It’s been two episodes and we have yet to hear the opening for the second cour and considering how little the last opening was used, I wonder if they will forgo even making an anime opening and just use the song in scenes. Now looking at common consensus the reception to this episode was quite positive and being a Re:Zero fan myself I don’t really like to be the wet blanket to that response. However I will say that I only really liked half of this episode, that half being the second part. Bits of the reason pertain to something I believe I mentioned in one of my posts on the first cour, namely that Re:Zero is not really an action series so when it focuses on action it can be to its detriment. The first season did have some notable action scenes but I would never consider them the highlight of the show and in our current environment I don’t believe that they can deliver on action when the first cour of the second season showed a noticeable hit to production. I only spotted it recently myself but you may notice that the ears of characters are considerably less detailed than the first season. I know that is a weird thing to comment on which would likely solicit a well deserved “Who cares?” but I feel it’s the easy way to distinguish the quality drop when you see they stopped shading the ears and they are mostly now just a squiggly line on skin tone. It’s one of those things you wish you could no longer notice once you do see it so my apologies in advance. Maybe they might fix it up when the blu-rays come out as they have done quite a lot of rework on the blu-ray releases before.
Now I can be all for giving Otto some much needed character development considering his new position in the plot but how it was handled in this episode was a poor way of presenting it. We have the tried and true shounen anime cliche of a character having a flashback during a fight scene which is about the most hamfisted way of hastily shoving character development into a series. Stopping an ongoing fight so you can put a spotlight on someone’s past in an attempt to make the current battle more engaging is just a bit trite at this point. Otto’s past is also a bit melodramatic as well as while I like the part regarding him having childhood problems due to his blessing, the stuff regarding him getting kicked out of his village for snitching on a noble girl(I think?) being a slut was a bit too over the top. The line was crossed when the girl declared “Somebody kill him!” and it appears to have been taken as a serious command. Of course Otto likely didn’t get many supporters from his little trick of accidently setting bugs on the town but his history is one of those sob stories where you can see the contrivance pulled to get the result. There was also that very strange moment with the cat which I understand was likely the animals presenting a visualisation of the girls playing around with boys but unfortunately gave the mistaken impression that Otto just got cucked by a cat. Though it does appear that this scene was inspired by a joke answer Tappei gave regarding Ottos first love apparently being a cat.
Coupled with this crowbarred in backstory we even have Otto having a slideshow of his other parts of season one as well as parts of the flashback we literally just seen minutes ago. The intent was to hype us up but I found the effect lacking when the fight isn’t against the main antagonist while the thing on line is Subaru and Emilia’s alone time. That said I do like seeing Ram punching a fully transformed Garfiel and her comment about Subaru being someone of good timing who can see the best outcome to a bad situation. A viewpoint of Subaru which can only be obtained by someone who only saw the successful runs he has had and not his failures while also taking into account that with Rem obliterated from memory it makes Subaru’s efforts all the more impressive. That’s something I like about this series in that small events can lead to characters having completely different perspectives depending on circumstance. When Rem was still in memory Ram might have not this level of confidence in Subaru’s judgement and due to Subaru’s unintended actions with the witch cult, Subaru managed to turn someone who left him to die into his most loyal friend. It’s an interesting prospect or maybe a rather depressing one to have for your most important beliefs and convictions to be tied to small events that are entirely coincidental.
I have been quite negative on the first half of this episode but I do reiterate that I like the second half. I wouldn’t consider it a scene as great as those from the first cour of season 2 but I do think it is the standout scene of this cour so far. When looking at this scene I am reminded of some Mari Okada films I have seen recently.(Those being Anthem of the Heart and Maquia) Those movies reminded me of the shortcomings of Okada’s writing but in particular that she’s not good at depicting arguments. As I watch characters somehow spew clunky dialogue yet perfectly articulate their current opinion to each other in a literal shouting match that ends when one storms off or some consensus is achieved through the demands of the plot. Arguments are not such clean and tidy things so it’s nice to see Re:Zero depict a messy lovers quarrel in all its glory. There was a bit of a clean conclusion but I like that it was a messy tug of war that didn’t quite resolve the problems they have but rather a pledge to do better. An argument can be more an issue of being unable to convey a message to someone but trying your damnedest in your awkward clumsy way all while emotional highs and stubboness make things all the messier. Having Emilia get mad that Subaru wasn’t admonishing for running and then getting even more upset when he actually does is kind of a maddening thing in relationships.
What I particularly like though is that when comparing this argument to the conversation in episode 18 of season 1 you find that Subaru was literally attempting the same thing. The big difference though is that if we consider Rem’s confession to be a controlled demolition, Subaru’s was like a wrecking ball. We see him try to make the same statements and moves like him naming out the things he likes about Emilia only for Emilia to be having none of it.(I even like how that scene started playing a similar, maybe the same tune, as when Rem was naming Subaru’s good points only to immediately cut out when Emilia shut him down.) In the end he broke through with pure raw emotion than logic which I feel is appropriate. Now this isn’t to say that this was the best resolution that solves everything as I sincerely doubt that. The argument did point out the problems with Emilia’s self loathing and Subaru being untrustworthy to keep his word along with a lingering sense of entitlement. I am more than willing to bet these things will come back to bite them. I wouldn’t say the ship has sailed either as it does seem more like Subaru just got Emilia to truly look at him as visualised by the reflection in the eyes. The main point of this argument was to get Emilia out of her self pity and begin taking steps forward. In that regard I believe this scene accomplished that, even if Subaru’s execution was far from ideal. These two still have plenty of problems and we still have more Re:Zero arcs to go.
I also thought that cat scene was strange, and if it really was a joke from Tappei about a cat being Otto’s first love, I guess it’s more of an easter egg for fans of the novel than anything serious pertaining to the plot.
I thought the Subaru and Emilia scene was well done, but I can’t help but feel that what Subaru feels for Emilia is puppy love.
I completely agree. Even with the narrative parallels with Rem’s confession, Subaru’s felt very messy for me. And not always in a good way too. But of course, the elephant in the room still remains unaddressed. The fact that why Subaru has such unwavering affection for Emilia in the first place. “Puppy Love” is the perfect way in which I would describe it too.
I have a theory about why Subaru has such unwavering affection for Emilia based mainly off of Episodes 18, 21, and 25 of Re:zero.
In that episode, Subaru said if Emilia mentioned 10 things she hated about himself that he’d tell her 2,000 things he likes about her. In episode 18, Puck told Petelgeuse that if he wants to kill them he needs to generate a thousand shadow hands, half of what Satella could, which is 2,000. This suggests that the reason Subaru thought of that specific number is that Satella influenced him subconsciously.
I’m positive that Satella can influence Subaru given that she can read his mind and determine if his intent is to reveal Return by Death, which shows that subconsciously, there is a connection between them even if Subaru has no access to Satella, the Witch of Envy’s thoughts. So if Satella can make Subaru think of the number 2,000, which is associated with her, who’s say that part of the reason Subaru’s affection for Emilia is so strong is because Emilia looks just like Satella, and Satella is subconsciously making him obsessed with someone who looks just like she does?
In episode 21, when Crusch offered to Subaru to become one of her men, he turned her down and said it wasn’t about loyalty or allegiance, but his faith lies exactly where it should. This shows that his reason for supporting Emilia perhaps does not have a solid foundation.
Hmm, that does sound like a possible theory. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s truly a plausible one but kudos for making that connection! It’s something I had personally missed.
I personally don’t think we need any complicated theories to explain why Subaru has a crush on Emilia. She’s cute, looking just like a heroine from one of the stories he fantasized about when he was a NEET (and going by the figurines in his bedroom, he may have a grey hair fetish too), she made a big impression on him when he first arrived a world, she has the personality of a saint, and she comforted him several times when he was down in the dumps. And you could also argue that he kind of needs her to keep going: the only reason he can withstand all the pain and suffering he goes through, all the deaths he has suffered, is because they save the higher purpose of saving Emilia (and, to a lesser extent, the other people he has befriended). If that purpose disappears and his many mental scars are all he is left with… well, it’s not too surprising he clings to her to give meaning to his suffering. His crush on Emilia may have started out as “puppy love”, but now his feelings for her seem to be both deeper and far more complex than that.
In any case, for me it’s actually Emilia’s side that’s far more problematic. She just lost Puck, the only person who was always by her side, so she’s afraid and upset and desperately looking for someone to depend upon. And given how emotionally unstable she is at the moment, is this really the time to force a confession and a kiss on her? I get where Subaru is coming from: Emilia needs to know that he is on her side, that she isn’t alone, so when his words aren’t getting through to her, he decides to show her through action. And time is running short, so it’s not like they can take their time to work things out. But on the other hand, when Emilia decides to accept his kiss, it didn’t seem to me like she did so out of love: it felt more like she just wanted someone on her side. And the kiss didn’t feel very romantic to me as a result. If that was the series’ intention, I think it should have shown us Emilia’s perspective on Subaru more: now it felt more like a naive and scared girl going with the flow.
But then, I suppose you could argue that actually makes the whole situation more interesting: romanticized first kisses are a dime a dozen, but a first kiss between a traumatized and rather obsessed guy and an emotionally unstable, insecure and naive girl with abandonment issues who’s desperate to have someone on her side? That’s rare. The show did seem to go for the romantic angle, though, and in that respect I can’t say it was entirely successful for me. Even putting aside my issues with this particular scene, Emilia and Subaru just don’t have a lot of chemistry imo, and Subaru’s interest in Emilia seems a bit too one-sided, which makes their relationship rather unequal (a cute girl and her white knight). Hopefully those things will improve in the future.