Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- [2020-07-13]
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Yuvelir
 Posts: 1545 |
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Well, that was a lot of inofrmation about Subaru. Much of it could be inferred from how he acted and failed in S1 but it was nice to get the whens and hows.
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kotomikun
Posts: 1205 |
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Wait, what conclusion was I jumping to...? The bait-and-switch of "Emilia does a thing, wait no Subaru does the thing even though that was explicitly not possible" already happened. Maybe she has more of a role later on, but, well, we've been waiting almost 30 episodes for that at this point. Anyway, we now know one reason for Subaru getting involved: this entire backstory episode. Which, while excellent in and of itself--anime parents of the year right there--feels like it appeared at an odd time. Again, after building up to learning about Emilia, instead we're doing a(nother) deep dive on Subaru... and being reminded that (as is tradition) his two main love interests mainly exist as motivation for him. One with minimal characterization, the other with no agency whatsoever for the foreseeable future. Maybe I should just watch The Frozen Bond and come back to the main series when this season's finished. |
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harminia
 Posts: 1997 Location: australia |
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Thanks for this list, I knew I recognised two of them (AD and AW) but I couldn't read the katakana fast enough to discern what the titles were and my memory wasn't good enough to place them (seeing as they're not shows I watched). |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3644 |
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Wasn't expecting much, but this turned out to be a great episode. They did a good job showing how Subaru's father has influenced him, though I found that the one on one with his mother resonated with me much more than the one one one with his father.
I couldn't help noticing that it seemed like he have a futon and a bed for some reason... |
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1008 |
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Not only was this episode excellently-written and directed, I just want to praise what a smart decision it was to have this now. This material would have nowhere near the impact it did now if it had occurred in S1. Only after Subaru's made his first major step of self-help and healing in From Zero is he able to properly confront the source of his problems and say goodbye to his parents for real. Really, really touching and poignant stuff, so much more than just a backstory episode.
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Iron Maw
Posts: 489 |
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Absolutely fantastic episode that exemplifies one of the reason why I like this series so much! I wasn't expecting White Fox adapt the entire chapter almost it word for word.
Wish they had kept Subaru taking the mayo from his mom after she coaxes him enough about it. Last edited by Iron Maw on Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:59 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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OrdepNM
 Posts: 243 |
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Did Subaru do the thing tough? What has actually happened? Have Garfiel and his people left the Sanctuary? See how you're jumping to conclusions? I won't really engage this further because eventually it'll probably lead to me hinting more than I should in a public forum, but I will say that this arc trades alot in misdirection and imperfect information. If you're going to take everything you see at face value, I'm afraid you'll have a rough time. Emilia didn't just immediately ace the the trial right there and then because it's just not that simple and the story will take its time exploring that, which I would add is the way ReZero does things. How many times did Rem and Subaru splash against the wall that was the Whale and Petelguese? Victories are hard earned in this series, I don't think that will ever change. Anyway, superb episode on all accounts. Subaru's VA absolutely killed it. If you look back to season 1, this episode contextualizes some of Subaru's abrasive personality traits that people pointed out. We're not shown his bombed high school debut but we can surmise how it went, we more or less saw several renditions of it by how he repeatedly bombed events that required tact level-headedness in the show and in the end, you can trace alot of his cringe inducing off the bat mannerisms to his attempts at imitating ahis dad's larger than life persona. Sadly, my favorite line of this section didn't make the cut. As Subaru tells of how he was always trying to be his father, papa Kenichi tells him the truth that should be obvious to anyone even mildly well adjusted with society: He only acts that hyper around his family and friends, you can't just start right off the bat with that explosiveness and not hope to scare people off, you have to start with your necktie properly tied and gradually loosen it around those you're familiar with. Sabaru placed his dad on a pedastal and tried to live up to a standard that didn't really exist and it ruined his life. Finally realizing that was a true growth moment for him. I'll also leave a tweet by the author as the episode aired that anime-onlies might want to keep in mind going forward: "'What matters is the end' are fairly important words. If you continue joining us in Re: Zero, please continue to remember then for a long, long time." [/b] |
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stilldemented
 Posts: 232 |
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I've said this before at some point 4 years ago when this show first aired, but the way that this story constantly finds fresh ways to analyze or develop its characters moving forward cannot be understated. And every piece of information collected allows you to look back on previous episodes with a new frame of context. You can tell that this particular author has a deep understanding of storytelling. It shows in the way that the author was willing to wait this long to specify Subaru's backstory.
And I think the way that he does it is actually pretty clever as the author has essentially staged a trial around revealing backstories. But it's not just that really. Not only do you get to know what Subaru went through, but he's given this opportunity to self-reflect on his previous circumstances while coming to terms with the painful realization that this trial is likely the last opportunity he will ever have to seek closure with the family he was forced to leave behind. It's something Subaru needed, but it's all so tragic at the same time. He was so caught up in his own circumstances that he ended up taking his parents for granted...and now he'll probably never have the opportunity to see them again. But at the same time, it's unburdening because Echidna has essentially granted him the opportunity to make peace with these lingering regrets. I'd also just like to take the moment and applaud the fact that Subaru's past is more about overcoming severe anxiety, depression, and existential dread. He's essentially just a kid that wants to have an impact on people's lives and doesn't know what he needs to do or why his efforts continually backfired. And eventually everything began to feel exhausting and pointless. I feel for pretty much anyone struggling through that particular internal conflict. It's not a pleasant one. I've spoken at length and I don't really have a nice bow to wrap this one up. I'll just say I appreciated this episode like most everyone else and leave it at that. 
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egozi14
Posts: 100 |
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Hell the author did it again,
Like in ep 18 with Rem, and the Frozen bones OVA, the author tries to reach to a certain point (in the most pathetic way imo) and pass us a certain message, but after the message already been reached he keep passing it again and again, passing the point and keep repeating about it too many times to the point it lost its meaning (also usually ends with Subaru crying again and again in one of the most pathetic ways I've ever seen) . I have no issue with the entire of ep being about Subaru past or about him crying ***ONCE****, I do have an issue when the ep keep digging and repeating on the same thing again and agian as if the creator thought we won't get the memo until it will be shown at least three times Subaru did needed some closure with his parents, but the author could've dam well just make both the father and the mother dialogue appear in the same frame over make us see the same conclusion twice~ |
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zunderdog24
 Posts: 362 |
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The story isnt about you, its about subaru. Just because you reached that conclusion doesnt mean subaru has. And fyi his mother and father arent the same person and treating them as such imo is a lazy way to get closure of what seems to be two important people in his life. Id argue they dont even have the same conclusion with the father talk being about subaru gaining confidence in himself and the mother talk was his farewell to them so he doesnt have any lingering regrets. |
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1008 |
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I don't know what episode you watched but his talk with his mother and father talked about very different things. |
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Frog-kun
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 118 |
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Just want to share some insights from fans pointing out how Subaru's relationship with his parents was foreshadowed in the light novel and anime:
Light novel: https://twitter.com/garfielgrice/status/1288584794994024451 Anime: https://t.co/W0Gw6AmG1e?amp=1 Also, the scene in the anime where Subaru's mother says that Subaru doesn't like mayonnaise leaves it vague whether he genuinely likes mayonnaise or not, or if he was just going along with what his parents were doing. It has been pointed out to me, though, that Subaru does genuinely love mayonnaise, according to the light novels. (https://twitter.com/garfielgrice/status/1289058250634211328) This is definitely a cute detail, although I kind of like the vagueness of the anime in this particular regard. |
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OrdepNM
Posts: 243 |
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Oh man, the mayonnaise stuff. Please say a silent prayer to the editor that probably convinced Tappei Nagatsuki to stick to no more than one scene about mayonnaise in the light novel. The web novel narration of the Natsuki family pouring mayo onto their breakfast from their individually labeled jars was easily the most unnecessary bits of text in the whole arc, perhaps the whole series. I'm glad they paired it down to just this one scene in the light novel but even then, who keeps 7777 mass produced lids of mayonnaise jars as a collection? Where do you even keep them? Between the 3 of them they probably have 10s of thousands of lids lying around the house!
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stilldemented
Posts: 232 |
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Not too surprising, but definitely interesting to see the depths down the rabbit hole. I've suspected for a while now that this author has outlined a significant chunk of his story. To some degree it's necessary as a lot of Re:Zero takes inspiration from mystery/survival horror novels. You establish the cast of characters, provide a mystery to solve in a situation where life hangs in the balance, some people are not what they seem, there's a series of unexpected twists and turns just as you think you've got it all figured out. Yeah. It's the kind of story that demands an author to be operating several steps ahead as he has to lay all the groundwork in advance for all the story revelations to come. Can't really write this kind of story by sitting down and winging it. Which is why I'm pretty interested in seeing what he does with his new anime project coming around the corner. It'll give me a stronger sense for his writing chops outside of Re:Zero. |
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OrdepNM
Posts: 243 |
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In a QA the author did say he's planned the whole story, which is set to have 11 arcs. He also gave a friend a "cheat sheet" with all the big spoilers and reveals, to be released if something happens to the author before he finishes the story. But yes, the novels have lots of seemingly innocuous things that only become relevant early. As early as volume 2 Roswal tells Ram he'll be leaving the mansion because he needs to talk to Garfiel, stuff like that. |
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