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This Week in Anime - What Has Re:Zero's Subaru Learned?


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Melicans



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
Posts: 620
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 5:40 pm Reply with quote
I like Asterisk War and remember Absolute Duo. Am I strange?


Don't drink the fluids.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 8:05 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Which fits Subaru pretty well. 10 bucks says he's got a Stella Vermillion body pillow stashed somewhere.
Please, he's obviously an Edelweiss man.
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Shay Guy



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 2091
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 8:20 pm Reply with quote
Haven't read the whole thing because I haven't seen episode 4 (non-subscriber), but I assumed the fluid was love nectar.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:24 pm Reply with quote
I really do love last week's episode for not only contextualizing much of Subaru's previous words and actions (his relationship with his parents and daddy issues were hinted at throughout, even as far back as episode 2 when Reinhard states that he feels suffocated by his family's expectations; cut to Subaru's, in hindsight, rather telling expression) but I love how his journey from the first episode of the series to episode 18 is just a repeat of his life back home - trying too hard to be funny and likable (interestingly, he isn't punished for this in his new life, at least not nearly to the same extent. at worst people will just think he's a little weird or annoying as opposed to shunning him outright like at school), doing whatever he can to impress others so people don't think he's a disappointment, only to spiral out when everything he tries winds up backfiring, desiring nothing more than to escape from the world and his problems. But Rem was able to get through to him in a way his parents weren't able to - whether that be because she was more upfront with him which forced him to take her feelings and perspective into account, whether her similar feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth meant that her words rang truer to him, both, neither, I'm not entirely sure. Either way, I'm proud of the kid. He's definitely still got some issues for sure and is a total dork, but he's come a long way.

Gotta say though, my heart snapped a little when we were shown the last interaction, or lack thereof, he had with his mother. I'm gonna remember that any time I rewatch the series and see that scene with Subaru at the convenience store, thanks show.
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Number 6



Joined: 16 Sep 2016
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 2:30 am Reply with quote
Melicans said:
Quote:
I like Asterisk War and remember Absolute Duo. Am I strange?


Well, whether you're strange or not, you're at least not the only one. I might add that I also like Chivalry of a Failed Knight.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 2:44 am Reply with quote
In Episode 18, Subaru needed empathy and an appreciation of his self worth to help him climb out of rock bottom. Shaming individuals relentlessly is counterproductive; if someone doesn’t feel capable of doing better or worthy of trying, they fall further. It was a bit much that it came in the form of a love confession, especially from someone so vulnerable to similar issues of self hatred, who, just like Subaru, started finding their own reasons to live only when they met an unrequited love interest to obsess over (Subaru is to Rem as Emilia is to Subaru; in that respect they are very much alike). But I actually like that this show emphasized the power of vulnerability and connection over superpowers and fighting ability to rebuild the main character’s self confidence.

I’ve been trying to reconcile the psychological themes well portrayed through fantastical supernatural trials and trauma with the ordinariness of the home life depicted in the latest episode. Subaru has loving, supportive parents, and we are told, rather than shown, that his treatment at school reinforced his internalized self hatred. When the story shifted to flashback, I was hoping there might be a clearer—or even supernatural—reason for Subaru’s insecurities. I would be all for his mom being a witch or his dad being an isekai hero, but his back story is much simpler than that. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, and perhaps even proves a point that you don’t have to be an orphaned demon girl discriminated against for being a one-horned twin to carry trauma.

(Now I want to find an AMV to REM’s Losing my Religion)
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OrdepNM



Joined: 14 Nov 2018
Posts: 242
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:11 am Reply with quote
Just to address the nature of the tea, which seems to be a point of debate for some people, Echidna didn't spit in the tea and it sure as heck isn't urine, it's jut regular very bland tea. That description is because the tea, as well as the grass, the table and Echidna's own body all come from Echidna herself, or rather her sleeping mind. Everything in that world, except for outsider souls like Subaru's, exists because Echidna, in her post mortem perpetual dream, wills it into being. Thus it's a fluid that comes from her (mind), a body fluid if you will.

Now, if people want to play guess games, the way Subaru describes the tea is a better starting point, Winkwink.
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Clematis



Joined: 16 Feb 2017
Posts: 66
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:13 am Reply with quote
Well, what I've learned from Re:zero is that you could easily sum up the entire anime's story simply by renaming it to Re:From supersimp to hero in another world

Twisted Evil
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Scalfin



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 249
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:19 am Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:
In Episode 18, Subaru needed empathy and an appreciation of his self worth to help him climb out of rock bottom. Shaming individuals relentlessly is counterproductive; if someone doesn’t feel capable of doing better or worthy of trying, they fall further. It was a bit much that it came in the form of a love confession, especially from someone so vulnerable to similar issues of self hatred, who, just like Subaru, started finding their own reasons to live only when they met an unrequited love interest to obsess over (Subaru is to Rem as Emilia is to Subaru; in that respect they are very much alike). But I actually like that this show emphasized the power of vulnerability and connection over superpowers and fighting ability to rebuild the main character’s self confidence.

I’ve been trying to reconcile the psychological themes well portrayed through fantastical supernatural trials and trauma with the ordinariness of the home life depicted in the latest episode. Subaru has loving, supportive parents, and we are told, rather than shown, that his treatment at school reinforced his internalized self hatred. When the story shifted to flashback, I was hoping there might be a clearer—or even supernatural—reason for Subaru’s insecurities. I would be all for his mom being a witch or his dad being an isekai hero, but his back story is much simpler than that. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, and perhaps even proves a point that you don’t have to be an orphaned demon girl discriminated against for being a one-horned twin to carry trauma.

(Now I want to find an AMV to REM’s Losing my Religion)


Also, having just watched the show for the first time (in dub, so there might be a voice effect like Shinji's reputation in America being based on his dub), his being a bad person is more a meme than the reality of the show. He lashes out at a moment of piling up stress from basically living as a penniless immigrant and getting all his limbs broken for the entertainment of a crowd, and clearly has some theory-of-mind difficulties from all the timelines, but he also goes to great effort just to entertain village kids.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:58 am Reply with quote
Scalfin wrote:
He lashes out at a moment of piling up stress from basically living as a penniless immigrant


That's not a source of stress for him, he clearly enjoys his life of working at the mansion and takes pride in it, and also greatly cares for the residents. If he didn't, there's no way he wouldn't work himself half to death just to maintain it in episode 8. If anything, that's the only time where it's shown that he's ever really stressed about his servant life, when he's forcing his body to work more than it can handle. He's nothing but happy being there, more or less.

Quote:
and getting all his limbs broken for the entertainment of a crowd


Which is a situation he got himself into. When he wakes up from the beating, he's a bit more calm than you'd expect him to be.

The reasons he snaps are because of the ever-increasing disconnect between him and everyone else because of his inability to talk about RBD, as well as Emilia shutting down his increasingly desperate attempts to help her to the point that she sees it necessary to cut herself out of his life so that he'll stop being a reckless idiot. The latter especially is what makes him react as badly as he does.
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andramus



Joined: 19 Apr 2020
Posts: 162
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:04 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I think I'd like episode 18 more if Subaru legit had qualities to like
Is this hyperbole? It's one thing to not like the character because you believe his various faults real or perceived outweigh any good qualities he might have but to say he has no good/likeable qualities is absurd.

Throughout the series he has demonstrated kindness, compassion, a decent work ethic along with fair bit of self-honesty as well as occasional thoughtfulness. Obviously he has also demonstrated pride, ego, varying degrees of entitlement and thoughtlessness as well as a unhealthy dose of self-loathing.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 5:05 am Reply with quote
This isn't where I expected to see a seg into Granbelm but I won't complain.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2242
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:13 am Reply with quote
[quote="andramus"]
Quote:
Is this hyperbole? It's one thing to not like the character because you believe his various faults real or perceived outweigh any good qualities he might have but to say he has no good/likeable qualities is absurd.

Throughout the series he has demonstrated kindness, compassion, a decent work ethic along with fair bit of self-honesty as well as occasional thoughtfulness. Obviously he has also demonstrated pride, ego, varying degrees of entitlement and thoughtlessness as well as a unhealthy dose of self-loathing.


I think this might be an issue of perception. There were definitely more than a few viewers who were immediately turned off by Subaru’s antics (a very intentional move in hindsight), and I can definitely see people interpreting Subaru’s good qualities being motivated by bad intentions (in a very “please notice me, Emilia-senpai!” kind of way) that just paints Subaru in an overall bad light, especially if you walked away without realizing how Re:Zero was trying its damndest to subvert the typical milquetoast isekai protagonist. But I’m also baffled that someone could watch up to and through Episode 18 and not walk away knowing that Subaru has some serious self-loathing issues and is at least self-aware enough to know he’s not acting how he should if he wants to be a truly helpful and productive part of Emilia’s faction (even if Rem’s devotion to Subaru is seriously baffling to me).
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:05 am Reply with quote
whiskeyii wrote:
There were definitely more than a few viewers who were immediately turned off by Subaru’s antics (a very intentional move in hindsight), and I can definitely see people interpreting Subaru’s good qualities being motivated by bad intentions (in a very “please notice me, Emilia-senpai!” kind of way) that just paints Subaru in an overall bad light.

Honestly I think whose people were joking, trolling or being disingenuous.
The first arc already shows him terrified of dying even if he can go back but still pushed against his instinct to flee. He was desperate to save not only the girl he likes but also Rom and Felt. And the show really made a point of conveying that, boldly.
And there's so much to pick on the second arc, from how he acts the same with everyone, to how he feels about work, betrayal or the plights of others. The lengths he went to don't match what someone so frivolous would do. Nobody puts themselves through so much pain exclusively to get laid or praised.
So rather than not seeing his positive traits, it was more about refusal to acknowledge them.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2242
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:58 pm Reply with quote
Yuvelir wrote:

And there's so much to pick on the second arc, from how he acts the same with everyone, to how he feels about work, betrayal or the plights of others. The lengths he went to don't match what someone so frivolous would do. Nobody puts themselves through so much pain exclusively to get laid or praised.
So rather than not seeing his positive traits, it was more about refusal to acknowledge them.


I will say that while I didn't view him as frivolous, I did feel like he was acting pretty entitled for a good chunk of the first and second cour, even if he did show moments of genuine compassion. But while I was happy to wait for the other shoe to drop for Subaru to get the much-needed dressing-down he deserved, I can absolutely understand other people who just rolled their eyes at Subaru's "Nice Guy TM" act and wrote off everything he did as ultimately self-serving.
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