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「ゴージャス・タイガー」 (Goujyasu Taigaa)
“Gorgeous Tiger”
And right on schedule the craziness commences. It’s always about three episodes or so before Re:Zero really ratchets into gear, and this season is no exception, with plotlines, enemies, and backstory all coming together to explain what we can look forward to. As events this week show, what’s coming up is going to get a little bloody. Or a lot.
Much as teased back in the first episode the history of Priestella is key to understanding the main course of this arc and Anastasia was nice enough at the end to indicate why. Stashing the remains of a prominent witch after all is enough to drive any manner of Witch Cult member wild, so arguably no surprise when four of them pop up to take part in the festivities. Mind you we still are lacking a reason for exactly what they intend on doing (obtaining the remains is only half the picture), but given it’s the Cult I suspect the answer is fairly easy to divine. Simply take crazy, add in love, mix with ludicrous abilities, and you get a concoction even the smartest would have difficulties ignoring the impact of. Yes, it’s going to be one of those plots.
The presence of four Archbishops too helps in regards to emphasizing Re:Zero’s key strengths in its character development and character interactions. Wrath and Greed already show this off nicely, with Wrath whiplashing hard (and hilariously) between utter hatred of pointy eared romantic competition to perfect infatuation with Subaru because, lo and behold, he’s technically (yet not really) the new Sin Archbishop of Sloth thanks to subsuming Petelgeuse’s powers. It’s an excellent bit highlighting the chaotic rationality of the Cult, where their literal insanity makes sense within the context of their roles, abilities, and relationship with love. Wrath? Out for revenge. Greed? In it for possession. And it shouldn’t take much to guess (or remember) what Gluttony and Lust desire. Combined with Subaru’s own growing maturity and level headedness it makes for some interesting developments because, as already seen with the likes of Ferris, Al, and especially Beatrice, the kid is already more inclined to listen before acting. Expect the upcoming battles and restart points to be all the more impactful because of it.
Speaking of potential Return by Death moments shouldn’t be hard seeing where the first possibilities lie courtesy of Garfiel’s maternal discovery and the resulting involvement with the Cult’s latest antics. The importance of this plotline in the greater scheme of things I think speaks for itself, but suffice to say rescuing the stepfamily will soon enough cross into Subaru’s new quest to rescue Emilia. There’s a lot of moving pieces, a lot of varied characters, and plenty of time left to dig into them all.
I for one am quite looking forward seeing how the rest of this arc gets adapted.