Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活

2021 winter | Episodes: 12 | Score: 8.4 (581486)

Updated every Wednesdays at 22:30 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:AT-X | Memory-Tech | Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures | Kadokawa Media House | Kadokawa

Synopsis

After a stern yet compelling speech by Otto Suwen, Subaru Natsuki solemnly swears that he will successfully make it through this timeline and save everyone he can along the way. The first step toward achieving this goal is to help Emilia work through her past; however, that is easier said than done. Feeling as if she has been lied to by everyone around her, it will be difficult for Emilia to trust anyone, even Subaru, her self-proclaimed knight. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 presents the culmination of Subaru's experiences with the Sanctuary and its people, along with his unwillingness to give up hope on saving them. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Takahashi, Rie

Kobayashi, Yuusuke

News

Reviews

yureironin
12/24/2024, 09:43 PM
The second season amplifies the first's problems while dragging out its story. The Sanctuary arc introduces Echidna as yet another addition to the potential harem, complete with manipulative tea parties that try to be unsettling but end up feeling like another romance flag. Can you imagine drinking someone sperm? No, right? Why would you drink her disgusting stuff. If Subaru took up her contract, it will be If route: Greed, Subaru would died 100 mil times of cheap death which is a viral sound on tiktok. Absolutely lame Emilia yaps more. Despite her supposed power and importance, she constantly needs Subaru's help. Do you feel thisis like blind lead blind? Pathetic. Her past trauma but never quite delivers on making her a fully realized character. Beatrice's storyline is weird, she choose to be alone and wait for THE ONE, she can even just die inside the castle BUT subaru has to safe her because she can also become his harem partner. The "choose me" scene aims for emotional impact but leads to awkward parent-child dynamics, just because he choose to save everyone. A 400 years old women stuck in an underage girl's body, he constantly hugging her and hold hand like she is a child. If this not promoting pedophilia behaviour, I don't know what is.
TakoTaco1
09/03/2024, 03:01 PM
Re:Zero has a dialogue problem, which is an issue for a series that's largely made up of planning, discussing and reflecting. I wanted to like Re:Zero, I found that a lot of the major plot beats were fun, it leveraged its own premise effectively, and there was obviously a lot of consideration put into both the characters and the world they live in. By isekai standards, it's still one of the better shows, and it clearly aspires to greater things, which is probably why the rough character writing feels so notable. Unfortunately, the way almost everyone speaks is stiff, overwrought, melodramatic, uncomfortable, inorganic andborderline alien. None of these characters feel like real people, which is, again, a problem for a series with themes that revolve around personal growth and becoming a well-adjusted, complete person. A list of gripes in no particular order: Most of the characters are very "anime". they all fit an archetype. It's clear the show aims to subvert your expectations for these archetypes but the moment to moment interactions remain grating throughout the entire show. Emelia, Rem and Ram, Elsa, Puck, Garfiel, Beatrice I suppose. Almost every character. Tsubaru will at times say things that are awkward and nonsensical on multiple levels, such as speaking of a past life while saying something anachronistic, being far too familiar with characters, or saying a 10-20 word sentence that should have been 2-5. It often feels like internal dialogue that he just says out loud. At best this will get a brief acknowledgement, but often goes unnoticed. A normal response would be "what the **** is wrong with you". Half of his dialogue would be appropriately responded to with "what the **** is wrong with you". Many might say that this was intentional, and Tsubaru is just supposed to be very weird and immature. Unfortunately, a lot of other characters are also awkward, and as time goes on, its clear that everyone acting nonplused by Tsubarau, mixed with his continued awkwardness suggests this is just how the author writes. Characters will make "jokes" that are not jokes, they're at best observations or canned phrases, other characters will laugh and act as though a joke was told, when there's practically nothing to laugh at. The banter is typically two characters saying canned phrases back and forth. Zero charm, lack of brevity, just overall uncomfortable to behold. Everyone feels as though they're written by the same person. Ricardo, the beast man captain, is a great example of this. He's clearly meant to have an aggressive, overbearing personality. Good natured, but scary. He, at one point, while waiting to fight the white whale, says something to the effect of "Let's get going or when I get back my old lady will be old and gray". and then says "awww come on, that was my best joke" which then gets a laugh. That just sounds like something Tsubaru would say, it's also not funny. It's never funny. The funniest part of the show was noticing that Garfiel turns into a big orange cat. The emotional scenes are extremely repetitive, and everything is overstated. There are some core nuggets to many conversations that are good, but they're often wrapped up in inane and unsubtle dialogue. The series clearly lacks confidence in its own ideas and in its audience. A better anime, decent novel or typical HBO show would convey the quailty of ideas at play here without really spelling out any of them through use of direction, metaphor, setting, plot, character details. By being so explicit, it ironically undermines itself. You're spoonfed character intentions and feelings, and then given several more spoonfuls after you're already full. If you look at shows like Sonny Boy, Odd Taxi or the Apothecary Diaries, it's like night and day. Even shows like To Your Eternity or Ranking of Kings, which can often wear their heart on their sleeve, feels leagues ahead of Re:Zero in terms of refinement and subtlety. Hell, I've been watching another isekai with my kid, it's called Amphibia, it's a kid's show about a girl that gets transported to a frog world. I think it might actually do a better job. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with occasionally making subtext into text, but Re:Zero does this so gratuitously, and with such saccharine or dramatic delivery, that it makes you feel almost nauseated. Another major gripe is that, while sometimes characters act in line with their established personalities, other times it's very clear they do or don't do things to move the plot forward in a way that suits the author's intentions. Sometimes a character will do something odd just so they learn a lesson or have a nice character moment later. By trying to flesh out the characters this way, you actually undermine their integrity. Tsubaru especially very rarely asks the normal questions to ask at the appropriate time. His intellect also varies wildly based on convenience. This mostly feels like a series written by a socially awkward individual who is going through a period of self-discovery, and is learning a lot of valuable life lessons, such as self-worth, humility, working smarter not harder, authenticity, people are not the picture in your head, etc. Unfortunately, that hasn't really improved their social aptitude, and as a result everything still feels like a parody of normal human interaction. To sum it up: it's cringe The animation is also mediocre this season, which definitely hurts the watchability. I considered giving it a 7, but I was honestly just not enjoying myself by the end.
Seam_Ali
07/08/2023, 06:33 AM
Season 2 Part 2 takes the captivating and emotionally charged story of Subaru Natsuki to new heights, delivering an anime experience that leaves viewers on the edge of their seats and hungry for more. With its intricate plot, rich character development, and stunning animation, this season effortlessly solidifies Re:ZERO as a standout series in the isekai genre. One of the greatest strengths of Season 2 Part 2 lies in its ability to push the boundaries of storytelling. The narrative continues to challenge Subaru's resilience and psychological endurance, forcing him to confront his flaws and inner demons. The intricate web of time loops and unexpected twists keepsthe viewers guessing, fostering a sense of suspense and intrigue that is rarely matched in the anime world. Each episode presents new layers of complexity, gradually unraveling the mysteries of Subaru's predicament while simultaneously introducing thought-provoking themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the consequences of one's actions. The character development in this season is truly exceptional. Subaru's growth as a protagonist is palpable, as he learns from his past mistakes and undergoes immense personal growth. His determination and unwavering resolve in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges make him an incredibly relatable and inspiring character. Moreover, the supporting cast shines brightly, each with their unique motivations and hidden depths. The series does an excellent job of delving into the struggles, fears, and motivations of these characters, giving them a depth and complexity that is truly engrossing. Visually, Season 2 Part 2 is a feast for the eyes. The animation quality is nothing short of breathtaking, capturing the intense emotions and dynamic action sequences with precision and flair. The attention to detail in the character designs, backgrounds, and atmospheric lighting enhances the immersive experience, drawing viewers into the fantastical world of Lugunica. The fight scenes are particularly noteworthy, displaying a perfect blend of fluidity, choreography, and strategic combat that will leave audiences awe-inspired. Beyond its gripping narrative and stunning visuals, Season 2 Part 2 boasts an exceptional soundtrack that heightens the emotional impact of each scene. The hauntingly beautiful melodies and powerful orchestral pieces perfectly complement the intense moments of despair, the poignant character interactions, and the triumphant instances of hope. The sound design is masterfully executed, further immersing viewers in the intricate world of Re:ZERO. In conclusion, Season 2 Part 2 is a masterpiece that surpasses expectations, delivering an emotionally charged and intellectually stimulating anime experience. It combines a captivating narrative, well-developed characters, stunning animation, and a mesmerizing soundtrack to create an unforgettable journey. Whether you are a fan of the series or a newcomer to the world of Re:ZERO, this season will leave you breathless, eagerly awaiting the next installment. The trailer for Season 3 dropped 3 months ago, and I cannot wait to watch it! I hope everyone is alive and healthy by the time Season 3 drops. Take care ✌️
GodOfWolves
12/26/2022, 11:45 AM
Re;zero WAS, sorta, this show with some great qualities, action, growth, evil witches, despair, loss of hope, but also rebirth of hope. All that good mumbo jumbo gumbo and what not. But now its a harem with friends instead of waifus. If you asked me if I wanted to re-watch this show I'd tell you that I'd re-watch it re-zero times! The conversations in this show are so cheesingly overly complicatedly bad and shamelessly written that the very love interest of suburu himself, who is Amelia thinks that babies come from kissing each other. - This is a great analogy for every other shallow conversation that takes place. - Also thatwas easily an entire 5 minute conversation between the two of them over something,,, really stupid truthfully. Suburu also gets some great character development, if you call development the fact that he learned a new pokemon attack like gengar the ghost pokemon when he totally boner punches a purple hand from his chest to a dude with an X on his face and radical past, his name is Tinsel, Garfiel - and he was taken in by these clones, one is named - Shima, Ryuzu - and they're just there to give you past plot advice and garfiel is just there to abuse these clones as a misunderstood orphan child so he can get character development. Why does Garfiel need this development? - I don't know, because it was never used. I guess we're waiting until next season so moving on with this review, like this show moved right on along without doing anything with that. Yeah that purple hand by the way, you know the one right? The witche of ENVY'S purple hand that was tormenting him and feeling him up? Squeezing his heart! And threatening his life! - Yeah! Its on his side now! Along with a slow simmering and new found witch harem on our hands. This plot man, I'm telling you, its gets so deep and revelating, I can't even begin to fathom how much greatness you'll witness! Yeah, so anyways. The evil guy who looks like he's gonna put on a terrible magic show, Romanée-Conti, Petelgeuse - whatever kind of name that is - is evil for most of these episodes and then all of a sudden out of no where is apparently no longer evil at some point - this isn't really a spoiler - because you won't know when he's good, he goes from good to evil about twenty times. I mean if you don't think this guy is bipolar as shit by the end of this season, were you really ever watching it? And anyways, why did he become good? Well, its the same reason why everyone else becomes good this season. Its all because Suburu said some things to him and now he's a brainwashed minion of the main character. - Suburu is like kirito levels of god mode this season without doing anything godmode except giving pet talks and listening to their feelings, because he inspires everyone and turns evil people good and pure evil people are no match for him so they just get defeated when need be. I mean really this is sword art online with extra steps people! Then the rest of the show can basically be summed up Every single character you don't really care about - goes to the temple sanctuary and completes a trial - usually they suffer abuse or have been tricked and they have to learn how to cope with the evil of the world. What is truly amazing is how this is somehow an entire sub plot to the main plot and the writer totally forgets about blue haired rem whose in a comma and almost never seen this entire season, but pink haired ram gets some screen time as a possible, idk, she was either attempting to join in on the fun of Suburus friendly harem of sorts, or trying to be some type of supporting character? Really every one is just support for suburu, good or bad, they are here for suburu to act like a bitch then for themselves to act worse to make an already terrible main character, aka suburu, look better. I feel like I'm trying to write a car add with this guys name - eitherway the story this season gets like a 5 for effort. I don't hate it but I don't love it. Characters get a 2; Because I've grown to hate them, they have this sense of something interesting going on but the biggest issue is that its all padding, all they do is talk about the plot and then never show the plot except for some still frames and a rare fight or two - most of it is just talk talk talk, exposition and all that. - Have you seen the new reincarnated as a slime season? If not I won't spoil it, but it does the same thing, talking but never showing, so does some seasons of attak on titan, - especially season 3 - with a buncha talking, and like 30 seconds of the actual fight showed that they spent the last 15 minutes talking about. This show gives you twenty minute conversations with 4 minutes worth of showing you something they're actually talking about that matters besides the woods or the background of a house where they're at, just so, they can sit there and tell us what's happening, simply tell us, with a rare spice of rarely ever showing it. - Only when we are lucky enough, or they're not lazy enough, do we get to see it in reality. Actually its deeper, the padding is so strong with this one! Its like a force, that you can't even see! - That even when something happens! It just doesn't matter! - Because the story is still on this sanctuary side quest - that has nothing to do with the main storyline. - Amelia and Suburu do go further with their relationship i think is part of the goal of this season, but with them barely talking most episodes, why not skip all the damn filler and just develop it already. - Because half of the conversations feel forced and the ones that don't actually don't really have anything to do with their relationship besides them half assedly complimenting each other or arguing, - I mean that's not development unless we're counting fake development because whoever is too lazy to write something meaningful so lets fill it with slogs worth of padded dialogue that amounts to something that moment but 90%-95% of the time it matters to nothing else ever again. Someone said season 1 was 9 volumes and season 2 is 3 volumes. - And you know, they're right about another thing they said, I actually hate this show... - and i never thought I'd really have to say this either... - I hate it for being a faithful adaption... Its so boring its so slow its so much of all these things happening while nothing is really ever happening that matters - and that's why I hate it! I thought sword art online or fire force was shallow and empty and void of a real meaning or goal, but I'll be damned if this didn't just trump ALLLLLL of those shows at their own game!... How the hell did it comes to this? - I don't know... But another thing I thought I'd never say is that - these 25 episodes could of simply been 12 and it would of been twice as damn good.... OVERALL; 2 Overall that is the entire show, forgive your enemies, make them your friends, bulldoze down plots and previous set story lines with plot armor and story mound bulldozers and you get this. - A perfect main character, who acts like a total bitch, gives a bunch of meaningless pet talks to every other character in the show, even ones he never talks to again - and talks that no one in their right mind would ever truly listen to - and then with their combined friendship they he forces upon them like a needy fish - they move on with the story. What story you wonder? We won't know! Not till season 3! hahahahaha = FULL BLOWN SCARCASM I mean really, I've tried not to hate this show, it once had some thrill, gore, good action and an interesting plot, but as I've watched this entire season twiddle away at everything its done.... Completely turning its entire premise on its head. Which could of been a great plot twist, its just handled so boring and drawl that its not. - That I just have no choice but to hate it at this point And that's all I have to say... I'm left with disappointment.... A very upset God-Of-Wolves is done for the day, because anime this year, has been mostly a let down with every other show... So Sayonara till tomorra Suburu fanboys and girls.! - Or whenever my hope returns.... That small little urn of hope I once had for this show and so many other anime...
RebelPanda
12/22/2022, 07:14 PM
"Re:Zero is boring." Three words you've likely heard before or said yourself. But why? Why do people find Re:Zero boring? If you already love Re:Zero, I hope this review will help you understand the other side of the audience. If you don't love Re:Zero, I hope to provide some clarity as to why. From my observation, most people who dislike Re:Zero are anime-only viewers, whereas the dedicated fans have read the source material: This tells us two things: 1. The story, characters, and themes hook specific viewers to the point of delving into the meaty source material (which includes 11 manga volumes, one video game, four character-focused sidestory light novels, and a total of 26 light novel volumes). 2. The viewers who don't get hooked by the story will lack the background knowledge to make the characters more nuanced. I fall within the latter category. While watching the first season back in 2016, I despised it and rated it 3/10 overall. I made a concerted effort to understand the fanbase's point of view by supplementing missing information with Youtube analyses and Wiki articles; that's why I immensely enjoyed Re:Zero despite the show's flaws. After stewing with my thoughts, I've concluded the show itself overall has a subpar presentation, despite providing intriguing and nuanced characters. First of all, the screenplay is bloated. Most of the characters talk the same. I don't mean they have the same voice, but the same way of speaking, which makes it obvious the same person wrote them. Of course, they were all written by Tappei Nagatsuki. However, it breaks my immersion when every character speaks esoterically with additional words and phrases added on top of what is, at times, a simple script. Characters such as Roswaal and Beatrice demand to speak superfluously because for narrative purposes. Roswaal speaks in riddles because he is manipulative, enigmatic, and a liar. Beatrice hides her anxiety and abandonment issues by not cutting to the chase and saying "I suppose" at the end of every sentence—it's not simply a cute quirk. Some reasons become apparent with time. Side characters such as Regulus Corneas, the eccentric and terrifying archbishop, speaks like a conservative senator attempting to filibuster by spouting rhetoric about "free speech" and his "rights" before mercilessly killing innocents. He does so because his psychopathy and hypocrisy befit the archbishop of greed—the reasons are very clever but entirely missing in the anime. The choice to leave out this and other content threatens to obscure each scene's meaning. To the uninformed viewer, all of these behaviors, meaningful or not, are annoying. It doesn't help that when the more sane characters speak, the dialogue is delivered slowly and with a drab presentation. The production is to blame for this. That brings us to the second issue: animation: There is barely any. When it really counts, such as the combat scenes with Garfiel, Elsa, and memorable moments in Emilia's backstory, it looks good—but for the rest of the time, it's hard to sit through. Frames freeze for minutes on end, with simplified versions of the beautiful character designs. There is motion, but the animators rely heavily on motion tweens, camera pans, jump cuts, and digital zooming. White Fox only drew a few angles of the main casts' face, so whenever the camera is at an angle that deviates from the norm, the characters look messy and off models. Often, fans of the series are frowned upon for criticizing the lackluster animation, but I believe they're 100% valid. If these people complain about the cafe scenes in SAO, yet they ignore similar problems in Re:Zero, they're hypocrites. In this case, they're not at a table, but somewhere: In front of the Sanctuary and the forest. Episodes go by, and people will be in the same place talking. Whether they're telling a story, explaining their secret motivations, or telling a story someone told them. If you've already gotten hooked by the characters, the information you'll learn is fascinating. Thankfully for me, I am invested. My favorite characters, Garfiel and Otto, perhaps got the best side-stories barring Emilia's trials. Garfiel yells to compensate for his short height on the surface. Due to developments, his earlier actions got recontextualized. He has a grudge against his mother, who left him behind. He believes nothing will get better, even if he leaves the Sanctuary. Letting people go would be admitting he can't protect them all. Even though the animation was as bad as usual, it still pulled my heartstrings enough to make me cry. If you told me Re:Zero would make me cry four years ago, I would've laughed in your face—and that's why I think it's worth putting in the effort to understand why people like the characters so much. I acknowledge the characters are motivated by friends and family, and that's not very complex writing. However, it is in keeping with the show's themes. It tackles the cycle of abuse, trauma, grief throughout multiple character arcs. If Re:Zero did not have this thematic throughline, I would've been more critical of its simplistic aspects. Another gripe I have with the director is the use of comedy; I like the occasional quips and humor, but sometimes it falls flat. When Subaru interrupts dialogue to yell or one of the girls squeals like a VTuber, I can't help but roll my eyes. This kind of humor may be suitable for most people, but for me, it only detracted from the show. Intillialy, I despised Subaru for how he betrayed Emilia's trust in episode 13 of season 1; nevertheless, he has indeed grown. Nearly every one of my wishes for his character, and everyone else's, came true. Emilia claimed the center stage and had her own agency, for once, and Subaru provided emotional support rather than overshadowing her accomplishments. I will always decry his objectifying of her, especially when attempting to get taken seriously, but I believe the author will remedy this issue in the future. This was my favorite season of Re:Zero. On a surface level analysis, I could point to the happy ending; it scrapped the Return By Death plot mechanic, Emilia had a heartfelt backstory, and how they saved violence and gore for critical scenes. Ultimately, what really made this season was the leaps and strides in character development. Even for the passive viewers, you will likely find the ending of Re:Zero Part 2 worth sticking around for. I'm in a difficult predicament—where I both love the characters, but multiple aspects hinder my enjoyment of the show overall. The truth is, it is more enjoyable for me to talk about Re:Zero, and analyze its complex characters than it is to watch it. For that reason, it failed to meet my expectations.
sliceofpi
06/30/2022, 10:23 PM
Season 2 Part 2 is just not redeeming at all. There were so many things that went wrong. (spoilers) Story - 2 I have so many problems with the story, in fact I started keeping a list while I was watching because I just couldn’t believe how many bad things about this show were piling up. But the biggest problem, and maybe root problem, is again, how slow this season was. This entire arc could have easily been cut in half and it would have been much more enjoyable. Now, let me get to some of those problems. Some of these may have been things thatoccurred in part 1, but were left unresolved in part 2, hence why they are an issue. - There is a small plot point that is introduced and then completely ignored. At one point in season 2, Ram tells Subaru that if he tells Beatrice that “Roswaal asked the question” when he asks her a question, Beatrice will always answer. This scene is a little dramatic, showing some foreshadowing. But then Subaru goes to see Beatrice and... doesn’t use this phrase. Okay. Fine. It will be used later, and was just introduced early. Or maybe forgotten about. Well, then later on in season 2, Roswaal himself tells Subaru the exact same thing, that if he asks Beatrice a question, he can say that Roswaal asked the question and Beatrice will answer him. Again, this has some emphasis put on it. So Subaru goes to see Beatrice, and again... doesn’t use this. And it’s just never talked about again. Like why will Beatrice 100% answer a question if she is told the exact words “Master Roswaal asked the question”? And why is this even brought up if Subaru doesn’t use this? There wasn’t even a scene of Subaru realizing he forgot to say the phrase, or thinking of saying it but deciding not to for some reason. Nope. It’s just brought up TWICE but has no actual significance. This disappointed me because I was really trying to follow along this slow, boring story, and when I do, I see that plot points just disappear. - Why did Puck have to leave Emilia for a while? This didn’t seem to be explained and it was so abrupt, and then Puck just shows up again later and it’s not explained where they even were. - What the heck happened to the royal selection? Please, why would you introduce a part of a plot that included some nice side characters and was involved in the world building, and then just completely wipe it from existence in season 2? - Ram loves Roswaal?? Gosh this is HILARIOUS because when Ram is talking about her love for him, they show some flashback-esque scenes but there are barely any so it’s super short and some of them are repeated... why? Because there was nothing to show! This show has never hinted or shown any type of chemistry between Roswaal and Ram! - Can’t bring myself to care about the Ryuzu plot line no matter how hard I try. All it is is dialogues. And I don’t care. - Satella is the witch that brought Subaru into this whole return by death mess. But she just doesn’t matter. We see her like three times through the whole season and she’s just covered with black clouds and sounds like Emilia. Um, okay? Why can’t we have some dialogue between Subaru and Satella, instead of it always being with Echidna? I’d actually like to learn why Satella likes Subaru and made all of this stuff happen, but I guess she just serves to be spooky. - There is SO much dialogue during literal battles. I’m sitting there watching and it’s like, um, why hasn’t their opponent just killed them yet? Like they are standing their talking to each other while their opponent just... watches? - Emilia’s third trial is that she has to see the bad possibilities of the future. While the other trials took literal episodes, this is don’t in a couple minutes and is so much less dramatic than it could have been. It’s just random voices with tension in them. Oh my gosh, can Emilia fathom that there might not just be happiness in the future?? - By the way, why did Emilia take FOREVER to get through the first two trials?? Like I’m sorry but have you ever dreamed before?? I have dreams about my last and what could have been my present all the time. It is not that difficult to get through, especially since Emilia KNOWS she is in the trials so she knows what’s happening isn’t happening in real time. Emilia loves to talk about how she hates being helpless and wants to be the one to do the saving, but she can’t look at her past. Gosh. - WEREN’T WE GOING TO SAVE REM??? The whole sanctuary arc should have been a side quest, 12 episode max. Why would you open the anime with having Rem be forgotten and Subaru wanting to save her, and then literally never talk about it again for the rest of the season? I understand that maybe this stuff happens later in the manga which hasn’t been animated yet, but then why start off the season as if saving Rem is going to be the main goal? It’s just so disorganized. Also, I should not have to read all the light novels and the next arcs in order to enjoy the anime. Art - 8 I like the art style, it’s as good as usual to me. Sound - 5 I didn’t care for the opening or ending, the soundtrack in general is okay. A bit less repetitive than season 2 part 1 which I like. Characters - 4 Ryuzu is not likeable, neither is Garfield. However, I do like Otto and Petelgeuse. I actually love them. Their stories are so nice and they are just great characters. Then we have bland old Emilia. You know it’s bad when you show the backstory of a character, and it only makes me care/love the characters that I just met within her backstory - aka Fortuna and Petelgeuse. WHERE IS FELT??? A character I liked! And it seemed like she wasn’t just going to be a part of arc 1, because she showed up in the royal selection. I really wish she had at least some part in this season. I have no idea how someone could have made the decision to take out the character that viewers love the most, when a HUGE complaint about the anime itself is about how bland/bad the other characters are. Of course, I am talking about Rem here. If Rem had been in this season, it would have been so much better. But no, she had to be taken out because the writer accidentally made Rem a better match for Subaru than Emilia. Enjoyment - 5 While the story has a boatload of problems, the mansion scenes are kind of fun to watch. I liked the flashbacks for Emilia that involved Fortuna and Petelgeuse. I liked when Petra awkwardly asked her friend, now enemy, to please let her go, and later stuck her tongue out at her when she got away. That was actually one of the best moments of the show, and that says a lot. Overall - 4 While Re:zero season 2 part 2 was entertaining in some parts, the story is just so slow and terrible and many of the characters are still bad, mostly the MAIN characters which is a big problem. This was a mess.
K-Lye
04/22/2022, 01:03 PM
TLDR: Don't bother unless you've read the source material first. It doesn't take much for me to like anime. I'm not one of those pretentious individuals who demands top-tier animation or prize-winning stories to leave a decent review. I've enjoyed everything from Monogatari to DxD to NGE to 'In Another World with My Smartphone'! So it came as a bit of a shock that something as well received as Re:Zero would be so disappointingly unfulfilling. To be fair, S1 started out reasonably well with a decent experience across all the factors that make an anime good.. animation, art, sound, directing, music, pace & plot. You we're leftat the end of S1 with the distinct impression there was so much more to the story to look forward to in S2. So what went wrong? Well to put it simply, S2 is written, produced and directed for the hardcore fanbase. It relies heavily on viewers to have an established understanding of things that can only be known from reading the source material. Scenes are confusing in their presentation and frequent hopping back and forth between events make it extremely hard to follow. References are frequently made to events or individuals that are never covered or further digressed upon. Motivations and decisions are confusing in their presentation carrying unseen and unexplained significance. Comedic interjections are poorly placed and very out of place. The constant shouting (by Subaru) used to emphasize emotion is frankly just lazy and really starts to grate. Above all however, the excessive laboured expositions and lengthy diatribes on important matters, whilst work well in written format just don't play out as well in the anime. The choice to include so many for so long plays squarely to the fans who've read the material and are hungry for certain scenes. However for anime-only viewers, the frequency gets so tiresome you find yourself no longer emotionally invested or at worst outright bored. At the end of all this having lost a large chunk of interest, you're left with a large expanded story and many more plot threads that leave you feeling confused, dissatisfied and with many questions. With nothing but derision awaiting for being ‘oblivious’ should you venture into the fanbase forums, the best advice I can give in hindsight is to read the source material first. This anime is by the fans, for the fans, and as the more positive reviews demonstrate a much richer experience awaits if you go into it well armed with a decent understanding beforehand.
Kongregate
04/24/2021, 08:24 PM
This season is such a bore. I had high hopes for this. This season was just so boring , characters were just bland/hard to form a connection/bond with. I did not care what happened to them. For myself, characters play the most important role for me in enjoying/remembering an anime. The characters were just so generic and / or annoying with how they acted. Subaru being cringy/just yelling non stop. Emilia over-rated , so over-rated. Then you got a bunch of characters that are so dull like the yellow spiky hair furry , his sister is also a furry. You got a loli girl , a guywho I do not even remember green hat. Music/story is not even worth watching. This anime was so dry that I fast forwarded and watched in 2x speed (something I Do often) on anime that is not worth spending my time on. Then on top of that I could not even focus on the story, it was just a bunch of nonsensical jumping around, yelling , and filler. How is this anime rated so high I do not understand , but I do not blame it... a lot of the times an anime gets worse and worse as the series progresses such as Shokugeki no Souma , Psycho Pass, Tokyo Ghoul ,etc.
birps
04/16/2021, 02:31 PM
This shit garbage no cap, even fairy tail is better than it. Bitch, moan, cry, talk, talk, talk, bitch, moan, cry, more empty dialogue and speech whilst crying - rinse, repeat. The only people who like this have to be 12 years old. SAD! I had a better time watching 10 hours of lectures on environmental policy than I did watching this abysmal show that has a completely terrible story. Painful. noga furereru, my boy betelguese was right... this show will make your brain melt. Back to fairy tail for me, I'm sorry I ever doubted you Natsu. Pain. Give me a panadol, vaccinate me with autism because Iwould rather live with that than knowing that I watched this show. 0/1000. I am having trouble breathing after watching it. I have now been diagnosed with clinical depression and asthma. ETERNAL SUFFERING.
Mar_ri
03/27/2021, 05:20 AM
The animation was ok? I guess? Honestly there were so many things that were constantly irritating me, that I couldn't really focus on the animation, let alone the music. Especially after the halfway point, I was permanently annoyed. I will go into detail about some of these points, trying not to spoil anything. The first point involves the overuse of extreme close-ups. At some point I was rolling my eyes every time there was a close-up on the mouth or the eyes of one of the female characters. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is supposed to put emphasis on the emotions a characteris feeling in that moment. But if every third shot in the very long dialogues (or should I say monologues) Subaru has with several characters throughout the season, then the impact of that shot is lost. Needless to say that it also gets extremely repetitive, predictable and therefore boring. My next point is about the already mentioned female characters. Why is it that the women in this show are written as if they are unable to get anything done unless Subaru gives them a motivational speech beforehand? At least the ones that are supposed to join his fanclub are all portrayed as emotionally wounded by their past, carrying a heavy burden that only Subaru can lift by delivering some drawn-out monologue about being strong for him or whatever. Aside from the fact that it is (again) very repetitive it also implies that the female characters are unable to achieve anything unless they have a male character to help them do it. The third point is closely related to the second point I just made. Which is the character Subaru himself. Apart from the fact that the story is written in a way that he achieves anything, especially making women (that are way too good for him) fall in love with him, he is also just a very unlikable character. It is one thing to encourage people to leave their comfort zone and believe in themselves, but a totally different thing to talk (scream) at them until they do what he wants them to do. And even though characters clearly tell him that they don't want something, he keeps on pushing until he gets what he wants. He is self-centred and therefore disregards other peoples feelings. I strongly believe that the reason he is so obsessed (yes, I just said obsessed) with Emilia, is because he believes that she is the reason why he came to that world. That it is his mission to help her in whatever way. He was looking for a purpose for his suffering and found it in Emilia. This has nothing to do with love. And it annoys me how the show tries to force me to believe, that Subaru loves Emilia. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind an unlikable protagonist who undergoes a transformation and becomes a better person. Or an unlikable character that the viewer is obviously not supposed to like. But neither is the case with Subaru. If anything he has become more unlikable this second part of the season while still being presented as someone the viewer should root for. I do have some other points that I disliked but those would go too far into spoiler territory which is why I will stop here. I also feel like this is more of a rant than an actual review, so I am sorry for that. And please excuse my grammar and spelling errors, English is not my native language.
frieddumpling
03/26/2021, 08:16 PM
Re:Zero always comes off as an anime someone either really loves or hates. Whether it's that Subaru is a trash protagonist or the pacing is too slow, Re:Zero will always receive hate. However, when I picked up this anime way back in 2016-2017, I would've never expected it to evolve into the masterpiece I consider it to be to this day. I think that a significant aspect that is often ignored when discussing Re:Zero is the masterful character development of our main character, Subaru Natsuki. At first glance, Subaru Natsuki comes off as a stereotypical protagonist just realizing he's finally out of his boring world. Hegets "Isekai'd" into a brand new world, filled with magic and fantasy at every corner. That being said, as the viewer, you believe this character is going to be like any ordinary, mainstream protagonist. However, this isn't the case. This isn't some Shonen or typical isekai MC who has a preset personality and always manages to succeed in the end. Subaru is a character plagued by his past, and time and time again, we witness him being constantly met with failure. Due to his power of return by death, he experiences unimaginable pain and suffering, and as a viewer, all you can do is feel bad for the guy. As the story starts to develop in season 2, you begin to understand, and you begin to emphasize, and most importantly, relate to Subaru. In S2, they show what Subaru's life was like before being isekai'd. At a young age, Subaru had a natural ability and prospered at sports and curriculum. Always being compared to his father, he felt like he couldn't be his own person, and as natural ability and talent began to decline for Subaru, he began to decline as a human being as well. Subaru deteriorated into a person who believes they lack value due to the immense amount of expectations placed on him and the inability to fulfill them. That because he can't live up to anyone's expectations, he should just be forgotten about and left to rot. Having a lack of friends and never leaving his home, it becomes clear to the viewer that he's given up on life. So once he gets transported into a new world, Subaru sees this as an opportunity to "start over." Subaru felt free of the expectations placed on him in his old world and wanted to become the ideal person. He wanted to become the "protagonist," the center of attention, and the main focus, just like in popular anime and video games. However, this wouldn't pan out as in season 1, and you start to see his ideal protagonist facade eventually begin to fade away, as he believes everyone around him is useless and that he and his powers alone are paramount. Furthermore, this power he possesses (return by death) is unknown to all, and because of this, he's never able to express his pain and suffering or reveal his ability for fear he'll die. As a result, these beliefs, mixed with the ignorance of how anyone around him feels, leave him all alone. Realizing that he's useless and the "lowest of the low," he proceeds to self-destruct and destroy himself. However, as Subaru describes the way he thinks about himself, Rem describes the things about Subaru that she loves. The things that led to Subaru becoming Rem's hero. This ultimately gave Subaru the light to see the end of the dark tunnel, and at the end of season 1, he was able to beat the death loop and save everyone he held dear. At least he thought he did. Content that he saved the day, confessed, and smiled with Emilia, Subaru was horrified to find out that no one knew who Rem was. Now in a coma, Rem was effectively wiped out of everyone's mind except Subaru's. This led Subaru reluctant to ask/receive help from anyone. In season 2, new issues and problems seem to arise at each glance, and Subaru returning by death also seems second nature now. Although he escaped his self-loathing stage in season 1, he begins to rely on his return by death ability as he believes without it, he'd be utterly useless. By solely relying on his ability to return by death, he believed he would eventually pave the way for an outcome where he saves everyone, where no one but he should suffer. Repeat after repeat, you start to see Subaru break down, experiencing unmeasurable amounts of pain and suffering alone. The fruits of Subaru's labor being broken down and thrown in the trash after yet another brick wall is thrust in his way. Subaru believes only he should die for the people he cares about; however, he doesn't see this going both ways. People care about his well-being as well, such as Emilia, Otto, and Petra. That being said, as the first trial Subaru completed tackled his past self, the second trial tackled his present self and the current mindset he had. In this trial, Subaru experiences the events that occur after his deaths in certain timelines and witnesses people grieve and experience tremendous pain due to him dying. He realizes that although he saved them from death at his own expense, they still suffer tremendously emotionally due to his demise. Quite literally "back to zero," Subaru is at a loss for what to do and almost takes up Echidna's (the witch of greed) offer out of the fear he's run out of options. At first glance, Echidna's offer seems great. She gives you her insight and wisdom to find the path most desirable, and in return, Echidna wants to experience what Subaru experiences. She wants to explore the hidden future and the possibilities. However, it's much more complicated than that; actually, it's much more messed up and sinister. Echidna would help Subaru achieve his ideal future; However, Echidna wants to satisfy her curiosity. Going into specifics, Echidna would let Subaru die countless times, millions upon millions of times, to satiate her hunger for knowledge. Subaru would eventually reach his ideal future; however, at what cost? Taking up this offer would be tying a direct parallel to Subaru's past where he was trying to live his life according to others' expectations. Rather than living for himself, he'd revert back to the thing that nearly led him astray. Realizing that Echidna is void of any human emotion, Subaru turns down her offer, knowing he would eventually become emotionless like her if he took up her offer. Upon rejecting her offer, Subaru realizes something important. He has not once relied on others for help nor asked throughout his endeavors in the sanctuary arc. Through Otto's actions and words and many others, Subaru finally realized he's not alone. He has people that care about his well-being and people who want to help him. "We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others."- Dalai Lama XIV. I think this quote summarizes perfectly the battle Subaru was having internally. Previously covered in a shroud of loneliness, Subaru hated himself and believed all of his worth, and his value was tied to his witch authority. That if you take away his unique ability and the fact that he solves everyone's problems miraculously, he'd be left all alone. However, people loved Subaru because of his character, his being, rather than his ability. As a human, you need to rely on others. Although the people around you may not have the answers to help you with your problems, you can relish the fact that you can confide in them and bear the weight of the burden together. At first glance, depending on the help of others to solve your problems may seem like a weakness; however, it's the opposite. By asking the people closest to you for help or advice, you become stronger, knowing not every problem can't be solved solely on your own. Although I would love to say Re:Zero is fantastic for its plot, it just isn't. Many viewers at the end of S1 were left wondering and pondering what the plot indeed was. And even though we are given a better idea of the plot in S2, Re:Zero chooses not to emphasize the story and focuses on its amazing character development. The hints are all there; we follow Subaru, an MC who quite literally starts at "Zero," and aside from the cheesy reference to the anime's title, we watch Subaru and his journey. We watch him begin as someone who failed to live up to anyone's expectations and initially gave up on life. Through hard-learned lessons and experiences, you watch him turn into someone who finally understands that life is not fair, nor that there's a straight path that solves all problems. You're bound to encounter splinters and bumps along the way; you're going to feel depressed and alone at times too, but rather than take it head-on by yourself, or wallow in self-hate, rely on others, and bear the burden with others. As Subaru echoes wisdom from his mother, "What matters isn't how you start or what happens in the middle, it's how it ends." At first, Subaru misinterpreted the quote's meaning. However, by season 2's end, we meet a Subaru who's a complete contrast to the Subaru at the beginning of the series. Subaru has now realized his self-worth and value, and because of this, he can walk on equal footing with everyone else and laugh and smile with them. Subaru understands that he can't change his past nor the mistakes he's made; however, never lose yourself, keep moving forward with the assurance that you can still carry on with a smile on your face no matter what stands in your way. With that in mind, keep moving onward along with everyone who cares for you and loves you. That way, not even starting from zero would seem that bad.
tal_carmi
03/24/2021, 01:59 PM
Re:Zero's second season's worst aspect is revealed through each episode's runtime. A little under 30 minutes and most episodes do not include an OP or ED. At first glance you might think this means every episode is packed, but in reality every episode is not packed but rather bloated. Bloated with what? Information, lore, backstories, exposition. The story doesn't move until the last couple of episodes of the second part of the second season. The lore itself isn't bad, at times it can actually be quite intriguing, but it's just one mystery after another. I don't mean mystery as if you as the viewer are givenhints and you can hypothesize on what's going to happen or take a shot at guessing missing information. The mysteries you're given are impossible to interact with, they're just there to make you question why what's happening is happening, but there's nothing to help you make sense of it all, it's all just one big confusing mess. *SPOILERS* Take Emilia's trial for example (also the trials are a lazy story telling tool for revealing information), we're introduced to the Witch of Vanity, who is she? No idea. Petelguse an ally of Emilia's family, why? Why does he care about them? What is he doing in the witch cult? No idea. Everyone's worried about 'The Seal', what's 'The Seal'? no idea. Emilia's the only one with access to the key for 'The Seal', why? no idea. Now don't get me wrong, I don't expect the show to spoon feed me answers and reveal everything without keeping a sense of wonder. The problem is that this type of story telling is constant across almost the entire season. You are constantly bombarded with scenes such that you simply have no idea what to make of them. At a certain point it just gets overwhelming and I simply didn't care to know what anything means anymore. Re:Zero's lore is reach and grand, but the way it's revealed is lazy, inorganic (Characters will just constantly spill out information for no reason that makes sense) and it's just too much lore and not enough actual story. A good mystery keeps you in the dark while keeping you intrigued and following a certain kind of logic, Re:Zero keeps you in the dark and you're just forced to wait until it decides to let me some light in. One big reason for why it's so hard to understand the lore is because it's given through a huge cluster of eccentric dialogue that sounds really deep but is really just too complicated for it's own good. For some reason every character speaks in the exact same way, it causes the dialogue to unnecessarily drag on for too long, hence the long runtimes of each episode. Beneath all of this horrible story telling though, lies a beautiful world and epic fantasy. Hopefully next season's plot will be tighter.
PapaJoan
03/24/2021, 10:34 AM
Re:Zero is a masterpiece of storytelling that is about nuanced characters. Despite many clever ways to grow the characters always suffered from Return by Death's erasure of narrative. The story is done masterfully. The new details create parallels to the past, making you rethink everything about Re:Zero. The liberation of Sanctuary is the center of the story, its execution is delightful. Constant threats are always held, making the escape of Sanctuary feel exhilarating. I loved emilias backstory, garfiels backstory, and ottos backstory. The whole cour is amazing. Seeing Subaru's actions fall into place is unforgettable. Overall I would give this season a 10/10.
0451
03/24/2021, 09:30 AM
I already made a review on Part 1 of Season 2. Most of the things I said in it not only still hold true for Part 2, I think it even surpasses them. There might be some spoilers from Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 but I'll try to keep Part 2 spoilers as vague as possible. After a 3 month-long break White Fox returns with their Re:ZERO adaptation. The cliffhanger of the last Part was a bit odd and you could kinda tell that Part 1 & 2 were supposed to air back to back. I would've preferred to review both Parts together asa complete season as they complement each other and I also didn't want to repeat myself on some things. But obviously, it couldn't be helped considering the state of the world. I guess now it doesn't matter since Part 2 is here anyway and has finished airing. Now the actual review. The first thing I want to get out of the way was the lackluster animation of the previous Part. Since animation switched from studio to home after Episode 5 of Part 1 the quality noticeably took a dip. After the 3 month break, the animation actually improved. Honestly, I'm even more shocked that White Fox was capable of delivering 29:30 minutes long episode for weeks on end. Apparently, Kadokawa paid off ads so that Re:ZERO could fill up the entire time slot for the TV channels it was airing on Japan. I haven't been watching anime for too long but something like this is basically unheard of to me. So I thought this deserves some praise. There are still some weird frames here and there but their numbers are low compared to the last part. Those awkward frames don't take away from the enjoyment too much as the quality holds up in places where it matters the most. Episode 23 "Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts" and Episode 24 "Choose Me" are by far the highlights of Season 2. And this wouldn't be possible if not for outsourcing partners such as A-1 or ufotable studios. Once again, the OP and ED have only been played twice each. So when I said 29:30 minute episodes it means that most of them were actually pure content. White Fox easily could've sacrificed pacing and shove OP and ED in every episode but they didn't. Anyone who watched this season would tell you that their passion for this show is genuine, and I can get behind that. The ED visuals were fantastic, OP visuals were a bit lackluster according to many but I'm shocked that we got an OP at all, to be honest. Since I was talking about OPs and EDs I might as well start talking about the OST. As I said before, music has always been good in Re:ZERO. Do I really gotta say any more? Well, like it or not, I'm gonna. Even though there was a lack of OP/ED visuals in most episodes we still got to hear some of them in the background. And the most notable instances for them were definitely during the Emilia episodes and "Choose Me". I can't talk about OST without mentioning 'Door' by Rie Takahashi and 'What You Don't Know' by Rie Murakawa. Both of them delivered fantastic performances for their insert songs <3 If you haven't watched Part 2 yet and don't know who the latter is, you're in for a surprise. The last bits of "Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts" parallels Episode 18 of Season 1 "From Zero" in many different ways. I just wish Arai Satomi got an insert song too :( The overall OSTs were also phenomenal. You're doing yourself a disservice if you watch the episodes without a nice pair of headphones! But something that was even more amazing was the cast's portrayal of their characters. Once again Yusuke Kobayashi knocks it out of the park with his performance. But his and Maaya Sakamoto's highlights were mostly in Part 1. In this part, we got an amazing portrayal from Rie Takahashi and her voicing various transformations of Emilia which I'm trying hard to not spoil! Other notable performances include Arai Satomi as Beatrice and Takehito Koyasu as Dio- I mean Roswaal. Let's talk about the characters. I strongly believe that Re:ZERO isn't a plot-driven but a character-driven show. The plot revolves around the characters and the characters revolve around the plot. If you can't really see their relation then you might not be able to appreciate the true genius of Re:ZERO. Re:ZERO puts its characters first above all else and that's where the heart of this series lied since Day 1. The character development of Emilia is undoubtedly the highlight of the Season. She went from a mostly off-screen "main" character from Season 1 to a useless pathetic crybaby in Part 1 of Season 2 to one of the most beloved and memorable characters in a short time with organic development. She has definitely cemented herself as one of the two leading characters of Re:ZERO (finally)... but whether or not she's "THE best girl" is still up for debate, according to some folk anyway. Subaru went from a useless pathetic crybaby (like Emilia) to one of the chaddest of chads in no time as well. Anyone who unironically used to call him a "self-insert main character", "weak mc" or a "simp" (despite Re:ZERO predating the term ironically) is literally proven wrong by the 2nd episode and again in the last two episodes. Even I used to think Subaru was somewhat of a self-insert main character while watching Season 1. But he has successfully established himself to be his own character which is something very rare to see in modern isekai shows. If your definition of "strength" exclusively relies upon physical strength then I can see why you'd still say those things and completely miss the point of the characters. Again, Re:ZERO isn't a typical shonen d@#k measurement contest about which characters can bust the largest nut like let's say in Dragonballz. It's not an action, power fantasy isekai harem show either. (sorry for the random rant) That being said there was a surprising bit of action in the last few episodes which were well-animated. Other highlighted characters of the season include Otto (BEST BOI), Garfiel (dammit, both Otto and Garfiel best boi), Roswaal, Ram (best girl?), Beatrice (also best girl) and many other characters whom I might not mention because of spoilers. Re:ZERO isn't about its waifus, nor is it about torture porn for sadists. It's about the characters. Even if you can't fully invest in all of the characters, you should still be able to acknowledge their growth at the very least. If Part 1 was about the buildup, then Part 2 is about the delivery, and boy does it deliver. The tension is at an all-time high but not in the same way as Part 1. After the first episode, and ESPECIALLY after the 2nd episode, you get the gist of what's to come and you can't help but smile and still be surprised as things play out. Re:ZERO Season 1, and by extension Part 1 of Season 2 covered the worst qualities of the protagonist Subaru. Not many shows have the balls to address the weaker aspects of their main character, at least not in the way Re:ZERO does. Part 1 also dealt with Emilia, but if Part 1 was Subaru's part then Part 2 is Emilia's. She's the second main character of Re:ZERO. It was unfortunate that Season 1 didn't focus more on her, leaving Rem to take up all the spotlight after the first half of Season 1. But now Rem being in the state she is in not only leaves the door open for Subaru's growth but also Emilia's. To some people that might've been a terrible sacrifice but to me who never really watched the first season solely for Rem it's actually worth it. I don't think I made it clear in my last review cause of spoilers so I think I should now, Rem's exclusion from the main plot of Season 2 isn't a weakness. Too many people before Season 2 used to say, "Subaru's RBD is too OP", "it's not an interesting power", "it's a plot device which ruins the story and makes it boring" etc. Rem's comatose state and Subaru's inability to save her right away expose the fundamental flaws of his RBD, something that can be called a curse. It's not his own power and he certainly can't control it, he never could. By repeating loops we can see sides of characters that are impossible to see in a normal linear anime or shows. Tappei Nagatsuki takes full advantage of this time looping technique in his story. This was true for Season 1 as well. But Season 2 takes it to a different level. Time to address the most common criticisms of Season 2. I've heard from many people that it has "too many flashbacks" or it's "too boring". I can't comment too much about how boring it may be to other people as different people watch different anime for different reasons. If you already watched previous seasons then you probably have a rough idea of what's to come, but even then this Part will subvert your expectations in a positive way. If you think this season is boring cause of "flashbacks" then let me correct you, without spoiling too much. There were only 2 or 3 real flashback scenes in the whole season. "But wait! That doesn't add up!" you might think. I'm assuming you already watched Part 1 but let me just give you a refresher, the Sanctuary Witch Trials are NOT flashbacks. They're extremely integral to the characters, and by being integral to the characters, they're also integral to the overall narrative. I'd say even the "real" flashbacks are extremely important in giving context about the other characters. These aren't your average cliché flashbacks that take place right before a fight scene and only screw up the pacing. There's a bunch of them in this Part, I agree, but not one of them wasn't well done or felt unimportant. All of them served a purpose. Another common complaint is that this arc is "too long" or "it stays at the same place". This is objectively true. The first season of the anime covers the first 3 Arcs from the novel. Season 2 only covers Arc 4 from Episode 2 and spans the entire season. But I don't believe this to be a weakness. It's true that Season 1 spends way much time exploring different locations and characters, but the actual world-building in Season 2 surpasses Season 1 by a long shot. It's also true that Season 2 doesn't have a lot of returning characters from Season 1, at least not for long, which may be disappointing to people who are fans of the missing characters. But what it lacks in quantity it makes up for it with quality. The returning characters from Season 1 who stick around get amazing characterization and the brand new characters are just as interesting as characters from Season 1, if not more. Heck, I'd argue the latter is more true. Not a single moment in Part 2 is wasted or feels like filler. If anything, White Fox delivered more than what any of us expected which makes this more than any 'average' Light Novel adaptation. There were some cut content unfortunately like any other LN adaptation. Even some important moments cut from the LN are still present in the freaking manga adaptation of the same story. Despite this, in my opinion, there was no dull moment in this season except for maybe a few small instances. I'm just hoping that the cut scenes will get readded in the next Season/Arc of Re:ZERO anime. Re:ZERO might've just become one of my favorite anime of all time which I can't really say about a lot of the recently released anime. Season 2 feels like a dream even after the unexpected success of Season 1 and many years of silence. I'm just worried about a sequel. Re:ZERO episodes every week pulls some great cliffhangers so I'm used to them but what I don't understand is why White Fox doesn't do the same thing with the season finale. Basically a repetition of the original cut of the Season 1 finale. Still I'm hopeful for a potential Season 3. 10/10. No, BS.
Shingster
03/24/2021, 08:23 AM
Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Re Zero’s second season entirely and while care has been taken to minimize story-related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. This review has slight spoilers regarding the movie Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World – The Frozen Bond. Based on a popular light novel of the same name Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd season is the second season of the critically acclaimed first season of the series that premiered in the spring of 2016 and allows us the excellent opportunityto once again follow the lives of our heroine the beautiful but stubborn half-elf Emilia and Subaru Natsuki her saviour/would-be knight in shining armour as they upon their return to their home after surviving a deadly attack by the dreaded witch-cult are forced once more to retreat in the face of sudden powerful assaults and forced to seek refuge within the realm known simply as Sanctuary. Though the realm true to its name is one that is a place of refuge for its many inhabitants the realm unknown to them both is also one that holds not just many mysteries regarding the world as Subaru and Emilia see it but also ones that pertain to trials that are linked to the mental struggles that both struggle with deep inside their hearts trials that both must be able to face down and overcome if they wish to triumph over not only the machinations of the witch-cult but also save some of their dearest of friends and allies from the delusions that chain them to the past. Only then will they be able to face down the true challenge of facing down the enmity of the people of a kingdom and try and change their views by the virtue of their deeds. Back in the spring of 2016, the prequel of this season was broadcasted and while the series started off relatively slow gradually got increasingly interesting and tense as the story expanded and more and more characters were introduced that served to create many new fans among its viewers including myself. While on the surface the premise for Re Zero can be said to be a typical Isekai albeit one that features a grand fantasy setting and an extensive array of characters what served to draw my interest to it and ensure that I will be a fan of the series for many years to come is Subaru and Emilia’s shared sense of determination to not only face down the many challenges that bar their way but also learn to master not only the many unique powers and abilities that they wield but also learn to snuff their sense of pride and learn to work effectively with their allies, friends and rivals and face down the bigger picture. This potent combination when used in combination with Emilia and Subaru’s own personal struggles as they sought to find the courage to face down the innermost fears that they hid in their hearts I felt really made that first season unique and helped set the stage for the premiere of the long-awaited second season which not only expanded greatly on the lore of the world but also reveal to us the truth about Subaru’s powers and the truth about the nature of Emilia’s painful past as well. The first episode of the second season I felt was an excellent one that while doing well to welcome us back to the world of Re Zero by reintroducing us to the main cast also served in true Re Zero fashion to create an episode that was easily able to enthrall its fans once more via its skilful usage of the potent combination of sudden attacks by powerful new enemies, overwhelming sense of loss and a sense of overwhelming despair that threatens to once more overcome them a fact that I felt it succeeded easily and ensure that this is a series that I will watch till the very end. Subaru Natsuki Subaru Natsuki portrayed by veteran voice actor Yuusuke Kobayashi of Darwin’s Game and Fuuka fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the primary protagonist of the series. A human being from his earth who after purchasing daily consumables from the local konbini and embarking on his journey home was rather than reaching home safely to continue his life of being a shut-in was instead reincarnated in a brand-new world with a most peculiar ability. In his initial appearances, Subaru was shown to be a kind-hearted, considerate and intelligent person by nature who while preferring to sidestep troublesome problems when encountering them was shown to have an interesting knack for solving them in unexpected ways that will serve to allow the best outcome possible for him and his allies which is perhaps best shown in the alliance that he managed to forge between the Emilia, Crusch and Anastasia camps during the hunt for the white whale and his attempt to break through the long closed-off heart of Garfiel that had been borne out of the mistrust that he had of the outside world that he viewed as being responsible for stealing everything that was dear to him. While these accomplishments showed well his quick thinking nature, determination, and stubbornness to never accept defeat unless all avenues of approach had been attempted this ability to forge bonds and negotiate with others on an innate level also showed well both his bravery at interacting with dangerous characters and situations as well as the loyalty and care that his displays towards his friend's people that he despite wanting nothing more than to live a carefree life with the girl that he loves will ensure that he will do his utmost to help no matter what. As a result of the many trials that Subaru had to face and overcome in the previous season, Subaru was shown to as the series progresses gradually mature both in terms of personality as well as in how he interacts with others. In the beginning of the series Subaru due largely due to the circumstances that surround his arrival in this world was shown to have a degree of selfishness in his actions and indeed was shown to have an innate desire to help others to achieve a sense of self-satisfaction in the progress a fact that served to strain his relationship with Emilia when this becomes apparent. However, as a result of the many struggles that he had managed to overcome over the course of the journey this sense of selfishness was shown to have been largely replaced by a sense of humility and a genuine desire to help those that he sees as genuine friends. At the same time while never completely mastering the sense of fear that comes from facing down both the fearsome foes that bar their path as well as the sense of dread that comes from interacting with the powers that are associated with the feared witches Subaru though still feeling it was shown to be able to control it better and indeed unlike before was shown to be able to not let it dictate his actions and instead be able to bounce back from sudden situations faster and much more effectively than his past selves and in the process be able to provide much more emotional support to his friends and allies when they require it. When used in conjunction with his newly gained traits of humility Subaru as an individual was shown to have become a much more steadfast and reliable person a fact that allows him to easily take centre stage when his allies require his help. However, despite being able to control his fear better Subaru is not immune to the sense of despair that he experiences when facing down terrible enemies and revelations which when used in combination with his reluctance to involve his friends for fear of losing them can have the effect of causing lockup within his psych a fact that is shown well in ep14 within part 2 of the season in which Otto had to remind him sternly what his primary motivation was. Largely as a result of this rather stern lecture from Otto who he initially pegged as a minor supporting character that Subaru was able to realize that in his stubborn desire to protect everyone by himself that he had made the cardinal mistake of not only not respecting their wishes but also not allowing his friends to actively take part in his plans and thus demonstrating that he does not trust them enough with his plans. As a result of this sense of revelation, Subaru was finally able to realize that by trying to do everything by himself he was not only worrying his friends greatly but also not letting them share his burden as well something that I felt was ironic considering the lengths that he was going to achieve that. Though willing to place his trust in his allies and friends with his plans in the aftermath Subaru was shown to maintain a degree of his stubborn nature and prefer to take to the field personally when dealing with the most critical of plans. At the same time, his newfound trust in his friends with his plans also served to awaken within Subaru a desire to be rather direct in his methods of persuasion bordering on disrespect when saving those that he deems necessary for his plans as shown in his saving of Beatrice from a fate that she had long accepted an encounter that showed well not just how far he was willing to go with his words but also how far he will go to drag them back into the reality that is the real world. As a character, I felt that Subaru Natsuki was one that over the course of the season was developed excellently with much of his initial traits that I found to be annoying in the first season be largely replaced by traits that served to remake him into not only a reliable and confident person that while lacking in combat ability was able to make up for it by having excellent intelligence, quick thinking and a knack for forging unexpected alliances thanks to his innate sense of cunning and by doing so reshape the field into one that’s more suited to his skillset being the most notable that within the series was shown well in the many bold and ambitious plans that he had created to help his friends and allies heedless of the risks that he exposes himself too which is shown best in his determined attempt to save Betty from her fate. While Subaru’s famed ability to return by death is one that has served to allow him to create and enact many interesting plans thanks to its unique ability that allowed him many opportunities to gather useful intel it was also one that was seen to place a heavy emotional burden on him due to not only the effects that being killed provides but also of the sense of dread that comes from having a power that was granted to you by one of the famed witches of the land. While an ability that was powerful when used for its intended purpose it nonetheless was one that took an equally heavy toll that one must pay for making use of its power in the form of loss of memory which for Subaru who had since entering this beautiful but equally deadly world has plenty of was still a heavy one to pay. But to both Subaru’s credit and the brief but powerful support he received from the witches Subaru was able to realize that crazy as his powers are that it can also be used to change the fates of his friends and allies if correctly used a revelation that served to make him even more determined to use it as a means to protect the one’s most precious to him even if it costs him his life in the future. Overall, I felt that Yuusuke Kobayashi did an excellent job portraying the character of Subaru Natsuki with his effective displays of the different kinds of emotion that Subaru encounters within the series as a result of the many trials that he faces being especially praiseworthy. Emilia Emilia portrayed by veteran seiyuu singer Rie Takahashi of Comic Girls and School-Live fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main heroine of the series. A half-elf and one of the candidates of the country’s succession race for its new queen Emilia from her initial appearances was shown to be a kind, calm, caring, and determined person by nature that treated everyone around her with respect and humility. Due largely to the rumours that surround the feared witch of Envy Satella and her own uncanny resemblance to her Emilia was exposed to many displays of hatred, fear, and distrust that served to make her life within the kingdom of Lugnica an uncomfortable one. However, despite these displays of hostility towards her Emilia did not deviate from her base nature maintaining her kind and caring nature while being considerate and polite towards all she meets regardless of their social standing within the kingdom showing well not only her honourable nature and the traits that define her foundation as a person but also the views of the world that she hopes to create within the kingdom. As the season progresses however and Emilia not only manages to overcome the trials within the sanctuary but also make peace with the painful past that she had kept bottled up within her heart Emilia’s personality gradually starts to change. In her initial appearances back in the first season Emilia while showing well her base personality traits was shown to only see the succession race as a means to accomplish her wish rather than try and forge that into a life path that she can follow, unlike her rivals. As a result of her earnest desire to save her frozen family, Emilia was forced to largely dismiss the feelings of others and where possible avoid showing her true feelings to others both as a means to protect herself and also protect her position as a candidate for the succession. However, as a result of not only meeting Subaru as well as the people of the nearby village and her fellow rivals within the succession Emilia was gradually able to realize that while closing off her heart and not interacting with others does indeed serve to protect her from harm it did so at the expense of weakening her as she knew not the kind of bonds that can be forged between friends and allies and neither can she rely on the support of those that she grows close to with certainty. As a result of this harsh revelation, Emilia was not only able to realize that by opening her heart to others and actively helping out others in need that she was not only able to understand others better but also for the first time in a long time forge a bond of friendship with people who will support her not for political reasons but rather because they want to support her because they consider her a dear friend. Perhaps more importantly she was finally able to realize the kind of strong bonds that had existed within both her heart and Subaru’s own that she had until now been bottling up within her heart a revelation that served to finally allow her to openly rely upon Subaru not only for his ability to achieve the impossible but also for the sense of emotional support that he brings to her heart a development that served to create a solid foundation from which Emilia can rely upon to grow as a person and use this to confront the many trials that this season throws at her and overcome them together. Overall, in terms of character development, I felt that Emilia as a person was able to not only grow significantly as a result of her revelations in the present day but at the same time also be given much more character and emotional depth as a result of the insight into her painful past that we were afforded to via the trials within sanctuary both elements of which I felt synergized well with each other and allow her to become a much stronger character within the series both physically and mentally. Overall, I felt that Rie Takahashi like her fellow co-star Yuusuke Kobayashi also did an excellent job at portraying the character of Emilia especially in portraying her younger self and in vocalizing the sense of pain, fear, and loss that came from seeing her loved ones be cut down in front of her. AMV In terms of animation while the character designs for the existing main cast of the series remained unchanged I felt that the designs for the many new characters within the season were one’s that were both well designed and developed with the new archbishops of Gluttony, Greed, and Pandora the witch of vainglory and the designs for the various witches being the notable ones. In particular, I felt that the designs for the witches of sloth and lust while certainly impressive had a degree of an oddity in their design as I felt that the design for the witch of sloth Sekhmet was far more suited to Camilla the witch of lust that Carmilla’s current body. In terms of location while the season only featured a handful of locations these I felt were both well designed and animated with the sanctuary, the witch’s tea party as well as the past version of the forest where Emilia and Mother Fortuna lived being especially noteworthy with both being well animated and really beautiful as well. One location that I felt deserves special mention was the replica of the real world that Subaru visited as part of his first trial. While the location itself was not one that was not as breathtakingly beautiful as the others were what made this setting so special was because this space allowed us a rare opportunity to meet Subaru’s parents Kenichi and Naoko and see the kind of relationships that existed between them and Subaru as well as the amends that Subaru made to them as a result of the life lessons that he had learned as a result of overcoming the many trials that barred his path. When used in combination with the mental image of Subaru’s lament at never being able to see them again in the flesh and their perceived grief at not being able to find one trace of their missing son in the real world this setting served to create quite the emotional effect within me that made this scene truly stand out. In terms of combat animations, I felt that this season featured a fair number of battles between the main cast and the various antagonists of the series that served to showcase not only the stakes that came about from encountering and overcoming the trials but also of the increasing attention that the witch-cult was casting in their direction as a result of recent events. Notable fights that I felt deserve special mention were Elsa’s fight with Frederica, Beatrice’s fight against Elsa, Ram’s fight against Garfiel, Mother Fortuna, and Petelgeuse’s tragic fight with Pandora and Garfiel’s fight against Elsa. Beatrice’s fight against Elsa I felt was especially impressive as I was under the impression that she had no combat ability outside of her library for which she greatly surprised me with her attempt to stop Elsa. While the season had many excellent fights my favourite one was arguably Garfiel’s fight with Elsa within the burning mansion that not only featured a tension-filled fast-paced fight but was also one that served to expand upon both Elsa and Garfiel as characters as well particularly with regards to the former. However, while these fights were well designed and animated I felt a number of them were one’s that ended up being off-screen which I felt were a shame as I would have liked to see them take place on screen. In terms of music the series as a whole made use of two opening’s and three ending themes which was Realize that was performed by veteran singer Konomi Suzuki, Long Shot by veteran singer Mayu Maeshima, Memento, Believe in you that was both performed by nonoc and Door that was performed by Emilia’s seiyuu veteran seiyuu singer Rie Takahashi. While all of these songs I felt were excellent ones I felt that my favourite ones were Realize whose dramatic vocals combined well with the visuals of that opening to showcase just how determined Subaru is to help his friends even if it meant dying countless deaths to achieve it and reflecting well on Subaru’s fierce defence against the despair that threatens to envelop him. Long shot on the other hand I felt was a similarly strong song with excellent vocals and visuals to match but the feelings that I got from that song were the polar opposite of what we saw in Realize as that song to me represented not only a stand against the myriad foes that surround and threaten them but a stand that was no longer being conducted alone but instead in the company of allies that you can trust wholeheartedly representing well the many connections that Subaru and Emilia had managed to forge as a result of the many trials that they have managed to face and overcome together. While the series animation’s breathtakingly beautiful animations have already been stated I felt that within the series this was complemented nicely by the series OST that while providing excellent situational music also reserved the best tracks for the more heartfelt moments within the series such as in Subaru’s rescue of Beatrice from her library and Ram and Puck’s fight against Roswaal being the best examples. In terms of voice acting, I felt that overall, the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their characters whether they were main or support ones. In particular, I feel that Yuusuke Kobayashi and Rie Takahashi both did an excellent job of portraying the main characters of Subaru and Emilia with both being able to add much additional emotional weight to their lines that served to make their interactions within the story that much more heartfelt. At the same time, I also felt that Yuka Iguchi, Yui Horie, Satomi Arai, Kaori Nazuka, Rie Murakawa, Aimi Tanaka, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Mamiko Noto, Nao Touyama, Misaki Kuno, Mikako Komatsu, Manaka Iwami, Mai Nakahara, Kouhei Amasaki, Rie Kugimiya, and Maaya Sakamoto all did an excellent job of portraying the characters of Crusch, Felix, Beatrice, Frederica, Ram, Ryuuzu, Garfiel, Elsa, Daphne, Typhon, Minerva, Carmilla, Sekhmet, Otto, Pandora, and Echidna respectively. While only shown in a handful of episodes I felt that Kousuke Toriumi, Ryouka Yuzuki, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Inori Minase, and Eri Suzuki also did an excellent job at portraying the characters of Kenichi and Naoko Natsuki Subaru’s grief-stricken parents who until this day pray fervently for their son's return, Petelgeuse when he was still a normal lovestruck man, Fortuna the guardian of the seal whose death was the main cause of Emilia’s painful past, Rem who sadly was stuck in seemingly eternal sleep over the course of the season and Meili the child turned beastmaster Overall conclusion In overall Re Zero season 2, I felt was an excellent series that served to not only expand upon both the lore and characters that were introduced back in the first season but also serve to expand upon both the stakes and struggles that Subaru and Emilia face as a consequence of their actions by introducing not only new characters and locations but also present a more personal take on their struggles in the form of the trials that allow us to see the kind of trauma and regrets that existed within their respective hearts. Re Zero season 2’s main strengths I felt were its premise, story, characters, music, voice acting, and overall animation all of which combined to make this season perhaps one of the best animes of this anime season. The season’s focus on the more personal aspects of one’s heart and the regrets that they kept hidden from their friends and allies in the form of Subaru and Emilia’s trials I felt was an excellent move as not only did it allow us to see the kind of pain that had been lurking deep within their hearts that they did their best not to show others preferring instead to hide them instead but at the same time it also allowed both characters an opportunity to not only confront them and make peace with the things that they most dearly miss and allow the emotions that they had until now kept hidden to flow freely and allow both to make their final farewells to those regrets as they take their next steps forward toward the future. In overall I felt that Re Zero’s second season was an excellent anime that had among its main strengths an excellent premise, story, characters, voice acting, music, and animation and served to not only reinforce the foundations that the first season introduced but also expand upon it by introducing new characters and events that tied in nicely with both Subaru and Emilia’s journey via its skilled weaving of emotions, revelations, and character development. As a final score, I would say that the second season of Re Zero easily deserves a final score of 10/10.
Jaereku
03/24/2021, 07:53 AM
“I love who I am.” The final line of the opening’s chorus, as well as the ending’s titular “Believe in you”, form the thesis and backbone of this season of Re:Zero. This cour shifted its focus away from the usual Subaru character study, delving more into worldbuilding, developing its side cast and delivering its core messages. Why does Re:Zero, within the abundant sea of modern isekai, stand out like a shining beacon of light 5 years later? Some will argue it’s the breadth of its “best girl” selection, others will say it’s the impactful thriller elements. Re:Zero’s true strength lies, if you were to ask me, inthe humanity of its characters and the messages it imparts. These aspects are in the limelight in this cour. The previously established Trials mechanic is used to explore characters’ histories and motivations, all the while sprinkling in setups upon setups leading up to the grand picture of the series. Subaru, as the protagonist, takes a back seat; he lends a hand to the other characters, gives them a push, and yet it remains up to them to make a choice and save themselves. Yes; Re:Zero Season 2 is about self-reliance — but it is also about the fact that when you do decide to take that first step, whether it’s to change, to save or improve yourself, there are people out there who will cheer you on. The message of this cour is a deeply positive one, hence the show momentarily forsaking its usual gimmick. It’s also a very satisfactory watch, after the feeling of deadlock within the first cour, as the characters smash through insurmountable odds set up by the charismatic villain of Part 1. Due to the nature of the show, some spoilers will follow. Cour 1 revealed the antagonist for this season to be Roswaal, behind both the Sanctuary situation and the mansion attack. I would, however, say that beyond specific characters, the true antagonist in this arc is a symbolic, or abstract one — the idea of “stagnation”, which happens to be behind every obstacle of the arc. Roswaal is stuck in 400 years past, believing in the permanence of feelings and chained to the past, intent on fostering that same weakness which he believes exists in others to manipulate them; Elsa is on a desperate hunt to recapture a feeling of warmth from her past; Beatrice remains bound to a 400 year old contract; Garfiel is terrified of the world being too big for him to protect everyone and decides that the Sanctuary should remain closed off. Re:Zero acknowledges that the status quo is attractive — is it not normal to stay attached to the beautiful Witch who saved your life, to want to recapture a feeling of relief from one’s past, or to want to keep your world small where you can control and protect everything? — before pointing out that it is also deeply self-destructive and dangerous, from the impending doom in the form of a carnivorous rabbit horde to the mental degradation of Roswaal and Elsa’s characters. All of these ideas are conveyed with no shortage of symbolism, the most striking one for me being the use of Beatrice and Roswaal’s Gospels. In order to overcome these barriers, Re:Zero asks its characters to find the balance between “dangerous self-reliance” and “toxic dependence”. Subaru, unable to overcome anything by himself despite his abuse of Return by Death in the first cour, realizes something in the second thanks to a friend; the gears of victory start spinning only when he reaches a hand out to his allies and starts valuing his own life. The main heroine Emilia takes the opposite path, beginning her growth only when her dependence on Puck and Subaru is broken. From there, this hero-heroine duo constitute the heart of the anime, spurring everyone else into action. Characters argue and fight; ideals clash, sparks fly. This would be around the part where the average viewer would call the dialogue overlong and repetitive, without any effort on their end to connect with, or at least understand the situations at hand. I couldn’t disagree more. The dialogue forms the heart of the arc; when a character speaks, their lines aren’t artificially tailored for some 3rd party viewer. The core ideas, themes and motivations aren’t spoonfed; they’re inbetween the lines, asking a degree of investment and attentiveness from the viewers. Camera angles assist the viewer in finding meaning, if not to simply immerse them into the scene, like the series’ iconic eye reflection shots that convey “understanding” or “trust”. The argument between Subaru and Emilia in EP40 is probably the strongest display of that particular strength of the series, from the sheer rawness of it to how real it felt as an unreasonable clash of emotions, all the while allowing the two characters to overcome their emotional hurdles. It wouldn’t be difficult to argue that the Sanctuary premise, and the mansion situation at hand, are only present to allow all of these clashes and character explorations to take place, and the attentive viewer will most definitely appreciate this setting that goes beyond the isekai fantasy norm. From a purely script-writing perspective, a lot of these moments overshadow the first half of Season 1, and come close to even the legendary, all-dialogue episode 18. This is all, sadly, from a purely script-writing perspective. While the directing throughout the show is generally good (with sadly more dips than usual in this cour — and no, this isn’t referring to the liberal use of filters, which I didn’t find too bothersome as someone used to such things), the animation is insufficient to carry the weight of certain moments. Anime is, first and foremost, a storytelling medium, but even the best story will fall flat if poorly translated on screen. While Part 2 certainly doesn’t fall to that level, the feeling that something is *missing*, or to be more precise that the characters are too static to properly elevate the scene is certainly there. It also certainly doesn’t help that the downgraded character designs, making most of the male characters hard to look at compared to Season 1, have carried over from S2P1. Re:Zero has had segments even heavier in dialogue than this cour before (again, the pure dialogue-heavy EP18 comes to mind), but a lack of dynamic animation on top of the increased complexity of the writing will inevitably lead to some false perceptions for the average viewer. These production-related issues, along with some cuts to the source that may negatively affect the flow of scenes for some, make it so that I cannot give this a perfect score; nevertheless, White Fox persevered admirably, trying their utmost to stay faithful to the source with consistent 30-minute episodes, this entire season reaching up to 33 episodes disguised as 25. While cracks in the production are present, series director Watanabe managed to balance out ambition with a schedule that didn’t require a crunch to the finish line like other popular gems of this season. But I digress. Making up for the more static animation is a soundtrack that may just match AoT in its movie-like feel; the “fantasy” aspect of the series shines through in almost every track. The voice acting is stunning, from Yuusuke Kobayashi’s emotional performances to Rie Takahashi’s more and more confident and energetic voice, matching the arc of her character. Let’s also not forget to praise Takehito Koyasu, who managed to convey every facet of Roswaal’s character with skill. To top it off, this season came with two character insert songs, both used fittingly and beautifully. In a season as focused in fleshing out its cast through numerous backstories, character arcs and climactic moments, these are some of the most essential components, and I can only be glad the production remained stellar on that front. Overall, if I had to sum up in a sentence what this arc of Re:Zero imparted in me, it would be, once again, “when you finally decide to take the first step to make a change, there will be people willing to help and encourage you along the way”. Subaru isn’t strong, he isn’t even cooler, but he isn’t alone anymore— just that fact is enough to change the tone of the series into something more positive. You cannot remain dependent on others, but avoiding human relationships with those around you will also get you nowhere. If nothing else, I think what Re:Zero Season 2 does is worth lending an ear to.
swirlydragon
03/24/2021, 07:34 AM
"I am the Frozen Witch, born in Elior forest. I won't give in to the malice of a fellow witch" -Emilia SPOILERS BELOW Story:- With how much of a suffering cour 1 had, cour 2 instead has the feeling of accomplishment and joy. It is like fighting a Dark Souls boss. You die countless times in doing so. You feel sad, disappointed and frustrated. You may even feel like giving up. But the moment you defeat that boss, you get an intense feeling of joy and happiness. You get rewarded for your relentless dedication. This is how you may feel when you watch this anime. With howmuch suffering Subaru had in cour 1, it is time for Otto to talk some sense into Subaru. Now with Subaru getting back his motivation, he confronts Roswaal and is ready to fix the problems in both the mansion and the sanctuary. There are also some mysteries that are revealed in this cour. With Emilia being one of the most mysterious character in this series, we finally get to see her backstory. And it has that mix feeling of happiness and sorrow. I really cried watching it so brace yourselves for it. It really gives Emilia a lot of character depth and makes her one of my favorites. We also see some insight into Roswaal's and Betty's backstory. It really gives them a lot of character development too. Also, one of the most enjoyable characters from season 1 is back in this cour. I wouldn't spoil their name. Although, the character is now a little different. Story:- 10/10 Art:- The art is not too appealing compared to season 1 or the OVAs. But some scenes are nicely done. Art:- 7/10 Sound:- There are some new OSTs that are beautiful, especially "Door" which was played in second episode. Ram's "insert song" was also great! Overall, the other songs are also decent. Sound:- 9/10 Character:- This cour really shows a lot of character development especially for Emilia, Subaru, Betty, Roswaal, Ram, Otto and Garfiel. We see how insecure Emilia is when Puck leaves her and considering Emilia's past of being isolated and shunned, she actually breaks down because the only person who loved her is gone. With Emilia being at her lowest point and not being able to complete the trials, we have the "reason to believe" episode. Just like a phoenix, "the witch of frost" (Emilia) rises up again and confronts the "witch of greed" (Echidna), now with confidence that is unshakable. That was a really badass scene. Otto's backstory was really well done and provided a lot of depth to his character. Garfiel's trial was really emotional and I loved it. His relationship with his mom really brought me to tears. Apart from these three, Subaru and Ram also had their moments to shine. Furthermore, Betty and Roswaal's past was also beautifully done. The relationship between Emilia and Subaru has also developed a lot especially after "reason to believe". Btw I especially loved smol Emilia and the cute Emilia x Subaru dance. Adding to that, the Ram, Puck and Roswaal scene was really badass and awesome. Also, Subaru and Betty scenes were really good! I wouldn't want to spoil it though ;) Character:- 10/10 Enjoyment:- I really enjoyed each and every episode. It is filled with sorrow, despair but at the end of it all, it has that rare feeling of accomplishment and joy which makes this anime really enjoyable. Enjoyment:- 10/10 Overall:- Just finish part 2. It is gonna be amazing, I promise. EMT! Overall rating:- 10/10
HellLyter
03/24/2021, 07:10 AM
Let's see if I can make it through this review without dying and having to restart from 0. Speaking of that particular number, you know what else gets a 0? This season of Re:Zero, except add a 1 in front of it and BOOM! 10/10 baby. Haha, get it? It's a number joke! If you like that, be sure to SMASH that helpful button like Garfiel SMASHED Elsa, if ya know what I mean~...HellLyter was killed by his embarrassment, awful taste in comedy, and desire for pitiful likes. How greedy. Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought... Alright, reset time, lemme start over.Re:Zero has been a shining light in the anime industry since its first season debuted back in 2016. It's effective characterization, world building, and sheer entertainment value among other things have been top notch throughout the seasons. The care and detail that Studio White Fox has been putting into its production has also been apparent and much appreciated. I mean, 30 minute episodes? And removing the op and ed during most episodes to include even more content? Awesome in every way...except for the fact that I don't get to hear the opening theme Long Shot that much. It's a seriously good song. I just love the tone and voice quality of the singer Mayu Maeshima. I even like the way that her voice kinda cracks at the end of each phrase. Is it weird to say that I find it cute? Yeah, probably. Anyway, I hope she gets hired to do more theme songs down the line! If you're expecting a lot of death and Subaru suffering from this, then you're watching the wrong season. The previous season is the one that established the set up for this arc as well as where everyone stands...it's also the one that has ample portions of delicious Subaru pain and torment for those of you who get your sick kicks from watching the poor dude's anguish. This second half primarily details how Subaru breaks through this seemingly impossible situation despite what an incredible long shot it is. And let me tell you, it's quite the exciting journey. But you know why the anime isn't perfect? It's because it doesn't have frickin Rem in it!!! I mean, come on man! She only has like one line this entire season...and it was a pretty great one to be honest about the proper usage of prayer, but anyway. WHEN IS BEST GIRL GONNA WAKE U- ...HellLyter was killed by Rem haters for bringing up a character who is completely irrelevant this season. His inability to get over her is kinda creepy. How lustful. Ok, let's backtrack a bit and try again, but without the fanboying this time. What, you thought I was gonna reset to the very beginning? Nah...Hey, I gotta give myself some checkpoints like Subaru has or else this review will go on forever. And no one wants that! What truly makes this season are the characters. We already know the setup and dynamic of the Sanctuary, we understand the plot elements revolving around this arc, and if last season was anything to go by, we certainly know the stakes due to Subaru's numerous deaths in this loop. The focal point of this season is definitely portraying character growth for the vast majority of the cast. The theme is all about coming to terms with your past and moving confidently towards the future. Slight spoilers for the rest of this paragraph if you want to just skip it, but I just gotta give a shoutout to some of the prominent characters who evolve for the better. Subaru begins to rely on his friends instead of return by death. Otto gets over his fears and isolation. Garfiel comes to terms with his family's past and moves forward with his life. Ram stands up to the one she loves and confesses her pent up feelings. Beatrice finds a meaning to live. Hey look, actually solid and believable character growth! Good job Re:Zero. And then there's Emilia. The girl dependent on everyone, yet whom no one relies on. Not gonna lie, I found her to be pretty underwhelming in the previous two seasons. Sure, she's a cute nice girl who has some comedic scenes, but she's been pretty stagnant over the course of the series, and a lot of the side characters have had more depth and intrigue than her. In fact, why is she getting so much attention now anyway? Dontcha think it's a little too late for this? Does Emilia-TAN really deserve main character privileges??? ...HellLyter was killed by Emilia stans for dissing their best girl because he's STILL not acknowledging her massive growth, or maybe he's just jealous of the amount of focus she's getting. How envious. Ok, I can't deny it, Emilia has really come into her own this season. Did it happen a little abruptly? Sure. Was I still squealing like a schoolgirl when Subaru told her exactly what she needed to hear as White Fox flexed their ability to show them reflected in each others eyes and they, to avoid explicit spoilers, proceeded to do the thing that anime girls falsely believe gets them pregnant? Maybe...b-b-b-but anyway, I definitely appreciate Emilia more as a character this time around. She came to accept her past, present, and potential future, and is now finally being the one who others can rely on. Good stuff. Ok, ok, fine, I'm gonna say it. EMT! EMT! EMT! Of course, there are still some issues with the anime. The biggest one for me personally is the flashbacks. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a look into the past of characters to garner a better understanding of their history as well as to see why they act the way they do. The showcasing of Subaru's past from part 1 of season 2 was one of my favorite segments in the series. And honestly, these were generally solid flashbacks. Though Emilia's was far and beyond the best and had the most plot significance. My issue is that there were just so many of them, and they occured in sequence with nary a break in between episodes to cover important current events. We get Otto, then Garfiel, then Emilia, then the combo of Beatrice, Roswaal, and Ryuuzu's backstory, and even get a glimpse of Elsa's past. It was ultimately just a bit much, and the tight-knit agglomeration of flashbacks was a microscopic blemish in author Nagatsuki's typically picturesque narrative composition capabilities and...*yawn* ...HellLyter was killed by the boredom induced by his own writing. He didn't really feel like taking the effort to make his content sound exciting or creative, and was just being plain dull and critical here. How slothful. SMOL EMILIA PEOPLE! She was clearly the highlight of all the flashbacks. Sure, there were a lot of them, but they were necessary in developing the colorful and expansive cast. And speaking of development, Emilia has certainly gotten bigger from her loli days. And it only took her like 100 years too. They grow up so fast! Well, technically she was frozen in ice and stuff through most of it, but...wait, Ima put up my no spoilers barricade before I go too far. Anyway, I really enjoyed Emilia's first trial. Seeing Geuse not being a psychotic maniac and actually being a caring individual was refreshing. Plus his dynamic with Mother Fortuna and Emilia was great. Which made the abrupt ending of their happy days that much more heartbreaking. Dem feelz tho. But most importantly, Emilia got stronger through overcoming her past and developed. No, no, I don't mean the getting older and and gaining boing boing kind of development this time! I mean in the character department, and it was a pleasure to watch her grow...because she was just so short in the past, you know? What can I say, Re:Zero continues to dish out high quality content, and I just can't help but want to see where the story goes from here. Seriously, they better announce a season 3. I need MOAR! Also, I better not see anyone hating on this excellent franchise OR ELSE-...HellLyter was killed through his unhealthy and impatient desire to consume more content, and also through his laughably pathetic attempt at threatening those with a different opinion then him. How gluttonous AND wrathful. Alright, alright, I definitely went too far there, but Re:Zero really is one of the most enjoyable anime I've seen. From small comedic moments like Subaru failing at his Senkuu from Dr. Stone impersonation to the epic fight between Garfiel and Elsa, the show is just a joy to watch every step of the way. But seriously, that battle sequence surprised me. While still fine, the visuals to me are generally the weakest part of the anime, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly amazing from the fights. Yet the creativity behind how they fought combined with the plot significance and solid animation really elevated the fight to become one of my favorite anime confrontations in recent years. There we go! After rewriting all of those failed attempts, I finally produced the perfect review befitting of this great anime! Yeah, my writing is definitely the best out of anyone. The other reviewers might as well delete their content at this rate. Heh heh. Oh crap, wait, gah!...HellLyter was killed through his cringy boasting over an insignificant anime review. How prideful. Overall, Re:Zero impressed me yet again. I'm pleased with its consistency over the seasons as well as its fantastic production values. Sure, it contains some minor errors, but this season was once again a success in my eyes thanks to its excellent execution and unique features. This is a show that I would most certainly recommend just about everyone give a shot. Trust me, it's worth it. I wouldn't have gone through 6 deaths in this review if it wasn't.
Gilgameshuu
03/24/2021, 07:02 AM
Bravo, Re:Zero. Bravo. First of all, I would like to give a huge thanks to the staff at Studio White Fox for giving us such a passionate adaptation of Re:Zero Season 2, to the Author, Tappei Nagatsuki for writing this brilliant series, to the Voice Actors for their incredible performances as the characters, and everyone who worked on this show. As a huge fan of the series, seeing Re:Zero Season 2 receiving such an amazing adaptation like no other, it's honestly like a dream come true, and I couldn't have asked for more. With that out of the way, let's proceed to the review. Re:Zero Season2 is back after an agonizing 3-month break, honestly was the longest 3 months of my life, while I had a lot of Fall shows to indulge myself in at the time, none were able to fill the empty void inside my heart left behind when Re:Zero S2 Part 1 ended, and now starts another agonizing wait for Season 3, I'm truly going to miss watching this every week. This season starts, literally immediately where Part 1 left off with the Otto punch of friendship and giving Subaru the confidence he needs to overcome the problems Roswaal meticulously set up this season. With a new profound determination to not die and have the people that care about him suffer because of him, he resolves to save everyone in this final loop and makes a bet with Roswaal, it was a long shot, the stakes are high, it was risky, but Subaru was ready to take that risk. A common criticism of Re:Zero is that the story focuses too much on Subaru that it leaves no room for other characters to shine, that was true for Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 that was focused primarily on Subaru's development, Season 2 Part 2 fixes this problem and gives every single character a much-needed character development and each and every one of them gets to have their time to shine this season. Whether it'd be Otto being best bro, Emilia and Garfiel learning to overcome their traumatic past, Ram wanting to save Roswaal from his 400-year obsession, Beatrice finally letting go and breaking off the shackles of her past that bound her soul preventing her from moving forward, and this. This is what makes Re:Zero special, it's not just a story about Subaru but everyone else around him, it's a story of him starting a new life from zero, how the actions of others affect him and how his own actions affect others. Re:Zero is not a story about suffering, nor is it a story about being the strongest, killing the demon lord, and getting a sweet ass harem. No, Re:Zero is a genuine and emotional story of growth and self-improvement, learning to accept and love yourself, everyone has flaws, no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but that's not a bad thing, it's precisely because you are imperfect, that you have flaws that make you human. I feel like a lot of people have a bias against modern shows, and I get a lot of people will disagree. But Re:Zero IS a DEEP series, deep in the sense of its emotional and psychological themes, there are genuine underlying messages portrayed in the show, and I have mentioned some of them already in my previous paragraph. One of the central themes of Season 2 is the idea of obsession and stagnation. Roswaal is the embodiment of this ideology, and every character in the series shows a part of this in their respective personality, they are stuck at a point in time unable to move forward, unable to change. A lot of people complain about Season 2 being stuck in the sanctuary for 25 episodes but that is the point, that symbolizes stagnation and directly parallels the stagnation of some of the characters, they are stuck in time, in one place, and after this season are able to move past all of that and change, that is the main theme of this season. These are examples of those characters; Roswaal's 400-year obsession with Echidna, Ryuzu Shima's wish to respect Ryuzu Meyer's sacrifice, Garfiel's trauma that leads to him to hate the outside world, resulting in him resolving to keep the Sanctuary closed off forever. Emilia is bound by her traumatic past, Beatrice's stubbornness to keep her 400-year contract with Echidna, to wait for a person that doesn't exist. A lot of people have also been complaining about the pacing of this season, I don't understand why. They are completely missing the sheer significance and importance of this arc, before you start complaining about the arc being so long, ask yourself. Why is this arc in particular so long? Firstly, it sets up important plot points and mysteries for the future. Secondly, give some context and revelations of some questions we've been asking back in Season 1, and finally, It serves as a turning point for the Emilia camp as a whole. If Season 1 focused entirely on Subaru and his development, then Season 2 focuses on building up and strengthening the Emilia camp through character growth for the side characters. The Emilia Camp was all over the place during Season 1, and they aren't really united and especially Emilia herself was a problem, she didn't possess the necessary qualities that a Ruler should have, no solid foundation, this Arc not only develops Emilia's character, but it also serves to develop and unite the rest of the Emilia camp that will help and support her in the future. Emilia back in Season 1 as we know is a very immature person, she was very naive and had very idealistic goals for the Royal Selection, as she was then, she was unfit of becoming the Ruler, and that's a big problem. She doesn't have the best leadership and has problems with self-confidence because of discrimination she has faced due to her Half-Elf lineage and looking exactly like the Witch of Envy. Even the determination she lacks, unlike the rest of the Royal Candidates. However this season she has learned to become more mature and start to become better as a person, slowly becoming someone who can lead the country in the future. Through the 1st Trial she found the resolve and determination to make her wishes come true, through the 2nd Trial she learned to fully accept herself and to not be afraid of what others think of her, and finally, through the 3rd Trial, she gained the confidence to overcome the disaster that may come. The characters are the best part of Re:Zero. They feel genuine and real, not in the sense that their personalities are realistic, but instead in their character flaws, and psychology. The author gives a lot of thought into them, even the characters that may seem very insignificant at first glance. Apart from the characters, the story is solid as well. Season 2's plot is complex and tightly written, unlike the first 3 arcs in Season 1 which were more simplistic and straightforward. Part 1 served as the build-up phase by introducing the central mysteries and problems like Elsa, Meili, Mansion Problems, Rabbits, Witches, and Roswaal's true intentions. While Part 2 is the emotional climax and development, and it was well worth all the build-up. The songs and OST this season is amazing, the opening and ending are both really good too bad they're not played much often, we also got some really nice Insert Songs by Emilia and Ram's VAs, and some new tracks courtesy of Kenichiro Suehiro and are honestly some of the best of the series. Animation is a step up over Part 1, might not be the same quality as Season 1 but there is one fight, in particular, this season that I believe is the best-animated fight of the series thus far, Kazuhiro Ota is a god, and is carrying all the fight scenes on his back. All in all, this season of Re:Zero has been spectacular and I feel it far surpasses Season 1 in almost every aspect that's not animation. It has everything that made Season 1 so good and improved upon it and also fixes a lot of problems people had with Season 1. This deserves a 10/10 rating. If you've lasted until the end, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you liked my review. Have a good day!
Marinate1016
03/24/2021, 07:01 AM
At the apex of the isekai genre, one series stands head and shoulders above them all. Season 2 Part 2 of Re:Zero kara hajimaru isekai seikatsu, shows the world exactly why it’s one of the best selling LN series. If you liked Re:Zero s1 in any capacity. From its unique take on the isekai genre, world-building, characters, mystery, etc., you will love season 2 and find it an upgrade in every possible way. Re:Zero’s first season, which covered arcs 1-3, was only a teaser into the masterclass in writing that is arcs 4-6. Re:Zero has been my favourite LN series for years and I couldn’t bemore pleased with how White Fox handled this season. Every episode had masterful direction and finale quality. Re:Zero’s biggest appeal lies in the struggles and triumphs of Subaru, it’s MC. Over the course of the first 3 arcs, we saw him fight and die over and over again all in an effort to protect those he cares about. In the latest season, Subaru’s growth is exponential. The literal and figurative trials he goes through force him to grow as an person, but also to let go of the past that still lingers with him. This is arguably the most important arc for Subaru’s character development in the entire series to date. Never before has he had to face such insurmountable odds. With his back up against the wall and seemingly no one to help him, Subaru defies fate and creates a happy future for everyone. As I mentioned earlier, White Fox have really shown how much Re:Zero means to them over the past few months. Most episodes have omitted the OP and ED in favour of a longer runtime and more storytelling. I think the way they were able to make this seamless transition between episodes due to the lack of an OP in most episodes was beautiful. Although some people complained about it, you can always download the OP and listen or watch on Youtube. If I had to nitpick anything, the animation and art did suffer a few times, particularly in the beginning of the second cour. There were some really funny looking still shots and some choppy animation. Overall, though, the show looks great and features a great OST. I can not thank White Fox enough for the way they beautifully crafted this season of Re:Zero. Yes, there will always be imperfections when compared to the books, but for the most part I have no complaints with how this season was done. With Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei getting great adaptations this year, the future of isekai is in great hands. Re:Zero S2 P2 gets 10 Dona tea cups out of 10.

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活

2021 winter | Episodes: 12 | Score: 8.4 (581486)

Updated every Wednesdays at 22:30 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:AT-X | Memory-Tech | Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures | Kadokawa Media House | Kadokawa

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Takahashi, Rie

Kobayashi, Yuusuke

News

Reviews

yureironin
12/24/2024, 09:43 PM
The second season amplifies the first's problems while dragging out its story. The Sanctuary arc introduces Echidna as yet another addition to the potential harem, complete with manipulative tea parties that try to be unsettling but end up feeling like another romance flag. Can you imagine drinking someone sperm? No, right? Why would you drink her disgusting stuff. If Subaru took up her contract, it will be If route: Greed, Subaru would died 100 mil times of cheap death which is a viral sound on tiktok. Absolutely lame Emilia yaps more. Despite her supposed power and importance, she constantly needs Subaru's help. Do you feel thisis like blind lead blind? Pathetic. Her past trauma but never quite delivers on making her a fully realized character. Beatrice's storyline is weird, she choose to be alone and wait for THE ONE, she can even just die inside the castle BUT subaru has to safe her because she can also become his harem partner. The "choose me" scene aims for emotional impact but leads to awkward parent-child dynamics, just because he choose to save everyone. A 400 years old women stuck in an underage girl's body, he constantly hugging her and hold hand like she is a child. If this not promoting pedophilia behaviour, I don't know what is.
TakoTaco1
09/03/2024, 03:01 PM
Re:Zero has a dialogue problem, which is an issue for a series that's largely made up of planning, discussing and reflecting. I wanted to like Re:Zero, I found that a lot of the major plot beats were fun, it leveraged its own premise effectively, and there was obviously a lot of consideration put into both the characters and the world they live in. By isekai standards, it's still one of the better shows, and it clearly aspires to greater things, which is probably why the rough character writing feels so notable. Unfortunately, the way almost everyone speaks is stiff, overwrought, melodramatic, uncomfortable, inorganic andborderline alien. None of these characters feel like real people, which is, again, a problem for a series with themes that revolve around personal growth and becoming a well-adjusted, complete person. A list of gripes in no particular order: Most of the characters are very "anime". they all fit an archetype. It's clear the show aims to subvert your expectations for these archetypes but the moment to moment interactions remain grating throughout the entire show. Emelia, Rem and Ram, Elsa, Puck, Garfiel, Beatrice I suppose. Almost every character. Tsubaru will at times say things that are awkward and nonsensical on multiple levels, such as speaking of a past life while saying something anachronistic, being far too familiar with characters, or saying a 10-20 word sentence that should have been 2-5. It often feels like internal dialogue that he just says out loud. At best this will get a brief acknowledgement, but often goes unnoticed. A normal response would be "what the **** is wrong with you". Half of his dialogue would be appropriately responded to with "what the **** is wrong with you". Many might say that this was intentional, and Tsubaru is just supposed to be very weird and immature. Unfortunately, a lot of other characters are also awkward, and as time goes on, its clear that everyone acting nonplused by Tsubarau, mixed with his continued awkwardness suggests this is just how the author writes. Characters will make "jokes" that are not jokes, they're at best observations or canned phrases, other characters will laugh and act as though a joke was told, when there's practically nothing to laugh at. The banter is typically two characters saying canned phrases back and forth. Zero charm, lack of brevity, just overall uncomfortable to behold. Everyone feels as though they're written by the same person. Ricardo, the beast man captain, is a great example of this. He's clearly meant to have an aggressive, overbearing personality. Good natured, but scary. He, at one point, while waiting to fight the white whale, says something to the effect of "Let's get going or when I get back my old lady will be old and gray". and then says "awww come on, that was my best joke" which then gets a laugh. That just sounds like something Tsubaru would say, it's also not funny. It's never funny. The funniest part of the show was noticing that Garfiel turns into a big orange cat. The emotional scenes are extremely repetitive, and everything is overstated. There are some core nuggets to many conversations that are good, but they're often wrapped up in inane and unsubtle dialogue. The series clearly lacks confidence in its own ideas and in its audience. A better anime, decent novel or typical HBO show would convey the quailty of ideas at play here without really spelling out any of them through use of direction, metaphor, setting, plot, character details. By being so explicit, it ironically undermines itself. You're spoonfed character intentions and feelings, and then given several more spoonfuls after you're already full. If you look at shows like Sonny Boy, Odd Taxi or the Apothecary Diaries, it's like night and day. Even shows like To Your Eternity or Ranking of Kings, which can often wear their heart on their sleeve, feels leagues ahead of Re:Zero in terms of refinement and subtlety. Hell, I've been watching another isekai with my kid, it's called Amphibia, it's a kid's show about a girl that gets transported to a frog world. I think it might actually do a better job. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with occasionally making subtext into text, but Re:Zero does this so gratuitously, and with such saccharine or dramatic delivery, that it makes you feel almost nauseated. Another major gripe is that, while sometimes characters act in line with their established personalities, other times it's very clear they do or don't do things to move the plot forward in a way that suits the author's intentions. Sometimes a character will do something odd just so they learn a lesson or have a nice character moment later. By trying to flesh out the characters this way, you actually undermine their integrity. Tsubaru especially very rarely asks the normal questions to ask at the appropriate time. His intellect also varies wildly based on convenience. This mostly feels like a series written by a socially awkward individual who is going through a period of self-discovery, and is learning a lot of valuable life lessons, such as self-worth, humility, working smarter not harder, authenticity, people are not the picture in your head, etc. Unfortunately, that hasn't really improved their social aptitude, and as a result everything still feels like a parody of normal human interaction. To sum it up: it's cringe The animation is also mediocre this season, which definitely hurts the watchability. I considered giving it a 7, but I was honestly just not enjoying myself by the end.
Seam_Ali
07/08/2023, 06:33 AM
Season 2 Part 2 takes the captivating and emotionally charged story of Subaru Natsuki to new heights, delivering an anime experience that leaves viewers on the edge of their seats and hungry for more. With its intricate plot, rich character development, and stunning animation, this season effortlessly solidifies Re:ZERO as a standout series in the isekai genre. One of the greatest strengths of Season 2 Part 2 lies in its ability to push the boundaries of storytelling. The narrative continues to challenge Subaru's resilience and psychological endurance, forcing him to confront his flaws and inner demons. The intricate web of time loops and unexpected twists keepsthe viewers guessing, fostering a sense of suspense and intrigue that is rarely matched in the anime world. Each episode presents new layers of complexity, gradually unraveling the mysteries of Subaru's predicament while simultaneously introducing thought-provoking themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the consequences of one's actions. The character development in this season is truly exceptional. Subaru's growth as a protagonist is palpable, as he learns from his past mistakes and undergoes immense personal growth. His determination and unwavering resolve in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges make him an incredibly relatable and inspiring character. Moreover, the supporting cast shines brightly, each with their unique motivations and hidden depths. The series does an excellent job of delving into the struggles, fears, and motivations of these characters, giving them a depth and complexity that is truly engrossing. Visually, Season 2 Part 2 is a feast for the eyes. The animation quality is nothing short of breathtaking, capturing the intense emotions and dynamic action sequences with precision and flair. The attention to detail in the character designs, backgrounds, and atmospheric lighting enhances the immersive experience, drawing viewers into the fantastical world of Lugunica. The fight scenes are particularly noteworthy, displaying a perfect blend of fluidity, choreography, and strategic combat that will leave audiences awe-inspired. Beyond its gripping narrative and stunning visuals, Season 2 Part 2 boasts an exceptional soundtrack that heightens the emotional impact of each scene. The hauntingly beautiful melodies and powerful orchestral pieces perfectly complement the intense moments of despair, the poignant character interactions, and the triumphant instances of hope. The sound design is masterfully executed, further immersing viewers in the intricate world of Re:ZERO. In conclusion, Season 2 Part 2 is a masterpiece that surpasses expectations, delivering an emotionally charged and intellectually stimulating anime experience. It combines a captivating narrative, well-developed characters, stunning animation, and a mesmerizing soundtrack to create an unforgettable journey. Whether you are a fan of the series or a newcomer to the world of Re:ZERO, this season will leave you breathless, eagerly awaiting the next installment. The trailer for Season 3 dropped 3 months ago, and I cannot wait to watch it! I hope everyone is alive and healthy by the time Season 3 drops. Take care ✌️
GodOfWolves
12/26/2022, 11:45 AM
Re;zero WAS, sorta, this show with some great qualities, action, growth, evil witches, despair, loss of hope, but also rebirth of hope. All that good mumbo jumbo gumbo and what not. But now its a harem with friends instead of waifus. If you asked me if I wanted to re-watch this show I'd tell you that I'd re-watch it re-zero times! The conversations in this show are so cheesingly overly complicatedly bad and shamelessly written that the very love interest of suburu himself, who is Amelia thinks that babies come from kissing each other. - This is a great analogy for every other shallow conversation that takes place. - Also thatwas easily an entire 5 minute conversation between the two of them over something,,, really stupid truthfully. Suburu also gets some great character development, if you call development the fact that he learned a new pokemon attack like gengar the ghost pokemon when he totally boner punches a purple hand from his chest to a dude with an X on his face and radical past, his name is Tinsel, Garfiel - and he was taken in by these clones, one is named - Shima, Ryuzu - and they're just there to give you past plot advice and garfiel is just there to abuse these clones as a misunderstood orphan child so he can get character development. Why does Garfiel need this development? - I don't know, because it was never used. I guess we're waiting until next season so moving on with this review, like this show moved right on along without doing anything with that. Yeah that purple hand by the way, you know the one right? The witche of ENVY'S purple hand that was tormenting him and feeling him up? Squeezing his heart! And threatening his life! - Yeah! Its on his side now! Along with a slow simmering and new found witch harem on our hands. This plot man, I'm telling you, its gets so deep and revelating, I can't even begin to fathom how much greatness you'll witness! Yeah, so anyways. The evil guy who looks like he's gonna put on a terrible magic show, Romanée-Conti, Petelgeuse - whatever kind of name that is - is evil for most of these episodes and then all of a sudden out of no where is apparently no longer evil at some point - this isn't really a spoiler - because you won't know when he's good, he goes from good to evil about twenty times. I mean if you don't think this guy is bipolar as shit by the end of this season, were you really ever watching it? And anyways, why did he become good? Well, its the same reason why everyone else becomes good this season. Its all because Suburu said some things to him and now he's a brainwashed minion of the main character. - Suburu is like kirito levels of god mode this season without doing anything godmode except giving pet talks and listening to their feelings, because he inspires everyone and turns evil people good and pure evil people are no match for him so they just get defeated when need be. I mean really this is sword art online with extra steps people! Then the rest of the show can basically be summed up Every single character you don't really care about - goes to the temple sanctuary and completes a trial - usually they suffer abuse or have been tricked and they have to learn how to cope with the evil of the world. What is truly amazing is how this is somehow an entire sub plot to the main plot and the writer totally forgets about blue haired rem whose in a comma and almost never seen this entire season, but pink haired ram gets some screen time as a possible, idk, she was either attempting to join in on the fun of Suburus friendly harem of sorts, or trying to be some type of supporting character? Really every one is just support for suburu, good or bad, they are here for suburu to act like a bitch then for themselves to act worse to make an already terrible main character, aka suburu, look better. I feel like I'm trying to write a car add with this guys name - eitherway the story this season gets like a 5 for effort. I don't hate it but I don't love it. Characters get a 2; Because I've grown to hate them, they have this sense of something interesting going on but the biggest issue is that its all padding, all they do is talk about the plot and then never show the plot except for some still frames and a rare fight or two - most of it is just talk talk talk, exposition and all that. - Have you seen the new reincarnated as a slime season? If not I won't spoil it, but it does the same thing, talking but never showing, so does some seasons of attak on titan, - especially season 3 - with a buncha talking, and like 30 seconds of the actual fight showed that they spent the last 15 minutes talking about. This show gives you twenty minute conversations with 4 minutes worth of showing you something they're actually talking about that matters besides the woods or the background of a house where they're at, just so, they can sit there and tell us what's happening, simply tell us, with a rare spice of rarely ever showing it. - Only when we are lucky enough, or they're not lazy enough, do we get to see it in reality. Actually its deeper, the padding is so strong with this one! Its like a force, that you can't even see! - That even when something happens! It just doesn't matter! - Because the story is still on this sanctuary side quest - that has nothing to do with the main storyline. - Amelia and Suburu do go further with their relationship i think is part of the goal of this season, but with them barely talking most episodes, why not skip all the damn filler and just develop it already. - Because half of the conversations feel forced and the ones that don't actually don't really have anything to do with their relationship besides them half assedly complimenting each other or arguing, - I mean that's not development unless we're counting fake development because whoever is too lazy to write something meaningful so lets fill it with slogs worth of padded dialogue that amounts to something that moment but 90%-95% of the time it matters to nothing else ever again. Someone said season 1 was 9 volumes and season 2 is 3 volumes. - And you know, they're right about another thing they said, I actually hate this show... - and i never thought I'd really have to say this either... - I hate it for being a faithful adaption... Its so boring its so slow its so much of all these things happening while nothing is really ever happening that matters - and that's why I hate it! I thought sword art online or fire force was shallow and empty and void of a real meaning or goal, but I'll be damned if this didn't just trump ALLLLLL of those shows at their own game!... How the hell did it comes to this? - I don't know... But another thing I thought I'd never say is that - these 25 episodes could of simply been 12 and it would of been twice as damn good.... OVERALL; 2 Overall that is the entire show, forgive your enemies, make them your friends, bulldoze down plots and previous set story lines with plot armor and story mound bulldozers and you get this. - A perfect main character, who acts like a total bitch, gives a bunch of meaningless pet talks to every other character in the show, even ones he never talks to again - and talks that no one in their right mind would ever truly listen to - and then with their combined friendship they he forces upon them like a needy fish - they move on with the story. What story you wonder? We won't know! Not till season 3! hahahahaha = FULL BLOWN SCARCASM I mean really, I've tried not to hate this show, it once had some thrill, gore, good action and an interesting plot, but as I've watched this entire season twiddle away at everything its done.... Completely turning its entire premise on its head. Which could of been a great plot twist, its just handled so boring and drawl that its not. - That I just have no choice but to hate it at this point And that's all I have to say... I'm left with disappointment.... A very upset God-Of-Wolves is done for the day, because anime this year, has been mostly a let down with every other show... So Sayonara till tomorra Suburu fanboys and girls.! - Or whenever my hope returns.... That small little urn of hope I once had for this show and so many other anime...
RebelPanda
12/22/2022, 07:14 PM
"Re:Zero is boring." Three words you've likely heard before or said yourself. But why? Why do people find Re:Zero boring? If you already love Re:Zero, I hope this review will help you understand the other side of the audience. If you don't love Re:Zero, I hope to provide some clarity as to why. From my observation, most people who dislike Re:Zero are anime-only viewers, whereas the dedicated fans have read the source material: This tells us two things: 1. The story, characters, and themes hook specific viewers to the point of delving into the meaty source material (which includes 11 manga volumes, one video game, four character-focused sidestory light novels, and a total of 26 light novel volumes). 2. The viewers who don't get hooked by the story will lack the background knowledge to make the characters more nuanced. I fall within the latter category. While watching the first season back in 2016, I despised it and rated it 3/10 overall. I made a concerted effort to understand the fanbase's point of view by supplementing missing information with Youtube analyses and Wiki articles; that's why I immensely enjoyed Re:Zero despite the show's flaws. After stewing with my thoughts, I've concluded the show itself overall has a subpar presentation, despite providing intriguing and nuanced characters. First of all, the screenplay is bloated. Most of the characters talk the same. I don't mean they have the same voice, but the same way of speaking, which makes it obvious the same person wrote them. Of course, they were all written by Tappei Nagatsuki. However, it breaks my immersion when every character speaks esoterically with additional words and phrases added on top of what is, at times, a simple script. Characters such as Roswaal and Beatrice demand to speak superfluously because for narrative purposes. Roswaal speaks in riddles because he is manipulative, enigmatic, and a liar. Beatrice hides her anxiety and abandonment issues by not cutting to the chase and saying "I suppose" at the end of every sentence—it's not simply a cute quirk. Some reasons become apparent with time. Side characters such as Regulus Corneas, the eccentric and terrifying archbishop, speaks like a conservative senator attempting to filibuster by spouting rhetoric about "free speech" and his "rights" before mercilessly killing innocents. He does so because his psychopathy and hypocrisy befit the archbishop of greed—the reasons are very clever but entirely missing in the anime. The choice to leave out this and other content threatens to obscure each scene's meaning. To the uninformed viewer, all of these behaviors, meaningful or not, are annoying. It doesn't help that when the more sane characters speak, the dialogue is delivered slowly and with a drab presentation. The production is to blame for this. That brings us to the second issue: animation: There is barely any. When it really counts, such as the combat scenes with Garfiel, Elsa, and memorable moments in Emilia's backstory, it looks good—but for the rest of the time, it's hard to sit through. Frames freeze for minutes on end, with simplified versions of the beautiful character designs. There is motion, but the animators rely heavily on motion tweens, camera pans, jump cuts, and digital zooming. White Fox only drew a few angles of the main casts' face, so whenever the camera is at an angle that deviates from the norm, the characters look messy and off models. Often, fans of the series are frowned upon for criticizing the lackluster animation, but I believe they're 100% valid. If these people complain about the cafe scenes in SAO, yet they ignore similar problems in Re:Zero, they're hypocrites. In this case, they're not at a table, but somewhere: In front of the Sanctuary and the forest. Episodes go by, and people will be in the same place talking. Whether they're telling a story, explaining their secret motivations, or telling a story someone told them. If you've already gotten hooked by the characters, the information you'll learn is fascinating. Thankfully for me, I am invested. My favorite characters, Garfiel and Otto, perhaps got the best side-stories barring Emilia's trials. Garfiel yells to compensate for his short height on the surface. Due to developments, his earlier actions got recontextualized. He has a grudge against his mother, who left him behind. He believes nothing will get better, even if he leaves the Sanctuary. Letting people go would be admitting he can't protect them all. Even though the animation was as bad as usual, it still pulled my heartstrings enough to make me cry. If you told me Re:Zero would make me cry four years ago, I would've laughed in your face—and that's why I think it's worth putting in the effort to understand why people like the characters so much. I acknowledge the characters are motivated by friends and family, and that's not very complex writing. However, it is in keeping with the show's themes. It tackles the cycle of abuse, trauma, grief throughout multiple character arcs. If Re:Zero did not have this thematic throughline, I would've been more critical of its simplistic aspects. Another gripe I have with the director is the use of comedy; I like the occasional quips and humor, but sometimes it falls flat. When Subaru interrupts dialogue to yell or one of the girls squeals like a VTuber, I can't help but roll my eyes. This kind of humor may be suitable for most people, but for me, it only detracted from the show. Intillialy, I despised Subaru for how he betrayed Emilia's trust in episode 13 of season 1; nevertheless, he has indeed grown. Nearly every one of my wishes for his character, and everyone else's, came true. Emilia claimed the center stage and had her own agency, for once, and Subaru provided emotional support rather than overshadowing her accomplishments. I will always decry his objectifying of her, especially when attempting to get taken seriously, but I believe the author will remedy this issue in the future. This was my favorite season of Re:Zero. On a surface level analysis, I could point to the happy ending; it scrapped the Return By Death plot mechanic, Emilia had a heartfelt backstory, and how they saved violence and gore for critical scenes. Ultimately, what really made this season was the leaps and strides in character development. Even for the passive viewers, you will likely find the ending of Re:Zero Part 2 worth sticking around for. I'm in a difficult predicament—where I both love the characters, but multiple aspects hinder my enjoyment of the show overall. The truth is, it is more enjoyable for me to talk about Re:Zero, and analyze its complex characters than it is to watch it. For that reason, it failed to meet my expectations.
sliceofpi
06/30/2022, 10:23 PM
Season 2 Part 2 is just not redeeming at all. There were so many things that went wrong. (spoilers) Story - 2 I have so many problems with the story, in fact I started keeping a list while I was watching because I just couldn’t believe how many bad things about this show were piling up. But the biggest problem, and maybe root problem, is again, how slow this season was. This entire arc could have easily been cut in half and it would have been much more enjoyable. Now, let me get to some of those problems. Some of these may have been things thatoccurred in part 1, but were left unresolved in part 2, hence why they are an issue. - There is a small plot point that is introduced and then completely ignored. At one point in season 2, Ram tells Subaru that if he tells Beatrice that “Roswaal asked the question” when he asks her a question, Beatrice will always answer. This scene is a little dramatic, showing some foreshadowing. But then Subaru goes to see Beatrice and... doesn’t use this phrase. Okay. Fine. It will be used later, and was just introduced early. Or maybe forgotten about. Well, then later on in season 2, Roswaal himself tells Subaru the exact same thing, that if he asks Beatrice a question, he can say that Roswaal asked the question and Beatrice will answer him. Again, this has some emphasis put on it. So Subaru goes to see Beatrice, and again... doesn’t use this. And it’s just never talked about again. Like why will Beatrice 100% answer a question if she is told the exact words “Master Roswaal asked the question”? And why is this even brought up if Subaru doesn’t use this? There wasn’t even a scene of Subaru realizing he forgot to say the phrase, or thinking of saying it but deciding not to for some reason. Nope. It’s just brought up TWICE but has no actual significance. This disappointed me because I was really trying to follow along this slow, boring story, and when I do, I see that plot points just disappear. - Why did Puck have to leave Emilia for a while? This didn’t seem to be explained and it was so abrupt, and then Puck just shows up again later and it’s not explained where they even were. - What the heck happened to the royal selection? Please, why would you introduce a part of a plot that included some nice side characters and was involved in the world building, and then just completely wipe it from existence in season 2? - Ram loves Roswaal?? Gosh this is HILARIOUS because when Ram is talking about her love for him, they show some flashback-esque scenes but there are barely any so it’s super short and some of them are repeated... why? Because there was nothing to show! This show has never hinted or shown any type of chemistry between Roswaal and Ram! - Can’t bring myself to care about the Ryuzu plot line no matter how hard I try. All it is is dialogues. And I don’t care. - Satella is the witch that brought Subaru into this whole return by death mess. But she just doesn’t matter. We see her like three times through the whole season and she’s just covered with black clouds and sounds like Emilia. Um, okay? Why can’t we have some dialogue between Subaru and Satella, instead of it always being with Echidna? I’d actually like to learn why Satella likes Subaru and made all of this stuff happen, but I guess she just serves to be spooky. - There is SO much dialogue during literal battles. I’m sitting there watching and it’s like, um, why hasn’t their opponent just killed them yet? Like they are standing their talking to each other while their opponent just... watches? - Emilia’s third trial is that she has to see the bad possibilities of the future. While the other trials took literal episodes, this is don’t in a couple minutes and is so much less dramatic than it could have been. It’s just random voices with tension in them. Oh my gosh, can Emilia fathom that there might not just be happiness in the future?? - By the way, why did Emilia take FOREVER to get through the first two trials?? Like I’m sorry but have you ever dreamed before?? I have dreams about my last and what could have been my present all the time. It is not that difficult to get through, especially since Emilia KNOWS she is in the trials so she knows what’s happening isn’t happening in real time. Emilia loves to talk about how she hates being helpless and wants to be the one to do the saving, but she can’t look at her past. Gosh. - WEREN’T WE GOING TO SAVE REM??? The whole sanctuary arc should have been a side quest, 12 episode max. Why would you open the anime with having Rem be forgotten and Subaru wanting to save her, and then literally never talk about it again for the rest of the season? I understand that maybe this stuff happens later in the manga which hasn’t been animated yet, but then why start off the season as if saving Rem is going to be the main goal? It’s just so disorganized. Also, I should not have to read all the light novels and the next arcs in order to enjoy the anime. Art - 8 I like the art style, it’s as good as usual to me. Sound - 5 I didn’t care for the opening or ending, the soundtrack in general is okay. A bit less repetitive than season 2 part 1 which I like. Characters - 4 Ryuzu is not likeable, neither is Garfield. However, I do like Otto and Petelgeuse. I actually love them. Their stories are so nice and they are just great characters. Then we have bland old Emilia. You know it’s bad when you show the backstory of a character, and it only makes me care/love the characters that I just met within her backstory - aka Fortuna and Petelgeuse. WHERE IS FELT??? A character I liked! And it seemed like she wasn’t just going to be a part of arc 1, because she showed up in the royal selection. I really wish she had at least some part in this season. I have no idea how someone could have made the decision to take out the character that viewers love the most, when a HUGE complaint about the anime itself is about how bland/bad the other characters are. Of course, I am talking about Rem here. If Rem had been in this season, it would have been so much better. But no, she had to be taken out because the writer accidentally made Rem a better match for Subaru than Emilia. Enjoyment - 5 While the story has a boatload of problems, the mansion scenes are kind of fun to watch. I liked the flashbacks for Emilia that involved Fortuna and Petelgeuse. I liked when Petra awkwardly asked her friend, now enemy, to please let her go, and later stuck her tongue out at her when she got away. That was actually one of the best moments of the show, and that says a lot. Overall - 4 While Re:zero season 2 part 2 was entertaining in some parts, the story is just so slow and terrible and many of the characters are still bad, mostly the MAIN characters which is a big problem. This was a mess.
K-Lye
04/22/2022, 01:03 PM
TLDR: Don't bother unless you've read the source material first. It doesn't take much for me to like anime. I'm not one of those pretentious individuals who demands top-tier animation or prize-winning stories to leave a decent review. I've enjoyed everything from Monogatari to DxD to NGE to 'In Another World with My Smartphone'! So it came as a bit of a shock that something as well received as Re:Zero would be so disappointingly unfulfilling. To be fair, S1 started out reasonably well with a decent experience across all the factors that make an anime good.. animation, art, sound, directing, music, pace & plot. You we're leftat the end of S1 with the distinct impression there was so much more to the story to look forward to in S2. So what went wrong? Well to put it simply, S2 is written, produced and directed for the hardcore fanbase. It relies heavily on viewers to have an established understanding of things that can only be known from reading the source material. Scenes are confusing in their presentation and frequent hopping back and forth between events make it extremely hard to follow. References are frequently made to events or individuals that are never covered or further digressed upon. Motivations and decisions are confusing in their presentation carrying unseen and unexplained significance. Comedic interjections are poorly placed and very out of place. The constant shouting (by Subaru) used to emphasize emotion is frankly just lazy and really starts to grate. Above all however, the excessive laboured expositions and lengthy diatribes on important matters, whilst work well in written format just don't play out as well in the anime. The choice to include so many for so long plays squarely to the fans who've read the material and are hungry for certain scenes. However for anime-only viewers, the frequency gets so tiresome you find yourself no longer emotionally invested or at worst outright bored. At the end of all this having lost a large chunk of interest, you're left with a large expanded story and many more plot threads that leave you feeling confused, dissatisfied and with many questions. With nothing but derision awaiting for being ‘oblivious’ should you venture into the fanbase forums, the best advice I can give in hindsight is to read the source material first. This anime is by the fans, for the fans, and as the more positive reviews demonstrate a much richer experience awaits if you go into it well armed with a decent understanding beforehand.
Kongregate
04/24/2021, 08:24 PM
This season is such a bore. I had high hopes for this. This season was just so boring , characters were just bland/hard to form a connection/bond with. I did not care what happened to them. For myself, characters play the most important role for me in enjoying/remembering an anime. The characters were just so generic and / or annoying with how they acted. Subaru being cringy/just yelling non stop. Emilia over-rated , so over-rated. Then you got a bunch of characters that are so dull like the yellow spiky hair furry , his sister is also a furry. You got a loli girl , a guywho I do not even remember green hat. Music/story is not even worth watching. This anime was so dry that I fast forwarded and watched in 2x speed (something I Do often) on anime that is not worth spending my time on. Then on top of that I could not even focus on the story, it was just a bunch of nonsensical jumping around, yelling , and filler. How is this anime rated so high I do not understand , but I do not blame it... a lot of the times an anime gets worse and worse as the series progresses such as Shokugeki no Souma , Psycho Pass, Tokyo Ghoul ,etc.
birps
04/16/2021, 02:31 PM
This shit garbage no cap, even fairy tail is better than it. Bitch, moan, cry, talk, talk, talk, bitch, moan, cry, more empty dialogue and speech whilst crying - rinse, repeat. The only people who like this have to be 12 years old. SAD! I had a better time watching 10 hours of lectures on environmental policy than I did watching this abysmal show that has a completely terrible story. Painful. noga furereru, my boy betelguese was right... this show will make your brain melt. Back to fairy tail for me, I'm sorry I ever doubted you Natsu. Pain. Give me a panadol, vaccinate me with autism because Iwould rather live with that than knowing that I watched this show. 0/1000. I am having trouble breathing after watching it. I have now been diagnosed with clinical depression and asthma. ETERNAL SUFFERING.
Mar_ri
03/27/2021, 05:20 AM
The animation was ok? I guess? Honestly there were so many things that were constantly irritating me, that I couldn't really focus on the animation, let alone the music. Especially after the halfway point, I was permanently annoyed. I will go into detail about some of these points, trying not to spoil anything. The first point involves the overuse of extreme close-ups. At some point I was rolling my eyes every time there was a close-up on the mouth or the eyes of one of the female characters. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is supposed to put emphasis on the emotions a characteris feeling in that moment. But if every third shot in the very long dialogues (or should I say monologues) Subaru has with several characters throughout the season, then the impact of that shot is lost. Needless to say that it also gets extremely repetitive, predictable and therefore boring. My next point is about the already mentioned female characters. Why is it that the women in this show are written as if they are unable to get anything done unless Subaru gives them a motivational speech beforehand? At least the ones that are supposed to join his fanclub are all portrayed as emotionally wounded by their past, carrying a heavy burden that only Subaru can lift by delivering some drawn-out monologue about being strong for him or whatever. Aside from the fact that it is (again) very repetitive it also implies that the female characters are unable to achieve anything unless they have a male character to help them do it. The third point is closely related to the second point I just made. Which is the character Subaru himself. Apart from the fact that the story is written in a way that he achieves anything, especially making women (that are way too good for him) fall in love with him, he is also just a very unlikable character. It is one thing to encourage people to leave their comfort zone and believe in themselves, but a totally different thing to talk (scream) at them until they do what he wants them to do. And even though characters clearly tell him that they don't want something, he keeps on pushing until he gets what he wants. He is self-centred and therefore disregards other peoples feelings. I strongly believe that the reason he is so obsessed (yes, I just said obsessed) with Emilia, is because he believes that she is the reason why he came to that world. That it is his mission to help her in whatever way. He was looking for a purpose for his suffering and found it in Emilia. This has nothing to do with love. And it annoys me how the show tries to force me to believe, that Subaru loves Emilia. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind an unlikable protagonist who undergoes a transformation and becomes a better person. Or an unlikable character that the viewer is obviously not supposed to like. But neither is the case with Subaru. If anything he has become more unlikable this second part of the season while still being presented as someone the viewer should root for. I do have some other points that I disliked but those would go too far into spoiler territory which is why I will stop here. I also feel like this is more of a rant than an actual review, so I am sorry for that. And please excuse my grammar and spelling errors, English is not my native language.
frieddumpling
03/26/2021, 08:16 PM
Re:Zero always comes off as an anime someone either really loves or hates. Whether it's that Subaru is a trash protagonist or the pacing is too slow, Re:Zero will always receive hate. However, when I picked up this anime way back in 2016-2017, I would've never expected it to evolve into the masterpiece I consider it to be to this day. I think that a significant aspect that is often ignored when discussing Re:Zero is the masterful character development of our main character, Subaru Natsuki. At first glance, Subaru Natsuki comes off as a stereotypical protagonist just realizing he's finally out of his boring world. Hegets "Isekai'd" into a brand new world, filled with magic and fantasy at every corner. That being said, as the viewer, you believe this character is going to be like any ordinary, mainstream protagonist. However, this isn't the case. This isn't some Shonen or typical isekai MC who has a preset personality and always manages to succeed in the end. Subaru is a character plagued by his past, and time and time again, we witness him being constantly met with failure. Due to his power of return by death, he experiences unimaginable pain and suffering, and as a viewer, all you can do is feel bad for the guy. As the story starts to develop in season 2, you begin to understand, and you begin to emphasize, and most importantly, relate to Subaru. In S2, they show what Subaru's life was like before being isekai'd. At a young age, Subaru had a natural ability and prospered at sports and curriculum. Always being compared to his father, he felt like he couldn't be his own person, and as natural ability and talent began to decline for Subaru, he began to decline as a human being as well. Subaru deteriorated into a person who believes they lack value due to the immense amount of expectations placed on him and the inability to fulfill them. That because he can't live up to anyone's expectations, he should just be forgotten about and left to rot. Having a lack of friends and never leaving his home, it becomes clear to the viewer that he's given up on life. So once he gets transported into a new world, Subaru sees this as an opportunity to "start over." Subaru felt free of the expectations placed on him in his old world and wanted to become the ideal person. He wanted to become the "protagonist," the center of attention, and the main focus, just like in popular anime and video games. However, this wouldn't pan out as in season 1, and you start to see his ideal protagonist facade eventually begin to fade away, as he believes everyone around him is useless and that he and his powers alone are paramount. Furthermore, this power he possesses (return by death) is unknown to all, and because of this, he's never able to express his pain and suffering or reveal his ability for fear he'll die. As a result, these beliefs, mixed with the ignorance of how anyone around him feels, leave him all alone. Realizing that he's useless and the "lowest of the low," he proceeds to self-destruct and destroy himself. However, as Subaru describes the way he thinks about himself, Rem describes the things about Subaru that she loves. The things that led to Subaru becoming Rem's hero. This ultimately gave Subaru the light to see the end of the dark tunnel, and at the end of season 1, he was able to beat the death loop and save everyone he held dear. At least he thought he did. Content that he saved the day, confessed, and smiled with Emilia, Subaru was horrified to find out that no one knew who Rem was. Now in a coma, Rem was effectively wiped out of everyone's mind except Subaru's. This led Subaru reluctant to ask/receive help from anyone. In season 2, new issues and problems seem to arise at each glance, and Subaru returning by death also seems second nature now. Although he escaped his self-loathing stage in season 1, he begins to rely on his return by death ability as he believes without it, he'd be utterly useless. By solely relying on his ability to return by death, he believed he would eventually pave the way for an outcome where he saves everyone, where no one but he should suffer. Repeat after repeat, you start to see Subaru break down, experiencing unmeasurable amounts of pain and suffering alone. The fruits of Subaru's labor being broken down and thrown in the trash after yet another brick wall is thrust in his way. Subaru believes only he should die for the people he cares about; however, he doesn't see this going both ways. People care about his well-being as well, such as Emilia, Otto, and Petra. That being said, as the first trial Subaru completed tackled his past self, the second trial tackled his present self and the current mindset he had. In this trial, Subaru experiences the events that occur after his deaths in certain timelines and witnesses people grieve and experience tremendous pain due to him dying. He realizes that although he saved them from death at his own expense, they still suffer tremendously emotionally due to his demise. Quite literally "back to zero," Subaru is at a loss for what to do and almost takes up Echidna's (the witch of greed) offer out of the fear he's run out of options. At first glance, Echidna's offer seems great. She gives you her insight and wisdom to find the path most desirable, and in return, Echidna wants to experience what Subaru experiences. She wants to explore the hidden future and the possibilities. However, it's much more complicated than that; actually, it's much more messed up and sinister. Echidna would help Subaru achieve his ideal future; However, Echidna wants to satisfy her curiosity. Going into specifics, Echidna would let Subaru die countless times, millions upon millions of times, to satiate her hunger for knowledge. Subaru would eventually reach his ideal future; however, at what cost? Taking up this offer would be tying a direct parallel to Subaru's past where he was trying to live his life according to others' expectations. Rather than living for himself, he'd revert back to the thing that nearly led him astray. Realizing that Echidna is void of any human emotion, Subaru turns down her offer, knowing he would eventually become emotionless like her if he took up her offer. Upon rejecting her offer, Subaru realizes something important. He has not once relied on others for help nor asked throughout his endeavors in the sanctuary arc. Through Otto's actions and words and many others, Subaru finally realized he's not alone. He has people that care about his well-being and people who want to help him. "We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others."- Dalai Lama XIV. I think this quote summarizes perfectly the battle Subaru was having internally. Previously covered in a shroud of loneliness, Subaru hated himself and believed all of his worth, and his value was tied to his witch authority. That if you take away his unique ability and the fact that he solves everyone's problems miraculously, he'd be left all alone. However, people loved Subaru because of his character, his being, rather than his ability. As a human, you need to rely on others. Although the people around you may not have the answers to help you with your problems, you can relish the fact that you can confide in them and bear the weight of the burden together. At first glance, depending on the help of others to solve your problems may seem like a weakness; however, it's the opposite. By asking the people closest to you for help or advice, you become stronger, knowing not every problem can't be solved solely on your own. Although I would love to say Re:Zero is fantastic for its plot, it just isn't. Many viewers at the end of S1 were left wondering and pondering what the plot indeed was. And even though we are given a better idea of the plot in S2, Re:Zero chooses not to emphasize the story and focuses on its amazing character development. The hints are all there; we follow Subaru, an MC who quite literally starts at "Zero," and aside from the cheesy reference to the anime's title, we watch Subaru and his journey. We watch him begin as someone who failed to live up to anyone's expectations and initially gave up on life. Through hard-learned lessons and experiences, you watch him turn into someone who finally understands that life is not fair, nor that there's a straight path that solves all problems. You're bound to encounter splinters and bumps along the way; you're going to feel depressed and alone at times too, but rather than take it head-on by yourself, or wallow in self-hate, rely on others, and bear the burden with others. As Subaru echoes wisdom from his mother, "What matters isn't how you start or what happens in the middle, it's how it ends." At first, Subaru misinterpreted the quote's meaning. However, by season 2's end, we meet a Subaru who's a complete contrast to the Subaru at the beginning of the series. Subaru has now realized his self-worth and value, and because of this, he can walk on equal footing with everyone else and laugh and smile with them. Subaru understands that he can't change his past nor the mistakes he's made; however, never lose yourself, keep moving forward with the assurance that you can still carry on with a smile on your face no matter what stands in your way. With that in mind, keep moving onward along with everyone who cares for you and loves you. That way, not even starting from zero would seem that bad.
tal_carmi
03/24/2021, 01:59 PM
Re:Zero's second season's worst aspect is revealed through each episode's runtime. A little under 30 minutes and most episodes do not include an OP or ED. At first glance you might think this means every episode is packed, but in reality every episode is not packed but rather bloated. Bloated with what? Information, lore, backstories, exposition. The story doesn't move until the last couple of episodes of the second part of the second season. The lore itself isn't bad, at times it can actually be quite intriguing, but it's just one mystery after another. I don't mean mystery as if you as the viewer are givenhints and you can hypothesize on what's going to happen or take a shot at guessing missing information. The mysteries you're given are impossible to interact with, they're just there to make you question why what's happening is happening, but there's nothing to help you make sense of it all, it's all just one big confusing mess. *SPOILERS* Take Emilia's trial for example (also the trials are a lazy story telling tool for revealing information), we're introduced to the Witch of Vanity, who is she? No idea. Petelguse an ally of Emilia's family, why? Why does he care about them? What is he doing in the witch cult? No idea. Everyone's worried about 'The Seal', what's 'The Seal'? no idea. Emilia's the only one with access to the key for 'The Seal', why? no idea. Now don't get me wrong, I don't expect the show to spoon feed me answers and reveal everything without keeping a sense of wonder. The problem is that this type of story telling is constant across almost the entire season. You are constantly bombarded with scenes such that you simply have no idea what to make of them. At a certain point it just gets overwhelming and I simply didn't care to know what anything means anymore. Re:Zero's lore is reach and grand, but the way it's revealed is lazy, inorganic (Characters will just constantly spill out information for no reason that makes sense) and it's just too much lore and not enough actual story. A good mystery keeps you in the dark while keeping you intrigued and following a certain kind of logic, Re:Zero keeps you in the dark and you're just forced to wait until it decides to let me some light in. One big reason for why it's so hard to understand the lore is because it's given through a huge cluster of eccentric dialogue that sounds really deep but is really just too complicated for it's own good. For some reason every character speaks in the exact same way, it causes the dialogue to unnecessarily drag on for too long, hence the long runtimes of each episode. Beneath all of this horrible story telling though, lies a beautiful world and epic fantasy. Hopefully next season's plot will be tighter.
PapaJoan
03/24/2021, 10:34 AM
Re:Zero is a masterpiece of storytelling that is about nuanced characters. Despite many clever ways to grow the characters always suffered from Return by Death's erasure of narrative. The story is done masterfully. The new details create parallels to the past, making you rethink everything about Re:Zero. The liberation of Sanctuary is the center of the story, its execution is delightful. Constant threats are always held, making the escape of Sanctuary feel exhilarating. I loved emilias backstory, garfiels backstory, and ottos backstory. The whole cour is amazing. Seeing Subaru's actions fall into place is unforgettable. Overall I would give this season a 10/10.
0451
03/24/2021, 09:30 AM
I already made a review on Part 1 of Season 2. Most of the things I said in it not only still hold true for Part 2, I think it even surpasses them. There might be some spoilers from Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 but I'll try to keep Part 2 spoilers as vague as possible. After a 3 month-long break White Fox returns with their Re:ZERO adaptation. The cliffhanger of the last Part was a bit odd and you could kinda tell that Part 1 & 2 were supposed to air back to back. I would've preferred to review both Parts together asa complete season as they complement each other and I also didn't want to repeat myself on some things. But obviously, it couldn't be helped considering the state of the world. I guess now it doesn't matter since Part 2 is here anyway and has finished airing. Now the actual review. The first thing I want to get out of the way was the lackluster animation of the previous Part. Since animation switched from studio to home after Episode 5 of Part 1 the quality noticeably took a dip. After the 3 month break, the animation actually improved. Honestly, I'm even more shocked that White Fox was capable of delivering 29:30 minutes long episode for weeks on end. Apparently, Kadokawa paid off ads so that Re:ZERO could fill up the entire time slot for the TV channels it was airing on Japan. I haven't been watching anime for too long but something like this is basically unheard of to me. So I thought this deserves some praise. There are still some weird frames here and there but their numbers are low compared to the last part. Those awkward frames don't take away from the enjoyment too much as the quality holds up in places where it matters the most. Episode 23 "Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts" and Episode 24 "Choose Me" are by far the highlights of Season 2. And this wouldn't be possible if not for outsourcing partners such as A-1 or ufotable studios. Once again, the OP and ED have only been played twice each. So when I said 29:30 minute episodes it means that most of them were actually pure content. White Fox easily could've sacrificed pacing and shove OP and ED in every episode but they didn't. Anyone who watched this season would tell you that their passion for this show is genuine, and I can get behind that. The ED visuals were fantastic, OP visuals were a bit lackluster according to many but I'm shocked that we got an OP at all, to be honest. Since I was talking about OPs and EDs I might as well start talking about the OST. As I said before, music has always been good in Re:ZERO. Do I really gotta say any more? Well, like it or not, I'm gonna. Even though there was a lack of OP/ED visuals in most episodes we still got to hear some of them in the background. And the most notable instances for them were definitely during the Emilia episodes and "Choose Me". I can't talk about OST without mentioning 'Door' by Rie Takahashi and 'What You Don't Know' by Rie Murakawa. Both of them delivered fantastic performances for their insert songs <3 If you haven't watched Part 2 yet and don't know who the latter is, you're in for a surprise. The last bits of "Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts" parallels Episode 18 of Season 1 "From Zero" in many different ways. I just wish Arai Satomi got an insert song too :( The overall OSTs were also phenomenal. You're doing yourself a disservice if you watch the episodes without a nice pair of headphones! But something that was even more amazing was the cast's portrayal of their characters. Once again Yusuke Kobayashi knocks it out of the park with his performance. But his and Maaya Sakamoto's highlights were mostly in Part 1. In this part, we got an amazing portrayal from Rie Takahashi and her voicing various transformations of Emilia which I'm trying hard to not spoil! Other notable performances include Arai Satomi as Beatrice and Takehito Koyasu as Dio- I mean Roswaal. Let's talk about the characters. I strongly believe that Re:ZERO isn't a plot-driven but a character-driven show. The plot revolves around the characters and the characters revolve around the plot. If you can't really see their relation then you might not be able to appreciate the true genius of Re:ZERO. Re:ZERO puts its characters first above all else and that's where the heart of this series lied since Day 1. The character development of Emilia is undoubtedly the highlight of the Season. She went from a mostly off-screen "main" character from Season 1 to a useless pathetic crybaby in Part 1 of Season 2 to one of the most beloved and memorable characters in a short time with organic development. She has definitely cemented herself as one of the two leading characters of Re:ZERO (finally)... but whether or not she's "THE best girl" is still up for debate, according to some folk anyway. Subaru went from a useless pathetic crybaby (like Emilia) to one of the chaddest of chads in no time as well. Anyone who unironically used to call him a "self-insert main character", "weak mc" or a "simp" (despite Re:ZERO predating the term ironically) is literally proven wrong by the 2nd episode and again in the last two episodes. Even I used to think Subaru was somewhat of a self-insert main character while watching Season 1. But he has successfully established himself to be his own character which is something very rare to see in modern isekai shows. If your definition of "strength" exclusively relies upon physical strength then I can see why you'd still say those things and completely miss the point of the characters. Again, Re:ZERO isn't a typical shonen d@#k measurement contest about which characters can bust the largest nut like let's say in Dragonballz. It's not an action, power fantasy isekai harem show either. (sorry for the random rant) That being said there was a surprising bit of action in the last few episodes which were well-animated. Other highlighted characters of the season include Otto (BEST BOI), Garfiel (dammit, both Otto and Garfiel best boi), Roswaal, Ram (best girl?), Beatrice (also best girl) and many other characters whom I might not mention because of spoilers. Re:ZERO isn't about its waifus, nor is it about torture porn for sadists. It's about the characters. Even if you can't fully invest in all of the characters, you should still be able to acknowledge their growth at the very least. If Part 1 was about the buildup, then Part 2 is about the delivery, and boy does it deliver. The tension is at an all-time high but not in the same way as Part 1. After the first episode, and ESPECIALLY after the 2nd episode, you get the gist of what's to come and you can't help but smile and still be surprised as things play out. Re:ZERO Season 1, and by extension Part 1 of Season 2 covered the worst qualities of the protagonist Subaru. Not many shows have the balls to address the weaker aspects of their main character, at least not in the way Re:ZERO does. Part 1 also dealt with Emilia, but if Part 1 was Subaru's part then Part 2 is Emilia's. She's the second main character of Re:ZERO. It was unfortunate that Season 1 didn't focus more on her, leaving Rem to take up all the spotlight after the first half of Season 1. But now Rem being in the state she is in not only leaves the door open for Subaru's growth but also Emilia's. To some people that might've been a terrible sacrifice but to me who never really watched the first season solely for Rem it's actually worth it. I don't think I made it clear in my last review cause of spoilers so I think I should now, Rem's exclusion from the main plot of Season 2 isn't a weakness. Too many people before Season 2 used to say, "Subaru's RBD is too OP", "it's not an interesting power", "it's a plot device which ruins the story and makes it boring" etc. Rem's comatose state and Subaru's inability to save her right away expose the fundamental flaws of his RBD, something that can be called a curse. It's not his own power and he certainly can't control it, he never could. By repeating loops we can see sides of characters that are impossible to see in a normal linear anime or shows. Tappei Nagatsuki takes full advantage of this time looping technique in his story. This was true for Season 1 as well. But Season 2 takes it to a different level. Time to address the most common criticisms of Season 2. I've heard from many people that it has "too many flashbacks" or it's "too boring". I can't comment too much about how boring it may be to other people as different people watch different anime for different reasons. If you already watched previous seasons then you probably have a rough idea of what's to come, but even then this Part will subvert your expectations in a positive way. If you think this season is boring cause of "flashbacks" then let me correct you, without spoiling too much. There were only 2 or 3 real flashback scenes in the whole season. "But wait! That doesn't add up!" you might think. I'm assuming you already watched Part 1 but let me just give you a refresher, the Sanctuary Witch Trials are NOT flashbacks. They're extremely integral to the characters, and by being integral to the characters, they're also integral to the overall narrative. I'd say even the "real" flashbacks are extremely important in giving context about the other characters. These aren't your average cliché flashbacks that take place right before a fight scene and only screw up the pacing. There's a bunch of them in this Part, I agree, but not one of them wasn't well done or felt unimportant. All of them served a purpose. Another common complaint is that this arc is "too long" or "it stays at the same place". This is objectively true. The first season of the anime covers the first 3 Arcs from the novel. Season 2 only covers Arc 4 from Episode 2 and spans the entire season. But I don't believe this to be a weakness. It's true that Season 1 spends way much time exploring different locations and characters, but the actual world-building in Season 2 surpasses Season 1 by a long shot. It's also true that Season 2 doesn't have a lot of returning characters from Season 1, at least not for long, which may be disappointing to people who are fans of the missing characters. But what it lacks in quantity it makes up for it with quality. The returning characters from Season 1 who stick around get amazing characterization and the brand new characters are just as interesting as characters from Season 1, if not more. Heck, I'd argue the latter is more true. Not a single moment in Part 2 is wasted or feels like filler. If anything, White Fox delivered more than what any of us expected which makes this more than any 'average' Light Novel adaptation. There were some cut content unfortunately like any other LN adaptation. Even some important moments cut from the LN are still present in the freaking manga adaptation of the same story. Despite this, in my opinion, there was no dull moment in this season except for maybe a few small instances. I'm just hoping that the cut scenes will get readded in the next Season/Arc of Re:ZERO anime. Re:ZERO might've just become one of my favorite anime of all time which I can't really say about a lot of the recently released anime. Season 2 feels like a dream even after the unexpected success of Season 1 and many years of silence. I'm just worried about a sequel. Re:ZERO episodes every week pulls some great cliffhangers so I'm used to them but what I don't understand is why White Fox doesn't do the same thing with the season finale. Basically a repetition of the original cut of the Season 1 finale. Still I'm hopeful for a potential Season 3. 10/10. No, BS.
Shingster
03/24/2021, 08:23 AM
Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Re Zero’s second season entirely and while care has been taken to minimize story-related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. This review has slight spoilers regarding the movie Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World – The Frozen Bond. Based on a popular light novel of the same name Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd season is the second season of the critically acclaimed first season of the series that premiered in the spring of 2016 and allows us the excellent opportunityto once again follow the lives of our heroine the beautiful but stubborn half-elf Emilia and Subaru Natsuki her saviour/would-be knight in shining armour as they upon their return to their home after surviving a deadly attack by the dreaded witch-cult are forced once more to retreat in the face of sudden powerful assaults and forced to seek refuge within the realm known simply as Sanctuary. Though the realm true to its name is one that is a place of refuge for its many inhabitants the realm unknown to them both is also one that holds not just many mysteries regarding the world as Subaru and Emilia see it but also ones that pertain to trials that are linked to the mental struggles that both struggle with deep inside their hearts trials that both must be able to face down and overcome if they wish to triumph over not only the machinations of the witch-cult but also save some of their dearest of friends and allies from the delusions that chain them to the past. Only then will they be able to face down the true challenge of facing down the enmity of the people of a kingdom and try and change their views by the virtue of their deeds. Back in the spring of 2016, the prequel of this season was broadcasted and while the series started off relatively slow gradually got increasingly interesting and tense as the story expanded and more and more characters were introduced that served to create many new fans among its viewers including myself. While on the surface the premise for Re Zero can be said to be a typical Isekai albeit one that features a grand fantasy setting and an extensive array of characters what served to draw my interest to it and ensure that I will be a fan of the series for many years to come is Subaru and Emilia’s shared sense of determination to not only face down the many challenges that bar their way but also learn to master not only the many unique powers and abilities that they wield but also learn to snuff their sense of pride and learn to work effectively with their allies, friends and rivals and face down the bigger picture. This potent combination when used in combination with Emilia and Subaru’s own personal struggles as they sought to find the courage to face down the innermost fears that they hid in their hearts I felt really made that first season unique and helped set the stage for the premiere of the long-awaited second season which not only expanded greatly on the lore of the world but also reveal to us the truth about Subaru’s powers and the truth about the nature of Emilia’s painful past as well. The first episode of the second season I felt was an excellent one that while doing well to welcome us back to the world of Re Zero by reintroducing us to the main cast also served in true Re Zero fashion to create an episode that was easily able to enthrall its fans once more via its skilful usage of the potent combination of sudden attacks by powerful new enemies, overwhelming sense of loss and a sense of overwhelming despair that threatens to once more overcome them a fact that I felt it succeeded easily and ensure that this is a series that I will watch till the very end. Subaru Natsuki Subaru Natsuki portrayed by veteran voice actor Yuusuke Kobayashi of Darwin’s Game and Fuuka fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the primary protagonist of the series. A human being from his earth who after purchasing daily consumables from the local konbini and embarking on his journey home was rather than reaching home safely to continue his life of being a shut-in was instead reincarnated in a brand-new world with a most peculiar ability. In his initial appearances, Subaru was shown to be a kind-hearted, considerate and intelligent person by nature who while preferring to sidestep troublesome problems when encountering them was shown to have an interesting knack for solving them in unexpected ways that will serve to allow the best outcome possible for him and his allies which is perhaps best shown in the alliance that he managed to forge between the Emilia, Crusch and Anastasia camps during the hunt for the white whale and his attempt to break through the long closed-off heart of Garfiel that had been borne out of the mistrust that he had of the outside world that he viewed as being responsible for stealing everything that was dear to him. While these accomplishments showed well his quick thinking nature, determination, and stubbornness to never accept defeat unless all avenues of approach had been attempted this ability to forge bonds and negotiate with others on an innate level also showed well both his bravery at interacting with dangerous characters and situations as well as the loyalty and care that his displays towards his friend's people that he despite wanting nothing more than to live a carefree life with the girl that he loves will ensure that he will do his utmost to help no matter what. As a result of the many trials that Subaru had to face and overcome in the previous season, Subaru was shown to as the series progresses gradually mature both in terms of personality as well as in how he interacts with others. In the beginning of the series Subaru due largely due to the circumstances that surround his arrival in this world was shown to have a degree of selfishness in his actions and indeed was shown to have an innate desire to help others to achieve a sense of self-satisfaction in the progress a fact that served to strain his relationship with Emilia when this becomes apparent. However, as a result of the many struggles that he had managed to overcome over the course of the journey this sense of selfishness was shown to have been largely replaced by a sense of humility and a genuine desire to help those that he sees as genuine friends. At the same time while never completely mastering the sense of fear that comes from facing down both the fearsome foes that bar their path as well as the sense of dread that comes from interacting with the powers that are associated with the feared witches Subaru though still feeling it was shown to be able to control it better and indeed unlike before was shown to be able to not let it dictate his actions and instead be able to bounce back from sudden situations faster and much more effectively than his past selves and in the process be able to provide much more emotional support to his friends and allies when they require it. When used in conjunction with his newly gained traits of humility Subaru as an individual was shown to have become a much more steadfast and reliable person a fact that allows him to easily take centre stage when his allies require his help. However, despite being able to control his fear better Subaru is not immune to the sense of despair that he experiences when facing down terrible enemies and revelations which when used in combination with his reluctance to involve his friends for fear of losing them can have the effect of causing lockup within his psych a fact that is shown well in ep14 within part 2 of the season in which Otto had to remind him sternly what his primary motivation was. Largely as a result of this rather stern lecture from Otto who he initially pegged as a minor supporting character that Subaru was able to realize that in his stubborn desire to protect everyone by himself that he had made the cardinal mistake of not only not respecting their wishes but also not allowing his friends to actively take part in his plans and thus demonstrating that he does not trust them enough with his plans. As a result of this sense of revelation, Subaru was finally able to realize that by trying to do everything by himself he was not only worrying his friends greatly but also not letting them share his burden as well something that I felt was ironic considering the lengths that he was going to achieve that. Though willing to place his trust in his allies and friends with his plans in the aftermath Subaru was shown to maintain a degree of his stubborn nature and prefer to take to the field personally when dealing with the most critical of plans. At the same time, his newfound trust in his friends with his plans also served to awaken within Subaru a desire to be rather direct in his methods of persuasion bordering on disrespect when saving those that he deems necessary for his plans as shown in his saving of Beatrice from a fate that she had long accepted an encounter that showed well not just how far he was willing to go with his words but also how far he will go to drag them back into the reality that is the real world. As a character, I felt that Subaru Natsuki was one that over the course of the season was developed excellently with much of his initial traits that I found to be annoying in the first season be largely replaced by traits that served to remake him into not only a reliable and confident person that while lacking in combat ability was able to make up for it by having excellent intelligence, quick thinking and a knack for forging unexpected alliances thanks to his innate sense of cunning and by doing so reshape the field into one that’s more suited to his skillset being the most notable that within the series was shown well in the many bold and ambitious plans that he had created to help his friends and allies heedless of the risks that he exposes himself too which is shown best in his determined attempt to save Betty from her fate. While Subaru’s famed ability to return by death is one that has served to allow him to create and enact many interesting plans thanks to its unique ability that allowed him many opportunities to gather useful intel it was also one that was seen to place a heavy emotional burden on him due to not only the effects that being killed provides but also of the sense of dread that comes from having a power that was granted to you by one of the famed witches of the land. While an ability that was powerful when used for its intended purpose it nonetheless was one that took an equally heavy toll that one must pay for making use of its power in the form of loss of memory which for Subaru who had since entering this beautiful but equally deadly world has plenty of was still a heavy one to pay. But to both Subaru’s credit and the brief but powerful support he received from the witches Subaru was able to realize that crazy as his powers are that it can also be used to change the fates of his friends and allies if correctly used a revelation that served to make him even more determined to use it as a means to protect the one’s most precious to him even if it costs him his life in the future. Overall, I felt that Yuusuke Kobayashi did an excellent job portraying the character of Subaru Natsuki with his effective displays of the different kinds of emotion that Subaru encounters within the series as a result of the many trials that he faces being especially praiseworthy. Emilia Emilia portrayed by veteran seiyuu singer Rie Takahashi of Comic Girls and School-Live fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main heroine of the series. A half-elf and one of the candidates of the country’s succession race for its new queen Emilia from her initial appearances was shown to be a kind, calm, caring, and determined person by nature that treated everyone around her with respect and humility. Due largely to the rumours that surround the feared witch of Envy Satella and her own uncanny resemblance to her Emilia was exposed to many displays of hatred, fear, and distrust that served to make her life within the kingdom of Lugnica an uncomfortable one. However, despite these displays of hostility towards her Emilia did not deviate from her base nature maintaining her kind and caring nature while being considerate and polite towards all she meets regardless of their social standing within the kingdom showing well not only her honourable nature and the traits that define her foundation as a person but also the views of the world that she hopes to create within the kingdom. As the season progresses however and Emilia not only manages to overcome the trials within the sanctuary but also make peace with the painful past that she had kept bottled up within her heart Emilia’s personality gradually starts to change. In her initial appearances back in the first season Emilia while showing well her base personality traits was shown to only see the succession race as a means to accomplish her wish rather than try and forge that into a life path that she can follow, unlike her rivals. As a result of her earnest desire to save her frozen family, Emilia was forced to largely dismiss the feelings of others and where possible avoid showing her true feelings to others both as a means to protect herself and also protect her position as a candidate for the succession. However, as a result of not only meeting Subaru as well as the people of the nearby village and her fellow rivals within the succession Emilia was gradually able to realize that while closing off her heart and not interacting with others does indeed serve to protect her from harm it did so at the expense of weakening her as she knew not the kind of bonds that can be forged between friends and allies and neither can she rely on the support of those that she grows close to with certainty. As a result of this harsh revelation, Emilia was not only able to realize that by opening her heart to others and actively helping out others in need that she was not only able to understand others better but also for the first time in a long time forge a bond of friendship with people who will support her not for political reasons but rather because they want to support her because they consider her a dear friend. Perhaps more importantly she was finally able to realize the kind of strong bonds that had existed within both her heart and Subaru’s own that she had until now been bottling up within her heart a revelation that served to finally allow her to openly rely upon Subaru not only for his ability to achieve the impossible but also for the sense of emotional support that he brings to her heart a development that served to create a solid foundation from which Emilia can rely upon to grow as a person and use this to confront the many trials that this season throws at her and overcome them together. Overall, in terms of character development, I felt that Emilia as a person was able to not only grow significantly as a result of her revelations in the present day but at the same time also be given much more character and emotional depth as a result of the insight into her painful past that we were afforded to via the trials within sanctuary both elements of which I felt synergized well with each other and allow her to become a much stronger character within the series both physically and mentally. Overall, I felt that Rie Takahashi like her fellow co-star Yuusuke Kobayashi also did an excellent job at portraying the character of Emilia especially in portraying her younger self and in vocalizing the sense of pain, fear, and loss that came from seeing her loved ones be cut down in front of her. AMV In terms of animation while the character designs for the existing main cast of the series remained unchanged I felt that the designs for the many new characters within the season were one’s that were both well designed and developed with the new archbishops of Gluttony, Greed, and Pandora the witch of vainglory and the designs for the various witches being the notable ones. In particular, I felt that the designs for the witches of sloth and lust while certainly impressive had a degree of an oddity in their design as I felt that the design for the witch of sloth Sekhmet was far more suited to Camilla the witch of lust that Carmilla’s current body. In terms of location while the season only featured a handful of locations these I felt were both well designed and animated with the sanctuary, the witch’s tea party as well as the past version of the forest where Emilia and Mother Fortuna lived being especially noteworthy with both being well animated and really beautiful as well. One location that I felt deserves special mention was the replica of the real world that Subaru visited as part of his first trial. While the location itself was not one that was not as breathtakingly beautiful as the others were what made this setting so special was because this space allowed us a rare opportunity to meet Subaru’s parents Kenichi and Naoko and see the kind of relationships that existed between them and Subaru as well as the amends that Subaru made to them as a result of the life lessons that he had learned as a result of overcoming the many trials that barred his path. When used in combination with the mental image of Subaru’s lament at never being able to see them again in the flesh and their perceived grief at not being able to find one trace of their missing son in the real world this setting served to create quite the emotional effect within me that made this scene truly stand out. In terms of combat animations, I felt that this season featured a fair number of battles between the main cast and the various antagonists of the series that served to showcase not only the stakes that came about from encountering and overcoming the trials but also of the increasing attention that the witch-cult was casting in their direction as a result of recent events. Notable fights that I felt deserve special mention were Elsa’s fight with Frederica, Beatrice’s fight against Elsa, Ram’s fight against Garfiel, Mother Fortuna, and Petelgeuse’s tragic fight with Pandora and Garfiel’s fight against Elsa. Beatrice’s fight against Elsa I felt was especially impressive as I was under the impression that she had no combat ability outside of her library for which she greatly surprised me with her attempt to stop Elsa. While the season had many excellent fights my favourite one was arguably Garfiel’s fight with Elsa within the burning mansion that not only featured a tension-filled fast-paced fight but was also one that served to expand upon both Elsa and Garfiel as characters as well particularly with regards to the former. However, while these fights were well designed and animated I felt a number of them were one’s that ended up being off-screen which I felt were a shame as I would have liked to see them take place on screen. In terms of music the series as a whole made use of two opening’s and three ending themes which was Realize that was performed by veteran singer Konomi Suzuki, Long Shot by veteran singer Mayu Maeshima, Memento, Believe in you that was both performed by nonoc and Door that was performed by Emilia’s seiyuu veteran seiyuu singer Rie Takahashi. While all of these songs I felt were excellent ones I felt that my favourite ones were Realize whose dramatic vocals combined well with the visuals of that opening to showcase just how determined Subaru is to help his friends even if it meant dying countless deaths to achieve it and reflecting well on Subaru’s fierce defence against the despair that threatens to envelop him. Long shot on the other hand I felt was a similarly strong song with excellent vocals and visuals to match but the feelings that I got from that song were the polar opposite of what we saw in Realize as that song to me represented not only a stand against the myriad foes that surround and threaten them but a stand that was no longer being conducted alone but instead in the company of allies that you can trust wholeheartedly representing well the many connections that Subaru and Emilia had managed to forge as a result of the many trials that they have managed to face and overcome together. While the series animation’s breathtakingly beautiful animations have already been stated I felt that within the series this was complemented nicely by the series OST that while providing excellent situational music also reserved the best tracks for the more heartfelt moments within the series such as in Subaru’s rescue of Beatrice from her library and Ram and Puck’s fight against Roswaal being the best examples. In terms of voice acting, I felt that overall, the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their characters whether they were main or support ones. In particular, I feel that Yuusuke Kobayashi and Rie Takahashi both did an excellent job of portraying the main characters of Subaru and Emilia with both being able to add much additional emotional weight to their lines that served to make their interactions within the story that much more heartfelt. At the same time, I also felt that Yuka Iguchi, Yui Horie, Satomi Arai, Kaori Nazuka, Rie Murakawa, Aimi Tanaka, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Mamiko Noto, Nao Touyama, Misaki Kuno, Mikako Komatsu, Manaka Iwami, Mai Nakahara, Kouhei Amasaki, Rie Kugimiya, and Maaya Sakamoto all did an excellent job of portraying the characters of Crusch, Felix, Beatrice, Frederica, Ram, Ryuuzu, Garfiel, Elsa, Daphne, Typhon, Minerva, Carmilla, Sekhmet, Otto, Pandora, and Echidna respectively. While only shown in a handful of episodes I felt that Kousuke Toriumi, Ryouka Yuzuki, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Inori Minase, and Eri Suzuki also did an excellent job at portraying the characters of Kenichi and Naoko Natsuki Subaru’s grief-stricken parents who until this day pray fervently for their son's return, Petelgeuse when he was still a normal lovestruck man, Fortuna the guardian of the seal whose death was the main cause of Emilia’s painful past, Rem who sadly was stuck in seemingly eternal sleep over the course of the season and Meili the child turned beastmaster Overall conclusion In overall Re Zero season 2, I felt was an excellent series that served to not only expand upon both the lore and characters that were introduced back in the first season but also serve to expand upon both the stakes and struggles that Subaru and Emilia face as a consequence of their actions by introducing not only new characters and locations but also present a more personal take on their struggles in the form of the trials that allow us to see the kind of trauma and regrets that existed within their respective hearts. Re Zero season 2’s main strengths I felt were its premise, story, characters, music, voice acting, and overall animation all of which combined to make this season perhaps one of the best animes of this anime season. The season’s focus on the more personal aspects of one’s heart and the regrets that they kept hidden from their friends and allies in the form of Subaru and Emilia’s trials I felt was an excellent move as not only did it allow us to see the kind of pain that had been lurking deep within their hearts that they did their best not to show others preferring instead to hide them instead but at the same time it also allowed both characters an opportunity to not only confront them and make peace with the things that they most dearly miss and allow the emotions that they had until now kept hidden to flow freely and allow both to make their final farewells to those regrets as they take their next steps forward toward the future. In overall I felt that Re Zero’s second season was an excellent anime that had among its main strengths an excellent premise, story, characters, voice acting, music, and animation and served to not only reinforce the foundations that the first season introduced but also expand upon it by introducing new characters and events that tied in nicely with both Subaru and Emilia’s journey via its skilled weaving of emotions, revelations, and character development. As a final score, I would say that the second season of Re Zero easily deserves a final score of 10/10.
Jaereku
03/24/2021, 07:53 AM
“I love who I am.” The final line of the opening’s chorus, as well as the ending’s titular “Believe in you”, form the thesis and backbone of this season of Re:Zero. This cour shifted its focus away from the usual Subaru character study, delving more into worldbuilding, developing its side cast and delivering its core messages. Why does Re:Zero, within the abundant sea of modern isekai, stand out like a shining beacon of light 5 years later? Some will argue it’s the breadth of its “best girl” selection, others will say it’s the impactful thriller elements. Re:Zero’s true strength lies, if you were to ask me, inthe humanity of its characters and the messages it imparts. These aspects are in the limelight in this cour. The previously established Trials mechanic is used to explore characters’ histories and motivations, all the while sprinkling in setups upon setups leading up to the grand picture of the series. Subaru, as the protagonist, takes a back seat; he lends a hand to the other characters, gives them a push, and yet it remains up to them to make a choice and save themselves. Yes; Re:Zero Season 2 is about self-reliance — but it is also about the fact that when you do decide to take that first step, whether it’s to change, to save or improve yourself, there are people out there who will cheer you on. The message of this cour is a deeply positive one, hence the show momentarily forsaking its usual gimmick. It’s also a very satisfactory watch, after the feeling of deadlock within the first cour, as the characters smash through insurmountable odds set up by the charismatic villain of Part 1. Due to the nature of the show, some spoilers will follow. Cour 1 revealed the antagonist for this season to be Roswaal, behind both the Sanctuary situation and the mansion attack. I would, however, say that beyond specific characters, the true antagonist in this arc is a symbolic, or abstract one — the idea of “stagnation”, which happens to be behind every obstacle of the arc. Roswaal is stuck in 400 years past, believing in the permanence of feelings and chained to the past, intent on fostering that same weakness which he believes exists in others to manipulate them; Elsa is on a desperate hunt to recapture a feeling of warmth from her past; Beatrice remains bound to a 400 year old contract; Garfiel is terrified of the world being too big for him to protect everyone and decides that the Sanctuary should remain closed off. Re:Zero acknowledges that the status quo is attractive — is it not normal to stay attached to the beautiful Witch who saved your life, to want to recapture a feeling of relief from one’s past, or to want to keep your world small where you can control and protect everything? — before pointing out that it is also deeply self-destructive and dangerous, from the impending doom in the form of a carnivorous rabbit horde to the mental degradation of Roswaal and Elsa’s characters. All of these ideas are conveyed with no shortage of symbolism, the most striking one for me being the use of Beatrice and Roswaal’s Gospels. In order to overcome these barriers, Re:Zero asks its characters to find the balance between “dangerous self-reliance” and “toxic dependence”. Subaru, unable to overcome anything by himself despite his abuse of Return by Death in the first cour, realizes something in the second thanks to a friend; the gears of victory start spinning only when he reaches a hand out to his allies and starts valuing his own life. The main heroine Emilia takes the opposite path, beginning her growth only when her dependence on Puck and Subaru is broken. From there, this hero-heroine duo constitute the heart of the anime, spurring everyone else into action. Characters argue and fight; ideals clash, sparks fly. This would be around the part where the average viewer would call the dialogue overlong and repetitive, without any effort on their end to connect with, or at least understand the situations at hand. I couldn’t disagree more. The dialogue forms the heart of the arc; when a character speaks, their lines aren’t artificially tailored for some 3rd party viewer. The core ideas, themes and motivations aren’t spoonfed; they’re inbetween the lines, asking a degree of investment and attentiveness from the viewers. Camera angles assist the viewer in finding meaning, if not to simply immerse them into the scene, like the series’ iconic eye reflection shots that convey “understanding” or “trust”. The argument between Subaru and Emilia in EP40 is probably the strongest display of that particular strength of the series, from the sheer rawness of it to how real it felt as an unreasonable clash of emotions, all the while allowing the two characters to overcome their emotional hurdles. It wouldn’t be difficult to argue that the Sanctuary premise, and the mansion situation at hand, are only present to allow all of these clashes and character explorations to take place, and the attentive viewer will most definitely appreciate this setting that goes beyond the isekai fantasy norm. From a purely script-writing perspective, a lot of these moments overshadow the first half of Season 1, and come close to even the legendary, all-dialogue episode 18. This is all, sadly, from a purely script-writing perspective. While the directing throughout the show is generally good (with sadly more dips than usual in this cour — and no, this isn’t referring to the liberal use of filters, which I didn’t find too bothersome as someone used to such things), the animation is insufficient to carry the weight of certain moments. Anime is, first and foremost, a storytelling medium, but even the best story will fall flat if poorly translated on screen. While Part 2 certainly doesn’t fall to that level, the feeling that something is *missing*, or to be more precise that the characters are too static to properly elevate the scene is certainly there. It also certainly doesn’t help that the downgraded character designs, making most of the male characters hard to look at compared to Season 1, have carried over from S2P1. Re:Zero has had segments even heavier in dialogue than this cour before (again, the pure dialogue-heavy EP18 comes to mind), but a lack of dynamic animation on top of the increased complexity of the writing will inevitably lead to some false perceptions for the average viewer. These production-related issues, along with some cuts to the source that may negatively affect the flow of scenes for some, make it so that I cannot give this a perfect score; nevertheless, White Fox persevered admirably, trying their utmost to stay faithful to the source with consistent 30-minute episodes, this entire season reaching up to 33 episodes disguised as 25. While cracks in the production are present, series director Watanabe managed to balance out ambition with a schedule that didn’t require a crunch to the finish line like other popular gems of this season. But I digress. Making up for the more static animation is a soundtrack that may just match AoT in its movie-like feel; the “fantasy” aspect of the series shines through in almost every track. The voice acting is stunning, from Yuusuke Kobayashi’s emotional performances to Rie Takahashi’s more and more confident and energetic voice, matching the arc of her character. Let’s also not forget to praise Takehito Koyasu, who managed to convey every facet of Roswaal’s character with skill. To top it off, this season came with two character insert songs, both used fittingly and beautifully. In a season as focused in fleshing out its cast through numerous backstories, character arcs and climactic moments, these are some of the most essential components, and I can only be glad the production remained stellar on that front. Overall, if I had to sum up in a sentence what this arc of Re:Zero imparted in me, it would be, once again, “when you finally decide to take the first step to make a change, there will be people willing to help and encourage you along the way”. Subaru isn’t strong, he isn’t even cooler, but he isn’t alone anymore— just that fact is enough to change the tone of the series into something more positive. You cannot remain dependent on others, but avoiding human relationships with those around you will also get you nowhere. If nothing else, I think what Re:Zero Season 2 does is worth lending an ear to.
swirlydragon
03/24/2021, 07:34 AM
"I am the Frozen Witch, born in Elior forest. I won't give in to the malice of a fellow witch" -Emilia SPOILERS BELOW Story:- With how much of a suffering cour 1 had, cour 2 instead has the feeling of accomplishment and joy. It is like fighting a Dark Souls boss. You die countless times in doing so. You feel sad, disappointed and frustrated. You may even feel like giving up. But the moment you defeat that boss, you get an intense feeling of joy and happiness. You get rewarded for your relentless dedication. This is how you may feel when you watch this anime. With howmuch suffering Subaru had in cour 1, it is time for Otto to talk some sense into Subaru. Now with Subaru getting back his motivation, he confronts Roswaal and is ready to fix the problems in both the mansion and the sanctuary. There are also some mysteries that are revealed in this cour. With Emilia being one of the most mysterious character in this series, we finally get to see her backstory. And it has that mix feeling of happiness and sorrow. I really cried watching it so brace yourselves for it. It really gives Emilia a lot of character depth and makes her one of my favorites. We also see some insight into Roswaal's and Betty's backstory. It really gives them a lot of character development too. Also, one of the most enjoyable characters from season 1 is back in this cour. I wouldn't spoil their name. Although, the character is now a little different. Story:- 10/10 Art:- The art is not too appealing compared to season 1 or the OVAs. But some scenes are nicely done. Art:- 7/10 Sound:- There are some new OSTs that are beautiful, especially "Door" which was played in second episode. Ram's "insert song" was also great! Overall, the other songs are also decent. Sound:- 9/10 Character:- This cour really shows a lot of character development especially for Emilia, Subaru, Betty, Roswaal, Ram, Otto and Garfiel. We see how insecure Emilia is when Puck leaves her and considering Emilia's past of being isolated and shunned, she actually breaks down because the only person who loved her is gone. With Emilia being at her lowest point and not being able to complete the trials, we have the "reason to believe" episode. Just like a phoenix, "the witch of frost" (Emilia) rises up again and confronts the "witch of greed" (Echidna), now with confidence that is unshakable. That was a really badass scene. Otto's backstory was really well done and provided a lot of depth to his character. Garfiel's trial was really emotional and I loved it. His relationship with his mom really brought me to tears. Apart from these three, Subaru and Ram also had their moments to shine. Furthermore, Betty and Roswaal's past was also beautifully done. The relationship between Emilia and Subaru has also developed a lot especially after "reason to believe". Btw I especially loved smol Emilia and the cute Emilia x Subaru dance. Adding to that, the Ram, Puck and Roswaal scene was really badass and awesome. Also, Subaru and Betty scenes were really good! I wouldn't want to spoil it though ;) Character:- 10/10 Enjoyment:- I really enjoyed each and every episode. It is filled with sorrow, despair but at the end of it all, it has that rare feeling of accomplishment and joy which makes this anime really enjoyable. Enjoyment:- 10/10 Overall:- Just finish part 2. It is gonna be amazing, I promise. EMT! Overall rating:- 10/10
HellLyter
03/24/2021, 07:10 AM
Let's see if I can make it through this review without dying and having to restart from 0. Speaking of that particular number, you know what else gets a 0? This season of Re:Zero, except add a 1 in front of it and BOOM! 10/10 baby. Haha, get it? It's a number joke! If you like that, be sure to SMASH that helpful button like Garfiel SMASHED Elsa, if ya know what I mean~...HellLyter was killed by his embarrassment, awful taste in comedy, and desire for pitiful likes. How greedy. Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought... Alright, reset time, lemme start over.Re:Zero has been a shining light in the anime industry since its first season debuted back in 2016. It's effective characterization, world building, and sheer entertainment value among other things have been top notch throughout the seasons. The care and detail that Studio White Fox has been putting into its production has also been apparent and much appreciated. I mean, 30 minute episodes? And removing the op and ed during most episodes to include even more content? Awesome in every way...except for the fact that I don't get to hear the opening theme Long Shot that much. It's a seriously good song. I just love the tone and voice quality of the singer Mayu Maeshima. I even like the way that her voice kinda cracks at the end of each phrase. Is it weird to say that I find it cute? Yeah, probably. Anyway, I hope she gets hired to do more theme songs down the line! If you're expecting a lot of death and Subaru suffering from this, then you're watching the wrong season. The previous season is the one that established the set up for this arc as well as where everyone stands...it's also the one that has ample portions of delicious Subaru pain and torment for those of you who get your sick kicks from watching the poor dude's anguish. This second half primarily details how Subaru breaks through this seemingly impossible situation despite what an incredible long shot it is. And let me tell you, it's quite the exciting journey. But you know why the anime isn't perfect? It's because it doesn't have frickin Rem in it!!! I mean, come on man! She only has like one line this entire season...and it was a pretty great one to be honest about the proper usage of prayer, but anyway. WHEN IS BEST GIRL GONNA WAKE U- ...HellLyter was killed by Rem haters for bringing up a character who is completely irrelevant this season. His inability to get over her is kinda creepy. How lustful. Ok, let's backtrack a bit and try again, but without the fanboying this time. What, you thought I was gonna reset to the very beginning? Nah...Hey, I gotta give myself some checkpoints like Subaru has or else this review will go on forever. And no one wants that! What truly makes this season are the characters. We already know the setup and dynamic of the Sanctuary, we understand the plot elements revolving around this arc, and if last season was anything to go by, we certainly know the stakes due to Subaru's numerous deaths in this loop. The focal point of this season is definitely portraying character growth for the vast majority of the cast. The theme is all about coming to terms with your past and moving confidently towards the future. Slight spoilers for the rest of this paragraph if you want to just skip it, but I just gotta give a shoutout to some of the prominent characters who evolve for the better. Subaru begins to rely on his friends instead of return by death. Otto gets over his fears and isolation. Garfiel comes to terms with his family's past and moves forward with his life. Ram stands up to the one she loves and confesses her pent up feelings. Beatrice finds a meaning to live. Hey look, actually solid and believable character growth! Good job Re:Zero. And then there's Emilia. The girl dependent on everyone, yet whom no one relies on. Not gonna lie, I found her to be pretty underwhelming in the previous two seasons. Sure, she's a cute nice girl who has some comedic scenes, but she's been pretty stagnant over the course of the series, and a lot of the side characters have had more depth and intrigue than her. In fact, why is she getting so much attention now anyway? Dontcha think it's a little too late for this? Does Emilia-TAN really deserve main character privileges??? ...HellLyter was killed by Emilia stans for dissing their best girl because he's STILL not acknowledging her massive growth, or maybe he's just jealous of the amount of focus she's getting. How envious. Ok, I can't deny it, Emilia has really come into her own this season. Did it happen a little abruptly? Sure. Was I still squealing like a schoolgirl when Subaru told her exactly what she needed to hear as White Fox flexed their ability to show them reflected in each others eyes and they, to avoid explicit spoilers, proceeded to do the thing that anime girls falsely believe gets them pregnant? Maybe...b-b-b-but anyway, I definitely appreciate Emilia more as a character this time around. She came to accept her past, present, and potential future, and is now finally being the one who others can rely on. Good stuff. Ok, ok, fine, I'm gonna say it. EMT! EMT! EMT! Of course, there are still some issues with the anime. The biggest one for me personally is the flashbacks. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a look into the past of characters to garner a better understanding of their history as well as to see why they act the way they do. The showcasing of Subaru's past from part 1 of season 2 was one of my favorite segments in the series. And honestly, these were generally solid flashbacks. Though Emilia's was far and beyond the best and had the most plot significance. My issue is that there were just so many of them, and they occured in sequence with nary a break in between episodes to cover important current events. We get Otto, then Garfiel, then Emilia, then the combo of Beatrice, Roswaal, and Ryuuzu's backstory, and even get a glimpse of Elsa's past. It was ultimately just a bit much, and the tight-knit agglomeration of flashbacks was a microscopic blemish in author Nagatsuki's typically picturesque narrative composition capabilities and...*yawn* ...HellLyter was killed by the boredom induced by his own writing. He didn't really feel like taking the effort to make his content sound exciting or creative, and was just being plain dull and critical here. How slothful. SMOL EMILIA PEOPLE! She was clearly the highlight of all the flashbacks. Sure, there were a lot of them, but they were necessary in developing the colorful and expansive cast. And speaking of development, Emilia has certainly gotten bigger from her loli days. And it only took her like 100 years too. They grow up so fast! Well, technically she was frozen in ice and stuff through most of it, but...wait, Ima put up my no spoilers barricade before I go too far. Anyway, I really enjoyed Emilia's first trial. Seeing Geuse not being a psychotic maniac and actually being a caring individual was refreshing. Plus his dynamic with Mother Fortuna and Emilia was great. Which made the abrupt ending of their happy days that much more heartbreaking. Dem feelz tho. But most importantly, Emilia got stronger through overcoming her past and developed. No, no, I don't mean the getting older and and gaining boing boing kind of development this time! I mean in the character department, and it was a pleasure to watch her grow...because she was just so short in the past, you know? What can I say, Re:Zero continues to dish out high quality content, and I just can't help but want to see where the story goes from here. Seriously, they better announce a season 3. I need MOAR! Also, I better not see anyone hating on this excellent franchise OR ELSE-...HellLyter was killed through his unhealthy and impatient desire to consume more content, and also through his laughably pathetic attempt at threatening those with a different opinion then him. How gluttonous AND wrathful. Alright, alright, I definitely went too far there, but Re:Zero really is one of the most enjoyable anime I've seen. From small comedic moments like Subaru failing at his Senkuu from Dr. Stone impersonation to the epic fight between Garfiel and Elsa, the show is just a joy to watch every step of the way. But seriously, that battle sequence surprised me. While still fine, the visuals to me are generally the weakest part of the anime, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly amazing from the fights. Yet the creativity behind how they fought combined with the plot significance and solid animation really elevated the fight to become one of my favorite anime confrontations in recent years. There we go! After rewriting all of those failed attempts, I finally produced the perfect review befitting of this great anime! Yeah, my writing is definitely the best out of anyone. The other reviewers might as well delete their content at this rate. Heh heh. Oh crap, wait, gah!...HellLyter was killed through his cringy boasting over an insignificant anime review. How prideful. Overall, Re:Zero impressed me yet again. I'm pleased with its consistency over the seasons as well as its fantastic production values. Sure, it contains some minor errors, but this season was once again a success in my eyes thanks to its excellent execution and unique features. This is a show that I would most certainly recommend just about everyone give a shot. Trust me, it's worth it. I wouldn't have gone through 6 deaths in this review if it wasn't.
Gilgameshuu
03/24/2021, 07:02 AM
Bravo, Re:Zero. Bravo. First of all, I would like to give a huge thanks to the staff at Studio White Fox for giving us such a passionate adaptation of Re:Zero Season 2, to the Author, Tappei Nagatsuki for writing this brilliant series, to the Voice Actors for their incredible performances as the characters, and everyone who worked on this show. As a huge fan of the series, seeing Re:Zero Season 2 receiving such an amazing adaptation like no other, it's honestly like a dream come true, and I couldn't have asked for more. With that out of the way, let's proceed to the review. Re:Zero Season2 is back after an agonizing 3-month break, honestly was the longest 3 months of my life, while I had a lot of Fall shows to indulge myself in at the time, none were able to fill the empty void inside my heart left behind when Re:Zero S2 Part 1 ended, and now starts another agonizing wait for Season 3, I'm truly going to miss watching this every week. This season starts, literally immediately where Part 1 left off with the Otto punch of friendship and giving Subaru the confidence he needs to overcome the problems Roswaal meticulously set up this season. With a new profound determination to not die and have the people that care about him suffer because of him, he resolves to save everyone in this final loop and makes a bet with Roswaal, it was a long shot, the stakes are high, it was risky, but Subaru was ready to take that risk. A common criticism of Re:Zero is that the story focuses too much on Subaru that it leaves no room for other characters to shine, that was true for Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 that was focused primarily on Subaru's development, Season 2 Part 2 fixes this problem and gives every single character a much-needed character development and each and every one of them gets to have their time to shine this season. Whether it'd be Otto being best bro, Emilia and Garfiel learning to overcome their traumatic past, Ram wanting to save Roswaal from his 400-year obsession, Beatrice finally letting go and breaking off the shackles of her past that bound her soul preventing her from moving forward, and this. This is what makes Re:Zero special, it's not just a story about Subaru but everyone else around him, it's a story of him starting a new life from zero, how the actions of others affect him and how his own actions affect others. Re:Zero is not a story about suffering, nor is it a story about being the strongest, killing the demon lord, and getting a sweet ass harem. No, Re:Zero is a genuine and emotional story of growth and self-improvement, learning to accept and love yourself, everyone has flaws, no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but that's not a bad thing, it's precisely because you are imperfect, that you have flaws that make you human. I feel like a lot of people have a bias against modern shows, and I get a lot of people will disagree. But Re:Zero IS a DEEP series, deep in the sense of its emotional and psychological themes, there are genuine underlying messages portrayed in the show, and I have mentioned some of them already in my previous paragraph. One of the central themes of Season 2 is the idea of obsession and stagnation. Roswaal is the embodiment of this ideology, and every character in the series shows a part of this in their respective personality, they are stuck at a point in time unable to move forward, unable to change. A lot of people complain about Season 2 being stuck in the sanctuary for 25 episodes but that is the point, that symbolizes stagnation and directly parallels the stagnation of some of the characters, they are stuck in time, in one place, and after this season are able to move past all of that and change, that is the main theme of this season. These are examples of those characters; Roswaal's 400-year obsession with Echidna, Ryuzu Shima's wish to respect Ryuzu Meyer's sacrifice, Garfiel's trauma that leads to him to hate the outside world, resulting in him resolving to keep the Sanctuary closed off forever. Emilia is bound by her traumatic past, Beatrice's stubbornness to keep her 400-year contract with Echidna, to wait for a person that doesn't exist. A lot of people have also been complaining about the pacing of this season, I don't understand why. They are completely missing the sheer significance and importance of this arc, before you start complaining about the arc being so long, ask yourself. Why is this arc in particular so long? Firstly, it sets up important plot points and mysteries for the future. Secondly, give some context and revelations of some questions we've been asking back in Season 1, and finally, It serves as a turning point for the Emilia camp as a whole. If Season 1 focused entirely on Subaru and his development, then Season 2 focuses on building up and strengthening the Emilia camp through character growth for the side characters. The Emilia Camp was all over the place during Season 1, and they aren't really united and especially Emilia herself was a problem, she didn't possess the necessary qualities that a Ruler should have, no solid foundation, this Arc not only develops Emilia's character, but it also serves to develop and unite the rest of the Emilia camp that will help and support her in the future. Emilia back in Season 1 as we know is a very immature person, she was very naive and had very idealistic goals for the Royal Selection, as she was then, she was unfit of becoming the Ruler, and that's a big problem. She doesn't have the best leadership and has problems with self-confidence because of discrimination she has faced due to her Half-Elf lineage and looking exactly like the Witch of Envy. Even the determination she lacks, unlike the rest of the Royal Candidates. However this season she has learned to become more mature and start to become better as a person, slowly becoming someone who can lead the country in the future. Through the 1st Trial she found the resolve and determination to make her wishes come true, through the 2nd Trial she learned to fully accept herself and to not be afraid of what others think of her, and finally, through the 3rd Trial, she gained the confidence to overcome the disaster that may come. The characters are the best part of Re:Zero. They feel genuine and real, not in the sense that their personalities are realistic, but instead in their character flaws, and psychology. The author gives a lot of thought into them, even the characters that may seem very insignificant at first glance. Apart from the characters, the story is solid as well. Season 2's plot is complex and tightly written, unlike the first 3 arcs in Season 1 which were more simplistic and straightforward. Part 1 served as the build-up phase by introducing the central mysteries and problems like Elsa, Meili, Mansion Problems, Rabbits, Witches, and Roswaal's true intentions. While Part 2 is the emotional climax and development, and it was well worth all the build-up. The songs and OST this season is amazing, the opening and ending are both really good too bad they're not played much often, we also got some really nice Insert Songs by Emilia and Ram's VAs, and some new tracks courtesy of Kenichiro Suehiro and are honestly some of the best of the series. Animation is a step up over Part 1, might not be the same quality as Season 1 but there is one fight, in particular, this season that I believe is the best-animated fight of the series thus far, Kazuhiro Ota is a god, and is carrying all the fight scenes on his back. All in all, this season of Re:Zero has been spectacular and I feel it far surpasses Season 1 in almost every aspect that's not animation. It has everything that made Season 1 so good and improved upon it and also fixes a lot of problems people had with Season 1. This deserves a 10/10 rating. If you've lasted until the end, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you liked my review. Have a good day!
Marinate1016
03/24/2021, 07:01 AM
At the apex of the isekai genre, one series stands head and shoulders above them all. Season 2 Part 2 of Re:Zero kara hajimaru isekai seikatsu, shows the world exactly why it’s one of the best selling LN series. If you liked Re:Zero s1 in any capacity. From its unique take on the isekai genre, world-building, characters, mystery, etc., you will love season 2 and find it an upgrade in every possible way. Re:Zero’s first season, which covered arcs 1-3, was only a teaser into the masterclass in writing that is arcs 4-6. Re:Zero has been my favourite LN series for years and I couldn’t bemore pleased with how White Fox handled this season. Every episode had masterful direction and finale quality. Re:Zero’s biggest appeal lies in the struggles and triumphs of Subaru, it’s MC. Over the course of the first 3 arcs, we saw him fight and die over and over again all in an effort to protect those he cares about. In the latest season, Subaru’s growth is exponential. The literal and figurative trials he goes through force him to grow as an person, but also to let go of the past that still lingers with him. This is arguably the most important arc for Subaru’s character development in the entire series to date. Never before has he had to face such insurmountable odds. With his back up against the wall and seemingly no one to help him, Subaru defies fate and creates a happy future for everyone. As I mentioned earlier, White Fox have really shown how much Re:Zero means to them over the past few months. Most episodes have omitted the OP and ED in favour of a longer runtime and more storytelling. I think the way they were able to make this seamless transition between episodes due to the lack of an OP in most episodes was beautiful. Although some people complained about it, you can always download the OP and listen or watch on Youtube. If I had to nitpick anything, the animation and art did suffer a few times, particularly in the beginning of the second cour. There were some really funny looking still shots and some choppy animation. Overall, though, the show looks great and features a great OST. I can not thank White Fox enough for the way they beautifully crafted this season of Re:Zero. Yes, there will always be imperfections when compared to the books, but for the most part I have no complaints with how this season was done. With Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei getting great adaptations this year, the future of isekai is in great hands. Re:Zero S2 P2 gets 10 Dona tea cups out of 10.

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活

North American Anime & Manga Releases for September

'Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu' Gets Third Anime Season

Winter 2021 Simulcast List [Update 2/25]

Q1 2021 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 3/24]

PV Collection for Dec 21 - 27

Winter 2021 Preview

'Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season' Reveals New Cast, Split Cours

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活

North American Anime & Manga Releases for September

'Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu' Gets Third Anime Season

Winter 2021 Simulcast List [Update 2/25]

Q1 2021 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 3/24]

PV Collection for Dec 21 - 27

Winter 2021 Preview

'Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season' Reveals New Cast, Split Cours