. The real question now is what happens after this, when Subaru now is ready to strike back. My guess is Wilhelm will notice the change and play a part. My biggest worry from this point forward is that Re:Zero may have played it’s strongest hand, hit the peak and after this it’s all downhill. It has so far managed to avoid that but truthfully, I am not sure how it can top this.

~AidanAK47~

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~

When I heard about this arc being hard to watch I readied myself for a number of things. I was prepared to see Subaru die gruesomely, to see him tortured and broken. However while I was ready to see him get destroyed by others; I didn’t expect him to be the architect of his own destruction. This was truly a painful episode to watch with Subaru attempting the brute force his way through story developments like a typical shounen protagonist and it just failing miserably. It wasn’t elegant, nor was it impressive and Subaru came off as outright pathetic in his attempts to make himself seem like a big deal. This is by far Subaru’s lowest point in the series and the visuals certainly show it. The manga tried to give him dignity in that there he was at least given some acknowledgement and looked decent even when getting beaten. Not in the anime, here he looked seedy, graceless and desperate.

Which leads me to rethink something I said in the last episode review of this series, namely that I was worried about Rem becoming irrelevant to the story. Perhaps I was worried about the wrong person and in truth the one whose rapidly becoming irrelevant is Subaru himself and he’s all too aware of it. After the closure of the mansion arc Subaru is in a a brand new run where he has no real idea of how anything will turn out. His usefulness has dropped to zero and his existence in Emilia’s life is no longer necessary. For when you think about it, he has no real reason to be at the King’s selection nor any real reason to be in Emilia’s life. The spotlight is moving away from him and I think Subaru has noticed. That’s what makes this episode a little easier to watch for me, for I see it as Subaru desperately kicking and screaming so that he doesn’t end up left behind.

I will admit that seeing Subaru going through all this is not a pleasant experience and while I appreciate the subversion of the shounen tropes, it’s still somewhat flustrating to see Subaru act like this. What makes this somewhat more frustrating is that Subaru is basically making the moves the viewer likely would. I know if I heard someone start berating the girl I liked by racist assumptions I would call him out on it regardless of where I was. Same goes for Julius as he questioned Subaru’s declaration of being Emilia’s Knight, I too would try to shout him down. Upon being challenged to a duel I would relish any opportunity to hit him. But here Subaru is making all the moves the audience wants but is experiencing the consequences of taking such actions. By declaring himself a knight he publical embarrassed Emilia in front of everyone and by fighting Julius he showed everyone just how much of his words was pure empty talk. I really like that when looking at it from Julius’s perspective all his actions seem logical. Most often to make the hero look better they have his opponent act illogical and unreasonable but here Julius was the more level headed one. He tried to make Subaru see just how he was making Emilia feel and even his challenge was him giving Subaru a chance to show his worth; while preventing him from getting murdered in a back alley for insulting the knights by making him an example. Obviously he isn’t right in every regard, I am fairly certain he got some enjoyment out of beating Subaru to a pulp and his philosophy of might makes right is just wrong. However he isn’t just some one dimensional caricature for Subaru to beat down and show everyone how great and right he is.

On the matter of the king’s selection I find it amusing that none of the candidates is aiming to simply be a good ruler and many are going for a radical and dangerous change. We have Priscilla who basically promises a complete dictatorship. Crusch wishes to rid ties to the dragon and let the people rule the nation which seems like a pretty big deal. Anastasia admitted that she is only after the crown to satisfy her own greed. Felt after being pushed into running as ruler due to Roms interference, declares that she was get rid of the social class hierarchy. Emilia in contrast seems to be the most reasonable one and promises to give equality to all people. Basically each participant has pretty much declared that they are going to do whatever the hell they want when they get the crown so I wonder just how this is planned to be settled.

The defining aspect of this episode is the scene after all of Subaru’s embarrassments where he and Emilia finally have a talk. The talk bordered on the overly melodramatic but hit some big points. Namely that Subaru has placed Emilia on a pedestal so high that he can’t even see her for what she is anymore. Emilia cannot understand just why he holds her so highly and Subaru can’t explain because of the curse. Leaving him rambling like a madman to Emilia about events that just didn’t happen to her. After Subaru lets out his most selfish true feelings; Emilia declares that they go their separate ways leaving Subaru alone. This is probably the most human Emilia has been in the series and he comments such as “I had high hopes for you” cut deeper than a knife. This is a massive turning point in the series but one that has me worried. This is big in regards to Subaru in that once he arrived in this world he made Emilia his center and focused all his efforts for her.

Now he’s lost that and the time has come for him to find a new objective but there lies a problem in this. If Subaru dies then possibly all this will be undone and even though while watching this episode I desperately wanted someone to kill Subaru just to undo the utter cringeworthy displays he put in, I do not want his confrontation with Emilia to be undone. If I am asked about whether this episode was a good or bad episode I say my decisive factor is what comes after this. This could be a great example of Shounen deconstruction if it remains this way and a great cornerstone of Subaru’s development as must pick up the broken relationship pieces caused by his mistakes. But if all this gets swept under the rug and Subaru gets to replay for the perfect end then this episode will leave a particularly bad taste in my mouth.

~AidanAK47~

This looks to be the weakest episode of Re:Zero to date which does seem to be a trend when it comes to the arcs of the series. When looking over these twelve episodes I have come to find that the weakest episodes of the series are the first episode of an arc which does make sense when you think about it. Subaru’s first runs are often fairly uneventful and it does highlight a weakness of the series in that Subaru really doesn’t have much of an objective. When an Arc truly kicks off Subaru is suddenly given an objective to break the loop and survive beyond it but when he succeeds his motivation returns to protecting or wooing Emilia. For the style of story Re:Zero is telling it requires groundwork to be laid down before the plot can begin in earnest so the story must be carried by it’s comedy and antics which are clearly not its strongest suits. It also doesn’t help that upon introduction Re:Zeros characters do feel very stereotypical, evidenced by a number of characters introduced in this episode whom are trope heavy in regards to first impressions. That said my first impressions of the characters of the second arc was much the same and Re:Zero managed to make them much more interesting as the arc continued.

We have a number of returning characters from the first arc and quite a number of new ones. Two standouts are Priscilla and her very dark souls design inspired bodyguard called Al. Priscilla is cocky and seems to believe that everything in the world works out in her favor. Whether this is just a misconception on her part or something with some degree if truth is still up in the air but if it’s the latter she should prove to be quite interesting. Al I find interesting mostly due to his design which does feel like a reference to Dark Souls. Many have made jokes claims about comparing Re:Zero to Dark Souls because of his very narrative nature being similar to the Dark Souls mechanics of repeatable facing death until you get the tools and knowledge needed to progress. I have heard that he should prove to be quite an interesting character and some information was present in a manga scene the anime skipped which boosted his significance greatly. Though I will refrain from revealing it as it is very likely going to be show in a later episode. The butler at the beginning whom Subaru spoke with was also intriguing as he was able to recognise that Subaru has gone through life or death situations, though this perhaps him overestimating Subarus worth as Subaru didn’t actually live through those situations. Felt is back and much as expected is a candidate for the throne or Dragon priestess as they refer to it. The reveal was fairly predictable as Felt kept getting mentioned as the episode continued.

Rem has certainly warmed up to Subaru but I must admit that I am worried that she might be a victim of a little thing I refer to as “Light novel heroine” syndrome. This is when a particular girl has the story focus on them for a specific arc or volume of a light novel to the degree of a main heroine. However once the arc is completed and the girls problems are solved then she is tossed to the sidelines to which she will be damned just be a rare pointless camo now and then. By far the biggest victim of this syndrome is Index of the Certain Magical Index series, whom despite the series being named after her, is only relevant to the plot in about 2 of the 24 light novels and likely still is irrelevant even in the new series of light novels. So far Rem is tagging along but I do hope that he plays a more significant role besides just an unimportant side character. The manga of the series at least showed her being more proactive than here as a scene was omitted when Rem comes to save Subaru from the bandits in the alley. It’s understandable why it was omitted but still rather a pity as it truly was a great moment for her. Either way even when put on the sidelines she still manages to steal the show…or perhaps that’s my own bias speaking. I am actually starting to wonder why Emilia was made the main heroine. Well there are special IF chapters which detail what would happen if Subaru got together with Rem so those could be used as a simulation of Rem being the main heroine.

Subaru got admittedly annoying here as while I know his mannerisms are a front to hide his insecurities, he can still get a bit overbearing. I also think he is misunderstanding his role here. This is a rather interesting  concept as Subaru actively has to force inself to get involved in important events. Normally a protagonist is automatically included in any important matters to the plot but due to Emilia’s objections, Subaru is finding himself getting pushed away from the royal selection which is no doubt involved with the next incident. We have a clash of white knight complexes here as Subaru is forcing himself to get into more dangerous situations for Emilia’s sake while Emilia is trying to keep him uninvolved in order to protect him. This is the first real crack in their relationship as the two clash when it comes to their objectives. However Subaru doesn’t quite get that he is not the person who saves the day but as was pointed out at the start of the episode, he is the one who sets things in place for the hero to save the day. But Emilia doesn’t quite get that having Subaru around is a valuable thing as the more he knows the better prepared he is if things go wrong. I do think it’s rather odd though for Subaru to be so intent to involve himself even when it clearly hurts Emilia to do so.

~AidanAK47~