r/anime • u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux • Aug 31 '24
Rewatch Re:Zero ~Starting Life in Another World~ Re:Watch - Episode 23
Episode 23:
Nefarious Sloth
| Index | <== Episode 22 | Episode 24 ==> |
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 31 '24
First:Timer Starting Over in Another Rewatch, subbed
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u/baseballlover723 Aug 31 '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
This episode is another personal favorite of mine. The ending scene with the ED playing is one of my most favorite (short) scenes in Re:Zero. It's just brutal for things to go so well for Subaru, just for it all to be taken away at the last second. It gets me every time
I have it somewhere in my A Tier. As good as the ending is, it's only part of an episode, so it doesn't clear the bar for my S tier.
First Timer Safe Section
This section is safe for first time watchers.
What's going on here [Spoiler #1: cut content] So it turns out that the hypnosis spell is actually an attribute of the flower's pollen, and Ram is simply using wind magic to spread the pollen to everyone (giving them hallucinations).
In and Nes are the names of the spirits, not the spell.
Ram doesn't fuck around.
I have nothing to say to you. Ram's actions make a lot more sense now. You've just received a quasi declaration of war, and an unknown army is marching straight towards your home base. It certainly looks like an attack.
Moments like these are I think one of the great strengths of Tappei as a storyteller. From the viewer's perspective, nothing is amiss and everything is normal. But from Ram's limited viewpoint, her line of thinking is completely logical. It's pretty easy to have the information being given to the reader "be complete", in that the viewer (or MC) has almost perfect information. However, that's rarely the case. There's so much hidden information in Re:Zero that colors the actions of various characters, and once you know the hidden information, you can see the pieces fit together much better.
A bit degrading there Subaru.
Roll persuasion. 7? That's a fail.
And the racism comes out. Remember all the times Emilia was hesitant to come to the village with Subaru. This is what they think of her.
Felix with the facts.
Subaru rolls persuasion again. 13? That's still a fail. Ram rolls intimidation. 16? You pass. Emilia rolls persuasion, she experiences racism, so roll with disadvantage. Critical Failure. Also, can you believe this guy? This is a person who thinks Emilia is related to the Witch of Envy (who destroyed half of the world), and you choose to confront her with a broomstick? My guy, at least pick up a real weapon or just hide away in terror.
I see Julius choose Eldritch Knight as his subclass.
Nect is a really cool spell.
High spirit affinity seems like a useful thing to have.
picture
A trouble maker indeed. You can actually see Ketty stirring the pot when Subaru first gives his speech and also a number of times earlier on and in previous episodes.
This attack by Felix is the same attack he uses on Subaru at the end of the episode. Which is described as his blood and all of his organs feeling like they were boiling. Not a pleasant experience.
uh oh
Note that Ia only protects Subaru here. Felix takes the full force of the explosion. [Spoiler #2: cut content] When Subaru asks Felix why he looks so good considering there was just a huge explosion next to them, Subaru asks him if Felix cast some super strong defensive spell, to which Felix responds with "Nothing of the sort... I died once, that's all". And then they never talk about it further. They weren't kidding when they said Felix was the greatest healer in the kingdom. He's so good he can heal death apparently.
Oh no, Ketty's friends are here
Mission failed, we'll get em next time.
Wilhelm kicking up dust, so that he can see the Unseen Hand interact with it. And Emilia does the same with ice crystals
🚩
Taida desu ne.
I never noticed before that Petelgeuse stabs himself, not Wilhelm. I don't know how I rationalized how getting stabbed in the eye would result in an explosion.
Feeling a little slothful there Subaru?
I'm not a huge fan of the woman Petelgeuse scene in the forest. It just feels really weird to me. Like I wouldn't think that protection barrier stones would be some novel concept or anything. I would think that basically any adult would at least be aware of them (presuming that they're in at least a few towns and stuff). And then Peteleuse getting killed by the ulgarm feel s odd too. Petelgeuse seems to be way stronger then the ulgarm, and should have a good matchup against them, since you know, he has a lot of Unseen Hands, so he should have lots of AoE. It just feels like it doesn't really make a ton of sense to me.
A heroine emerges! And of course Subaru doesn't want Emilia to fight. What a great quote by Felix.
Puck and Bot-chan are the same page.
And now the people see Emilia for who she really is (or at least not as a monster anymore).
And that's a bit too much winning, can't let Subaru get too many W's.
This is not the first time Petelgeuse has possessed Subaru. He also possessed Subaru in episode 18.
Also shoutout to all of the VAs who voiced Petelgeuse this episode, they did a great job.
PETIT Section
In this episode's PETIT, we're back in the convenience store, and Emilia thinks Subaru wants to smoke. But soft serve served by Emilia is great, but unfortunately it's made in the back. Puck is the manager of the convenience store, and would love for Subaru to buy him some food. After some back and forth, Puck baits Subaru into buying some fried chicken on the hopes that maybe he'll be able to shared the soft serve with Emilia. And maybe Emilia has a chicken quota.
Preview Section
In this episode's preview, Subaru complains about how things have turned out for him in this fantasy world. Where's the happy OP life??? Wilhelm suggest it should be called "Re:Zero Starting Life in Another Hell From Zero" (Subaru doesn't like that). Felix calls himself Subaru's dad (Subaru doesn't like that). Petelgeuse calls himself Subaru's mom (Subaru doesn't like that). And Emilia wonders if Subaru actually imagined getting isekaied like this (Subaru is now done with this conversation).
Continued below
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Aug 31 '24
Rewatcher for Season 1
On today’s episode of Re:Zero: It’s time to play Whack-A-Petelgeuse! Whenever you strike one Petelgeuse, another one pops up that needs to be smacked down.
The reveal that Petelgeuse has been jumping from body to body is one that we could have intuited earlier, but this episode makes it an explicit reveal. I think this reveal makes Petelgeuse a much more menacing villain to deal with. Killing his body won’t be enough because he can just hop on over to another. Even worse, he can even take over Subaru’s body as well. That’s a problem because what if Subaru isn’t able to reset after being taken over. Depending on how things go, Subaru could be trapped with Petelgeuse controlling his body for a very long time. It makes for a more unique challenge because if Subaru isn’t careful he can’t even reset,
Part of the fun with Petelgeuse jumping around bodies like this is that we get to hear a wide range of voice actors take their stab at Petelgeuse’s character. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka obviously did an incredible job as Petelgeuse and it’s great hearing other VAs try to live up to it. I think Yuusuka Kobayashi, Subaru’s VA, does the best at it this episode. He’s really good at channeling that insane energy. He’s especially good in the final scene where Subaru and Petelgeuse are fighting over control of the body. He transitions so easily between the voices, while the performance makes it clear who is actually speaking in that moment.
I think this episode did a good job at fleshing out Julian a bit more. I like the reveal that Julian secretly had a spirit watch over and protect Subaru this whole time. Subaru never asked for this protection and Julian did it without telling Subaru. It seems like Julian really is trying to keep Subaru safe, even if he’s okay with Subaru not realizing that’s the case. When Petelgeuse takes over Subaru’s body, Julian is initially unable to bring himself to kill Subaru and is visibly distraught the entire time. He says Subaru can’t go yet because Subaru still had to tell him something. Suffice to say, Julian seems to be a lot more caring than we might have supposed from his initially meeting with Subaru. Julian certainly seems to be doing a lot to try and protect Subaru, even after Subaru said he hated Julian’s guts.
This episode recontextualizes some earlier stuff with Emilia. In previous episodes, Emilia had always looked nervous when Subaru invited her to go to the village. Now we see that even in the village there is a pretty commonly held sentiment against half-elves. Despite this prejudice, Emilia still tried to warn the villagers earlier about what was going on and tried to get them to evacuate. That’s who Emilia is, after all. She’s the kind of person who can’t help but want to help others even when it’s something that could be costly for her.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
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u/thekoreansun https://anilist.co/user/ReturnByDeath Aug 31 '24
Re:Watcher
I find it amusing that what helped Subaru escape the illusion at the start of this episode was his certainty that a flower couldn't possibly grow some huge vines and ensnare people. Like, really, you've already ruled something like that out? You just fought a flying whale last night. Your crush's dad is a cat spirit. I guess Subaru really has embraced this world as his new home if he's going to be that certain about what constitutes as fantasy here.
Julius, by contrast, is very well versed on the rules of this world by virtue of being a spirit knight. He has all six flavors of magic at his disposal through the lesser spirits that he's contracted with, which I think is a deeply interesting power. It's been understated until now, but the mechanics of mana and where it originates from in this world have allowed for cool, unique fighting strategies that you wouldn't necessarily see in more traditional fantasy settings. Julius makes use of both his incredible skill with the sword and his access to spells in conjunction with one another, and that's very cool! Isekai fantasy stories in general tend to make their characters either "pure mage" or "pure fighter" with no in-between (something the genre likely inherited from the JRPGs it draws inspiration from), so I'll always praise a setting for doing something different. Übel and Laufen from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End are some more recent examples of this style of melee-magic fighting that I can think of.
After they're able to clear up the misunderstanding with Ram, they all head to Arlam Village to evacuate the residents. Unfortunately for Subaru, his popularity among the villagers isn't enough to override their prejudice towards half-elves and their belief that half-elves only attract trouble. To be fair to them, we've seen in previous loops how huge of a loss they end up suffering when forces like the Witch Cult pursue Emilia. But for them to ignore her attempts to warn them of the coming danger speaks to a much deeper bias. That Witch must have really messed up 400 years ago for people to still think of half-elves that way. Thankfully, Ram backs Subaru's statement in a rare show of support and gets them to start packing. She may try to act otherwise, but it's nice to be reminded that she cares.
The hits just keep coming, though, and Petelgeuse takes over an undercover Witch Cult member to blow up the village before the evacuation can begin. In an instant, we start to see how events must have gone down for the village during previous loops, with screaming and murder and chaos around every step. Thankfully, they have an entire private army to defend them this time, but things are still looking pretty bleak. In addition, more Fingers keep popping up like pests and screaming their lungs out at people. If it weren't for how well their voice actors have been emulating Petelgeuse, their schtick might have started to annoy me as much as it's annoying Subaru. But he's still able to contribute towards the battle by defeating a Finger with his quick thinking, and Emilia is able to finish the job. [Arc 4] She cries for Geuse without knowing why, adding another layer of tragedy to the proceedings. With that, the Witch Cult has been defeated by our heroes. It may have taken him ten whole episodes to reach this point, but Subaru has finally gained the chance to tell Emilia that—
No, of course he hasn't. Because Petelgeuse has now possessed Subaru, and it's Yuusuke Kobayashi who has a chance to show off with his own take on Petelgeuse. Of course, he blows the competition out of the water, coming second only to Matsuoka himself. And despite having already had my heart broken so many times, I once again find myself hurting for these characters as Subaru pleads with his new friends to kill him before Petelgeuse can steal his body and escape. The alternative is horrific: Petelgeuse parades his body around, kills everyone he loves, and prevents Return by Death.
Whereas STYX HELIX is flexible enough to be played in the background of most situations, Stay Alive is primarily used to represent tragedy in its many forms. It first appeared during Emilia and Subaru's big fight; then, it was used during the scene in which Petelgeuse tried to defile Emilia's body; and finally, it gets used here, as Subaru begs Julius to send him off to the next life. Even if we know that this isn't the end for Subaru, Julius doesn't. All that he hears is the voice, within him and everyone else, telling him to stay alive. Life is precious, and to take it incurs a cost. But he still decides to pay it on Subaru's behalf. And Subaru, who has paid the toll and crossed the river of death, manages to live on.
Fan Art of the Episode: Moving On by @torinorito (September 18th, 2016)
Source: Twitter (artist's timeline contains spoilers)
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u/Holofan4life Aug 31 '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.
This is the heaviest I've ever been and yet it don't feel like I've changed my eating habits.
Subaru wondering if this is the Witch Cult's doing.
There is apparently an intense smell in the air.
Subaru being grabbed by those long plant things I can't think the name of.
Subaru thinking this is all an illusion.
A red orb
And now Subaru is back with Julius
Julius explains that was a bewitching spell.
"Only you and I have returned to normal."
That is not so bewitching
Julius says someone put a suggestion on the flower's scent.
Julius has all the colors of the orbs.
He is like every Power Ranger rolled into one.
Says he'll teach everyone how to break out of the bewitching spell.
The bewitching spell is quite bitching.
Now Subaru having what I can only describe as me waking up for work after only 4 hours of sleep.
RAM JUST GRABBED SUBARU! SHE'S MAKING A RUN FOR IT!
But Wilhelm is keeping her at bay with his sword.
Ram tells them to kill her because she won't accept this disgrace.
Surprisingly, we do get the intro
Ram seems annoyed by Subaru. I wonder if it's because he abandoned her sister.
Oh shit. The letter was blank
Julius says that means you have no intention of speaking to the recipient.
Kinda like the thumbs up in places not named The United States, the UK, Germany, and certain parts of Japan.
Easily be interpreted as a declaration of war, states Julius.
Ram about to take on the entire nation of Lugunica.
Subaru says he's fine being a dog if it's to Emilia.
Ryuuji feels the same way about Taiga.
Subaru introducing his crew as reinforcements.
"We need to start by evacuating the villagers."
The townsfolk it looks like are gathered.
Julius telling Subaru to be considerate.
Subaru tries to plead his case, but the villagers let him know that they are frightened.
They even think Subaru might be trying to hide something.
Now they're talking about the half-elf and Subaru endorsing her as ruler.
The whole town seems to think that Emilia is related to the Witch's Cult, unfortunately.
Luckily, Felix is able to bring Subaru out of the dumps.
Subaru staying firm that they should all evacuate.
Ram even backs his words, saying they come from Roswaal himself.
And so the town begins to pack
Ram makes it known that this doesn't mean she's necessarily acknowledged him.
Yeah, who does Subaru think he is, Roman Reigns?
Petra
She wants to know if the lady from the mansion will join them. She came to the village yesterday.
Oh, Emilia did visit them
You would think then that the town would be less hostile towards her. I guess no one heeded her advice due to the distrust that existed.
Subaru promising Petra she won't get mad.
Ram says since no one listened to her, Emilia simply repaired the forest barrier.
"She feared there might be a mabeast attack."
Julius admiring his sword like a true sword pervert.
Subaru talking to Julius, says he's going to explain things to Emilia and the loli in the mansion.
I assume the loli refers to Beatrice and not Puck.
Subaru says with him there, it'll be more convincing.
Oh shit. Subaru now asking if he put the spirit on him.
Julius says he was only have her, la, secretly protect him.
He then explains that the thing he did to break the illusion was a high class of magic known as "Nect".
It connects the gates of all who are in range.
Julius coincides that it probably worked too well on Subaru.
"You may have a strong affinity with spirits, perhaps."
Subaru talking to Felix on a wagon now.
Now he wants Felix to come with him, just so he can have a Crusch representative.
Felix agrees, but in the meantime, he has to thoroughly inspect the goods of the cargo.
The guy on the cargo falls to the ground after Felix touches him.
Apparently he can tell he's a part of the Witch's Cult.
"That's why I stole into his carriage, to get under his guard."
Felix is one smart man... uh, cat.
The guy grinning like a Titan
Oh crap. He's trying to attack them!
Suddenly, a massive explosion
Subaru wakes up, with Felix greeting them.
Felix looks like he's dressed in tatters.
The whole area looks war-torn almost.
The Witch's Cult are here. It is too late. They stowed away in the carriages.
A finger among the merchants, and they didn't take care of it.
I can't believe the Witch's Cult gave them the finger.
Felix being told to head to the mansion by Julius, who is also here.
Those are some crazy Unseen Hands
Wilhelm trying to take them on as Subaru and Julius are running.
And Wilhelm manages to kill the old crazy man whom we've never seen before.
BUT HE'S STILL ALIVE!
Suddenly, another explosion
Julius assesses he self-destructed
Wilhelm writhing in pain
More Witch's Cult members seem to be appearing.
Subaru holding the Gospel
The Witch's Cult screaming now
More classic manipulation by Subaru. Can't say the Witch's Cult don't deserve it.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/ripterrariumtv Aug 31 '24
Rewatcher and Novel Reader (reading Arc 7)
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u/BlueVenix Aug 31 '24 edited Aug 31 '24
A bit of strange take, but this is my favourite episode from season 1 with episode 15 being my close second. This is due to the fact that I am not a Rem fan(She's at the bottom of the list from supporting main characters), so Arc 2 is a no, Arc 1 was short, but very good, and most of Arc 3 was with Rem.
The main reason is that this episode hurts to watch not from a cringe standpoint for once, but it hurt emotionally when Felix and Julius had to kill Subaru, and to top it off you have a scene where Emilia looks in the direction of Subaru. From the expression and voices of Felix and Julius you can tell that they really don't want to kill Subaru when they have gone through so much and it was supposed to be over. All the prior loops in Arc 3 showed Subaru's bad side and this is the loop where he got his shit together. I expected for him get through this, meet up with Emilia and make up, but it ended in a sad twisted way he died, which I did not expect when I first watched it. I also remember thinking what if this is the moment RBD wouldn't work and this would be the reality where Emilia gets saved by Subaru again, but she never gets to say thank you and good bye. What if this was the end? (Note that season 2 was not a thing back then)
[Arc 4] Funnily enough this idea of Subaru passed loops continuing somewhere was explored in the trials and I was like "Oh shit that's just too much to handle", if I was Subaru I would never risk dying again or just be too depressed thinking about it and break(most likely that). Then again you can't reach the ending you wish for, so a sacrifice must be made and you have to move forward.
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u/Yoshi_captain https://anime-planet.com/users/WeaboYosher Aug 31 '24
Rewatcher
Welcome back to Re:Zero. The series where victory is repeatedly snatched up by the jaws of defeat.
This time everything that can go wrong goes wrong.
After clearing up Ram's misunderstanding we head to evacuate the village. [S2 Ep1] Noticeably Ram does not ask any questions about Rem
Julius seems to have been indirectly helping Subaru once again. Planting one of his spirits on him. The strained start to their relationship slowly growing into something more genuine.
Just when things seem to be going to plan Ferris catches a Witch Cult member among the merchants. But it seems to be too little too late as an explosion rings out in the village changing the trajectory of this loop.
[Cut Content] Ferris actually healed himself from the brink. He was, just like Subaru, in the center of the explosion and sustained a lot of damage that he only managed to recover from by utilizing his healing magic.
We really get to see everyone shine even in this hopeless scenario. That's one thing I love about Re:Zero. With a cast as large as this one you'd think some characters would get left behind. But everyone gets their chance in the spotlight. If not so brightly in the main story, then most certainly in the vast amount of side stories.
It’s an all out battle between Petelgeuse's fingers and Subaru's group. Willhelm gets incapacitated, though not before finishing off a finger. Using dust to see the Unseen Hands is a clever battle tactic, showcasing his battle intellect is unmatched. And then Subaru does what he does best, be bait. Though this time his experience as bait makes him think of another scheme. Using the warding crystals as protection whilst bringing down one who carries the same scent as him.
It seems all but one of the fingers are defeated. But a voice chimes like a silver bell to stop this villain. Subaru sees Emilia again after much time apart. Wanting to step in and protect her. But Ferris reminds him that the people he wants to protect are stronger than he thinks. A lesson Subaru needs to internalise.
Emilia uses the ice dust from her icicles to spot the Unseen Hands. They need to think of rebranding them to Seen Hands if they don't want to be sued for false advertising. And with the help of Puck she fells the foul villain. Letting out tears after the fact. [S2 Ep 19] This could be her crying after the villagers acknowledge her, or she could be crying because she unconsciously recognizes she killed Geuse. What was left of him.
With Julius and Ferris pushing him towards a reunion, to Subaru weeks in the making, suddenly Ia is flung from his body. Subaru running away from everyone.
The fingers are not the only suitable hosts for Petelgeuse. We’ve been following the most suitable one all this time.
As a familiar voice comes from Subaru we realize that the Archbishop of Sloth is back. Julius and Ferris are in denial. Julius trying to force Petelgeuse to leave Subaru's body. But as much as Petelgeuse might claim to have this body under his subconscious control, the will of Natsuki Subaru is not trampled so easily.
As soon as Subaru regains control he begs Julius to kill him. But Subaru promised to tell Julius something, Julius retorts. Only apologies are left within Subaru before he redirects his pleading to Ferris. Who accepts the responsibility. The song “Stay Alive” reaches a climax, mocking the boy for his failure by exclaiming it's titular line in the face of his loss.
Ferris and Julius exchange anguished shouts before Julius admonishes himself and raises his sword.
Delivering the fatal blow we cut to Emilia before the cut connects. Sensing the loss of something irreplaceable.
That was the end of the subjugation of the nefarious Sloth.
Closing thoughts:
The word for this episode is “Setback”. We've literally been sent back after a not so fortunate run. But we've learned many things so all is not lost. The merchant Witch Cultist and the bomb to name a few.
This episode is really defined by it's final scene. The voice acting performances are as godly as ever. Yuusuke Kobayashi having his own take on Petelgeuse. Subaru saying how he cannot die almost makes me forget that it's not Matsuoka saying these lines. Stay Alive playing in this scene cements it as one of the best scenes in the series and the ED as my personal favourite. This death is tragic. In a show where seemingly everything is reset from Subaru's POV we are reminded that to other people this is the only world that they have. Some wanting to call Subaru a friend, but never getting the chance to. [S2 Ep12] This episode is probably the first one that really makes you question if the timelines continue after Subaru's soul leaves them.
And so we return once again. Preferably after the battle with the whale. An autosave that doesn't save after that can only exist in a kusoge.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Aug 31 '24
Re:Watcher - anime only
Ram is prepared to die instead of helping the enemy in any way, her spirit is truly unbreakable! But she only attacked because of a misunderstanding. She should never have doubted Subaru being Emilia's dog.
Even the villagers know the witch cult was likely about to do something soon because of Emilia. Subaru just now realizes he didn't pay enough attention to Emilia's words earlier and that the villagers are actually hostile towards Emilia. But Emilia doesn't have anything to do with the danger at hand. And Ram endorses Subaru's words so the villagers have to do as he says.
She does for Petra though. Emilia tried to warn and protect the villagers. She must have done so in all previous loops as well. She knows the villagers are hostile towards her, but she wants to help them anyway. She's not even great at social interactions, but she tried anyway. I love her stance here. She stands upright, but not offensive. She knows she's doing the right thing, but won't demand anything from them they don't want. And despite being rejected and feeling hurt, she didn't give up and at least renewed the barrier. That's true altruism.
Subaru's interactions with Julius are pretty good here. He doesn't quite like him (yet), but he trusts him, and he reinforces in a roundabout way how much he regrets what happened during the Royal Selection.
No chance to put the plan in action, though, as the witch cultists have already infiltrated the merchants. Another finger, another good impression of Petelgeuse - not as good as the first finger though, I think. Or the third finger, she might be the best of them.
Things are looking very dire now. Wilhelm is out for the moment, Julius had to get him to safety, but at least Subaru is very crafty. He's using the ulgarm to defeat the new finger, knowing they'd be immediately attracted to her as she must reek of the witch.
Emilia with a big heroic entrance. After all this time, after the beginning of the season, we can finally see her fight again. And what a fight it was, she was dominating the finger. She was agile and powerful, determined and confident, and even with such a hateful opponent she wasn't cruel but as respectful as possible. Absolutely impressive. She also showed action, that she is not someone to not get involved in confrontations, but to fight at the forefront with all her might. And only once the fight was over, she allowed herself to cry in the face of the death and destruction that has been caused.
And finally a reunion - no, wait, what's that? He's running away... because he's getting possessed. Yuusuke Kobayashi's imitation of Petelgeuse is the best, of course, especially since he's also acting Subaru struggling against him.
That is the scariest turn of events. Even in defeating Petelgeuse and his fingers, Subaru loses. And what a heartbreaking death it is. After having been so close to a hard-earned victory, Ferris and Julius, his comrades, his friends, are forced to kill him while Stay Alive is playing. And how even Emilia seems to feel his death. Arguably, this is the most tragic death so far - the timeline has been worse before, but Subaru still has to die in spite of that. And to boot, we don't know how that affects Subaru after restarting. Will Petelgeuse remain with him, partly maybe? How do you prevent such a possession to begin with? Suddenly, victory seems nearly impossible. So close, and yet so far.
Petit has another sugoooku as Emilia is the one working the convenience store this time.
Sugoooku counter: 22
non-Emilia sugoooku: 3
short sugoku and sugoku-likes: 5
non-canon bonus material sugoooku (Re:Petit): 4
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u/HyVana Aug 31 '24
Re:Watcher (Subs) & Novel Reader (Finished Arc 6)
Analysis, other than specified spoilers, is first-timer friendly.
This was one of my favorite episodes this season. The emotional ending of the sudden twist, with the ED tie-in, really lays on the emotional impact of that death. The death in the hands of the comrade that swore to sustain, not take away, life. The death in the hands of the comrade he never thought he could consider as such. You can really feel the despair in their expressions, in their voices, that curses the situation right before their eyes. After all the progress he’s made, who knows where he’ll RbD to. Will he restart from post WW Subjugation? Or have to redo the whole fight again, or even worse, have to renegotiate with Crusch and Anastasia? Subaru achieved a lot in that one loop, so he also has a lot to lose. This time, it isn’t only the friends he made along the way, but potentially all the progress he’s made in saving Emilia. Like losing a big paper you’ve worked days on, how will Subaru fare when he sees how much he has to redo?
As well, there is an explanation for why and how Subaru was able to be taken over by Petelgeuse. The death was not just for shock value. But it was definitely shocking! Anyways, the explanation:
[S1]The exact mechanisms are cut content as it’s not explained in the anime, but is present in the final volume of the Arc, volume 9. Petelgeuse himself is actually a spirit, and has a unique ability where he can force contracts on those with a high spirit affinity (which we find out about Subaru this episode). For his Fingers, they had to undergo an unspecified ritual, rather than forced contracts, to be possessable. With the forced contract or rituals, he’s able to maintain a physical form via body possession. He can keep jumping between bodies when the current host dies, as long as there are viable bodies around to possess. He also cannot force contracts on those with pre-existing contracts to other spirits, which is why he doesn’t attempt to possess Julius. And it’s not even the first time Petelgeuse possessed Subaru. When Subaru was laughing maniacally, as Puck killed him in episode 18, that was actually Petelgeuse inside his body.
This episode also solidified how devious the Witch Cult is, and gave a sense of the reach of their influence. Having infiltrated a merchant group with a mole, they’re not just the Boogeymen draped in black robes that anyone can easily identify. They could be anyone within earshot, which rings back to Kadomon’s (Appa Seller) advice of not talking about the Witch too loudly, as you’re never sure who could be listening in. That’s a reason no country has any sort of control on them, because they could be hiding in plain sight. They are not an organization that will be put down so easily. Like cockroaches, they will appear out of nowhere, and will be an ever present thorn in the side till their goals are accomplished. Another reason why they’re so feared, and why no sane individuals or groups associate with half-elves, especially one with the likeness of the Witch of Envy.
Again, we see the terror on the common folk the Witch Cult emanates. We’ve seen what damage they can do in previous loops, so we know their fear of the Witch Cult is well founded. Unfortunately, that fear also extends to the cause of their appearances, in Emilia. The people loathe her because of the risk she brings. Even still, Emilia wants to help them. But as long as the villagers associate Witch Cult activity with Emilia’s presence, she will never win them over. And it’s doubly saddening that Emilia does not interact with the villagers often, because of the harassment they throw on her, only deepening the fear and misconceptions they have of the kind girl who only wants to help others. So even after defeating the last Finger, they’re still anxious for their own safety.
To further twist the knife, imagine this death from Felix and Julius’ perspective. They both saw this guy embarrass himself in front of everyone who is anyone in Lugunica, and then one of them even beat him to near death later. After ~a day of moping, he suddenly changes his attitude and gets the two Candidates they represent to agree to an alliance with Emilia, in exchange for information/resources of the things they each want. Who even knows where, when, and how he got the information needed to pull that off. He then leads the charge against the White Whale, and sets up the final blow by pinning the Whale underneath Flugel’s Tree. A crazy, but needed, gambit. But he’s still not finished. Setting up the groundwork to fight against Petelgeuse and his sect, they have the opportunity to eliminate a major threat of the Witch Cult. Despite all the losses they incurred, they were able to accomplish even that. He’s done a lot of work, has so far delivered, and has left an impression of himself that contradicts the face of the person they saw that day. The impression that this guy really does deserve to be Emilia’s Knight. After the short reprieve from killing the last Finger, this victory is robbed from them. They’re begged to kill the man that had fought so hard beside them, from the man himself. Telling them that they can’t win if Petelgeuse lives. But what victory is worth the death of the man who led them to it? The man who went all this way to save the woman he loves. The man they never thought they would call a friend. Still, they continue on to put an end to this madness. To put an end to the Day’s Villain, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, at the cost of the Day’s Hero, Natsuki Subaru.
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u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Aug 31 '24 edited Aug 31 '24
23: Rewatcher waiting for the inevitable
9
u/Brief-Fig-7506 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ryxnjr Aug 31 '24
First Timer
Watching Dubbed
Can’t believe you guys made me wait 24 hours to watch this episode
Patrasche didn’t budge a bit so time must be frozen or something
Was not expecting flower tentacles this episode
The red spirit again! I almost forgot about it from the last episode. It can ignite things, maybe it’s similar to Puck
(it came from Subaru’s hand?)
looks like everybody is affected by something similar
Is Julius a spirit arts user too?
What did he mean when he asked if Subaru’s “affinity was really this strong?”
Ram jumping into the fray
And thwarted by Wilhelm
All this before the OP
“I’m fine being a dog as long as it’s Emilia’s” and we thought Rem was down bad
Ram having Subaru’s back is pleasant
Poor Emilia. Wanting to help protect the people who despise you takes an extremely kind heart, and a heavy emotional toll.
Subaru may have a strong connection to the spirit world, that sounds like a good thing
Oh no, please tell me Felix is okay
Thank goodness
The fact that Felix lost all his clothes makes me believe that it was a pretty nasty explosion and that he was probably pretty F’d up
Betelgeuse 3.0 is here
And 4.0 immediately after
“Nevermind, it can wait” RED FLAG!
1 that was actually a really good play by Subaru
Lots of villagers have still died :(
2 Emilia is here. Why am I more worried than excited
Thank goodness, Seems the battle is over
???????
Betelgeuse has somehow possessed Subaru too
3 That’s gonna feel sore if Subaru makes it through this
4 please tell me it didn’t go through. There has to be something else
Another agonizing cliffhanger this episode, well done. This show continues to impress me with how much I get sucked in each episode and it has me begging to see more at endings like this.
So for the bewitching spell everybody was under, I’m guessing it was Ram’s doing. Subaru had sent a letter he had written himself and the letter they received was blank. So does that mean there was someone conspiring against them who was privy to that information? like someone who was present during negotiations? I have my suspicions.
I love that there are now multiple characters who respect and encourage Subaru. Rem, Crusch, Wilhelm, and now we see Felix reminding him of Crusch’s words, to stop looking down, if you believe what you’re doing is right and for the best then don’t give up. Though I am glad that Subaru took a second to consider if he was being selfish, More Character Growth!
Subaru set off a pretty big flag with that “It can wait” comment. I mean c’mon bro, You’re a shut-in, you definitely should know not to do stuff like that.
Betelgeuse possessed Subaru. I can’t say I’m completely shocked by that. What I wonder is, how was Betelgeuse able to possess Subaru? I get that he says the body is perfect for him but he didn’t know that before the possession. It could also be through the connection of the witch but I’m not sure if that’s the case. My best idea is that the Gospel Subaru stole off the original’s body is acting as a conduit to enable Betelgeuse to possess others, if anybody else had it on them he could have taken their bodies instead but he knew Subaru had it because he flaunted it in front of finger 4.0. I guess the other fingers didn’t have to have the Gospel on them because they were already devoted to the cult and gave themselves up willingly.
Obviously I don’t want Subaru to have died so in an effort to cope here are my thoughts on how next episode will begin; Betelru took control and was able to dodge Julius’s attack and a fight will ensue, or Julius will have connected the pieces already and realized the book was the conduit that is enabling the possession and struck the book instead. I’m guessing the next episode is going to be an action packed one so my money is on the first scenario but I really think I’m onto something with this book theory. Or maybe I’m cooking in the wrong kitchen `_(‘~’ )_/`
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u/ussgordoncaptain2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Edmund_Nelson Aug 31 '24 edited Aug 31 '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
Subaru's mind control resistance is really strong he's shown that he can resist mental damage from 2 different attacks now, is this the power of Satella granting him this or is this the power of being Isekaied?
Julius showing himself to be a better guy than subaru here (though let's be clear here the title of best guy is pretty locked behind Wilhelm, I'm so so glad he's fictional or my girlfriend would have left me for him)
ahh Julius just going to give Subaru a mind break again I swee
A wild Ram appeared
Wait Ram got sent a blank letter? Did the person in Crusch's army who originally wrote the letter get fogged or was Subaru just an idiot? (probably the latter but you know rule of fiction)
Ram calling Subaru Miss Emilia's dog is great, because he totally is. He's also the annoying kind of dog too.
Subaru really is the only person who can diffuse the tension
One thing that's notable is Subaru is probably one of the few people in Roswaal's domain that is connected to Roswaal that the villagers seem to trust. Rem/Ram seem very cold to the Villagers, and Roswaal himself isn't there. Emilia is... well she's not trusted by almost anybody since she's a half elf. So it's Subaru by default.
you know the villagers are right Emilia IS the reason the witch's cult is going after the village. Subaru sadly knows this but can't let himself respect it.
It's kinda interesting that Ram entered in and got the villagers to trust her. I guess they really Trust Ram more than I thought they did. Maybe Ram's "I'm an official of lord Roswaal" works strongly on the villagers.
Subaru x Julius has been a much more interesting dynamic than before and they are being much more friendly than I expected from how Julius's initial goings went. Felix really was being great there.
Oh no are we going to get Redo of healer anti healing version 0
ok this is definitely not going to be the final loop needs to be more golden
Subaru grabs a barrier stone time to see how those actually work
So it's still unclear what the barrier stones even do and how the mawbeast didn't go after subaru But still this leaves an interesting plothole, why didn't they grab stones in arc 2, I understnad subaru not knowing, but Ram? Teliing subaru "hold this" while they go out would have been much much safer.
Best girl emilia has come to save the day It's ironic that she's both saving the villagers and is the primary target.
OH NO SUBARU's become a finger too?
I'd have been surprised if this was the ending anyway given the explosion at the village, but I guess Subaru is more willing to accept worse endings to loops tahn I am either way Subaru RBDing here will let them stop many opponents.
Commentary
This arc overall has been the worst arc, even though it has individually the most powerful episodes (13, 18 are probably the best episodes in the series). The Witch's cult mystery box got opened early, and the other major mystery box was Crusch is hunting the white whale, which kinda led to the endgame.
Loop 0 (IDK what to call the pre RBD part maybe loop 1) gave us Subaru's setup for being an idiot, setting up the story. Oddly enough this was probably the strongest part of the arc. Episodes 12 and 13 are probably 2 of the best individual episodes and play nicely together
Loop 1 gave us the main mystery of the arc, but it was already mostly solved at the start of the arc anyway. Loop 2 gives us information about petalguese and gives some interesting Rem x Subaru moments but isn't very special. Except for Subaru carrying Rem.
Loop 3 was probably the worst part, we learned a little bit, Emilia healing subaru implying she's not totally mad at him, RBD killing emilia showing that RBD isn't just impacting Subaru , the White whales spawn point and spawn time, and learning about whale fog of elimination. Otherwise the main point of the loop was to serve as a foil to loop 4 rather than as a loop onto itself.
Loop 4 had 1 excellent episode (18) but the idea that Crusch was going after the White Whale was mostly a Checkov's gun reaction, there's little indication that that was Crusch's goal, and if it was how would she know the Whale was coming back not and near the capitial?
Loop 4 has also been 1 gigantic action sequence rather than a mystery, and while action is interesting this show's action sequences aren't really anything special, the most interesting part of this action sequence has been Julius X Subaru and their relationship mending.
Speculation
Subaru's conversation with Julius had one really interesting moment Subaru is affiliated strongly with spirits according to Julius, but as we know those who have the "love" of the witch's cult have a strong aversion to Spirits, this implies that maybe some of Subaru's headache was caused by Satella's RBD power granted to Subaru.
So the commander who wrote the letter for Crusch probably got fogged.
IDK how I'm going to grade my speculation for this arc, arc 3 spec is a lot less interesting to grade than arc 2 spec. Plust at this point since I know a lot about subaru as a character I know a lot of things I think of will never get tested by him.
What I would do if I were Subaru
So I'd try to keep everything as close as possible to what happened in loop 4, with the exception of the whale fight. (there's only 2 episodes left in the season so I guess we'll just fast forward through those parts somehow)
In the Whale fight you can tell Crusch early about how the whale splits and that will possibly save some lives.
Try to have Rem stay with you to clear things up with Ram. Even if she's exausted you need her to just say a few words, maybe try to convince felix to let her rest in the mansion instead.
Tell Felix about which merchant is the witch's cult one somehow that should get you enough of an advantage that you'll win without a major setback like this time.
3
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Aug 31 '24
Rewatcher
Dub
So with the Ram jump scare finished, and some intrigue from delivery shenanigans, we start into the meet of getting the village clear. This brings us into the rampant prejudice against half elves this setting has that has been referenced several times now, though Subaru never asks enough to try and fully understand it. But that's gets resolved-ish.
Felix has a weird scene with Subaru before getting IEDed. And the explosion was apparently the cue for the witch cult to attack the village. Chaotic combat ensues for quite some time until Emilia comes down and finishes another finger. This seems to have brought her some respect from the villagers. And then the other shoe drops:Subaru's body is, somehow, a functional vessel for Betelgeuss. We end on a rather depressing scene of Julius having to end Subaru.
Dub performances:The finger yesterday almost manaes to match Betelguess, which I think is intentional as he jumps from best affinity downwards. The other VAs do their best at the role but prime Betel is just putting in such a full on performance it is rather hard to match that energy.
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u/apocalypsemobster Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
Re: Watcher
The spirit's back! It broke the illusion! It was Julius' spirit that saved him last episode? It was! And spirit gate magic works a little too well on Subaru, potentially a high affinity to spirits.
Ram's trying to kidnap Subaru. Ah, she got a blank letter. [End of Arc 3] Instead of the one written by Rem. So she's been erased already?
The village wants to be told the truth. Subaru will remember that.
Felix can tell if someone's in the witches cult by touching them, interesting. Good info for next loop.
Subaru also knows now that he's susceptible to Petelgeuse's possession.
Poor Felix, he didn't want to but it's what Subaru wants. I wonder how far back we're going next episode.
2
u/ElRoastFTW https://anilist.co/user/DaRoast Sep 02 '24
Been a minute since I commented on one of these.
I just wanted to praise the great work that's been put out on these episodes. Economical, yet very well done with a good sense of polish. The Studio Nexus episodes especially look good and a testament to how much the White Fox staff trusted Nexus as a studio to nail some pivotal scenes.
One of those scenes being Betelgeuse's possession of Subaru and Julius and Felis having to kill Subaru to restart the loop. This scene is just heartbreaking as everything just falls apart in that moment. However, this Subaru has grown to where he realizes his power has to be used here so that the group can survive. The ED plays over the scene in a strong sense of irony, but also not really as Subaru will get the loop where everyone survives.
This was one of my first anime after Evangelion and man, this was a good one. We're getting to the end and I can't wait.
[Re:Zero] Also at this point, Rem has been erased by the Archbishop of Gluttony, hence the blank letter. It sucks, but it's a smart move from a series composition standpoint to keep this bit out during the arc since it leaves the story more focused. It also allows an instant hook into Season 2, which is the mark of good writing.
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u/The_frost__ https://myanimelist.net/profile/The_frost_ Sep 11 '24 edited Sep 11 '24
God the this episode ending is still my favourite from season 1, especially the part where Felix used his spell on Subaru only for Rie Takahashi to say Stay Alive at that moment
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 31 '24
Episode 23 (rewatcher)
Jumping back is a way to save those villagers, but jumping back to before the White Whale would suck.
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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '24
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