Subaru Natsuki

Emilia

Felt

Reinhard van Astrea

Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti

Anastasia Hoshin

Aldebaran

Wilhelm van Astrea

Elsa Granhiert

Beatrice

Roswaal Mathers

Julius Euclius

Felix Argyle

Crusch Karsten

Priscilla Barielle

Puck

Otto Suwen

Rachins Hoffman

Theresia van Astrea

Kadomon Risch

Plum Risch

Satella

In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.<br>
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(Source: Anime News Network)
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<i>Notes:<br>
- The first episode aired with a runtime of ~50 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode.<br>
- In the Winter 2020 season, Re:ZERO was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot. This edit included the first OVA and added slight modifications to certain scenes throughout. It also added an additional scene at the end of the final episode.</i>

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World (ゼロから始める異世界生活, Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), is one of the brightest gems of the Summer 2016 season. While it is not something flawless, as one might think, this series is definitely doing its best to be enjoyable and interesting for its viewer. In my opinion, the fact that the creator of the series actually cares is very commendable. However, it is an open secret that trying to be fascinating and being fascinating is not the same thing. Thankfully, it is not one of these cases. Allow me to share my opinion on Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World, on the anime that is able to leave one speechless, on the anime that bullies you, and on the anime that shows you many events, which are absolutely impossible to foresee.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World is a Japanese light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka that also has three manga adaptations and an anime television series adaptation by White Fox, which began airing on April 4, 2016. The series tells us a story of Natsuki Subaru, a normal young man that lives his normal life in the modern Japan. However, one day, he is summoned to another world. Without knowing the person that summoned him, or the reason for being summoned in the new world, he soon befriends a silver-haired-half-elf girl, Emilia. Due to some unknown circumstances, the girl is being targeted by an unknown assassin. The assassin manages to kill the two and everything seems to be over. Yet, a second later, Natsuki Subaru awakens and discovers his new ability that he names "Return by Death." That new ability gives him the power to reverse time by dying; however, only he remembers the events of the previous timeline. Why was Natsuki Subaru summoned in this mysterious world, who gave him the power to reverse time? Find the answer by watching Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World now.

The first thing that might come to your mind after reading the description of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World’s story-line is that this anime is a mix of Steins;Gate, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, and Boku dake ga Inai Machi. And I must say that you will be right to think so. Of course, this anime has nothing to do with comedy, but all these four anime do have a few things in common. Anyway, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World reworks all mistakes of its predecessors doing its best to be entertaining and I must say that Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World manages to do it. It is an open secret that the most important thing for all story-lines is to be complex: one should never be able to foresee more than thirty percent of events that will happen in the next episodes. In case of the anime we are talking about, you might have theories on first, on second, …, on thirteenth episodes, but all your theories will be destroyed in an instant. That is, in my opinion, the best part about the story-line of this anime.

The animation of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World is mostly top notch. There are many characters, they have sometimes unusual and sometimes very beautiful outfits, monsters, demons, some unknown creatures, and magic spells and they all are beautiful. At the same time, when this anime should become dark, it becomes dark. It is so amazing that it helps you to dive in the universe of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World. Without a doubt, it is not flawless, but it is on the level, which is very important for all anime that have such a setting.

The OST is on the level, as well. From pop music to amazing orchestral pieces, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World even focuses on music, which some anime tend to not do. Of course, it is not that important, but the amount of attention this anime pays to its music only helps you to dive into the universe of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World and to understand it better. I will not hide the fact that sometimes the music should have been more epic: when you see a good battle, the music should be epic very, but it is still able to make you have gooseflesh. Another part of this section, which is also worth mentioning, is the cast of this anime. All voice actors did one hell of a job making their characters vivid and lively. If it is a villain, you hate them with all of your heart, if it is one of the main heroes, you just wish that they succeed in everything they do and you cannot even imagine what you will do if something bad happens to them.

The cast of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World consists of the main characters, Rem and Natsuki Subaru, supporting characters, and villains. While I would argue that the main characters do not receive enough development, I completely agree with the fact that supporting characters should have received more development. However, I believe that the main characters and the villains compensate for it well, since Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World has the edgiest villains that you have ever seen in your life. Anyway, let us talk about the main characters: Rem and Natsuki Subaru.

Natsuki Subaru is the male protagonist of the series. On the way home from the convenience store, he is suddenly summoned to another world. He later discovers an ability that he names "Return by Death" that allows him to go back in time, if he dies. And the most interesting part about it is that only he remembers what happened and he cannot tell anyone about this ability. Natsuki used to be a hikimori, being absolutely useless, he has never done anything in his life. However, in this new world he should not only try to become more powerful, but also to use his wit. He will not be granted with the power to destroy the whole world, he does not have a guardian angel, or a harem of cute girls that will help him in every situation. He just has no other choice but to do everything alone, which makes him change himself. His character development is amazing and you just want to not see him suffer. Rem is the second main character of the series. She has a younger sister and both of them work at Emilia’s mansion. When Subaru meets her, she shows absolutely no signs of being interesting; however, as the story progresses, Rem stops being a doll and becomes a very interesting character.

The supporting characters of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World do not receive enough development; however, as I have already mentioned, the villains compensate well for it. You just want to see their death, you just want to see their sufferings, and you hate them with all of your heart. While I understand that it is impossible to grant enough screen time for all characters, I still think that all characters are very interesting to follow and it should be more than enough for you.

All in all, I cannot guarantee you that you will like this series and I am not going to do it. Personally, I like the fact that this anime tries to rework mistakes of its ancestors in order to not make them again, I like the fact that the characters of this series are realistic and not overpowered like in some other series, I like the fact that it is never possible to guess what will be shown in the next episodes, which is very important, as well. With every episode, you are trying to prolong your enjoyment and to watch this series little by little; however, it is simply not possible. You just want to know what will happen in the next episodes. It is, of course, not flawless, nothing is, but if you want to see something very dark, I would highly recommend you to give Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World a try. I hope that you will enjoy watching Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu!

__~~~Second Chances~~~__

~~~img320(http://i.imgur.com/FX0MPFu.jpg)~~~

__~~~Intro/First thoughts~~~__

There’s always that one airing show that has everyone talking. Earlier this year, I almost didn’t watch Erased until I heard everyone talking about how good it was online. Similarly, I didn’t pick up Re Zero until I heard about all the drama about a certain character in a certain episode. It was everywhere so I figured that if everyone was talking about it, I should probably give it a try. So here are my thoughts on the show now that I’ve finished it.

__~~~Story~~~__

~~~img450(http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire3/3d4705739972a8ea1784a0eea16593531464777878_full.png)~~~
	
I would argue that the story of Re Zero is one of its weaker aspects. The premise is nothing special really: Subaru wakes up in a new world (that just happens to be fantasy themed). He meets a white haired girl who we later learn is named Emilia. Subaru also possesses a unique ability to start from a previous “save point” upon dying.
	
In the first episode, Subaru is depicted as a sort of shut-in as he is going to buy snacks from a convenience store and then return to playing video games or something. Immediately, this reminds me of a show called Konosuba (it has a similar premise). I figured that Subaru and his experience with video games would serve as a basis for him to do interesting things in the new world that he is summoned into. Perhaps he will learn to fight and take on quests to gain money (much like Konosuba). This really isn’t the case, which makes things more interesting. My main gripe is that the story felt like it was all over the place. The first few episodes focus on Subaru realizing his power and trying to save some of the people he meets then it shifts to the story of Rem. Later, the story shifts to the Royal Selection and the subjugation of a beast called the White Whale. None of these little arcs felt that related. Sure, they are things that Subaru experiences in this world but it seemed like the writer felt like there always needed to be something going on. Once Subaru is able to save a few characters, he later moves into the Mathers Domain where he runs into problems only a short time after his arrival. There are only more and more problems awaiting him. The White Whale arc is actually related to the Royal Selection arc but the real reason behind the White Whale arc is because of the Final arc (it’s all a bit confusing).
	
Once the show begins a new arc, it goes in depth into the events. It draws you in and often times I had a hard time remembering what happened earlier in the show because most of the events currently happening felt almost unrelated to previous occurrences. I will say that the show got interesting towards the end; some of the cliffhangers left me impressed.
__~~~
Characters~~~__
	
~~~img450(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vRY7qUze5y4/VwLc83o9L4I/AAAAAAAAABM/d4ZVKTuMgn0QGHuCmMDZU_KVTQRudiq-w/s1600/dnjqHmvoxg.jpg)~~~
A lot of people have different opinions about Subaru. I personally didn’t like him at all but from a reviewer’s standpoint I can see his appeal. Subaru has some moments where he makes (very) questionable decisions. He came off to me as a brat, especially during a duel he has with a knight named Julius. During the Royal Selection arc, I almost had to quit because many moments were very cringe worthy. However, Subaru experiences some incredible development throughout the show. He dies many times only to find himself coming back as if nothing had happened. To deal with seeing your friends die many times is obviously very difficult but Subaru manages to do so and is able to work towards a better ending for him and his friends. Once the White Whale arc starts, it’s clear how much he has matured. His initial character (of being a shut-in) is stripped away and almost non-existent at this point, which I found to be a good thing. To understand how hard life can be and to accept its challenges allowed Subaru to get where he is now. Subaru’s mental strength honestly amazes me.

The other cast is very large but there are casts for each arc. I missed seeing Old Man Rom, Elsa (holy shit, Elsa is bae), and Mathers during other arcs. I honestly don’t know why some of these characters didn’t appear in other arcs. It would have given the series some more cohesiveness. I wondered why they decided to introduce a few characters that would pretty much be non-existent later in the show.

__~~~Animation and Sound~~~__

~~~img450(http://pa1.narvii.com/6097/14990e767cb8c6ed03c822223887fd0ae491a8fb_hq.gif)~~~
	
White Fox handled the show well. Nothing too flashy but still a pleasant viewing experience. The animation didn’t really stand out but certain character designs (mostly Ram, Rem, Mathers) did. The battle scenes were just okay, nothing to write home about.
	
The soundtrack didn’t feel too memorable except for a few moments. One of them is a certain death scene that I found to be brutal. The orchestral track played during this scene was by far my favorite. You are most likely watching this show for its story rather than its animation and OST anyway.

Also, shoutouts to Yoshitsugu Matsuoka for voicing Betelgeuse. Some of his scenes were incredible not to mention creepy AF. He definitely nailed the portrayal of Betelgeuse


__~~~Personal Enjoyment~~~
	__
~~~img450(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wVNl6hMRK-w/maxresdefault.jpg)~~~
~~~_tfw she tells you to come to her room later tonight which lowkey means a long ass beating  because you didn't take out the trash like a good butler_~~~
I can’t say I fully enjoyed this show. It left me salty (I’m a whiny weeb. Fight me) and cringing most of the time but that’s just me. I was never too excited about the next episode coming out until the series was about to end. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t a show that clicked with me. 
	
I would still recommend this show to other people. “Wait, didn’t you basically say it was a cringe fest?” While I didn’t find it that enjoyable, I’m sure many others would. It’s not that bad of a show. A lot of people are probably going to disagree with my opinions in this review but this show has some redeeming qualities. Even if you don’t end up liking it, it’s still an interesting watch.
__
~~~Conclusion~~~__

~~~img450(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/X4Z_5a61AaR3FF0Nd5SDcKaDf4Can-BKJB7BT0KY_FmXFZvae-PEeL89eX5SERBdZYb8HtynY9CRaI_8xgWy6Kl3NG-t3isSLkoqGEtZJfZEIppXOcgL3k6JHi_qiRNnAysFXoCGIsO4PVAH_A)
	~~~
Re Zero isn’t my cup of tea but maybe it’s yours. As impressive as it is to see how far Subaru matures, you can’t hide that fact that some of his actions are rather questionable and even crazy. I watched it because I wanted to see what everyone was talking about and, oh boy, I sure found out. I will recommend this to you if you like to see a lot of character development or you just don’t know what to watch next. This show has its fair share of action and can be pretty interesting. If you want to avoid all this Re Zero discussion drama you’ve been seeing online and hate to see a whiny main character during their development, just don’t.

Not my cup of tea, but probably still worth the watch

This is a spring season holdover series, and it was definitely the most popular show in the anime community in a long, long time. Like anything popular, opinions on the show are divisive, with people either singing its praises or saying that it's utter garbage. As any fan of anything has come to expect, it's truly neither A nor B. Re:Zero is far from a perfect show, but White Fox definitely did an incredibly job with this light novel adaptation, and watching it week to week from the beginning was an absolute treat. They are truly the masters of week-in, week-out cliffhangers, keeping us all chomping at the bit for more each week. 

It's also worth remembering the genre in which Re:Zero lives, and just how much utter and complete trash anime fill this genre. We're not comparing Re:Zero to Evangelion or Madoka or Bakemonogatari, anime that many people consider stand above all others outside of their genres and considered "good anime" as a whole. No, Re:Zero is best compared to its contemporaries, just like anything else, and within that space, I don't think that it could have been much better. Yes, the series has some character and plot issues, but it goes out of its way to try to justify and make you care about these things far better than it's compatriots (think SAO and NGNL). 

With that out of the way, lets talk some brief specifics. Subura is a dude who gets thrust into a fantasy world for no rhyme or reason. The first thing the guy does is try to be genre-savvy, asking where the princess is who summoned him there and things like that, and he gets fucked up for it. Killed in fact. As it turns out, Suburu's only special ability is that he can respawn, and its this horrifying power that he's cursed to use to solve problems and advance through the story. Throughout the action and adventure, we're introduced to a pretty large cast of characters, all with their own personalities and motivations which we'll get to see at least briefly in the spotlight throughout our 25 episode run. Speaking of runtime, one of the major criticisms with this show is the early pacing problems that the show has. Episodes 3 through 6 in particular can be an incredible slog as they are almost pure world and character building with no action or plot advancement in the slightest, especially if someone isn't sold on the premise yet. The pace picks up significantly from episode 7 and onward but the dip in quick action is worth noting to those thinking about checking this series out.

Re:Zero isn't all flash though, it takes a good bit of time to examine just how mentally exhausting and terrifying it is for Suburu to be killed over and over again, having the power drive Suburu nearly completely insane. This is a far more dramatic examination of the trauma someone might experience from this kind of power than even Steins;Gate dared to explore with Okabe's character, and is a welcome big of emotional content among the quickly paced action sequences. The show also deals thematically a lot with what it means to be "fake" and what it truly means to be a hero, with Suburu in actuality being a giant dickbag that is only looking out for #1, despite touting that he cares for everyone and wants to save them out of the "goodness of his heart". Episode 18, where this all comes to a head, is one of the most masterfully delivered dialogues I've had the pleasure of watching in anime yet. It was welcome to see some attempts at true character development over the course of the series instead of just mindless action sequences.

Aesthetically, this one is a drop dead knockout. Gorgeous visuals, fluid animation both in dialogue and fight sequences, and far above average music to boot. White Fox really knows what they're doing and I'm glad that they pick and choose which series that they will adapt full force instead of just taking a bunch of cash grabs as many newer studios do. Although the series is 25 episodes, White Fox regularly omits both the OP and the ED from the show, giving Re:Zero a complete length of almost 29 full 24 minute episodes. For a TV anime, this level of detail and passion for the material is unfounded, especially in this day and age, and deserves to be acknowledged. 

I could talk about this one a lot longer but that's not the point of this kind of post. Just remember that the scores are based on a show's genre, and that Re:Zero is one of the best action adventure and fantasy series that we've seen in a long time. It's not for everyone, but it can definitely be an enjoyable ride. It even ends in a satisfying way, which is unfounded for an anime adaptation of an ongoing light novel series.

An isekai with production value AND a plot to carry it. Not perfect, but for isekai, you'll struggle to find better.

Warning this review may contain spoilers.

First impressions, so I was pretty hesitant to check this show out because of all the hype and hate that was around it so after a while I was like fuck it.
I want to see want the people are buzzing about.



Story, 4/10

So the story of re zero begans with subaru a neet who just doing his day to day things.
When out of the blue for no reason at all he gets transported to a generic fantasy world.
Man where haven't I heard this before.
While exploring this new world he gets attacked by a group thugs but is saved by beautiful girl by the name of satella who is looking for her insignia that was just stolen from her 
Deciding to help her look for it
In thanks for her kindness in helping him with those thugs.
Eventually that mange to find where is and try and get it back.
After finding where it is subaru and Stella are brutally murdered.
Then subaru reawakens fine as rain.
but something is off he finds that events that happen before seem to repeating themselves, realizing that he gone back in time he going to try and stop the events and save satella from her death.

So the basic idea of this story is time resets and saving wifuus.

Now I will be honest I do kind of have a personal beef with story's that use time resets
As a concept, 
Looking at you clanland after story and eased.
Now Despite my distaste for these kinds of story's.
I must admit that there is some actually good ideas in this story which kind of shocked me a little because I didn't expect much,
And why should I from a story that has that as a gimmick

So the idea which I thought where good,

Was the idea that every time the main character dies,
He try's to learn and use different ways to try and Solve the problem at hand.
Like for example in The first arc he found out about the shop keeper and the thief girl and the person who killed him,
He wouldn't have known that unless he tried to find out what was going on.
And i really like that kind of approach.

The other idea which I thought was pretty good,
Is the idea of when the main character tries to do everything buy-himself like a good pro tag kun should,
But He gets slapped in the face by reality multiple times,
telling him that he can do quite a few things but some times there are things he can't do alone and that maybe he should get help.
Which was drilled into him quite hard when he was fighting the witches cult.
Because for the first 5 times he tried it by himself and failed,
But when he decided to get help it worked out better.
And I really like that message because I have seen to many stories especially now a days that always has the protag kun doing pretty much everything like it requires no effort at all.

But sadly that doesn't mean that this is a master piece it's very far from it actually.

Because even though it has some good ideas here and there.
The rest of it ideas are pretty bland and there is just nothing really that note worthy where.

Another problem I have is that it always has to draw attention to sied good ideas like it done something that hasn't been done before,
It like small child trying to get your attention so it can show you the cool thing it did,
Look at me look at this idea,
I would have preferred if they let said ideas play out instead of contently drawing attention to that,
For example in the second arc,
they based the twins story arc on an old Japanese folk tale 
Yet though out that entire arc it keeped on going back to it like you didn't get it the first time especially when they mention the story and tell it to you.
Which makes me quite sad because that was probably my favorite arc.

But I think my major criticism is that it takes itself so seriously and content wise it was anything but serious.
Because everything is done In such an over the top manner 
That how could i take this seriously.
Like when the show has these dramatic moments or dark parts,
I am ether laughing my guts out or just cringing my teeth so hard my mouth was bleeding,
Especially when you have one arc centered around a mentally retarded joker and friends. 

I guess my final problem is that there is quite a lot of unanswered questions and plot points that need to rapped up,
So basically it's going to need that second season.
Like for example why was the main character brought to this world or what is his connection to the which.
I may never know,
Especially since I am to lazy to read the light novel right now.



Characters, 5/10

The Main character subaru is kind of this very average otaku person.
Who happens be very prideful and kind of thinks that the fantasy world revolves around him.
And in all honesty that all he got going for him pretty much.
But I really do like where they took his character,
Because at the start he was basically trying to be hero this knight of some sort,
Like you good pro tag kun.
But as the situations get more intense and dire he finds that he can't actually handle it all by himself.
Especially when he brakes down.
But you don't just get that in an episode.
But he goes through this nice little development 
Where he finally realized that he isn't that important and that he can do many things but do everything by himself is impossible.


The side characters for the most part where a fine cast of characters.

For me they did the roles they where given well,
But dose this mean they where good characters.
Yes and no.
Because on the one hand 
I feel that they do a good enough job and that there isn't really any characters I hated or found bothersome.
But at the same time there really isn't that much character development or fleshing,
Unless you count the twins and Stella and the old sword guy I guess if we are talking about fleshing out.

I also found all the bad guys really bad.
That where like a parody of actual good villains,
Because he have the crazy assassin,
The magic puppy and girl,
And my personal favorite the joker mentally retarded inbreed bother in law.

Also rem is best girl and fuck every one else.


Art, 6/10

The animation for this show actually looks quite nice,
I do believe the background animation could have been done better,
But the animation dose shine very well when they do these dramatic scenes that look actually very nice.
It also uses a very wide range of colors which fits the moods that very scene dose.
So I guess you can say that the colors are pretty.

It has this very generic JRPG fantasy style to it which I don't really dislike,
But I wish that they would try something at lest different.

The characters design are kind of things that probably most of us has seen before,
But I do like the difference in all of them,
So it doesn't feel as generic as I should have.


Sound, 5/10

Both op and ending I found where all right,
But nothing really noteworthy for me at lest,
I only liked the second op which I thought was quite nice to listen to.

The ost was on point and I think it's sounds alright.
But there really was nothing in there saying I want to listen to this again and again.

Like if you looking for ost to listen to you should probably give this a shot,
Because there probably something that at lest some of you will like.


Enjoyment, 6/10 

I think what shocked me the most is how much fun I had with this show.
I really liked the over all ride which was re zero,
Because I was never actually bored because I was laughing to much.
I also found it fun to make theories to guess what will happen next and what not.
Also I really liked the thing about the witch,
Which is funny because that was the reason I was watching it 




Overall, 4/10

If you looking for a show that will entertain you and nothing more or you like show where you want to guess what's happening,
Then Probably check this out 

But if you some one who doesn't really like light novels or any of the eilk then probably stay away.

*Disclaimer: Admittedly, the ideal way to read this theme rant is by having an experience with the full show in mind. Hopefully, this isn't much of a problem. With that out of the way, let the ranting commence!*

The more I think about Re:Zero, the more infuriating it becomes. 2016’s third monumental mainstream title is a sham! It shot for the stars, gave up halfway, and settled for firey Venus. It had a lofty goal of delivering a message to the audience about their habits, but amidst the laughable, self-indulgent torture of its main character and neat-looking “directing tricks”, it was too scared to commit. It’s The Last Jedi of anime, except even worse. Both start off harmless enough but by the end divulge into a mess, except I resent this show more for its sheer dishonesty as opposed to just not having a backbone.

So, what did Re:Zero attempt to tell us? To find out, you’d need to understand the main protagonist. Wanna know why you hated him? It’s because he was meant to represent you, the entitled audience who escapes life by inserting yourself into fantasy. You who feels entitled to a 2D anime girl of your choice because you think you understand life and the scenarios of any given genre of fiction. He is an attack, a satire on the self-insert, as well as a twisted reflection of the audience, at least for 3/4 of the show. You see, after the infamous confession scene in episode 18, he stops being antagonized or treated as someone who just doesn’t get things. Now he suddenly is smarter and less desperate than he’s ever been; now he’s going to get the girl and help defeat the enemies who caused him immense pain earlier. Now he’s easier for you to insert yourselves into, and now he is suddenly cool with many of the people who felt disgusted or annoyed by him. He lost the one thing going for him, the one thing that made him better than the rest of the cast. He has now become the self-insert he was created to mock.

That’s not to say they did a remotely good job to begin with. For one, there are moments in which after the mildest of trial and error, he suddenly knows how to solve any given situation. Afterwards, everyone around him who hated or otherwise didn’t care much for him is suddenly cool, but on a smaller scale. Look no further than the end of the second arc, with the now iconic Rem turning from hating Subaru and wanting him dead, to loving him with the passion of a yandere, in the span of an episode, solely based on him helping her survive even when bleeding badly himself. I get that this is a noble action and that if you hated someone and he did that for you, you’d likely rethink your position on that person, but Rem becomes an entirely different character in the span of one scene! If this moment didn't reveal the show's true colors, then the third arc which comprises of the entire second half of this show, most certainly does.

They do still give Subaru the most painful wake-up call in recent years, but often through contrived means that are poorly resolved. The payoff of Subaru realizing his mistakes, adapting, and improving never hits, as even with his blood sweat and tears, it's never truly earned. After the relentlessly awful gauntlet of middle episodes, after their insulting attempts at shaming Subaru through pathetic “aesops” and punishments characters inflict that are contradictory to their nature, as well as one of the most horseshit plot ideas I’ve seen with questionable existence-erasing gas, the show can’t handle it anymore! After all of the headache it put us through, it instead opts to play it as safe as all the Light Novels it went against! It's all part of this ridiculous cycle where it punishes and tortures Subaru and therefore audience by proxy, and then handsomely rewards them with more waifus and cool shit with the sole purpose of the pattern beginning once again for three arcs in a row. It's especially insufferable in this third arc given that this is where it pretends like this is the last straw for Subaru and employs all of these fake lessons, developments and trials before actively undercutting all of that once again. No wonder nothing feels earned! No wonder the aesops and lessons the show piledrives into Subaru's/our skull in this arc in particular are so offensively fake! No wonder I feel ripped off! This show is one of the most dishonest anime I've ever seen!

This isn’t even going into other reasons why the writing crumbles faster than Subaru’s mental state, from the pathetic names of some of the enemies, to time loops in which certain events that could not possibly play differently or happen at all somehow do (episode 3 has one with a little girl Subaru and his girl Emilia helped out previously), or how people know the smell of the underlying threat of this series --Satella, the jealous witch-- despite how they never saw her or smelt her. This isn’t even bringing up the laughable excuse of a finale, the hideous fight sequences and CGI, or how horrendously defined the checkpoint system truly is. The lack of remotely decent side characters and character designs wasn’t taken into account either, though to add, the cast is less interesting than even SAO's, and the villain is laughably horrid. The merits regarding the opening/ending themes and some of the visuals were left off the table as well. This is ultimately a cursory glance at the show's mishandling of its promised message and themes rather than a holistic look at the show's folly. As it stands, Re:Zero was only remotely respectable in its initial mediocrity, not when it abandoned all pretenses of sincerity.

Care to Re:Set for us, Re:ZERO?

Re:Zero was only remotely respectable in its initial mediocrity, not when it abandoned all pretenses of sincerity.

<h1><b>Story</b></h1>

Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu starts out with Subaru sent to another world against his own will. But he doesn't seem to care much and sets out his new life in this mysterious world. We can already tell Subaru is someone that is probably a shut-in, and don't care about responsibilities and so forth. More likely, he spends all day in his room playing games or watching videos. This anime will play with your emotions on levels you can't even begin to imagine. But compared to other Isekai or anime in general. Our main lead doesn't get everything from power, knowledge, intelligence served in front of him on a silver platter. He has to work for it. The load is realistic in the sense it takes a sane amount of time. In other words, he can't achieve anything heavy like learning a language right then and there. I really appreciate that about Re: Zero.

Subaru will go through the pain and struggle to meet his goals, times the 100, and that's still not enough to convey the torture he will go through. At any rate, Subaru had no idea what he got himself into. His mind embarks on a thrilling and intense journey with despair lurking amidst him and circling around, waiting for the right opportunity strike to make him suffer harshly. Putting it in simpler terms, the world is out to get him both literally and figuratively. Nothing goes as he wants to easily. This journey through hell and back is something that will break Subaru and form him into a better person through multiple meetings with despair itself. However, his story in another world seems to start out happy, since soon after being transported, he befriends a beautiful silver-haired elf girl, Emilia.

For some unknown reasons, she is being hunted by a psychotic assassin who manages to kill them both. Subaru falls in despair, only to open his eyes and standing there like it never happened. He can reverse time to a specific checkpoint and make it seem like his death never occurred. The catch is that only he remembers what happened. And if he were to tell this to anybody, he would suffer severe consequences in the form of immeasurable pain. At this point, you might wonder, but what is this anime about? What is the end goal? Firstly, this is a psychologically character-driven anime that focuses on Subaru and breaks down his character to groom him into a better, more mature person. However, it's not as easy as it sounds. Without going too much into details, let us say he goes through some shit many times and comes back more broken and vulnerable every time.

Until eventually, he falls apart and starts to take it out on others. Then arrives at a point where he could be gone forever. If nothing is done to save his suffering soul from the most bottomless pits of the abyss. Before everything else, Subaru is a hyper, energetic, quite the lively guy. He doesn't seem to care what others think of him and is not afraid to be cringe-inducing or plain weird. But that's part of his charm and what makes him so likable and interesting if you ask me. You will see him at his strongest, and at his weakest. His character is what makes this anime so amazing and unique. Subaru also has great chemistry with almost anyone. Whoever the person might be. The interactions likely will be fun, lively, and won't bore you, just entertain you all the more.

My reason for praising this anime so highly is because of Subaru and his development through the series. You can clear as day see how much he has developed close to the end of the season, compared to the starting point. I could easily appreciate his character, even more at this point, after everything he went through, and the level of progress we got for him. It makes him one of my favorites characters. So as you might've predicted already, specifically, the first season doesn't have a set goal. The characters drive this anime, but as you are going through the journey of suffering. You will see sub-plots that could be considered a part of the main plot, but only if you use this season as the core. Because Re: Zero, as noted by the creator - Tappei Nagatsuki, will be around 12 arcs. The anime covered the first, second, and the third arc. He also stated there will be at least 60 volumes worth of canon content by the end, so this speaks volumes for how big each arc could be and how much is still left unexplored.

<h1><b>Sound</b></h1>

This anime adaptation of Re: Zero excels at many things, undoubtedly, the sound is one of the components. Absolute despair, grief, and even with the comedic moments. White Fox does a beautiful job of meshing and applying the right tune to their respective category. As a result and example, the conversations feel more impactful during certain dialogues and overflows the right mood. So when the soundtrack kicks in. If you already are not experiencing some sort of emotion, this will definitely help you and give you the last push if you ever need it. Even if you don't, it makes everything feel way better and heightens the experience you would go through during those moments. Beyond that, it has some seriously kickass soundtrack, which can be addicting to listen to. Both openings feel spot-on when it comes to the overall feel and atmosphere of the story. Nothing but praises is all I have when it comes to sound department. I just love the OST of Re:Zero.

The ending is the same. I could argue I like the second ending more since it feels more on-point, and no one can't like Rie Takahashi angelic voice? That said, the first ending is definitely a strong one, and I don't dislike it despite my previous remarks. To top it off, we have some quite quality insert songs here and there, which will either make you pumped up or leave you in utter despair. Another strong point is, without a doubt, the voice acting. It feels so real, and the actors can really get into the character they are playing. You will be charmed by the effect the dialogue and the voice acting can have on you. It's so powerful and realistic at times. This anime also has one of my favorites directed episode of all time, the dialogue, to the tension, the overall mood is excellent. It would not be a lie to call some of these episodes a masterpiece from a direction and execution perspective, in my humble opinion.

<h1><b>Art</b></h1>

I absolutely adore the art style used for Re:Zero, at first glance, it gives this vibe of maybe feeling cute or moe-ish. However, White Fox does an excellent job of manipulating it to provides the effect with it should be at different times. Equally, the facial expressions are on-point as well and feel realistic. Attention to detail is seriously one of the best I have seen. During action events, the art and animation look fluid. You can tell White Fox is putting money, passion, time, and effort into producing a solid adaptation. Yes, the action sequences are fun to watch. I found myself at times, going back to see those same scenes over again. And I did not find any inconsistency in art or animation personally, which one needs to be on high alert of. The CGI is not top-notch, but it gets the work done and didn't mind it too much since it was gone before it becomes an issue.

<h1><b>Characters</b></h1>

As stated before, the cast is one of the best. It feels alive, and in some ways, it does help Subaru progress further as a person. To start with, Emilia, which is our main heroine, gives you this vibe of being tsundere-ish. Though you cannot help but find her amusing and start to like her, the design of her is also stunning once you get more characterization for her. I would say it fits her character persona very well. If you see her somewhere, you can easily deduce her psyche from her appearance. As previously stated, the side character is fantastic and one the best. They all have such good chemistry with Subaru, and it is hard not to be amused by their interactions.

Whether it be a certain maid making fun of him because Subaru is silly or with bandits on the side of the road and up to no good. You will also have the side characters where you will hate the individual, but later on, change your opinion toward a positive note and want more screen time for them. To go further, there are some quality side character that stands above the others and could, for instance, be the main role material. Of course, you have those scumbags that you want to just die since they did something horrible. What. I can say without going too much into spoilers, is you will seriously hate the individual so much it hurts. Still, this one is definitely a well-written villain, and personality is one of the strongest points about this person. Just be aware when you do meet the scum, your brain will tremble.

<h1><b>The Negative</b></h1>

It really is a great anime. I cannot stress that enough. Sadly, it is not for everyone, not everyone will feel the exact same feeling as me. Obviously, I can see someone who wants a solely plot-driven story with a set-fixed goal to drop this in the earlier episode and so on. There must be at least some of those out there who would, unfortunately. But Subaru could also be one of those biggest reasons. Depending on how you take his personality, in just a matter of moments, you can come to dislike him and don't want to watch any further. If not, his future actions might have you questioning his character and could be a reason for falling out Re: Zero. My advice going into this anime, as with any media, is to completely forget the concept "expectations" and watch this entirely blind. Let the experience you go through this be the judgmental core for you, not your blind insight, which could be the very reason that turns you away from this otherwise fantastic, unique, intense, and emotional anime.

<h1><b>Conclusion</b></h1>

Compared to the usual, not so interesting to bad Isekai anime. Re: Zero has a unique twist to it, which just really works. This is one of a kind with lots of potentials. One of which I absolutely want a second season to see where the story goes from this point on. I will not call this a defacto masterpiece. But there is no denying it has some masterfully directed episodes which could be showered with that kind of praise. Finally, if you like a realistic, character-driven story that uses all it has in its arsenal to heighten the experience with solid side characters. To really up the amusement further. I would highly recommend Re: Zero to both new and old watchers of anime. This is definitely standard for what an Isekai can be if you think outside of the box, and it's a great gateway to anime. And yes, just like HxH 2011, you should definitely give this anime a fair and much-deserved shot at one point.

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<h1><b>Overall Scores</b></h1>

Story: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Art: 8.5/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

A Deep Despair-Inducing Psychological Driven Story with Tons of Depth. Everyone Ought to Watch at one Point

How anyone could rate this show a ten is beyond me. Just because this show introduces a new concept to the Isekai genre and the guy gets the girl at the end of the day does not make Re:Zero a masterpiece. Keep in mind, I'm not dissing anyone who rated this show a 10/10, in fact, you all have different opinions about why you rated the show the way you did. (This acts as a toxicity shield so... take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Back to the review.) This show has little to no character development for the main characters. A large chunk of the show was filler because it didn't matter what happened during a big event in the show when Subaru just dies and restarts. "No, but it's good because it introduces a new concept to the Isekai genre and it's executed well because the character can figure out how to solve the conflict when he dies," You know, I thought that too, but when we are given 5 episodes taken place inside the Roswaal mansion and the main character is painfully slowly figuring out the problem doesn't make sense. So, without further adieu, let me explain to you why Re:Zero does not deserve the 10/10 rating.

(Light spoilers ahead so be weary, nothing too extreme though)

(Also, I'm writing this as I think of more things to say, thus why these topics are in no clear order)

As I mentioned in the very beginning, this show has almost no development for characters like Emilia, which is one of the main characters, which makes the opposite of sense. Tell me you know something about Emilia other than that she looks like the Witch and she's a candidate of the Royal Selection, go on, I'll wait. To call someone a main character and give them the opposite treatment as any main character should get makes the opposite of sense. Piggybacking on this idea of "supporting characters get more development," in episode 11 titled "Rem," we get a full backstory on both Rem and Ram. Both Rem and Ram are supporting characters, however, and the fact that we get development on them instead of A MAIN CHARACTER, doesn't make too much sense. I am glad that we did get this development because we could later empathize with Rem when she puts herself down about not being as powerful as her sister. 

Another thing I wish to mention is its copious amounts of death seen from episode one to twenty-five. Episode one is when we first are smacked in the face with this world that Subaru is transported into and what his power is: to Return by Death. But the problem is, we didn't get to know the characters all too well before this happened, the first death happens so quickly, it's hard to sympathize with Subaru. He dies before he even gets any development. Not only this, but Subaru dies a total of 3 times before the first conflict is resolved. There's a thing about death that's truly fascinating: experiencing death every once in a while is shocking and heartbreaking, especially after we get to know the person that's died. The problem lies in when it happens 13 or so times in a rapid succession, the deaths become annoying after the first one or two times. This is because it happens so many times that it doesn't become shocking. It becomes extremely less shocking once we realize that whatever he did before he dies doesn't matter because he just goes back to when the conflict he has become a part of first starts. The only thing that changes when he dies is that now he knows how to fix what happened before he died. I suppose this is an interesting concept, but did Subaru have to die so many times? I think the series would have been much better if he died less than the number of times he died in the series already. This way he wouldn't die at least once every episode, and the deaths may become shocking depending on when they happen, what the scenario is, and how much we know the character.

Now, after reading these two paragraphs, you may be asking yourself, "Why did he rate this a 5/10 when it seems like he truly hates this show?" I'll tell you why this show got a 5/10: Re:Zero definitely had its good parts. My first two paragraphs are just barely scraping the surface on what this show did wrong. I could have talked about how the exposition lasted for an incredibly long time or how Subaru and Emilia aren't the most likable characters in this series, but I don't want it to seem like I completely despise this show. So now it's time to back away from the greens and get into the pudding of this review. The next thing I wish to talk about, its truly good moments. I'll start off by talking about the smaller stuff. The art definitely took the show in a positive direction, this show had great character designs. Although its use of shadows was sometimes unnecessary, I won't let that take me away from how they made the city and the characters look. The music and sound design as well definitely made this show look good. Neither they didn't rely on super sappy piano music for the "sad" parts, nor did they rely on super intense music for the action parts. You could really tell that they weren't trying to force emotion out of you which I really appreciate. Some of the episodes were actually really good, some weren't entirely filler and I really enjoyed the entire battle of the White Whale. There was one episode that truly stood out from the rest, however. Episode 18 titled "From Zero" was the greatest episode of this entire series. Episode 18 was purely a conversation between Subaru and Rem, and might I say, it was the conversation that made Subaru's character make sense. It was the most developing episode in the entire series and was the catalyst to Subaru's character arc (something which I enjoyed considering throughout the first half of the series he was pretty unlikable.) We got to see Subaru's sensitive side when he's not trying to be the hero. This episode is what I truly watched the series for, I was waiting for an episode where Subaru would change and that's what we got. That is why episode 18 is truly the greatest episode in Re:Zero.

So, what else is there to say about this series? It had its moments. It was enjoyable at times, but when you take into account the lack of character development, slow development of the plot, and unlikable characters (among other things), the show goes from an easy 8 or 9 to a 5 or a 6. I enjoyed this show to an extent, this show was quick to grab my attention from the first few episodes, but over time I just wanted things to progress faster. Thus why this show does not deserve the 10/10 or 9/10 rating everyone thinks it deserves. 

MY FINAL RATING: 54

Essentially, there is little character development and a very slow plot development, but it had its moments.

# __~~~MiNiSoTaN's Re:Zero Review~~~__

~~~img220(https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire2/95445cd55c37ce2ff04ef1adde79f50c1529088362_full.jpg)~~~

~~~__Introduction:__~~~Hello. My name is Neill or "MiNi." This will be my in depth review of Re:Zero, the 2016 adaption of Tappei Nagatsuki's brilliant light novel series. With all my reviews I will score the anime discussed based upon 5 categories that include: Story, Characters, Art, Music, and Personal Enjoyment. Each category will be given a score between 0 and 10. The ending score will be what I determine the show deserves overall. Keep in mind I will be talking about spoilers that occurred during the anime along with spoilers of the light novels that proceed after. Now, without further ado, let's get into this.

~~~ __STORY (9/10):__~~~

~~~img220(https://derf9v1xhwwx1.cloudfront.net/image/upload/oth/FunimationStoreFront/1739810/English/1739810_English_KeyArt-OfficialVideoImage_e84481c8-0753-e811-8175-020165574d09.jpg)
~~~
Immediately upon entering the world of Natsuki Subaru we are greeted to him leaving a corner store with some recently purchased snacks sporting his now signature black, white, and orange tracksuit. Not more than 2 minutes from there we are quite literally transported to a fantasy world fill with half human half animal being set in a medieval like type kingdom. What Re:Zero does so different compared to other anime in the isekai genre is that it give __no__ explanation as to why Subaru is there in that world, we merely have to accept it. This is something that many people may have trouble with overcoming as they would like answers. What is remarkable is that Nagatsuki's world building and storytelling does such a great job at pulling the viewer in, that they forget they were even transported in here in the first place. There is no need for explanation because the story tells itself so well.

The story of Re:Zero takes place across the first 3 arcs in the story's timeline. Most (including myself) will agree that these first few arcs are some of the weaker ones of the series. This is not to say they are bad by any means, but for how event-less they are, to an average viewer it may be a bit difficult for them to comprehend what is going on all at once. We are introduced to characters such as Emilia (best girl) and Puck almost as soon as Subaru enters into the world. He is tasked with helping them retrieve a medallion Emilia had stolen from her. This is where the story beings to pick up speed and we fully grasp what we are dealing with here. Both Subaru enters into what looks like to be an abandoned shack in hopes of finding this medallion. He immediately killed upon entering... or is he?

This is the whole story of Re:Zero. Subaru has this mysterious power to return to a "save point." Using this power he can alter the course of history by trying different options with his speech, decisions, affiliation etc. This is something extremely unique Re:Zero holds above just about any other anime. As the story progresses we get this beautiful arc of Subaru doing anything he can to try and appease Emilia only to embarrass himself and her in the process. He then goes on this epic story of redemption, self reflection, responsibility, and romance. The story told throughout these 3 arcs is quite literally poetic in sometimes of how things unfold. Whether it is in episodes like _The Outside Of Madness_ where Rem saves Subaru only for him to bring her back to the mansion to find everyone dead and him dying in the process. Or the beautiful monolgue delivered by Rem in _From Zero_. To say Re:Zero has an incredible story would be an understatement. It has everything from epic battles to discussion of politics and land dragons. It will have you on the edge of your seat for each episode.

~~~ __Characters (9/10):__~~~

~~~img220(https://preview.redd.it/eyhhjg0wfzox.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=1db0d91f5a47c28a61f9c25cb2b6c4455abfeee2)~~~

__Natsuki Subaru:__ He might be the greatest written protagonist since Light Yagami. I am 100% serious. Throughout we see the transformation of a naive little boy chasing around his crush to someone reformed and determine to be a leader for those who deemed him a fool. The direction taken and elements used to show his progression into a man are amazing. From his talk with Emilia after he raided the council meeting, to him leading the troops in _Battle Against the White Whale_. Subaru is a complexly written character presented in a perfect manner to the audiences.

__Emilia:__ The quite half elf is one of the first people too meet Subaru upon his transportation to the land of Lugunica. Although she looks older her level of maturity is still a little bit under developed. This can be seen through some of the dialogue she and other characters share throughout the season. The series quite frankly revolves more around her than any other character. Without Emilia Subaru would have never met anyone else. It was through her kindness that he was able to recover from his wounds and help her find the medallion. From there, everything else is history. I absolutely love the way Emilia is portrayed in the anime and am very excited to see her grow in the coming season.

 __Rem:__ The biggest 180 in all of anime award goes to none of than Rem. Everyone hated her after she seemed so sweet and innocent only to end up killing Subaru. The single-horned half demon takes the spotlight throughout a majority of the season winning the hearts of  hundreds thousands. She is a very complex character having gone through lots of turmoil in her early childhood, she and her older sister Ram are both some of the best written characters in the series. Their chemistry and quirks are always a nice subtle chuckle to relief some of the tension built up during the prior minutes of the episode. Rem is someone we unfortunately wont being seeing any more of for a VERY long time.

__Ram:__ As stated previously, Ram with her twin sister are one of the main highlights of the series. She has a much more cold, unforgiving type of personality which can be absolutely hilarious in certain cases. Although not as loved as Rem, she definitely has her moments where she outshines everyone else on screen.

__Puck:__ Everyone shit their pants when they saw Puck at the end of _At the End of Disgrace_. Seeing such a cute and cuddly cat transform into a gigantic beast set to demolish Subaru after he killed Emilia was terrifying. He's one of the more mysterious characters that we don't learn too much about throughout the series but is still one of the most adorned ones. Every 14 year old's anime Instagram meme page probably has him as their profile picture.

__Beatrice:__ She's an alright character I suppose. Sorry, I had to do it at least once. Again, this is another character we truly know VERY LITTLE about unless you are a faithful light novel reader such as myself. She is shown as the Puck loving, loli librarian protector of Roswaal's mansion. She always has a little quip to through into each conversation which gives her such a sassy attitude. 

__Roswaal:__ Yet another character we really don't know much about (notice a pattern?). Roswaal is one of if not the greatest magic users of the entire country of Luginica. He houses Subaru in exchange for his butlery services but his intentions are really not that sincere. Behind that pale white face is a man with a plan to take over the world.

__Characters (cont.):__ I know there's a lot of characters I didn't talk about but I wanted to make sure I got the main ones out of the way. There are so many minor characters it's hard to keep track of them all. Others that I didn't mention but do want to shout out include: Reinhard, Petelgeuse, Felix, Windhelm, and Crusch. Each of these characters did something very significant within the show that helped move the story along. If you want to take one thing away from this section just know this: the characters in Re:Zero are extremely well written, some with lots of mystery behind them that we never get answers to (until season 2). Each voice actor did an incredible job portraying these characters and it felt very fulfilling to watch. 

~~~ __Art (8/10):__~~~ 

~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/Xnp1M9O.png)~~~

Some of the shots seen throughout the anime are really beautiful. Some of the landscape shots are drawn really well and look stunning. Although it is nothing to write home about, the animation does it's job to move the show along. Some part such as the battle of the white whale do a better job as providing more of the creativity in the action scenes. As stated, the animation isn't bad, but something that I believe would deserve a perfect score would be a show that went above and beyond the expectations and innovated in that certain category. There are moments where I will say the animation goes above and beyond such as with the facial closeups. The detail and emotions rival that of JoJo. Other than that however, there really isn't too much more to write about here. Re:Zero isn't really known for it's art style. Again, this isn't a blow against the show, it is just seen as average compared to other anime in the genre. 

~~~ __Music (9/10):__~~~ 

~~~img220(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/rezero/images/4/48/STYX_HELIX_Cover.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160420164224)~~~

*EDITED (was 7/10)*
I will say at first I was pretty indifferent to the sounds of the show, but honestly, after rewatching or I guess in this case, relistening, I have a much greater appreciation for both the music and sound design within Re:Zero. I'll start of by talking about the music:

The Music is catchy. The 2 OPs given are brilliant. The first one 'Redo' begins with crunchy guitar chords only to be met by a fast and thumping synthesizer. The 2nd OP, 'Paradisus-Paradoxum' starts with a tribal chorus of voices that break out into a fast paced pop tune. I love both deeply and they work perfectly within the anime. 'STYX HELIX', the first ED again is another great song. It has a soft piano melody finally erupting into a synthy pop melody. The Final ED 'Stay Alive' is my favorite of the four main songs. The passion behind it along with how it is implemented into the story is grandiose. I am very fond of the music within Re:Zero, I think the composition is wonderful.

As for the sound design, I again had to reflect on it. And after my rewatch I can say with confidence that it does an amazing job with it's sound design. It is extremely innovative in terms of the sound it associates with certain characters or objects. You can listen to a sound and picture something in your head. The most forward example I can give is when Subaru returns by death or is ever close to mentioning his "return by death" ability. You hear the chilling noise of women chanting an eerie song that makes your hair stand up. 

Overall. After rethinking about my points, I am very pleased with the Sound Design and Music of Re:Zero. I wish I had appreciated it earlier for how much it helped the series.


__Music (cont.):__ I will say however, the sound design the show is absolutely phenomenal. The use of the eerie singing to represent the redo ability is brilliant and I am a huge fan of that direction. Although this may seem like a small detail to some, to me I noticed the extra attention the studio put toward this effect and I greatly appreciate it. 

~~~ __Personal Enjoyment (10/10):__~~~ 

~~~img220(http://i.imgur.com/kdAnmaQ.jpg)~~~

It goes without saying that I absolutely loved this show. Although some stand against this is just another run of the mill isekai with nothing unique or interesting, I believe everything about it is unique and interesting. It switches up the isekai in more ways that one and does an excellent job in its execution. I enjoyed this show more than I can express into words. Since finishing it, I have gone ahead and read through the updated English version of the web novel, so yes I do know what is going to happen in season 2, but it doesn't hinder my excitement any less. In fact I think I'm even more excited for season 2 now knowing what will happen because I can wait to see how they portray the scenes. 

Re:Zero isn't a perfect anime. No one will claim that, and if they do, they are wrong. This is coming from one of the biggest fans of the show. But to me at least, it's imperfections do not take away from my enjoyment. I can talk about how much I love it while also point out things I wish were changed or I hope are improved upon. Re:Zero gave me everything I wanted in an anime and that's why it is my favorite anime series of all time. Also Emilia > Rem.

~~~ __Final Thoughts and Score:__~~~Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed my take on one of the most beloved anime series ever.

__Favorite Episodes__
Ep 1. _The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the End_
Ep 6. _The Sound of Chains_
Ep 8. _I Cried, Cried My Lungs Out, and Stopped Crying_
Ep 11. _Rem_
Ep 15. _The Outside of Madness_
Ep 18. _From Zero_
Ep 19. _Battle Against the White Whale_
Ep 21. _A Wager That Defies Despair_
Ep 23. _Nefarious Sloth_
Ep 25. _That's All This Story Is About_

__Official Scores__
Story: (9/10)
Characters: (9/10)
Art: (8/10)
Music: (9/10)
Personal Enjoyment: (10/10)

# __~~~FINAL SCORE: (9/10) AMAZING~~~__

@MiNiSoTaN

~~~Did you really read the review, or are you just looking at the score?~~~

Despite its few faults, Re:Zero proves to be my favorite anime of all time.

# [~~~**This review will contain Spoilers for the show!**~~~]()
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This show does have its ups and downs, it isn't for everyone. I know a lot of folk who enjoyed this but I have some mixed feelings towards it.

[**_(SPOILER AHEAD)_ STORY:**]()
The story focuses on Subaru, a shut in who got isekai'd.

He gets transported into this magical fantasy world with nothing but his clothes and his shopping bag.
He instantly notices that he got isekai'd and proceeds to explore the area until he runs into danger. He is then rescued by Emilia, which he of course instantly falls in love with. This part is the one that I really did not like, In my opinion stuff like this should be built up over time not just instant one sided love.

The rest of the show is filled with Subaru realising he can die and "respawn" back in time, he also starts to get a long with Rem a lot. Even more than with Emilia which is supposed to be the main love focus of the show. 

Rem then hops unto the role of the support character for Subaru, always helping/healing him. Emilia though, is not much seen doing anything that great. 
~~~img420(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/c9/59/fdc959ef5517175af41f5f4128793fb3.gif)~~~
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[**CHARACTERS:**]()
**Subaru** - Subaru is a strong willed character who'll do anything for his love Emilia. The fact he fell in love so quickly is really dumb but also kinda understandable, he is a shut in who never talked to a girl, obviously when a girl shows him **any** attention he will think it means love. I **really** did not like that part by the way, just felt like a really forced love interest. His actions throughout the show are questionable but he does have some good ideas. Not when it comes to Rem and *that* scene, that scene majorily pissed me off. Subaru also tends to be quite spontenous which I personally didn't enjoy seeing as much, I prefer the calm MC. It wasn't bad but hey, his shouty character isn't for everyone.

**Emilia** - The only reason Subaru is actually wanting to do work. She is focused on becoming the next ruler in the royal election but her similar appearance to the Witch of Envy makes her disliked. She is caring but doesn't really admitting it. There wasn't many great scenes with Emilia she was mostly tucked away behind the scenes, which sucks cause like I grew to love Rem much more and rooting for her more.

**Rem** - Proabably the main reason for people to watch this show, the sheer amount of memes, fanart, and other such materials leads to people watching this Anime. Rem is calm (most of the time) and polite. She is guilty for what happened to Ram (her sister, which she loves deeply). When needed she will go full ballistic mode and kill anything in sight. Despite that power she believes she is inferior to Ram. The amount of work she has put into helping Subaru is insane and we all saw most of it in the Anime which really made me like this character much more over...Emilia.

There are plenty of supporting character throughout the show, such as Felix, Mimi, and Crusch who do play a vital part in forwarding the plot but come in too late into the show to be well remembered. Those characters that I just went into detail have been there since the start, forwaded the plot, and set up memorablepersonalities for themselves.
~~~img420(https://giffiles.alphacoders.com/262/26207.gif)~~~
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[**ART/ANIMATION:**]()
The animation is Re:Zero isn't *bad* but also isn't *too great*. It is smooth for a lot of the times but also uses CGI more often, I didn't notice it back when I watched it but now re visiting this show I saw the CGI a bit better.

The art style is great tho, I love the colour use as well. Really brings attention to itself. 
~~~img420(https://memestatic.fjcdn.com/gifs/Some+hd+rezero+gifs_23940c_7018219.gif)~~~
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[**MUSIC:**]()
The OPs are great, OP1 is a bop and OP2 is MYTH&ROID which never failed in an Anime thus far. 
~~~img420(https://pa1.narvii.com/6205/f46538f3af881a0b5db8cc9b94260550630b13ac_hq.gif)~~~
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[**OVERALL OPINION:**]()
Re:Zero is a good isekai, better than most of its competitors but it does have its flaws.

My major gripe with the show was Subaru and his weird personality. The forced love interest that was Emilia really does not sit well with me. If they would've built up both of those characters together instead of just showing Rem being amazing and Emilia away somewhere backstage then still picking Emilia as the main love interest that would've been great.

My issue isn't that "Rem is a better character why did she get rejected", its that we saw more of her. They built up her character much more with Subaru and it was hard not to root for her. I don't think Emilia is bad my dudes.

A good Isekai with interesting characters and plotline.

~~~img500(https://static.zerochan.net/Re%3AZero.Kara.Hajimeru.Isekai.Seikatsu.full.2837988.jpg)~~~

#####~~~img(https://66.media.tumblr.com/cbbb8ffbc76e5bd5220388fdf4f7c613/821d9b368f13d522-b9/s75x75_c1/e4c35cc29cd8155cd15fe9ad54f8554bfbb43041.gifv) [(漫画家)](http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=4878469) img(https://66.media.tumblr.com/cbbb8ffbc76e5bd5220388fdf4f7c613/821d9b368f13d522-b9/s75x75_c1/e4c35cc29cd8155cd15fe9ad54f8554bfbb43041.gifv)~~~


#####~~~note: this is my first review for anilist! yayyyy. i’ll try to make it as spoiler-free as possible, but i will mention some developments, so if you are like me and doesn’t like to know ANYTHING about a show before watching it, i recommend reading this only after finishing the show!~~~
#####~~~note 2: this will be a anime-only review, so i won't be discussing the merits of adaptation but since i liked it (review spoiler!) i will probably read the source material and then come back to review my review or. something! let's get started then.~~~
~~~img(https://66.media.tumblr.com/5979719e45d171dc53fe4e0e88eb17b7/tumblr_pfyv2fnRDP1siyr7zo1_100.png)~~~

#####I'm not much of an isekai person, but I'm willing to give it a go every once in a while, when the premise seems at least a bit different from the usual I-am-a-nerd-who-plays-videogames-all-day-long-and-I-was-transported-into-a-MMORPG-and-in-here-no-one-thinks-I-am-a-loser-and-all-the-girls-wanna-fuck-me, which is how the genre has presented itself to me at least. But I’ll confess that what brought me to Re:Zero wasn’t an expectation of authenticity: it was the fact that I could not go 10 seconds on Instagram or Twitter looking at cosplay hashtags without facing one of the blue or pink-haired twin maids from this show. And the fact that so many girls chose to cosplay them was obvious to me (they cute, they lewd) but I felt left out from not knowing what was so good about the show, so I decided to watch it. FOMO is a real thing!

#####At first, it does seem like the exact kind of isekai I described: Subaru is an obsessive gamer and a konbini foodie, weak to strong lights, suddenly transported into a world that resembles a lot of fantasy scenarios he knows well. The girls he meets are cute and magical, apples are still apples but called appa, so it’s just the right amount of recognizable estrangement. Subaru also expects this to be a classical isekai story, so he’s eager to become a sudden hero as soon as danger starts and his hidden skills pop off. That threw me off a little but since I was there for the twins, I resisted. The catch is, as you probably know, that Subaru can to certain “checkpoints” after he dies, much like in a videogame. Since he recognizes this feature, he’s excited and ready to use that to his advantage.
#####What seems to be a blessing at first, at least for our charismatic main character, quickly reveals itself to be a nightmarish curse, since the events that occur afterwards both by his actions as well as the circumstances are not only dangerous, but brutally violent, cruel and psychotic, and there are no special skills unlocked for Subaru. He’s just a dude who dies a lot, and then comes back in time, only he remembering what happened. Any friendships or accomplishments he managed to get between his deaths are wiped out from everyone else’s reality, and if he tries to tell about his “Return By Death” skill, he is taken by the heart – literally - by a strange, dark and uncanny figure who puts him under significant pain and terror.
#####That was the moment the show got interesting for me: when it was made clear that, unlike most of the isekai I came across, or even most of the shounen, adventure type shows I came across, Subaru would actually have to work himself mad in order to get anything done in this world. And I do mean mad. From menial tasks such as learning to read and write in the new world’s language to gaining the trust of the people around him, from falling in love with a half-elf spiritual-arts user to discovering the secrets and the horrors of the society he’s now a part of, nothing comes easy or free of charge for Subaru. He learns through death, betrayal, trauma and just plain stupidity sometimes, and as much as he is the hero and main character, we as an audience are constantly reminded that he is just a dude, who up until just the other day would spend his days and nights cuddled up in a dark room with videogames and store-made food. He was not prepared for slaughter, foreign political tensions, mana-eating beasts and all these shenanigans.
#####That’s the trick of Re:Zero for me. It is a show that presents itself as an isekai adventure but it is above all a psychological thriller filled with action, romance and comedy which are all way beyond the usual isekai tropes. In fact, I finished the show with the impression that it was made into the genre simply as a way to fit the zeitgeist or some editorial decision, because this could easily be a diegetic fantasy story without many of the main elements having to be altered. Subaru could be an integral born-and-raised part of this new world and everything that made Re:Zero a great, fun watch could still be there. I’m focusing on this because I know a lot of people are also a bit tired of these tropes and therefore could end up evading a show like this one, but if the repetitive ass tropes of isekai are what put you off, you will probably like this show all the same.
#####I would also like to mention a specific part of the show that made me very glad but it is absolutely a spoiler so please, only read this next section if you’ve watched it and are just interested in my humble opinion!

#####~!One of the highlights of the show for me were the twins. Obviously! Of course they would be. They made me understand why so many people have a special love for maid characters, and I felt like Kobayashi-san at times when I started to rant about how great they were to my cats and my husband. Maids are great because they have an archetype, so whatever you develop from them is bound to be a fun contrast or a sweet wholesome figure. If your maid is lovely and gentle, great, that’s a bonus to the fact she’s a maid! And if she’s feisty and sarcastic then you’ve got a contradiction! A break on expectations! Ugh, such fun. About the twins: I adored the humor that was imprinted in them, I adored not knowing how they would react next, I adored how they were sincere with their own feelings on every reality that Subaru experienced, I adored how Ram and Rem ended up following completely different paths not only with how they see their own past (which I found to be one of the best background/origin stories ever) but how they envision their futures and how they live their everyday lives, and I love that they made it very clear that Rem was not part of a love triangle along with Emilia and Subaru, but that she was a main piece in his life, someone indispensable, someone who he loved in a different but also very special and unique way. What he feels for Rem cannot be compared to how he feels about Emilia, and how they both feel towards Subaru cannot either. I am a major SubaRem, by the way. I also love Emilia, but how his relationship with Rem is just. Ugh. I liked how their own thing developed, I loved how she is the lewd-thoughts one in their dynamics, and her declaration of love for him was also one of my favourite romantic scenes in anime history! So authentic, so fulfilling, so honest. I’m a deeply romantic girl so it resonated to me a lot, and it was a nice breath of fresh air among all the tension and violence that was going on in the main story.!~

#####__tl;dr__: if you dislike isekai, this is for you! If you like cute maids, this is for you! If you like tense violence and some very disturbing scenarios that are suddenly cut dry by death, this is for you! Also therapy.

#####~~~__STORY__: 9/10; __SOUNDTRACK__: 8/10; __VA__: 10/10; __ART__: 10/10;~~~


Come for the cute maids, stay for the crushing psychological trauma!

To start off this review, I am just gonna throw it out there now I believe this is one of the best anime of all time due to its character development, weird horror/psychological moments, mix of comedy and romance, and lastly the way the show is developed it shows that the creators are not afraid to be different when it comes to creating an anime. The Character development of Subaru, Emilia, Ram, Rem, etc I believe is to be one of the best because the depth to each character shows they didn't just throw random traits into a character and throw them into the anime without any thought to it. Even the supporting characters have severe impacts on the story line which makes them feel like a main character either though they are not meant to be. Subaru, a hopeless hero that always finds a way around an obstacle has tremendous character growth through out the story, at first glance you notice this is an isekai and you may think that Subaru becomes an all powerful and omniscient character because he came from a well advanced future but this anime keeps a realistic character growth with not just Subaru but all of the characters. Secondly I believe the weird horror moments actually I believe helped the anime really show that the main villain is the real deal. The insanity of Petelgeuse and psychotic behavior is unmatched when it comes to the final enemy in almost any anime which makes it feel like he's really right there standing in front of you. Thirdly, the small bits of rom-com in this anime is cute and really adds to the character development of Subaru and Emilia because it really shows that Subaru is fighting for what he loves the most. He vows to be faithful and fight for what he at first glance falls in love with most, and throughout the story he keeps up with his promises and it feels really nice to be along with Subaru in his journey to become a stronger person. Lastly I mentioned that the creators aren't afraid to be different and what I mean by that is this show isn't a normal Isekai/Shounen Anime, usually you may see the main character really grow stronger physically but I feel like with Subaru he just grows Stronger mentally and emotionally. At first he doesn't really know how to read situations too well and always ends up screwing them up but with his ability he is able to make better choices as he keeps moving forward which really adds great detail to the show and brings a fresh new feeling to it that most Isekai/Shounen aren't really good at showing. To wrap everything up here I believe this Anime is a must watch because of the refreshed feeling you get when you feel like you've watched everything and everything feels the same as the other.

Not your typical Isekai/Shounen. It's Better.

_Re:Zero_ was one of the most popular anime in 2016--being the second most popular only next to _Boku no Hero Academia_. When the term ‘isekai’ is brought up, _Re:Zero_ is the first anime that comes to mind to many. It is also known for one of the most infamous intra-anime ‘waifu wars’ known to mankind. Grown men have fought over the honor of Emilia and Rem for over four years now, with no end in sight. At the center of _Re:Zero_ though is the struggle of one young man, Subaru, to fight for what he thinks is right.

img1000(https://www.anime-evo.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ReZero_01_2.jpg)

In _Re:Zero_, Subaru Natsuki is summoned (‘isekaied’) to the Kingdom of Lugncia, with nothing more than his tracksuit, a bag of chips, and his flip phone. It is unknown why or how he was summoned to this world--all Subaru knows is that he has the power to ‘Return by Death’. Anytime he is killed, he is returned to a checkpoint in time, seemingly arbitrarily set. Other than that, he has no other spectacular powers and isn’t overpowered in any way. 

He makes up his reason for being in this new world when he meets Emilia (or ‘Satella’ when he first meets her). Something about her charm and her goodwill makes him, as the kids say, become a ‘simp’ for her. Most everything he does in this series is for her sake in one way or another. His affection for her borders on unhealthy, but for all intents and purposes, he really is the only one that can ‘save’ her. Her appearance resembling the most feared and hated figure in this universe, along with her being an elf, a marginalized group in this universe, only furthers his savior complex for her. She has never asked for any of his help, but accepts it anyway as long as it doesn’t interfere with her plans.

img1000(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/s/common/uploaded_files/1577971643-b49be7f8bf486a798610e7e8d153da5a.jpeg)

While we’re here, I have to talk about Subaru’s personality. While he probably thinks he has a ‘big personality’, in reality, it’s more like a fly that won’t get out of your face. His over-familiarity pisses me off especially. I can’t dislike him though. Maybe his whole act is him knowing that he’s in a fantasy setting. I can’t see him acting like that back in the real world. Either way, he’s more than likely to rub you the wrong way at least once.

img1000(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/s/common/uploaded_files/1497225926-dda57f3a44e14964944c4b289c131051.jpeg)

Onwards to the story--for an anime fantasy setting, _Re:Zero’s_ story is pretty decent. The anime is divided into three arcs, each one being longer than the other. Due to Subaru’s ‘Return by Death’ ability, each arc is longer than you would expect. I haven’t done the math, but around half, if not more, of the anime is nullified due to it being in a universe where Subaru ended up dying. This gets pedantic at a point since the arcs are so long (especially the third one which lasts the second half of the anime). I believe this is because Subaru goes back in time several times every arc. It’s like if Marty McFly died several times trying to fix his parents’ future and was sent back to the moment he arrived in 1955 every time he did. While it is exhausting to have to see Subaru have to redo things multiple times, _Re:Zero_ does create a mood of dread and uneasiness around him being potentially killed and having to do it all over again. The pedantism isn’t there for no reason, although a 25-minute-long dialogue scene is pretty excessive. 

img1000(https://manga.tokyo/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/59b5e6709be04.jpg)

The scale of _Re:Zero_ is so grand that with a full two-cour season, you still feel like the story has barely begun. Some of this is due to the whole ‘Return by Death’ thing repeating story-lines, but most of it is due to how everything seems to happen at once. While it would seem that the selection of a new ruler of the kingdom would take up most of the plot, it is overshadowed by a terrorist cult plotting to kidnap one of the main characters. Some characters still feel relatively unknown, even after a full season of seeing them. The scale of this series too big for what it is, but I’ll have to watch the second season to confirm that.

The worst thing about _Re:Zero_ isn’t even at the fault of the anime. Sure, Subaru’s outbursts of madness are unhinged and infuriating, but that’s nothing in relation to the aforementioned ‘waifu war’ I talked about in the beginning. You really can’t go anywhere _Re:Zero_ related without seeing an Emilia versus Rem spat. I don’t even think that most of the people that get involved in those arguments constantly like the series. It’s just another way for them to yell at people. The main difference between the two of them is that Rem is more loyal while Emilia strives Subaru to be better. That is my own impression anyway. You’ll have to watch the anime to come up with your own conclusion.

img1000(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CktIxBMVEAAEM2A.jpg)

_Re:Zero_ is an anime that is really good at giving you dread. While Subaru is a dumbass, I can’t help but care about him. His motives, while naive and decided haphazardly, are commendable in my book. Of course, with any story with time manipulation, there are going to be plot-holes and other stuff that comes with bending time. I can’t really be bothered with that, since that’s like complaining that staring at the sun made your vision worse. For an isekai, _Re:Zero_ is pretty good. The show has broad appeal, while not main-stream. While not fully fleshed out yet, the characters are charming. The story is long and drawn-out, but it isn’t a total slog to get through. The point is that you should give _Re:Zero_ a try if you haven’t already, especially with the Director's Cut of the first season fully out now.

While sometimes drawn-out, Re;Zero is good at getting viewers emotionally invested in what's going on

__DISCLAIMER:__ This is a review on the first season of the _Re:ZERO_ anime, and __NOT__ a review of the _Re:ZERO_ light novels. Any criticisms or compliments that I may have are all based on what was shown in the anime.

This review will be __spoiler-free__ for the two people in the anime community who haven’t watched _Re:ZERO_. However, I will talk about spoilers and expand on my thoughts at the very end in a “rant” section that is somewhat unrelated to the review itself.

__Story - 7.5/10__
The premise of the show is that a 17 year old hikikomori, Subaru Natsuki, gets transported into another world where he gains the ability to go back in time whenever he dies. The show has hints of an overarching plot but they are only set ups for future seasons. This season is mainly composed of multiple different story arcs that are episodic to a certain extent. In my opinion, the show’s first two major story arcs are extremely well-written, but the storytelling as well as character arcs become rather disappointing for the rest of the season. The first two story arcs are much more grounded and they portray the show’s psychological/darker themes in subtle but incredibly effective ways. However, the later story arcs become much more convoluted which is completely fine when the show further expands on its world, but the problem lies with the noticeable drop in quality in the storytelling where pacing becomes a much more prominent issue and instead of subtlety, themes are constantly being beaten over the the viewer’s heads which becomes obnoxious after a while. While the second half of the season is still adequate, it unfortunately is a perfect representation of why bigger doesn’t always mean better.

__Art - 7/10__
The art is pretty good for the most part, the character designs and the animations are actually pretty excellent. However, the score in this section is heavily affected by the CGI that is used in the show. I am aware that CG in anime is a somewhat controversial topic, however, without going too deep into this discussion, I am not at all against CGI being used in anime as long as it is not distracting enough to break immersion. You can probably already see where I am going with this. The CGI in this show is exceedingly noticeable and distracting because it is not only atrocious, it is used incredibly frequently especially as the show progresses where multiple fully CG (from what I could tell) “establishing” shots of environments and background characters begin appearing in every single episode.

__Sound - 9.5/10__
The sound is the most well made and consistent part of the show. The music is always appropriately used and it does a wonderful job reflecting characters’ emotions onto the audience. The tone that plays during the dark or edgy scenes in the show is disturbing and incredibly memorable, making it quite iconic for all the right reasons. The voice actors were also amazing, especially Yuusuke Kobayashi (Subaru’s voice actor) who portrays Subaru’s reactions to everything that happens to him in a dramatic but believable way. The one problem or nitpick that I had about the sound is the opening which I thought was rather generic and forgettable.

~~~img(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTFmNDQ3YjYtZTNhNi00NGRhLWFiNDItOGFkNjNmMGU3ZjNjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU4MTk1MDI@._V1_.jpg)~~~

__Character - 7.5/10__
_Re:ZERO_ is probably one of the only shows that I’ve watched that doesn’t have any characters I dislike for their character design or personality. I also appreciate the fact that even though the characters are likable, all of them are very flawed but mostly redeemable individuals. Despite this, the show unfortunately suffers from character inconsistencies as well as problems where main characters are even less developed than the side characters. While I do believe that the character development for Subaru and Rem are both very well-written, they are always at the expense of inconsistent writing. This may seem very contradictory, but let me give an example. As the show progresses, Subaru gradually grows as a person in a seemingly natural way as he confronts his fears and becomes a better person as a result. This is solid character development, however, the series of events that led to his growth shouldn’t have happened in the first place if they stayed true and consistent to Subaru’s character.

__Enjoyment - 8.5/10__
I enjoyed watching this show, most likely due to its interesting premise and the pretty solid execution of it overall. Although I have a lot of frustrations with the show, I was always intrigued about the world of _Re:ZERO_ and its characters.

__Summary__
_Re:ZERO_ mostly deserves all the attention it has gotten primarily because of its uniqueness not just in the isekai genre but in anime as a whole, but its many flaws keep it from being anything other than an entertaining watch. I hope that season two will expand on and improve its worldbuilding as well as its unique and diverse cast of characters. I still recommend everyone to watch _Re:ZERO_ at least once, however, if the lack of any real plot development and an abundance of frustrating character decisions are deal breakers for you, then you should probably look elsewhere.

The review is finished and you can scroll down to look at the overall score that I gave _Re:ZERO_. This next section will be very long, more informal and will contain major __SPOILERS__, so only continue reading if you have already completed the show and want to read about some of the more in-depth thoughts that I have regarding the show (also don’t continue reading if you are sensitive to different opinions). 

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__General thoughts/Rant?__
Before I start I want to emphasize that everything I say is just my opinion and although I will try to give detailed explanations to all of my points and remain as objective as I can, there will probably still be some unconscious bias when I write. There may be some mistakes in the things that I write about in this section since I did not rewatch the show. I also have not read the light novels, and I’m sure some of my complaints will be explained in future seasons, however no matter how these problems are fixed in the future, they will still, in my opinion, remain prominent issues in this first season of _Re:ZERO_.
I initially didn’t want to write a review on _Re:ZERO_ since I thought that everything I have to say about this show has already been said due to its popularity. However, after reading the comment section on a _Re:ZERO_ video on youtube recently and reading discussions on reddit and multiple other forums, I began to realize that many of the show’s flaws such as major plot holes and incredibly inconsistent characters are all very poorly justified and vaguely addressed by most people. I have two main complaints about this show and a few other smaller ones that I may mention along the way. The first thing I want to talk about is not a complaint about the show or really a complaint at all, it’s just something I simply wanted to address about Rem and the belief that her violent actions are unjustified during the mansion arc where people say that she probably didn’t have to kill Subaru just because she smelled the witch’s scent on him. Obviously you don’t have to like Rem as a character, however this argument about her violence just doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you watched the show and understand her backstory and her personality, her actions are not only “justified” in terms of her character but it would actually be very weird and inconsistent if she didn’t act violently. We know that the witch’s cult destroyed her village, presumably killing everyone as well, and ruining her and her sister’s lives as a result. She goes on to blame herself for everything that happened, develops a deep hatred towards the cult (obviously) and becomes an emotionally unstable person. We also know that Rem can smell the stench of the witch on Subaru and it is a smell so strong she can’t really ignore it. Also keep in mind that the time period in _Re:ZERO_ is closer to medieval times where the act of killing is much more common/normal (where your average farmer has probably killed a few people in his life) compared to modern society. Now, this is sort of a loose analogy, but imagine living in a Jewish village that is burnt down by Nazis and then going through the same thing Rem did. Then one day while living “peacefully”, some random person who has not only a Swastika but literally Hitler’s damn face tattooed on his face ends up in your home and this same person tries to become friends and get close with you as well as your sister. I don’t know about you but knowing what Hitler (or in Rem’s case, the witch) did to not only you but to the world as a whole, it would probably be very hard to not only trust him about not having any ulterior motivations but to resist killing this guy on the spot after seeing him.

Now that I got that out of the way, I will finally talk about the first major problem that I have with this show, which is the relationship between Emilia and Subaru, an argument as old as time. After reading what I wrote before you are probably thinking that I’m just some Rem fanboy who wanted Subaru to end up with Rem, and I don’t blame you. However, the problem I have is not who Subaru ends up with because I think that the romance in any story should be decided by the author and not the audience. The author should be allowed to tell the story he/she wants to tell without being influenced by the popularity of a certain character (which is why I hate harem endings where authors try to satisfy everyone, but that’s a different discussion for another time). Anyways, the issue that I have is rather the horribly written and developed relationship between the two people who are supposed to be the main characters that everyone should be rooting for. I understand that Emilia will get her story arc in the second season, but that doesn’t make sense from a storytelling perspective since the main romance interest should be developed first so that the viewers can get attached to that character and their relationships even if they are not your favourite character. A very good example of this is the relationship between Araragi and Senjougahara from the Monogatari franchise. I will not be comparing the Monogatari series to the _Re:ZERO_ series nor will I argue about which character is better, however I will talk about why the romance works so much better between Araragi and Senjougahara compared to Subaru and Emilia (you do not need to have watched or know about the Monogatari franchise to understand the point I’m about to make). Even though Senjougahara is probably one of my least favourite characters from the Monogatari series (she is still very good, but I just like the other characters better), her romance with Araragi still manages to be the only one that actually makes sense even in a harem (sort of) series where every girl pretty much has a crush on the MC, Araragi. The main reason for this is because Senjougahara is the first character to get a complete story and character arc alongside Araragi. As a result of Araragi’s actions, she develops feelings naturally as she is essentially saved by him allowing her to finally move on from her past to a certain extent. As a result, the viewers can easily get attached to Senjougahara as a humanized and sympathetic character and accept her position as the main love interest. Despite Araragi and Senjougahara being very contrasting characters, they also have a lot of chemistry and they actually display their interest in each other in subtle (and sometimes not very subtle) ways through their actions and dialog. This sort of development and writing is also the biggest reason as to why Rem is so much more popular than Emilia in the anime community since she is the only one who gets any time to develop and grow together with Subaru in the first season. Emilia does get introduced first, but she does not get any development in the first arc, which is fine, but the problem is that she barely gets any development or backstory throughout the entire story. I understand that they want to introduce and develop Rem along with Ram, but once their arcs (the mansion and village arcs) are complete, why do they keep focusing on Rem and disregard Emilia? Instead of giving the other main character some growth, the show chose to continue focusing on a character who had the majority of her problems already solved. You could argue that the cult arc mid season was more of Subaru’s arc, however, Emilia doesn’t get development in the last arc either. The only purpose Emilia serves in this season is as the driving force behind most of Subaru’s actions, but even that is done extremely poorly since their relationship is so artificial that any semblance of chemistry between these two are either shown through fan service or Subaru’s constant and obnoxious white knighting for Emilia. Again, I’m certain that the second season will make her a much more developed character, but It honestly baffles me why they would refuse to develop Emilia in any meaningful way this season especially since giving Emilia and Subaru more screen time together will not be harmful to the story, the characters or the viewers in any way (except to maybe die-hard fans of Rem). How can the show possibly expect anyone to be invested or even care about her relationship with Subaru and his main goal throughout the show if they can’t even care about her character in the first place. When season one ends, Subaru's feelings towards Emilia ends up feeling just as shallow as a high school crush and by simply looking back at everything Subaru and Rem have experienced and overcame together, it makes no logical sense for Subaru to care for Emilia more than Rem even in a platonic way.

My second and last major problem with the show is the terribly inconsistent writing of Subaru’s character. If you read my _Toradora!_ review, then you would know that I really don’t like it when aspects of a character’s traits or personalities are used as only a gimmick that is forgotten after one or two episodes. This show does this not just with a character trait but entire characters as well as major story aspects are just ignored as the story progresses. The first example of this is a minor problem that is not related to Subaru but is something I want to mention anyways. The villain character during the first arc of the show, Elsa Granhiert, is probably someone most people have also forgotten about when they finished the show. She is a somewhat interesting antagonist that gets defeated by the end of the second (or third?) episode and is never seen or mentioned again. After watching the show, I couldn’t help but ask what the point of her character was. Of course this is a pretty small issue in the grand scheme of things, but the real problem starts when Subaru is written in a frustrating inconsistent way. First of all, Subaru is introduced in the show as a hikikomori who gets transported into another world. As soon as he arrives in this world, Subaru immediately recognizes it as an isekai, however, he only mentions this a few times in the first episode and the fact that he is from the modern world gets completely forgotten even by Subaru himself. Now, if we fast forward to the cult invasion arc, I think that if Subaru’s character is written without inconsistencies, this entire story arc would not have happened in the way it did at all. Let me explain. People like to praise the show for the psychological elements, especially the “realistic” portrayal of all the suffering that Subaru goes through during this arc. The problem is that Subaru’s emotions such as the shock he experiences from seeing his friends dying or his fear of death is only realistic if he did not have the power to rewind time. It is true that seeing everyone you care about die in front of you will affect you mentally in a major way, but it doesn’t make any sense for Subaru to experience the same thing as we would since not only has he already seen the exact same people die before, he knows their death is not final because he has the power to change the outcome by saving them. The question of why Subaru doesn’t kill himself to reset time has been discussed everywhere on the internet, and the most popular answer is always the fact that Subaru doesn’t want to kill himself because he still feels his death. This is just simply not true because Subaru has already rewound time by suicide in an early episode and it has been shown multiple times that Subaru does not feel anything through the act of dying but rather the way that he dies. For example, if he dies by jumping off the clip and dies immediately (which he actually does), he will not feel his injuries in the slightest once time rewinds. Of course Subaru shouldn’t kill himself every time he stubs his toe or even when his plans don’t turn out the exact way that he wanted them to, but since he is willing to “sacrifice” himself to save someone important to him before, why would he refuse to do it in an even more dire situation? The only real reason is probably that the writers realized that Subaru’s power is too overpowered and needed a way to give Subaru some obstacles and challenges (which only ended up feeling artificial and unnecessary). The perfect example to prove my point is Subaru’s idiotic actions during one of the rewinds when he gets captured by the cult. The only time Subaru killed himself in the show is because he wanted to save Rem, who by the way, he had only known for a few days at the time. However, for whatever reason, when Rem, the same person he saved before who he has grown even closer with, literally gets twisted up by Petelgeuse, is pretty much tortured to death and uses her last breath to save Subaru from his lock, instead of realizing that he should probably start over, Subaru carries her to the mansion...to bury her or something? What? It makes absolutely no sense. And the same shit happens again when Rem gets erased from existence and Emilia literally dies in front of him. And again instead of killing himself immediately to rewind time and save both Rem and Emilia, Subaru just decided to not do anything but be depressed about what had happened. It’s almost like Subaru is some kind of masochist who enjoys being mentally tortured.

To be honest, I have other things that I wanted to say but this is getting way too long so I will end this section here. If you actually read all the way to the end then thanks for reading my thoughts (I didn't think anyone would actually read all that text). By now you might think that I hated the show, but like I said in the review, I enjoyed watching it and I'm very excited for the next season. I will not remain butt hurt and angry over inconsistent writing or decisions that the author made to the story/characters (and you probably shouldn't either) since it’s all just fiction and everything I talked about are just things that I personally thought were disappointing. At the end of the day, this is just for fun and not meant to be taken as some sort of vendetta against this show. Have a nice day.

A solid and surprisingly psychological anime that doesn’t really live up to all the hype

My thoughts on the series known as Re:zero, or more specifically ‘Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World’, have shifted over the years. Looking at my MyAnimeList review from April 14th, 2018, it seems I had enjoyed my experience, but ever since I’ve been very unsure as to my consensus over the tv-series. From what I had remembered it seemed like a series full of potential that was stricken with a bold sense of superiority, but I was never really quite sure why. It was until Mother’s Basement’s video on the subject matter that I became more intrigued than ever. He speaks of the shows subtle critique of anime culture and that not having rewatched the series means you haven’t seen the show to begin with. And now that I have taken that advice, I would make the case that this is what made the show feel as pretentious and blatant as it did.

__This review contains spoilers__

The series follows Subaru Natsuki, the ordinary Japanese high school anime fan, as he is transported into the Kingdom of Lugnica, not too dissimilar from many other fantasy worlds we’ve seen the past decade. After getting into trouble with the capitals many crooks he is saved by the heroine of Emilia who Subaru quickly takes a liking to. The two look for her “insignia”, an amulet of a sort, and after scenes of blood and gore we learn that Subaru is able to “return by death” meaning he is sent back in time to certain events when he passes away. And this is where the critique of the anime fandom and the “otaku” is set up, as the ability Subaru achieves seems like an advantageous one but is throughout the series developed to be extremely trauma-inducing, as Subaru has to relive the suffering the world of Lugnica has to offer repeatedly. It takes the audience’s expectations of the story’s premise and turns it around to show the horror laying inside of it. But this is where the story’s interesting exploration of this critique starts and ends, as we will be looking at now.

The first 50 minutes of the show are emblematic of the problems the show has presenting this recurring theme. As I started the first episode I was impressed at how early they set up how Subaru isn’t the main character of this world. He is repeatedly disempowered, thinking that he can suddenly cast magic and save people and is then shown how this is false. But after lines like “Is this how it’s supposed to be? Wasn’t I summoned into a parallel world?! Where’s my protagonist status go!?” and “And besides, if I was summoned, where’s my cute girl who summoned me?!”, this starts become overwhelming. The entirety of episodes one is spent comedically disempowering Subaru over and over again to the point where it seems as though the creators are screaming the point of the show to the audience. My consensus after watching the first episode was that it wasn’t a masterpiece because it thinks it is one. 

This is a common problem in anime I believe, where the point of certain characters or story elements are kept extremely clear. But when it comes to thematic elements, I don’t think I have a better example of overstatement than this show. While it is able to hide this problem in the first third of the show, where it’s either interesting in how it frames Subaru or just turns into the show I thought this was meant to critique as it gives us meaningless fan-service. But it is in the scene where Emilia leaves Subaru in the capital where this changes. This is probably my favorite point in the series, where Subaru’s arrogance and savior complex becomes increasingly transparent to the point of saying that Emilia is hopeless without him, and I finally feel like the show has a point while still wrapping it in subtext. But the high of writing a scene like this can be addicting and this is what we see after this point. This is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth after finishing the series even though as a whole I don’t think it’s awful.

The series becomes a lot more melodramatic and not afraid to cause mass-murder to make a heavy-handed point about Subaru’s flaws as a person. The “from zero” (where Subaru tells Rem he loves Emilia) is a pretty great summarization of what I dislike about the show. Whenever it wants to make a point about Subaru and people like him it isn’t subtle about it in any way. They scream it into the camera, in the exact words you would put into a wiki page. And while I don’t think subtlety is a necessary element of writing, I find it hard to take the message seriously or find any interest in it when there is nothing to read into. Like Folding Ideas said in his video on the film Annihilation, in this series the subtextual is the textual. And while I don’t think comparing the two is completely fair as Annihilations themes are very different from Re:ZERO’s, I don’t think there’s a lot of subtext to read into when it comes to this series, because everything is on the table.

In the end the problems I have with Re:ZERO are not easy to understand for myself. I have to credit the series for making me think about what makes something on-the-nose and what makes something honest, and if a clear line is needed in this case. I’m still intrigued by the series, from just thinking about the problems and why I find them to be so. But in the end, the fact that I find them bothersome should be enough to call it a flaw.

And even if I think other aspects of the series are fine, the way the theme is presented felt really lazy and really drags the series down. If there’s any element of filmmaking I find more interesting to discuss than any other it would be subtext and the meaning of media. But if there’s any case that says that conceptually underlying themes and messages cannot make a show great I think Re:ZERO is a pretty good one

__5/10__

Why Re:ZERO left a bad taste in my mouth and my thoughts on its heavy-handed thematic meaning

~~~img600(https://i.imgur.com/B7b9sBu.png)~~~

# ~~~__Spoiler-free review__~~~
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# Review in brief:

Re:Zero’s introspective premise and colorful yet dark appearance set the stage for an interesting take on isekai and the craze surrounding it. If it didn’t collapse in on itself halfway through it may have even been good. It’s sad to say, but sloppy writing, unfocused characterization, and a haphazard plot structure cripples this first season for anyone who cares for the quality of such things.

# Review in full:

Chances are if you know what anime is, you know what isekai is. Ever since Sword Art Online popularized the concept (even if whether SAO is really an isekai or not is debatable), Japanese media quickly found itself drowning in a torrent of escapist fantasies about loners, NEETs, and otaku suddenly becoming demigods after being whisked away to a rainbow-colored fantasy land. In the midst of this isekai wave, Re:Zero came out and asked “but what would _really_ happen if some _random loser_ was brought to a world beyond their wildest dreams?” The fact that it so much as appeared to deconstruct (yes, this mattered back then) the stale default isekai setup made it destined to receive considerable attention.

To be fair, Subaru Natsuki could have had it worse. He has a positive demeanor, a basic grasp of martial arts, some real-world trinkets he can pawn for far beyond their true value, and the plot convenience that the fantasy world’s language, though written in a fantasy script that renders him illiterate, is spoken exactly like modern Japanese. Still, he has to deal with a society he doesn’t understand with no reliable connections, and his social skills & intellect are quite lacking. Where power-fantasy isekai often lazily solve this issue by barfing out some unearned superpowers onto the protagonist, Subaru discovers through a string of unfortunate events that he possesses a mysterious curse-like ability he calls Return by Death, something the world may as well not know the existence of, forcing him to learn as he goes. The more he learns, the darker the implications surrounding _why_ he has this power get.

It doesn’t take him long to meet Emilia, a silver-haired half-elf girl whom he falls in love with at first sight. With nothing to his name, he makes helping her his purpose for being in this world. Unlike his cliché overpowered isekai MC contemporaries, even this simple-sounding goal quickly pushes him to his limits, because Emilia isn’t just visiting Lugnica to pick up some groceries and Subaru is in for a rude awakening when things take a violent turn. He doesn’t know what it means for Emilia to be a “candidate”, or the implications her being a half-elf carries, and the danger that comes with not knowing those things among countless other pieces of information is what creates the hook in this otherwise bog-standard & somewhat clunky setup.

<center>img600(https://i.imgur.com/6EMRfXq.png)
_Re:Zero goes out of its way to show that this “hero” really is a zero._</center>

Subaru is the essence Re:Zero lives by. Following this clueless, impulsive idiot as he struggles to accomplish things most protagonists can work through without breaking a sweat lends the anime a “take the viewer along for the ride” style of presentation. This works because neither he nor the viewer can easily tell what the full picture is. While it mostly ends up getting used for quick thrills and the occasional cut to other characters for exposition does occur, the time spent following hapless Subaru and learning alongside him turns what could have been a slog where the viewer waits multiple episodes for the obvious solution to be implemented into a legitimate mystery and a quirky sort of underdog story.

Before long, Re:Zero is less about the intrigue surrounding Emilia’s situation and more about Subaru finding and refining his place in this new world. Soon enough, he has met a sizable secondary cast, with the way they bounce off of Subaru adding a refreshing comedic layer to the more serious dilemmas that Subaru faces, even if many of them are initially quite basic or tropey. That proves to be a quickly addressed issue, with a selection of these side characters woven into the main plot through a temporary spotlight, making the mini-climax that follows shortly thereafter resonate stronger than it would have otherwise.

The trials-by-fire where Subaru learns about trust, resolve, and responsibility in the second arc are the sincerest portions of the whole season. While the people he grows to care about have few reasons to put their faith in him, he finds that his handful of abilities are all that stands between everything he cares about and disaster. Even if he can’t save the world, perhaps what little he can save can tip the cosmic scales that stand so far above him, and that is ultimately what makes his story worth telling. He’s not even close to being some legendary chosen hero, but he does claw his way out of the NEET mentality, and that’s more growth than is to be expected from the standard escapist tale’s protagonist.

Re:Zero may not have had the greatest start and its plot had faced a few rough spats with some of its blander characters and overly convenient developments, but things had been turned in a better direction by the end of episode 11. With nothing holding it back from climbing on to greater heights, there was reason to hope (and hype) that we could now find out what was really going on with Emilia and her currently shallow character as we watch Subaru uncover another web of machinations from the side, moving away from being a lackadaisical kid and towards becoming a functioning adult as he goes.

Alas, that’s not the story the author had in mind. The hope is dead by episode 13.

You see, despite everything the first two arcs build up to, Re:Zero is not an underdog story about a weakling who must figure out how to unravel the darker mysteries of the new world he’s in so that the real heroes he meets along the way have their chance to save it. There weren't any particular issues with that plot progression; if nothing else Subaru had to face his relative unimportance as well as the fact that his standard-issue NEET-bait traits were immature and wouldn’t get him anywhere. His experiences have made this plainly clear, challenging him to reconstruct himself with a wiser perspective and a more productive way of living. If this much is obvious, then what Re:Zero does next is akin to hitting itself over the head hard enough to cause brain damage.

What happens is that the Subaru this anime has spent two arcs slowly developing is suddenly thrown out the window, and a new Subaru takes his place. This Subaru is an entitled brat who takes every negative trait a corporate manager would accuse the stereotypical NEET of and dials them up to 11. He acts in ways that are in direct opposition to the very lessons he learned, talked about, and acted on just a few episodes prior.  Whereas just an episode or two before he espoused cooperation and supporting each other, he suddenly goes off as a lone wolf and eschews multiple attempts by his acquaintances to support him, even at the cost of his own wellbeing. This version of him isn’t simply _unlikeable_ (which isn’t even a problem), __it’s unbelievable__, and the weight of his now-broken character obliterates the suspension of disbelief anyone unfortunate enough to have needed it once had.

<center>img600(https://i.imgur.com/Y9vBO7z.jpg)
_If your Subaru stops working properly, please wait 7 episodes before rebooting._</center>

The consequences of his actions are brought to an extreme as well. Instead of having to work harder to make up for his mistakes, Return by Death sets him on a circular path of suffering and gore that quickly spirals far beyond his control and lasts far longer than needed to impart any sort of lesson (not that he learns or relearns much during this time). Then, after being smashed to pieces (in more ways than one) for multiple episodes on end, all it takes is a pep talk from a side character essentially telling him to go back to being episode 11 Subaru for him to revert to his old self like nothing happened.

The story ends up suffering from this overreach too. A flurry of cardboard cutouts and stock fantasy templates posing as sorry stand-ins for characters are suddenly dumped into the narrative. Meanwhile, most of the old cast gets flanderized to a similar level, all to suit a half-hearted stab at explaining some of Lugnica’s politics that is left with a mess of loose ends. In turn, the plot progression is abruptly slowed to a crawl as the overwhelming majority of the cast becomes too stupid to get anything of value done.

However, the most glaring fumble of all is the barely-developed romance between Emilia & Subaru. Despite being the __sole reason__ Subaru got into this mess and the root cause of the __entire story__ past episode 1, it gets just about completely pushed aside, along with Emilia herself. Though she’s a main character and the primary event driver in the overall story, Emilia ends with bizarrely scant focus this season. The episodes she could be considered a main character of can be counted on one hand. Instead, Re:Zero puts this time into a separate subplot between Subaru and a different girl, one that ends up more developed than the romance between him and Emilia.

Even when Subaru comes back from his unwarranted character degeneration, things are never the same. He quickly finds himself with a literal army of allies that trust him without question and are willing to die for the goals he has in mind, makes a friend that can temporarily give him magic powers, stumbles across a spirited war mount that instantly lets him be her master, is given full credit for championing a battle he did little more in than act as bait, and casually comments on how he’s starting to build a harem. Even the rules surrounding Return by Death are bent past what had been established earlier, conveniently letting him skirt by the mistakes he does make as this third arc is too bloated to wrap up properly while playing by its own rules.

There are fair reasons behind why some of those later developments occur. Subaru learns at least a few things after he reverts (and quickly reaps the fruits of those lessons). Even so, watching him suddenly become the wish-fulfillment proxy who gets everything he needs to be the hero handed to him in a neatly wrapped box only makes the horrid attempt at narrative reinforcement even more bitter. Even the revised ending from the director’s cut comes off as sweeping loose ends under the rug rather than playing them out as a real story, given how little impact the changes have on the narrative.

That all said, I would be remiss to not praise Re:Zero’s fight scenes, especially towards the end of this season.  The leadup to them furthers the worldbuilding by facilitating its lore, magic system, and technology.  The resulting variety in scale, tactics, and risks on display creates a deserved hype-and-payoff combo for those viewers who came in seeking quick thrills.  Sadly, it’s a feature that can only be fully appreciated from that less analytical angle, as I realized upon a rewatch.  For the rest of us, it’s difficult to separate the flashy battles from the plot that they come from, especially when it’s a mess. Bricks aren’t a whole lot more palatable when they’re coated in frosting.

No, what ends up defining this anime is its promise.  The promise you see in it will depend on what you’re watching it for, but the promise I saw lasted 11 episodes before it was permanently stained with retcon, then shattered as this third arc ended up becoming a largely hollow affair, one that proved the initial claims of “deconstruction” false. The lesson here is that whether or not a story is a deconstruction, reconstruction, isekai, or any combination of descriptors means nothing compared to the quality of the story itself. Regardless of what Re:Zero was trying to do, its structural issues persist, which is why its reputation was and still is a topic of contentious debate.  After enough poorly planned stories of this expectedly dark sort saturated the deconstruction craze of the 2010's, most people stopped caring about the phrase as it became clear that claims of deconstruction are not marks of quality, and the anime community is better for it.

<center>img(https://i.imgur.com/VxOHuhe.gif)
_Re:Zero’s production values and creative action, though not entirely consistent, are more than enough to sate viewers who watch with their brains turned off._</center>

It’s a shame the story and characters are so poorly utilized, because White Fox generally upheld the production end of things. The otherworldly setting is sold quite well thanks to their work rather than just looking like the standard set dressing most isekai settings amount to. While the animation is not consistent and a few moments are made jarring by staticness, the overall visuals are great in their better moments due to consistently great framing and a wide and skillfully used array of color palettes. There's also quite a bit of actual gore on display, not just blood spurts. It's not on the same level as infamously gory anime like Elfen Lied or Genocyber, but it's definitely well past the norm for dark-toned anime of its time.

The voice acting does more to characterize the cast than the writing half of the time, with skillful applications of vocal tics and inflection. The SFX is pretty good overall, especially considering the abundance of cheap fantasy effects that could have been used instead. The soundtrack is lackluster in the first half of the anime, but later on it picks up significantly. There’s a decent amount of good insert songs as well. While the OP & ED visuals are hit-or-miss, their music is quite good, and considering they’re omitted more often than not it’s a good thing the visual focus went elsewhere.

# Verdict:

Re:Zero mixes an interesting premise and fair production values with instances of writing so amateurish it scars the whole experience if the cute girls or gore don’t distract you, and those two things can be found in abundance elsewhere. It’s still within the realm of possibility for the next season to salvage the wreck this so-called prequel left in its wake, but what’s been said and done so far is hardly assuring.

# Related reviews:
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# [Re:Zero OVAs](https://anilist.co/review/14079)</center>

>The girl, in her well-worn clothes and unclean appearance, had stumbled upon this attempted murder and robbery in the act! What would surely happen next, was that with an overflowing sense of justice this girl would save Subaru’s life, right from the clutches of death. [...] Unfortunately, that hope was shattered in an instant.

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Re:Zero's opening episode begins with a daring declaration of intent. "This is not one of your typical light novels," it proclaims. "We know the tropes". It's self aware in the same way the medium has been since The Success of Haruhi Suzumiya. However, only a moment goes by before another beautiful girl appears and saves Subaru, the main character, in a lovingly heroic fashion. Re:Zero's first bark rings dry and hollow, becoming a perfect tone-setter for a show that's chronically unable to commit. 

On a basic, technical level, there's nothing to criticize. Its quality was more than enough to carry me through the two cours. The backgrounds have both a strong physical presence and a familiar feeling befitting the pastiche fantasy worldbuilding, while the characters are just distinctive enough within their generic style to be recognized at a glance. Things remain on-model and move when necessary, always framed by appropriately dramatic storyboards and haunting music. It's a good production, but it doesn't have any aesthetic intent besides "being immediately accommodating and attractive for an otaku audience," a problem that extends to the writing as well. 

The show wants to do worldbuilding and dedicates time to it, but only by throwing in different fetishes and random JRPG regulars. It highlights every trope in an almost desperate attempt at self-awareness; but then proceeds to play things straight and consistently reject subversion. It wants to critically examine Subaru's attitude and make him face the consequences of his actions, but never without an emotional safety net (see: Rem's whole character existing only for Subaru's well-being). The anime's entire structure is set up as a rejection of escapism and self-indulgence, with Subaru being pushed to leave his comfort zone and make decisions that are demanding for him, but always undercuts itself by arbitrarily validating his impulses before forcing any real change on his worldview. 

Any barrier set to distinguish art from non-art is inherently arbitrary; there's no problem with uncritical entertainment on its own. Re:Zero is self-conscious, though. It wants to be the clever one, and it's really bad at it. For every slight attempt at being meaningfully critical, it throws the audience a treat so that nobody is too turned off. It's stuck, constantly trying to project an image of depth and subversion without losing the shallow charm that attracts most its audience. It wants people to consider the humanity of its characters while jacking off to their merchandise.

It's just like one of my japanese animes!

While not phenomenal, Re:ZERO manages to be a good show thanks to its engaging premise.

Re:ZERO Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu
Nota:8/10

Para falar de re:zero é necessário falar de character drive e de desconstrução de gênero.
CHARACTER DRIVE: A premissa de um character drive é exatamente de passar a perspectiva de um personagem e o desenvolver em um contexto (história). Obras que bem executam desta ideia colocam os personagens acima do universo, pois nada é mais importante que eles (monogatari e steins;gate como exemplo). Re:zero tem como nosso personagem escolhido para ser o foco o protagonista Subaru Natsuki. Nosso amigo Subaru vive se lascando assim que foi invocado para outro mundo e a White fox faz questão de nos dar detalhes de seu sofrimento, pois a obra gira em torno dele.
Ainda falando em sofrimento de nosso protagonista, todo o tempo que a gente acompanhou do nosso amigo Natsuki é notável como seu desenvolvimento ao decorrer da obra é notável, e que ele é muito bem construído/trabalhado.
Como qualquer outro character drive Re:zero usa side characters para auxiliar nosso MC, e eles não são personagens muito bem trabalhados, porém character drive não pode ter isso levado como problema, pois desenvolver personagens de auxilio é uma quebra da premissa do character drive (vou explicar mais pra frente isso).
DESCONTRUÇÃO DO GÊNERO: Como sabemos Re:zero é um isekai, mas ele não atende as regras, pois o autor inteligentemente quebrou grande parte das isekai shits que re:zero podia acabar sofrendo por estar envolvido no gênero isekai.
É notável as quebras logo no primeiro episódio onde subaru tenta lançar um poder com suas mãos assim como nos animes que o próprio assiste, mas falha miseravelmente. A ideia de re:zero é não atender a isekai e outra boa comprovação disto é o fato não poder usar seu portal, por nunca ter dito ele antes. Subaru não vai ter um desenvolvimento de poder, pois Re:zero não tem um MC de isekai.
Vamos falar agora mais da proposta em si
O MORRERBINAR: Esse nome foi o apelido que o subaru deu para a habilidade de voltar toda vez que morre, e que re:zero trabalha o tempo todo nas tentativas de subaru de contornar as situações complexas na qual ele vive se encontrando.
O morrerbinar é o principal fator de desenvolvimento do próprio, pois com essa habilidade o nosso protagonista passa por diversas situações na qual ele sofre bastante para contornar e enfrentar, e subaru chega a enlouquecer tanto com as coisas que ele vê a ponto de não conseguir fazer mais nada e entra em colapso nervoso no episodio 15.
O morrebinar é bem questionado devido a essa retornada no tempo que acaba jogando o desenvolvimento dos personagens secundários para trás e tirando o peso dessas mortes e acontecimentos, então irei falar de cada um separadamente.
DESENVOLVIMENTO DOS PERSONAGENS: Vou começar com um fato, o elenco de re:zero é em suma composto por personagens sem aprofundamentos e desenvolvimento com exceção do subaru e da rem, mas isso não é um problema para esse tipo de obra devido ao character drive que o autor resolveu adotar.
Irei usar de exemplo o mangá Onanie Master Kurosawa. O mangá é envolto apenas do nosso protagonista (Kurosawa) e de alguns personagens secundários que também não são nem um pouco bem desenvolvidos, porém tanto em Onanie Master Kurosawa como em Re:zero isto não chega a ser um problema, pois acompanhamos a história inteiramente no ponto de vista do protagonista e os outros personagens servem apenas para o andar da história, e uma interação com o personagem escolhido para o character drive. Re:zero funciona de forma parecida, pois o subaru tem toda a construção e desenvolvimento da trama, e os outros personagens são quem interagem com ele de forma leviana. 
Outro exemplo é bakemonogatari onde a história é acompanhada de character drive com as personagens. Em bakemonogatari o CD funciona de uma maneira levemente diferente, pois eles resolveram usar o character drive com personagens diferentes através de arcos, e durante um arco de uma personagem as outras são deixadas de lado, pois o CD está direcionada para outras personagens.
Resumindo minha ideia. Os personagens mal aproveitados não se tornar necessariamente um problema, pois não é a proposta do anime focar muito neles e o erro de re:zero é quando força um entendimento desnecessário deles.
TENSÃO PÓS MORTE: O morrerbinar é bem controverso quando se falamos desse ponto de re:zero, mas tentarei explicar porque essa tensão pós morte afeta apenas no enjoyment e não quando falamos de objetividade da obra.
Como dito anteriormente a história toda acontece em torno do subaru, e essas mortes também. Toda morte e toda essa violência em Re:zero serve para chocar o subaru e colaborar em seu sofrimento, e a maior prova disto é que o subaru sente as mortes dele e você vai percebendo como ele vai mudando o jeito de agir durante cada tentativa e mudanças na aparência dele.
Vou usar de exemplo o arco da baleia branca como um todo. Na primeira morte do subaru nesse arco ele está completamente devastado e em colapso após ver toda a brutalidade com as pessoas que ele ama na mansão, e ele não consegue fazer nada nesse episódio até que é despertado um ódio extremo pelo petelgeuse quando é mostrado que o próprio fez tudo aquilo que deixou ele em colapso (inclusive torturar a rem), logo após essa morte ele tem a conversa com a Karsten onde ele enlouquece completamente devido ao que aconteceu naquela caverna, e ao decorrer você vai percebendo como a cada vez que ele vai falhando nosso protagonista vai ficando desacreditado e vai perdendo completamente a cabeça enquanto toma cada vez mais decisões estupidas.
Então ele desiste...
Subaru simplesmente não aguenta mais ser responsável por algo tão grande e desiste de tentar salvar a todos. Desacreditado da própria utilidade sugere fugir para outro país com a Rem. Eu não vou falar exatamente desse episódio agora, mas pelo que eu descrevi no período dos episódios 15-18 toda morte do subaru teve sim um peso. O ponto dessa perda de peso na história não faz sentido, pois ao analisar é sim notável como o subaru sente tudo isso e que cada vez que ele morre ele vai mudando.
GORE: Eu não imaginei que precisaria criar um tópico só pra isso, mas eu vi um certo pessoal tratando isso como problema, então vou dar uma breve comentada sobre a violência de Re:zero.
A violência de Re:zero funciona para traumatizar o garoto natsuki e inteligentemente a White Fox (estúdio) e o Tappei Nagatsuki (autor) souberam exatamente quando usar o gore.
Re:zero usa o gore apenas quando o subaru vai morrer, pois é apenas necessário lá. É notável que quando o subaru escolhe a rota certa, as cenas não tem tanta violência e nem sangue, pois tais coisas são apenas necessárias para traumatizar o nosso protagonista, por isso é tão calibrado seu uso, diferente de obras de gore que exageram ao extremo utilizando tal violência a todo momento, tornando assim tais obras “edgy”, e Re:zero soube quando usar.
PRODUÇÃO: A produção de Re:zero adotou para o design de personagens um estilo bastante simples. Nada muito louvável, mas também não é um defeito. As cenas de lutas são até que bem feitas, como por exemplo quando a felt avança pra cima da elsa, a rem contra os majuus e outras cenas.
Agora as cenas de drama são impecáveis, o último episódio do arco da mansão quando a rem conversa com o subaru, o episódio onde a rem é torturada, a conversa do subaru com a Karsten logo depois do episódio onde a rem foi torturada, e o episódio 18.
Falando especificamente dos episódios 15 e 18.
As OST’s desses episódios são incríveis e totalmente condizente com as cenas. Quando os créditos sobem no episódio 15 junto com réquiem of silence é algo extremamente chocante. E também tem todo o episódio 18 onde a rem praticamente desenvolve o subaru por 24 minutos, e wishing (cantada pela dubladora da rem Inori Minase) começa a tocar de fundo, onde na letra é dito exatamente tudo aquilo que a rem sonha. 
A melhor palavra pra descrever é: “FENOMENAL”.
PECADOS: Re:zero não é perfeito e vou falar aonde Re:zero erra.
Re:zero tem um problema sério em seguir com a própria proposta. As vezes a obra não segue a ideia do character drive e da desconstrução do gênero, e isso é evidente na finalização do arco 3 (baleia branca), pois nessa parte do arco re:zero resolve fazer umas lutinhas sem peso nenhum pro universo e ainda por cima teve aquele flashback do willheim que quebrou totalmente a proposta da série.
Por Re:zero ser um character drive, ao parar totalmente a história do subaru pra introduzir a história de um personagem que não é tão importante como o willheim quebra totalmente o character drive, e além disso essas lutinhas de final de arco são semelhantes demais com a finalização de arco de um isekai genérico qualquer.
Tal quebra de proposta é extremamente complicada pra obra, e por mais que seja até legal ver lutinha contra bicho gigante que voa, desmerecer a propia proposta é um erro sério e indefensável.
RESUMO DE TUDO: Re:zero é uma ótima obra com um erro aqui outro ali, mas que é ótima pra se assistir por ser bastante divertida (e claro tem a rem 10/10)
Nota 8/10

Review baseada em um texto que eu recebi na DM do meu Discord.

Warning: This re:view may contain some light spoilers.

Imagine a isekai show where the main character gets transported to another world, but without any OP powers. That's what Re:Zero essentially is. Adapted from the Light novels of the same name by Tappei Nagatsuki, the show is more of a darker fantasy story than most people may be familiar with. Re:Zero isn't exactly like other shows where the main character tries to find a way back home or has to slay the demon king to save the world. Re:Zero is a psychological fantasy thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Story: 10/10

The story is about a 17 year old shut-in called Natsuki Subaru. One day when he goes to the convenience store to get some snacks, he gets send to another world after he walks outside and blinks. He immediatly realises this and starts looking around to confirm he actually is in a fantasy world. At first he thought that he was the chosen one and would become the hero of this world, oh boy was he wrong. The twist is that he can return to a specific point in time everytime he dies, with all his memories still intact after respawning. This ability is called ''Return by Death'' Basically, Subaru gets a chance to fix mistakes so that the consequences can be avoided. And i said chance because Subaru doesn't always succeed to change the future because he is entirely powerless by himself, with his only two weapons being Return by Death and his positive outlook on life. One of the biggest selling points is its constant sense of mystery, foreshadowing, and you never know what will happen next. Re:Zero shows how Subaru uses his Return by Death ability to make a difference while trying to live his new life in this world.

Art: 10/10

The art was beautifully done. It is very detailled and has a great atmosphere for each situation. It manages to be fairly consistent and there wasn't a single moment where i was dissapointed or dissatisfied. The animators over at White Fox did an amazing job with this one.

Sound: 10/10

Lots of memorable tracks that fit the situation and sets the atmosphere well. The OPs and EDs fit the anime really well, with the first opening by Konomi Suzuki, second opening and first ending by Myth & Roid, and second ending by Rie Takahashi. Also, great sound direction and used at the perfect moment to capture the scene and atmosphere. If you want to hear a few good ones first i recommend ''Theather D'' ''Takt of Heroes'' and ''Straight Bet'' for some more lighthearted ones try ''Longing for Sunbeams'' ''Fantasy Clap'' and ''Fool''.

Characters: 10/10

One of the strongest points of the series is it's characters. The protagonist Natsuki Subaru is a shut-in hikikomori, that is until he gets transported to a new world. He has a strong resolve to protect the ones close to him, even if that means taking the thorny path. He is generally an optimistic person with a positive outlook on life. He has a lot of character flaws, which isn't particularly a bad thing. Subaru is essentially just a teenage boy who is suddenly thrown into conflicts after conflicts. There are moments when i really began to dislike Subaru, but he redeems himself later on and becomes more like the character we want him to be. Subaru basically caries the show and is what makes Re:Zero the show it is.

Emilia, the main heroin of the story is a silver haired half-elf who saves Subaru from the thugs in the first episode, making Subaru fall in love with her. there are a lot more really interesting supporting characters like Rem, Ram, & Beatrice. Every character is really well done and have fully fleshed out personalities and backstories. They all have some amount of importance and you really begin to care for them as you watch through the episodes.

Enjoyment and overall: 10/10

This show isn't perfect. In fact, no anime is. But it is definitely one of the best anime i have ever watched and it is undoubtedly one of my favorite anime of all time. In the middle i started to dislike Subaru a bit because of all the stupid shit he did, but he redeemed himself later and became more like the character we want him to be. every episode had me wanting more and i enjoyed this show a lot. This is truly a must watch for every anime fan. There are still a lot of things that are still unanswered but those will be revealed in the seasons to come.

This show is an easy 10/10 for me.

Imagine an isekai where the main character gets transported to another world, but without any OP powers. 

[ENG]
“How I wanted to go back in time and fix things” surely you have said that phrase before, so let’s make a deal? I will give you the long-awaited chance to go back and solve the problems of the past, in return, you need to sacrifice your own life...do we have a deal?

Before your answer, let me present another case similar to yours. Re:Zero is an Anime produced in 2016 by White Fox studios, Tappei Nagatsuki's original work, and in it we follow Subaru Natsuki, a young man who was transported to a new reality, where he now finds himself alone in the Kingdom of Lugnica, one of four largest nations in this new world.

This world has very peculiar and different characteristics compared to the Earth, such as the existence of other races besides humans and the presence of magic, where each being can develop this "magic power". Interesting isn't it? It seems that this new Subaru’s life may be much better than the previous one, but unfortunately, this adventure didn’t start on the right foot.

The great concept of this Anime is that, when Subaru was transported, he ended up gaining a power, at least, interesting, which is the ability to return to a specific point in his new life, but to activate this, it is necessary that he or die, or take his own life.

Have you ever stopped to think about the consequences of having that power? Let's say that you accepted the proposal at the beginning of the video, would you have the courage to sacrifice your life, go through the pain of death, to have a second chance to fix something? And if you indeed go through and actually fix the problem...what now? Your whole life is gone now, years of experience, achievements or even the people you love...everything, everything, has been reset, just to fix a single thing from the past.

This doesn't mean that these special people have ceased to exist, but unlike you who can retain these memories, they don't, so if you had someone special in your life before, such as a wife or husband, these people won't know or remember who you are. All the wonderful moments you spent together, if they only exist in your head, they're a mere illusion.

This is performed so well during all the cycles of the Anime that it is really amazing, especially how Subaru deals with each of these terrible cycles of dying and going back in time. He's a very interesting and somewhat real character, he isn't perfect, quite the opposite, but it is possible to see his evolution and how he learns from each of his deaths.

We have only one life and, unlike Subaru, we can't erase everything and start over from scratch, so instead of wasting time looking at your past mistakes, how about learning from them and using that experience for a better future, where it isn't necessary to resort for a second chance?

Bellow there is a video link, entitled “Second Chance”, which better analyzes the Anime and its premise as a whole, making this review even more accurate (Please turn on the English Sub for it).

[PT-BR]
“Como eu queria voltar no tempo e concertar as coisas” certamente você já se pegou falando essa frase antes, então vamos fazer um acordo? Eu vou lhe dar a tão sonhada chance de voltar e resolver os problemas do passado, em troca, você precisa sacrificar a própria vida...temos um acordo?

Antes de sua resposta, deixe-me apresentar um outro caso parecido com o seu. Re:Zero é um anime produzido em 2016 pelos estúdios White Fox, obra original de Tappei Nagatsuki, e nele nós acompanhamos Subaru Natsuki, um jovem que foi transportado para uma nova realidade, onde agora ele se encontra sozinho no Reino de Lugnica, uma das quatro maiores nações desse novo mundo.

Esse mundo tem características muito peculiares e diferentes em comparação com a Terra, como a existência de outras raças além dos seres humanos e a presença de magia, onde cada ser consegue desenvolver esse tal “poder mágico”. Interessante não? Parece que essa nova vida do Subaru pode ser bem melhor do que a anterior, mas, infelizmente, essa aventura não começou com o pé direito.

O grande conceito desse Anime é que, quando Subaru foi transportado, ele acabou ganhando um poder, no mínimo, interessante, que é a habilidade de voltar em um ponto específico de sua nova vida, mas para ativar isso, é necessário que ele ou morra, ou tire a própria vida.

Já parou para pensar nas consequências de ter esse poder? Vamos dizer que você aceitou a proposta do começo do vídeo, você teria coragem de sacrificar a sua vida, passar pela dor da morte, para ter uma segunda chance de concertar algo? E se tomar essa atitude e de fato consertar esse tal problema...e agora? Toda a sua vida não existe mais, os anos de experiência, as conquistas ou até as pessoas que você ama...tudo, tudo, foi zerado, só para concertar uma única coisa do passado...

Isso não significa que essas pessoas especiais deixaram de existir, mas ao contrário de você que consegue reter essas memórias, os outros não, ou seja, se antes você tinha alguém especial em sua vida, como por exemplo esposa ou marido, essas pessoas não vão saber ou lembrar quem você é. Todos os momentos maravilhosos que passaram juntos, se só existem na sua cabeça, não deixa de ser uma mera ilusão.

Isso é executado tão bem durante todos os ciclos desse anime que é algo realmente incrível, em especial como Subaru lida com cada um desses terríveis ciclos de morrer e voltar no tempo. Ele é um personagem bem interessante e de certa forma real, ele não é perfeito, muito pelo contrário, mas é possível ver a evolução dele e como ele aprende com cada uma de suas mortes.

Nossas vidas são únicas e, ao contrário do Subaru, nós não conseguimos apagar tudo e recomeçar do zero, então ao invés de ficar perdendo tempo olhando para nossos erros do passado, que tal aprender com eles e usar essa experiência para um futuro melhor, onde não seja necessário recorrer a uma segunda chance?

Segue o link do vídeo, intitulado de “Segunda Chance”, que analisa melhor a obra e sua premissa como um todo, tornando essa review ainda mais precisa.


[Link of the Video](https://youtu.be/KCBP1rvlL-M)

The value of life and the price of a second chance

Re: Zero left me mouth-opened. It's astounding. You know a series is good when you are afraid of watching its sequel. Well, that's the way I felt the moment I saw the last episode of this season, all I thought was, " God, how they will keep up with this." It took the place of Log Horizon (it's a freaking good anime) as my favorite isekai, not that I've watched that much of it.
Subaru is such a character. I laughed a lot with him. His lines are pure gold, and he has a bizarre sense of humor. The awareness of his situation as a person sent to another world plus the knowledge of games, in general, creates a lovable interaction with us, watching his journey. Subaru is quite intelligent, has a good heart, and on top of that, he's not OP. In fact, the boy hardly has power.
I said all of that because Subaru's qualities are essential to make us keep loving, or better, not hating him entirely during the series. The show destroys this character in all ways possible. It's almost unbearable to watch it. Personally, if he wasn't this good as a character, I think I wouldn't watch it until the end.
Prepare to see the power of friendship/love, the willpower, and stuff like that turned into nothing when facing the brutality of "destiny." See the despair of who can't change anything. By the way, despair is, I think, the word to define Re: Zero. The other people in the story are quite interesting as well. Each of them has their own story and goals well-defined; they can live without Subaru, which makes him be perceived as one more in the city. So, he's not the factor of changing in this reality, not the savior, the chosen, the destined one that can do all on his own. I would like to talk a little bit about at least six other great characters, but it will be a spoiler. However, know that this protagonist's independence is good because it contributes to the story showing how weak Subaru is.
Of course, he is still the protagonist, so as the story progresses, he plays a major role in it, although nothing will be solved out of thin air by forcing some unexpected hidden power, for instance. Actually, we are confronted mostly with his flaws rather than the qualities. Subaru is human, in the most beautiful aspect of the word. He dares to fight fate and even what we could consider some sort of evil god. The result of this unfair fight is a realistic - and therefore good - massacre. As I said, he's destroyed continuously. Because of this, any success, as small as it can be, is a fantastic reward for us as an audience. Mad respects to Subaru!
Finally, I can't avoid writing about one of the funniest and more awkward villains I've had the pleasure to watch. Petelgeuse. He's so over the top. Loved him, and you'll also do. I'm sure. rsrs

Best Isekai I've watched! The most common main character! 

img220(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Re_Zero_kara_Hajimeru_Isekai_Seikatsu_logo.svg/1200px-Re_Zero_kara_Hajimeru_Isekai_Seikatsu_logo.svg.png)

Re:Zero was my 2nd anime, and I can not lie I couldnt get over it, and i still cant. Even though im still a mere beginner at watching anime, this show is still very memorable and i cant get enough of it. I adore the characters, music, and amazing story. I'm still bewildered on how the story attaches you so quickly from the first episode. There are spoilers for the show and more ahead, so if you are looking to see my opinion on it, read the following paragraph below and exit after you have finished.


(This review will go through the openings, characters, and story)

img220(https://financerewind.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pjimage-5-3.jpg)

__( Very Minor Episode 1 Spoilers) Surface Level Review:__

Re:Zero is a isekai magical world like show. The main character is a teenager named "Subaru Natsuki". He gets transported into a different world one night casually right after shopping for some snacks at a corner store. The world is made up of humans and half human half beast like characters. Subaru figures out he has this ability he calls "return by death", he can basically die and return to a "save point". With this, Subaru still has full knowledge of everything that happened leading up to his last death(s) and uses that information to avoid certain happenings throughout the show. I personally think that this is a fantastic plot that can make for a really good story depending on how its used, and they definitely used it correctly here. The show brings along emotions of sadness, hopelessness, and anger toward antagonists. The art style and music in the show are very good. Both openings for part 1 and 2 in the show are great, especially their full versions. The show also has sounds and music that carry a heavy and intense ambience effect carried along the show. The characters are also very good and you will definitely have your favorites. Overall this show is a must watch, definitely at least in my top 10-8 in my favorite anime list.

For those wondering if the show is any good for beginners, it definitely is. The show hooks you with interesting happenings from episode 1, and I will guarantee the show gets better and better.



__THE FOLLOWING INFO CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW, BE WARNED__






__Openings for part 1 and 2:__

Part 1.

youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KZ4kAzJkk) 

This opening has to be one of my top 5 favorite openings in anime. The visuals and music go along perfect and get me extremely hyped up for the show. It also reminds me of the extreme emotion I felt along the show. I have extreme trouble debating if this is my favorite one out of the 2 openings but this one just hits home to much. I think it is safe to say this one if my favorite because of the music and visuals and the ptsd I have attached with it.



Part 2.

youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu_0kOfMGD0)


The music for this opening is what gets me going. The visuals arent that special in my opinion but it does represent how action packed part 2 is, and i love that part about it. The music always hypes me up for the show and the full song is also great. Definitely a good opening though.



__Characters:__

(These arent in any specific order)

Subaru

img220(https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/2971ae90-a39a-4e47-8bd7-665525bdf1a3/daluzge-7acaabb8-f306-422c-8f4f-86e6d1a893c0.png/v1/fill/w_1000,h_800,strp/subaru_natsuki___re_zero_by_blujumper_daluzge-pre.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMDI0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjk3MWFlOTAtYTM5YS00ZTQ3LThiZDctNjY1NTI1YmRmMWEzXC9kYWx1emdlLTdhY2FhYmI4LWYzMDYtNDIyYy04ZjRmLTg2ZTZkMWE4OTNjMC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.Z0LnAK-MSiHsdy0mqSvY9q8Rom4WuCXUvPSuydAGsME)
In my opinion, Subaru is a pretty good main character for a show. He can be funny at times and hes definitely a simp, Emilia literally treats him like a dog.

Emilia

img220(https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/197/857/246/fan-art-anime-re-zero-kara-hajimeru-isekai-seikatsu-emilia-re-zero-wallpaper-preview.jpg)
Shes a good character, treats Subaru like a dog and he accepts it which is hilarious. Although shes not in my likings, I feel like she definitely needed more screentime to have a lot more fans than she does now however.

Rem
img220(https://static0.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Rem-re-zero-promo-Cropped.jpg)
I have to be careful about what I say here. Shes definitely a great character and has personality. However she was over rated, like very. Don't get me wrong, shes great toward subaru. But i feel like people kinda hyped her up to much. She got more screentime than emilia and this is kinda why a lot of people think subaru should have chosen rem (i do too but i dont force that fact upon anyone who thinks emilia is the better choice). Anyways shes a fantastic character great development, personality, and more.

Ram
img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/od-e1Z3sPCE/maxresdefault.jpg)
The under rated one. Her sas gives her great personality and i love it, and i feel like she should have more fans. Although she doesnt have too many moments, i feel like what was presented was pretty solid. I love it whenever she verbally abuses Subaru, I find it very funny and memorable.

Beatrice
img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YBD5gN-PPEU/maxresdefault.jpg)
I dont wanna go to jail but I like her sas too. Pretty much same things i said about ram. Shes also a very mysterious character

Puck
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)

Puck is one of the more memorable characters. Hes cool and cute at many times of the show. And I find it badass hes basically someone who can destroy the entire world if emilia dies.




__Honest Episode 18 Review:__

Well yeah this episode made me cry because of what rem said. This is the only time i cried watching any show ever soooooooo

__Season 1 Ending Review:__
Basically they copied rems cry and basically made emilia do it at the end, quite the rub in the face if you ask me. Good ending though.


__Conclusion__

Re:Zero is a definite must watch, I recommend it to any and all anime watchers (including the OVAs). I loved everything about it and the emotions i felt will stick with me forever. Enjoy the show!


P.S

Who is Rem?

Must watch for all types of anime watchers

This show made me nearly lose my mind. It made me so unbelievably upset with its lack of any plot (or any sort of sense to begin with) that I barely managed to finish the show without dying of anger and disgust for 90% of the characters. “But why did you not drop it then?”. To be honest with you, I really had high hopes for this anime after seeing how hyped up it was. However, after watching the first episode, I knew immediately that this is going to be an awfully long and tedious ride. Regardless, I’ve decided to stick to it and just finish it in two sittings, to get it over with, accompanied by said hope that it might get better as the show progresses. And I was so incredibly wrong.  

_And before anyone tells me how wrong I am and how dumb I am because I didn’t ‘understand’ this show, honestly, please, don’t tell me any of those things. People are allowed to have opinions._

But let’s just take a step back and talk about the plot, which doesn’t exist in this show. That’s what I would say right after finishing the show. However, after carefully analyzing Re:Zero, I found it. Our main character named Subaru Natsuki gets magically transported into another world (yes, this anime is an isekai). After that, Subaru finds this ~~Satella~~ Emilia girl, starts liking her. That’s pretty much it. Hey, listen, there is nothing with the series being based on romantic relationships unless there is no explanation why the main character (MC from now on) likes the other character. Ah, pardon me! Emilia actually saved him in the dark alley, so now he’s trying to return the favor while being in love with her because she’s pretty. And because she saved his life. Isn’t it… kind of a boring story? But let’s put this aside and carry on. After the alley incident, Subaru tries to assist Emilia with her issue and they both get killed. Don’t forget, kids, this is an isekai, so the MC respawns, however, only he can remember what happened in general as well as to him and others before death. _This_ is the part of the show that is the most interesting, the respawn part, because due to some circumstances our poor MC cannot even tell anyone around him that he, well, died and came back to life. Nevertheless, this part of the story is __never explored__ (at least in this season). Instead, our MC is just suffering the entire show for no reason, really, other than he’s a total mess of a human being and deserves the treatment that he gets throughout the show. On a more serious note, the gore that exists in the show just exists. As mentioned previously, there is no long-term meaning in Subaru’s suffering. Thus, it is really hard to tell if Re:Zero explores any themes. There is no _great, big, or meaningful_ purpose in this show. Subaru isn’t trying to go back to his regular world, he isn’t trying to explore why he can’t tell anyone about the respawn power he possesses, he isn’t even trying to learn about the world he now lives in. The only thing that concerns him is making sure that his sweetheart Emilia is sound and safe, which, again, could’ve been a great plot, however, there is nothing appealing about Emilia, except for her looks. 

Emilia, much like 90% of the characters in the show, is one-dimensional and empty. Again, I understand, this is only the first season of the series, but it wouldn’t hurt to give us a bit more backstory about who she is. Emilia lacks any characterization throughout the show, which makes it incredibly hard to relate to her or like her, in the first place. Yes, of course, she is very pretty, very gentle and caring but that’s about it. She seems to be made as a perfect waifu material. Maybe that’s why Subaru fell for her, despite the fact that she didn’t really do anything to win him over or charm him. Regardless of Emilia being a waifu material for various sized pillowcases, figurines, mousepads, etc., she got zero character development throughout the entire season. I honestly can barely recall any important moments that included her. Emilia was gone the majority of the time and was never there for the crucial moments in the anime.  

Now let’s talk about Subaru. Subaru Natsuki is a dumbass. He is not smart, he is not funny, he is trying so hard to be somebody that he will never be. I understand that Subaru is being portrayed as a typical shounen hero but, again, he’s not a hero, far from it. Subaru is a kid with a fragile ego who literally _deserves_ the whooping (gory anguish, in the show context) that he gets. I honestly believe that Subaru is suffering from a hero complex and seeking to be recognized ~~only by Emilia~~ by everyone, which, ultimately, rarely leads to anything good and results in him respawning over and over again. Similarly to Emilia, who is designed to be loved by thousands of thirsty anime watches, Subaru was created so those thirsty anime watchers have someone to relate to in this series (which is, from my perspective, is borderline insulting). 

The only character that I cared about throughout the entire show was Rem (and occasionally Ram). These two sweet little ladies got character development, backstories, and proper characterizations. Although this is great, the only character we see glowing in the show is Rem, since Ram didn’t get a lot of screentime (which is, again, really sad). Despite the fact that Rem is the least one-dimensional character, her development regarding our beloved Subaru seemed a bit sloppy and too fast. How often do you see people going from ‘I cannot stand your guts’ to ‘Oh my, I really like you’ in a matter of a couple of days (unless you are in middle school or something)?  Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to talk specifically about the relationship between Rem and Subaru without spoiling. However, the only thing that I may say is that Subaru for once stopped being an idiot. And I’ll leave it at that. 

The rest of the characters in this show are not worth mentioning. They are boring, dull, and uninteresting, except for maybe Wilhelm van Astrea. The majority of the side characters are made, again, to appeal to thirsty anime watchers. They got tsundere lolis, cute guys with cat ears, hot guys with swords, you name it. It is unfortunate to see those characters being left on the side of a road without any suitable portrayal while having so much potential to be explored within the series. 

As for the soundtrack and visuals, everything is… fine, I guess? If we talk about visuals, nothing special to see here again. It’s your basic isekai with bright colors and dim lights once in a while when things go south. Soundtracks aren’t memorable, the openings and endings were mediocre. Nothing much to say here, unfortunately. 

As you could probably already tell, I didn’t personally enjoy Re:Zero. From my perspective, it had way too many flaws to be liked or enjoyed. Re:Zero lacks _depth_, it lacks _relatability_ to the real world we live in since the show doesn’t really explore any theme. It is not the worst thing I have ever seen but I would not re-watch it again (at least not in the near future). Having said that, _it doesn’t mean that you won’t like this show as well_. It is worth a try, but at the end of the day, I don’t think it deserves the hype it got. And I definitely don’t think it falls into the category of ‘big brain’ anime.

This show made me nearly lose my mind (not in a good way).

If I could name one anime genre that has exploded the most in the last couple of years, it would be the isekai genre. There's a seemingly infinite number of anime coming out that deal with a protagonist being sent or reincarnated into another world, usually straight out of a stereotypical fantasy novel or video game. Oh, and the main character is usually surrounded by a harem of magical girls that fall in love with him, or vice versa.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't skeptical going into this anime, mainly because so many of the shows in this isekai wave reuse the same mediocre, repetitive formulas to the point where it's beyond cliche, taking an interesting premise and watering it down with bland tropes and mostly average production value.

It was only when my brother suggested this show to me, coupled with the release of the director's cut on Crunchyroll, that I became somewhat interested. The idea of the protagonist being reborn every time they die has been somewhat done before (see Erased), but I hadn't heard of it being used in a fantasy setting, so my curiosity got the best of me.

The first thing that stood out to me was the animation/art style, which is relatively detailed and eye-catching. It's not as bombastic or fluid as something like Kill la Kill or Attack on Titan, but it works pretty well for the story being told. The soundtrack/sound design on this show is also pretty admirable, as a lot of the music and sound effects effectively set the mood for the scenes that play out.

Speaking of mood, let's discuss the story of this show. The plot centers around the main character, Natsuki Subaru, who is suddenly thrown into a fantasy world. There, he meets the mysterious Emilia, who he almost instantly falls head-over-heels for, as well as her talking, flying cat-thing, Puck. After a series of incidents in this new world, Subaru discovers that whenever he dies, he is revived at a pre-determined point sometime before his death. Subaru tries to use this ability to his advantage, planning his actions around the events that happen in the future in order to save himself, as well as the people around him.

Now, I need to get something out of the way right now: this show is dark. There are several moments in this series that will leave you speechless. It's not the cheap kind of shock-factor that's thrown in there purely for reaction purposes. No, this show will make you think about what happened for days on end. At times it's grotesque and terrifying; at other times it's just straight up depressing.

This anime loves to bask in the suffering of its protagonist as his spirit is slowly chipped away by his constant repetition of life and death, as well as the deaths and suffering of those around him. Subaru constantly has moments of sorrow and self-doubt, as he doesn't feel he is living up to the expectations of those around him. Failure is something that Subaru experiences often in this show, and it often results in suffering for him or those he loves.

In this sense, the show does a wonderful job of keeping the viewer invested as Subaru experiences these terrible events, as it is much more rewarding when he succeeds. Though it occasionally results in the show's plot kind of stagnating, Subaru's "Return by Death" ability functions as an interesting plot point that doesn't come off as a gimmick or plot armor. Rather, it is portrayed as both a blessing and a curse.

For the most part, the show's characters are interesting and fleshed-out, though there are a few throwaway secondary characters that don't do much for the story. These characters either don't get enough screentime to contribute to the plot in an interesting way, or their personality is just not very memorable. This is kind of expected from a series with such a large cast though, and it doesn't really detract too much from the storytelling.

Overall, this show is a pretty great entry for someone who's a fan of the isekai genre, or if you enjoy darker stories with slight horror/thriller elements.
The second season is also pretty great so far, and I'm excited to see where the show goes.

Re:Zero is a rare instance of creativity and depth in the isekai genre.

The quote “I didn’t hear no bell” might be the only remotely decent thing to come out of the film Rocky V. Despite the movie sucking, the phrase conveys the relentless drive some protagonists have, the drive that compels them to keep getting up and fighting until they either emerge victorious or can literally no longer stand. Natsuki Subaru is “I didn’t hear no bell” taken to the extreme – even if he dies, you can bet he’s going to keep coming back and continue the fight.

Re:Zero is a two-cour, narrative heavy isekai that tells the story of Subaru, an eighteen year old who doesn’t seem to have much going on in his life. One night while going to the convenience store Subaru finds himself transported into another world with nothing more than the tracksuit on his back and some snacks. Right away the series begins to subvert the most prevalent isekai trope of the overpowered protagonist. Subaru may be in another world, but he’s just a fairly fit eighteen-year-old, not an insane spellcaster or legend with a sword. Subaru soon finds himself helping Emilia and Puck, a half-elf and a spirit who saved him from getting robbed (or worse) in a back-alley. While in the process of helping them Subaru is disemboweled, but instead of his story ending he finds himself where he was at the start of the day, very much alive. Not only is he alive, but only he is aware of the events that transpired; Subaru may not be a powerful spellcaster or legendary fighter, but he does have the ability to “Return by Death”.

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/STkhA7w.jpg)~~~

Eventually Subaru manages to work out a “best ending” path to help Emilia and she takes him in. Emilia is staying at the estate of a noble, Roswaal Mathers, who lives there with two demon maids (Rem and Ram) and a librarian (Beatrice). Over the next ~twenty episodes, Subaru will face murder, demonic beasts, infighting, a giant flying whale, and a cult comprised of those who worship the “Witch of Envy”. As I mentioned before, Re:Zero is pretty heavy on the narrative – there is a lot that happens. However, this isn’t narrative for the sake of world-building or narrative for the sake of the characters needing something to do – this is narrative designed to give the characters chances to develop. Because of the nature of Return by Death, Subaru might end up trying to do the exact same thing three or four times. How he approaches the same event over and over, how his choices impact those around him, how his mental state is impacted by what he endures; at the end of the day, what keeps Re:Zero fresh are the characters.

Over the course of season one, Natsuki Subaru goes through three distinct phases that mirror the traditional Hero’s Journey pretty closely. At first Subaru is “selfishly selfless”. Subaru is still treating the new world he’s in as if it’s still fantasy - that’s not to say he’s callous or cold to the inhabitants of the world, but he seems to view his role in it as that of a “hero” from a game or movie. On the surface he’s doing all of the things a traditional hero should be doing: he sacrifices for others, both materially and physically, he’s good with kids, etc. At this point it seems like Subaru is a likeable, albeit bland, protagonist. And while there are character moments during this phase where the seeds of development are sown, Subaru doesn’t really change all that much. Yes, he struggles, and yes, there is hardship, but it’s not enough at this point to make him realize the error of his ways. This skin-deep selflessness is only fully explored and deconstructed with his inability to consider the feelings of Emilia. Subaru’s infatuation with Emilia and his predeveloped notions of the “right thing to do” ultimately fail to consider the wishes of those around him, leading to alienation and events transpiring that lead to Subaru hitting his lowest point.

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/W6jXO3d.jpg)~~~

The second phase can really only be called “despair”. He’s already quarrelling with Emilia and teetering on the brink, but when the Witch’s Cult attacks the estate and she ends up dead along with everyone else, Subaru begins to lose himself. The depression just gets worse – Return by Death gives him the chance to go and save his friends, but failure and trauma lead to desperation, and his desperation leads to other characters finding him deplorable. They can’t understand his mental state or the severity of the situation. The only one that will even give him the time of day is Rem, who he will eventually have to witness being tortured and mutilated by the Petelgeuse and the Witch’s Cult on one of his attempts to stop them. Subaru is shattered and nothing is going his way. If we’re sticking with the boxing metaphor, at this point Subaru is down for the count and the referee is about to call the fight.

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/RboVq2f.jpg)~~~

I’m just going to straight up yoink what I’m calling Subaru’s third phase from the Hero’s Journey – “rebirth”. Subaru is eventually driven to the point where he just wants to run away with Rem and give up. This is when Rem drags him back from the brink. All of the traits that Subaru was pretending came naturally to him – the motivation, the unrelenting drive, the desire to help others, the selflessness – to Rem those are the best parts about him, why she fell in love with him. And even though Subaru’s self-esteem has been shattered, Rem picks up the pieces and refuses to let him give up on himself and the things that made her fall for him. What was utterly destroyed over the course of four episodes is built back up in what is easily one of the best episodes of any isekai I’ve seen, and while Subaru is still by no means perfect he’s raring to go and save those he loves. Rem was in his corner the whole time, and not only is the fighting spirit back in him, but this is a version of Subaru with much more confidence in himself. This version of Subaru is not a teenager copying a hero from pop culture, this version has failed, suffered, and with the help of others has emerged as an actual hero. 

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/0qPZfxS.jpg)~~~

Although I talked in depth about Subaru, and despite that really didn’t manage to do the character justice, the reality is the character writing of Re:Zero as a whole is phenomenal. Emilia and Rem represent two sides of the Subaru “love interest” coin, with one being idealized by him and the other idealizing him. Emilia has to deal with the ramifications to looking exactly like the Witch of Envy, leading to her being unable to form any kind of close relationship with most people, while Rem is dealing with an inferiority complex stemming from the circumstances of her birth so severe that she has no idea how to even begin forming a sense of self-worth. A good portion of the story is devoted to helping both Emilia and Rem overcome these fatal character flaws, but I think it’s also worth noting what an interesting contrast they are to Subaru. Almost 100% of the challenges Subaru faces this season are ramifications from his actions, while Emilia and Rem are forced to confront issues that they never had any control over. Their problems create an interesting situation where Subaru has to help with their past trauma while at the same time working through whatever disaster he is currently starting down the barrel of. 

It is also impossible to talk about this season without mentioning Petelgeuse, the “Sin Archbishop of Sloth” with the Witch’s Cult and the primary antagonist of the season. While I’m normally opposed to antagonists who really are just evil for the sake of being evil, I think that Petelgeuse has to be one of the exceptions to this rule. Everything about this character is insidious and insane, from the overpowering desire for “love” from the Witch of Envy to the way he uses his own followers as “fingers” for him to reincarnate into. Petelgeuse is so easy to hate that the audience doesn’t need to know anything about his backstory to hate him, especially after he forces Subaru to watch as Rem is contorted, tortured, and ultimately murdered in front of his eyes; he is utterly irredeemable with nothing positive about him. Because Petelgeuse as a villain is so easy to hate and wish dead, you can’t help but feel immense satisfaction when Subaru does, once again, manage to find the “best ending” and Petelgeuse is defeated.

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/qwGVVqK.jpg)~~~

White Fox, the studio behind the animation of Re:Zero (as well as another personal favorite of mine, Girls’ Last Tour), certainly deserves to be commended for the insanely high production value. The animation quality is consistently superb, though it should be said that the action is perhaps a little more grounded than many other shows. I obviously say that with a grain of salt as its hard for a fight against a giant flying whale to be grounded, but Re:Zero does a fantastic job of visually conveying the weight impacts have, making the action feel very raw and visceral, as well as not relying too heavily on a complex magic system as opposed to more close up, hand-to-hand action. I think equally noteworthy is a stylistic choice to go in for a lot of extreme, often wide-angle, closeups of characters. Its something you'd expect out of horror moreso than a show like Re:Zero, and it’s a risky move as it can be really off-putting. Honestly though, it worked here in achieving the tense, high stress and uncomfortable atmosphere that these kinds of shots were trying to convey. 

~~~img330(https://i.imgur.com/UfQzJPc.jpg)~~~

The sound design of Re:Zero also deserves a shout-out. While the openings and endings were solid (in my opinion the first OP in particular, Redo by Konomi Suzuki, was great), and the insert music contributed massively to key moments, the voice acting was honestly just mind blowing. This is a series that has some very lighthearted, comedic moments mixed with incredibly dark, depressing moments, and the characters definitely required quite a bit of range to pull off successfully. Whenever I see Inori Minase, who voices Rem, I know it’s going to be a quality performance and Rie Takahashi makes a relatively subdued character, Emilia, come to life on screen (with both contributing to the soundtrack as well). I don’t think I can emphasize enough, however, just how good the performances from Yuusuke Kobayashi as Subaru and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Petelgeuse are. When he needs to Kobayashi can sell Subaru as either an average eighteen year old messing around with friends or the most emotionally broken man on the planet, and Matsuoka’s performance as an unhinged lunatic sounds just as deranged and psychotic as any version of the Joker that I’ve seen. 

There is nothing incredibly complex about boxing. It’s a one-on-one fight between two people, and the first one to either have their body give out loses. Things are not nearly that simple for Natsuki Subaru in the world of Re:Zero. If he wants to consistently save everyone he’s not going to get the luxury of a clean one-on-one fight, and as strange as it may seem he’s not going to have the luxury of his body giving out and stopping him. Subaru is going to have to fight everyone in his way, as many as are in his way at once, and is going to have to deal with seeing those he loves die over and over, as well as experiencing his own death countless times. Subaru’s barrier to happiness and the “best ending” isn’t physical at all, its purely mental. And this man, who can die repeatedly until he accomplishes the impossible, isn’t capable of hearing a bell.

RE:Zero Series Watch Order

Re: Zero Bond of Ice OVA

Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 1

Re: Zero Memory Snow OVA

Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 1 cont.

Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 2