Imperial Bishop
Banned
A week ago, I decided to give Re:Zero a shot after hearing a lot of good things about this anime that puts an unconventional twist on the "stuck in a fantasy world" genre.
I've completed the entire show and, long story short, I enjoyed it.
Animation is excellent, the art design/color palette is vibrant, the soundtrack is pretty good, and most of the main characters have memorable, stand-out designs.
The fantasy world is kind of standard by-the-books lore with witches, magic, elves, knights, etc. Unfortunately, we don't learn a whole lot about Lugunica(?) so there's not much to chew on.
Before I finished the first episode, I could tell that this was, yet again, another light novel adaptation.I already know it will be years before we see a second season. So that means the unanswered questions and plot threads introduced in this season are going to be left hanging.
Re:Zero surprised me in both a good way and a bad way. I was surprised by how quickly the main premise of the show caught my interest. And I was surprised by how the main premise starts to lose its luster in the second half of the show.
I can break down the 25 episode anime into six story arcs.
Episode 1-3: The Loot House Arc
Episode 4-11: The Mansion Arc
Episode 12-14: The Royal Selection Arc
Episode 15-17: Let's Shinji Ikari the Fuck Outta Subaru Arc
Episode 18-21: Battle Against the White Whale Arc
Episode 22-25: The Witch's Cult Arc
But I want to get right down to the main characters, especially...
Natsuki Subaru
I have a love/hate relationship with the protagonist. And not just because he shares the same name as a car company. But love is too strong of a word to use. More like a "tolerate/hate" relationship.
He starts off as a genre-savvy obnoxious-yet-endearing shonen protag, then becomes an obnoxious-yet-endearing strategist with a loose mouth, then becomes a flippant, whiny Chris Tucker mixed with End of Eva Shinji Ikari, then finally grows into a determined general who still runs his mouth but is more level-headed.
I would say Subaru, as a character, goes from okay-to-good-to-terrible-to-"zero"-to-hero.
There are so many problems that happen that would have been avoided if Subaru had a) kept his mouth shut or b) did what he was told.
He's one of the few MCs, if not the only one, who is completely weak but has the biggest advantage out of anyone in the main cast.
The show puts him through a near-laughable amount of hardship. It's like episode 5 of Attack on Titan but done over and over again. The suffering he goes through and seeing just how far he can keep going is one of the biggest motivators that kept me watching.
Emilia
Rem
Ram
Honorable mentions:
Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti: DESU! I love this guy. Such a good screwy villain. He and Wilhelm almost single-handedly saved the second half of the show.
Wilhelm van Astrea: This dude is a beast. He's like an older King Bradley. Great job making me sympathize for him and his wife in such a short period of time.
Roswaal L. Mathers: He looks like Kefka. What's his deal? Who knows. Find out in season two probably.
Elsa the Bowel Hunter: She's great but she disappears after the first arc. Such a waste.
Puck: Not much to say about Puck, but there's an interesting twist with him in the middle of the anime that's never addressed again.
Beatrice: Stuck-up loli that's only there for exposition.
Reinhard: Also barely shows up. I like him.
Julius: He's alright. Not as cool as Reinhard. They made him such a forced foil for Subaru.
Felt: Another early character who has a story arc that doesn't go anywhere.
Out of all the characters, my top favorites are: Rem Rem, Betel "Not Michael Keaton" Geuse and Wilhelm "Da Gawd' Bradley!
While not the best anime of 2016, Re:Zero was an entertaining spin on the strange fantasy world genre with lots of mental damage and amusing character interactions.
And I want someone to compile all the times Subaru yells and screams dramatically at the top of his lungs. I swear, there's enough hoarse voice cracking to make even my voicebox numb.
I've completed the entire show and, long story short, I enjoyed it.
Animation is excellent, the art design/color palette is vibrant, the soundtrack is pretty good, and most of the main characters have memorable, stand-out designs.
The fantasy world is kind of standard by-the-books lore with witches, magic, elves, knights, etc. Unfortunately, we don't learn a whole lot about Lugunica(?) so there's not much to chew on.
Before I finished the first episode, I could tell that this was, yet again, another light novel adaptation.I already know it will be years before we see a second season. So that means the unanswered questions and plot threads introduced in this season are going to be left hanging.
Re:Zero surprised me in both a good way and a bad way. I was surprised by how quickly the main premise of the show caught my interest. And I was surprised by how the main premise starts to lose its luster in the second half of the show.
I can break down the 25 episode anime into six story arcs.
Episode 1-3: The Loot House Arc
Episode 4-11: The Mansion Arc
Episode 12-14: The Royal Selection Arc
Episode 15-17: Let's Shinji Ikari the Fuck Outta Subaru Arc
Episode 18-21: Battle Against the White Whale Arc
Episode 22-25: The Witch's Cult Arc
But I want to get right down to the main characters, especially...
Natsuki Subaru
Subaru, Subaru, Subaru...where do I even begin with this guy?
I have a love/hate relationship with the protagonist. And not just because he shares the same name as a car company. But love is too strong of a word to use. More like a "tolerate/hate" relationship.
He starts off as a genre-savvy obnoxious-yet-endearing shonen protag, then becomes an obnoxious-yet-endearing strategist with a loose mouth, then becomes a flippant, whiny Chris Tucker mixed with End of Eva Shinji Ikari, then finally grows into a determined general who still runs his mouth but is more level-headed.
I would say Subaru, as a character, goes from okay-to-good-to-terrible-to-"zero"-to-hero.
There are so many problems that happen that would have been avoided if Subaru had a) kept his mouth shut or b) did what he was told.
He's one of the few MCs, if not the only one, who is completely weak but has the biggest advantage out of anyone in the main cast.
The show puts him through a near-laughable amount of hardship. It's like episode 5 of Attack on Titan but done over and over again. The suffering he goes through and seeing just how far he can keep going is one of the biggest motivators that kept me watching.
Emilia
Emilia is one of the central figures of the story yet she didn't leave much of an impression on me. Her entire character arc (or semi-arc, since it's left hanging) is to overcome the prejudice placed on her for being similar in appearance to the Jealous Witch. Besides that, she's fairly generic. And it doesn't help that she fades out of the story in the second half when it becomes the Subaru & Rem Show. Which brings me to...
Rem
Knowing barely anything about Re:Zero, I already assumed that Rem would be the typical maid waifu character. And while that's partially true, there's much more to Rem than just a skirt and slim figure. I wasn't expecting her to become one of my favorite characters, but the direction her character went in from Episode 11 to 18 was fascinating and pretty damn emotional. All things considered, Rem could have easily been the main character. Which is not something I can say for her twin sister...
Ram
Ram fell into the trap that Rem managed to avoid. Mostly stoic, distant, and pretty shallow. And she's a verbal savage. She makes for good comic relief when she's paired with her sister and when both are chastising Subaru. When the twins are introduced, she's noted as being inferior to Rem in skills, but our perception of the reason why is turned on its head in their tragic backstory. She has a few scenes with Roswaal that make me suspicious about her motives.
Honorable mentions:
Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti: DESU! I love this guy. Such a good screwy villain. He and Wilhelm almost single-handedly saved the second half of the show.
Wilhelm van Astrea: This dude is a beast. He's like an older King Bradley. Great job making me sympathize for him and his wife in such a short period of time.
Roswaal L. Mathers: He looks like Kefka. What's his deal? Who knows. Find out in season two probably.
Elsa the Bowel Hunter: She's great but she disappears after the first arc. Such a waste.
Puck: Not much to say about Puck, but there's an interesting twist with him in the middle of the anime that's never addressed again.
Beatrice: Stuck-up loli that's only there for exposition.
Reinhard: Also barely shows up. I like him.
Julius: He's alright. Not as cool as Reinhard. They made him such a forced foil for Subaru.
Felt: Another early character who has a story arc that doesn't go anywhere.
Out of all the characters, my top favorites are: Rem Rem, Betel "Not Michael Keaton" Geuse and Wilhelm "Da Gawd' Bradley!
While not the best anime of 2016, Re:Zero was an entertaining spin on the strange fantasy world genre with lots of mental damage and amusing character interactions.
And I want someone to compile all the times Subaru yells and screams dramatically at the top of his lungs. I swear, there's enough hoarse voice cracking to make even my voicebox numb.
