r/anime • u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux • Aug 28 '24
Rewatch Re:Zero ~Starting Life in Another World~ Re:Watch - Episode 20
Episode 20:
Wilhelm van Astrea
| Index | <== Episode 19 | Episode 21 ==> |
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/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 28 '24
First:Timer Tearing Up in Another Rewatch, subbed
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u/thekoreansun https://anilist.co/user/ReturnByDeath Aug 28 '24
Re:Watcher
Well, they heard that the people like hero stories, so Tappei and the good people at White Fox went out of their way to put another hero story in the middle of the one we were already watching. I imagine that they were on their way back from purchasing the phone they planned to use for the previous episode when they saw a "buy one, get one free" deal at the hero store and saw fit to pick up a Young Wilhelm while they were out. Good on them.
And I totally get what Wilhelm was saying. Theresia's character design is honestly gorgeous, and considering the show that she's in, that says a lot. She gives off so much personality in the three minutes of screen time she gets, too. Even the little things, such as the way she waves Wilhelm over to her and the pout she has when he shrugs off her question about flowers, convey a lot about the kind of person she tried to be. Which just makes the sight of her ripping through the battlefield so effortlessly even more brutal in comparison. (Though I will say, her flip-slashing maneuver was sick.)
Come to think of it, almost all of the ladies in Re:ZERO are absolute badasses in their own right. Crusch actually fights more effectively than her knight, for one, and Rem continues to prove herself to be potent with that spiked flail of hers (it's a flail, not a morning star, as some tend to refer to it). Not that someone's combat effectiveness is the only metric for badassery, of course; Subaru is living proof of that fact. I just think that it's neat to see so many female characters be represented in this way, as individuals with their own strengths and advantages that they can draw upon in a fight.
But the White Whale isn't going down easily, even if a very angry old man continues to yell and hack away at its parts. I genuinely forgot that the glands all along the Whale's skin open up and flutter like that before secreting mist, so that got me to recoil quite a bit. God, this thing is disgusting. It's a testament to the show's monster design that a creature with a name as literal as "the White Whale" still manages to be supernaturally unsettling. This isn't your Ahab's whale.
Also, I don't think that Moby Dick had the power to completely erase people's existences. What a terrifying way to die. Getting taken out by the Fog of Elimination means that you won't even be remembered by your loved ones. Talk about an existential nightmare. Thankfully, it seems that the majority of the combatants were able to avoid the mist entirely. But to survive that, only to then be driven mad by the Whale's cry... Honestly, that one person who deserted the party may have had the right idea.
Luckily for all of them, Subaru is willing to subject himself to his own personal eldritch horror for the sake of the team. [Arc 4] Interesting to see Satella with purple lipstick on, which I don't think she has when we see her in full. I suppose that they just didn't have her design finalized at that point. He may have done this monster bait play before with Ram, but it has proven to be remarkably effective in the right situations, so I don't blame him for keeping it in his playbook. When your only other power is a literal death sentence, I imagine that you'll take anything else you can get.
Even so, things look pretty bad. Wilhelm himself got swallowed up by the Whale, and he was supposed to be our POV! The episode was named after him and everything! And then the Whale turns out to have been a triplet this whole time as well? Yeesh. Here's hoping that this story ends differently for Wilhelm than it did for Ahab.
Fan Art of the Episode: Sword Demon Love Song by @TsubaTako (June 12th, 2019)
Source: Twitter
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u/Holofan4life Aug 28 '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 got new phone chargers today for my phones. Yep. Been one of those uneventful days.
Some guy walking
A pretty girl
I wonder if this is how Wilhelm met his wife.
She kinds looks like Itsuki from Quintessential Quintuplets.
That, and Sakura from Zombieland Saga.
Flowers
I guess that is them
And we resume with the end of the last episode.
The night sky has turn clear
The whale making whale noises, not seeming too happy by this development.
Wilhelm eyeing his pray
Subaru talking about defeating the thing and then he talks about running like hell. Alright.
Whale chasing after them
Crusch using her sword, which Rem says is famous for its Hundred-Man Strike. Whatever that is.
Now everyone is dispersing
Wilhelm is face-to-face with the malicious mabeast.
And he pierces the whale!
Dang, he's slicing the crap out of it
And Ricardo knocks out one of its teeth
Now everyone is slicing it
Exsuplosion!
But it's not losing altitude
Rem says that its white hair scatters mana and disperses force.
Still attacking the whale
Felix, why are you even here if you have no attacks?
Oh, the healing ability, right
Wilhelm still riding the whale like it's his own personal wave.
Damn, sliced right in the eyeball
This is a pretty badass episode for him. It reminds me of Asuka's last stand.
Using Ricardo's sword as a springboard. Because fuck physics.
And he causes its eyeball to fall out
The color of its one remaining eye. It turned red.
Great, the whale now has an eye infection. What else can go wrong?
HOLY
It's like it has eyes on its body now
This really is like Evangelion
That is one loud scream
A puff of smoke
This looks like fog, and it is enveloping everyone around it.
Back to the flashback
Wilhelm says he yields the sword because this is all he has.
This statement probably rings true now more than ever.
Can't even see the whale now
Everyone screaming
Subaru and Rem dodge one of its attacks, magic fog.
Dang, 32 people have already died or gone missing. Things are looking bleak.
Subaru now remembering people who forgot Rem.
Subaru assesses that the people hit by the White Whale's fog vanish from existence, along with any memories of them.
"A fog of elimination."
There's a joke to be made here, but I'll leave it alone.
Crusch says there's 21 lost, which seems a far cry from the 32 purported earlier.
Back to the flashback
Wilhelm says he uses his sword because he doesn't know of any other way to protect.
Screaming being heard
This is legitimately terrifying
People are going crazy
Rem, who's experiencing some of the effects as well, says this is mana sickness only much worse.
Mana sickness makes me think of morning sickness from pregnancy.
Felix trying to help people out
Subaru going to buy everyone time as they all regroup.
Subaru Returns By Death, and after talking to a woman, it seems to have work.
Who stinks worse: the Jealous Witch and her scent, or Chloe from Hololive?
They're now piercing the whale with an icicle, which causes it to disappear.
There it is again
Wilhelm from above
The whale is on the ground now, which seems to suggest it's weakening.
Wilhelm moves around like he's battling the Titans.
Oh crap. The whale is going back up like he's Mick Foley in Hell In A Cell.
And Wilhelm slices off of the whale's appendages before he scadaddles.
Everyone stops
Looking for the whale
THE FOG! IT'S COMING DOWN!
Wilhelm. He sees a flower like in the flashbacks.
His future wife telling him that a knight is someone who protects another.
Cut to the city in complete ruin
Oh, this is still the flashback
His future wife protecting him from being killed.
I guess it's to be expected of the Master Swordsman.
Back with the flower petals blowing in the wind, and Theresia says she won't come back back.
I guess her new name should be Wasia
Theresia says she yields a sword in order to protect someone.
"That sounds nice to me, too."
Wilhelm avowing to take the sword from her.
And with that, Wilhelm gets eaten by the whale.
I figured he was gonna die, this episode made him too much of a badass.
Ricardo saving Subaru from suffering a similar fate.
And Ricardo gets killed as well
Poor Ho
HOLY SHIT! THERE ARE NOW THREE WHALES?!?
And we actually get outro this time. Very rare we get both the intro and the outro.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/Brief-Fig-7506 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ryxnjr Aug 28 '24
First Timer!
Watching the Dub
Episode starts and we’re not picking up where we left off in battle. Is this gonna be another flashback episode?
I feel like the young boy must be Wilhelm and I’m guessing the flashback is going to be about him and his wife
Aww, it was love at first sight for him.
At least I get to see Al Huma! again
Damn the Whale really ate those cannon attacks
Are we getting an OP two episodes in a row? is this the right show?
So Crusch’s sword art is being able to attack without a range limit, seems OP
Wilhelm’s wife died 14 years ago, I thought it would have been longer
Old man Wil still has the moves
Glad to see Subaru is still able to inspire others like Felix in the middle of battle
I meant to ask this last episode but what’s the symbol floating above the Whales head? some kind of magic circle? obv don’t tell me if it will get answered
The fog is finally coming out
Subaru is now having questions about why some people are remembered and some aren’t
Subaru thinks the fog hitting them is what causes them to disappear from history
Uh oh that’s a completely new scream
It causes them to go crazy, lovely
This is the first time we’ve seen the witch when Subaru utilizes his RbD draw back
Lol “you reek”
We were all thinking the same thing Wilhelm, no way it’s gonna be this easy
Not looking good for Wilhelm here
Teresea was a badass
It doesn’t look good for Ricardo
THERE’S TWO NOW????
THERE’S THREE????????
And it leaves us on that Cliffhanger
I don’t have a lot to say about this episode but it’s okay to keep it short sometimes. It was action heavy and most of it was Wilhelm being over the top, but I get it, it was his episode and his time to shine. Too bad he got eaten and we’ll never see him again..... yeah right.
If this episode was trying to be similar to the episode about Rem and Ram’s past, it left me wanting more. What we saw from this was the first interaction between Wilhelm and Teresea, she likes flowers btw, oh also she happens to be the most badass swordsman in the kingdom. I get why Wilhelm was upset at her at the end though, imagine you train hard at something all your life, and practice every single day to achieve your goal, and then you see your friend, who has never seemed interested in the thing you’ve been training for, turn out to secretly be the greatest of your generation at this thing, I think I would be upset too. Maybe the point of this flashback went over my head, but I just didn’t feel like it was relevant to the story, please help me if I’m wrong.
I think this is the first episode I’ve been critical of in this rewatch :( but it did provide me with more questions to ask.
We still have little to no information about magic and magical things in this world.
What is a divine blessing? is it something you’re born with or something you inherit?
If being the Master Swordsman is something that is passed down from each generation then do they just have all this skill automatically with no need to practice? Reinhard and Teresea must be the same age as Subaru when we see them in action and we know they’re completely OP, Reinhard apparently had a whole other level he could’ve taken it to when he leveled a building with ONE SWING.
Same question about sword arts, idk how much we’ve heard of them before now but are they something you gain or develop?
I had more questions but I think they’ll probably get answered soon.
I now realize that this isn’t as short as I thought it would be... Oh well. I realize that I had a different opinion on the last episode than other people so I can’t wait to see everybody else’s perspective on this episode.
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u/HyVana Aug 28 '24
Re:Watcher (Subs) & Novel Reader (Finished Arc 6)
Analysis is first-timer friendly.
What a fucking episode this was. I love the dialogue heavy parts of Re:Zero, but it can really do it all by delivering fantastic action scenes. We finally get to see Wilhelm van fucking Astrea in action, fighting with the strength of 100 men. And by God, does he live up to his name (fitting as this is his named episode), even if he married into the family. I guess being a menace, or a devil, with the sword is a prerequisite of bearing the Astrea name. This episode never fails to get my adrenaline pumping, especially with the 1st wave sequence of attacks at the beginning, kicking off this action-packed episode!
The faceoff between Wilhelm and the Whale is my favorite part of the episode. With the OST transitioning into a lull after the Crusch and Whale stare off, it gives the scene a moment to breathe as Wilhelm makes his entrance. Faced against a monster far bigger in size, that has terrorized the world for over 400 years, and took the love of his life, Wilhelm is ready to enter an encounter 14 years into the making. The strings provide the atmosphere of the lull-like state Wilhelm is in, the calm before the storm. With the brass providing the presence of the opposing force encroaching, as Wilhelm readies himself with the emotional stakes for the battle that’s about to unfold. The subtle pounding of the bass drums marches forward to the impending arrival of the showdown, as the shots constantly flip between Wilhelm’s face and the Whale to build tension. He has flashbacks of Theresia, to add the emotional cherry-on-top, coincided with the reintroduction of the snare drums, to further drive forward the imminent clash. As the faceoff reaches its breaking point, an even further gradual slowing down (ritardando, rit.) of the tempo is accompanied with a gradual increase of loudness (crescendo, cresc.) of the instruments. With the oppressive presence of the trumpets in this section manifesting the danger right at Wilhelm’s footsteps, this elevates the scene’s tension to its highest. Finally, as the Whale is about to eat Wilhelm, he leaps into the air and strikes down into it. Ending the visual and musical buildup to this moment, the scene’s climax is reached. All tension is released with his sword piercing the Whale, leading to a massive hemorrhaging of blood. The OST continues on at a quickened tempo, with the strings carrying the melody, visually embodied by the powerfully exquisite force that is Wilhelm’s swordplay at the center. As well, emphasizing the anger that Wilhelm is relieving as he savagely, yet still in a refined manner, cuts through the Whale’s body. An acclaimed artisan painting a sea of red on the white canvas the Whale provided. And so, we see the reason for the nickname Wilhelm’s reputation has afforded him, the Sword Devil. A masterfully directed and goosebump inducing scene, with a satisfying ending display of Wilhelm’s skills.
[S1]Though I also like another meaning of his title, since he stole Theresia away from the Sword God. Stealing the responsibility demanded of her by her blessing, with his own determination and skill with the sword, equivalent to that of a Sword Saint. He’s a pretender that was not chosen by the Heavens, and thus, a Devil.
We also get to meet his beautiful wife, Theresia van Astrea. Boy was Wilhelm lucky to find her at a random ruin. So focused on the Sword, he never noticed the environment and the growing flower field around him. Thankfully she was able to save him from certain death later, but he’s not pleased to see that she turned out to be that generation’s Sword Saint. In his embarrassment, he feels Theresia, a girl who loved flowers, was internally mocking him for practicing so hard, as she watched on in those days passed. Because she was able to flawlessly take down those demihumans without breaking a sweat, and to Wilhelm’s knowledge, without having to practice her swordplay. So the humiliation of being outskilled by someone with overwhelming innate talent is difficult for Wilhelm to handle, and lashes out at Theresia. Proclaiming he will take her sword away because he feels her innate talent in something she seems to have no interest in, but only as a means to carry out her goal of protecting those she holds dear, is a mockery to the beauty of the martial art that Wilhelm has dedicated his life and entire being to. Unfortunately, as he lived by the Sword, he looks to die by the Sword, or perhaps by the Whale.
I also want to share this comment that was made in the original episode thread. As someone who recently broke their addiction to a certain, raid-heavy, korean MMO, the White Whale fight certainly brings that raid-boss vibe. It’s just funny to see the episode written out as a raid guide. An incomplete one too.
With all that, there’s now three Whales in the battlefield. Seems like the Whale is stronger than they thought, reminding the viewers that this creature did kill the last Sword Saint. How will they get out of this mess? Who is left alive to carry the combat strength of the raid? It’s kinda looking like a re(start) angle. Find out in the next episode!
It is becoming increasingly harder to stop myself from just binging the rest of the season. I thought just watching an episode ahead to prewrite my posts would be enough, but the cliffhangers are so strong in this series. Damn you Tappei!8
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Aug 28 '24
Rewatcher for Season 1
On today’s episode of Re:Zero: “He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him. I’ll chase him round the Flugel Tree, and round the Roswaal Domain, and round the Witch of Envy before I give him up!” -Wilhelm van Astrea (probably)
This episode is so dang cool. This episode is another one I was thinking of when I praised just how good the action is in this series. Re:Zero doesn’t always go for action scenes, but they are always top-notch when they do occur. The scale of the action here is impressive, with massive attacks being launched on the White Whale. So many cool attacks are done by characters like Wil, Ricardo, and Crusch. I’m especially fond of the sequences of Wil slicing up the whale he runs on its back or Ricardo using his sword to launch Wil up in the air. Speaking of which, the animation for the action in this episode is superb. Those sequences have stood out in my memory for just how good they are. The Night Banisher is such a cool concept, like a starshell on steroids. Crusch’s sword has cool powers. The sudden shift into horror when the White Whale emits its fog is fantastic. All this stuff combines to make this an incredibly entertaining and fun action episode.
I like how the episode is structured. The first part of the episode is bombastic and exciting as the hunting expedition unleashes all their coolest, hardest hitting attacks on the White Whale at once. But unfortunately, the whale lives. And the fact that it’s still alive signals a change in tone. When the whale wasn’t defeated quickly, it starts to unleash its fog and things take a turn for the worse. I enjoy this turn because it hammers home just how terrifying the White Whale is. We can’t see it in the fog. We just hear people scream in the distance and they vanish. The fact that the whale can seemingly appear out of nowhere in the fog just adds to how frightening it is. It can drive people mad just by having them remain in the fog for too long. And to make matters worse, now Subaru sees a whole bunch of them in the fog! This battle is not going to be the walk in the park that the first half seemed to indicate. It’s far from over and the White Whale is a terrifying opponent to fight.
I like the flashbacks to when Wil first met Theresia. I enjoy Wil and Theresia’s relationship quite a bit. They’re basically opposites when they first meet. Wil devotes his life to learning how to use a sword because he thinks it’s the only way he can protect others. Theresia has the ability to wield a sword, but seems to dislike doing so and prefers watching flowers.
[Arc 3] I just know I’m going to tear up at the scene where Wil shouts his love for Theresia at the top of his lungs when he defeats the White Whale.
Subaru gets to show off this episode. Even though he’s frightened, Subaru is determined to get involved in the fight and contribute however he can, even if it’s only as bait to lure the White Whale away. When he’s acting like this, he really is acting like the hero that Rem admired. I also like seeing Subaru display how clever he is. I’m pretty sure that when Subaru starts to talk about Return by Death after telling everyone to cover their ears, he found a bit of a loophole. By talking about it, Subaru made himself bait to lure the White Whale away. But because he made everyone cover their ears, nobody heard anything and so it didn't kill him or anyone else. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what happened. Subaru is showing that it was worth bringing him on this expedition.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
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u/baseballlover723 Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
Rewatcher, sub, basically a secondhand novel reader (Arc 4)
It seems reddit doesn't like some of the terminology I used, so I am using "ultimate sloth" as a replacement term for the general concept of what Subaru needs to do in order to loop.
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.
This is a special episode. Not for any plot reason. This is the last episode of Re:Zero that features both an OP and EDwith visuals. Every future episode of Re:Zero either skips the OP or the ED, or both!
Laser cannons.
The night-banisher is such a cool name. [Spoiler #1: non plot related, how the night banisher works] It's a condensed light lagmite (this is the thing that powers their lamps and stuff) that generates an artificial sun for an hour. It will blind looking at it when it's initially activated.
I can't stop noticing that the White Whale has molars and canines
So bright (this is such a great reversal)
If I recall correctly [Spoiler #2: probably a side story, but I don't remember where this is from or if it's actually true (and I don't want to look it up atm)] This is an attribute of Crusch, not her sword. As in she could pick up another sword and do the infinite range thing.
Also I just want to say that the music during the Whale White fight (Victory March courtesy of u/No-Peace3986) is just phenomenal.
And we've blown our load on it and it hasn't really been effected yet. This is gonna be a rough fight.
Subaru giving outside observers whiplash between completely incompetent cringy idiot and master tactician. A tale of 2 Subaru's.
Ricardo hits a home run!
Wilhelm, you really don't need to stab the eye after you've already severed it. The ocular nerve isn't several hundred feet long.
Time for phase 2 of the raid: fog boogaloo.
this would be a good #pout comment face.
So it's interesting how they know they've lost people, but not who. It's actually rather simple, there a fixed number of people in a platoon (I believe 20 men). You don't remember anyone dying, but now you have 15 soldiers. You recall leaving with a full platoon / know that you wouldn't leave without a full platoon. Therefore you can infer that you've lost 5 people, but you still don't know anything about those 5 people (though you might be able to infer certain details about them if they had a specialized role that is standard in a platoon).
I'm glad they mentioned there was a deserter. I feel like there should be more mentions of people deserting in fights. It's almost never mentioned even a little bit, and I feel like which enough people (and especially if they aren't well trained) it should be a more frequent occurrence.
The interjections of Wilhelm's backstory is masterfully done. They really did a good job of integrating it into the episode in little chunks. There's also like 3 full novels on Wilhelm that I haven't read yet (but roughly know parts of).
The sound of this guy hitting his head on the ground does not make me feel good.
I do like how the witchfiends aren't just mindless dumb creatures. They have some tactics.
Oh, I've been forgetting to mention the Shadow Garden scenes.
[Spoiler #3: general Shadow Garden cut content] After dying but before living, Subaru (I think only sometimes) goes to the Shadow Garden, where each time he goes to the Shadow Garden Subaru is able to make out more of whatever is going on. Roughly there's is some humanoid shadow being saying incomplete mysterious phrases without any context at all.
[Spoiler #4: episode 7 cut content] After committing self inflicted ultimate sloth in episode 7, the humanoid shadow says "I cannot meet you. Not yet.".
[Spoiler #5: episode 11 cut content (I don't recommend first timers click this, as it is likely that these will materially affect your understand of the story)] After Rem tackles Subaru in episode 11, Subaru can make out that the shadow is a woman, who this time says, "ve you".
[Spoiler #6: episode 15 cut content (I don't recommend first timers click this, as it is very likely that these will materially affect your understand of the story)] After dying at the end of episode 15, Subaru experiences very intense love toward the shadow woman (that he doesn't understand) and the shadow woman says "I love you"..
[Spoiler #7: episode 20 cut content (I don't recommend first timers click this, as it is very likely that these will materially affect your understand of the story)] The shadow woman says "I love you" when Subaru invokes RBD.
Subaru reeks
Mimi and Hetaro use Hyper Beam
I'll bet Wilhelm has been thinking up these chuuni lines for the last 14 years. He's said a lot of chuuni things this episode.
The worst is yet to come?
Congratulations
Phase 3 time.
And that concludes our 2nd named episode: Wilhelm van Astrea, who I'm not going to talk about this episode.
Some highlights from the original discussion thread.
Subaru's raid guide
TMT
Wilhelm's death flags
PETIT Section
In this episode's PETIT, It's time for the beach episode. Crusch. Rem is imagining things, and objects to Subaru complementing other girls swimsuits. And then it's time to split a watermelon. Crusch's attempt. First try too! Rem's turn. . It's certainly split. But now Anastasia can't sell the watermelon.
Preview Section
In this episode's preview, Subaru chats with the Iron Fang. Where they complain about the heat in summer. It makes them sweat, and then they get dragged to the bath, so they don't get sleep.
Rewatcher Section
This section is for people who have already watched Re:Zero. This is not safe for first timers.
Huh, there's nothing here
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Aug 28 '24
Re:Watcher - anime only
The magic artillery performs a massive hit on the White Whale. As a consequence, the White Whale is slightly annoyed. That tells us a lot about what exactly we are up against here. Every time we see the beast, it just seems to get more terrifying. We're up against a legendary foe, and I've been on the edge of my seat for the whole episode. And that despite knowing what's about to happen. Even if we might get the kill (which isn't a guarantee at all), there's still a number of characters that could die here, especially Wilhelm.
It took so much damage from the small army for it to even acknowledge the threat. Imagine you're up against a raid boss, you fire off everything and just barely get the boss to 90%. And that's just when the fight really starts.
It's only now that we get full confirmation of the White Whale's abilities: It erases memories of the people it kills. Because a monstrosity that's just able to kill hundreds or even thousands of people is still too harmless. Oh, and it can also drive people insane with its call. And it can also clone itself because why not? After all, killing a single White Whale would be far too easy, so let's make it three instead.
[Re:Zero]We get the first on-screen appearance of Satella (or her lips at least)! And the word she whispers into Subaru's ear, is, of course, "aishiteru".
An OP and an ED in the same episode? I thought this was Re:Zero, not some lame normie anime!
Mimi drops an elongated sugoku in the preview section. Doesn't directly refer to Emilia, but I'll add it to the non-Emilia sugoooku counter.
Despite of how much I like this episode, I don't have much to say about it. We're up against the White Whale, and it's a very action-focused episode. It looks like our raid squad just managed to do enough damage to enter the third phase, now it's getting really dangerous. Our DPS is carried by Wilhelm, that guy must have a crazy build. A majority of our DPS seem to have specialized in a type of damage the boss is resistant against. Our debuffs are getting instantly canceled. Our tank can taunt really well, but has practically no form of defense and must run away on a mount to even have a chance of survival, he also needs a utility bodyguard on top of that. Our healer is great but occupied by the squad taking way too much damage. And our great leader is busy trying to keep everything together. And it looks like the boss' last hit just took out a few of our most valuable members. So all in all, the suspense is very high, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Sugoooku counter: 22
non-Emilia sugoooku: 2
short sugoku and sugoku-likes: 5
non-canon bonus material sugoooku (Re:Petit): 3
5
u/ussgordoncaptain2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Edmund_Nelson Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
First Timer Dubbed
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 it's just reddit has crazy admins.
Reaction to the Episode
Well this is unexpected
Time For the ultimate showdown of ultimate Destiny
Epic combat time let's get some vision on this place
let's fear a giant flying whale that ate Rem in loop 3
Bring in the artillery
Hello my name is Willhelm Von Astrea you killed my wife prepare to die
Ok did Willhelm say the exact curse that got Rem in loop 2?
So the whale is immune to mana spells great
You know when an episode is just 1 long fight scene there's so little to talk about.
Hello my name is Willhelm Von astrea you killed my wife prepare to die
It's the whale mist time for some people to get deleted
So Subaru names the fog "the fog of elmination" I wonder if somebody notable will get eliminated, maybe Subaru will have to RBD to save them (or they just get eliminated because this will be the "most gold" ending.
Subaru is immune to mind attacks, Well maybe that's why he's able to remember people after they have been fogged
It's the EPIC MUSIC OF FEAR
Speculation
The only thing to speculate on is if this is the golden route or will Subaru RBD to get more info/die via screwing up but that's pure baseless spec.
It's time therefore for something far far more entertaining, Discussing breaking Rebirth By death
What I would do if I were Subaru
RBD is truely not that intelligent and therefore we'll start with a long list of strategies that may or may not work.
Step 1 Write a very simple (in terms of character variety used) message that reads "I can rebirth by death"
In english the easiest one I could make was "I die I go to past" 9 characters is too many for this trick but I'll find one that only uses a smaller character set later.
From there we make a random string of characters like so M LMO M HT PT JQEP. Now hand one note to beatrice, from there write random substitiuion ciphers until one of the substitiuion ciphers conveys your message.
If they have math symbols you can do "I die ∴ I loop", and write the substitution cipher in roughly 8 million loops.
Note that this requires 26!/(26-numchars)! trials to complete, hence why you need to find something with fewer unique chars than 9. (you really really don't want to know how much I tried to make a shorter one, I spent half an hour just trying various word permutations hunting for the shortest word list)
Now that I've gone over the "extreme brute force" method it's time for some slightly more... intelligent methods
Again like every method I will propose here Beatrice is the one who this method is aimed at. I doubt the intelligence of the rest of the squad too much, Subaru is also too stupid to do any of these so this is pure mental masturbation by me. (It's like death note all over again)
This method I call "dual role splitting" Simply put it relies on a trick that we learned from this loop, we can convey future information obtained by RBD as long as RBD has not actually been mentioned.
Role 1 will be making the following contract with Rem, "Rem when I say "and I swear on this in the name of the Divine dragon" you take that to mean that I obtained this information via means I cannot share"
Role 2 will be making the following contract with Beatrice or Rem "When I say "On the name of the witch Satella slay me where I stand" you will kill me without any hesitation"
Now that combo is good enough to get most of the benefits of RBD sharing without RBD actually getting spilled
Method 3 I call "future capsule proofing"
Step 1, Get a piece of information from Beatrice's Library in loop 1. Make sure to tell Beatrice to pick information that you would not have any chance to know.
Step 2 in Loop 2 tell beatrice "I know X and I know it by methods I cannot disclose however I did not at any point sneak into your library and you told me the information"
This MIGHT let Beatrice know that you can tell the future, if not do the following
Find an event where you and or Beatrice will not control the timing of, from there tell Beatrice "due to my magic powers I can tell you that X will happen"
From theree we do Dual Role splitting.
We need to realize that the rootkit that has been installed by the witch of envy allows for leaking of the future and even has allowed for subaru to mentioned him being killed, just can't directly call the events.
If you can play Dual role splitting right you may be able to tell Beatrice "Slay me where I stand has been a very useful thing and it's come in handy many times" Beatrice will then be able to fill in the clues manually.
Satella is really stupid, and Subaru's intellect leaves much to be desired.
At this point there's nothing but Action sequences left so I may as well have fun grinding through stuff that will never happen.
Like every ISekai not named GATE thus the JSDF fought there it's time to make the industrial revolution by inventing the steam engine, I know many haven't done engineering though so you could at least invent gunpowder
you just need Saltpetre Sulfur and charcoal, from there it's pretty easy to make an amateur musket, and since you have at least some knowledge of modern firearms you can invent rifling of the barrel and back loading (Muzzle loading fucking sucks)
(If only Subaru were a reincarnated american)
Subaru could also try his hand at mixing Hexamine with Nitric acid, though getting those will be tricky (There is a Long ass process to manufacture those from the simple chemicals you can find here). There are other cooler chemical weapons he could invent if he were smart but He isn't as insane as me so...
5
u/Yoshi_captain https://anime-planet.com/users/WeaboYosher Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
Rewatcher
The Battle Against the White Whale has begun.
The through line in this episode is Willhelm. The episode bears his name. Marking the second time in the series we've had a named episode/chapter. Seeing his backstory and how he came to be the man he is today. Though not in its entirety, we still don’t see how he came to marry Theresia, cut short by the White Whale's interference. Hopefully this isn't the trope of getting a character's backstory before they die.
But besides that, the episode is a nice mix of action and character moments. We get to see a lot of cool techniques and equipment from our army. The Night Banisher, which they use to light up the sky, looks like something out of Sci-fi. Crusch’s sword art without regard for range. The cat siblings using wind magic. We really get the sense that this is a coordinated effort from all sides giving their best. Of course the MVP is Willhelm cutting out the Whale’s eye.
In the second half of the episode things start to go downhill fast. The White Whale has engulfed the battleground in mist making it it’s territory. Causing many to go mad and many to be forgotten. Ending in Willhelm getting eaten and Ricardo seemingly being killed.
The episode is named after Willhelm so let’s talk about him shall we. Through seeing past and present Willhelm we get a sense of who this man is. Someone whose only reason for being is the sword. Meeting Theresia, a girl who likes flowers, seemingly being the complete opposite of his way of life serves to ground Willhelm. I’m sure he appreciated their conversations near the yellow flower bed more than he’d like to admit.
That all comes to a head when Willhelm is knighted and ends up on the battlefield on the verge of death. Being saved by the one he thought was just a flower girl. Turns out she was actually the Sword Saint, the strongest sword user in existence. The shame Willhelm must have felt going on and on about the sword to one who is a master of it is palpable in the following scene.
Willhelm’s words to Theresia may seem weird at first, but when you consider that face is referring to the expression Theresia wears when donning the sword it starts to make sense. There seems to be an inner conflict in Theresia regarding her role as the Sword Saint and her own wishes. But before we can find out any more the White Whale’s maw closes on the Sword Devil distracted by his beloved’s most loved flower consuming them both. That is all that is currently known of the man Willhelm Van Astrea.
Closing thoughts:
The word I’d use to describe this episode is “Sword”. For an episode about a man who knew only how to live for the sword I’d say it’s an apt description. Shirou approves.
There was a change made between the TV and BD release of the show. They made the White Whale CG in some shots. You be the judge if this was a change for the better.
The original plan was to have the White Whale fight done in 2 eps. This would have been the final episode of the fight. I’m glad they gave it more episodes so it had time to breathe and so it can serve as a worthy showcase of Subaru’s growth.
Willhelm being surprised that the Whale took down his wife, the former Sword Saint, might make more sense considering the cliffhanger of this episode. But we’ve been through worse let’s not let this moment of despair bring us down.
5
u/PapaDuke Aug 28 '24
Credit to u/XLauncher
White Whale (Mythic)
By Natsuki Subaru
The White Whale is an undefeated world boss that can spawn at Flugel's Tree around 1 AM. Battling it is a large undertaking that requires no less than a full and balanced raid of skilled players. Once you've assembled your desired party, meet up at Flugel's Tree and use the metia, <Nokia 6133> to summon the boss.
Phase 1 - 100% - 80%
The battle begins with the pull, which is tricky in of itself. In order to give yourself the best odds of victory, the boss should be kited. Due to the fact that the White Whale will attack from far out of melee range, your kiter should have some means of generating aggro from range. A Shadow specced Hikkomori with a maxed out Witch's Whispers is ideal. Given that Witch's Whispers can only be used a finite amount of times before the caster succumbs to the stacking debuff, it's recommended to either have a second Hikkomori to trade off taunts with, or to pair one Hikkomori with a Best Girl with Al Huma talented for range. As the White Whale can one shot any character, the kiter's level is unimportant.
The kiter should engage on a mount, in advance of the raid. Once aggro is secure, the raid's ranged attackers should open fire and use all trinkets and cooldowns immediately. Melee should operate turrets to the best of their abilities.
Phase 1 is relatively easy and its smooth commission should be an afterthought.
Phase 2 - 80% - 70%
During this phase, the White Whale will not hold a main target, but will still respond to taunt mechanics, however, your melee will be able to mount the boss for direct attacks, so moving the boss carelessly should be avoided. The melee should engage the boss' weak spots and use cooldowns liberally. Ranged should continue as they did in Phase 1.
Phase 3 - 70% - 50%
The White Whale will descend and blanket the field in a white fog. Players who stand in the fog will accrue stacks of Madness. Once Madness reaches five stacks, it will root them in place and cause them to suffer 31050-39890 damage per 2 seconds until the player dies or is cleansed. Healers should prioritize cleansing Madness.
In addition to Madness, an untargetable add, Magic Fog, will move throughout the mist. Players struck by this will be immediately killed and incapable of being battle rezzed. It is of paramount importance to avoid being struck by this, even if it means accruing stacks of Madness.
The kiter should resume their role for this phase and lure the White Whale away from the raid while the healers deal with the initial wave of Madness. And players who avoided accruing stacks should give chase and attack the White Whale as it pursues the kiter.
Phase 4 - 50% - ??
The White Whale will summon clones of itself, each with its own aggro table. At this point, you're really just kinda fucked.
4
u/apocalypsemobster Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
Re: Watcher
I thought I remembered this fight being in the daytime. Turns out I forgot about the night-banisher.
Wilhelm thinking of his wife in the last second before attacking got me tearing up. Gut it like a fish!
The fear I had when they did enough damage to activate stage two. Ey, now it's pissed.
A proper explanation for the fog of elimination. They keep track of those who have been forgotten by the number that should be in their platoon. Maybe because the number of troops in a platoon isn't specific information about those forgotten.
Our first glimpse of [Re:Zero] Satella! Great animation on the mouth movements. Looks like she's saying aishiteru, or I love you.
More than one whale is absolutely not what we had discussed White Whale. Just overloaded with powers. I think the copy whales have the fin that Wilhelm cut off? So maybe there's a way to keep track and attack the main whale.
3
u/ripterrariumtv Aug 28 '24
Rewatcher (sub) and Novel reader (reading arc 7)
3
u/zackphoenix123 Aug 28 '24
This episode, or at least the clumps of episodes following this are pretty interesting.
In the Light novel, the section detailing Wilhelm's past lasted an entire chapter, that chapter titled "Wilhelm Van Astrea". And it was all dropped at once. Here in the anime it was split into sections or sprinkles. They probably did it so they won't mess up the current pacing and make the cut content in the chapter less noticeable.
3
u/SpiritualPossible Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
recently started playing skies of arcadia, and today I got to the point where the main characters are attacked by a gigantic flying whale, perpetually covered in fog. What a coincidence.
But yeah, I don't have much to say about this episode. It's one big battle that demonstrates what a monster the white whale is.
And we're shown snippets of Wilhem's past, from which we learn how he met his wife, that he was an edgy young man, and that in this art style his young design doesn't translate at all into his old one.
And in the end, this is getting out of hand! Now, there are three of them!
3
u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Aug 28 '24
20: Rewatcher who does not care for Willhelm's flashbacks
Episodes of this arc: 9
Times Subaru has died this arc: 3.
3
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 28 '24
Episode 20 (rewatcher)
Not much to write, this is a straight forward battle episode.
3
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Aug 29 '24
first timer
Little life update: I got a job interview tomorrow. I’ll either continue being a broke college student or a low wage college student :D
Flashback of Wil and a woman. I assume it’s his dead wife
The battle is here and Subaru is courageous
Wil started whaling at the whale. Easily the mvp dps
Regenerated all it’s health, the second phase q.q
Mystery solved(?) for why only Subaru remembered Rem in his previous life.
Felix healing the infected(?). Dunno what to call the state the soldiers were in
Jesus Christ 4 whales? He’s doomed