Isekai Quartet 3

Episode 9

This episode of Isekai Quartet is a one-two punch, delving into the surprisingly deep core mystery of this silly crossover series. With the prize of the upcoming music festival implied to be a button like the one that transported our various heroes/villains to this school-life world, the class is confronted with an important question: Do they actually want to go home?

For Tanya, she actually doesn't want to return to the war-torn pseudo-Europe—and objectively knows they have a better life in this world. However, she feels they have a responsibility to do so. Meanwhile, on the KONOSUBA side of things, Darkness and Megumin feel that they should return as their quest to defeat the Demon King is incomplete. However, Kazuma and Aqua never really cared about that and are more than happy to remain, but do note that the problematic lack of alcohol and… more erotic forms of entertainment. This leaves them not really caring whether they stay or return.

For Ainz, it's a bit more complicated. As we saw back in the season premiere, he's relatively certain that they are copies, not the originals—and that they are being influenced by their real-world counterparts. Thus, it's doubtful that the button would send them home as the others expect. However, it might do what he was hoping for in that episode—allow them to positively affect their counterparts. However, that is not a guarantee, and since they aren't the originals, “going home” might simply erase them. So, facing an unknown that could either accomplish his goal or end in the destruction of him and his friends (both new and old), he decides, like Kazuma, to go with whatever the group decides.

This leaves Subaru and his group. While enjoying his time in the school world, Subaru is wholeheartedly determined to return home. His goal to make Emilia king has not changed. He's ready to continue his cycle of deaths and face the suffering of the Re:Zero world.

Yet, more than any other character in Isekai Quartet, the school world is a paradise for Subaru. All the pain and mental suffering he regularly deals with are absent. He was plucked from the last moment he was truly happy—before the events that would lead to Rem's encounter with the Archbishop of Gluttony and, later, Puck's self-sacrifice. Moreover, as time has gone on in the school world, he gained the character development he would have in the Re:Zero world—along with the new friendships and evolving relationships. ...And all this brings us to the elephant in the room once more.

After three seasons, the thing that's been sitting in the background of the series finally comes to the foreground. Subaru never pushed the button. The original trailer shorts showed characters from each of the four series finding the red button—Rem and Ram in the case of Re:Zero. And Subaru, being genre savvy, told them not to press the button—and it seems they didn't. Even in the first episode, the first time we see the Re:Zero cast is them walking down the hall instead of pushing the button (like for the other three series' characters).

On top of this are the other oddities surrounding Subaru. For one, he is far more affected by the events in the Re:Zero world than the others are by their own worlds. It's to the point that even he realizes his memories don't make sense. For another is the fact that, while Chris and Aqua are largely disconnected from their goddess powers (with Chris stating she's unable to revive Kazuma should he die), Satella can still reach Sabaru and crush his heart should he talk about Return by Death.

All these points to one (highly speculative) conclusion: While all the others may be copies, Subaru isn't one, and the school world is technically a subset of the Re:Zero world—something akin to Echidna's Castle of Dreams or the Sanctuary trials. In this case, it would make sense that the world is a Japanese town centered around a high school—i.e., similar to the setting of Subaru's first trial. It is being taken straight out of Subaru's memories. Likewise, the blocking of certain memories is something common in both The Castle of Dreams and the Sanctuary trials, which would explain why Subaru doesn't remember any of this. And then there's the fact that Satella has previously shown she can force her way into such dream worlds if she wants.

Simply put, Isekai Quartet may be a reality created by a combination of Dream Arts magic and Subaru's unconscious mind—perhaps as a place to recover and enjoy a taste of the goal he is fighting for (a world where he and all his friends can be happy). Heck, for all we know, each night when he goes to sleep in Re:Zero, he and all his friends are drawn into the Isekai Quartet world—surrounded by the copied souls of people drawn from other realities. At this point, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Echidna is the one behind all this, hence Roswaal's determination to keep the Dragon, Stella, X, and the Goddess from interfering.

Or maybe I'm way off base. But even if that's the case, this episode certainly gave me a lot to think about, and that's a win in my book.

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Isekai Quartet 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.