While I did enjoy this episode and think that some interesting things have been brought up, I must admit that even my patience is starting to run out. I blame this mostly on the fact that I am watching this weekly instead of binge watching it all as the progression in these episodes has slowed down. This is part of the problem with adapting something which wasn’t tailored to be shown in portions over weekly periods. While I see value in the characterisation and failing of Subaru, at this point his redemption is long overdue. The level of suffering he’s going through has gotten excessive to the point of reaching torture porn status. I am certainly not above the primal pleasure of tragedy, it is something that I was looking forward to after all, but I am not in favor of it when it halts progression. That’s what is missing here as I watch Subaru fumble around and make mistakes.
At the moment Subaru is like a child with a shape puzzle in that the solution is there but instead of stopping to think, he just shoves random shapes in and gets further frustrated when he doesn’t get a result he was after. Of course I don’t think that Subaru should immediately become a perfect being and start making all the right moves as that would defeat the purpose of his downfall here. Subaru’s problem is not something a happy ending can immediately fix and requires time. What I need is for him to start getting on the track that gets him close to solving this, even if for the wrong reasons. Instead of running around in circles I need him to start taking steps in the right direction, so even if he hits another bad end then at least he has made some progress on resolving the matter. If it takes him the entire second cour to start doing this then I can’t say I would look fondly back on this.
This episode be get a big introduction the the White Whale whose powers are quite terrifying. It seems that those who fight the white whale are removed from everyone’s memories and even have their existence completely wiped from the world. What makes this especially terrifying is that the Whale has erased Rem who was practically main heroine at this point and she now no longer exists. The impact of this detail was somewhat removed for me thanks to some youtube commenter spoiling it in an unrelated video so Mister commenter I say you can sincerely go to hell.(Why do people do that, it’s such an ignorant thing to do.) Now I fear that even if Subaru does die and respawns at the apple stand then Rem could still be erased from the world. I would like to believe that such a development would be far too sadistic to include but considering the writers intense desire to make Subaru suffer as much as possible I think it’s a high possibility. Even if that were the case I at least am confident that she wouldn’t be removed from the story completely as the opening hints at a confrontation with the White Whale. Speaking of which one of the most surprising things about this episode was that it had an opening. I actually forgot that this show had those considering their lack of usage, well it’s a good opening and those singers were paid for a reason so why not.
I don’t blame Otto for kicking Subaru out of the carriage as his words wishing for Subaru to die likely echo the fan base’s sentiment at the moment. His words about how he and Subaru were weak are also things Subaru needs to hear. Though I must say that he mentioned something quite interesting in that a Master Swordsman faced the White Whale and died. In this series there are two characters with the title of swordsman. One is Wilhelm and the other is Reinhart. Considering that Reinhart has been considered away on business for a while I have a firm suspicion that he was the one recently killed by the whale. Part of how Subaru fixes all this could do with him helping Reinhart defeat the whale to get him in debt to Subaru. With that he would have the leverage to ask him to defeat the witches cult. There was also the matter of Subaru trying to make a good move of warning Emilia even at the cost of his own life but the curse killed Emilia instead of him.
It’s possible that the curse actually only affect those he tells and the first part is a warning. Or the Curse was being malicious at this moment to let Subaru know that even if he steels himself for death the curse won’t be bypassed so easily. I like the second option as it suggests that this curse isn’t some kind of automatic function but rather someone who is watching Subaru and threatening him. In his case the obvious suspect would be the jealous witch. Her attachment to Subaru may have grow as well seeing as he can now see Betelgeuse’s power when he couldn’t before. I suppose I shall close this post out by saying that it was nice to see Beatrice again and she certainly had a great moment where she refused to kill Subaru. From her words it seems she has gone through a rough time in her life and at least begrudgingly cares about Subaru. Maybe next week some closure is coming, like Betelgeuse getting impaled on one of Pucks icicles for example.
~AidanAK47~
Sometimes you forget this show used to be a comedic. I don’t think I’ve laughed watching this show for a month now.
I’m binge watching Konobi to get over the pain. This is Nina in FMA all over again. I basically dropped FMA after what they did to Nina. Still, this show has a cheat mode that let’s you restart from a previous save and avoid all the trauma so I’m still holding out for a good result. I mean, the kids are alive and it looks like Subaru did stumble into a way to save the village. >.>;;;; Still…I agree with Aidan. This writer is sadistic. I think the early comedy was a honey trap. =.=; 8 episodes left. Still no Felt/Reinhart arc. No Elsa.
Well, on the bright side, I’m pretty sure Emilia is still alive, cos Puck is still in soft-toy mode. Or is that just for the moment?
I like Emilia but seeing her death didn’t have that much impact. Especially compared to episode 15. I think the deaths are expected at this point. It’s the agony of watching Subaru go through such a horrible ordeal that truly gets to me. Before, it only took a few tries and everything was squared away.
So I think now that he knows what he needs to do the show can turn it around. Thats why I disagree with Aidan, I don’t think Subaru is made to suffer just because the writer is sadistic, but because he NEEDS a dramatic realization to realize how he can save people again.
That could be the case but I heard that the anime actually skipped over one of Subaru’s loops which was the one that broke him so badly. From the details it pretty much was genuine torture porn.
Though I haven’t actually confirmed this.
No. I’m not referring to Emilia per se. I’m just thinking of how FMA started out light hearted and comedic. Yes, there was this serious war theme going but I didn’t think they’d drop from comedy hijinks to..well…have you seen FMA?
Even after experience, this episode/arc was scary WTF stuff. Are we seeing Subaru about to transform into something like Betelgeuse? Betelgeuse’s tentacle arms really remind me of the stuff in Subaru, which I thought was some kind of subconscious thing but now it seems can manifest in the physical and actually kill people other than him. Has he not yet learned how to control them or something? Did he accidentally kill Emilia? Was Subaru meant to be one of the bad guys? Was Rem’s fear of him when they first met actually justified? I mean, how does Subaru survive the Whale encounter? Was he erased and then respawned in the grass? Or was he let go? Was the whale working for Subaru’s puppet master all along? And he gets a carriage delivered to him on a silver platter, actually signed and delivered with signature Sloth minion swords. I mean, Subaru’s whole reset thing is amazing but now we got a monster than can erase people’s existences from history. Rem went out like Nier saving Kaine. And Subaru cruelly gets to remember her while even Ram doesn’t. Does she still only have one horn? I really wanted to see Subaru ask Ram how many horns she has.
And now Emilia. I wanted to throw something at Subaru for not mentioning the coming cult attack at all, even though he now has physical evidence. This is so stupidus ex machina. I get that he’s messed up. Totally. Still pissed that he had to drop the ball there so close to the finish line. And the pitfall this time came out of nowhere. I’m totally expecting some scary dead eyes on Emilia’s face in the tilting head scene in the BD release. The tension build up there was…wow. They copped out for the TV release I think. XD And Beatrice just dumps them out to Betelgeuse. No shock at seeing Emilia like that. Very minimal explanation. Heck. Day to dusk and Ram never checks in. What?? Did Ram not notice the Sloth blades in the carriage? The same type used by the minions that wiped out her village and cut of her horn?
I’m totally with you here about Emilia. A lot more focus on Rem. And there is this point this show has been trying to make. About this not being about Emilia anymore. We’re a long long way from that epic Styx Helix hand squeeze scene in Old Man Rom’s place. It’s almost nostalgic. Now we’re in the middle of a totally different never ending bad end horror flick super combo where Emilia is a supporting cast member at best. Like Erina in Shokugeki no Soma. I mean, how much would you like to bet Puck kills Subaru again? We will learn something new, of course. Right now, all I can predict is Subaru figuring out or stumbling into a way to get Crusch to confront the Whale. Not even sure why or how that should matter since they’re way past that obstacle point. Anyway, unlikely to happen this loop with Emilia in her current state. Emilia will probably live through this eventually. I’m not sure how much I’ll care about that subplot.
I’m really hooked on Konobi this season. Also looking forward to more Konosuba.
One thing… If the whale erases everyone it kills from existence, no one would know she killed a master swordsman.
Therefore, either he is alive or that is a lie/exaggeration…
I’d wager it’s probably more of an oversight or plot hole.
With how this show has gone, I dont think it would make such a glaringly obvious plot hole. I think the Swordsman just isnt dead, they just never returned from fighting and were presumed dead.
Hey Aidan, great review as always!
I’ve been a pretty loyal fan of the blog and I’m offering my services to help fix punctuation or grammar if you want. A second pair of eyes often does wonders.
I notice it every now and then, such as the line “…you can sincerely go to hell.(Why do people do that, it’s such an ignorant thing to do)”, which can be fixed with a space and a period after the “do”.
It doesn’t really detract from the reading experience but just thought I’d say something if you want!
Fixed that now. Thanks.
I certainly could use an editor as I haven’t put up a post without a punctuation or spelling error. Though it would be a pretty dull job and I am not sure how it would work.
If you are interested I could take you on the site and you can look over our reviews before we post them. However I must make it clear that it will be a pretty thankless job and it would require you to be responsive as well as active. So I would say think it over a lot before volunteering.
Of course you could always post comments about mistakes in a review every now and again if you want a more hands off role. I will edit the the posts to fix anything that’s off.
Yep. Pretty much 100% in agreement with what you wrote. For my taste, the show has been overdoing the Subaru torture for quite some time now, and Subaru’s reaction to it is horrible, too. Just to give a few examples:
So Subaru fails to hold back Rem (not really his fault), and he blames _Otto_ for abandoning her?? The guy who has been driving the cart? Instead of picking up that he seems to have forgotten her? Shouting at and physically attacking someone unrelated because he has no other way to deal with his frustrations – classy, Subaru.
Even after finding out that Ram forgot her sister, as well, and visiting Rem’s room to find it vacated, he _still_ believes that Emilia is lying and only pretending not to know her? How stupid is this?
So he’s yelling at her to run away (where??) even though he learned that things have changed from his former reincarnation. The village has not been murdered, Rem is forgotten, the White Whale has appeared. Still, he insists on running away instead of thinking first. And not even that, he is screaming at Emilia and getting physical with her, without understanding that with his inability to explain himself, he only comes over as a threatening madman.
Thing is: Lead characters don’t always have to win. They don’t always have to be smart. It’s fine to let them fail and suffer – to a degree. But Subaru has regressed to a screaming ragdoll without a clue. A headless chicken hurting anybody around him, who are still amazingly patient and benevolent towards him (after his behavior, it would have been more realistic to punch his lights out and dump him outside the mansion). Is it too much to ask for that he becomes part of the solution instead of the problem?
This is gone beyond “original” now. Either the show is finally getting a grip on itself again real soon, or it’s going to have one viewer less.
Totally share your frustration. But Subaru’s current state of mind I can pretty much understand. He’s been banging his head against the wall for awhile now trying to brute force his way into his ideal happy ending for awhile, in the face of some pretty awful bad endings. He is losing it. Which is a terrible thing to see. Even if the shows somehow deus ex machinas a happy ending out of this in the next few episodes, I’m not sure if it’s something I’d be able to swallow.
You know how doctors aren’t allowed to operate on people they’re emotionally attached to right? Possibility of losing it ever so slightly on the table and botching a delicate operation? I’m reminded of somebody who lost his job over a facebook rant about Pokemon Go not being out in the country he was in. Basically, too much emotion makes even smart people do stupid things. And I don’t really consider Subaru being all that smart to begin with. Really nice kid, wears his heart on his sleeve, speaks his mind, lots of bravado, funny, hardworking, but not too smart.
You saw how Subaru took the whole butler thing, to the point where he wound up vomiting. It took a nap on the lap of his best girl to calm him down. Well, he’s going through a whole lot worse. And his lap nap girl has dumped him. She was not sitting next to him waiting for him to wake up. The barge-into-the-office scene was like watching the girl you love and confessed to and turned you down trying to avoid the elephant in the room. Ouch. Make that stop, please. XD Oh, they did. OUCH. I need a nice boat. XD (Btw, let’s not forget that his 2nd best girl has created a new definition to the phrase “gone and forgotten”.)
About running away, actually, that was a real plan to me. They had to run anywhere but the mansion to avoid the massacre he’s already been through twice. He’s already been off that cliff and is doing anything he can to avoid it. I really think they could have made it somewhere if Subaru hadn’t lost it in the office. But of course, he’s trying to get over what happened to Rem among how many other things. And there’s a time crunch. And he would be so heartbroken about how Emilia and him aren’t nearly on the same page. And he can’t even try to get her on the same page cos trying it kills her. Wheee! XD
Anyway, running was their only chance. By sundown, I think the mansion was already under attack, which might explain Ram’s absence and Betty basically recognizing a lost cause and teleporting Subaru and Emilia to distract Betelgeuse and at least save the villagers. And she was granting his wish in the end I guess. Hm, I guess Emilia really is dead.
I just hate that the situation got this low and is dragging on and on. Rem leaving the stage after all that development. (Significantly more than Emilia.) Hm..maybe that was a death flag. XD I’m not seeing a way out of this. Not fun. My mind keeps going back to the epic 1st course ED sequence with the hand squeeze at the end. Maybe this story kinda peaked after Rem’s arc. Anything more to look forward to other than more traumatic bad ends and maybe an anti-climatic hard-to-swallow deus ex machina happy end that doesn’t quite justify all this?