Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「醜態の果てに」 (Shuutai no Hate ni)
“Disgrace in the Extreme”
It’s like the light has finally dawned on me and suddenly, it all makes sense!
…Well it doesn’t ALL make sense, but I can piece together more of the story now about what’s going on… I think. This week’s episode revealed a lot more than I gave it credit for (or maybe it’s all intentional) but it goes a long way to explain Subaru’s character and just who is he exactly? We’ll start from the beginning with the whale attack (which a lot of people already predicted). It’s not a huge surprise given that Rem mentioned it a few episodes back in passing but man, this whale is HUGE and it’s a scary looking mabeast too. Reminds me a bit of Moby Dick or the story of Jonah (or any other story involving massive whales)… Anyway! After Rem sacrifices herself so that Otto and Subaru can escape, I thought Subaru was going to end up dying anyway and the whole set of events would reset again but nope… Subaru lives on. It dawned on me that Subaru was probably the reason that the whale chased everyone down, but clearly he’s the only one that avoided death while ironically, Otto was the one that died by the hands of the Witches’ Cult. Those knives gave it away. And what was it all for? To save the village from Betelgeuse’s attack. I was a bit skeptical when he made it back to the village and all the kids showed up – I was expecting someone was going to come and kill them all or Subaru would try and kill himself first. That didn’t happen but even when he comes out alive and healed, nothing goes his way.
Then everyone that encountered the whale (except Subaru himself) seems to have been forgotten. Rem (and everyone else) is wiped clean from everyone else’s memories and Subaru is once again, alone. Alone in remembering the horrific events and even if he were to go around to try and convince everyone that what he experienced, happened – he’d just be seen as crazier than he already is. Subaru has to go through a different type of suffering that isn’t a result of his reset but perhaps it’s the whale that puts these phenomena in place. I don’t know how this magic works and it’s one of the outstanding questions that I have after this episode but god*mn… you can’t help but feel sorry for Subaru again. He’s digging himself deeper and deeper into this situation that he knows little about and even though he has the right intentions, no one will believe him. I understand that it’s tough when you don’t know why people can’t remember or why you’re the only one that does, but Subaru can’t forget why he’s here. He should still inform people of the Witches’ Cult and Betelgeuse’s intent on attacking – that would’ve been a better stance to take with Ram or Emilia.
Now all my jibberish from here on out will be my theory of what’s going to happen and what happened to Subaru during this episode that made me reach my epiphany. As soon as Emilia died by the hands of these invisible hands (literally), it became more clear that these hands are physically manifestations of some sort and they’re not just in Subaru’s mind. I thought for the longest time that these “hands” were the Jealous Witch’s and for some reason, Subaru was sent to his world by her to do… something and they prevent him from leaking the “truth”. But the truth is, Subaru probably doesn’t even know that much (if anything at all). All he knows is that these “hands” prevent him from telling others about his reset abilities and now, Betelgeuse has them too. Plus, they actually killed Emilia in cold-blood this time which is new. So my suspicions are on Subaru now. He might not know it yet, but I think the biggest tell this week was that a) the hands are real and b) Betelgeuse (the “sloth” in the Witches’ Cult) has them too. So that tells me that hey… maybe what everyone is saying about Subaru is the truth and he’s the only one that is in denial?
Not to say that Subaru is a bad person, he truly thinks he’s good; it’s just his circumstances that make him the most likely culprit of everything that’s going on even though he doesn’t realize it. He thinks he’s saving people and preventing bad things from happening, but maybe he’s the one that’s driving all these bad things TO happen. A couple of episodes ago, Betelgeuse called Subaru “Pride” and I think that was one of the biggest hints we could be given at this point as to who Subaru really is. Was Betelgeuse mistaken because he’s just mad and crazy and no one wants to believe him? Or maybe he’s implying something…? If Betelgeuse has these “invisible hands” that were gifted to him by the Jealous Witch and Subaru has them too… then maybe…? Or am I totally going down the rabbit hole with that call? That would explain a lot – like why Subaru has a smell and why he has powers at all to begin with, but of course, it doesn’t explain why him and his connection to the Witch. Like I said, I don’t think Subaru WANTS to be a bad person and he’s trying his best to do what he thinks is right – just nothing comes easily in this world and he has to realize that.
Now getting to that cliffhanger – holy sh*ts it’s Puck!! A lot of people called it when Puck emerged in his “true form” and basically froze the world over in what appears to be one of the more memorable endings to date. He does call Emilia his “daughter” so that was one of the hints thrown out there. Now we actually see Puck (still in his cat form) but with a fire in his eyes and he’s ready to kill. No doubt, this is where Subaru will probably die yet again and get his reset. He’ll also get to see the full wrath of Puck though and what he has up his sleeves next to Betelgeuse. I think the Witches’ Cult is strong but they ain’t got nothing on a spirit that can just freeze hell over.
Finally, Beatrice shows up again and I’ve been wondering what she’s been up to since (what feels like) ions ago. She turns up just as Subaru is hunched over Emilia’s dead body and Beatrice doesn’t sound surprised, but she also doesn’t want him around anymore. To her, it’s probably obvious that he killed her (intentional or not) and even though he wants to die as well, she won’t do it and instead, she sends him away. I think this is Beatrice’s way of showing a bit of pity and compassion for him but also noting that he did a crime and he can’t stay in the manor anymore. I don’t think she’s covering it up or is up to no good… but I wish it was conveyed a different way. She could’ve screamed or yelled or something but instead, her calm demeanor can be unsettling.
This is turning into more verbiage than I intended to write so I will end off this week’s predictions with that. As always, I’m interested in hearing what everyone else thinks (and if there are theories others have about Subaru) but please keep spoilers in tags. I try and monitor the comments as much as possible but I’m only human so… any help is appreciated =)
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Omg I get it now… it’s like all of #Rezero has fallen into place in just one episode. I don’t understand EVERYTHING but it’s a start. If people aren’t dying, people aren’t remembering… which is another kind of suffering and despair. #Rezero
We finally get the answer on what are the black hands, Thanks Betelgeuse~~
It might be that Subaru has a split personality going on underneath, one controls the witches power within, the other controls the body, one does not let the other reveal his secret.
Now the dreadful question, why did Subaru’s subconsciousness kill Emilia?
PS. Elfen Lied hands cameo
Very wrong.
good point..
that reminded me of the 2nd opening that shows two characters of Subaru where the other is taking charge instead
I mean first opening ..
http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=14_subaru.jpg
Brilliant. Now Subaru is a curse mule.
Much like a drug mule.
The thing that made me connect Subaru and Betelgeuse, aside from Betelgeuse asking Subaru if he was “Pride”, is that Betelgeuse seems like what Subaru could eventually become if he doesn’t get a grasp on things soon – someone who is just so bipolar insane. And now there’s the fact that Subaru is able to see his “invisible” hands when no one else could (and clearly upsets Betelgeuse).
When Subaru arrived at the village and the kids appeared, I was actually expecting it to be some illusion or just in his own mind, only for him to wake up and see everyone dead again.
In terms of Emilia’s death, it made me wonder if whatever the force is that prevents Subaru from telling others about his ability could sense that Subaru truly meant it that time – that he didn’t care if he died (for good most likely) and was going to tell Emilia (or anyone) about his ability and so in order to prevent it becoming known, the power instead will start killing anyone he tries to tell in order to keep it secret since Subaru will, again, be forced into silence about it lest he keeps inadvertently killing others.
I was actually pretty surprised to see Beatrice again since there’s no sign of her in the previous resets when Subaru reached the mansion. And when Subaru entered Emilia’s room, I was half-expecting him to enter Beatrice’s domain again too. She also mentioned how Puck didn’t come out this time (with Emilia’s death) and that he might’ve returned to his “true form”, so I’m curious about that, and considering Puck isn’t in the gigantic form he was before, it makes me wonder if Emilia actually is truly dead or not. He’s definitely pissed, but still in his small form, so could Emilia possibly end up saved?
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
Would be so nice if Pick could call them “mongels.”
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
And as usual our Main Character has problems expressing the proper words he needs to convey the situation to others
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2030.jpg
Seeing those Shadow Hands makes me hope I will see Heaven’s Feel soon.
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
Ironic for this poor sod to get killed when he was the one trying to avoid death so desperately
I think with Beatrice it was more that she didn’t want to kill him. She may have grown to like him a bit and thus his request would be painful to her. So she sends him to a die in a place, where she won’t see it. I’m curious, if her calm acceptance of Subaru’s death wish could indicate, that she knows about his reset ability – perhaps unable to tell about it, due to the same reasons, Subaru can’t.
And man, it feels like Subaru’s unending terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I can imagine him as a terrified animal, madly rushing forward, so focused on running, that his vision narrows to a single dot. I think, that if he had time to just sit and process everything that happened, he’d be better for it. Maybe next reset will give him such opportunity.
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%2005.jpg
I don’t understand why is Subaru hugging thin air here?
I don’t think people are giving Emilia enough credit. She has her guard up, but she is still willing to hear out Subaru; albeit with reservations. Seriously, Emilia is amazing.
He evens poses and speaks like Gilgamesh.
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
“I believe, i live just for this moment”
damn, that’s too cute
oopss….sory wrong click
I implore everyone who’s watching this show to also watch the Break Time 2 minute episode shorts, they’re like extra lighthearted (and surprisingly heartfelt) scenes that fit somewhere along the first and second arc. It’s a nice throwback to when Subaru wasn’t completely broken and jaded. Especially, It also reminded me of what an amazing and kind person Emilia truly is. It gives me hope that the series hasn’t forgotten it’s early roots and is capable of lighthearted and happy moments.
As for this episode, wow, there’s a lot to absorb. What a cruel fate, just when Subaru was willing to accept having his heart crushed for telling the truth, the power kills those around him instead (at least that’s what I’m guessing). So there’s really no way he can tell the truth, because losing Emilia or anyone close to him isn’t an ending he desires. And I believe the whale removed the memory of Rem using it’s magic like you said, since in the earlier episode the whale erased the other companion that was riding with them from existence. Hopefully a reset can fix this somehow?
It was also really nice to see Beatrice again, although for only a brief moment. I have a feeling when Beatrice said “she’s not like Roswaal, even if secures a future for her, she’s had it with pain and suffering”, that it implies Roswaal has foreseen Emilia’s death, and actually desired this outcome as it would somehow help his own goals. I remember a brief second where Roswaal was smirking when Subaru made an outburst in the castle. Perhaps he knew Subaru’s outburst would undermine Emilia’s position and would make her a likely target of the witches cult. I may be overthinking things, but I have a feeling roswaal is up to no good.
Subaru bursts into Emilia’s office
Subaru: AGKANFIENAFBFUJHNDBKFNDFIUBAOWUJEAFJAEIFNEAIFNASFPASFASNFBLLFFFFFLFLFLFFLFFFFB
Emilia: What?
Subaru: WHY WON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME!
You forgot:
Subaru: NOW DO AS I TOLD YOU! *grabs Emilia’s arm*
Well yeah. It’s not like he just got out from near death experience (with numerous severe injuries) after encounting a giantic man-eating Whale, having one his closets companions killed in away he still doesn’t understand nor having proper time to grieve said friends death. All which come at heels at fact no matter what he told anyone Witch Cult attacks nobody believe him since he can’t even explain how he knows that information.
I dare to doubt anyone else would still be ration minded after such an experience either. But let’s keep the clear emotion trauma the MC for tactless logic.
I want to know, does Subaru suffering these circumstances justify his actions and exempt him from any criticism? Someone can have an understandable motivation but still do stupid things where these stupid things should be criticized.
If you criticize from the point of view of pity that Subaru is more normal than the average story hero that is fine. But if you look down on Subaru that you would do better at least be a combat vet who has actually killed people and had friends die around you and know that you performed better than they did and did not get a PSTD, then you probably would not criticize combat vets rarely do. Otherwise your like in WWI when they though PSTD was not really real and sent the PSTD people back to the front where they all died because there brains could no longer handle the strain.
The flaw in the logic that Subaru has no proof in this particular circumstance is that he DOES. If he had simply said “I came back to warn you. Someone is after you Emilia and they nearly got me en route”, his injuries alone could have passed muster as evidence. Something attacked him and it is not too far a stretch that a person known to be connected to Emilia could be targeted by forces hostile to her.
Yes, Subaru is going to pieces but would not most people at that point shout out “someone is after you” rather than “shut up and come with me”? I mean, would not the natural reaction be to blurt out the first thing on your mind as opposed to a vague statement that could easily be misconstrued? When Emilia resists, would not the first reason you reach for be “hey, those daggers in the carriage? They were meant for you. I barely escaped with my life to warn you”? Or even “its dangerous here!”? That is like seeing fire consume your home with your children inside, when you run to a telephone to call the fire brigade to save your children you instead babble “double fudge ripple” over and over into the receiver. If traumatized by the hideous loss of your friend, would not the human mind obsess over saving the ones you can? If you came to warn Emilia, why don’t you then? Was there something in Crusch’s insight that to him, it has to be Subaru who saves Emilia and not Emilia has to be saved?
While insanity can take truly strange paths, it does seem that Subaru’s is tailor made to make things harder for him. Hopefully he will pull up his socks soon and be the hero we know he can be. I kinda miss the more cheery Subaru, as chunnibyou as he sometimes was, and sadly I do not think he will ever fully return.
@Mechamorph: Agree. In fact I mentioned the exact same thing in my post below, but rather than “someone is after you”, why would he not exclaim “The witch cult is going to attack!” That to me is the natural, reflexive response – mental trauma or not. He had NO problem specifically going on and on about the witch cult when he spoke with Crusch so why not specifically mention them to Emilia? Plus, I’d have to think that particular detail would be much more persuasive than a vague “someone is after you”.
So I agree, that did seem “tailored” (scripted is the term I used) to make things more difficult or even just go A->B as the author wants.
@Mechamorph
The problem his injures could have come from anywhere and would have been no proof of anything. Subaru is also known for get himself hurt all over all the time especially comes to Emilia in her POV, which is the reason why Emilia decided to part with him to begin with.
@xxvan
My thought exactly. Even this supposedly “subversive” anime still can’t escape the “troubles occur due to MC being unable to express himself better”-trope that’s prevalent mostly in fantasy-harem series. And how many times has he failed in this particular field? One that I remember is how he failed to explain to Emilia his chance-encounter with Priscilla in the alleyway when it could’ve been so easily explained. Instead, he came up with cringey reply like saying Emilia was jealous and whatnot *ugh* (no PTSD or shit like that involved). I like this show but I can’t stand that aspect of it: MC acting stupid when he could’ve done better.
Here’s something somewhat interesting.. if someone can find a connection:
Betelguese is a star of the Orion constellation
Subaru is the Pleiades star (cluster) of the Taurus constellation.
What about Aldebaran?
Google says Aldebaran is also part of Taurus.
Oh well, is Subuaru some kind of Host for this Magic? This “Parasite” hides inside his Subconsciousness? but for what reason?
the only reason i can see right now, is “envy”. If this Witch want him to be the daddy for her children, and she is so envious that through him she kills all Love candidates or she take revenge through him and kill all peoples that are dear to him, to trow him into despair?
If the 2nd point is true, what have he done to get this curse?
but as you can see, this is typical straight old storylines
i think i begin to see an Picture…
Show Spoiler ▼
I didn’t know a show can make you feel so many emotions in just 23 mins…
And the next one will be 25:45 that makes me happy and scared at the same time.
Actually, I don’t think the hands in Subaru and Betelguese’s “Authority of Sloth – Unseen Hand” have any real relation to one another in terms of ability. In Subaru’s case, the hands are more likely a manifestation of the Jealous Witch’s will within Subaru, as for the Unseen Hand is an ability granted by her.
Another possibility is that the hands in Subaru are in fact the Unseen Hands and the Witch uses that ability to keep Subaru in check. I don’t know. I’ll definitely have to keep my eyes open.
All I know is that before the hands killed Emilia, they caressed Subaru and his heart, as if telling him that SHE is the one in control or something.
Personally, I still think that those are the Witch’s hands, not the ability Unseen Hand and by the looks of it, I’m willing to bet that the Jealous Witch has some kind of sadistic attraction to Subaru. I don’t know, something about that scene just spoke to me.
The hands seem to have a personality. The first time he tried to tell Emilia it grabbed him violently as if to say “No.” But this time it pet his heart, like it was petting an animal. Then Emilia died right after. I wonder if it was symbolism that the hands are playing with his heart.
I do like this show very much, but I’m not sure I enjoy the direction in which it’s going. It doesn’t seem like Subaru is any closer to figuring out how to save anyone. This is the third time he’s gone through this event and he’s lost Rem and Emilia. I was thinking he would reset again, but I’m not sure, Puck may fight off the cult and Emilia might recover somehow? I wondered how on earth Subaru would be able to stop any of this but I guess Puck is the answer, but surely killing Emilia to activate an angry Puck can’t be the only way.
Also I’m starting to get sick of the author torturing Subaru. He’s been through more than enough. I’m ok with the main characters going through a lot of crap, but when you do too much it becomes less for the sake of developing character and more you just enjoy torture. The reason why things like Ground Hog Day and All you need is Kill work is because the person going through the cycle goes through the phases, they develop and become stronger. Subaru seems to be stuck on the phase of never getting over things. He’s not really becoming stronger or learning from his resets, he’s going backwards.
I’m guessing the author torturing Subaru is partly where the webnovel’s popularity comes from…
Personally, I think Re:Zero’s method works as well.
There are 2 sides to this. The MC will go through these phases and gets stronger in the process, and on the other side, the MC will go through these phases, but comes to a point where he can’t take it anymore and honestly, I prefer the latter.
I’ve seen too many stories where the MC will get stronger and progress through trials like these. It’s a breath of fresh air to me to see an MC get “backwards development”. His character is progressing, just not in a positive way.
And when you think about it, his resets all have a different reason for him getting screwed up. It’s never the same reason twice, so when people say he’s not learning from his resets, I don’t really think that’s valid, because each screw up is different, though some could have been avoidable, I’ll admit.
1st reset in this arc, he breaks down under the pressure.
2nd reset, he’s angry, anxious etc etc etc and wants results instantly. He goes to the candidates, expecting instant help, despite not having anything to give, which was indeed foolish on his part but now he knows the true personalities of each candidate he went to. He NOW knows that he shouldn’t expect them to do anything without equal compensation.
He tries to speak his mind to Emilia, assuming that all the Witch can do is grasp his heart, but now he knows that the Witch can kill the ones he chooses to tell if he really insists on doing so despite the pain.
I expect him to have all of this in mind after his inevitable third reset. If not, then you’d have a point. But each reset and each of his trials has him reaching dead ends for different reasons. Never the same one twice, though the candidates can be argued as 3 different occasions of him screwing up in the same way, but he was desperate and pressed for time so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt there.
In this arc, Tappei Nagatsuki has been very careful thus far to make sure Subaru doesn’t commit the same mistake twice after these resets.
He can’t technically learn from his resets if each reset has different trials. First reset, he knows acting broken won’t get him anywhere, 2nd reset, he knows that asking for help without compensation won’t get him anywhere. 3rd reset, he should have these things in mind and know that the White Whale is a problem to be taken care of first.
I guess it comes down to preference, as I don’t prefer the latter. Maybe it’s because I’ve watched a lot of shows where the main character is a good guy, and he genuinely means well, and I prefer good people to be happy despite all the tragedies that befall them. I think at first he saw his power as a good thing and he tried to use it to save people, but now he lives in a world of just constant dread, constant death, and the focus is more on the negatives. I don’t “enjoy” watching that. It doesn’t feel like Subaru is succeeding even though he is learning things.
(Okay, so I just realized I didn’t click “reply” when I was trying to reply to you, so I ended up commenting like a regular comment below by accident, lol. So I’ll just copy and paste….and continue looking weird…)
Yeah, I totally get you. It can be very uncomfortable, especially when you’re not used to darker stories such as these. Hell, it pains me to see him like this. I can’t say I find enjoyment in that suffering, but I’m more so curious of where a good guy like Subaru will end up amidst all this suffering.
And yeah, it doesn’t feel like he’s succeeding, because he’s not. Not yet at least. He learns something new, but then something else gets in his way. That’s like studying for a test, then when you take the test you’re doing fine until you see questions that wasn’t on your study packet. That’s where Subaru’s mistakes are coming from. Sure, those questions were to be expected given the situation, but if they weren’t on the layout, you won’t know and you’re gonna crash and burn. Same concept for Subaru. Well, basically.
Seeing how he tried to drag Emilia away without giving any proper explanation and displaying erratic behaviour was frustrating to watch.
While it hurts to see him fail one episode after another, I can accept it if I see progress on his part which I didn’t in this particular case. Reminded me too much of his enraged talk to Crusch.
I’m complaining, but the next episode can’t be here soon enough. Considering the amount of comments, I’m not the only one who considers this show the best of the season.
Problem is that there are still 8 episodes to go, so does that mean that the turning point is still several episodes ago? Hopefully not! I truly hope that the upcoming extra long episode marks the end of the suffering with a “new hope” in episode 19. No more cruel setbacks, please. 🙁
@Sulfurey
Yes, each screw up is different, but they stem from the same general flaws, even going back to the first 2 arcs. He tries to do too much by himself all the time, even though it’s abundantly clear by now he can’t actually do much once shit hits the fan. His actions are selfish, even (especially) when trying to play the hero. Even when he gets around to talking to others, he gets frustrated when they won’t listen to him, even though he rarely actually listens to anyone else. Most of all, he’s overly prideful and overly reactive to perceived slights.
I’m sure some of his regression is due to mental trauma, but the more frustrated/broken Subaru becomes, the more his flaws interfere with him actually thinking things through, leading to more failure. At some point, he needs to realize that, or else this downward spiral will never end.
@Sulfurey
Well, I think Subaru doesn’t learn from his mistakes..
He keeps forcing people to do something.. and he’s STILL afraid of dead eventhough he wasn’t before.
Subaru might be a very slow learner, but it looks like he’s more likely a very very very slow learner..
Oh, anyway.. I take a peek to the novel.
And if you like the “latter” version of the story, you might like this Re Zero because :
CAUTION ! ONLY READ IT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE LIKE THE WORLD FORCING TO READ IT ! IF NOT, JUST IGNORE THIS *SPOILER MARK*
Show Spoiler ▼
The Japanese are said to have a love for total tragedy where everyone fails and dies. I have seen some anime that do end that way and enjoyed them but tragedy is not that common in anime. It is a bitter taste that some can love and others not.
I’m starting to wonder if Subaru is the -next- Jealous Witch. They mentioned that not even Reinhard could kill her. If she had the same authority as Subaru then that would make a lot of sense. It would get easier and easier to avoid would-be attackers if you didn’t actually die, and could learn from each of their successes.
I’m not ready for the ultimate despair episode. They went all out advertising the additional minute.
Bluray version of Re Zero has decensored the violence somewhat:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/07/27-1/rezero-violence-a-bit-more-graphic-on-blu-ray
Train station ads in Tokyo advertising Re Zero list it as the top rated Spring anime of 2016.
Getting tired of batshit insane PTSD Subaru. Yes, it’s realistic writing, but it’s still a story in the end. I didn’t sign up for an experiment on violent time travel effects on the human mind. I want to see a main character I can somewhat empathize with or I’m just going to start enjoying his deaths because he’s so annoyingly incompetent.
You came into this knowing the synopsis. Even if you didn’t, you stuck around this long, so to say you didn’t sign up for an “experiment on violent time travel effects on the human mind” is kinda b.s. in my eyes, and I’m not trying to be rude or obnoxious. Really though, that’s like walking into a movie theater with Batman V Superman tickets, having read the synopsis and seen all the trailers and didn’t expect it to be a superhero movie, but rather a crime/drama film.
Obviously Subaru wasn’t gonna be a character to empathize with considering the story as a whole, and even then you kinda contradicted yourself. It’s realistic writing you say, but it’s still a story in the end, yet you want a character you can empathize with? There’s nothing wrong with that, but to empathize with a character, there has to be some realism in that as well. So from what I gathered you just didn’t like the approach of realism used up to this point. If so, I wouldn’t continue on with this series, because it definitely doesn’t look like it’s about to change now.
You’re 17 episodes in, so I don’t know what you’re expecting or waiting for, saying you didn’t sign up for this. Plus Subaru’s suffering has been constant, but it hasn’t been that long. It started episode 14, and I’m assuming it will somewhat cool down after episode 18 considering the title of the episode is “From Zero”, not to say that it will completely stop, but I’m assuming Subaru will somewhat compose himself and start “From Zero” hence the title.
I personally feel the author should start to move the plot soon. There’s a difference between knowing what you’re signing up into vs telling a story where realistically speaking, someone with the strength and intelligence of Subaru’s level will take like 100 revives to be able to advance anywhere for any particular loop. The author is dragging this on too long, and they should find that line between realism vs storytelling, where they move away from realism to be able to tell a more interesting story, and I think the author stuck to the realism for too long here, and the fact that there’s so little pay off with these absolute suffering is making for some sloppy pacing imo.
It’s been 2 revives as opposed to arc 2’s four revives total. I don’t see how Nagatsuki is dragging it out too long if it’s literally half of what arc 2 was.
Subaru’s suffering started at the end of episode 13, but you could argue it didn’t start til 15. Episode 14 he was just wallowing in his own guilt and frustrations. He died at the beginning of 15, and died at the end of 15. One episode. Two revives.
Episode 16 he actually found a good plan, but Moby Dick-sama got in the way. He had it figured out.
Episode 17, sh*t hits the fan, and Subaru’s feelings of not wanting to die rushes over from Arc 2 and for the simple fact that Otto left him for dead all alone in the middle of the night, split head, broken ribs, dislocated shoulder. He actually reached his destination in time, just not the ideal way he wanted it to go down. And now, he lost any credibility he had in Rem to actually speak his mind to Emilia about the cult. (Even though Rem doesn’t know if Subaru is telling the truth, but considering her relationship with the cult, she would support his words and advise necessary precaution.)
It. Has. Not. Been. That. Long. And change doesn’t happen over night. Not in real life, and it shouldn’t happen in stories either, especially change like this. In Subaru’s case, this arc without counting the rewinds, It’s been probably a week at the most of this b.s. happening to him. It hasn’t been dragged out whatsoever, considering the type of trauma.
I’ve gotten into the debate about the pacing way too many times starting from the last arc to keep myself composed enough to do it again, so I won’t even go there. It’s not you. Its me.
@Reyjey
Nicely said.
I love the show, but I feel like people watching it are way too defensive of the author. I know what this series is. I don’t mind the violence. I mind the exposition. Have “unseen loops” or whatever you have to do. As in “Edge of Tomorrow”, there are many many time loops that are left out and the audience still feels the presence of those loops. I don’t feel the need to go through 20000 psychotic breaks with Subaru. My issue is entirely on the fact that while I love this series, it’s no longer entertaining to watch “How many ways can Subaru freak out and fuck things up in one episode?” and it’s time to move on from just pure PTSD fluff.
I think Mary has a fair point. The pre-air synopsis/summary doesn’t go into detail of how extreme and how long the mental torture/trauma is. I for one certainly didn’t expect such length and degree. In fact, after the first arc concluded, I expected some improvement in his character starting in the 2nd arc. That’s part of the reason I defended Subaru’s character back then. Have to give kudos to Stilts for spotting this early on. Instead, it’s been all regression with no positive growth as an ameliorating offset to the negative parts.
Sorry, but it’s getting old from a story perspective IMO. “Subaru Fatigue” and as a result I’m losing immersion in the story. So I don’t feel this is “what I signed up for” any more than whenever someone tries a show and it doesn’t work out as they expect – whether early on or at some later point. To use your analogy, it’s not that I did not expect “Batman vs. Superman” to be a superhero movie. I just expected it to be a better superhero movie in some aspects.
That’s NOT to suggest I think this show overall is bad. To the contrary, I’m sticking with it because there are a lot of things I like about the story, and I’m still curious as to how it all turns out (not that we’ll get a final conclusion with the anime, but you get the idea). However, IMO that does not mean that Subaru’s character is beyond reproach. Mary has a valid point about some viewers wanting Subaru to die because so far that is the only way a large part of the plot advances. His trial & error approach via reset is also how we get a good chunk of exposition & world-building.
Thus, I also agree with Trap Master. It’s dragging on too long. Again, Subaru Fatigue. A lot of stuff happens and yet to me the story feels bogged down in this arc. Time to start moving on. Maybe that begins next episode. I hope so.
I will admit I didn’t expect things to this level, but it’s not far off from what I DID expect. Not to mention you have every WN and LN reader telling us it gets worse, so it’s not like we came into this completely blind. We were given warnings. I was at least, I can’t speak for everyone in this case.
I guess it comes down to preference in what you want to see in the progression of a character, because while I can’t say I “enjoy” seeing Subaru like this, it is interesting to me and I’m curious of what he’ll become.
And as I said, it hasn’t been that long since his suffering in this arc started. Nor do I expect him to get over it so soon. We have to remember, all he wanted was some snacks from a corner store. When it comes to time loop stories, I see that people are very divided by it. It’s either fine, too fast, or too slow, and more times than not, people think it’s slower than it should be. It’s fine in my opinion. Because things are happening. Subaru is trying to get to the bottom of things, trying to make things happen, and it’s not like the same things are happening over and over, they’re all different. It just hasn’t led to the best outcomes because of the lack of competence. Naturally, it’s what I WOULD expect. He isn’t strong, nor does he have much of anything to give, so I wouldn’t expect him to get results with the snap of a finger, even though that’s what he’s looking for.
Your assessment of Mary’s “not signing up for this” is more tolerable as opposed to hers. When I read it, it literally came off as someone not knowing that time loop by death was gonna be a factor in the MC’s development, but more so looked for a character that shared her personal trials. It came off as someone mistaking a dark fantasy for a slice of life. As if coming into this expecting it to be like “orange”, as drastic and exaggerated an assessment of mine that is.
Episode 14, he finds out the mansion is in trouble.
Episode 15, he finds out who is enemy is.
Episode 16, he has a plan to get the village.
Episode 17, He’s there, it’s just not how he envisioned it. And now he knows the White Whale’s path.
Each episode has had a steady development. I do not see where people think the pacing is suffering. Yes, he resets and he goes through a lot of trial & error, but each episode has had a decent step forward in development. It just SEEMS stagnant because Subaru, as everyone knows has a lot of trial and error int he process of these things and it doesn’t do well for his mentality. He’s going backwards as we all know and as a result the plot feels like it’s moving backwards, but it’s not.
The plot in a nutshell is Subaru Natsuki using Return By Death to face these trials and how he copes with it. Obviously he’s not coping with it well. There’s his development as a character. Progress, just not positive progress. How he’s facing these trials? Mistakes are being made, but he knows the danger, he knows his enemy and his ability, he knows the threat of the whale, and he knows his path.
That doesn’t sound like stagnant plot.
Randomc needs to develop a system for us to edit our own comments because I always find out I have more to say AFTER I post the comment. :/
Subaru, is multiple steps closer to his goal now than he was before. He was ignorant to everything in episode 14. Fast forward to episode 17, and eventually episode 18 and 19, he knows his enemy, his path, his “allies” and their negotiations, etc etc.
Now, if episode 18 and 19 comes and he seems to have a mind sweep and forgets EVERYTHING he learned, then people would have a point when they say the pacing suffers, but like I said, even though he’s suffering right now, even though his mind is fatigued right now, when he manages to compose himself or find his mojo, like I assume he will by the end of next episode from the title name, he’ll be smarter than he was in episode 14 because he knows all of these things now as opposed to his previous ignorance.
@ReyJey: Personally, I try to avoid spoilers & LN/WN comments for this show (most shows in general unless I end up reading source and spoiling myself LOL). Coming into this, I read the RC preview, watched a PV and… that was it. Later, I did read some comments from LN/WN (hard to filter all of it out), but I was already “in” by that point. All in all, at least for me, both duration and degree are more than expected. Granted, I could drop the show – same as anyone who has any complaints about any show, but doesn’t mean per se any criticism is unfounded.
I didn’t mean literally nothing whatsoever. Of course we got something – we HAVE to get something, but for 4 episodes worth of time, what you listed isn’t all that much IMO. For example, OK, he knows about the white whale and… now what? (technically, he knew that before the past two episodes) All we (and Subaru) know is that after he was forced to confront it when Otto pushed him off the cart, it glared at him, sent him flying and then, for “reasons”, disappeared. So what’s the solution here? For him to be bait? Go ahead, get beaten up until the thing decides to leave, for “reasons”, then the caravan goes on afterward? Not to go with the caravan at all? That doesn’t seem to be a solution. Re notes that the white whale showed up (before 1st reset IIRC) without him. He’s also going to need to gain some sanity points because “We need to leave! Just do what I say! Why don’t you understand!?” isn’t the most persuasive of arguments.
Even if he does persuade Emilia, Ram & the villagers, should I just assume the evacuation goes flawlessly once it starts? If not, then more things to work on there. Then there’s all the other work/investigation (and thought so he’ll have to gain sanity points back here as well) if he wants to get any help from the other 3 candidates. So yes, literally some things have occurred, but IMO for 4 episodes, not all that much = the story feels bogged down/slow lately.
As for Subaru’s development/progress as a character – fair enough, negative progress is indeed progress of some sort. Still, IMO it would be better if there was some positive development/growth, even early on, to offset all the negative. The way things have played out thus far may work just fine/perfectly for you, but I’m getting burned out on it. Subaru Fatigue.
This is 17 episodes into a story I’m sure will go over 100 episodes if they cover all of it. You have to think of this as a massive story that this is just the beginning of to view it properly.
If you watch it. Subaru just stayed a week or so in this world.
Rewinds really make a hell out of the viewer’s and Subaru’s lives.
Yeah, I totally get you. It can be very uncomfortable, especially when you’re not used to darker stories such as these. Hell, it pains me to see him like this. I can’t say I find enjoyment in that suffering, but I’m more so curious of where a good guy like Subaru will end up amidst all this suffering.
And yeah, it doesn’t feel like he’s succeeding, because he’s not. Not yet at least. He learns something new, but then something else gets in his way. That’s like studying for a test, then when you take the test you’re doing fine until you see questions that wasn’t on your study packet. That’s where Subaru’s mistakes are coming from. Sure, those questions were to be expected given the situation, but if they weren’t on the layout, you won’t know and you’re gonna crash and burn. Same concept for Subaru. Well, basically.
The Whale was curious.. that why it attack it wanted to see the holder of the stench to see if its the jealous witch. once it saw it was just a small man it look in disgust and decided just to blow him away…..
There a Mechanic regarding Return by Death that is not explained in the anime yet… but supposed to be shown i hope after this one it will show u..it will explained more about the hand.
Beetlejuice hand is the projection of his while the hand that manifest from subaru are feminine and has sharp nail
next week 26 minutes episode and a title drop
Re:Zero’s cliffhangers alone can be the sole reason to watch it (and of course, it’s far from being the only one), i can’t wait to see Subaru slaughtered by Pack, oh boy… seeing/guessing him in episode 15 was already such a slap in the face but what will happen in the next episode may be worse, i get shivers thinking about it.
On a side note, the scene where Beatrice finds Subaru holding Emilia’s dead body has such strong hints and meaning: Beatrice’s reaction is too suspicious when she finds Subaru in such a dire state, she repeats twice that “he understands nothing”, from there i’m betting she knows something about him and his curse. Is she lying by not wanting to kill him ?
Also she tells him that her motives are not the same as Roswall’s or at least that she’s tired of them (probably using Emilia to kill the Dragon), motives that puts them in danger all the time, that means that it’s not the first time such situation arise, maybe they are all hiding something from him about Emilia (Rem’s excluded of course) or maybe… maybe she can remember through Subaru’s loops.
Just extrapolating too much :p
thanks for blogging this show, love reading it an other peoples opinions even if i don’t agree with them, it nice to see others outlook.
despite the endless loop of suffering, “how many times can we break him, before he really breaks.” i enjoy the show an hope their is a turning point for him were even Thu he pushed to the edge, he becomes something more then anyone else could hope to become.
What happened to Puck only working 9-5? It looks pretty much like night when he appears.
That only applied when he was contracted to Emilia.
Rather than answer questions this episode raised a bunch more of them for me. Among other things, Subaru surviving the entire episode was unexpected, but I suppose we needed to get through more events/clues/exposition before the next reset.
– Re. White Whale (“WW”): That it is a ma-beast and drawn to Subaru wasn’t a surprise. What was a surprise is that it didn’t kill Subaru because…??? No clue other than “the plot demands it.” It just glares at Subaru with a red eye, does… something to send Subaru flying and peace out. Just disappears ’cause… hell if I know.
– The “existence wipe” (not sure what else to call it): Last episode, the older bandana guy on the wagon/cart alongside Otto’s disappears, and Otto tells Subaru “No one was riding on the opposite side from me.” OK, this seems due to WW. IDK, get eaten and erased from existence. Originally, I’d call it a memory wipe, but then we see that Rem’s room was changed as if she was never there. That goes beyond simple memory wipe. However, this episode Otto tells Subaru that “When a punitive force, assembled by Lugunica, set out to subjugate it, that monster killed the first Master Swordsman!” OK, but then why is the first master swordsman remembered and not the bandana guy or Rem. Because Subaru’s around? Why does that matter here? Can’t figure out how this works with the info given.
– “No telling ‘curse'” (i.e. invisible hands causing Subaru pain/grabs his heart when he tries to tell others about his origins and/or reset ability): Certainly a twist here. Subaru gathers his resolve and the curse (for lack of a better word) adapts and kills Emilia instead. Appears to be same type of ability Sloth has, but very hard to think this Sloth’s doing – always assumed it’s the Jealous Witch (JW) and still think so. However, if JW can kill off Emilia like that, then why not do so before? JW does want Emilia dead – right, or is Sloth acting on his own with the assassination? Also, is the “no telling curse” unable to kill Subaru because that’s also an easy solution for him spilling the beans. Tells Emilia the deal -> “no telling curse” kills Subaru -> Reset -> Emilia forgets everything Subaru told her. The change has to mean something, but drawing a blank right now.
– I found it very odd that when Emilia asked not once, but twice, WHY she had to leave ASAP, Subaru didn’t naturally, reflexively just blurt out “because the witch cult is going to attack!” I see no “in-universe” reason why Subaru couldn’t have disclosed such a simple and obvious detail, but for whatever reason, the dialog conspicuously danced around it to revisit the previous “you don’t understand” argument. Very well may not have changed the outcome even if he did mention the witch cult, but the dialog there felt too scripted.
– Beatrice’s scene provided a lot of food for thought. I’ve had increasing doubts about Roswaal already, but her line “Betty is not like Roswaal. Even if it would secure a future for me, I’ve had enough of pain, suffering, fear… Everything I suppose!” sure does make me wonder what ‘ol Roswaal’s been up to… and if there’s more to him being MIA than a coincidental business trip. Again, if a witch cult attack on Emilia is “as expected” for Crusch, I’d have to think it’s a known concern for Roswaal as well. However, I can’t think how Roswaal benefits from Emilia’s death right now unless he knows he “won’t have a future” if he interferes? Maybe there were clues before, but I definitely got a strong vibe that Beatrice knows quite a bit more than one might initially suspect – perhaps even Subaru’s origins, reset, and/or details which occurred in prior resets.
– Puck: I was surprised that Puck didn’t go berserk right away and kill Subaru once Emilia died. Maybe the crystal breaking was required to release him? Not a huge deal, but I thought that Puck’s “true/original form” was the giant black cat monster we saw. Beatrice even said Puck returned to his original form so why do we get kawaii Puck at the end? Maybe it’s a presentation thing for a “better cliffhanger” ending”? Regardless, I’m glad that we were spared Emilia’s corpse being torn apart (at least so far?). Don’t need or want to see that. Also glad we skipped watching Rem killed again. Props to the anime on that call as well.
TL:DR = A lot of questions raised with few, if any, answered. Looking forward to getting more information on the above along with more clues in general as to how Subaru can overcome the current situation. Dude’s got a lot of work ahead of him.
on the not telling curse imagine this. you decided to hell with it and tell the most important person to you whats going on. what’s the most effective way to make sure you keep your mouth shut if it can no longer rely on the fear of your own pain and imminent death? do you think subaru is going to try and tell someone about his reset unto death curse after this happen?
@Vincent: You miss my point which is there’s no need for what happens if the goal is simply to keep the secret safe. Again, if the curse killed Subaru instead of Emilia -> reset = time winds back to reset point = Emilia won’t know what he said right before he died. It’s as foolproof/guaranteed as you can get in terms of keeping him from telling others about his origins/reset unless they somehow are immune to reset effects. Excluding that qualifier, all this accomplished versus killing Subaru instead is more Subaru mental trauma.
That and I guess give Subaru more info (i.e. Puck at end and what happens after) before the next reset. So upon further thought, quite possibly a combination of the two – not time for him to die (reset) yet and an opportunity to add more mental trauma rather than some other reason. Fair enough.
I’m guessing that you have to actually be specifically eaten by the White Whale for one’s name and existence to be erased from others’ memories rather than merely killed by it in general, so the Master Swordsman could have simply gotten knocked around so badly that he died from his injuries or something, like Subaru almost did.
Though it does beg the question on why Subaru is still able to remember Rem and, if they’re connected, if Betelgeuse still remembers her too.
@HalfDemonInuyasha: Good point (LOL I even threw out being eaten as an example, but didn’t follow through on the idea. XD). OK, so eaten (vs. just killed) = existence wipe. Fair enough. That would explain the difference (assuming master swordsman wasn’t eaten). As for Subaru, I just filed that under he’s special/protagonist, etc. For example, he can see “invisible hands”. It’s also consistent with how reset works (i.e. he keeps his memories with that).
Not sure about Sloth (lazy and going with the easier name :P). Does he remember Rem this time around? I took Sloth’s dialogue “I’ve been waiting for you, believer in love.” as referring to Emilia (the love part), but I guess it could mean Rem. Still, if it does, then wouldn’t that mean Sloth is unaffected by reset? I thought he was. Then again, Sloth doesn’t seem to be surprised at all when Subaru calls him by name so…
@daikama
okay, I will try my best to aswer you, my friend.
1)(you don’t mind if I put numbers, right ?)yeah, this thing still leaves question mark inside my head. But it leaves some theory,too. It looks like the whale knows what Subaru is up to and pressumably is connected to the witch.
2)”If” the whale power is to wipe the existence of people who are eaten. The only possible answer I can think is(sorry, I’m not a somekind detective, I’m just an average guy) : The first master swordman might be “killed” but “not eaten”. Well, there are many ways that this could happen.
3)You shouldn’t ask about this, my friend. The answer is obvious.
JW does not want to kill Emilia herself, and probably she DOES NOT want to do it.
She WANTS Subaru do a favor instead. By killing Emilia, Subaru will be left traumatized so he won’t dare to do anything further in future. So he won’t try to tell anyone after gets the reset. And JW knows that Subaru has a quite low intelligence.
4)You know what ? I’m pissed off by this, too.
But anyway, Subaru is a loser hikikomori(which is, if you read the news or internet, a very terrible thing in Japan). Yeah, I know you might have many friends IRL and likes to socialize and do think that Subaru is very STUPID !
but, again, consider that Subaru is a hikikomori loser.. but still… I’m pissed off by this..
5)Couldn’t agree more, Roswaal might be a BAD person, but we don’t know yet. And it seems like the story is unpredictable.
6)Uhh.. “this” leads me to question whether Emilia is still alive or not. I assume that Emilia is still alive somehow(or could be resurrected), but some other part of me tell that Puck is going to kill Subaru just like what he did in episode 15.
In some ways this reminds me of the Call of Cuthulu role playing game original version I started playing in 1981. A Lovecraft horror story inspired work. Your key stat was sanity and no matter what you did eventually it would reach zero and then your character would be over effectively dead. So a game where dead or insanity with failure was guarantied. During play various tragedy or encounters with things “Man was not supposed to know” would cause temporary insanity where the Game Master (the person creating the story and telling you what happens) would control your character and you would suffer your character doing thing you did not want them to do. It took a special type of mood to really enjoy like I did.
I don’t know if this show will end in tragedy but Subaru is defiantly in a Game Master is playing you insane state and we have to see what he is capable of if he gets back to sanity. At least Subaru still is learning more about how things work.
I don’t know if the story will end in tragedy or victory as Subaru learns how to be the typical anime hero the hard way. I think I will enjoy it either way.
While I agree with you’re conclusion and came to the same myself regarding Subaru, it sorta makes the whole “teleported to this fantasy universe from the real world” origin seem to make no sense. Not sure how that’s gonna be explained.
Otto: “Please just die please just die please just die”
Me: “Yeah, I’m with him this time, just die Subaru. No, I mean this is in the most encouraging and positive way for telling people to die. Get killed and take a break for a while.”
That talk while chewing fingers is top tier performance.
Disclaimer: this is only my personal interpretation of the events up to now. No offense is meant to anyone, I just wanted offer a point of view I haven’t seen represented much on these discussions. My apologies in advance.
Im always surprised at people bashing Subaru for not being smart or expressing himself well in a coherent manner. as someone that has deal with trauma and seen the scars of abuse both physical and emotional. I’m impressed he is doing as well as he is. the author is actually trying to portrait a semi realistic set of reactions for our MC and for the most part succeed. the other thing is the lack of attention to the small details and clues that we miss on this show. i recommend watching the series again while you wait for the new episode you be surprised at the amount of stuff you pick up on it. most of the complains i read about his character are explained in the show itself. one thing to remember is that Subaru was primarily a hikkikomori thats explain on the very first episode but never mentioned again that is important. do you thing a person that has a hard time interacting with others under normal conditions is able to handle all the stress building up? actually able to make accurate and smart decisions based on logic and reason instead of going with what they feel at the time? I know most people feel they would but lets be realistic our protagonist was already damaged before he got to this new world the whole situation just nudged him this side of madness. at this point he will either become the Joker or Batman to put an example. now does all this justify his behavior? no it doesn’t. what it does its just show you where he is coming from. thats the advantage as readers that we get, our heroines do not get that luxury they literally see the guy change radically from one day to the other. and thats a tragedy.
now on to the recent events remember what Crusch said. even if what he says is true the problems come after he is proven right make of that what you will.
PS: I personally believe we wouldn’t done as well as he done if we had to deal with this crap. this show is a success for me, it actually made me care for the poor SOB.
Sure. It because the stereotype of Hikikomori does not apply to Subaru at all.
He is active in having interactions with strangers (the villagers) and mostly successful.
He did doing well in arc 1, and arc 2 under all those stress building up.
Thus his being a former hikikomori is hardly useful, meaningful info.
Except the author had stated that back on earth he had no friends and he was actually found annoying. So it is relevant and does fit. The reason his personality works here is because he’s in different environment and culture. Even then the Subaru flaws (being temperamental, lack of ability to to read the mood, headstrong reckless etc) in his social interactions have begun to show between once more complex matters and high society come into play. He is now learning how the world works will trying to keep some semblance of his sanity.
Iron Maw //
His personality works in different environment and culture? O.K.
Now he IS in a different environment and culture. Then why is his being a former hikikomori relevant?
And I repeat. He showed impressive emotional resilience in previous arcs.
So the audience expect to see it in this arc too!
Any problem???
There is a big difference from basic be nice to people social skills you learn in elementary school and before and the adult negation skills needed later. Subaru actually broke in the second arc as well. Subaru is recovering and then breaking again with new horrors this is not unusual except maybe for the typical anime hero. In real life people recover from trauma and do well for a bit and then crash again even without new trauma.
This is not a typical anime hero it is more what if a average social isolated person with little prior advanced social skills and a more normal response to trauma was the hero. Thus the difference might not be for all.
RedRocket // “Subaru is recovering and then breaking again with new horrors this is not unusual except maybe for the typical anime hero. ”
Subaru recovers after having Emilia’s lap-pillow service, and this is unusual except maybe for the typical anime hero.
There are too many instances/scenes which shows this anime does not pursue psychological realism.
Heres my out-the-ass theory on all of this so far.
The Witch is actually “good”. With her power she saw the future of her world, and it was death, nothingness, a frozen stone. Half-elf magician managed to figure out what causes the end of her world, it happened to be a spirit by the name of Puck, she attempted to intervene but had no success, no matter what she did, Emilia, her look-alike ended up dead and due to contract with Puck, Puck freezes the world and everyone in it.
So she comes up with a plan, to pull a human from another world into hers, one who is emotionally weak and easily manipulated, a third element who she can use to create a different future. Knowing a human from another world would not last a week in her brutal reality, so she forces upon him the most powerful but also the most violent curse, rebirth. And so begins the story of our Protagonist playing moe world of Dark Souls, dying, and reviving, dying and reviving, trying to beat the game.
Until they explain the aftereffects of /release every time on his psyche, it’s quite stupid that he keeps worrying about his failures. I mean who in the world cares if ppl die, u can just pick a save and restart. I can somehow agree that he got a shitty savefile this time since gears are already in motion, but it’s not worse than me pressing save state instead of load state on the start screen of FFIV after 60 hours of play.
That whale’s ability to erase existences (by eating them?) is curious, though it also raises the question of what people actually know about it. The info about the First Master Swordsman indicates there is a way to encounter and die to the whale without having your existence erased. I suppose he could have suffered wounds that killed him later, or something besides the whale finished him off; however, it’s clear someone must have survived the expedition long enough to return that news. Kinda curious how many were actually involved in that expedition, though, since the final report would presumably only include those who hadn’t been eaten. Also, why did the whale target Subaru, only to ultimately leave him alone? It feels like this whale is an absolute barrier that he can only avoid, whether temporally or spatially.
I was surprised that the hand could kill Emilia, since I had assumed it could only target Subaru. I suppose it doesn’t actually want to kill Subaru? Up until that point, he had always feared death, despite his ability, and his fear of the hand killing him served as enough of a deterrent to revealing his power; this time, however, he seemed ready to accept his own death just to be able to finally tell Emilia. Since the threat of his own death was no longer enough of a deterrent, the hand switched targets to Subaru’s confidant instead, which will probably act as an even greater deterrent to revealing the power. I was also expecting swift, icy retribution from Puck, but maybe he could sense the Cult and wanted to take them out first?
All that ranting and raving before about how the Witch’s Cult is going to attack Emilia and her surroundings, and this time all Subaru can say is “shut up and just come with me!” Felt a little forced how much he avoided saying an attack was imminent. Also, he sounds an awful lot like a controlling boyfriend who only wants obedience. Then again, Emilia isn’t really the type to just run away and abandon the villagers, so I suppose Subaru was trying to avoid telling her for her own protection. Hard to give him that benefit of the doubt, though, since he hasn’t shown that kind of ability to read people and motivate them effectively.
It was curious that Betelgeuse did not seem to identify Subaru as Pride this time around. He assumes that Subaru killed her as part of the Ordeal, but belittles Emilia for not even encountering one of the sins. If he thought Subaru was Pride and killed her, then shouldn’t he count as a sin?
I wonder if Subaru could state he has visions that often come true and get around the curse that way? Curse seams inelegant maybe even ran by someone so might not work but worth a try.
https://randomc.net/image/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu/Re%20Zero%20Kara%20Hajimeru%20Isekai%20Seikatsu%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
DESU!!
Okay, people complain about why Subaru is so STUPID ?? Why the F**K he becomes socially awkward all the time ?
To answer the said question…
Well, folks.. he’s a Hikikomori.
I know that some of you here may have many friends IRL and not a loner(unlike Subaru’s original life XD)and you might consider Subaru’s act as “Extremely Irrational”.
Well, I do agree that his act is irrational because well.. that’s how a hikikomori is !
I’ve read some worse news about them, and some are very terrible (some hikikomoris are linked to serious sex crimes,and I read one case about a hikikomori just let his parents corpse for 1 month inside his house,simply doesn’t care about his parent’s death(can’t give the link, I forgot it.. sorry..), etc).
likely he is just like bettlejuice … he just doent know it yet. mm he could be the representation of pride.
Regarding Beatrice, I think it’s quite clear that she knows about Subaru’s power. She’s probably someone who is familiar with this reset ability that happens to priests of the sins. Subaru is quite clearly a Priest of Pride just like Betelgeuse is a Priest of Sloth. The “Ordeals” they go through are the loops which they must overcome in order to progress.
Beatrice I think made it pretty clear that she is sick of the death — she knows what’s going on with the deaths and resets and is sick of it, and she ports Subaru out because she doesn’t want to see that anymore (she saw it the last time when he hurled himself from the cliff).