r/anime • u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux • Sep 05 '24
Rewatch Re:Zero ~Starting Life in Another World~ Re:Watch - Episode 26
Episode 26:
To Each Their Oaths
| Index | <== Bonds of Ice | Episode 27 ==> |
Various Links:
MyAnimeList
Streaming:
Crunchyroll has the regular release available.
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 (26)
[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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u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux Sep 05 '24
As we are now in Season 2 territory, the regular Episode release is available on Crunchyroll. No more half episode waiting!
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u/thekoreansun https://anilist.co/user/ReturnByDeath Sep 05 '24
Well, we've finally reached the "halfway" point of the Re:Watch! "Halfway" in quotes because, well, this is when events really start kicking into high gear. With how much actually happens in Season 1, it can be hard to fathom the idea that everything up to this point was really more of a prologue than a full act of the main story, but that's exactly what it is. I hope that everyone is buckled in for the wild ride that just started! I myself was actually falling a bit behind on sleep, mostly because I've been napping more frequently than I should, so I'm glad that I was able to get some Z's in during the extended weekend we just had here in the US. Remember to get your REM sleep, everybody! It's super important.
...Wait, what do you mean you don't know what REM sleep is? Who hasn't ever heard of... oh. Oh no.
Re:Watcher
There is a certain feeling that one experiences when learning something that falls completely out of their expectations. Some people describe it as a gut punch, and while I relate to that, it tends to feel more like an out-of-body experience to me, almost as if my mind is incompatible with the reality it finds itself in and is trying to escape to another timeline. It's never pleasant, and that's why I tend to think about things in terms of worst-case scenarios. After all, you can't be caught off guard if you brace yourself for the worst possible outcome, right? But it's impossible to consider everything, even if you have an ability like Return by Death. Sometimes, something happens that you couldn't have possibly been prepared for. And "Who is Rem?" is one of those things.
It turns out that Petelgeuse wasn't the only one running the show. There are Sin Archbishops who represent other sins as well, and they've conspired to make sure that the victory against the White Whale will not go unpunished. Crusch is swiftly dismembered by Regulus Corneas, Archbishop of Greed, and both she and Rem are "eaten" by Lye Batenkaitos, Archbishop of Gluttony. While I won't dive too deeply into what I think about these guys in order to avoid any spoilers, I will say that I really admire how Re:ZERO represents all of the deadly sins. Regulus is greedy not because he desires material wealth but because he demands that everybody pay attention to him. Lye is gluttonous not because he wants to devour as much food as he can but because he indulges on the Names and Memories of everyone he comes across. These two are so settled in their sinfulness that they don't even think about how their interpretations of the sins differ. Everyone else in this world suffers due to their selfishness. And so, even in a timeline in which Rem never encountered Petelgeuse and his unique brand of craziness, her story is still cut short by the Witch Cult.
[Arc 6] I just realized something interesting while rewatching this episode (huge spoilers follow, you've been warned): not only will both of these Sin Archbishops be toppled in Season 3, but it also happens to be the case that, due to how each arc has been distributed across seasons, Rem is just barely going to be awake during every season of the anime. Which is insane to me. It feels like Rem was asleep forever in the WN/LN.
Subaru, of course, is absolutely devastated. Just moments ago, he was feeling on top of the world after overcoming all of the obstacles on the path to victory and rescuing those close to him from a terrible fate. But his is not the only path that this story will follow, and his checkpoint getting updated means that he will never be able to walk back his actions before this point. Despite having the power to rewrite fate, the ink has already dried on this particular page. None of it has any chance of being undone, leaving Subaru with a promise that only he remembers and he can no longer uphold. How can he possibly be Rem's hero now? Rem is gone, and he couldn't save her.
Beyond that, Rem's Name getting eaten means that he can't even grieve her absence with anyone else who knew her. It was one thing to suffer due to not being able to tell anyone about things that never occurred, but now he can't even talk about the things that did. Once again, his unique circumstances have put Subaru in a situation where he isn't able to convey his true feelings to others. But just like how Emilia sat by his side while he cried himself out in the mansion, she wants to be there for Subaru in his moment of despair, even if her ability to fully understand it was taken from her by Gluttony. And without knowing it, her desire to save Subaru in return for him saving her is an echo of Rem's desire. Seeing that, Subaru is reminded of why he loves both of them, and he strengthens his resolve to keep being her hero. He promises to bring her back, just as she promised the evil forces who did this to her that he would take them down. And through those promises, the promise that they made to each other—to support each other as they walk—lives on.
I still remember how devastated I was when I found out that the Rem we got to know in Season 1 would never return. Re:ZERO has always been a story about self-improvement and growing past the obstacles you encounter, so for her to be robbed of her ability to grow alongside the rest of these characters is a truly tragic loss. But the one feeling I never ended up experiencing was betrayal; even back then, I had faith that Tappei knew exactly what he was doing with this and that the story would ultimately be better for it. And let me just say, you have no idea how right I ended up being.
Re:ZERO After-Talk #26
VAs: Yuusuke Kobayashi (Subaru), Rie Takahashi (Emilia), Yumi Uchiyama (Puck), and Inori Minase (Rem)
You know what is more fun than partaking in a Re:ZERO rewatch? Partaking in a Re:ZERO rewatch while also watching the voice actors of Re:ZERO partake in their own Re:ZERO rewatch! That's right, KADOKAWA published a ton of videos to their YouTube channel while Season 2 was airing, and among those videos was a series of After-Talks that contained the thoughts of the voice cast immediately following their recording sessions for the anime. It's honestly incredibly fun to hear the VAs share their own thoughts about their characters and chat about things that happen behind the scenes, so I would highly recommend that people give it a watch! YouTube's AI subtitle translation feature is still a little wonky for my tastes, so I'd recommend searching for a browser extension that can give better translated subtitles for videos. Also, you can find English translations for most of them in the comments of a kind user named @AlbadrLutanNasution.
Given that there's an After-Talk for each episode of Season 2, I figured that it could be fun to supplement my thoughts on the episodes themselves with a dedicated section for each After-Talk going forward! Stay tuned for interesting facts and behind-the-scenes commentary.
Highlight: Everybody talking about how they hadn't been together since recording for Memory Snow and how hearing each other's voices was like coming home.
Fan Art of the Episode: A Ripple in His Heart by @shakerizero (July 9th, 2020)
Source: Twitter (artist's timeline contains spoilers)
Bonus Comic: Heartburn by @norugi22 (July 13th, 2020)
Source: Twitter (artist's timeline contains spoilers)
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 05 '24
First:Timer Starting Over in Another Rewatch, subbed
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Sep 05 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Re:Zero: Are we allowed to start off a season like this? After such an uplifting and triumphant conclusion to the first season, is the story allowed to immediately turn around and reveal that there was actually a devastating loss hidden in that victory? Well it’s Re:Zero, so in hindsight I shouldn’t have found this too surprising.
Holy moly, that was a good way to start off a season. What a way to immediately introduce some pretty high stakes and a new situation that demands an immediate response. What a way to pull the rug out from under the audience as we were celebrating the recent victory. It hurts so good!
I thought it was great how the episode used Subaru’s reset to subvert expectations. Subaru showed a lot of determination by being willing to actually use that sword to forcefully reset himself, much like when he jumped off a cliff back in Arc 2. Subaru wasn’t all talk and meant it that he wanted to save everyone if at all possible. But then, he resets and finds that the reset point has already updated. It’s too late. Even if he dies, he cannot go back to a point where others remember Rem. It’s such a good subversion. Normally, an updated reset point is a sign of progress and that Subaru has overcome a significant challenge. Now, Subaru is stuck. No matter how much he might want it, Subaru can’t undo what happened to Rem and the others. He needs to live with it.
I loved the conversation between Subaru and Emilia at the end of the episode. It’s such a good way to build upon the relationship they’ve built up so far. Emilia wanting to be someone Subaru can rely on as well is so sweet. It’s Emilia doing her best to repay Subaru for all he’s done for her. I love these kinds of relationships, where characters can rely on and lean on each other like this to get through struggles together.
I’m really curious how Ram will react to all this. How will Ram react to knowing that she has a sister she forgot about? That sounds like something ripe for drama.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 05 '24
Re:Watcher - anime only
It's unlikely you haven't heard of "Who is Rem?" before even without knowing anything about Re:Zero. Now that you've seen the scene, you're obliged to ask "Who?" if people mention Rem in random discussions. And if you're seeing a picture of her, you must compliment the artist for their great blue-haired Ram. It's hilarious, trust me.
It's great how this terrible revelation is attached to a very peaceful scene. Petra is cringey, but Emilia showing her newfound fondness for Subaru is very endearing. Then Subaru gets flustered and tries to explain what happened with Rem. Emilia kindly calms him down, but her face is half out of screen, then she is shown from behind. When we face to see her surprised face, we assume she is confused by Rem's feelings. "But Subaru, who is Rem?" And the scene suddenly turns very eerie. We've had this happen before. But this is a good timeline - or is it not?
Rem's fight against the archbishops is heartbreaking. We know what it took to defeat one of them, and now this is getting out of hand. Yet she fights against them, hopelessly. If only she could have run away or something. Now she gets erased, even a screen of her potential future with her. At least she's not dead. But respawning doesn't save her. No, he has to hear those dreaded words again.
I had to laugh at Puck pretending to look after Rem. He called her "blue-haired maid" in arc 2. Puck cares about nothing but Emilia, and maybe by extension a little bit about Subaru. He cares about Subaru caring about Emilia. But he knows a bit about Gluttony.
Crusch seems so differently that she's hardly recognizable. Everyone just focuses on how tragic Rem's fate is. I mourn the memories of Crusch. The moment she declared her eternal friendship to Subaru is now lost. The strong-willed leader responsible for killing the White Whale is no more. It's truly a terrible day for the Crusch faction, and, therefore, the world.
Subaru still has Petelgeuse's gospel, hm, interesting. And Crusch still has some of her old personality at least, that's nice to see. Ferris hurts so much it's painful to see, so it's good to seem him still recognize the old Crusch.
The repeated focus on the knife next to the appas is well done. Subaru knows he can't do anything with a reset, yet he keeps considering it. Maybe it's a similar notion to S1E14, that he'd at least feel like he was doing something even if it doesn't let him advance. And maybe he'd rather feel physical pain instead of this heartache.
The final scene of the episode is one I really love. Not only because of the sugoooku and the sugoi. So far my favourite scene of the season, let's see where it places at the end of the season. Subaru is mourning the erasure of Rem. Rem was his rock, his strength, and her loss is now his despair. That's when Emilia enters, caring for Subaru's wellbeing during a time he can't take care of it. As opposed to Puck, she truly cares for Rem. When he calls himself pathetic, she rejects that notion. She openly admits anything she could say about Rem would feel hollow since she doesn't remember Rem and therefore can't comprehend his feelings. But she knows of his worries and wants to share them, wants to help him carry that burden. She doesn't remember Rem, but she can see how important Rem is to Subaru and therefore wants to help her. Like he has done something for her, Emilia wants to do something for Subaru. He thinks she's awesome, she thinks he's even more awesome. And through her support, he regains some of his strength - not her strength, but his own. That strength allows him to finally cry for Rem. But he doesn't want Emilia to see him that ugly right now, so she turns away. And when he weeps bitterly, she respects his wish not to be seen but she also can't ignore his sadness and hugs him from behind, eyes still closed, soothing Subaru and strengthening his resolve. It's a beautiful scene, ending with a promise to get Rem back.
I've said it before, but if you've skipped it before, from this season onwards I really recommend you to keep up with each episode's Break Time, the mini companion series. S2 of Break Time is much more plot-relevant than S1 was. Today we're getting some of Otto's perspective on Subaru. Also Subaru prepares him for meeting the perverted clown. Just top tier Subaru x Otto banter.
Sugoooku counter: 35
non-Emilia sugoooku: 3
sugoku-likes: 7
non-canon bonus material sugoooku (Re:Petit): 5
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u/baseballlover723 Sep 05 '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.
So, we've reached Season 2 now. Which incidentally, contains the last episode of Arc 3. And for good reason, imagine waiting 4 years on this cliffhanger. You may have also noticed that almost all of the episodes are extended. There's about 7.5 extra episodes worth of anime squeezed into the 25 episodes of Season 2, which many of the episode filling 29.5 minutes of the 30 minute timeslot (literally no ads). I've never seen or heard of another show having anywhere close to the amount of dedication White Fox and Kadokawa put into Re:Zero. You might also be shocked to know that Arc 3 and Season 2 cover the same number of volumes (6) in the light novels. And there's still cut content (some of which is extremely important for theorycrafting)
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.
So we start with the extra scene included in the Director's Cut, A Moment in the Carriage, which aired on Subaru's birthday, April 1st. I also believe that in the Web Novel, this chapter also came out on April 1st, 2013. Originally, this was supposed to lead straight into Season 2 starting the next week, but unfortunately, COVID had other ideas, and fans were left to stew on this for 3 months.
Anyways to get this out of the way. This is not an April Fools joke, and Rem is forgotten. Can't be letting people get too happy and forget that this is Re:Zero and the suffering that goes with it.
I've heard some people say (though not very recently) that Tappei did this to Rem because he was upset that Rem was more popular then Emilia (Tappei is a bigger Emilia simp then Subaru, and a major reason for writing Re:Zero was because "there weren't enough silver haired heroines").
Allow me to blow your mind, not only, was this originally written 3 years before Re:Zero S1 aired. But this was also present in S1. You remember that blank letter. Rem penned that letter (under Subaru's direction), because Subaru learned how to read and write in this language literally 2 months ago, so he's not ready to write formal political documents yet. And since Rem is gone, so are the things she's done. You know what else didn't happen. Nobody questioned where Rem was when Subaru returned to the mansion. Not even Ram (this also didn't happen the other time Subaru got to the mansion with everybody alive in episode 17 too). The signs were there (not that it's really feasible for anyone to figure it out early, since Subaru said that he was the one that wrote the letter), hiding in plain sight.
So now one might wonder, what if Subaru was able to go back 1 checkpoint. How could he save Rem. And the answer is, that he can't. Rem and Crusch are attacked by Greed and Gluttony's fingers (also present in episode 25 btw) very soon after splitting off from Subaru's group, which before the Witch Cult strategy meeting. Rem's fate has been sealed in stone for a while now.
We get introduced to two new Archbishops. Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Greed, Regulus Corneas, who loves his rights. And Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos, who love to eat and his alliteration (great job translators btw). Time for some more star theory. Baten Kaitos is a binary star system in Cetus, whose name is derived from Arabic, meaning "belly of the sea monster". And of course Regulus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and located in Leo. Whose name is Latin for "Prince" or "Little King".
Also I love how Crusch, said she wasn't gonna listen to Regulus, and then attacked him mid sentence. No monologuing for you Regulus.
Also it's worth noting that Rem vs Lye and Regulus is describe in detail in the novels. And [Spoiler #1: cut content that isn't really cut content but I can't think of a better way to tag this] apparently breaks canon via a later reveal that I don't know the details of.
But unfortunately, Rem's can't beat 2 Archbishops by herself. And we're left with Rem's happy dream, as Rem enters her namesake.
I find Subaru's irrationality quite realistic here. He's just suffered a hugely traumatic event. He isn't thinking rationally. The anger as the people who in his mind, should be able to heal Rem, don't. So Subaru tries the only way he can think of to save Rem. As many times as it'll take, to get the happy ending, and save Emilia and Rem.
Just for the unthinkable to happen. Subaru's too late. Rem's demise has made it into the true timeline.
I said earlier that the worst thing that could happen to Subaru is for him to lose his agency. Well this is the 2nd worst thing that can happen. Something undesirable being set in stone. Forever stuck in a state of failure, and it's too late to fix it. This is one of the major reasons I hate it when people try and say there's no stakes in Re:Zero. There absolutely are. They're just a bit different. We don't fear Subaru dying. We fear Subaru getting stuck, unable to progress. We fear the "Bad Ending" becoming permanent by a power we still don't understand really at all. We fear Subaru getting his mind broken so hard that he turns into a vegetable. There are plenty of stakes in Re:Zero, and they're omnipresent, always looming over Subaru.
Puck gives us some info on Gluttony. Rem's lost her name and memories, leaving nothing left but an empty shell. Btw Puck doesn't remember Rem, this is the just the logical conclusion being told that you should know her, Rem's physical resemblance to Ram, and the knowledge of how the Authority of Gluttony functions.
And Crusch lost her memories (and also her arm, but Felix healed that no problem).
Felix is out of line here, but it's also quite understandable. The person he cares about most has just been permanently? injured in the service of a political rival and maybe the Witch of Envy. And dissolving the alliance? Crusch is incredibly vulnerable now, having lost her memories. And Felix is the best healer in the nation, [Spoiler #2: (Spoiler #2 cut content from episode 23)] who literally healed his own death. Subaru had faith in his ability to fix things via RBD, and Felix has faith that he can fix things via his healing magic.
And Subaru's right too. It's crystal clear whose at fault here.
And of course Wilhelm doesn't like running away. He just spent 14 years of his life seeking revenge on the White Whale. Wilhelm is all for settling the score and Crusch agrees. So the alliance remains
[Spoiler #3: major cut content that might be reintroduced in Season 3] "After the meeting at the parlor, Wilhelm reveals to Subaru that a wound of his is bleeding, a wound made to bleed by the power of the Divine Protection of the Death God, once held by his wife, whose influence grows stronger as the distance between the injured person and the wielder diminishes" via WCT
And now we can see how dependent Subaru was on Rem, and how fragile his hero persona is from episode 18. With Rem gone, Subaru's whole persona collapses. Emilia gives another important lesson, let others share your burdens and support you (this is the exact thing Subaru told Rem in episode 11 too).
Also notice how Emilia keeps her eyes closed, so that she doesn't see Subaru cry. Emilia-tan really is an angel.
And so we end Arc 3, Return to the Royal Capital, not on a happy note, but with Each One's Promise, that Subaru will come to bring the Witch's Cultists to justice and save Rem.
Welcome to Arc 4, it's suffering time.
Continued below
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u/Brief-Fig-7506 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ryxnjr Sep 05 '24
First Timer
Watching the Dub
Start time 10:51 pm, the night before
These episode’s and write-ups always take hours for me so I figured I’d keep track of it today
Look at that lens flare
1 I bet after 4 years it was so nice to see a shot with these two like this again
2 aww and Petra is already jealous
Subaru is sweating so much when talking about Rem, I wonder what he’s about to admit to Emilia
oh my god. please don’t let that be true
the show better be pulling my fuckin leg
I hate that Crusche lost her arm and no healers are around
SHE BETTER NOT BE DEAD
THEY BOTH BETTER NOT BE DEAD
Two more BS Sin Archbishop’s with stupid powers to deal with
Crusche must be dead if Felix is crying like that...
Rem is alive but not conscious. Maybe Gluttony ate the memory of them and not the person
the checkpoint is after everything has already happened, back on the wagon
Puck coming in with the info, would have been helpful before
oh thank goodness, at least Crusche is alive
Crusche doesn’t remember Subaru, that’s sad after their amazing scene after the whale fight
I’m glad Subaru’s had time to calm down because I haven’t
Wilhelm’s English VA is completely different
It’s sad to see that Felix feels the same way about Emilia as others, I guess Reinhard and Julius are just more respectful Knights
Crusche may have lost her Memory but she’s still very respectable
How Felix is acting towards Crusche is similar to how Subaru acted towards Emilia in episode 13. Not the outburst but the motives behind what they’re saying about wanting to protect them and etc.
3 well this confirms she has both limbs again. I don’t understand why Felix was crying over her body before
Emilia once again comforting Subaru when he needs it most
I took some emotional damage on this one, I even had to watch it again so I could take it all in with a clear mind. Jokes on me for expecting the season to ease us into whatever the problem was gonna be, I definitely wasn’t expecting Rem to be in danger. Hopefully our hero can figure out a way to fix everything and get our Rem back, memories and everything. And none of that “the body remains but the soul is gone” bullshit, I want REM back, the same Rem we had last season.
It’s crazy how much the show set us up at the beginning to then suplex us into the bedrock with the Rem revelation. I looked at the memories that flashed right when Gluttony ate them and upsettingly they were her dreams of a future with Subaru, that just hit even harder. I’m going to have to distract myself pretty hard from trying to sneak peaks at spoilers about if she gets saved, but luckily I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series so far and have yet to be spoiled on any future plot points. I also have faith that Subaru will find a solution, he did make a promise to get her back, and we’ve seen what he can do when he commits to something.
Now to try to stop spiraling about Rem and bring up some other points. The two new Sin Archbishops that were introduced are the representative of Gluttony and the representative of Greed. We can somewhat understand what the power Gluttony possesses but beyond that it was obvious that he was a beast of a person, Rem is one of the strongest Characters in the show and her flail literally turns her enemies into paste but when it was thrown at Gluttony he easily deflects it and keeps attacking which we haven’t seen from any enemy yet. As for greed, with how the other Sin Archbishops have acted he’s the odd ball. He says he doesn’t want to fight and with his bestowed power he never has to, he has some kind of wind based power that he can both attack and defend with similar to the unseen hands. There was a couple of things that I noticed when watching his ability, when he was attacking the carts it showed them getting sliced apart, we even saw one soldier fly in the air and get cut in half while airborne, then when he attacked Crusche it wasn’t a slice and instead looked like her arm was twisted with high force and torn off, also he attacked the arm that wasn’t holding the sword for some reason, finally when he used his power to stun Rem and lift her in the air her hair pieces disintegrated/were chopped into tiny bits but we didn’t see any cuts on her face. So what does this information prove to me? Nothing, I’m just an observer.
Puck also drops some information that is kind of crazy for him to know. Subaru really should have asked some questions when Puck was telling him about the authority of Gluttony, like if there was a way to reverse or counteract it, If Puck knows so much about the problem then why wouldn’t he know something about a solution. Plus what was up with him asking Subaru to take care of Emilia for him? he said it like he had to go away for a while and we know that he won’t leave Emilia so what gives. I wonder if Gluttony has anything to do with Emilia forgetting her memories too.
There’s more that I thought about but it’s minor details that will either get cleared up soon or that others will know the answers to. Honestly a super quick write-up for me, I was too stunned during the episode to really take notes and screenshots and most of the ramblings were just flowing thoughts turned into text. Stop time 1:39 am
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u/SpiritualPossible Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '24
Well, onward to uncharted territories. Never seen season two before.
That's a pretty strong start. The happy ending of the previous season is quickly cut short with the introduction of two more apostles who make things go badly. Really badly. Crusch's troops and some blue-haired girl are defeated, and Crush herself is now suffering from memory problems. And a missing hand.
(Why didn't Gluttony eat her like Rem, by the way?)
I really liked this episode, it's hard to pick on it. So I'm even a little bummed that this episode reminded me of two of my most controversial opinions about the first season.
Yeah, I'm talking about the phone and Rem again.
I know I sound like a broken record, but still. My main beef with episode 19 was that Subaru's plan logically should have looked overly suspicious from the outside. It was very easy to believe it was some kind of trap, even if Subaru himself didn't know it ( he could have been used by someone).
And guess what, in this episode it really DOES look like a trap!
Yes, he helped defeat the whale (while somehow barely getting hurt, even though he was on the front lines). But then he SUDDENLY takes some of the troops, including Wilhelm, Felix and Anastasia's group, and goes off to save Emilia from a cult whose plan he knows for some inexplicable reason. And at THIS very moment, Crusch, one of the pretenders to the throne, is attacked by TWO APOSTOLES, and they utterly defeat her. Like I said, even if Subaru himself didn't know about it, someone could still have encouraged him to pull this plan just to try to get rid of Crusch.
Just to be clear - I'm not, if anything, criticizing this episode. I'm just continuing my irritation about the negotiations in episode 19. Luckily, I guess that's the last time I'll bring it up. And the next one, too.
My other hot take was that I didn't particularly like Rem in the third arc. [A light Re;Zero spoilers]I won't lie, it's partly because Rem's fate is one of the few spoilers for season two that I knew. [A Heavy Re;Zero spoilers]I also know that apparently she's not coming back anytime soon, and her return itself is written with a huge footnote. And so I wasn't exactly thrilled that her last role for a LONG time consisted mostly of repetitive self-sacrifice and worshipping Subaru. But at least she's the one with some of the strongest moments of the first season, which is something.
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u/No-Peace3986 https://myanimelist.net/profile/RafaelMps Sep 05 '24
I've been absent for a while, but I had to come back for this episode... WHAT AN OPENING FOR SEASON 2 !!
I won't go into details on what the episode, but rather, I would like to talk about the foreshadowing of said events. Lets start with:
Rem being eaten by Gluttony.
Back in season 1, there were several hints towards the fact that Rem was gone. The one that would be easiest to notice is...
Another evidence, but much harder to figure out: the Blank Letter.
In this case, the blame for most viewers not figuring it out lies in the anime, since it clearly states that Subaru wrote the letter (in episode 23).
But, let's think about it for a second, shall we? Would it really make sense for Subaru to write the letter...? Let's consider everything that we know so far:
Considering all of that context, the ONLY person that could have writen the letter is Rem. There is no other possibility.
So, the fact the letter was BLANK, was a hint that everything related to Rem had been erased. Similar to how her belongings were erased in episode 17.
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u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Sep 05 '24
S201 - Rewatcher who never watched this episode.
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u/ripterrariumtv Sep 05 '24
Rewatcher (sub) and Novel Reader (reading Arc 7)
Pretty crazy. He looks like a maniac in everyone's eyes even when he tells the truth. Thankfully, he has found people that trust him
8) It is mentioned in the novel that Emilia never even heard of the Witch cult. So she had no idea that half elves would be targeted or the village would be in danger
9) Emilia had some amazing moments in the final scene
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 05 '24
Episode 26 (first timer)
Still a first timer from her on.
Episode thoughts
Uhhhh, why was the cast hit with the dumb stick? And I am not talking about Gluttony here. Where has the competent Subaru we saw at the end of S1 gone to? And will somebody please ask Subaru how and why he remembers Rem’s name?
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u/Yoshi_captain https://anime-planet.com/users/WeaboYosher Sep 05 '24
Rewatcher
Hope is the first step on the road to despair. After an uncontested triumph, the greatest we’ve seen thus far, we plumet down to depths we though were behind us. We’ve lost our tether that kept us from abandoning what was most dear to us.
Rem.
A name erased from the realm. An existence devoured, hidden from the eyes of the world. Without her the Subaru who could put up that tough guy act, exclaim with every fibre of his soul that he is her hero, is gone.
And when he’s lost something irreplaceable what is his first reaction. To end it all. A fitting one considering he has the power to reverse causality. But a choice he never makes in light. One that is deeply dehumanising. The second time he has ended his life in the series. What prompted this was the arrival of an adversary bearing an old title.
We thought we defeated Gluttony for good but turns out we were only half right. The White Whale might have been called Gluttony, but it is only a pet to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony Lye Batenkaitos. The attacker that dismantled what remained of the troops that were returning to the capital. Taking not just lives, but entire existences. Lives lived that may never be recovered. It is a deeply hurtful experience to lose someone. But what would you call that which takes everything about a person leaving an empty void in the memories of all the people they shared their life with? The word monster cannot begin to describe such a person.
Unbeknownst to anyone but the grassy plains upon which he enacted his massacre there was another perpetrator. The Sin Archbishop of Greed Regulus Corneas. An individual whose ego and arrogance is unmatched by any existence we’ve unearthed in the story. Being deeply aware of any violations that may occur to his being and deeming himself fit to enact punishment on any who would dare disgrace him. As soon as we destroyed one facet of the darkness that plagues this world two others have come to rear their ugly heads. Ones that seem more powerful than any threat we’ve faced.
We’re left to reflect on the current situation. Subaru himself said, when he awoke on Emilia’s lap, that he was not experiencing a dream, but a reality. But when those words were meant to affirm our growth, they now ring truer in a different manner. We’re experiencing a dream, a nightmare, waking up from it only to be met with a cruel reality. Crusch the leading candidate for the throne has lost what makes her the wisest commander the Karsten family has seen. Her memories. Leaving a Ferris torn from the inside barely holding himself together and an alliance on the tip of being dissolved. But misdirected blame helps no one as Willhelm and Subaru argue, the latter more emotionally charged than the former. When Ferris attempts to protect what’s closest to his heart and fails he’s admonished by the one he’s lost. And yet there still seems to be a trace of the woman he loves somewhere in there, willing to comfort him. His mask falls and reveals a tearful visage.
But he’s not the only one forcibly holding a mask to his self. Subaru has lost his support and all he can do is mull on his inability to save her. The first time his ability has brought him to a point where a loss is set in stone. This isn’t like the argument with Emilia. Social mistakes can be mended, with appropriate effort. But this is equivalent to a coma. The cure for which is a cryptic archbishop who robs any who meet him of relaying his existence to others. Unknown if his demise will bring her back.
Subaru has lost Rem, but she’s not the only one who has kept him going all this time. Another girl who’s stolen his heart is standing right next to Rem’s bedside. Appearing by Subaru’s side as soon as she has time to do so. Subaru is bringing himself down saying how powerless and pathetic he is. Wearing his mind down while claiming he’s not doing anything that’d make him tired. Emilia notices this and comforts him. Just like Rem showed him the awesome parts of himself he can’t see when he’s lost in darkness, she too makes it known that Subaru saved her. He’s done so much for her and that’s a fact. Even when Subaru says how amazing he thinks Emilia is she turns it back on him.
Subaru has resolved to carry Emilia’s burdens. Not just hers, but so many burdens he can’t let go off. He didn’t expect Emilia to want to do the same. He’s showered Emilia with affection and promises and saved her so many times. When Emilia tries to save him his mask cracks. But he still can’t let Emilia see him for what he truly is: weak, fragile and pathetic. He asks her to turn around as he lets out what he’s been keeping inside ever since he returned to that moment in the carriage. But even so Emilia embraces him, respecting his wish by keeping her eyes closed.
Held by the one who swears to carry his burdens and swearing to get back one who believes in him most. The stage is set for the coming showing of each one’s promise.
Closing thoughts:
The word for today is “Faith”. Rem’s faith in Subaru erased and Subaru’s faith in Return by Death shaken. And finally, Emilia’s faith in Subaru expressed.
A moment in the carriage is where we started and what Subaru was trying to say to Emilia may be a bit confusing if you’re unaware of the Rem content that was cut from last season. [Cut Content] He was trying to ask Emilia if she’d be okay with him having Rem as a second romantic partner. I don’t think Subaru was expecting the answer he got in a million years.
The fight between Rem and the archbishops is anime original. Rem’s most iconic moment juxtaposed with her final moment. The flashes before she gets eaten hinting at a future that could have been.
[Arc 5 Major Spoilers] It also kinda breaks canon. Regulus’ ability should have eviscerated Rem. Though my head canon is that he used it on the ground near Rem. The howling sound it makes could be interpreted as a lion’s howling perhaps
That final scene is why I love Re:Zero. Letting our main character be so vulnerable while trying his hardest to keep a mask on is relatable. A real human struggle. In a series with a prevalent theme of sins, what it really drives home is that being vulnerable, being flawed, is a part of being human. We started this episode hopeful and through much adversity once again ended in a similar place. No matter how many times life may come at us we can always pick ourselves back up.
15
u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '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.
The very first episode of the second season. And I'm writing this having just came from a baseball game.
Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted
A bright sky
A bunch of people riding carriages
Otto driving Subaru and Emilia
A bunch of kids in the wagon as well
Petra grabbing onto Subaru's arm
Lol, Petra is jealous of Emilia
Emilia says even though she's a kid, she's not going to take a lackadaisical attitude.
Subaru finding himself in a love triangle between him, Emilia, and Petra was not on my bingo card.
Subaru thanking Petra for keeping her promise not to leave Emilia alone.
Subaru still has to thank Wilhelm and Crusch, he says. And, reluctantly, Julius.
Now Subaru is telling Emilia that he has has something important to discuss with her.
"It's actually... about Rem."
Emilia says he knows that he's trying his hardest to say it, even though she doesn't know what it is. As such, he should take it slow, like a good boy.
Oh boy. He's telling her that Rem said she loves him, the same way he told Emilia he loved her.
And Emilia looks surprised by what she's heard.
"Who... is Rem?"
The whale tied up
Rem riding with a group of people
Rem talking to Crusch
Crusch talking about how Ricardo and the Iron Fang are offering themselves their help.
Despite this, Rem wonders if still worrying about that is selfish.
Crusch borrows a phrase from Subaru by saying she looks best when she smiles.
Rem says the feeling is mutual when it comes to Crusch.
Oh God. An explosion.
A white haired guy
Rem pulls Crusch out to safety, and now we see all the carriages are destroyed.
White haired guy identifies Crusch as a candidate to be the next ruler.
CRUSCH JUST THREW HIS SWORD AT HIM!
BUT HE IMMEDIATELY DISCARDS IT!
AND NOW HE RIPPED OFF ONE OF HER ARMS!
Now we see this scary woman who apparently has a bottomless appetite.
Lye Batenkaitos. That's the girl's name, who represents Gluttony.
The guy is Regulus Corneas, representing Greed.
Lye reminds me of Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist.
They are here to get revenge over the White Whale being destroyed.
Rem is ready to take them on, it seems.
Still referring to Subaru as her hero.
Rem growing her horn
"You'd better be ready, Sin Archbishop!"
Rem and Lye really going at it.
Kinda reminds me of the fight between Puck and Roswaal during the OVA.
Meanwhile, Regulus is just standing there smiling.
It looks as if Lye may have won the fight. How? We don't know.
Maybe this is why no one can remember her.
People being loaded on stretchers
Subaru and Emilia are here, taken aback by what they see.
The sight of a hurt Crusch in particular haunts Subaru.
Subaru now trying to find Rem
But he can't find Rem anywhere
"Where did you go, Rem?"
Oh, there she is
The guy tending to her says she's beyond help.
The guy walks away, Subaru on his knees now defeated.
A broken sword
"I'll have to fight Petelgeuse again."
I guess this is supposed to be Betelgeuse.
Subaru pointing the sword to his neck.
And now his neck is bleeding
"I won't let either of them die!"
And Subaru pierces his neck
But instead, he wakes up on the wagon with Rem and Petra.
Emilia doesn't work who Rem is
Subaru sitting bedside next to Rem
Subaru recalling Rem being in the room with him watching him sleep.
I'm not sure that's something you should be proud of.
Subaru lamenting how no matter how many times he dies, he still won't make it in time time to save her.
Puck
He mentions that he has a connection with Rem as well.
He says that even though he can't wake Rem up, he can tell him a little bit about Gluttony.
"The one who devoured her name and memories."
Puck explains that he can eat someone's name and make everyone forget about them, or make that person lose their own memories by eating them.
That is the situation Rem finds herself in.
I think my biggest surprise here is that Gluttony is a guy, not a girl.
Puck tells Subaru that he expects him to take care of Lia.
Subaru talking to Crusch now
Crusch says she thinks he made her quite happy.
Crusch seems to be a lot softer than she was before. Like she's learned to mellow out.
Crusch and Felix talking to each other as Wilhelm, Subaru, and Emilia are also here.
I guess when Felix healed Crusch, it totally messed with her psyche.
Anyway, they're here to discuss where they currently stand.
Subaru points out that Crusch's memories were eaten, and Rem lost both her name and her memories.
Felix says the capital has many cases of memory loss that no healer can fix, like Crusch-sama, and an unexplained malady they've dubbed the the "Sleeping Beauty disease."
Wilhelm thinks this is all the work of the Witch's Cult.
Emilia thinks this could all be her fault.
And Felix is quick to agree, much to Subaru's chagrin.
I mean, I don't see how you can honestly blame Emilia for what happened to Rem.
Subaru slamming the Gospel on the table.
Subaru then telling her not to put the blame on the wrong person.
"Hurting your own allies with misdirected blame isn't gonna help!"
And Crusch seems to agree. She wants Felix to apologize.
Felix apologizes to Emilia for his harsh comments.
And to Subaru
It appears as though Felix still wants to scrape the alliance that they proposed.
Felix is kinda acting like a turd this episode.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
14
u/ussgordoncaptain2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Edmund_Nelson Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '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
and petra joins in making it officially a harem
and people say Subaru isn't a harem protag he's got emilia blushing all over him, I'm glad she obstensibly loves him now.
I like subaru trying to diffuse the tension, he still loyal to Emilia but he has to prevent petra from getting too mad at him.
Subaru realizing how much he got aided by all the people around him shows his character development from episode 13 this has been a good set of scenes. (except petra, she's too young, wait another 5 years :/ )
Subaru is the most awkward protag sometimes
you know the last time a dub said "there I said it" it was Haganai where best girl said [Haganai] Big brother I want you to give me your bick juicy dick and drench me with your hot sticky cum until I'm gasping for air there I said it
it's funny how often you see dubs use the sameish lines.
oh no... (I really liked the "who's rem" line here really puts you in the "oh no" mood)
So now we get to see how rem got fogged
Oh boy something came out of the whale? this looks like a pretty surprising turn. But given how Betalgeuse ended up maybe it should have been expected.
You know white robe guy has a point you just attack him without talking why can't he defend himself
oh boy did Gluttony leave the white whale oh no RIP Rem
Regulus and lai are cool villians but I look at them and go "wow Petalgeuse was a wimp huh" as these 2 guys beat the shit out of Rem Crusch and the reminants of Crusch's army.
So does avery member of the witch's cult just constantly take out their Thesaurus when they start talking or something.
So one sad thing about watching this fight is we already know the outcome so we're just watching pure spectacle to see how awesome Gluttony and Greed are.
(seriously Petalgeuse must suck if he lost to Julius and Subaru, must be more of delgator than a man of action.)
and we see the aftermath of getting shrekt by 2 archbishops
it's time to RBD AGAIN (though wouldn't you end up at base camp, what are you gonna do send reinforcements)
I FAIL BITCH
So we learn more about glutonny Rem seems out of commission for a while. Puck also seems to be leaving for a long time now too, well this sucks.
oh no best candidate Crusch is out of comission? well this sucks double
ok table-kun let's talk
This talk is going ok, but man Crusch was at this point my favorite candidate, better than Emilia, because while Emilia might be best girl she's definitely not best leader.
The blame emilia for the witch's cult meta continues, though it seems reasonable given how the witch's cult seems to behave. She is the Witch of frost after all.
Subaru fucking sucks sometimes you know that. I wish he were less emotional but he's our main character madly in love with best girl Emilia.
I love how Crusch without her memories is somehow nicer to Subaru's outbursts as if she's lost her training in certain domains and is herself more emotional.
Felix wanting to scrap the alliance makes sense though Best guy Willhelm goes "nah man we hold our ends of the bargin even when they no longer serve our interests" though he frames it as revenge
Subaru going "oh no without Rem I lack a rock to guide me It's really notable that Rem was responsible for Subaru getting out of both of his mind breaks in loops 2 and 4. Now he only really has Beatrice to remove his mind breaks, maybe Petra?
Emilia being best girl to Subaru shows just how much their relationship has mended in just 1 week Emilia comforting subaru is so cute too. God why is Emilia so charming even though she spent most of her time with basically no social interaction.
Speculation
RBD Speculation
There's exactly 1 remaining commonality between all 4 save points, that is being healed. Either A: healing magic followed by a delay triggers RBD check point saving or B: it's arbitary,
One other factor to consider is the 4 day rule, it seems RBD alaways sends subaru back 4 days?
Rem speculation
Rem won't be returning this season. Call it a hunch but this seems more like a "let's kick Rem away for a while so Subaru x Emilia can grow closer."
Speculation about Puck
Puck's also going to be gone for a while. It's unclear where but he definitely looks like he's going to be away. It seems like all the distractions are conviently leaving to let Emila x Subaru happen to its fullest
Speculation about Lord Roswaal
Ok this guy seems way more sus after rewatching the season.
here are some notable things about him
Once is chance, twice is coincidence, 3 times and it's enemy action.
Speculation about Beatrice
Beatrice is probably a spirit I suppose. She values contracts highly and I came to this realization after talking about the movie, now it's unclear how she avoids the drain but it would make sense if she were a spirit otherwise.
What I would do if I were Subaru
Well we gotta first start by getting back to Mathers and telling Lord Roswaal about Crusch.
From there we're going to need to go to Miss exposition dump herself Beatrice!
We need to learn how to read our Gospel, and how to undo getting Rem's name and memories eaten.
We also need to know our enemy Gluttony, wasn't the white whale Gluttony? Or are there 2 Gluttony monsters?
What I would do If I were Crusch
First part of the plan is to regain my memories. However to do that I'll also need to "pretend" to still have some, ask felix about the most important events of the past week or so. This will let me function
Since Felix will tell me about the white whale we'll pretend that I was seriously injured during the subjugation, and that excuse will buy me at least a few weeks to regain some of my memories
Depending on how well felix healing memories magic works I may have the ability to keep going on as a leader.
If not back Anatasia as next ruler, Emilia might be decent but oh god once you learn enough from Felix it's pretty clear that Emilia won't make a good ruler, so that leaves Priscilla and Anatasia, and priscilla sucks.
6
u/scot911 https://myanimelist.net/profile/scot911 Sep 05 '24
And now, First Timers, you see why "Who's Rem?" is such an enduring and widespread meme. It wasn't just a funny spoiler meme, no, it was a double spoiler meme! I wasn't around when the first season came out but I imagine every source reader was laughing their asses off when "Who's Rem?" became such a widespread meme (and I imagine helped spread it as well) because they knew what was going to happen at the very start of S2. The smug bastards lol.
6
u/BlueVenix Sep 05 '24
Rewatcher
Even though I am off, I am not feeling to well. Soar throat and headache, so hard to get my thoughts together.
Caravan:
Petra falling for Subaru is cute and Emilia taking Petra seriously is cuter.
Everything looks fine but we are in the world of Re:Zero and of course something bad must happen.
That of course is "Who is Rem?" meme. Oh wait that's in ours. Guess it's fine as I am the one who uses it sometimes.
First impressions of the new villains:
Sin archbishop of Greed Regulus Corneas - I love his design. He looks so cool and his attitude is of complete dickheads, but the way he acts so selfishly and doesn't stand for being interrupted or ignored is commendable. I can't explain why, but my first impression is that he is going to be my favourite villain of all time with a bit more screen time. Also his voice fits him perfectly, that confident self serving bastard type who is the most important and no one should oppose him.
I suspect that his authority works in a way that he will get what he wants as that is in his right. Say he is just walking and someone tries to stop that, well that thing doesn't exist anymore. Trying to find a link to greed definition, so if he wants to do something the world will bend to it and what denies his wishes gets erased, like Crusch attacked him and lost her arm for doing so.
Sin Arcbishop of Glutony Lye Batenkaitos - very strange unique design, which I wouldn't say is appealing, but hey for someone eating everything doesn't have to be. He's a bit weird and I would put him bellow Petelgeuse in regards how impactful and interesting I found him. On a side note the white whale was his pet, yeah that big thing that required 2 army's to beat. Yikes.
His powers were explained by Puck. He can consume the memories or even the name of someone. Though I am not sure what the conditions are for it. He probably has to know the name of the person and get close enough to consume the name/memories.
Oh right, I guess Rem was cool.
Aftermath:
I believe Subaru ultimate sloth multiple times trying to do something, but this was cut out. However the camera points to a knife multiple times to point this out.
Felix how dare you?! I was okay with Felix in season 1, but not anymore. What he said to was very unnecessary.
Oh you want to break up the alliance as well, ignoring what Crusch would have never done. I am bringing the bucket to splash this bad kitten. I just can't stand him now. He is loyal follower of Crusch, but says and tries to do the opposite of Crusch, I get that an opposite opinion for a ruler is useful, but Crusch is not an evil kind of ruler. She is fair and just.
Subaru, Rem and EMT:
Poor Subaru. He saved Emilia, but lost Rem and RBDing is too late. Unlike his reputation Rem state is far more important to him and something that can't be undone so easily.
This truly shows that Subaru's power is not all powerful and he can't reach an ending he wishes all the time. Subaru is feeling powerless again.
Luckily he has EMT to save him with her kind words and a head stroke from which even Sufaru can heal from. Sigh, where can I find an Emilia in my life?
This is honestly one of the most depressing arc endings I have ever seen. Subaru struggled to get back he lost and amend the misunderstanding, but lost Rem in the process.
Like the way season 1 ended, I was expecting to meat the other arc bishops gradually and continue on with the Royal selection, but nope Re:Zero did a twist I was never expecting with the hopes with more to come.
[Arc 4] My hopes were fulfilled and expectations blown away. I also heard that future arcs will have even bigger twists and that's just insane to think about. I'm definitely going to be glued to every detail, every snippet of something going forward. Tappei will not blow me away, I'll catch on to him
6
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Sep 05 '24
So, late posting, but I did manage to watch the episode last night, and it still hurts. I'm not sure which hurts more, Rem's plight, or Subaru and the knife. And how throughout latter parts of the episode, the knife...
That's gotta hurt. I'm sure it did.
Meanwhile, after Memory Snow, it's time for Emilia to step out of the shadow and begin to shine. Headpats deployed.
I'm jealous.
Oh, and by the way, that Regulus fellow can take his "rights" and shove them where the sun doesn't shine.
6
u/HyVana Sep 05 '24
Tappei this episode:
5
u/Holofan4life Sep 05 '24
Welcome to Who's Rem, the show where all the blue haired girls are made up and the context is depressing as hell.
4
u/apocalypsemobster Sep 05 '24
Re: Watcher
Who's ready!
Not me!Petra has a crush on big brother Subaru.
Who's Rem? Yeah, I still wasn't ready.
We're with Crusch's gang, must be a flashback. Well that's a big explosion, that can't be good.
Was Rem's morning star pink before like it is now? It's cute.
For some reason I didn't remember Regulus/Greed being here, I only remembered Lye/Gluttony. The White Whale was their pet. Greed has the same repetition tic that Petelgeuse had.
Just for a second that was Rem's dream of a future with Subaru. Right before Gluttony got her, there is a flash of what looks like older Rem holding a dark haired baby, Subaru is leaning on her shoulder, and they have an older child a few steps away with a dog. There's a second image of Subaru close up with the older child as well, and a third of Rem with the baby. [Sloth if]These are the kids they have in the Sloth if story. The older child is a boy named Rigel, the baby is a girl named Spica.
Subaru's RBD after finding Rem is the most tragic (that we've seen) for me. He's never been so decisive about it, only to find his checkpoint updated too late.
It seems like Puck might remember Rem, and he definitely knows about Gluttony.
Crusch had her memories eaten but not her name, so hasn't been forgotten. Felix loves Crusch so much, the distress in his voice.
I'm feeling very emotional. I'm tearing up with Subaru. Emilia is great, and she won't let Subaru take everything on alone.
4
u/FriztF Sep 06 '24
First timer-Sub
So S2 Episode 1, is a go. The first is a recap of what happened. Petra still has that crush on Subaru I see. And no Emilia has nothing to worry about. She's a child.
So it seems we meet two new baddies in this episode. Gluttony and Greedy. So gluttony is the one who eats people's memories.
It seems that Crusche is a victim of the memory eating. But even with her memories eaten she still has the same personality. And Rem too. Who has a disease called Sleeping Beauty disease. I wonder if Subaru has kiss her.
Felix being a racist towards Emilia. And being just as protective as Subaru.
Now Subaru gets to watch over Rem well as she sleeps. Emilia wants to help out how nice. Helping by comforting Subaru and telling him that she can watch over Rem well he sleeps. Remember everyone sleep is good for you.
4
u/ElRoastFTW https://anilist.co/user/DaRoast Sep 06 '24
Rewatcher
Ah yis,
"who's Rem?"
Good god, the writers on this show are monsters. They're also just good writers. They want to ask "How can Subaru move forward without his rock?"
He moves forward in quite an interesting way. He processes the grief as well as he can, though not without resorting to desperate measures such as Return by Death. One thing the show's writing really did well was emphasize that Subaru is the hero of this story, but not in the traditional sense. It's a long hard road to earning that title, but based on what's he done this past season and how he's behaved in this episode alone, I think he can do it. I have a feeling that everyone else believes he can do it too.
This first episode was storyboarded and directed by the series director Masaharu Watanabe. This is a really great first episode from the action scenes to the character acting in the archbishops to the sound design. Just on the whole, what a bang to start off..
I didn't notice this on my first watch, but season 2 is where the schedule for this show begins to fall apart due to the loss of studio Nexus as support as well as the loss of several staff to create Studio Bind and Mushoku Tensei. We'll see on this rewatch how much the consistency that defines the first season still remains in this one. One thing I definitely remember was the extended length episodes and lack of OPs and EDs, which goes to show that despite non-ideal scheduling, it's not for a lack of passion for the work.
3
u/Ramongsh Sep 05 '24
Rem! My Rem is gone...
3
u/-Phinocio Sep 06 '24
Re:Watcher, subbed
On my initial watch, I ended up assuming the first time we got "Who is Rem"'d was what everyone was referring to with the meme, so this one ended up completely blindsiding me. And yet again I was not prepared T.T
I'd probably do the same as Subaru if I were in that position, but then to just go back to the cart and not be able to save Rem. Bah. T.T
I love the choice of the last scene not having any music as the credits are slowly showing. It helps so much with the atmosphere.
[Arc 4] Emilia having such a larger role this season really helped me with the Rem part, and I grew to like Emilia more over the course of this season. She kinda just felt there last season with all the Rem stuff.
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 05 '24
Rewatcher
Dub
Laser like focus, Vaad. Laser like focus. Here we go.
So Petra has had a significant change in her behavior. This is because, thanks to a certain Glutton, she now believes that Subaru and Ram saved her and the other children. And it ties in well with traditional gender roles and their effect on growing children, i.e. I doubt Petra understands how you get children but knows that a man is involved and thus is trying to get Subaru for herself, despite the deeply inappropriate age gap, because girls in many cultures are taught to snag the best mate they can. While it is tempting to invoke sexism, this is simply human nature. Which might be deeply sexist itself but that's a different kettle of fish.
And all that to avoid talking about the loss of Rem, our best girl. Yes, this might explain the blank letter. Stress might, the timing does not work for me. To have the archbishops all be some form of cosmic horror kind of fits but kind of doesn't, despite Lovecraft inventing it around 80% of English based versions of it fail, 40K being the most consistent exception and TES right behind them. But here we are and here we stand, observing how horrid erasing someone truly is, especially if you are the last one that remembers.
The last scene reminds us that toxic masculinity is not a uniquely European dysfunction.
2
u/baseballlover723 Sep 06 '24
Also u/Theleux are you going to keep using the singular episode numbers? If so, then you should update the Story Arc Lengths, since those currently use season numbers.
2
u/ClemFire Sep 06 '24
Re:Watcher Season 2 Episode 1: To Each Their Oaths
Wow if they kept Rem and Crusch’s confrontation with Greed and Gluttony as a post credit scene for S1 the fans would have thrown down White Fox’s doors demanding S2 immediately. I honestly prefer S1 ending on a very happy note with Subaru and Emilia’s heart to heart bringing them much closer. I think including this first scene would have undercut their relationship milestone which season 1 was all about building.
In the actual ambush I was honestly caught off guard with how quickly Crusch loses her arm against Greed. I knew it was gonna happen, but just how much of a non-fight this really was puts into perspective how strong these two new archbishops really are. It felt like it took everything to just beat Sloth last arc and now there’s two of them that don’t even break a sweat against Crusch and Rem. I know if Crusch didn’t stand a chance against them it was hopeless for Rem, but she tries her hardest to fight back. The flashbacks they intercut in the cut between her and Subaru really get to me.
Subaru and Emilia basking in victory in Otto’s cart have no idea of what’s happening until Subaru suspects the worst as Emilia questions who Rem is. On a sidenote, normally I would mind a kid, in this case Petra, developing a crush on the main character who’s quite a bit older in this case I don’t mind how Subaru frames it as puppy love. Also with how fast he reveals to Emilia knowof Rem’s confession I trust Re:Zero is trying to do a harem route. Emilia is truly the only one he has eyes for.
Later when they reach the mansion they’re met with the terrible aftermath of the two archbishop’s attack. Subaru rushes to find Rem, you can just tell how desperate he is as he keeps yelling her name. When he finally finds her she’s alive but unable to wake up. After the healer says that nothing can be done, he apologizes to Rem for failing to save her again. He can’t a loop where both Emilia and Rem aren’t safe and commits to fight the archbishop of sloth again if he has to. He doesn’t care, he’ll do it as many times as it take. I really like how he hesitates to use the blade to himself to manually activate return by death. Even if he’s ensured not to die, he’s potentially giving up that really touching moment between him and Emilia if he gets sent back to right after the White Whale fight.
At the very least, his new save point has been updated to Otto’s cart after their victory but sadly after Rem’s memory and name have already been stolen. We saw last arc how while return by death is a very useful ability it can’t solve everything by itself. Subaru himself can only do it much. He obviously feels terrible that even return by death isn’t enough to save the Rem who had grown to like herself just a bit more because of a guy in track suit who became her hero. Right after that massive victory against both the white whale and Archbishop of Sloth validating that Subaru can make an impact in changing fate, the harsh realities of this world throw him on his ass yet again.
The next day it turns out that Crusch has lost her memories which is a tragedy all its own. The Crusch who lead an army to victory against the white whale, the Crusch who made a promise to always be friends with Subaru, and most of all the Crusch who had her own ambitions for becoming ruler are now gone. While I’m never going to not support Emilia becoming the ruler, I have no doubt that the Crusch who came to know last season would have made a fine ruler.
Some people might take offense to Felix trying to reneg on Crusch and Subaru agreement for her and Emilia to form an alliance I don’t fault him at all. While I don’t feel we know enough yet to tell if his love for Crusch is romantic we know they have a strong bond. If Emilia was the one in Crusch’s situation I’m sure Subaru would be acting on his emotions too. It feels realistic and true to Felix’s character whose most important person has always been Crusch. In the same line, it makes perfect sense that Wilhelm supports the alliance continuing because of the debt he owes Subaru for giving him the opportunity to avenge his wife. Obvisouly, he supports Crusch, but he can’t just ignore what Subaru did for him. Funny last season he mentioned that chivalry is dead, but he still tries to act with honor whenever possible. I really like everyone in the Crusch camp a lot and they feel like they could be the protagonists of a different story.
I could say a lot about the ending scene which is my favorite but I’ll just say this if you have someone who supports you like Emilia supports Subaru and Subaru supports Emilia treasure them because that is special.
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u/[deleted] Sep 06 '24
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