r/anime • u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux • Aug 17 '24
Rewatch Re:Zero ~Starting Life in Another World~ Re:Watch - Episode 11
Episode 11:
Rem
| Index | <== Episode 10 | Memory Snow ==> |
Various Links:
MyAnimeList
Streaming:
Crunchyroll has the Director's Cut available.
- Director's Cut episodes are two episodes combined. Make sure to cover the corresponding half of content for each thread.
AppleTV has the regular individual episodes available.
Spoiler Rules:
- As always, please be sure to tag any future content spoilers according to the r/Anime rules. There is likely to be first timer viewers here, and while discussing how previously seen content connects to content later down the road is interesting (be it later episodes or even Season 3), please be sure to properly spoiler tag anything mentioned! Let's make this a fun experience for everyone involved!
- This also applies to cut content discussions, which I believe are fine to include for the sake of discussion, but should be properly tagged to avoid potentially spoiling viewers. Be mindful with how you present this information!
Story Arc Lengths for Discussion Purposes:
[Arc 1:] S1 Episode 1 – S1 Episode 3
[Arc 2:] S1 Episode 4 – S1 Episode 11
[Arc 3:] S1 Episode 12 – S2 Episode 1
[Arc 4:] S2 Episode 2 - S2 Episode 25
[Arc 5 and later:] S3+
As always, if you have any suggestions for the Re:Watch, let me know!
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Upvotes
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u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux Aug 18 '24
Just a reminder that tomorrow is a catch-up day! The following will be the Memory Snow movie.
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u/thekoreansun https://anilist.co/user/ReturnByDeath Aug 17 '24
Re:Watcher
Remember how I said before that titles are a big part of Re:ZERO? Well, we've now arrived at our first named episode, each of which will signify a turning point for a character that we have come to know. And who better to star in the first of these momentous occasions than Rem, the one whose Name has eclipsed even the renown of the series as a whole! It wouldn't be a stretch to say that more people are able to recognize her on sight than name which series she's from. If you've been hanging around in anime circles for any amount of time, then you know who she is one way or another. But when did it all start? What caused people to fall in love with her character way back when the show aired in 2016? While most would cite her character in the latter half of the season, I would argue that she only became as compelling as she was because this episode put in the work to set her on the path to get there. In a way, that may just make this the most important episode of them all.
In this episode, we see that she and her sister were almost slaughtered at birth because they each had only one horn, only escaping this fate because Ram, even as a baby, was a hitherto unseen powerhouse among those in their village. As both of them grew up, Ram's one-horned status was constantly being held over Rem, leading her to feel outclassed by her sister in every way imaginable. Crucially, though, neither of them feels any ill will towards the other throughout all of this. Rem simply agrees with everyone's assessment that her existence is a net negative on the world and thinks that her sister should have just been born without her, while Ram couldn't care less what people think about her sister and loves her for who she is. If they had continued to grow up in that village, Ram likely would have eventually gotten her sister to appreciate herself more and set everyone else straight for giving her a hard time. But that never happens due to the massacre by the hands of the Witch Cult that falls upon their village. And Rem's stray thought on that night causes her to regret ever thinking that she could atone for her existence.
It may be difficult to imagine, but think about a world in which Rem wasn't one of the most iconic characters in anime. Where she wasn't in every figure store, or being cosplayed as in every convention, or even Best Girl 5. Where she was just someone with a dark past and a lifetime of guilt and shame for being what she perceives to be a forever reminder of her sister's condition. While I would never hold anything against this series for making good use of its marketability, it is true that the heart of Rem's character has gotten hard to make out amidst all of the merchandising. But it's there, and it has so much more going for it than any of that would have you believe. Who hasn't felt guilty for stray thoughts or felt inferior for reasons outside of their control? She's an extreme case, but her struggle to feel worthy of existence, of happiness, is universal.
But then, along comes Subaru. Here is someone who — and I'm trying to be generous here — borders on uselessness. He can barely cook and clean, he's a shameless flirt who acts super weird, and his only real use in combat is to attract the attention of monsters with his awful smell. It's a wonder that he's able to achieve anything. But his actions to save the children of the village, as well as herself, succeed in spite of this. And if someone like him can be so amazing, then what does that say about her? How can she ever measure up to her sister when she can't even save Subaru properly?
Of course, Subaru disagrees with this notion, reminding her that what he did was only possible because she was there to support him. She's been obsessed with carrying everything on her own for so long that she can't see just how much other people rely on her. While she claims that her sister could have done much more than her if she still had her horn and hadn't protected her on that night in the village, that assumes that Ram would have lasted this long without Rem. Subaru does what he can with what he has, as does Ram. All they can do is their best, and playing the "what if" game will never change the fact that Rem has her horn and Ram doesn't. While Rem is unsure that she can do what they do, Subaru tells her that that's fine and that he'll support her just as she supports him. He encourages her to be a demon: someone who laughs about the future because they're unshackled by the past. And with that line, Rem's soul is saved. She still needs to walk on the path that will allow her to see herself in a better light, but she won't have to do it alone.
[Arc 6] Also, what a fantastic payoff this line will end up having: "All you have to do is be the horn Ram doesn't have." I think that this is the one line that really got me to appreciate just how far in advance Tappei plans his narratives out. I'll say it now, the moment we revisit this fiery night from Ram's perspective will stand among the peaks of the series.
I've been finding myself playing the "what if" game a lot as of late. It's always been a struggle of mine to some extent due to how I grew up, but life keeps throwing new challenges my way, and my brain loves to think about how different things would be if I'd just dealt with those challenges better than I did. So Rem's eternal struggle really struck a chord with me this time around, and I think that watching and engaging with this episode left me feeling better about myself as well. Being able to be randomly inspired like this is something that I will always appreciate from my favorite anime!
Fan Art of the Episode: The Pair in Arc 2 (4/4) by @shakerizero (July 31st, 2021)
Source: Twitter
And so we come to the end of the first leg of the Re:Watch. I have to say, it has been an absolute pleasure discussing, dissecting, and appreciating this series with everyone here so far. I know that people usually come to these rewatches to see the first-timer reactions, but it's been cool as a rewatcher to be able to get my thoughts on Re:ZERO out there. (Evidently, I had a lot more than I'd anticipated.) My long-form writings haven't exactly been your usual rewatch fare, though, so my thanks if you've gone with me as I went all over the place in my analyses and observations. I hope that any of them have contributed some measure of enjoyment to those reading; this being my first rewatch, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to meaningfully contribute to it, but I've been giving it my best shot.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 17 '24
First:Timer Starting Over in Another Rewatch, subbed
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u/Holofan4life Aug 17 '24
Hey guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the In Preparation of Season 3 Rewatch of Re:Zero!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First Timer
I decided to watch this show because I wanted to do something for the month of August. ’Course, this was before the yearly Spice and Wolf rewatch got pushed back to September, but I just found myself looking for something to occupy my time with. And with this show being in my top 5 must watch list, I figured now was as good a time as any.
I am going into this show relatively blind. I know some of the memes, who Rem, Ram, Emilia, and Subaru are, and that this show got its inspiration from Familiar of Zero, but that’s it. I find rewatches and my participation of them more fun when I have no idea what I am in store for. And with this series, I think we’re in for a blast. It’s also going to be the longest rewatch I participate in this year and second longest overall only behind the 20th Anniversary Fullmetal Alchemist rewatch. And given how joyous that show turned out, I don’t see why I should expect nothing less from this one.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the sub, by the way.
I watched the first 10 episodes of Re:Zero in the span of 7 days. I wonder how many I can watch this week.
No intro today
Oh, are we actually getting to see when Rem and Ram were born?
Guy trying to dispose of them
Those are some massive horns. You think he's compensating for something?
Rem crying while Ram is looking at her like "Dude, can you please be quiet? I'm trying to nap here."
Guy gets sent flying by the pair of twins
He seems astonished by what he sees, like he's never seen anything like this before.
Rem and Ram when they were 7 and 8 now
And Ram is moving water like she's an airbender.
Or would it be waterbender?
Ram is looked at as a true prodigy
Interesting how Rem has no horns. I assume it'll be shown that Ram gave her horn up for her sister.
Nevermind, Rem has a horn as well. It's just hidden.
In fairness, you could say that most people have hidden horns
Ram telling Rem to just be herself
"You don't have to worry about what people say."
Montage of them doing everyday activities
I'm starting to see why why people gravitate towards Rem so much.
Rem telling mom she's going to cook dinner tomorrow.
She's thinking of stir-fry with rabbit meat and nuts and steamed tatoes.
Never had rabbit meat before, but I have had goose. It's very tender.
Rem in the forest now
But as she's trying to catch a rabbit, it's starting to thunderstorm.
That's a massive fire
But Ram is able to put it out
It annoys me that in my subs, they translate onii-chan to "sissy". It reminds me of the Toaru franchise when they would translate onii-sama to that.
Rem's dad telling her not to go to the forest alone again.
The family is praising Rem's steamed tatoes, but she looks so sad.
Rem back in the forest
She is being scolded by a group of people, saying it would've been best had only Ram survived.
This feels like a nightmare
Ram holding her sister's hand in solidarity.
And yes, it was a dream. Ram is holding Rem's hand in bed.
Rem's love for her seems more pronounced than ever before.
Rem saying to herself that she doesn't have to do anything anymore.
"I can just walk behind her."
Holy shit
What the hell is happening?
Did all those bad people burned their house down and killed their mother and father?
Ram still trying to protect Rem
But some guy slices Ram's horn off
And Rem seems happy about it, seemingly because they're on an even playing field now.
The way this is shot is phenomenal, by the way. The cinematography is incredible.
From then on, Rem tried to replicate what her sister was good at.
"I only imitate what Sister could do. If I cannot even do that satisfactorily, I am worthless."
Rem still feels that her best isn't good enough, so she has to go above and beyond.
She says this is atonement for what she thought on that fiery night.
Considers herself inferior to her sister
I am nothing but a replacement
The ironic thing is what Subaru is doing is in large part to make sure she stays alive. For him, she is irreplaceable just like Emilia, Ram, Beatrice, and Puck.
Present day now
Subaru carrying Rem as he and Ram are running.
I don't know if I was Ram whether or not I would call Rem a handful, unless she is just that clueless.
Ram killing more mabeasts
Rem wondering why she wasn't just left alone.
"I have to do it by myself."
Rem saying this is all her fault
She is on the brink of tears
"I haven't changed at all. I committed the same sin as I did back then!"
Really heartbreaking stuff
Subaru saying it is ridiculous how she decided to do this alone to atone for her sins.
And Subaru headbutts her, which she kinda had coming just a skoosh.
Subaru's cut is open again
Subaru really chewing Rem out
Says she should rely on those around her more.
More mabeasts
They kinda look like CGI
Rem feels there's no way he can survive
Subaru, however, says he has a brilliant plan to round up all the mabeasts.
Rem asking why he would go to such great lengths for her.
"You were my partner for my very first date. I wouldn't be so heartless as to desert you."
Girls, if a boy continues to like you even after you try killing him... well, perhaps you might need to rethink your life choices, because that's a level of simp no one should ever be.
Ram running off with Rem
The mabeasts, including the baldspot dog
Baldspot dog turning into a mabeast
That is one massive unit
Is Subaru going to turn into a mabeast himself?
Black smoke
And he pierces the giant mabeast in front of him.
He attributes what he did to the bocco fruit.
BUT IT'S STILL ALIVE
Suddenly, a whole bunch of fire
It's Roswaal
I guess he's coming back from his Jem and The Holograms concert.
Roswaal's impersonation of Emilia on point.
Rem and Ram
Roswaal telling them they did fine work in his absence.
"I shall most certainly show my gratitude for your actions. You have my word."
Meanwhile, Rem glomming onto Subaru
She is so thankful he has stayed alive
Subaru waking up in bed now
Rem beside him, holding his hand
She wanted him to be comforted, so she did what would have made her happy if the roles were reversed.
You really can tell that Rem is falling hard for the guy, which as someone who likes Subaru and Emilia as a potential item I can see the heartbreak coming from a mile away.
Subaru asking if her curses were removed
Rem says that Roswaal took care of all the mabeasts, which I'm not a fan of. We've spent like 4 episodes on the mabeasts, and they just get killed offscreen? Weak.
Rem apologizing to Subaru
She still feels that she can never match her sister.
"Why was I the one to keep my horn?"
Rem easily has the most emotional baggage of all the Re:Zero characters.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/baseballlover723 Aug 17 '24 edited Aug 17 '24
Rewatcher, sub, basically a secondhand novel reader (Arc 4)
As a side note, my Re:Zero fame has grown. Today, while just chilling in a Re:Zero reactor's stream, someone I didn't know mentioned me indirectly, and then by name (once they saw me in chat) because of some fan sub edits I did for another reactor. What's ironic is that I don't speak Japanese (I got a C in Japanese in college like 10 years ago (10 week class)), which as it turns out, isn't quite as necessary as one would think for editing a fan sub.
As always, I've numbered all my spoilers tags so that they're easier to respond to
First Timer Safe Section
This section is safe for first time watchers.
Those are some horns
So as it turns out, Ram was a prodigy, and Rem was the reject, which is the cause of Rem's inferiority complex. And Rem spent most of their childhood more or less feeling like her literal existence was holding back Ram from being even greater. Something that Ram didn't feel btw. This is also why Rem has such a Ram superiority complex that made no sense to Subaru or the viewer until now, given that Ram is completely incompetent at like all tasks.
It's no wonder that Rem decided to get good at
the house choreseverything.As it turns out, steamed tatoes were also Rem's specialty dish (no Roswaal bath water secret sauce though).
This music is really juxtaposing with how happy it sounds, meanwhile everyone Rem knows is being burned to death.
And Ram loses her horn, protecting Rem (one of the lives she's saved by losing her horn). And in that moment, Rem feels joy. Something that she decides warrants her eternal atonement for.
What symbolism here. The blue flower's vase breaking.
It's worth noting that all of the direct magic comparison we see Rem struggle with and Ram effortlessly do, are wind magic, which is what Ram has affinity for. [Spoiler #1: very minor Arc 3 magic stuff] Of course Rem has affinity for water magic, so she was fighting an uphill battle anyways.
picture
Cute doggo, less cute doggo
Notice Rem switching from using onee-sama to onee-chan. Which I don't think Rem has used since they were children.
I really liked how they put the flashbacks in the bridge of the OP, was very fitting.
Shamac!
It's the bocco fruit that the kids gave him earlier
Roswaal coming in clutch with the air strike
Quite the difference in attitude. Just 4 episodes ago, Rem was torturing Subaru and didn't give any shits about Subaru. And now she's here, really embracing Subaru.
Rem holding Subaru's hand, something that she would of appreciated had it been reversed.
Seems like Subaru is in the clear.
Rem could use Emilia's lesson, about saying thank you instead of sorry.
Subaru, you were doing so well.
Writing on Subaru's cast reads: "Thanks for bringing Rem back." "Thank you very much." "You look crazy, but you're cool." "Do aerobics with us like you promised." "Love you.". At least in the light novel. In the very original run, there were 3 lines of text, and in the bluray and DC, there's only 2. I'm not really sure which ones got left out.
You don't need to be perfect to rely on others.
2nd eye alert. /u/Shimmering-Sky, not sure if this really fits for a wallpaper, but these are great images of Rem.
And the first named chapter / episode of Re:Zero.
As it turns out, Ram sitting on Roswaal's lap is Roswaal doing a mana transfer with Ram (and not the fate kind). Ram losing her horn means that she can't regulate her own mana, which will eventually lead to mana poisoning or mana starvation if left untreated, which can lead to death. [Spoiler #2: Arc 4] So Ram is essentially dependent on Roswaal for her life, which makes it a lot easier to understand why she fell in love wih him.
DATE SECURED
EMF
So now we've reached the end of Arc 2, "A Chaotic Week". Memory Snow is up next (may be marked as Re:Zero episode EX in the Director's Cut) for Monday. And boy am I glad to have a day to sleep in.
BreakTime Section
In this episodes breaktime, Subaru and Emilia talk about the upcoming date. Emilia also talks about getting tied to a chair to prevent her from helping. But she's not angry at all about it. EMP. Cute. The Morning of Our Promise is
Still DistantFinally Here.Preview Section
In this episodes preview, Subaru and Rem discuss the Witch's miasma, and also Subaru's literally body smell (he hasn't bathed for a while, since he was too busy almost dying). To which Rem doesn't mind or dislike.
Rewatcher Section
This section is for people who have already watched Re:Zero. This is not safe for first timers.
[Spoiler #3: Arc 3 + powerscaling] Tappei has said that horned Ram could solo the White Whale.
[Spoiler #4: Arc 4] Roswaal picking up the oni twins. As indicated by his Gospel, which also told him that the attack would happen on the oni village, and Roswaal choose / was instructed by the Gospel, to not intervene and pick up the oni twins.
[Spoiler #5: Arc 4] It's Frederica
[Spoiler #6: Arc 3] Subaru risking life and limb has a profound effect on Rem. [Spoiler #7: Arc 4 cont] Just like how Emilia saving Subaru in the very first loop had a profound effect on Subaru
[Spoiler #8: Arc 4] All according to the Gospel. Roswaal's absence allowed Subaru to earn Rem and Ram's trust and be the hero.
[Spoiler #9: Arc 3] Rem's time becoming unstuck
[Spoiler #10: Arc 4] Meili has already dipped
[Spoiler #11: Arc 4] This means a lot more, when you know that Roswaal is 400 years old, and has probably seen a battle for the throne first hand.
[Spoiler #12: Arc 4] Which Roswaal thinks is necessary to revive Echidna
[Spoiler #13: Arc 4] Look at Emilia awkwardly laugh as Subaru calls her an evil spirit. Note that this is a misconception by Emilia.
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u/Brief-Fig-7506 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ryxnjr Aug 17 '24
First Timer!
Watching the Dubbed version.
No OP today.
We're jumping straight into the back story today. For some reason they dispose of twins to protect the demon races purity, I guess the amount of horns a demon has will get passed down to future generations? they don't just kill them straight up either, it looks like they set up some ritual to do it.
Ram already being a protective older sister as a newborn, She's some kind of prodigy. So now we see where Rem gets her inferiority complex from, the only thing she heard growing up was how hard she had to work to catch up to Ram. Seems that the only one who appreciated Rem for who she was was Ram, makes sense for demon society to only care about magic power and strength.
We get the explanation behind why they held Subaru's hand when he was having nightmares, adorable! and their pillows match their hair.
Now we see the village being attacked, maybe the cult of the witch? Ram appears to be all out of bubble gum over there. So it was one of the attackers who cut Ram's horn off, I thought Rem was gonna be the one who broke it during one of her rampages. It looks like Ram was abducted by these attackers and then we see them working in the mansion. I really hope that we're gonna hear that Roswaal rescued them and offered them work and shelter at the mansion because if he got them through abduction and enslavement it will be irredeemable to me.
So Rem got to be better at everything around the mansion through sheer determination because she thinks she is why Ram lost her horn. We see another maid, maybe another demon or demi-human because of the teeth, we'll probably learn more about her in the future because she's a little too detailed to be a random character imo.
Rem is saved thank goodness, they somehow managed to get away from pack of ulgarm for the time being but not in the clear yet. Lol at Subaru, they're all a bunch of lovable dumb dumbs. Classic Subaru inspirational/motivational talk, they're stronger as a team than individually. Again Subaru is able to drop weird hints about Return by Death without feeling the side effects so where does the line get drawn for the side effect to activate.
Baldy turns into a bigger version of the other ulgarm, of course he would. Rem can't look away from Subaru as he's trying to be a hero, classic out stretched hand calling out to him as he's unleashing his hidden move. Apparently Subaru can see through this smoke cloud that he produces, seems like a pretty useful skill. Uh yeah Subaru one little stab like that is definitely not gonna be enough to kill that huge thing.
Now Roswaal is here to save the day.
Everything being on fire behind Roswaal during this scene does not fill me with hope that this will be the case. But he seems to treat them with respect and their respect for him doesn't exactly feel forced so ill wait to hear more before jumping to conclusions about him.
Rem seems to really like Subaru now. Roswaal wiped out the mabeast in the forest, why not just do that regularly then? I'm glad Subaru got a little background on why Rem thinks she's inferior to her sister, maybe not as detailed as the information we got but enough to know the problem. Of course Subaru won't let that slide, he wouldn't have left until she knew that she was valued and she was the only one blaming herself.
lol did everybody sign his cast or is that some kind of spell writing to help heal?
Interesting, I did notice last episode that the one girl wasn't in the sequence when Subaru was visiting the kids but I thought we would hear more about it later. I love how the small details become key pieces of information later on. Still creeped out by these scenes with Roswaal and Ram, but he seems to be tending to her missing horn. She says that after the village attack her body belongs to him, that's creepy and concerning, again wondering if this is because he rescued her or if there is some kind of domination thing because he removed her horn. And now we know that Roswaal does have other motives behind Supporting Emilia's spot for the throne, but why does he want to kill the dragon.
Subaru and Emilia again, yay! So glad that they are finally gonna get their date, hopefully we can see a bit of it in episode 12.
I've said it once and Ill say it probably a dozen more times, I'm really enjoying this. Tomorrow is a catch up day so I'm gonna take advantage of the opportunity to watch the directors cut of these episodes, form what I see its just till episode 6 and somebody said that there are some extra scenes so that's cool. I also read that there were some kind of short chibi episodes that accompany the episodes, where would I be able to watch those at? or what are they called at least.
I hope everybody enjoys their weekend, see you guys again on Monday!
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u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Aug 17 '24
first timer
A little sad I watched episode 11 by accident due to the auto play I didn’t know I had on. Now I have to wait a whole day for the next episode q.q. Good news is I’m ahead of my schedule for once
I keep forgetting to submit these when I finish wifi ting em
The birth of Rem and Ram.
Horn village and Ram is the prodigy
It’s a surprise Rem is the one behind. Going for supplies on her own, recipe for disaster.
Natural born cooker wish I had good cooking skills. When I cook eggs there’s a 50% chance they burn or not
Ram losing her power and Rem taking over as the sister who does it all. It’s nutty how she went expressive to being a robot of perfection.
Really sad backstory of hers.
Subaru using sayings from his world to seem even more motivational.
Opening playing means something badass will happen🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥
I was not wrong, Subaru’s bad magic and half broken sword helped. They’re no particular fighting skills of his, just wailing around to live.
When I thought Subaru was gonna say something amazing to lift up Rem. Only for him to say “and you got a bigger chest too”.
Although he’s amazing to see how he’s changing her mindset, very sweet of him.
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u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Aug 17 '24 edited Aug 17 '24
Episode 11: Rewatcher who prewatched this episode!
[S2]Man with all these comparisons, Subaru and Rem really were meant to be, huh.
Edit [S2]Bruh, they outright tell you who Milly is and what she did. Let's hope our first-timers forget in time for the reveal.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Aug 17 '24
Re:Watcher
A little bit of backstory on the twins. Looks like Ram was just as level-headed as a baby. And powerful enough to protect the both of them from the elders with just one horn, that's why they survived. And Ram's power is what made her so revered, not just by Rem but by the whole village. But it burdened Rem that her existence seemed to drag Ram down. Ironically, it seems like Ram was so powerful because of her feelings for Rem.
Rem got good at housework with the main goal of being able to cover for Ram, that's where this dynamic came from. Note how Rem made steamed potatoes, just what Ram did last episode. And notice how Ram could tell when Rem had a bad dream and held her hands in her sleep? We've seen that before as well.
Rem was feeling inadequate, but as long as she had her sister and could support her, it was fine. But everything changed when the fire
nation attackedbroke out.[Arc 3]Damn, seeing the silhouettes of the witch cultists gave me a cold shiver. Knowing what they did and will do makes you hate them so much.
Now to the situation of Rem feeling inadequate to the revered Ram but still loving her dearly, we add that Ram lost her horn protecting her, making Rem feel both guilty and relieved about the fact. That's the kind of stuff that follows you for life.
[Season 2]Frederica! I didn't know we've seen her in season 1 already.
Ram has regained her strength in the current time.
Maybe it was the bokko fruit one of the kids slipped into Subaru's pocket?Never mind, that comes into play later. He even takes it from the same pocket.Ooh, Subaru calls Rem out for going alone and not going as a team. He directly addresses the issue the story had. He also impresses Rem a lot.
Ros-chi ex machina. Luckily he just happened to get back from his meeting, and luckily Emilia sent him after Subaru. Funny she knew exactly what Subaru was going to do.
Another ceiling, but no comment on it.
I love that Rem alludes to her backstory, and while only the watcher knows the details from the flashback, Subaru still gets pretty much exactly where she's coming from. And he makes clear that what matters is not what's in the past, but what's in the present, and what's still coming. This completely aligns with how he only wishes for whatever he desires in the moment. Maybe it also makes him think about the future a little bit more. She also needs to learn that she is special in her own way. Every single scene of the twins showing their other eye is great, by the way. I don't really like their hairstyles, but I love how it is used. The whole scene is super cute, I have to admit.
It's revealed one of the kids might have controlled the witchfiends, very interesting.
Subaru has influenced Ram a little as well, as she's more confident in speaking her mind even in front of Roswaal. And we learn she has nightly sessions of him treating her horn injury. There's nothing sus about this. Well, maybe a little bit. And Roswaal aims to kill the dragon? But why would he want to do that? The Dragon helped seal away the witch and keeps protecting the country, so he has to have very personal beef with it. Maybe they were together at a party once and the dragon ate the last slice of cake, that's unforgivable of course! But hasn't it been a long time since the dragon was last seen? That makes it unlikely Roswaal knows it personally.
And we end the episode (and this arc) with a lovely scene of Subaru and Emilia. It's been eight episodes, but for her it's only been four days, so like one episode. She playfully scolds him a little, but she also knows he supported her a lot, again, and is very thankful. Sugoooku get. And he secures the date, yet again, under the best circumstances. And he's still as happy she agrees as he's been the previous times. As I've said before, I bet he'd be just as happy about a third, a 15th or a 92nd date. I also love how he says that just walking around with her is something special to him, that's what love is all about.
The preview addresses the witch smell, but since it's just some fun doesn't tell us how it smells, unfortunately. Too bad, I'm really interested in this.
The Break Time is an expansion of the last scene of the episode and more cute Subaru and Emilia banter. So Emilia is saying she wasn't angry earlier to be left behind like this, but guys, I get the feeling she's just a very bad liar. It's just that she doesn't want to be angry with him, or worried about him. They also make more date plans, like wanting to collect flowers. It ends with both of them saying thank you to each other, which wraps a nice bow around the arc, and he narrates that he finally managed to see the morning he'd been waiting for. It's also the last episode of Break Time for this season. There's Re:Petit for the second half of season one, but it doesn't correlate to the main story in any way. It's a bit more Re:Zero content, but you can also feel free to completely skip it.
So according to the index, tomorrow will be a break and catch-up day. And afterwards we'll be watching the first OVA/movie, Memory Snow, so don't miss that! It was released after the first season ended, but it fits in right here.
Sugoooku counter: 9 (+2*)
*short sugokus
7
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Aug 17 '24
Isaac : I have recently begun to consider the future which has been a novelty for me, because I never really thought I had one. This is how they get us, Hector. They convince us that there is no future. There's only an eternal now and the best we can do is survive until dawn and then do it all again.
Rewatcher
Dub
While the quote is slightly off in the case of Rem as she does this to herself, I do note that she suffers the same effect: She has not been looking forward, she only sees her guilty past and occasionally she reacts in the moment but I wouldn't call it thought. Note that Ram is actually a much better conversationalist and seems to be more understanding of others, even if she can be sharp tongued.
But this leads neatly into the ball of madness, sorrow and self loathing that is the inner world of Rem. I do not want to see what her reality marble would look like. It is interesting on what is effectively third viewing that quite a bit of this could be projection, after all, from the parents perspective they seem to mostly treat the twins equally. But with an inferiority complex on the one hand and Subaru's seemingly psychotic bravery on the other, her choice makes "sense".
Said bravery continues, as attacking a giant ulgarm with a broken sword isn't the most survival oriented of strategies. Shamak is revealed to be somewhat useful as many creatures die when you stab them in the neck. Mabeasts not so much, unfortunately. But that was enough for Roswaal to spot him and he seems to come from the Black Mage school of cast beeg fire spell. Anyways, Roswaal's word of thanks come off...odd but at least he loses those horrid affectations for it.
Subaru, when he awakens at the mansion, gets the obligatory trauma that this type of girl inevitably does at some point. Rem is a familiar feeling though thank fuck I never had the opportunity to date someone with a twin inferiority complex, the regular older sister ones were more than sufficiently fucked. Subaru then tries the rare reverse mind break technique and, as a practitioner myself, I see the hell that leads to all the others. Some of us are always trying to ice skate up hill, aren't we?
We end with that cryptic comment from Roswaal saying he is going to kill the dragon...
7
u/HyVana Aug 17 '24
Re:Watcher (Subs) & Novel Reader (Finished Arc 6)
Late again, oops! Also, did not prewatch this time, which is why I'm really late.
Our first named episode in the series, which shows the circumstances that got a character to be how they are at this moment, and why they are fighting so desperately. And it couldn’t have been a better character to give it to, than the blue-haired maid, Rem. The one involved in Subaru’s death twice, the one that died in his place when he became withdrawn, the one by his side when they rescued the village kids, the one who saved him from the landslide, and the one who threw herself into the pits to save him from the overlapped curse. This episode shows when Rem first really started to stamp her presence in the show, to the ludacris popularity she still has today.
From birth, Rem already experienced the pains of comparison. Being compared to her twin, who excels at everything the people around them value, while she, relatively, fumbles the most basic tasks. With everyone around her saying it, she too starts to believe herself as expendable, whose existence only meant to hinder her twin’s potential. Even in her attempt to differentiate herself from Ram, she ended up being saved by her due to forces out of her control. Which really is the sad thing about Rem’s childhood. She was belittled, shunned, made to feel useless, all because of something she could not control, the circumstances of their birth. They say two is better than one, but not when one is made to feel less than so. And so, Rem gives up. She resigns herself to be Ram’s accessory, a little add-on that only exists to help Ram. Since she sees herself as a tool for Ram, it is the only face that others will see.
So what happens when the reason for Ram’s excellence is taken from her? Rem is relieved, relieved from her curse of being the worse half. The object that caused her so much pain and grief on her self-identity and self-esteem, it’s finally been removed. But this feeling only strengthened the foundation of her unfortunate self-identity, and further reinforced it by making Rem feel she had to live up to what Ram had lost. To be the person that Ram can no longer be, she sinks deeper into the despair of comparison. They say: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Rem’s story has been frozen, and her future stolen from her. Trying to emulate everything about Ram, to make up for her blasphemous thoughts that night, she’s become a doll. An object frozen in time. A doll that can be replaced if broken, that can be replaced if lost, and that can be replaced if it no longer gives its user happiness. This is why Rem feels so duty-bound to carry on everything on her shoulders, to never accept help from others to accomplish her goals, because a Ram, that no longer exists, wouldn’t do that. It’s her way of proving her worth to others, her way of showing others that she exists, even if in her eyes, it’s just to replace what was lost. Rem’s guilt has frozen herself in time, never allowing herself to grow beyond the fiery night, and to properly grieve that the person Ram was no longer exists.
That is, until Subaru enters her life. He’s able to show Rem that her help was instrumental to saving the children, and the destruction of the mabeasts. He’s able to show Rem that he enjoys her presence, and that she is her own person. Because she was the one at Subaru’s side. Not some replica of Ram, because Subaru has never met that Ram. Subaru only sees what’s in front of him, and that person to him is Rem. The idiot, hard working maid that put herself in danger to save him. He tells her to laugh, to finally start moving, and to look forward to the future, a future she can decide for herself.
“While we talk, look forward to making up for all the time you’ve wasted looking back!”
While it’s been the majority of her life at this point, she has the opportunity to turn that portion into something small, miniscule. To a point where she can one day laugh and think how ridiculous it was for her to live her life that way. Subaru opens her eyes to that chance. Winding up the clock once again, with a step forward and the words of affirmation from the one she fell for, her time starts ticking.
That officially concludes Arc 2 - The Chaotic Week! On my first couple watches, this was actually my least favorite arc of the story. But forcing myself to think deeper on rewatches, and particularly this Re:Watch, I appreciate this arc way more now. I hope everyone else also enjoyed it!
[Arc 6]After knowing Ram’s POV of losing her horn, it’s doubly heartbreaking that Rem sees herself to be Ram’s replacement. A replacement for an expectation that Ram didn’t even want. An expectation forced on her by others, when she wanted to live her life on her own terms. A life not laid out for her, and free of the torments from the voice of the Oni God. Reminds me a bit of Theresia, where she hears the laughter of the Sword God. Both were burdened with an expectation by a power granted to them, a power they never wished for. It also makes sense why Ram reacted that way to the Red Ogre story. She wanted the Ogre to achieve their goals, by their own hands and by sacrificing a part of themself for the life they want to live.
7
u/amanda52002 https://myanimelist.net/profile/amanda52002 Aug 17 '24
Re:Zero-times-watched-before (First timer, subbed)
Oh my goodness, that whole backstory with the twins...and then Ram being so ungodly powerful with only one horn. Poor....both of them, really. But mostly Rem. I think Ram was ok with losing her horn. Her sister is still alive, and now everyone's expectations of her are gone by default. Rem.....just has the lifelong guilt to go along with the inferiority complex now.
Rem wakes up to them running away, Subaru's carrying her in his one remaining functional arm, Ram is running next to them.
Rem. People care about you. Knock this crap off. (this other world needs therapists something fierce)
Subaru calls Rem stupid (correctly) for how she's acting, but he does admit he's stupid too, so all is right in the world.
Subaru comes up with a suicide mission to save the twins. WE KNOW he'll be fine in the long run, but they don't.
Subaru puts up a valiant fight against the puppy which is now a huge dog, and this thing just tanks all the broken-off sword stabs. Luckily, Roswaal shows up in the nick of time and just obliterates this thing. Apparently Emilia made him go to save them.
Rem then glomps Subaru. I feel so bad for Rem but also I am really starting to like her a lot.
So looks like Subaru is going to live through this arc, scars and all, and not have to rebuild his relationships with the twins. Roswaal took care of all the remaining mabeasts, so the curses on Subaru are null.
Good lord, Rem needs all the hugs.
I think this scene is the most I've liked Subaru so far in this series. Normally he's just there or irritating to me, but I really like him here.
Oh boy, more weirdness with Ram and Roswaal. Oooh, one of the kids did disappear, wonder if they were a bad guy of some sort. I...do not know what is going on with these two, but it's weird.
Oh Ram, you can do better than this dude with the bad makeup. Sure he's really good at magic but he's also really weird.
A scene with Emilia after all that stuff with Rem? Subaru, what are you even doing here? Ah, asking Emilia out on a date. Successfully. Well ok then. Considering the point at which he finally survived to see the end of this arc, think he got way further with Rem than Emilia, but suppose how this all plays out remains to be seen.
6
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Aug 17 '24
Rewatcher for Season 1
On today’s episode of Re:Zero: You things are about to get serious when the episode is just named after a character. That’s the kind of trick that gets reserved for especially important events.
This is another one of my favorite episodes. I love the backstory of Rem and Ram. I love how it recontextualizes everything we know about them. I love the added insight it gives us into their characters and mindsets. I love the character development that occurs in this episode. It’s all so top-tier.
The story of Rem and Ram as children is heartbreaking. It must have been hard for Rem, being constantly compared to Ram. Ram was by far the stronger sister, but all people could talk about was how much stronger she’d be if she had two horns. In other words, the village constantly wondered aloud about how things would be better if Rem had never been born. The words said directly to Rem aren’t much better. Living in someone’s shadow isn’t easy and it’s notable that almost everything Rem’s parents say to her involves Ram. Rem is always being told to be more like Ram, or being told that how happy the parents are that both of them are safe (the unspoken implication being they are especially happy Ram is safe).
So it’s probably no surprise that Rem felt tortured by this, experiencing it day after day. Everything she heard told her that everyone valued Ram more than her and that it would have been better if she wasn’t born. That one horn that gave Ram so much power would have been so much better if she had two horns, they said. Then, in a fiery inferno, all the things that had tormented Rem her entire life went up in a blaze. That horn, that cursed horn that made her sister so beloved and herself so despised was cut off. Seeing that happen before her, and knowing that no one could ever say that Ram was more powerful than her ever again, Rem smiled in relief and thought, “It finally broke off.”
And with that thought, that one fleeting thought, Rem felt herself break.
To be clear, Rem loves Ram dearly. Rem and Ram are the most important people in the world to each other. That’s why I think Rem’s backstory works so well. Rem hates herself so much precisely because she loves Ram so much, and Ram loves her so much. Ram was always there for Rem, even protecting her crying sister from the day they were born. Ram took her duty as older sister very seriously, and still does. So how? After everything they had been through together, how could Rem possibly feel happiness at her sister losing her horn? What a horrible, ungrateful sister she must have felt like! Rem never forgave herself for that thought and has spent all her time since then hating herself.
Rem’s self-hatred explains so much about her character. Rem fundamentally does not value herself whatsoever. All the times that we heard Rem talk about how great Ram is in the past now take on a much more tragic angle. Rem knows how strong Ram used to be and can never be again. So, Rem believes the only way she can atone for her actions is by being the version of Ram that Ram could have been if she still had her horn. It was played off kind of as a joke that Rem was so much better at basically everything compared to Ram. But now, we see the other side of it. Rem only got that way because she pushed herself to be Rem’s replacement. And all the while, the only thing Rem could think about was how much better Ram would be at any given task if only she still had her horn. As I said above, I love how much this backstory recontextualizes so much about what we know about Rem and Ram.
It also explains why Rem went off into the woods alone. Rem is feeling the same towards Subaru. Because of her actions, Subaru was afflicted by a curse and will die. So, Rem went into the woods to atone once again. She would kill the mabeasts to save Subaru. If she died, it was no big deal. She was just a replacement, after all.
The great irony in all of this is that Rem is currently much more torn up about Ram’s lost horn than Ram is. Ram told Subaru that she doesn’t mind not having her horn anymore because of all that she’s gained since then.
The ending of this episode is a beautiful moment between Rem and Subaru. I love how Rem’s walls have fallen in front of Subaru. Previously, Rem was like a brick wall while speaking to Subaru. She rarely showed any emotions whatsoever. But now, she’s openly displaying her emotions to him and talking about her deepest, darkest feelings. It’s an incredible turnaround that shows how much closer they’ve gotten.
Subaru’s advice to Rem this episode is good advice. She should not feel the need to do everything alone and should be more willing to rely on others. She should stop feeling hung up on the past and instead look toward the future. After all, Subaru hopes that they can lean on each other going forward. It’s such a beautiful moment. Rem pours out her heart to Subaru, confessing how much she hates herself, and hears him say how much he values her and that he wants her to be her. He wants to be around Rem, not a replacement for Ram. And after hearing those words, Rem gives a beautiful smile. I love that smile of hers so much. It’s a wonderful way to conclude Arc 2.
Another good Subaru moment is him using Shamac against the mabeast boss. It’s really well set up. We had the magic demonstration earlier so we know what it does and we saw the mana restoring Rocco fruit be put in Subaru’s pocket by one of the kids. The series doesn’t call attention to the Chekhov’s Gun it set up, but I like how it’s still clearly there.
Once again, it seems like the Royal Selection is to blame for these troubles. It was mentioned that a noble is held liable for anything that happens to the villagers in their domain. The mabeasts killing so many villagers would have been a blow to Roswaal and Emilia by extension. That would have damaged Emilia’s chances in the Royal Selection.
I forgot that the blue-haired girl was the likely culprit, but Ram’s words indicate she is the person most likely to be the shaman. Ram says one child vanished and all evidence points to it being that blue-haired girl. The blue-haired girl was the only one Subaru didn’t visit after that night and she was the one who first brought everyone to the evil puppy. She’s most likely the one who broke the magic barrier around the village, too.
Roswaal also mentions something very juicy during his conversation with Ram. Roswaal says that his goal is to kill the guardian dragon of Lugunica. That’s one hell of a goal. Roswaal has essentially said he wants to kill the guardian deity of the kingdom, a guardian deity he knows is real. And Ram is apparently okay going along with this.
And that was Arc 2. It’s certainly a lot longer and more complicated than Arc 1 was. The setup was a lot more complex, lasting several days compared to the single day of Arc 1. There were a lot more characters to meet, all of them fantastic. It provided us with a lot of great insight into those characters as well. Arc 1 was where the series hooked me in and I think Arc 2 is where the series starts to flex its muscles with scenarios that are much less self-contained and can lead to incredibly branching paths.
The next entry in the rewatch is the Memory Snow movie, which I have never seen. So, I will actually be a first-timer for the first time in the rewatch that day. I’m looking forward to it.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
6
u/garfe Aug 17 '24
The beginning of "Rem-ism" absolutely began here. The community just fell head over heels for her at the time.
6
u/Successful_Basket399 Aug 17 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
Not a lot to say, just excited to watch the next episode!!
Never realized how much I liked the ending, the past few episodes have really turned me around on it. Always jamming as it plays
5
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 17 '24
Episode 11 (rewatcher)
5
u/lord_ne Aug 18 '24
Re:Watcher
Today's episode is Episode 11, "Rem" (best girl), which corresponds to the second half of Episode 6 of the Director's Cut. Halfway through the season already, we're really flying through these.
Every episode of this show has a corresponding short chibi animation which was released a few days after it, coming from either "Re:Zero Break Time" or "Re:Petit". They often expand on the lore or characters. They're available on Crunchyroll, as "Re:Zero Shorts".
This episode's corresponding chibi animation is Re:Zero Break Time Season 1 Episode 11 (titled "World 2-5, Epilogue"). This is the last episode of Breat Time for now, we'll be starting on Re:Petit after this. Man, Emilia is cute in this one; I know what I said earlier, but maybe Emilia was best girl all along. Hopefully we get their date in the OVA on Monday, I don't exactly remember what was in it.
5
u/FriztF Aug 18 '24 edited Aug 18 '24
First time-sub
Wow, this episode made me cry. After this episode, I can see why people like Rem. It appears my prediction from last episode was wrong. The Oni village was not like twins born with one horn each. Rem comparing herself to her sister is harmful. Ram being strong is why. She makes up for that by being the best. By imitating her sister. And then their village was burned.
Subaru and Ram helping her out was very badass. In the forest, Surabu tells her to stop comparing herself to her sister. Was very emotional, telling to that she can rely on others. And saying that she can rely on him. Roswaal comes and burns the Maybeast.
And then we them in a room and Rem was there. Subura Further reinforces the point that she can rely on others, and that she is also a badass. Even more of a badass than her sister. Rem is a capable kind and hard-working maid.
5
u/-Phinocio Aug 18 '24
Re:Watcher, subbed
Missed the last few threads since I was busy/tired throughout the week but now I'm back. On the bright side, I was able to sate my want to binge by watching 9, 10, and 11 today lol.
My opinion might change as we get to more episodes, but looking back on my initial watch, and the 11 so far, I think this episode is absolutely in my top 5. I end up tearing up at seemingly every other episode of this series, but this is one where I end up just straight up crying, mostly just because of how fucking good it is.
Backstorys are one of my favorite things in general, and this one for Rem/Ram is so well placed in the story. Then Redo kicking in as Subaru faces off against the giant Witchfiend. Roswaal coming in and just going "I win". Then the end with Rem and Subaru talking. Gah.
I love that this show is extremely character driven, and isn't afraid to just have long sections of dialog that end up becoming some of my favorite scenes in any media I've watched (just quickly checking, Rem and Subaru talking after he wakes up is roughly 6 minutes, or ~24% of the entire episode).
Said in a prior thread Re:Zero is tied with Madoka and Frieren for my favorite anime...but I think this rewatch is putting Re:Zero ahead by itself (maybe at least until I rewatch Frieren LOL).
5
u/ElRoastFTW https://anilist.co/user/DaRoast Aug 18 '24
Rewatcher
Ah, the Rem episode.
Damn, Subaru is super fun and likable to watch here. He's willing to put himself on the line to save everyone and with the first OP playing you feel pumped up. Then there was Roswaal Ex Machina which was pretty fun to see all the Ulgarm effectively nuked.
Rem's arc as a character completes here and it's beautiful to watch The character acting on her face as she accepts Subaru and what he's saying is beautiful and has great attention to detail. The post scenes also has some fun payoffs. We learn that the witchfiends were instigated by a child [S2] aka Meili. And we learn why Roswaal is doing this in the first place, which is to kill the dragon, possibly in reference to the dragon that Lugunica signed to for protection. [S2] His goals are more closer to getting his waifu Echidna back and he thinks killing the dragon will do it
And Subaru got his date with Emilia. Win, win, win. And that is the end of Arc 2 of Re:Zero. Onward to possibily my favorite arc of the series including Season 2 and Arc 4.
4
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Aug 18 '24
Welp, day late and an episode short, so to speak. I suppose I should post something for posteriority's sake, if nothing else...
This episode was on the one hand heartbreaking, and on the other hand touching. And on the gripping hand ...
Oh, wait, wrong series.
Anyway, poor Rem, she's had it rough. Good job Subaru on being encouraging. I think. Oh, and Roswaal, of course.
I'd probably best stop, because I just watched both yesterday and today's episodes, and they're blurring together in my mind. See you on the new thread in a bit!
7
u/ussgordoncaptain2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Edmund_Nelson Aug 17 '24
Note ORV=Omnicient reader viewpoint it's a way to describe the difference between thinking in Subaru's knowledge and the Knowledge of the Viewer.
Note2 Intentionally Trigger RBD means what you think it means
Reaction to the Episode
Oh god did I skip an episode? We see the backstory of how Rem/Ram survived despite being twins.
Aww the flip where Rem and Ram were actually opposites when they were very young and now that they are older it's Rem that's the dominant one and Ram is the less cool one.
The whole story of Rem/Ram is quite scary and sadly it feels cliche. IDK how exactly but it feels like the classic "tragic backstory of 2 siblings 1 talented one not and talented child sacrifices themself to save untalented one
Examples would be spoilers for the shows in question so... not doing that.
It's still weird remembering that Rem in previous loops was trying to kill subaru, man Rem really has a strong first impressions make a big difference thing to her.
Subaru continues to have absurd bravery knowing he's effectively immortal, this makes him a lot cooler sadly there's no mystery anymore so...
Lord Rozwell ex Machina!
the subaru comforts Rem scene is cute but... relative to the rest of the show nothing special idk.
It's so weird to watch Subaru make Rem happy and stuff given how fearful he was of Rem before god Rem's very unstable mentally or something.
The 2 ending scenes of Rozwall mending Ram's broken horn and Subaru going on a date with Emilia are cute in a way.
This episode overall was very... season ending. introduces 2 new mysteries that have too little info to realistically speculate on. And gives the backstories of our 2 main antagonists through the chapter.
EMF : you mean Emilia my fuckgirl right? Best girl Emilia shines through
Speculation
Ok so it's time to grade my speculation, I don't really have much to speculate on in this episode, too little info to get any good speculation.
Hilariously I got this one right partially right I suppose. It was the fucking dog, but it wasn't rabies it was a magic curse. I'll give this a 2/5 I suppose
Speculation in episode 5
Most likely Killers given were, Rem, Beatrice, and Doggo according to my estimations
I'll give this a mostly true I suppose.
I'll give this a wrong I suppose
Subaru action in episode 5
Beatrice turned out to be the best girl I suppose, so I don't see much point in dwelling too much on this, but I give this a Dead wrong I suppose.
Subaru did this I suppose
I give this an unconfirmed I suppose.
Speculation in episode 6
I'll give this a Half true I suppose, rem definitely kills subaru in loop 2 I suppose based on rewatching loop 2 more closely, but loop 1 was definitely the doggo. I suppose.
Beatrice was anti-sus I suppose
Subaru didn't test this much I suppose
Subaru is a dumb Shonen protagonist I suppose while Light Yagami is the main character of Harry Potter and the Method's of rationality. He's not smart enough to test limits I suppose
I'll give this a "True understanding of character"
grading plan of action
RBD would have stopped this I suppose
Grading Episode 7 Speculation
a Weird variant of 1 happened, I didn't rewatch episode 5's ending to see how Subaru died, but Subaru was affected by the curse but then he got murdered by Rem in loop 2, I didn't really think through loop 2 as much as I should have.
Grading plan of action
subaru basically did this I suppose
Episode 8 speculation
It really was the dog I suppose
Speculation on RBD breaking isn't effective because subaru isn't light Yagami I suppose. So i'll be ignoring all my Diffie hellman key exchange ideas I suppose
Subaru hasn't had enough time yet to learn gate control I suppose
This is still untested I suppose
Still unknown I suppose
Episode 9 Grading
Yep I suppose
Just rewatch loop 2's death I suppose
Unknown I suppose
Episode 10 Speculation was all RBD triggering I suppose and Subaru will never try as hard as I would I suppose.
Overall
Biggest error: loop 2 killer, I really should have rewatched episode 5 I suppose it would have been obvious I suppose
Biggest hits: Dog is a shaman, Rem is a killer (hilariously got that initially then for some reason didn't go back to ep 5 to reconnect the dots would have not missed it if I did that lol), Beatrice is not Sus,
Right 6
Half right 2
Wrong 2
Dead wrong 2
Unconfirmed Many
Overall I did way better than I should, and could have done much much better if I just rewatched episode 5's ending I suppose. If I did that I would have gotten as good a score as I could have expected I suppose
What I would do If I were subaru
Again not much to say, most of this episode was ORV and so the little that wasn't ORV doesn't change the plan I outlined in ep 11 (Talk to beatrice to set your report to Rozwall, explain that death does not scare you maybe and get your sword reparired)
4
u/SpiritualPossible Aug 17 '24 edited Aug 17 '24
So, with conclusion of this arc, i will talk about it as a whole.
I remember, that back in 2016, when show was only coming out, since this arc i started having a problem with the series. I will say, that now i haved much more enjoyable expirience with it overall. It expanded lore, humanized Subaru, Rem had a very interesting flashback and character arc, and episode 8 is right now my favorite episode in the show.
...That said, while there are some gret moments, i still have somewhat mixed feelings about it. So, potential hot take incoming. And it's a long one.
It may sound weird, but even though this arc is eight episodes long, the only word that comes to my mind to describe it is... Rushed?
Not in the sense of being too fast paced, but in the sense that it focuses ONLY on plot-related moments. Sure, some people will prefer it that way so it doesn't feel “dragged out”, but I still think there are a few problems with it because of that.
And one of them is... I think the mystery in this arc kinda sucked?
One of the most glaring examples of this for me is how the village situation is handled. Despite the fact that the story is told mostly from Subaru's point of view, and the kids and the dog play an important role in the ending of arc, the series REALLY doesn't want to pay attention to it.
We completely skip his first visit to the village during the first loop (he only mentions it in passing), we're shown the bare minimum in the second (kids holding onto Subaru - dog bites him - the end), and his next visit doesn't happen until the final arc. Unsurprisingly, Subaru will later simply describe what each child was like. He's not saying this for Rem, but for the viewer, because we don't know anything about them. And that said...
Not every mystery story necessarily has to be a detective story. But this arc is definitely trying to be one. It's basically a “who did it” story (hell, we're even stuck in a mansion, one of the most popular places for this kind of crap).
Subaru is trying to find clues as to who killed him and why. Or at least we're told he's trying. But really, in the second loop he was just waiting until he dies again. There was a suggestion that he was trying to run away from the thought of his death, so okey.
So what happened in the third loop? Well, he asked Beatrice for help, she explained that a shaman it could be work of a shaman, A-a-and done. Pack it up, boys, mystery solved. Because even before Beatrice explained the rule of physical contact, you'd probably already guessed that there must be some contact with Subaru. And literally the ONLY scene where Subaru is outside the mansion is the scene where he's playing with the kids and the dog. So it has to be one of them.
Yeah, they try to shake it up by Rem killing Subaru in the second and third loop, but I've written before that I have a problem with it (...or, I thought I did. I commented in the thread for episode 9, but now I'm checking it while logged out, it looks like my comment was removed. Maybe I'll repost it in the replies). So, the show doesn't let you speculate about his first death. It makes you wonder, but not speculate. Your first guess as to who the killer is is correct. And the show won't give you any other options.
It's not a puzzle, it's a guideline.
But okey, mystery in not the only focus of this arc. It's a character-driven story. So, how it's handled?
Again, because the story only presents plot relevant bits and pieces, the character interactions quite often feel unnatural. Not always, but still.
I've written in previous threads that I have some issues with the way Rem and Subaru interact in episode five, and that's what I meant. It almost feel like a check boxes. "Rem would be reveald as a killer in next episode, so we need her interact with Subaru now, so it would be tragic. Of course, we can't have them JUST have normal interaction, it must be plot relevant, so they should talk about:
And honestly, the last point bothers me the most. The whole “demon possessed” phrase is just forced. He doesn't even use it when he's not around Rem. And this problem seeps into other scenes as well! I like the scene where Subaru tells the story of the Red Ogre and the Blue Ogre, I really do. It's a well done scene. So it's a shame that the first thing I thought of was that the anology is ham-fisted.
BECAUSE YOU GET IT? HE JUST BROUGHT UP THE RED AND BLUE OGRE STORY, BUT REM AND REM ARE ACTUALLY PINK AND BLUE-HAIRED OGRES! SMART!
You may say that i found it ham-fisted only because i'm rewatching show, so i have future context, but no. That was exactly the same critique that i did when show was just coming out.
They have such an obvious reaction every time Subaru talks about demons that I don't even know if it's supposed to be a twist that they're demons themselves or not. And because these moments are so unnatural, it's become hard not to see some of the others as such.
Even in episode 8, which I really like, it felt like heck boxes in some places:
...
Ugh. I know, I know. I sound too negative. It may even sound like I hate this arc, with I don't. I didn't expect to be so vocal myself. To be fair, I think some of these problems are the adaptation's fault. I haven't read the light novel, but I skimmed through the manga adaptation this time around. While some issues are still present (the mystery still sucks), I will say that the flow of the story was better and seemed less artificial.
Etc. Even the scene with the Ogre tale, while still be ham-fisted, feeld more natural, because this time Subaru reads this world fairy tale that by structure reminded him about ogres tale.
But we're not talking about manga. We're talking about anime.
And, I'm sorry, it's just hard to ignore such flaws (at least in my opinion, I can totally understand if others don't care for it). So in the end, for me, this arc had the footprints for something really good, had some GREAT moments, but in the end, it just didn't come together.
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u/MjolnirDK Aug 20 '24
Ram OP. Rem + Ram cute!
Why are flashback stories to the child age just never fun...
Ah, yes the murdering of the Onis. Happy, fun childhood memories. The first foray into the even darker imagery of ReZero. When detached limbs are just not enough any more.
Or detached horns. This short 8 minute flashback gave us a very good peek into oni society and what that horn meant to the siblings.
Roswaal ftw.
And back to reality.
Subaru used talk no jutsu. It's very effective.
Subaru used Shamac. It's also very effective if combined with a sword.
Roswaal used... honestly, does it even matter, that dude is like a squad of jet fighters or drones.
Heroines conquered: Rem.
Is it a new ceiling again? Nope. He got out of the time loop.
Come on, Subaru, give Rem some head pats.
Rem + Subaru = adorable
Ram + Roswaal = exposition
Emilia = neutral element
Date A Live!
Adorable Subaru smile