The Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4

With the Sin Archbishops who terrorized the city of Priestella defeated, Subaru and his friends embark on a new journey to a mysterious tower, in which resides a sage who may hold the power to reverse Rem and Julius' unfortunate circumstances. What new existential horrors will Subaru face, and how many times will he die this time before he succeeds in his goal?

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is based on the light novel series by author Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrator Shinichirō Ōtsuka. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Wednesdays.

In a lot of ways, this is more an epilogue to last season than the start to this new one. While the new immediate goal for our heroes is established—to ask the all-knowing sage Shaula how to undo the powers of Lust and Gluttony—this episode spends the vast majority of its runtime tying up loose ends.

The first of these is the reintroduction of Julius. Like with Rem before him, Subaru remains the one person able to remember Julius. However, by this point in the story, no one doubts Subaru and so Julius is brought in as a “new” companion with no questions asked. Of course, this doesn't do much to dampen Julius' emotional pain. After all, the only one to remember him actively hates him.

However, Subaru is no monster. He'll probably never call Julius a friend but that doesn't mean he wants the knight to experience the pain he is currently going through. While Subaru's defeat at Julius' hands may have been Subaru's greatest humiliation to date, Subaru uses it to give Julius strength at his lowest point. After all, if Julius had such an effect on even one person, doesn't that mean his life has had meaning?

Next we move on to Anestasia. Last season, a major plot point in her story was that she used magic despite not being able to. With this episode, we get an explanation of how this came to be. Anastasia has let her artificial spirit (ominously named Echidna) take over her body. However, while the switch was supposed to be temporary, Echidna remains in control long after the danger has passed. She has no idea why this is, thus she also has a vested interest in talking with Shaula.

The final loose end comes in the form of Garfiel. Last season, he found his long lost mother—discovering she not only had amnesia but also had a new husband and children. With the battle over, he attempts to tell her who he is but is unable to make himself do so. Even with him calling her mother and crying in her arms, she simply assumes he is missing his dead mother and comforts him in her stead. However, in the end, he discovers that his half-siblings' names are gender swapped versions of his and his sisters—showing that even without her memories, he was not entirely forgotten.

The other major bit of importance this episode holds is in reshuffling the party. With Ricardo injured, Garfiel staying back with his family (along with Mimi), and Reinhard and Otto being needed to make sure Sirius doesn't escape while in transit, our heroes' power is massively diminished. Thus we are left with the small party of Subaru, Beatrice, Emilia, Anestasia, Julius, Rem, Ram and previous villain Meili—who I must admit I had forgotten about completely in the years since we last saw her. Her inclusion in the party will no doubt add a bit of additional danger to things. It makes me wonder if she'll be the one responsible for Subaru's first death this time around.

Has it really been ten whole years since Re:Zero, indisputably one of the best modern isekai anime, first burst onto our screens? I've been a big fan of its complex story and intriguing characters since the beginning, and I'm overjoyed that studio White Fox continues to pour its resources into adapting author Tappei Nagatsuki lengthy novel series. Season four kicks off pretty much exactly where the last season left off, among the ruined buildings of Watergate City Priestella, Subaru and his friends having triumphed over the collective efforts of the Sin Archbishops to cause chaos. Their victory hasn't come without a cost, most pointedly for swordsman knight Julius. Gluttony stole his name, and now no-one except Subaru can remember who he is. It's a big blow for a man famed for his spirit-enhanced mastery of the sword.

It's testament to Re:Zero's writing that two characters like Subaru and Julius, once bitter rivals, are now much closer to supportive friends and equals, and this comes across as a natural development. They've gone through hell together, and the formerly arrogant and ignorant Subaru has learned to overcome his shortcomings and become a truly indispensable ally. Despite his devastation at being forgotten by everyone else, Julius is at least secure that one friend still remembers him.

Garfiel gets a little bit of closure regarding his relationship with his amnesiac mother. While she's forgotten who he is, and he's reluctant to disturb her new life and tell her the truth, he can't help but burst into tears, calling her “mama”. She comforts him like any good mother would, even if she doesn't fully comprehend the circumstances. In a way, I'm both happy and sad for Garfiel. At least he's found his mother safe and well, and he knows she's willing to build a relationship with him. Maybe one day he'll even pluck up the courage to reveal the true details of their relationship.

With the events in Priestella resolved, Subaru's plans revert to resolving an event that dates back to the conclusion of the first season: Rem. Like Julius, Rem has had something precious devoured by Gluttony – not only her name and the memories of others about her – she's lost herself, and is now essentially a comatose doll. Back at Roswaal's manor she lies in perpetual sleep, cared for by those to whom she is little but a stranger, tragically even her formerly beloved twin sister, Ram.

Subaru's relationship with the delightful Beatrice remains a source of much amusement, especially when others persist in calling him a “little girl user”, the negative connotations of which are hardly lost on him. His relationships with the other female cast members develop too – most intriguingly with the revelation that Anastasia isn't who she appears to be. The revelation that she's essentially possessed by a version of Echidna (remember to never drink any tea she offers you) disturbs Subaru greatly, as it should. Echidna's time in Anastasia's body is “chipping away at her existence,” and there's nothing she can do about it.

These unsettling concepts are what keep Re:Zero fresh and interesting, far more engaging than the vast torrent of low-effort slop that clogs anime streaming services every season. Although there's not much action in this opening episode, it's an essential period of downtime to get the pieces arranged for the next big story arc: the journey to a mysterious tower where a sage who may be able to resolved Rem's, Julius', and Anastasia's problems resides. I can't wait to find out what happens when our band of heroes gets there.