Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season

DaisukeHanashi

Behold an unthinkable present! “I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn’t even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn’t even matter” — In the End by Linkin Park “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” — William Shakespeare Grief, trauma, sacrifice, burden, despair, depersonalization, and perseverance. This is what the dark and harsh reality of Re: Zero calls to wake Subaru up from his blind confidence and optimism before the light of hope and darkness of despair. It is a charm of suffering with a vicious substance in the depth of loneliness. The world with shine and gloom bestows one’s fate to realize before his eyes and crawl through the walls of fear. The horror of solitude craves him to curb his fancy by the answer of truth. With answers and consequences, what fate will judge Subaru according to his deeds? With his weak yet “immortal’’ ability called Return By Death, Subaru must determine if his hope will either remain him standing or cripple him out till the corner of despair. Lost in the new world, he found his hope to grasp away from the solitude and build up with his smiles and plays as Emilia and others share the bond together. He truly wants to save his friends and comrades to stay away or fight through it, but his fanciful determination will result either in miracle or collapse. His ability considers as a reset button to move forward through a solitary phenomenon for altering his fate and judgment; however, the price of it, such as others’ forgetfulness because of dimensional hopping and the restriction to expose his truth behind the curtain by himself, is intensely flawed — delivering the chance for an alternative resolution within the plot as if he acquitted himself for cleansing his own sins. Tappei did an outstanding job at applying the Law of Equivalent Exchange to his ability, especially his weak physicality — making it a simple yet intense thrill to catch the audience away from its boredom of perfection. The suspense is masterful and consistent based on every context, which makes Re:Zero intriguing to let more fans craft more theories and questions as a layer of curious engagement. Moreover, his character means to be morally gray as he doesn’t look at the other side easily, which means he can be once a foolish and casual person like us to aggress somebody to those who might threaten him or not. He has his own priority, flaws, pride, ways of resolve, and love for Emilia as his “knight in shining armor” personality drives him to be whoever he is. He can cry as a wimpy bastard or a try-hard hero of himself, but his determination grasps it ever since he had been gradually developing by chasing his grit even further with alternative resolution. Through his behavioral process, he manages to be casual without forcing himself to be an uninvited guest in front of a pillar of society. That’s what makes Subaru a human person and a true knight — not his own heroic and fanciful delusions which most people like Ram, Priscilla, and Julius despised him for his amateur overconfidence by his self-importance back from the prequel of this anime adaptation. He manages his personality to be uptight and miserable; however, Rem volunteers to be as one whom Subaru will vent out his drastic feeling that flows within him as the time of Episode 18 snaps him out despite resulting in an expected rejection. His vulnerability strikes him to grasp his confidence, but his lack of self-esteem asserts the reason for his failure. For now, he frequently realizes that the world itself doesn’t fulfill his fanciful wishes to become reality at all, which fate matters based on the context he made in the first place. It only works if the ethical standard has been met, and then Subaru will come for the rest. Hence, he is a well-written character. He consistently had gone through the process of Dunning-Kruger effect in a psychological sense based on his character from the midway of Season 1, and right now, we’re still looking forward to its next level…. I mean, this second season. From the reference of Dunning-Kruger effect to the extent of Subaru’s Peak of Stupidity till his Valley of Despair in the first season, the second season will project about his Slope of Enlightenment through the Trial of Sanctuary by Echidna’s lost soul. It tackles more about the diversity of its gloomy atmosphere. The mechanism of reality with unawareness of difference is crucially perilous. Without facing it, there will be no point to gain the courage against others with dreadful courage and competence. Compared to most isekai series, Re:Zero subverts the common trope into its substantial value for achieving the unique message and formulating the setting to an authentic extent. The overarching plot has been connected, and the premise of this series becomes more lucid. Most characters are compelling to provide their own ideals based on the contextual background, and there are little to no nonsensical tropes to be presented in a big picture. There are also new characters being set up to their motive, creating its thickness of plot development, and some side characters are well-reserved for their own plot progression. Most of them aren’t just here to boost Subaru’s morale, they usually have their own priority which provides the importance of their livelihood as the role of themselves and society. Sometimes can be friendly, and sometimes can be contradictory. The “power of friendship” trope is well done with proper foundation of each other’s relationship as if most students are sometimes doubting each other for some tentative reasons. They have their own stories which affect how they have been nurtured ever since behind Subaru’s back, making them relevant in most cases. With proper consistency, it is understandable for audiences to pique their curiosity and craft more hypotheses based on the observation throughout every significant scene. The slow pacing of this season did a great job of building up more worldbuilding, character interaction, and lore for serving the premise to its promising level as the plot thickens further with multiple ways to ensure and stabilize the core theme of the story into a complex understanding of every fundamentals in a gradual manner; however there are some scenes that are rushed yet sensible to assert its foundation. The story is written in Third-Limited narrative style, which Subaru always owns the spotlight of Re: Zero’s main storyline, and the narrative standpoint matches it up to deliver both contextual factors of shock and suspense. The plot follows in dimensional-hopping theory which most audiences think this is a time-travelling series; hence, it laughs me off whenever I mostly hear of its misconceptions. It fleshes out the message of the story and the concept of Subaru’s purpose and development for living in another world, especially Episode 4, which it also fills the space for making its premise to be more purposeful and adds the mystery or any substantial details on why Subaru was sent to this world to begin with. It also molds Subaru’s self-reflection during the time in his original world for projecting more leniency and understanding about his own character. The poignancy within Season 2 encapsulates and expands all the underlying feelings Subaru had before. There are a lot of minor details that have foreshadowed for the future occurrence within a big picture, and there will be more twists to come if you pay close attention to every little detail. These perceptible details throughout the series significantly matter the most for the plot progression to be understandable, and connecting each plot point with sensible pictures is worth engaging to liven the audiences up in a mindblowing extent. Moreover, the story puts so many obstacles and chilling aura as Subaru will face against the odds for his objective to pass the trial and deactivate the barrier of the Sanctuary. As a LN reader, I really hope this Arc 4 will give a proper and consistent adaptation since this is the best arc among the rest, and it did; however, there are some slight chances which disappoints me for a bit. Particularly, the animation quality and cut contents clouds me to clench my fist for a while; however, I don’t care about it since I’m all up for this beautiful and eerie story of a psychological drama and thrill in a visual manner because the rollercoaster is on the way. It also reminds me that they might cut some LN contents to avoid an excessive level of exposition dumps, and instead the anime adaptation prioritizes more into “Show, don’t tell” rule… or in other cases, “Show and tell” rule. There are also some episodes with dialogue-heavy standards, but it is essential and relevant to its case for building up more consistency and adding the layers of intensity and progression with more directional questions as the anime provides more exploration with subtle explanation. The orchestral music hits the thespian or gloomy vibes with a phenomenal melody which enthralls more transverse atmosphere as it pleases our ears to render its theme with consistency. The symbolizing beats are presented well with contextual deliverance. It signals perfectly to every character’s tone as it builds up more aura and meaningfulness around them. Each scene comprises its suitable meaning, which it brings more vigor to express the stimulation between fear and courage. However, I despise that they mostly haven’t provided the time for opening and ending song to present within every episode, yet it also exchanges with more lengthy minutes to catch up the writing size into an essential and almost absolute extent for recognizing the plot progression into a comprehensible standard. Length-wise, it is appreciative to offer each episode with significant impact by providing more projection to adapt. In regards to the character section, please be aware of spoilers because I might go detailed for this. **WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT** At first, Frederica is introduced to be a new… or rather a recurring maid, as she formerly served Roswaal before the time of Ram’s duty. Her gentle personality has shown and explained about her professional experience of being Roswaal’s former and latter maid, so it suits her to be a person with decent help as a maid herself. Since there is an effect to forget someone’s existence, it also affects Roswaal to hire two maids, especially Petra. She also establishes a significance about her own character as she trains Petra to be a proper maid and also swear herself by the letter that she only got in her own hands as a hidden background about her — which we will get to know more about her later in the second cour. The twist of events is clear and connected between Rem’s occurrence and the purpose of their introduction; hence, it’s understandable. However, one problem in dialogue-wise, for example, is Petra’s inappropriate response which triggers something abrupt to progress the story in a silly way. Whenever I see her, I always cringe when she often baffles me and other compelling characters with awkward moments throughout every scene; nevertheless, I don’t hate her since she is a kid with potential. There is also another new character being introduced with relation to Frederica called Garfiel. Compared to Frederica, his older sibling, Garfiel appears to be a barbarous yet friendly character with strong finesse to begin with. At first, he remains intact and rational to the fact that he slightly cares for other people, especially Arlam Refugees, to have their sojourn. However, because of many loops from Subaru’s deeds, he alters his behavior to assault Subaru (and his other supporters/Arlam Refugees) because he senses an outgrown miasma throughout Subaru’s aura — dictating that he will protect the Sanctuary at all cost. He surely has his own deeds and priority with Ryuzu Shima’s help to establish his significance as a side character who will put himself as an obstacle against Subaru’s odds, making himself relevant to this case. On the other hand, Otto has the support for Subaru, Emilia, and the rest of Arlam Refugees. He has the role to provide them with transportation, but it’s not just for that. He also has more responsibility to build more wholesome interaction with Subaru and Garfiel, ensuring himself that he will be in a great place for them — especially Otto saves and impresses Subaru with his timid humor and personality. However, Otto’s wholesome development has been wasted and paid by Subaru’s death loops to alter his destiny for a greater cause, but it doesn’t mean for him to be just a neglected accessory to Subaru’s eyes since Subaru himself wants to hide his burden and lift it up by himself. For now, he has a good potential to be a prominent character, and I hope the second cour will give him more screentime to showcase his significant greatness by helping Subaru out and determining himself to develop out of his comfort zone of timidity. Roswaal has revealed his importance and plot progression for serving his purpose with the Gospel which also has it with Beatrice, uncovering their agency behind them. Surely, they have a long-time relationship between both of them since they have been residing within the mansion for a long time, and the context makes sense as it is according to the plan. Beatrice, however, has some share of problems with Subaru about her supposed role which clouds her from being isolated. How she conveys her emotional confrontation with Subaru grasps her outstanding chance to vent out her feeling of solitude within her own comfort zone, conserving it to build up more layers about her for the potential development. Beatrice also represents herself as a hermit which makes her an intriguing and realistic symbol of an isolated persona. Similar to Otto’s case of development, she can be a suitable candidate for that as well — looking forward to getting out of her comfort zone. Echidna is also introduced as the Witch of Greed and a transcendental character by letting Subaru enter the Castle of Dreams. Her cold yet charm-provoking personality shines her gloomy aura to be a likeable and knowledgeable character as if she perceives logic through emotions just as she provides Subaru to confront his own past through his memories for his self-reflection. Her mild support to Subaru by his reminiscence helps the audience to know more about his character and build up a connection between the fantasy and the reality, which makes Episode 4 so special to our own eyes. However, Echidna knows her own goal behind Subaru’s back and stabs it as she teases his intuition with her plan. Her sham and manipulative exaggeration hits the bullseye towards Subaru’s heart which surprises me by her deceiving plan, as her black-hearted aura impresses me more. Her greed and love for knowledge is intelligible. Her sense of hatred and dark humor conveys well, and we’ll see more about it. Thus, I really love her pride and competence of being the Witch of Greed which gives an impact of her neutral strength. Hence, she’s my favorite character. The rest of Witches have their unique characteristic based on their respective symbols. However, one of them doesn’t properly present their substance, such as Minerva’s obnoxious personality, and yet the charm of it is still there. The message delivers well to show how Subaru is judged by his own flawed nature and deeds, especially Typhon who projects Subaru’s sin within the depth of his inner core as being a “good” guy doesn’t mean to be truly a sinner. Each of their metaphors are simply considerable with their perceptible charm. Furthermore, we get to know more about Satella who isn’t entirely a “villain” character whom we thought to be, and her self-conflict is a minor point to recognize the value behind something we can’t see. Meanwhile, Elsa has reappeared once again to achieve her goal by putting herself before Subaru and his friends as their obstacle, making herself as a well-reserved antagonist. From the prequel, we can understand that her goal failed to achieve Emilia’s badge as she retreated from Reinhard’s abrupt help; however, this second season made a reservation for her to reveal her Plan B in a hidden manner. We really don’t know her motives behind the curtain yet, but the second cour will open the curtain for more explanation in a suitable time. Meili Potroute is also reintroduced as a hostile character alongside Elsa, and a minor detail from Season 1 makes a plot twist understandable when you pay close attention to it. Her introduction in scene-wise, however, feels boring yet equitable to play her own part. It’s grueling for Subaru to learn from his mistakes and face against the odds as he needs a harsh and gradual realization for his endurance against his obstacles before his eyes. “I know hell” is what creates his words for him to act, and that “hell” is a laudable metaphor to describe his clasp of strength for shouldering the burden and moving forward despite its vicious outcome. The heavy impact throughout his experiences is understandable, which in return, most audiences can connect their empathy with Subaru — conveying more concerns regarding his own concerns. He has a lot of aims to set and stand by himself up for persevering through many ways to alter his fate against itself. He plays the puzzles in which one or multiple moves will tear him down into pieces if he stumbles on the wrong floor, welcoming him to the pit of despair. If not, then there will be a light of hope awaiting towards the end of Sanctuary. Because in the end, the only way for Subaru to fix the situation is to fix himself. Meanwhile, Emilia will also face the trial by facing her tragic past that is still behind the curtains yet. For this season, we finally see her worthwhile flaw from being a “perfect” girl. Its twisted helplessness cripples her pragmatic mind in a discordant extent from bearing what comes before her as if she has been taking a lot of Math exams and being overly preoccupied by her restless yet twisted cloud of effort. Her uncontrolled state gives the impact to pull her away from blind of kindness. There is no world where we can escape that loneliness without changing the core. ***SPOILERS END*** In regards to animation, there are some episodes, especially Episode 6 and 12, which have rigid proportions and movements as if some animators have a hard time rendering the sketches due to some bit of miscommunication amid the quarantine period. This is one of a problematic category which slightly baffles me to enjoy less than the quality in Season 1. Some erroneous frames and CGI renditions can be noticeable for most audiences to identify its upsetting quality. Whenever I rewatch these scenes, I’d rather grab my dumbbells and do the squats to sweat out my frustration, and I’m not also the type who will just cross my eyes and say “Fine!”. Nonetheless, it’s still fine if the adaptation is faithfully well-done which it is truly as it is. Overall, this anime adaptation has exceptional results to capture its aesthetic value to a further extent. As Season 1 delivers some weak conclusions within the second half, the first cour of Season 2 provides a high slope of twist to let the audience rise for an engaging rollercoaster ride. Oh, boy! It punches right through the feels with sensible foundation as this show serves like a dark chocolate with 25% of sweetness. The worldbuilding here is excellent as it builds up more atmosphere into a thematic balance between light and dark. Re: Zero is packed with epitome of suffering, perseverance for truth and doubts, horror of loneliness, and substantial depth of self-reflection through the mastery of melodrama with contextual deliverance. Forcing Subaru to confront the consequences of his many deaths is a masterstroke for the series, even before you consider the terrifying and heart wrenching way in which it was delivered. While Re:Zero is great at genuine horror and gore, it is in the psychological terror that this show truly shines. I can safely say that it deserves more acclaim because this season fills up more layers from what it lacks in Season 1, and it has fulfilled the promise. All I do right now is to sit back and relax to enjoy my smiles and frowns while connecting myself through its excellent narration with indulgence of an outstanding cliffhanger. If there will be a single teaser for Season 3 adaptation, I will moan and cry for it. Hence, it’s my all-time favorite anime. This show is highly recommendable if you already have watched Season 1. As the first cour offers more questions, will the second cour answer them? To be continued in Winter 2021!

Yahshuhaz

Nous y voila la deuxième saison de Re : zéro qui nous aura fais poiroter 4 bonnes années. Alors ? et bien elle vient écraser la première saison d'une façons explicable que je vais développer d'une autre manière que mes autres reviews en faisant un gros paragraphe. __~~~INTRODUCTION~~~__ On c’était arrêter donc quand Emilia a sortis la fameuse phrase : Qui est Rem ? Qui entraina une vague d'indignation chez nous. Les deux nouveau personnages qui me font grand intérêt sont les deux nouveaux sorciers __Regulus Cornea__ qui est L'avarice, puis son compère __Ley __Batenkaitos qui est du registre de la gourmandise et qui va user de son autorité pour faire disparaitre rem des mémoires. On va donc commencer une nouvelle tourmente pour Subaru qui provient du Tombeau de la sorcière de l'avarice Echidna. Garfiel va garder tout le monde globalement dans le sanctuaire qui est protéger par une barrière car il ne peuvent pas en sortir sauf les humains qui peuvent sortir comme ils veulent . Emilia va donc devoir passer les tests du Tombeau tandis que Subaru va pouvoir également les faire. Je vais maintenant résume l'anime avec les 3 grands problème majeur de Subaru : Le problème du manoir, le tombeau, le Grand Laphydre On va maintenant parler des personnages leur rôles dans ces évévénements et leur impact sur la saison __~~~PERSONNAGE~~~__ On va débuter par __ Echidna__ elle est devenu la sauveuse de Subaru après que elle soit devenu la première a être au courant du pouvoir de Subaru avec une scène très touchante et une délivrance sans noms. Elle semble aussi avoir toujours un temps d'avance sur tout le monde elle recèle tellement de savoir que cela est même inquiétant.. Je vais la relier a présent a un autre personnage qui est __Béatrice __; Beaco a été extrêmement explicité cette saison : elle obéit a un livre qui dicte son avenir mais on apprends que celui la ne lui dit plus rien depuis 400 années.. Elle attendais un élue qui devait le libérer de ses chaines et Subaru même si il ne semble pas être cette personne va être contraint d'assister a une decheance de l'esprit de Béatrice qui nous a parut toujours très forte et puissante accompagnés de sa mort contre Elsa et Meili [ la petite fille du village au cheveu bleue] Beatrice peut être sauvée il le faut. On fais la connaissance de __Frederica __une Maid de Roswaal qui recèle encore un bon nombre de secret. On va entamer l'arc du fameux sanctuaire ou on va faire la rencontre de __Garfiel __et __Ryuuzu __deux personnages qui vont être très important dans la deuxième partie de 2021. Garfiel est un apôtre déjà. Il a encore beaaaucoup de secret qui vont être révéler je pense a la prochaine saison mais il est très énigmatique alors que __Ryuuzu __ on apprend que elle est une expérience de Echidna et que le labo que Subaru a trouvé provient de echidna pour quelle transfère sa conscience dans un de ces corps mais soldé par un échec elle a peu être un résultat avec Lewes qui est enfermer dans un conteneur __Ram __et __Rem __n'ont pas été le centre de cette saison il n'y a peu de chose a dire sauf 1 sur Rem qui je discuterais après ___Roswaal_ __a joué un rôle très important dans cette saison car déjà il est au courant pour le pouvoir de subaru mais pas totalement : il ne sais pas qu'il faut que baru meurt pour retourner dans un point de sauvegarde il pense qu'il peut juste retourner dans le passé.Il suit lui aussi comme Béatrice le fameux livre comme un évangile. A la fin on apprends que c lui qui a décide de engager Elsa pour attaquer son château.. Tout cela pour renforcer la détermination de Subaru et le poussé a lâcher quelle que chose il essaye de transformer notre Jeune garçons en une personne qui perd son Humanité et devienne comme Roswaal comme il l'a dit plusieurs fois il est totalement fou a lier, mais je pense qu'il reste un personnages plus que intéressant et que peut être la saison prochaine nous permettra de mieux comprendre On a fais la connaissance de 6 sorcières : __Typhon __sorcière de l'orgueil qui est un enfant tout mignon en apparence mais qui possède une autorité très puissante de déchirè les parties du corps des individus si ils sont coupable de quelle que choses même si il se déteste eu même par exemple __Satella __que je vais parler après, __Echidna__, __Minerve __la sorcière de la colère qui est tout le temps en pleure mais paradoxalement elle peut tout aussi bien détruire que guérir avec sont autorité, __Carmilla __la luxure que je vais développer en rejoignant avec rem : Subaru a passé la deuxième épreuve que je vais expliquer plus tard et a la fin il voit rem qui le console et lui dit de se reposer,cependant c'est Carmilla qui a voulu lui montrer la personne que subaru pensait le plus afin de surmonter cette épreuve.. Ensuite __Shekmet __la paresse qui est assez dans son coin et que va être plus amener au devant de la scène enfin je l'espère pour finir __Daphnee __qui est au centre de l'histoire ici : c'est elle qui a créer le grand Laphydre La baleine et le serpent subaru va donc devoir la confrontée pour savoir pourquoi a t-elle créer tout cela avec un raisonnement que j'ai trouvé sympa sur la faim dans le monde, elle les a créer surtout pour faire disparaitre les famines mais dans quelle sens ? en supprimant la famine en tant que t-elle ou les personnes qui en souffrent ? Bref Les 7 sorcières sont tellement intéressantes que j’aimerais limite un oav basée sur chacune d’entre elle. Satella a présent : Elle dispose d'un amour sans nom pour Subaru ce qui est même terrifiant car elle peut tuer n'importe qui pour lui mais au dernier épisode il y a eu une discussion plus censée entre elle et Subaru : Elle lui dit clairement que le fait que il utilise autant la mort la chagrine et surtout : que Subaru doit s'aimer davantage sans faire du mal au gens qu'il aiment ce qui nous fais poser 100000 questions ? Satela est elle gentil au final ? Pourquoi a t-elle tuer ces congénères ? Pourquoi dans la première saison elle écrasait le cœur de Subaru ? J'ai une théorie : Satella est peux être Emilia dans le futur ou une choses qui se rapporte car Satella n'a jamais fais de mal a Subaru physiquement parlant elle semblait tellement triste de le voir mourir a chaque fois mais bref sa reste une théorie peux construire mais bref ce personnage est magique surtout quand elle lui demande a subaru de la tuer a la fin de sa quête ??? Bref vivement la suite __Emilia __a présent est entre autre celle qui va causer indirectement les 3 problèmes : Il a une pression énorme sur les épaules avec le fait qu'elle doit réussir les épreuves pour que tout le monde rentres chez eux ce qui va la rendre folle : Subaru après le tragique événement de Beatrice va voir Emilia et on voit quelle se fait consumer par la folie elle se transforme en Satela peux être.. ? Le premiers problème est ici comment faire pour ne pas plonger Emilia dans la folie ? Surtout que il a Roswaal comme ennemie ; il va faire tomber de la neige pour faire rappeler au villageois ( se référer a l'oav de emilia ) un tragique evenement qui vont les pousser a isoler emilia et la rendre encore plus seul. Le manoir est attquer pour que subaru reste envers emilia puis le grand lapydre est présent c un gigantesque problème subaru va t’il sacrifié le manoir ? attaqué le grand Laphydre ? Laisser Emilia seul ? A présent et pour compléter cette longue review __Subaru __: Première action qui montre enfin le changement chez Subaru après ce triste évènement de la disparation de Rem est le suicide et je m'explique car oui il a déjà eu une action morbide de la sorte dans la première saison avec la falaise : le meurtre avec une arme blanche est beaucoup plus dur que le simple fais de se jeter d'une falaise Subaru comprends qu'il doit changer certains choses chez lui pour que tout le monde soit en paix mais cela a une grande répercussion que je parlerais plus tard. on va enfin en savoir plus sur le passé de Subaru qui sont ses parents, quelle étaient son train de vie avant tout cela, pourquoi a t-il autant peu confiance en lui pourquoi est-il s'y content de se retrouver dans un nouveau monde ? Bref le devellopement du personnages et l'histoire prends une tournure très bonnes alors que nous somme que au premiers épisode. Il va cependant perdre la raison a la suite d"une mort horrible qui est Le Grand Laphydre donc déchiqueter vivant.. Echidna va le sauver et c ici qu'il avoue son secret de la mort réversible.. Subaru est plus déterminé que jamais a sauver tout le monde sauf que il n’hésite plus a se suicider alors que satela est contre cela et c en partie grâce a elle et quand même les autres que Subaru va revoir son jugement et voir qu'il est aimé : La deuxième épreuve consiste a voir ce qu'il se passe quand subaru mourrais comment il peut faire du mal au gens qui l'entourent, que se tuer n'est pas la solution et que non etre celui qui douille le plus n'est pas une excuses pour se lamenter . Il a une pression enorme sur les épaules lui aussi mais il doit avancer. Au final il refusent a Echidna un contrat qui etais basée sur la destruction de son Humanité en se tuant en boucle certe mais avec un futur convenable alors que Satela souhaite l'inverse. Echidna reste tres interressante et rempli bien le role de l'Avarice __~~~CONCLUSION~~~__ Re: Zero est un anime qui a commencer avec une premiere saison bonne mais avec des defauts, la deuxieme saison vient tout remplacer en nous laissant certe des questions mais de bonne questions qui donnent une hype sans nom. Je pense que c'est clairement l'anime de l'année en tout cas de la saison. __

Jaekoi

#~~~__This review contains spoilers.__~~~ ~~~img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/e7d726b637673b8ce9aa76e9e0aaa365/cbffce7ab58eb73d-c8/s500x750/3bb046f59cba36752634567a78876d83cd93b044.gifv)~~~ ~~~Disclaimer: Looking back on this review, my wording and vocabulary are god-awful. Innumerable occurrences of editing daily, albeit I believe it's time to leave it how it is. Anyways, bear with me on this one. Thanks.~~~ Re:Zero is one of those few anime sequels nowadays that introduces unique combinations of many compelling concepts, philosophical human ideologies, realistic emotions, extensive world-building, scarily good horror, that all takes place in a world with fantasy elements. It's had these moments that genuinely gave me goosebumps with its overall presentation of a psychological-driven reality, while also adding in bits and pieces of nostalgic, emotional, and heartwarming moments through the eyes, of our main protagonist, Subaru, and with many more in-depth, important, and fleshed-out characters. In other words, Re:Zero is a rarity among Isekai that proves it can be taken seriously. Through progression of time, Subaru has been in a state of cold isolation, depression, and suicide, while always recklessly preserving through destiny and fate itself, all for the sake of those he cherishes. However, this season of Re:Zero isn't mainly about a tragic hero attempting to save his loved ones. #~~~__An Analysis of Subaru__~~~ After being sent into Echidna's Windows XP background, Subaru seems to be more familiar with his position in reality. He's already experienced death itself, suffering, and despair while also experiencing the feeling of accomplishment, happiness, and affection for Emilia and Rem. Subaru's power, "Return by Death", seems to have been a blessing or a miracle to him. Being able to change one's destiny and future is what led him to save his loved ones from a cursed reality... But did he ever save himself? Subaru is a fine example of how to write a flawed character. Even though his ideology is very similar to that of a shounen protagonist, wanting to save and protect those he cares about, his experiences with many introduced characters like Echidna have shaped him into who he has become. This season is more focused on the Sanctuary's trial, or Echidna's trial's, Subaru, in a way, is very similar to Echidna, being greedy and selfish. She's manipulative, like Satella. However, it's still a fact that she "shares'" the burden with Subaru. But in reality, the story presents that Subaru was being selfish and greedy for many different reasons. Echidna, being the witch of greed, is essentially greedy for her own entire existence, being thirsty for knowledge of the vast world, which leads to how manipulative she can be. Subaru's standpoint includes how he was greedy to save others, not himself, but from the fact that he was lost, confused, scared, and clouded by his power, "Return by Death" led to his own judgment of constantly dying, suffering, and sacrificing himself, not knowing how much personal turmoil had taken over his own existence. ~~~ Subaru is progressing in three different aspects this season: He's starting to develop and grow as a human being. He's going down the route of essentially losing his humanity. He's gradually applying self-worth.~~~ While Subaru was able to have endurance against reality, was he able to accept himself first, rather than others? Can Subaru trust those who have changed his life? Was he able to accept the reality forced onto him? While all these questions flooded my head, I can still say that Subaru has a good sense of determination in his heart. He has genuine intentions and motivations while at the same time, maintaining his realistic persona and questionable decision-making. But also Subaru has his fair share of flaws as a character. He's overconfident at many things he tries to do, which is rather a given and logical for having a power like "Return by Death." Even his "special power" is considered weak, yet he is an immortal being. But most of all, Subaru's character isn't written in a way that makes you want to inherently feel sympathetic for him, but rather to express that... he's finally tired and lost in a horrid reality. He's been doubtful of himself because of the regret that had flooded his heart, but he's been able to overcome his misgivings.This season wanted to emphasize that he hasn't yet fully overcome his obstacles before him. Subaru has been isolated and chained away by what seems to be unbreakable barriers, but he was never technically "alone." He's followed a path that has allowed him to gain friendships. But he's also had a multitude of personal problems and turmoils that, unfortunately, not many will ever understand his feelings and hatred because of the barriers that have ensnared him. Subaru starts to follow this path where he can't decide if he can trust certain characters like Echidna, Roswaal, and Garfiel. Not only that, the further he involves himself with Emilia, the more disoriented and astray he becomes, because this time, he doesn't know a way to save "them." He starts to realize the "bigger picture" because of Beatrice and "that person". While all of these setbacks and "trials" Subaru is going through, It seems as though no one may succor, aid, or even understand all the battles Subaru is clashing with. The anime community has been emotionally impacted because of the amount of credibility and weight his story holds. Subaru's been through so many phases. He has wanted to give up, because of how disoriented reality is, but he can't. Even though he wants to give up, he has no choice but to keep on living for the sake of those he adores. He essentially goes crazy and insane beyond human emotion. And after all of this, It felt as though he's been the only one shattering, but reality barges in, then the realization that came into his mind flings into him saying, "You think you were the only one suffering by your power?" And during the end, he finally learns the weight of his misgivings about the reality he was forced into by essentially admitting… ~~~"I don't want to die."~~~ These weren't the same words from S1. These were the words of a person who was lost in time, but eventually came to realize the importance of self-worth and how cardinal and important his life is to others... Though, at the same time, it's terrifying almost. Even though he knows that he is loved by others, he still feels alone at many times during the series. It's even more terrifying than knowing you are alone yet no one understands you. In Subaru's backstory, we are shown that he's always wanted others to like him. He's putting up a facade, because he has never accepted nor understood himself. His overconfidence manipulated him to believe in a fake reality where he's a "wise" man. But no, he was just lost in a endless loop of hell and terrified of the vast world full of hostility pointed right at him.The story explains major elements like anxiety, "love", and insecurity that are constantly present during the show which adds many toppings and layers to the psychological horror of Re:Zero. But as the story progresses, Subaru has resisted constant temptation right at his hands, wanting him to essentially go down the "IF route." Thankfully, he's grown immensely in decision-making. He's starting to develop in a more realistic and relatable way throughout the series from the results of last season, and the payoff in Episode 4 was presented in a rewarding fashion, with bits and pieces of sentimentalism. Subaru is starting to understand himself, he's starting to put away the facade and the insecurity he's been carrying all this time. Viewing this season partly felt like connecting a huge puzzle in an entertaining manner. Major loose-ends were being tied together throughout the progression of the story, which really put a smile on my face. The overall storytelling and plot progression really brought impact and complexity to the story. I started to understand its lore and premise much better by how it emphasizes on characterization. Examples being the ideology and motivations of Roswaal and Echidna. I was impressed by the world-building that the story managed to introduce, which was one of the major factors that allowed the story to evolve into something much more. Examples being the introduction of the "Great Rabbit." Re:Zero managed to bring more importance and thrill to characterization, world-building, foreshadowing, and to its narrative. The intensive dialogue occurring in each episode brought amazing suspense, fluidity, and thrill with each scene. It delivered clear and shocking cliffhangers every episode. As such, It doesn't rely on one-note gimmicks but rather progresses the story instead, without leaving the viewer behind. From a general perspective, Echidna seems reminiscent of a mother figure towards Subaru. She's observant of him, and aided him with his past... yet actually, their relationship is that of a bank account. Roswaal seems to be more of a father-figure towards Subaru. He wants him to follow the same path he went through, yet it is shown that he and Subaru were never clearly on the same page in the story. Ultimately, we are met with the crooked actuality, showcasing that Echidna and Roswaal view Subaru as a tool, nothing more, nothing less. There were several characters introduced to Re:Zero. But we still don't know much about them. All we were introduced to were slight glimpses of their personality, and how insane their mindsets are. But because of these character introductions and reintroductions It added more substance to the story itself. Things like the "Great Rabbit" were explained thoroughly and why creatures like it exist in the first place. More characters now seem to hold a purpose and importance to the story in a way that adds more fluidity and chemistry to the story that now has evolved into something that has surpassed its own prequel. It has a good balance of everything. It isn't overly dramatic, nor isn't underwhelming. Important factors like these make headway for the overall foundation and theme of the story, leaning more towards the suspenseful side. Each buildup methodically spurring is what really carried the suspense. For example, the buildup of Echidna's monologue brought to the story was thought-provoking and shockingly impactful to the overall theme of the story. The overall presentation of the "Castle of Dreams" radiated an eerie atmosphere. Re:Zero had many insane and thrilling scenes that added spice to the plot, it still managed to stay on track with keeping it's overall theme present throughout the entire story. The story managed to establish meaningful relationships between characters such as Subaru with Otto, Emilia, Roswaal, Beatrice, Echidna, and Satella. Specifically Roswaal, I was in awe of how crooked and complex his ideology was. He seemed fishy a lot throughout the first season, but I usually put him off the hook most of the time. And I'm glad I did. Roswaal, What a mad lad. This tale is certainly "dialogue-heavy" for many viewers, as for some though, the dialogue made this season memorable specifically because of Echidna's monologue, Roswaal's philosophical aims, and Subaru's backstory. It touched and supported its driving force. However, writing wise, it does lose itself within complex scenarios, especially with the dialogue and complicating narrative perception, which is a sound argument. Because of its shortcomings, there weren't as many action-driven scenes as before, more so obsessed with dialogue, backstories, and cleaning up major questions and mysteries of the anime, which is the correct way to avoid major plot holes to the story. For further notice, if you are not a fan of complex and fast-paced dialogue like something out of the Monogatari series, you'll probably be disappointed with this sequel of Re:Zero. I was rather impressed by the visuals seen in Subaru's backstory because of how properly sentimental the overall atmosphere was, which partly serves as appreciation for its wondrous musical score. Because of this, highlights would have to be Episode 4 and Episodes 12-13 personally. Specifically, what caught my eye was the soundtrack, opening, and ending themes. I'm very delighted to see that the producers didn't change most of the OST's due to the fact that it emphasizes so much on development and atmosphere. Re:Zero truly has a charm of its own.The franchise itself has managed to bring and smoothly execute compelling ideas to the table, while gaining a loyal fandom and immense popularity. It stays consistent and entertaining because of all the meticulous ideas it manages to introduce. All throughout, it stays honest, bestowing us a long-awaited sequel, topping its successor, which truly is a delight to witness. Re:Zero understands "unpredictability." It takes an immeasurable amount of twists and turns with its characters, action sequences, dialogue scenarios and plot twists. Garfiel, Roswaal, Beatrice, Satella, and Echidna being a fine example of this. You can't really tell who is "righteous" or "evil" firsthand through Subaru's perspective because of multiple new characters involved and how mysterious some characters are that were already introduced back then. White Fox knows their general set of viewers scarily well. So far, I'm really pleased to see the overall direction it is moving towards, not from how this sequel ended, but the overall improvements it had managed to successfully execute. There's still a plethora of questions which haven't been answered yet, and that's precisely why it keeps me entertained and invested in how the story progresses as a whole. All in all, If you dislike season 1 as a whole, I won't recommend this anime to you because of how much complexity and dialogue is added to the story. To people who want to understand how thought-provoking season 2 is, I highly recommend that you rewatch this season to further your understanding of how the anime progresses. Maybe not right away, though be sure to come back. Don't fret, the rewatch value of this anime is pretty damn splendid to say so myself. And as a fan of this story, I'm thrilled to see what Re:Zero has to offer in the foreseeable future.

Necokeniii

ReZero season two made me pick up the light novel ( my first time reading a light novel and I LOVE IT) The opening of rezero for this season sums up perfectly what Subaru has to do on the next installment of his journey! He must realize the optimal path and seize victory at all costs. Subaru has to face his biggest obstacle yet and literally suffers more than he can even imagine. What I enjoyed about this season is how much Subaru had to reconsider his methods to his madness and realize the consequences of his actions. His power is a double edged sword and for the first time since he came to this word he has to figure out the best way to use it and not lose his sanity and himself simultaneously. Subaru had to face the one thing he never wanted to think about, how his deaths affect his loved ones. How can they accept Subaru (their friend/hero/love interest) as a sacrificial tool to save everyone else? I initially hated Subaru because initially, it appeared like he purposely let his self-hate and ego get the best of him. This season explains why Subaru is such a weirdo, he doesn't love himself. He thinks everyone else is more valuable than him and think no one would miss him if something were to happen to him. Hence why he chooses to be this bigger than life personality even when he's faced with danger and fear. The flashback made me realize Subaru is just trying to love himself and overcome his insecurities without proper guidance. This time Subaru can't just fix everything just by sacrificing himself, he needs to actually use his head. I love the new cast, the more time we spend with the people of the sanctuary, the more I feel I can relate to them. A lot of characters in rezero are haunted by their past and forced to develop traits to help them cope with their fears and insecurities.If you took out even a single supporting character or switched up the roles, the entire story would change. I really enjoyed how this cast added to the existing dynamic of Subaru, Emilia, ram, etc. It's not often I get interested in discovering a character's past and powers as I do with rezero. The eerie music and moments sent chills down my spine. The weakest part of this adaptation is how they cut out certain scenes and character moments. I know there's a 24-minute time limit but certain scenes would add to the reasoning behind character motives and making certain scenes more IMPACTFUL. ReZero second season does a good job adapting the light novel material, it was easy to transition between the two to see what content got cut out. The ending theme got perfectly timed each episode to the point, I was compelled to theorize what could happen next. I see why the echidna speech and some of the witches' dialogue got cut but some of it should have been there. Having source material and tons of character-heavy dialogue, monologues and thoughts must be challenging to deal with. If it wasn't for this adaptation, I'd never experience the greatness that is rezero. I highly recommend watching the second season if you enjoyed the first season, it's a shame the cour got split last minute. That being said you could pick up the light novel or web novel while you wait for the remaining episodes. If you aren't a fan of psychological horror, character-driven stories filled with lots of dialogue, I can't recommend this series to you. That being said I think this season solidified why rezero blew up in 2016, it's something everyone (whose willing) should experience at least once. I think this section of rezero is more interesting compared the last one, we got more questions and some of the hints to the answers we seek,

Magenta

I honestly don't know what to say at all. This season should've been amazing, and most people do think that this season is pretty great. But for some reason, I just don't really like it. Trying to judge this season critically is very weird. In theory this season should be much better than Season 1. A lot of the new ideas that Season 2 brings to the table are very interesting. The witches, the Sanctuary, the new characters, and other ideas that are intriguing on paper. However, this season ended up being so much worse than Season 1, because Subaru is a significantly worse character. Whenever any crazy event happened to him in Season 1, it had a long lasting impact on him. Usually the causes of his deaths are very mysterious. The best example of this is in the first half of the 3rd arc of Season 1. Subaru and the viewer never fully know what is going on, and that what made it so effective. With each and every death, a new piece of the puzzle is added, which makes the payoffs in many episodes feel so satisfying. The audience and Subaru are always in the same boat, which makes Subaru's emotional struggles come out in the person who is watching it. Season 2 has a very different approach in writing Subaru. In Season 2, the reason why Subaru dies isn't very ambiguous. It is always laid out without much subtly and any element of mystery absent. It isn't rewarding to see Subaru die for a reason that the audience can put together pretty much instantly. What makes this problem even worse is that it just kind of feels like Subaru shrugs off his deaths and just tries again. The whole series just feels like it is insisting that Subaru is going through a lot, but you can't exactly see that in him. It feels like the series doesn't fully know what its own biggest strength is, and just ends up trying to replicate this in a very half-hearted way. While this may seem like a very small problem, it isn't. This is the core of Re:Zero, and it just ends up being broken by this season. My score for this isn't lower than a 50, because in terms of world-building and the development of the other characters, this season is on par with, if not better than Season 1. Otto, Roswaal, Beatrice, and even more get so much development in this season, which wasn't really there in Season 1. Characters like Garfiel and Echidna are great new editions to this universe that add a lot to the experience. However, these characters have to be in service to Subaru's journey, which I have established before, is not very good. Side characters can't carry a series like Re:Zero, because Re:Zero is about Subaru and the story mainly focuses on him. This season isn't trash, far from it. However, seeing this series fall extremely below my expectations when it could've very easily far surpassed them saddens me. This might be weird to say, but I am still excited for Part 2 of this season. This is because the ending to Episode 13 of Season 2 set up its next part extremely well. The situation that Subaru is now in is a perfect opportunity for something actually very interesting to happen with his character. So while this Part 1 of this season was extremely disappointing for me, I am still holding out a lot of hope that Part 2 will be so much greater than anything this series has done before.

victorsam93

What a second season! I don't remember enjoying so much a second season as I enjoyed this. I was afraid of watching it since the first one was spectacular. The development and the new characters are the key points responsible for making Re: Zero s2 worthy of its predecessor. It's so disappointing when you see a sequel that doesn't have the guts to make the story goes on, trying to hold on to the success it achieved before, delaying the end of the story, and, unfortunately, that is the rule. So, seeing that much happening in Re: Zero, the progress towards the main goal made me feel relieved. I'm not a manga/light novel reader, so I'm saying that relying on what the anime has presented as the final objective. Subaru has developed quite a lot. He is more confident, more self-aware, but still powerless and is crushed by reality. I loved how he's dependant on the other characters. Generally, the main protagonist says how much help he has received to achieve his goal, although it is not true. He gets there pretty much by himself. Subaru is different. His dependence is real. He gets stronger by accepting help from others. (not an easy process, though. He's stubborn) His enemy (by the enemy, I would say Fate rather than Satela herself) is on another level, so he needs alliances. If the first season showed how love and friends were essential to making Subaru overcome his struggles, the second season offers a more analytical approach. He's continuing to do what he has done at the end of S1. But, Re: zero is a great story, so his characteristics don't vanish all of a sudden. He progresses and still is himself with all his flaws. Moreover, we have to remember, Subaru has been tortured all this time. So the despair, the primitive reactions are more than reasonable. Talking about the new characters: I enjoyed each of the witches. They are not what I expected from the seven sins (maybe because I was thinking about the also amazing ones from FMA). Lust and Gluttony were surprisingly refreshing. The second one with her reasons to create the evil majins has got me. Echidna, finally her. The character I saw in front of the poster. It isn't easy to have an opinion about her. I only enjoyed seeing her. My impression about her is that she poses a greater threat than Satela, even though I don't think she's evil. The witch of jealousy was also a surprise, but I can't say the reason. Oh, of course, props for Subaru's father. One of the funniest father-son dynamics I've ever seen. Now I understand where the awkwardly funny humor of Subaru comes from. His mother is also something else. This trio deserve an OVA episode for sure. I'd watch with a wide smile on my face. Finally, I'll say relieved. Re: Zero is still a fantastic story.

Fractured

Spoiler free! Honestly, I got my hopes up in the middle of this season that it might actually be something better. It started off weak, giving you an introduction to a "flawed" character in a situation that he couldn't control. He starts learning about himself, his environment, and what's actually going on. This is about the middle of the show. It was good. Generally in an arc, you would actually expect something to happen by now, for the plot to develop in literally any way shape or form, for ANYTHING to happen. Nah though, nothing does. The show again keeps you sheltered in a little micro plot. I think what this show can never do right is the characters, but at the same time it did some of them right so the main series author clearly knows how, at least sometimes. Subaru is one of the worst main characters I have ever seen. If any little bump in his road comes, he cries about it. If nothing happens? He trips over a rock he placed there himself. He somehow gets nothing done, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. He takes so long to do the simplest task in the universe because he's somehow written to dance around what he should be focusing on. Not to mention he just conveniently forgets things, even entire episodes worth of character development, just to drag the plot along a little longer. At least all those episodes had a decent op/ed and the voice actors were well picked. Thankfully all the screams I had to hear weren't high pitched and ear piercing (not talking about my own frustrated screams). Everything looked decent too, it had a somewhat "generic" fantasy style but didn't really slouch anywhere. It certainly wasn't mind blowing but it was done well enough that I don't have any gripes. I guess if I had to say something, the gore was a little weak and hidden. That might be for ratings purposes though, so I'm not docking anything. I think the way the show gave you information was done well too, it wasn't spoon fed, but it wasn't shrouded in mysteries that required some sort of "big reveal". It was very distinct when something was going to happen, and how it was going to be applied was generally delivered soon after. This wasn't always the case though, there was a __lot__ of useless information that took time to get, that at least as of the end of this cour, has/had no application. Why it was there? Dunno, maybe to try to break the MC some more just to tack on more stalling. This time around, the story also delivered a bit more of a shock value from places I wouldn't expect. I certainly enjoyed it much more than the first. On the other hand, I don't understand how they could manage to make so much, but so little happen in 13 episodes. I get it's part of a two cour, but it didn't feel like this was much in terms of setup. It felt more like they were throwing episodes at story that didn't matter a whole bunch, just to get it out of the way. Almost like half of SAO Alicization. Hopefully this doesn't take the same path, because it does seem like it'll get a bit more interesting given a bit of time. On the other hand, I keep my expectations low so we'll see.

Pockeyramune919

[ img20(https://bestanimations.com/Signs&Shapes/Arrows/Left/left-arrow-15.gif) ](https://anilist.co/review/7271)

[ img20(https://bestanimations.com/Signs&Shapes/Arrows/Right/right-arrow-29.gif) ](https://anilist.co/review/10859)

**This review contains spoilers for Re:ZERO Season 2 Part 1** img520(https://iili.io/25pJsa.jpg) Welcome to my review! Why am I reviewing a Summer anime at the beginning of the Winter season? Because I'm an extremely slow writer, that's why! Any other questions? No? Great! Moving right along! As stated in the last review, in terms of popularity, _Re:ZERO_ is nothing to scoff at. When it premiered back in 2016, it took the anime community by storm and quickly established itself as among the most popular isekai alongside *Konusuba* and *Sword Art Online*. I found its popularity was paradoxically belied yet affirmed by its comparatively low showing on the rating charts: it was a somewhat middling anime, with its impressive highs being counteracted by groan-inducing lows; it was certainly an anime that made an impression, but not one that rose much higher than the competition. Still, while it wasn't the cum laude of anime, it had a sizable following, so it was immediately followed up, right? Wrong, actually. *White Fox* took its sweet time making the second season and it wouldn't air until 2020, four years after the first season. The wait didn't seem to dampen fans' enthusiasm, however, as it consistently topped the weekly anime charts. But you probably already know that. You, inexplicably, want to know my thoughts. At the end of my previous review, I stated that I was was ready for more "glorious suffering." But that was then, this is now. A good hook could have still left me floundering. After all, if I'm being blunt, that's what the first season did. Even halfway through this (half) season, I was having my doubts. I was ready to write this series off for good and walk-away. "Good enough" isn't quite worth my time when I have so little of it nowadays. Come the conclusion of the second season's first cour, however, I'm pleased to say that I've since changed my tune. It feels like _Re:ZERO_ has finally come into its own, beginning to feel like the gut-wrenching psychological isekai that it always wanted to be, largely unburdened by the annoying, cliche elements that plagued the first season. _Re:Zero_ has climbed out of its C-range prison with a vengeance and at the rate it's going, it could grow to become one of my favorites. img520(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/67/c4/09/67c409cbc6d2de811eae1dd5b7c21fbc.jpg) The second season of _Re:ZERO_ picks up shortly where the first left off. In a dragon-drawn carriage, Subaru and Emillia are en route to the capital after successfully quelling the Witch's Cult attack on the manor and nearby village. Subaru mentions Rem to Emilia and to both his and (most of) the audience's horror, she doesn't recognize the name. We are treated to a flashback showing Rem and Crusch being ambushed by two new Witch's Cult archbishops — the archbishops of Greed and Gluttony. As it just so happens, the Archbishop of Gluttony is able to erase the memories of a person. Rem barely makes it out alive, thus she's remembered by no one but Subaru. Crusch, who's hurt but not as badly, becomes amnesiac. Worse for Subaru, he cannot use his return by death ability to save Rem, as he's reached a "check point." After heading to the manor to drop off the comatose Rem for safekeeping, at Beatrice's suggestion, the two head to the forest sanctuary. However, the two soon find more than they bargained for, as they're embroiled in a trial that'll make Subaru question his allegiances and test the limits of Subaru's Return by Death. And I know what you're thinking, but no, I don't love this season *just* because Rem is out of commission. It certainly doesn't hurt, though. And I'm not saying that just to be mean, I legitimately do think that Rem's absence allows for a more dire and gripping tone. If you recall, I essentially lambast Rem's role in the second half of the first season as Subaru's "Get Out of Jail Free'' security blanket, with her picking him up as he's at his lowest and seeming to enable his feelings of grandeur through her inexplicable and unearned love for him. And to be clear, I'm aware that female characters only functioning as catalysts for male characters is Problematic™. That said, if Rem's only role is to inform the mood of Subaru, I'd at least like her to lead to interesting changes instead of stagnating him. Without Rem serving as Subaru's cheerleader, the mood of season 2 part 1 is consistently dour. Before, the presence of Rem's smiling face seemed to temper Subaru, telling him that no matter how dark things got, there would always be a ray of hope. Her comatose state casts some doubt on this sentiment. img500(https://somoskudasai.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/05.jpeg) This brings us to my first major praise of the season: the tone is consistently enjoyable for me. As I outlined, earlier, the stakes are set up in the first episodes extremely well, making the season much more gripping than its predecessor. I found that the first season was plagued with some pretty bad tonal issues. Season 2 Part 1 thankfully alleviates this by adopting the first season's more serious elements while leaving the lighthearted elements behind. I suppose if you're someone who preferred the lighthearted elements or was happy with the blend of the two, you might find Season 2 Part 1 too bleary. But if you're anything like me, you'll appreciate the change of pace. While there are a few moments of levity, I don't find them groan-inducing unlike their use in season one. A pretty big mark of the shift in tone is how Subaru is much more willing to actually *induce* Return by Death. Things are *grim* this time around and you'll either shirk from this development or lap it up like me. img520(https://wherever-i-look.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Subaru-Re-Zero-Season-2-Episode-1-Each-Ones-Promise-Season-Premiere-scaled.jpg) One thing I found pretty lacking in the first season was characterization — specifically Subaru's. I really wished that we got a sense of what Subaru's life on Earth was like. Writer Tappei Nagatsuki answered my prayers, as we get a pretty damn good look at Subaru's life before the start of the series. It was a snippet, so while it wasn't the *most* in-depth, it's enough to really know who Subaru *was* and how that informs who he *is*. After watching the fourth episode, in a list post, I wrote "Give it up for the best damn episode in the entire series." Even with all the swerves that come after it, I stand by that statement. In just one episode, I was able to honest-to-God care about Subaru as a person, not just because he was someone going through unfathomable pain, but because I finally saw him as a human with a genuine story. This episode was very heartfelt as we get to see Subaru and his parents' love for one another. This love between child and parents — as well as the fear of inadequacy that this love brings — is a feeling that I've found is seldom explored in anime. It's a very genuine feeling, one that I never would have expected from the show a season ago. *Re:ZERO* works best when it decides to be genuine instead of tropey. Now, when I look at Subaru, I don't just see "realistically-portrayed-generic-asshole-isekai-protagonist," I see "insecure-lonely-young-man-when-given-a-chance-at-a-new-life." img500(https://i2.wp.com/beyondthepanel.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/3-6.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1) I wish I could heap as much praise on other characters, but they're unfortunately not as fleshed out as Subaru. We get a number of new characters, including Garfiel~~d~~, Frederica, and the breakout character, Echidna, but they're not as explored as I like. *Re: ZERO* does what it does best: introduce visually striking characters that aren't terribly deep, but extremely recognizable due to their notable personalities. For what it's worth, I grew a bit more attached to them than many characters introduced in season one, mainly because we stay *very* put in Season 2 Part 1, so we're exposed to them more than the revolving door supporting cast of season one. While we don't explore their characterization as much as we do for Subaru, I enjoyed the shifts in Roswaal and Beatrice's characters. Beatrice's vulnerability and Roswaal's brutality and wiliness were things that I very much enjoyed, as they were quite entertaining and showed that they weren't as shallow as I initially thought. I'll ultimately defer strong judgement on this front until the second half of the season, because as shown with Subaru (and to a lesser extent, Roswaal and Beatrice), Tappei Nagatsuki *is* capable of writing compelling characters. img500(https://iili.io/2EkfS9.jpg) All this said, as I stated before, come the middle of the cour, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the season. Save first and fourth one, there weren't really any stand-out episodes. It wasn't really "middling" like season one (as in its highs and lows counteract to make an anime experience that's ultimately somewhat unremarkable), it was just kind of boring. I tuned in because I'm someone who always aims to finish what I start, not because I was particularly invested in what I was watching. I thought, "it's okay, I suppose." Unlike the first season, there wasn't anything hooking me from one episode to the next. It seemed to me that there was a dearth of engaging events during the first half. Oh, sure, things certainly *happen*, such as meeting Echidna, but after these events, I didn't find much to look forward to in the next episode. Part of this could be due to Subaru's signature ability, *the* main draw of the show, and what *huffs* life into it, being extremely underutilized. Both me and my friend began watching Season 2 Part 1 and they dipped out around this time. Honestly, I can't blame them. Like I said, if I wasn't as insane, it's very possible that I would have given up here as well. This first half's relative lack of energy is the season's biggest flaw. It might even be worse than the first season in some regards, because, more than frustration, more than annoyance, the worst sin that a creative work can commit is that of apathy. If the first cour continued chugging along with this relative lack of momentum until the finish line, I would have dropped the series. But White Fox, like a mad conductor, funneled coal and black magic into the locomotive, causing the show to barrel full speed off the rails like a goddamn doom train. During the second half, Subaru begins to die, like, a lot. I remember feeling really tense and wondering how things would turn out. It's extremely impressive that a world that's reset upon death can still feel like it has honest-to-God stakes. This is largely thanks to the concept of "checkpoints" and Subaru's mental state. "Restarting" isn't exactly a panacea if you restart to a point where things are still awful and there's no way to fix it. Even if the checkpoint is a good one, there's still the question of being mentally stable enough or smart enough to fix things? With how much crap is thrown at Subaru this season, these two stipulations foster a delectable feeling of suspense. img500(https://i2.wp.com/animehunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Elsa-Granhiert-and-Subaru-ReZero-season-2-e1600351205627.jpg?resize=510%2C360&ssl=1) Coming from season one, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this season resists the urge to reaffirm Subaru's (and thus the audience's) sense of entitlement. I know I said that, with Rem gone, this entitlement would be tempered, but it's feasible that Subaru could have gotten this pick-me-up from somewhere else. He largely doesn't, though. Here, there's no one giving him a second wind to make him think, "yes, I *am* the knight in shining armor." I think Subaru's status as a savior really works here in a way that it didn't before. Around episode four, it hit me that Subaru is really only a hero in characters’ minds simply because, due to how his ability works, he can essentially only show them his most successful self. It works here because the anime does a really good job of driving home the fact that the path Subaru walks is a difficult one; not simply hellish due to dying again and again, but difficult because he doesn't really have the brains (though he certainly, commendably, tries) to figure things out perfectly. Even if he's a "hero," the first part of the second season does a pretty good job of showing why this isn't necessarily an enjoyable thing, even if it's an unquestionably good thing. It paints a hero as one who seems to eternally suffer and fail in darkness in pursuit of a shred of light. In other words, the toll of being a hero is extremely palpable, here (it certainly helps that Subaru briefly stumbles into a timeline that shows what happens *after his death*). Furthermore, Subaru fails Emilia and never really gets to make up for it, making this half of the season feel a lot more impactful than the majority of season one. Without his cheerleader, you'd think that Subaru would succumb to depression. Surprisingly, he doesn't (or, at the very least, not to the extent of before). He picks himself up due to the strength of his own resolution. This is a fantastic marker that Subaru has become a stronger, more independent person. Overall, I think season 2 part one "walks the walk" of a realistic, brutal isekai better than the first season, as it seems to commit more to a dark mood, stepping back to actually allow it to simmer instead of getting antsy in fear that viewers will dislike it. I said before that _Re:ZERO_ had an identity crisis. Now, it feels like it finally knows what it wants to be. img520(https://news.otakukart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Re-Zero-Starting-Life-in-Another-World-Season-2-Episode-32-Release-Date-Preview-and-Spoilers.jpg) Based on this season as a whole, I'd like to say that _Re:ZERO_ will continue to be a tense, gruesome anime with rounded characters. Subaru will always eventually come out on top at the end, but always a little more broken than when he began… ...but perhaps I'm getting my hopes up. In the final episode, Oto gives Subaru a slap to the face[get a hold of yourself, man] and tells him that he needn't do everything alone, giving me the feeling that the second half of the season will milk [The Power of Friendship](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePowerOfFriendship) for all it's worth. Earlier on, Subaru refuses [Echidna's aid](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DealWithTheDevil) (thoughIhonestlydontknowwhatwouldbesobadaboutit) that would help him get out of his terrible situation. This is presumably because, as dictated by 99% of media, True Heroes™, even broken ones that are pushed against a spiked wall, under no circumstances shall make deals with characters that are even slightly suspicious. Perhaps Season 2 Part 1 was nothing more than the downpour before the overly saccharine rainbow. But I'll proceed with cautious optimism. _Re:ZERO_ is by no means perfect now. Characterization is still largely lacking, the first half can be a slog, there are still some groan-inducing, tropey parts (Echidna's "bodily fluid" tea, anyone!?), and there are some awkwardly directed moments like Echidna's monologue^ which is somehow simultaneously barebones, yet overdone. Yet, often times there's a charm to the imperfections, this time around. Oto declaring himself as Subaru's (first) friend might have been a bit too saccharine for me, yet in a way, it keeps in with the dour tone — all this time and Oto is Subaru's *first* true friend here. The way witches are introduced is simultaneously dumb — they're visually striking and distinct but it seems like they can be reduced to just one trait, plus they’re inexplicably all showing up like it's a role call — yet cool — "Wow, they look so cool and they're *all* going to show up!?” *Re:ZERO* still isn't quite an "A" for me — perhaps it still hasn't earned that grade in my mind, or perhaps I'm just being stingier with my ratings — either way, it's definitely improved and I'm excited to see what glorious suffering is in store for us the rest of the season. 8.5/10 B img520(https://iili.io/2EkCAu.jpg) ^If you want to get a sense of the grandness of Echidna's monologue without the goofy directing, I suggest reading the excerpt of it from the light novel here: ~!Echidna: This extraordinary ability you possess, the Authority of Return by Death: Its utility is something you don’t yet truly comprehend. By refusing to allow endings that are contrary to your desires, you repeatedly retry, and repeatedly reach for the future―― that is the near-perfect ideal of an inquirer. But of course. In the first place, once an event has reached its outcome, it would mean that no other outcome could take its place. While in the process of reaching an outcome, it is possible to hypothesize on various possibilities of what that outcome may be. Such an approach under such conditions can serve to verify such various hypotheses. But when there is an actual result you want to reach, the outcome of each experiment and the hypothesis it verifies must forever remain singular. All the while, to truly reproduce the exact same conditions is impossible. No matter how meticulous the preparation, deviation from the conditions of that particular point in time is inevitable. And so too, is the question: “What would the results have been if I had done things differently?”―― forever out of the reach of an inquirer such as myself, instead being what you’d call a dream beyond a dream. Possessing the “Memories of the World”, there are indeed ways in which I could come to “Know” the answers. But while they exist, I have no desire to use or rely on such methods. My “Desire to Know” is not simply a “Desire to Have Knowledge”. Even for me, that distinction is quite a contradictory and loathsome thing. But I’m getting carried away, let’s return to the topic at hand…… for one such as myself, with no choice but to accept the singularity of the outcomes, having but one means of observation, your existence and your Authority is a godsend. Using “The Same Conditions” to conduct “A Different Test”, and see “A Different Outcome” from “What Originally Should Have Been”―― who would not desire such ultimate Authority? Seeing it laid before one’s eyes, who could go without first trying absolutely everything? Of course, I have no intention of taking it by force. In the end, you will be making full use of Return by Death for your purposes. I will ensure that you reach your desired future to the absolute best of my ability. And, in the process, if possible, I would like to sate my curiosity to the fullest possible extent. Surely, you won’t fault me for such a measly request? You will get your answers. I will sate my curiosity. Our interests are entirely aligned. Since I don’t know the answers myself, I certainly won’t misguide you on purpose towards the most wretched endings possible. When first encountering a problem, I’ll be just as ignorant as you are to what the optimal solution may be. So together, we will ponder, agonize and find the answers as comrades. I can say this without the slightest embarrassment. I am immensely fond of you, that is, for your capacity to increase my means of inquiry, and I swear I will never do anything to impede you. Of course, when initially without answers, I cannot guarantee a smooth resolution to every problem even with my help. While I can aid you with the strength of my knowledge, I can never directly interfere with reality. Should the obstacle before you require physical, material strength, I cannot help you. Time after time, perhaps in the hundreds and thousands, your mind and body may be shattered and torn. But if and when it is, I will faithfully tend to your heart. I must admit that not wanting to lose something as useful as you has a part to do with it. But, my fondness for you, and my intention to lend you my strength is genuine. I hope you won’t think badly of me. Though I’ve said this over and over, I am confident that I will prove valuable to achieving your purposes. Indeed, just as I will be, in a sense, using you to satisfy the Greed of my curiosity, you can also use me to “Attain Your Perfect Future”. It is precisely my wish to become that convenient girl you can always call on. If it means spurring you onward, then I will gladly offer you my very existence. Although, paltry as it is, seeing how I’m already dead, whether you will have me is another question. Alas, I suppose that would be unfair to those girls within your thoughts. The subjects of your longing―― the silver-haired Half-Elf, and the blue-haired Demon: the girls that your heart has sworn to save and protect. I won’t go into what I think about the intense emotions you feel towards them, but I will simply say this: The barricade standing before you is far greater than you could possibly imagine. Just the obstacles you are aware of now already have you struggling at your wit’s end. While your resolve to overcome them alone is admirable, it would be far too desperate a fight. There is not the slightest falsehood in my desire to lend you my help. And you have every reason to make use of my willingness. You must use everything you have, use everything you can, and only then can you save the ones you hold dear. Isn’t that the oath you have sworn, and the conviction you took onto the painful path you have chosen? That is why I challenge you, repeat with you, and feel for you. The path you have sacrificed your lives to forge, as ironic as it is, has now been validated in the form of the Second Trial. Perhaps, the Trial might offer the illusion that it existed to make you understand the nature of the path you have walked, and as such, was necessary. Yet the truth is it wasn’t necessary, and those scenes in fact only served to wear down your heart. However, between a state of ignorance and a state of knowing, no matter how appalling the truth may be, I will always value the latter. You have, and will continue to use your life as the price for Returning by Death and for inching ever closer to the future. As you do so, you will constantly keep in the back of your mind the possibility that the sacrifices you have made and those worlds themselves “Might Still Exist” in some form or another. Until one day, you will cease to feel anything about paying with your life, your human emotions will have faded away, the deaths of the people precious to you will no longer strike upon your heart, and so drowning your days in unmovable, emotionless apathy, even if you eventually reach that perfect future, there would be nothing left of you to hold it―― therefore, in order to avoid drifting into a future in which only that tediousness remains, this is necessary. Indeed, there is not a single useless thing in this world, every path is necessary, everything is an indispensable piece of the puzzle: It was for you to understand this that the Trial existed. If you need to make sense of the reasons why you have now stopped in your tracks, then you can think of it this way. And I will affirm your thoughts. If my words can give you the strength to move forward, then I will endeavor to give them. Be it consolation, incitement, whispers of love, or evocations of contempt, if it can become your strength then I will not hesitate to use it. You might hate it, but you will certainly need me on your path ahead. If you are to proceed along this road of unavoidable pain and solitude, then you will need someone to walk alongside you who will never veer their sight from the path. If you leave this role to me and to no one else, then I am willing to walk this road alongside you without question. I will repeat it, I will restate it, I will convey it as many times as necessary until it reaches you. ――You need me. And I need you. I need you immensely. My curiosity can no longer be quenched by anything except you. You are the only one in existence who can satisfy me. My insatiable Greed would be fulfilled by you alone. Your existence is already indispensable to me in this closed-off world. If you wish to be someone else’s hope and use your power to slice open their world, could you not take pity on my miserable self so that I may partake in the fallen scraps as well? If you will bequeath me this kindness, then without a moment’s hesitation, I will offer up my body, my knowledge and my soul. And so I beg of you. Please trust me. That I haven’t told you my true feelings until now was never because I wanted to deceive you. I was merely waiting for the right moment to do so. At this stage, the instant I appealed to you with even a fragment of my true intentions, you surely would have left me. That would have been an unbearable loss to me. And of course, for you as well, as it would certainly be a loss in the sense that you’d be distancing yourself from the future you seek. Although, with the power of Return by Death, you will inevitably reach your desired future. Nevertheless, it will certainly be preferable to reach that future while paying as little in compensation as possible. With me, with me you can lighten that price. I do not want you to make the mistake of thinking that this means as long as you reach the desired future, the greater good can overrule the lesser and the details can be held in contempt. Indeed, falling into temptation and failing to advise you of the optimal path just so I can see the end of a thread―― is not something which I am so confident in my control over my desires that I can guarantee will never happen. This I will admit. But, I will never mislead you. If on the off-chance I do betray your trust in this way, I will under no circumstances try to hide it from you. I will certainly disclose it. And then, do everything in my power to repair that damaged trust. No matter what happens, I will deliver you to the perfect future you desire. Absolutely, absolutely. And now, if you agree that this is necessary, then won’t you choose me? All I want from you, all I ask of you is as I have mentioned in the contract. After that, it is simply a matter of how much suffering you are willing to endure for your desired, coveted wish. I have told you my resolve. Now I would like to hear yours. Prove it to me, seal this contract with me, enlist my assistance, and muster the will to reach your destined future. Do so, and you may for the first time boast that you have conquered the Second Trial. From there, proceed to the Third Trial, and overcoming that, liberate the Sanctuary. Then, considering the disaster that will befall the Sanctuary, those you love, and those you hold dear, that shall be greatest Trial of all. Show me that you have the strength and resolve to surmount it. Once you do, plunder me, use my knowledge, and take hold of the future ahead. What I desire from you, what I request from you, and what I offer you in return is as I have stated. All is as I have sincerely, honestly, willingly confessed it. So now, I want you to tell me―― what is your decision? That, in itself, would satisfy a portion of my curiosity] ――A lovely smile rose onto Echidna’s face.!~ Credit to @Read for getting the text for me

sabre

~~~ -CAUTION: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS- ~~~ - - - This has been a rather strange experience on my end. I'm already fairly aware of what happens due to my experience with the source material, but this adaptation turned out far worse than I would've preferred. I'm inclined to believe that the first season, while largely imperfect as an adaptation, was handled far better in comparison. I'll separate my overview into distinct sections for ease of reading. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ # ~~~ *[I. THE CHARACTERS]* ~~~ The characters are arguably the most privotal aspect of any series. Hence, I'll start with this for convenience. There's a lot to unpack, so I'll focus on one character at a time. **-Subaru:** He is the only person that the series attempted to give any meaningful characterization in this season. The fourth episode even incorporated his backstory. He essentially grew up under loving parents but his pride got the better of him, and he progressively became a hikikomori much to his frustration. He initially viewed himself as someone who could do anything, almost like someone with a savior complex, before slowly coming to terms with the fact that he's just an average person much like most others. In any case, I don't really have strong opinions against or in favor of this characterization, since he fundamentally doesn't change much from his existing character. Instead, I'd rather focus attention to the myriad of stupid decisions that Subaru has made over the course of this season. 1. When Echidna formally introduces herself and explains her near-limitless recollection of pertinent information that could be useful to Subaru, he immediately ignores her and asks to leave her domain. He could've asked about 'Return by Death,' about the nature of curses and how to break them, about the Sanctuary and how it operates, about her relationship with the Witch Cult, about why the Witch Cult causes problems for others, about how to save Rem (since he just moped about this issue earlier), etc. This single decision immediately cuts out any reason to feel sympathy for him over the incident with Rem. 2. Later, Subaru realizes that he has already completed the first trial of the Sanctuary. Upon this realization, he should have immediately attempted the remaining trials in order to relieve Emilia of her suffering. But no. He tells himself that it's better that she does it instead, only to backtrack on this decision several episodes later. 3. Subaru knows that he attracts suspicion due to carrying the 'Witch's Scent' via 'Return by Death.' However, instead of learning from his mistakes in the previous season, he instead doubles down and gives Garfiel and Ryuzu all information he has available. This, of course, immediately warrants suspicion from both of them and leads to a rather uncomfortable hostage scenario due to suspicions of collaborating with the Witch Cult. 4. Subaru gets told by Ram to tell Beatrice to say "Roswaal said to ask the question." He ends up looping on two separate occasions to visit her and doesn't bring this up in either instance. There is a reason why this is plot-relevant, but Subaru seemingly forgets about it due to plot-induced stupidity. 5. After the first loop with Beatrice failed, Subaru eventually got told by Roswaal to tell Beatrice "I am that person." Subaru clearly doesn't know what this means, and neither does the audience at this point. However, upon visiting Beatrice again for the second time, he doesn't bring up this second piece of useful information. In fact, it's so stupid that even Elsa seemingly brings up that maybe 'that person' refers to her. In any case, Subaru is being given help on a silver platter, but he refuses to ever take iniative. It's the kind of plot-induced stupidity that should infuriate people. 6. Subaru tries to collaborate with a bunch of people against Garfiel. When Garfiel finds out, he tells them via idiom that he'll leave no one alive. However, Subaru assumes that Garfiel can be reasoned with and attempts to talk with Garfiel while the latter is already transformed into a giant man-eating beast. Needless to say, Garfiel quickly tries to kill Subaru, only for Otto to die in his stead. Garfiel continues to decimate the entire group due to Subaru's stupidity. 7. Subaru learns that his 'Return by Death' may have inadvertently created many alternate worlds wherein he and his friends died horribly. He realizes how horrific this would be and asks Echidna whether 'Return by Death' actually functions this way. Echidna, of course, doesn't know because Satella provided Subaru with this power. However, Subaru never ends up asking Satella this question when the latter interferes with Echidna's tea party. There's plenty of other incidents, but I think everyone gets the point by now. Subaru has taken plot-induced stupidity to another level by his sheer inability to follow through with the most basic hints. I know Subaru is not a particularly intelligent person, but many of his actions feel contradictory to his character (e.g. not asking Echidna about a possible way to save Rem). Maybe this doesn't bother other people. However, as someone who wants to be invested in the story, I find this very bothersome. **-Beatrice:** In the eleventh episode, Beatrice dramatically explains to Subaru about her contract. She purportedly expresses feelings of anguish and begs for him to kill her. Unfortunately, neither Subaru nor the audience understands enough about her situation for this scene to generate enough emotional impact. Why does she hate being bound by the contract? It's true that she's been bound to that location for hundreds of years, but it's never made clear why her contract is supposedly so unbearable. This scene is made even worse with Ryuzu's formal backstory. Ryuzu explains that she's been alive for over four-hundred years to oversee the Sanctuary, much like Beatrice in regards to the library. Both were also created by the 'Witch of Greed' Echidna. However, unlike Beatrice, Ryuzu sees no issue with her situation. She even delights in drinking tea while overseeing her territory. So then, why does Beatrice feel so negatively about her situation? Neither Subaru nor the audience understands enough to sympathize with Beatrice's pleas for help. What is so insufferable about curating a library? The worst idea that comes to mind is sheer boredom, but that isn't severe enough to attempt suicide. I hope that someone sees the problem here. On the one hand, the series will go to great lengths to flesh out intricate details of its lore. And yet, it's not even devoting a fraction of that time to properly flesh out most of its characters. It's worth mentioning that this is a huge recurring problem that is not unique to Beatrice. **-Emilia:** From the first season, it can be assumed that she wants to prove herself as a capable leader and win the Royal Selection. She even visits the Sanctuary in order to rally the locals and increase her influence. However, her motivation to accomplish these goals are never properly explored in detail. The series often alludes to her troubled past to incite the audience to garner sympathy. However, much like with Beatrice, neither Subaru nor the audience understands enough about her situation to generate an emotional impact. What is so tragic about Emilia's past that makes her incapable of completing the first trial of the Sanctuary? Given Nagatsuki's track record, this question will likely be addressed far later in the series. However, at the moment, it only serves to detract away from Emilia's relatively empty characterization. I want to like her character, but the series continuously makes it difficult for the audience to truly understand and empathize with her struggles. **-Ram:** She was busy serving Roswaal while Subaru was busy dealing with the 'White Whale' in the first season. She doesn't resurface in this second season until Subaru visits the Sanctuary and comes across an injured Roswaal. She occasionally assists Subaru on Roswaal's behalf, such as instructing him to visit Beatrice and even assisting with Subaru's escape from Garfiel during one specific timeline. However, most of her screen time boils down to delivering obnoxious one-liners to Subaru. The first season benefitted from Rem's presence because it balanced out Ram's otherwise static character. Needless to say, Rem is no longer present in the series. One would think that this would be the prime opportunity to flesh out Ram's character. But no. She's effectively the same as before with arguably even less reason to serve Roswaal. In one specific timeline, Roswaal ends up killing Ram for no reason other than to make him look evil. He could've easily impaled Garfiel, someone that he acknowledged was a potential threat, without sacrificing her by moving a few inches to the left or right. In any case, Ram remains as arguably the most static character in the entire series. **-Garfiel:** He is a relatively new addition to the series along with his half-sister Frederica. However, unlike the latter, Garfiel ends up receiving copious amounts of screen time due to his presence at the Sanctuary. He is seemingly on bad terms with Frederica, but their relationship is never explored in great detail. Across most of his appearances, Garfiel is seen directly caretaking the Sanctuary. He even captures Subaru and holds him hostage due to suspicions of him collaborating with the Witch Cult. Needless to say, Garfiel either remains neutral or becomes a direct threat depending on the timeline. He essentially flip-flops between a murderous and chill Bakugo throughout his appearances that it's hard not to call out his generally inconsistent character. **-Roswaal:** In the first season, it's made clear that Roswaal has a secret agenda. He despises a certain dragon and wants him dead, but otherwise his goals have been relatively obscure until now. However, this season alludes to his true character. He was seemingly aware of the Witch Cult's actions and directly masterminded events so that Subaru has to deal with the 'White Whale.' While he does assist Subaru on occasion, he makes himself clear that he is no ally. He will even cruelly kill his subordinates without remorse, such as the instance that he killed Ram. He is appropriately villainous without being fashioned as an actual villain. Neither Subaru nor the audience trusts his words or actions, but it's seemingly necessary in order to progress with the plot. He is arguably closer to a plot device than an actual character, since nothing can happen either directly or indirectly without Roswaal's intervention. **-Echidna:** The first season introduced how there were seven 'Witches of Sin,' and the 'Witch of Envy' Satella in particular killed the other six preceding an event labeled 'The Great Calamity.' It's unclear exactly what happened here, but it's understood that the deaths of the other six Witches were partly to blame. In this second season, Echidna introduces herself as the spirit of the deceased 'Witch of Greed.' Several other Witches are also introduced, but she is the only one that is particularly relevant to the story. On the surface, she somewhat resembles Emilia with her long, white hair and relatively cute appearance. She never ends up as a damsel-in-distress and is always thinking several steps ahead of most others in her immediate vicinity. She also prefers intellectual pursuits over anything fleeting like romance, honor or vengeance. She spends most of her screen time toying with Subaru via quick-witted and sassy remarks. However, all of this serves to detract away from her deranged inner-self. Ryuzu mentioned that Echidna created her and several hundred clones in an attempt to research immortality. The research itself proved unsuccessful and effectively abandoned after her death. Echidna is also mentioned to have created Beatrice as an artificial Spirit to caretake her personal library. Echidna forces Beatrice to stay in the hopes that someone would latch onto her, even though Echidna herself doesn't know who this person may be. In effect, Echidna is essentially a sociopath who cannot understand the feelings of others. She has no qualms about employing sophistry and deception to satisfy her curiosity towards the unknown. In one particular instance, she meddles with Subaru's handkerchief, so the latter will have means to kill himself after being ensnared by Satella's advances. Needless to say, Echidna is fashioned as neither friend nor foe. She is arguably an even greater plot device than Roswaal, since Echidna is indirectly involved in every aspect of the story. In any case, Re:Zero is blessed with dozens of unique, quirky characters but most of them are littered with the same few set of problems. Out of the group, the only one that gets any reasonable amount of characterization is Subaru himself, but the series continually writes him in such a bewildering manner that he ends up as nothing more than the dictionary definition of plot-induced stupidity. He goes through hell, breaks down, gets up, and then immediately breaks down again ad nauseum. There is no lesson learned, and the way it ends is proof of that. There is no good feeling of accomplishment on any front. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ # ~~~ *[II. THE WORLDBUILDING]* ~~~ The second season is devoted primarily to one task: worldbuilding. In a series where the plot essentially grinds to a complete halt after the third episode and the characters range from somewhat developed to utterly one-dimensional, it's absolutely essential to succeed in this front. Unfortunately, this is arguably the weakest aspect of this season, primarily because the series gives little reason to care about most of the superfluous information that's being conveyed. For example, let's consider Ryuzu's discussion with Subaru in the tenth episode. She informs Subaru that she is one of many clones whose "replica bodies are built upon cores of artificial od that has been produced by magic. Those cores are wrapped in mana and given physical form, resulting in these bodies.” I want to take a moment and truly digest what this actually means. First of all, it's clear that she is merely a clone produced through magic. However, she never explains the bit about 'artificial od.' What is this? This is the first time that this term is directly mentioned in the series, so I assume that it's important enough for the audience to understand. However, it's left ignored after she finishes her purported origin story. This is merely one of several instances of botched worldbuilding. Another example pertains to Echidna's conversation about the 'Witches of Sin' in the third episode. For example, she speaks of the “Witch of Wrath, Minerva, who struck people to heal them as she lamented the state of her war-torn world.” Likewise, she mentions the “Witch of Sloth, Sekhmet, who drove a dragon past the great waterfall just for a chance to rest.” The other Witches get similarly summarized. On paper, this is plenty of neat information that people might find fascinating. However, neither Subaru nor the audience has any reason to concern themself with these details. For clarification, I have no problem with the series introducing plot points to be expanded for later use. Good worldbuilding in high fantasy entails of expanding on a story's lore, while also providing the audience with a reason to become interested. However, that's clearly not what is happening here. It's a huge problem when the worldbuilding consists of nigh-endless references to inconsequential characters and seemingly unimportant mysteries that the series has no intention of making relevant in the foreseeable future. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ # ~~~ *[III. THE VISUALS]* ~~~ In the absence of anything worthwhile in the writing department, the production quality itself is the last bastion of defense. However, this area is also seemingly butchered beyond belief. Remember the beautiful shots of Rem whipping her flail in her battle against the demon beasts in the forest? Remember the clean visuals in the final fight between Petelgeuse and Julius? Remember the incredibly dynamic and expertly choreographed animation in the confrontation between Elsa, Emilia, Subaru, and Reinhard? All of that extraordinary animation is almost completely absent this season. The only scene with remotely comparable animation is found in the first episode during Rem's battle with Lye Batenkaitos, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. The rest of the series amounted to still images and various other questionable production decisions. Visually, it is undeniably a huge step-down compared to the first season. I can excuse poor visuals as a byproduct of production delays due to COVID-19. However, botched directing is an entirely different story. For example, consider this scene from the fourth episode. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~

img(https://i.imgur.com/78LzyK1.png) ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ Why would someone choose to frame the scene this way? The conversation is happening in the background, but the foreground is instead intent on highlighting the kitchen. Is there something important at the kitchen that the audience should care about? Apparently not. It's never directly mentioned or touched upon at all. The kitchen itself doesn't even look amazing enough to warrant all this focus. So then, why even bother focusing on this particular location? This is exactly my point. A competent director would try to direct focus on the important parts of each event, but that's clearly not what's happening here. Here are a couple of other examples that I screenshotted to get an idea of how offputting this looks. The frames are consistently misaligned, which ends up causing confusion on where the audience should focus its attention. Consequently, the show progressively looks worse with each passing episode. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/m63sFcN.jpg) ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/anpo8d0.jpg) ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ # ~~~ *[IV. THE PACING]* ~~~ For my final point, I have chosen to address the general pacing of events. Is it too fast? Is it too slow? It's quite frankly neither and yet both at the same time. Let me explain. As an adaptation, this season covered events from the end of the ninth LN volume to the middle of the thirteenth LN volume. In other words, this is roughly a four-volume LN adaptation with some occasional alterations for convenience. On paper, this isn't any different from the standard one-cour LN adaptation. However, it's somehow even worse than the established norm because of what the production crew chooses to keep and cut out. For all intents and purposes, Subaru has remained perpetually stuck at the Sanctuary for over ten episodes. Across the four aforementioned LN volumes, very little has actually changed on the surface. One could effectively cut the number of episodes in half and nothing of value would be lost. However, while this remains true, it's also worth mentioning that the adaptation itself is still unnecessarily rushed. The dialogue in particular bleeds with sheer pendatry when touching on Subaru's actions. For example, let's consider the general chain of events. Subaru questioned Roswaal's actions, so Frederica told him to seek Beatrice for assistance. Beatrice refused to say anything useful other than to visit the Sanctuary for answers. Consequently, Subaru goes to the Sanctuary with Emilia and ends up trapped and forced to undergo trials sanctioned by Echidna. Subaru encounters an injured Roswaal and Ram, who confirm various uncomfortable truths regarding their situation. Ram later tells Subaru to confront Beatrice and ask her "Roswaal said to ask the question." In response, Subaru visits Beatrice but conveniently forgets to bring anything up. Later, Roswaal tells Subaru to tell Beatrice "I am that person." Upon his second meeting with Beatrice, Subaru yet again fails to bring anything up. And so forth. In any case, the general set of events come across as heavily disjoint without any sense of cohesion. There's so much that physically happened, yet ultimately nothing actually progressed in the grand scale due to plot-induced stupidity. And to make matters worse, the original LNs contained several nuances that got tossed aside without much actual explanation. For example, the twelveth episode toys around with the idea that 'Return by Death' may have inadvertently created many alternate worlds wherein he and his friends died horribly. Subaru essentially revisits those worlds and sees the aftermath of his various deaths. However, about 90% of the content pertaining to Rem and Julius inadvertently gets cut out for no reason. Similar decisions have occured throughout this season. ~~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/0SpAzoy.png) ~~~ # ~~~ *[V. CONCLUSION]* ~~~ I initially started this series with legitimate interest in isekai with a 'Return by Death' concept. It could've been handled in so many different ways to explore various aspects about the world and characters. But unfortunately, there's very little effort put into characterization for both primary and secondary cast members. There are many attempts at worldbuilding, but they only ever amount to references to inconsequential characters and seemingly unimportant mysteries that the series has no intention of making relevant in the foreseeable future. Even simple stuff like visuals and pacing ended up disastrously botched due to bizarre decisions from the production crew. Ultimately, I can't help but label this as a massive disappointment on all fronts. Written and edited by: @sabre Proofread by: @AkumaRemu

ArlanKels

This review will contain spoilers for Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1. Right from the outset I'll tell you that I'm giving it a 40/100 For those who love this series: tl;dr ~ Arlan's opinion is wrong ~~~ __The Progression __~~~ Before we get into any of my gripes about Season 2 Part 1 we'll first establish some basic understanding of my thought process. In that regard let's look at the very first episode, and the original setup for Subaru. We're introduced to him within his own world for a very short window of time, and in that we have a few facts about him established. The first is that he reads manga, and even has a slight grasp of the narrative flow in that he recognizes the "hook" of the manga. The second is that he has his own money, which means he either works, gets an allowance, inherited cash, or some other means of funding. The third is that he's superstitious, as he notices the ten yen is a grooved edge. This also leads into that he's slightly wanting for romance, which was of course reinforced by how he noticed a couple passing by and reacting ever so slightly to it. The ten yen superstition deals with using a serrated edged ten yen coin to call from a specific phone and the one you love will answer. This implies that Subaru has a target of affection, or at least hopes to find someone who loves him, and that he's at least interested in seeking out the person. Another thing established is that he's getting food, which once again makes one wonder if he's living with his parents or not since it's more akin to what you'd see a college kid who's on his own do. Then we notice that it's night time as he leaves, which means that either his parents trust him and are okay with him being out, or that he lives on his own. When he's transported to the Zero world, Subaru showcases that he understands fully what an Isekai is and also that he has some degree of gaming knowledge. He also eventually, after realizing that he's not getting whatever he wants immediately or inherently special, pulls out his phone. Four numbers are shown. His Mom and his Dad, which means that he at least talks to them on a regular basis, a pizza place which implies that he feeds himself from time to time, and City Hall. The parents aren't much of a shock given what we've seen so far, the pizza place on the other hand once again reinforces that he's living on his own. City Hall, however, is a large red flag in that there's only one reason he'd have that on his call list, and that's because he uses it often. If it was Work he'd most likely have it marked as "Work", or the specific section within City Hall he worked at. If he's consistently contacting City Hall that'd once again imply he's on his own, that he needs to get ahold of them to deal with insurance, identification papers, garbage/etc, or any other number of accessible functions. Throughout the entire first season Subaru never talks about his parents, anyone from his past such as friends or coworkers, or really talks about anything. It leaves us wondering if Subaru even had a past, or if he even interacted with his parents. He didn't seem to regret not seeing them anymore, or that he was in another world. Instead the series is focused on Subaru as he struggles with surviving in an unknown reality, and with the help of dozens of other major characters he does just that. He also develops an unusually high infatuation with Emilia after the slightest of encounters. The way he seems deadset on helping her reflects someone who's suffered similar losses, such as when a brother loses a sister and blames himself. That eventually develops into a need to save other women in trouble, especially if they look similar to the sister. This in turn also feeds into how he still cares for Rem to the point of suicide, he'll put himself into harms way to help almost anyone near him since he doesn't want to lose people. It's a type of Savior/White Knight complex that usually stems from a past where someone close to the person suffered, and they develop the wish to help them and eventually that blossoms into a full blown complex. Subaru also begins to showcase a tenacity to handle death. He purposefully kills himself by jumping off a cliff onto spiked rocks, a terrifying and painful way of dying. He is nearly devoured piece by piece by a horde of demonic hounds. He's tortured slowly by Rem who crushes his body parts in a deliberate way to avoid killing him but maximize the pain. Through it all he finally reaches a point where, when he has to die at the end of Season 1, he does so with almost no problem and is already thinking of his next plan. Which leads me to talking about that. Subaru demonstrates that he can think ahead, that he's smarter than you'd expect, and that he establishes plans and learns from his mistakes. We're seeing from Subaru a steady growth toward a character who knows what needs to be done, and then figures out the most optimal way to do it. The pacing of Season 1 is overall great, with only the middle of it snagging. The side characters shine, often times more so than Subaru, and numerous breadcrumbs are lain out in advance. We eventually end Season 1 with Subaru having started to accept who he is, how he needs help, and how much he cares for those around him and wants to help them. ~~~__The Regression__ ~~~ Which then leads us into Season 2 Part 1. Oh boy. First we need to admit something about Subaru that comes out full force in this chunk of the series. He has some sort of mystical "Harem King" ability, nearly every woman he encounters is deeply interested in him(Sometimes in bad ways). There's usually no rhyme nor reason for it, they're just interested in him because he exists. This undermines any type of actual relationship growth that can happen with Subaru and those characters. He doesn't have to accept them, treat them well, learn who they are, develop a rapport, or anything else. They like him because they like him. This wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't for the fact that Subaru does nothing to earn that. He treats almost every single person in this section of the series very badly. He either yells at them, blames them, accuses them of something, walks away from them, calls them monsters or evil, or some other variation of that. When a woman is crying in front of him he just stands there, not offering support. When Rem is forgotten by people, as she was in the past, he treats even Emilia with hostility and contempt. He already knows that they can't help it, but he lashes out at everyone. When Beatrice tries to save him from dying he shouts at her, to the point that she breaks down and weeps in front of him, and so he keeps yelling. When the witches help him, treat him with respect, and even bring him back from death he calls them monsters. And speaking of the witches, the Witch of Lust uses her power and emulates Rem. This, however, isn't the Witch who is making that choice, but rather Subaru. It's showing him who he wants to see. Throughout Season 2 Part 1 there is one person that Subaru prioritizes more than anyone else, and that's Rem. The so-called woman he loves Emilia is second fiddle throughout the entire thirteen episodes. So not only does Subaru backtrack to the point where he doesn't even seem to care about Emilia, but he backtracks to a point even worse than how he was in the middle of Season 1. The author takes Subaru to a point where he's devoid of empathy, compassion, or even guilt. The author on top of that also backtracks Subaru. He no longer takes dying easily, he freaks out and can't handle it. His mind which before was developing strongly and his ability to handle himself are thrown out the window. When he dies the same way he has before he freaks out, when he gets chewed alive(As he had before) his mind seemingly snaps and Echidna saves him from going permanently insane. Nearly every recovery from death is significantly worse than before. His ability to plan and think ahead, his strategizing, is also thrown out the window. Everything that was built up with Subaru is stripped away and leaves only the most disgusting human imaginable as the person we're supposed to be enjoying to watch. In regard to surprises there are none in this season, outside of how Satella appears in person. The author doesn't merely foreshadow, but he brazenly rubs the twists in our faces before they even pop. Subaru acts like most of these are so earth shattering that he can't even stand, which again reminds of how he went from being quick of wit in Season 1 to absent of wit in Season 2 Part 1. The pacing of Season 2 Part 1 is also awful. The series stagnates as it wallows in Subaru spending most of his time suffering over and over again, while the author continues to expand the lore of the world. They spend so long building everything up that we're left waiting for an eternity. And finally we're left off with the best moment of the Season. Otto punching Subaru. ~~~__Season 2 Episode 4__ ~~~ I do not like this episode. For those masochists willing to delve through my poorly handled review to reach this point, even you probably don't want to continue on. What we have here is called a "Trial of the Past". The "Trial" consists of Subaru "living" on Earth and interacting with his parents. We're shown numerous things, and all of those to me are awful. We see that Subaru's parents care deeply for him, are supportive of him, and would probably move mountains for him. These are the types of parents anyone would want. He lives with them, and even seems to have some degree of fun with them. We see Subaru's room, and all of the gaming merchandise and anime merchandise that it contains. We learn about Subaru's past, his friends he had and why he has none now. And everything we're shown injures the story as a whole. Subaru's room showcases pictures and figurines of different types, with one type repeating more than the others. Girls that look like Emilia. This explains why he cares so much for her. It's not out of thanks for her helping him, it's not out of a savior complex deep rooted in some tragedy of the past, it's not due to anything deep. It's because Emilia is the Ideal Girl Of His Dreams. He idolizes that look and yearns for it, and with Emilia he has it. That is why he mistreats her so often, it's why he handles her like an object rather than a person, and it's why when he consistently claims he loves her he truly does not. We've established that Subaru is shallow. We learn that Subaru's father is often considered a perfect man, and Subaru in turn while growing up showed promise. However as he started to reach his teen years he wasn't so perfect. So he quit. He didn't try harder, he didn't seek help from his father, he didn't talk to people, he didn't attempt to go a different path than his own dad, he simply quit. Because he wasn't getting first place in everything without effort. We've established Subaru is a quitter. When we talk of Subaru and his friends we in turn also realize that he has none, and we learn why. Subaru opted to act out as a kid, and those closest to him slowly started to separate from him. They didn't want to deal with the outlandish and more asshole Subaru. His response was to keep acting this way, and in turn people kept walking away, and he in turn kept acting this way. Eventually he was left with no friends. So when Subaru reached High School he decided to keep acting that way, and didn't get any friends. We've established that Subaru refuses to learn from his mistakes. Another thing this episode does is show that Subaru lives, happily, with his parents. So why does he have City Hall on his phone? Don't know Why does he refuse to talk about his parents? Don't know Why does he not care about returning home to them? Don't know. All this episode does is: Establishes that Subaru doesn't really love Emilia, nor even care about who she is Establishes that Subaru still is refusing to change, as he continues to act out and lash in Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 in the same way that drove his friends away on Earth. Establishes that Subaru has no empathy with how blasé he is over the absence of his family from his life. Establishes that with enough pressure Subaru will just give up. I can not even begin to explain properly how frustrated I felt with this episode. Every progression of Subaru I saw, every potential of his personality, every aspect of his quirky behavior, all of it was ripped apart by this episode. To make things even worse he passes "The Trial" by literally doing nothing except talking about his past with the illusion of his father. We don't see any changes in his personality after this, we don't see any progress, we only see the same thing we did prior to the trial.

HanaAkari

_Note- this review will be covering both the 1st and 2nd cour of season 2._ __MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD- I HAVE COVERED THE SPOILERS WITH TAGS, SO YOU CAN STILL READ A SPOILER FREE REVIEW__ ---- AHH, Re:Zero, my favourite Isekai and one of my top 5 animes of all time. In other words, an Isekai done right There's something about this anime that always keeps me intrigued, my eyes glued on the screen. Especially the 2nd season. It answers questions from the first season, the hidden pasts are revealed, but still manages to keep its mysterious nature anyway. There are 4 things Re Zero does best-- the character development, the soundtrack , the large cast, and the protagonist, Subaru. Yes, I said Subaru Say what you want about him, but that doesn't change the fact that him and his decisions are very important to the show. >"No, giving up is very easy. But it doesn't suit you, Subaru-kun" -Rem ---- While the animation is a little above average, it's not the best. But again, it doesn't need to be excellent. Above avarage is fine, because this show is more character driven. The characters and the choices they make affect the show, not the animation. But I won't lie, there were times when I wished the art would improve a bit. But one thing I really hope is that the characters would change their cloths. I know, I am asking for a strange thing. But I get bored when always seeing Subaru in his track and suit and Rem and Ram in their maid outfits As for the soundtrack, don't worry because seriously, Re: Zero has a really good soundtrack. The openings and endings are a banger, and so are the OSTs . I could listen to them endlessly without getting bored Especially the ending song,"Styx Helix" youtube(https://youtu.be/HdQCWXh3XXU) The character development is __THE BEST OF THE VERY BEST__ I haven't seen any other anime mastering the characters' development like Re:Zero does. Emilia, Subaru, Rem , Ram, Garfiel, Roswal, Otto, and almost very character, regardless of their role they play get excellent character development Especially Subaru, he develops throughout the anime I have heard people say Subaru is a loser, and that he could just kill himself when something goes wrong I beg to differ. There were many instances when he could have abandoned his friends and ran away, but despite the terror and horror of the world he chose to move forward and face it. Subaru is also the most relatable Isekai protagonist I have seen. He's a normal flawed human, just like us. ~!Like, the whale incident, where many died and wre sacrificed but Subaru, even though he was scared kept going !~ Speaking about the character development and cast, before I forget I will say that Re Zero also has the most interesting and very large cast. Despite that, none of them are forgettable. They have their own Quirks, flaws, strengths and backstories I remember and can name most of the supporting cast, even characters who only appeared in an episode or two. That's how much unforgettable they are ~!I was shocked when I saw the full backstory of Romani Conti, the psyco we all love to hate. He's truly a tragic guy !~ There's also an episode where Subaru goes back to the normal world, where his parents are. In that episode Subaru's character and past are explored in detail. That was the most relatable episode for me. The episode shows that Subaru isn't any special, he's just a normal 17 year old teenage guy with his own struggles. And the bond him and his parents share is very wholesome. I saw the episode after I had argued with my parents, and I so almost cried seeing how much they understand and care about each other ---- Conclusion- I loved the season 1, but the second season is much, much better. Re:Zero is and will always be my in my top 5 favourite anime list I hope we get a third season, as the LN is still ongoing and there is more than enough source material for another 2 seasons. I want to know more about Pandora and Regulus This anime also hardly has any fan service or ecchi content, so you don't need to worry about that too I recommend this anime to people like me, who like Isekai but are tired of the genetic overpowered harem protagonists. Also watch this if you don't mind some gore and killing. All in all, Re:Zero is a great watch Overall- 97/100

Seff

Even the ground dragons fall in love with the protagonist in this anime! So, how is this not just another generic harem? I'm not sure if I missed that in season 1, because I was watching with the premise that we'll get to find out why he was even transported to that world, and how that world exists in the first place. Then, it got fun to see how he'd deal with his Return by Death, and the immediate curiosity around it. It took them 4 years to release season 2, and I honestly can't remember if my criticisms of this season, are also relevant to the first. How long did we have to wait for season 2 of AoT? It felt like forever, but I believe 5 years, and after those 5 years, my memory was a BIT fuzzy, but I remembered things, and characters. With this anime, I could barely remember anything about any of them. I really enjoyed season 1, so the question I ask myself, is did I become tired of these generic harems, and general making all females wear revealing/sexualised outfits style animes? I think yeah, but this season was also bad in the sense of the story, too. There was absolutely no progression of the story in the entire season. We still didn't find out anything about why he is there, and where there really is. The whole mystery about his Return by Death dissipated to the point of being really tedious having to watch him scream and be shocked when someone dies, because we know they're not really dead. If you realllllly think about it, take out all his re-runs, and constant screaming and crying, how much did we actually get to watch? It kinda makes me feel as if all things in this anime are inconsequential, because he can always reverse time and undo it all, so nothing that happens, really matters. The only new things we learn each time he dies, is that THEY'VE ALL BEEN BETRAYED BY X PERSON. Oh no wait it was just a misunderstanding. SOMEONE ELSE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE EVIL, oh no, wait they've had a complete personality change and are a good guy again. And on that topic, at first the whole tea party thing was intriguing, but it got very boring, very fast, when they would flip-flop between making the witches evil/good every episode. Overall Rem was one of the only characters I liked in the first season, even though she joined the harem. This season Ram was one of the better ones, but most characters are completely replaceable, or plain boring like our princess. Oh, and loving the constant damsels in distress btw. Harems, damsels in distress, fake deaths, cleavage everywhere, bad guys that all seem to turn out good/have a sad back story. How is this not a super generic anime? Also love all those top rated reviews on MAL where they have only watched 4 episodes of the season, and ended up giving them 10's lmao. Nothing says unbiased ratings like people giving 10/10 reviews after only 4 episodes.