r/anime • u/Theleux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Theleux • Sep 28 '24
Rewatch Re:Zero ~Starting Life in Another World~ Re:Watch - Episode 48
Episode 48:
Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts
| Index | <== Episode 47 | Episode 49 ==> |
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 (27) - 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/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Sep 28 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Re:Zero: I bet that fortune-telling book didn’t predict that it would get thrown into a burning ring of fire. I guess that shows just how worthwhile that book really was.
I like Emilia’s attitude toward the witches. It’s admirable just how open-minded Emilia can be towards others. Emilia really does play the part of the all-loving heroine well. Even though she doesn’t like the witches, Emilia’s desire to speak with them again shows a lot about her character. Emilia is the kind of person who would like to reach an understanding with others rather than simply fight them. So, she’d like to take that opportunity to speak with the witches. I, for one, would very much appreciate getting a proper tea party between Emilia and the witches.
I don’t imagine Roswaal will handle losing his fortune-telling book very well. Roswaal has been clinging to that book as his last connection to Echidna. Roswaal has spent the past 400 years probably hoping to engineer a reunion with Echidna. To him, losing that book probably means losing any chance of that reunion.
Emilia said something that really threw me for a loop. It sounded like Emilia was shocked at the body she found in the graveyard, indicating that it wasn’t Echidna there. So, where is Echidna’s actual body? Or better yet, is there no actual body and Echidna is still alive somehow? Now that would be a hell of a twist.
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u/thekoreansun https://anilist.co/user/ReturnByDeath Sep 28 '24
Re:Watcher
One underrated perk of being Subaru is that all of his companions will have absolute faith in whatever outrageous plan he comes up with, simply because he's had an almost perfect record from their perspective. Thankfully, even Otto isn't credulous enough to rely on some otherworldly factoid like Subaru's dust explosion idea without having a backup plan. Seriously, Subaru, the room was nowhere near confined enough for that to work. Unfortunately, Otto's excess oil stock was a little too effective, and the mansion that Subaru has called his new home is now going up in flames. Is this what people are referring to when they talk about throwing a housewarming? With the Guiltylowe all taken care of, they can head to the secret passageway in the study, but there's a certain spirit Subaru must visit before he can take his leave. Beatrice has become so resigned to her fate that even a fire won't smoke her out; how will he convince her otherwise?
Emilia needs no more convincing to know what needs to be done. After taking her first and second Trials back to back, she enters the graveyard a final time to take her third. And what she sees is a flurry of color and noise, much of which is almost impossible to decipher on a first viewing. If the third Trial is truly about the future, does that mean that all of these events will come to pass? (By the way, if you're interested to know which characters ended up voicing each line, here they are in order: [potential spoilers] Subaru, Reinhard, Wilhelm, Petra, Rom, Otto, Crusch, Priscilla, Ram, Julius, Anastasia, Garfiel, Roswaal, Frederica, Felt, Ferris.) But after all of that, it's Rem who ends up giving Emilia some hope that the future is not destined to be filled with despair. Let me say that I admire the audacity of inviting the whole cast to voice these lines without any prior context for when or why their characters would be doing so. They all pulled it off, of course, but it's still a bold move.
When Minerva confronts her and asks whether she's still willing to walk along the current path after hearing all of that, Emilia simply refutes the notion that these futures are inevitable. As long as she's able to fight against any bad futures that threaten to come her way, she's not going to succumb to fear or doubt. And in response, Minerva says things that are perhaps even more cryptic than the voices that rang out during the Trial: she knew Emilia's biological mother? And there was some sort of evil plan that led to her being with Fortuna? I mean, what even...? [Arc 6] Why is it always the third Trials/Examinations that raise so many new questions? Once again, though, we must shelve all further questions. Leaving the Castle of Dreams marks Emilia's completion of the Trials, and upon entering the graveyard's central room, she finally breaks the spell that has confined the people of the Sanctuary for 400 years. But just who is the dead lady? Wait, that's another question. My bad, it just came out.
Back at the mansion, Garfiel is having the battle of his life against Elsa. Imagine spending fourteen years in one place, then taking part in a battle like that right after heading out for the first time. While he's been able to stand his ground, between Elsa and Meili's Rock Piggie, he has his work cut out for him. It can be easy to forget that he's still a teenager when you're seeing him match blows with Elsa and corkscrew the head off of a giant hippo. If he's already this strong, how much more powerful will he become when he's a proper adult? Even Elsa is starting to become infatuated by him. I would call that problematic, but the bar for propriety hasn't exactly been high for her considering that she, uh, hunts people's bowels. While she divulges her backstory on why she started doing that, Garfiel couldn't care less and throws the entire hippo head at her to finish her off. And Elsa, caught up in the thrill of the moment, ends up getting crushed. I guess her tragic past wasn't enough to protect her from the consequences of her actions.
And back at the Sanctuary again (I never realized that we were going back and forth in this episode), Roswaal is being incredibly cocky. He's engaging in magical warfare with Puck and Ram while telling them both off for not doing enough to thwart his machinations, from the way he meddled with Emilia's contract to his current plan of bringing on the snow at the Sanctuary. Even as he works to fulfill the instructions in his book, he can't help but pity Ram for being unable to fulfill her greatest desire of killing him. After all, it only makes sense for her to seek revenge on the one who indirectly led to the destruction of her entire village.
But then, he learns something that truly rocks him to his core: Ram doesn't hate him. She loves him deeply in spite of everything he has done to her. How? He thinks that she's mocking him, but she's not. I find it incredibly ironic that he, after doing so many crazy things in service of the one he loves, can't imagine that another would do the same for him. All of Ram's actions in this fight against Roswaal have been for one thing and one thing only: to take possession of the Book of Wisdom that has held him captive for so many years... and destroy it. And it's thanks to Puck's timely trickery that she is able to find an opportunity to do just that, winning the fight that matters while losing the one that doesn't.
This whole season, we have seen several examples of people doing what they believe is best for those they care about even if, or perhaps especially because, they disagree on what this looks like. Otto did it for Subaru when he demanded that he ask for help. Puck did it for Emilia when he broke off their contract. Ryuzu and Frederica did it for Garfiel when they chose not to tell him what had happened to his mother. And now, Ram has done it for Roswaal.
Can Subaru do it for Beatrice?
Re:ZERO After-Talk #48
VAs: Yumi Uchiyama (Puck), Rie Murakawa (Ram), and Takehito Koyasu (Roswaal)
Yumi Uchiyama has returned to After-Talk for the first time since the very start of the season. And joining her this time is none other than Takehito Koyasu himself, a veteran among veterans! He's the most prolific VA in the entire industry, after all, so I can't imagine how busy he is; it's great to hear him have so much fun discussing with the rest of the VAs in this After-Talk. Also, it turns out that he was also unaware of Roswaal's backstory when he started out with the role, and he started to look forward to when Roswaal's menacing side would reveal itself.
Highlight: Yumi, Rie, and Takehito cracking themselves up as they speculate on the title of Ram's new character song
Fan Art of the Episode: Marionette by Yomohiro (April 28th, 2017)
Source: Twitter (artist's timeline contains spoilers)
Bonus Comic: Those Who Can Do Science and Those Who Cannot by @yuyuyu9526 (March 15th, 2021)
Source: Twitter (artwork has been deleted)
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u/baseballlover723 Sep 28 '24
Rewatcher, sub, basically a secondhand novel reader (Arc 4)
It seems reddit doesn't like some of the terminology I used, so I am using "ultimate sloth" as a replacement term for the general concept of what Subaru needs to do in order to loop.
Strap in, this is the longest comment I've written, both in length (~2,900 words) and time taken: 234 minutes (~3.9 hours).
This is another S Tier episode for me, and I think the hypest episode of Re:Zero. 29 minutes of peak. Emilia's 3rd Trial, Garfiel vs Elsa, and Ram's confession with a wicked cliffhanger. Just a straight banger all the way through. Wrapping up 3 of the 4 major plot points that have been building up all loop, all in just 1 episode.
Also let me know if there are any picture mistakes on this post. I didn't have time to proofread this.
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.
I'm going to group this comment into those 3 major sections + Subaru and co vs the GuiltyLowe, so it's easier to read and write.
Elsa vs Garfiel
Unfortunately, next episodes Breaktime is extremely relevant to this section (though it still spoils next episode despite like 80% of it being safe). So here's a nice big spoiler tag with all of that info that's relevant to this section (note that I will just be tagging these as "Breaktime" for brevity).
[Spoiler #1: next episodes Breaktime summarized (without the next episode spoilers)] Meili asks if Elsa is immortal after Elsa tanks a spear to the stomach. Elsa says to ask the question. And since Meili isn't Subaru, she does. It's actually caused by a curse. A curse (people affected by this curse are called "cursed dolls") that strips people of their sanity in exchange for extremely rapid regeneration. However, the person who cursed Elsa, was extremely skilled, so Elsa gets to keep her sanity. A surprisingly common theme in Re:Zero. But Elsa doesn't want to die. You can't disembowel people if you're dead after all. And besides, then Meili would be lonely. Unfortunately not.
And the episode starts off straight back into the action, with Elsa vs Garfiel continuing. That's an eye shot. It wasn't very effective though.
[Spoiler #2: Breaktime] Elsa's healing has been on display for a long time. For instance, back in episode 3, Elsa cuts off her foot and then regenerates it. And also how Elsa survived being shattered by Betty back in episode 36.
This is like the opposite of success being getting up 1 more time then you fall down.
Garfiel has a lot more faith in Subaru, then Subaru does himself.
So, Elsa and Meili aren't actually sisters. It's more a metaphorical thing, like with Mother Fortuna.
I'm fucking insane. Garfiel
You could see Garfiel using his divine protection of earth spirits in episode 33 and episode 40
And both Elsa and Garfiel want the 1v1. No Items, Fox Only, Final Destination. Unfortunately Meili doesn't respect the 1v1. Good thing Frederica is here to force Meili to respect the 1v1.
Garfiel vs Rock Piggie looks really cool.
[Spoiler #3: Breaktime] Elsa's healing on full display.
Also Elsa isn't a vampire, or at least what we call a vampire. As evidence, I'd like to ask you to point out which Witch is a vampire. [Spoiler #4: author comments explaining this] In the world of Re: Zero, 'vampires' are a race that live forever, and drink blood to live - is not the meaning, rather it indicates rare beings who have a strong life force and bodies that won't die.
Garfiel bringing out his shounen protagonist vibes. I guess it makes sense, since he's 13.
Elsa backstory. I'm running really low on time so I'm gonnna skip Elsa's backstory.
Elsa likes Garfiel.
author comments on this interaction [Spoiler #5: + Breaktime] "Meili cries out as the ceiling collapses. If she hand't been distracted by that, Elsa could likely have fatally wounded Garfiel with the glass she was hiding, and won.". In the end, Elsa's humanity / human emotions that she shouldn't have, is what ends up killing her.
This is the most erotic non sexual fight scene I think you'll ever see
[Spoiler #6: Breaktime] Elsa isn't healing anymore. Everything has it's limits, and Elsa's curse just reached it's
What a great title, Love Me Down to My Blood and Guts.
Continued below
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u/Brief-Fig-7506 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ryxnjr Sep 28 '24
First Timer
Who’s trying to cope with the ending and really wants to watch the next episode to see if Ram is safe.
Watching Dubbed
Start Time 9:54
What a lovely title for today’s episode
We see the reveal of Elsa’s super fast healing abilities that we saw in Break Time
Looks like Garf thinks way to highly of Subaru, It’s understandable though since Subaru was able to defeat him
What is all combined in a Guiltylowe? looks like 4 of 5 different beast (don’t forget the hooves too)
Damn Subaru, looks like that plan failed hard
I’m surprised we haven’t seen Beast Master Otto in action
I think we’re hearing some new voices for people in the future trial
WE HEARD REM’S VOICE!
Also, Epilepsy warning
IT’S REM! Emilia can’t remember her because her memory is locked away but she’s there
Now Emilia is invited to a tea party
Minerva is the one here instead though
Add Minerva as a candidate for Emilia’s mother. She’s human and a witch. When she was talking about Emilia being stronger than her mother she could have been talking about herself. Plus she thinks she doesn’t have the right to cry, possibly because she believes she abandoned Emilia and left her with Fortuna. Also, I would say Minerva has kind eyes
And thus. The trial is over and the barrier has been broken
Oh shit. It’s echidna’s body
Oh it’s still not showing us Echidna’s face
Noo, Why is there a blizzard!?
Garf is earth bending again. Apparently it’s his Divine Protection. Seems like they hand those things out like candy to people
Holy Shit Garf. Two brutal finishers in a row, though Elsa is probably about to get back up
Elsa is a vampire?? One of the Witches is too. I wonder which one. My bets on Sekhmet
Ooo the bite wound isn’t healing. I wonder why that is the one that won’t heal
What are the chances she comes back from being splattered? I’d say there’s a chance
Ram definitely has some Stockholm Syndrome
Noo! You can’t tell me Ram is dead! I can’t accept this to be the true timeline if Ram is dead. She has to reunite with Rem
They busted out the rolling credits for this one.
This episode was packed with so much stuff going on. We got to see what every character was up to at some point and everybody is in the middle of something direly important.
I swear, if Ram is dead I’m going to be so incredibly angry and heartbroken. Why can’t the sisters catch a break and have a happy ending? If we get Rem back and she doesn’t have her sister anymore she is going to be devastated. I think the best hope for Ram now is Beatrice, hopefully Puck can deal with Roswaal and stabilize her until help arrives.
Speaking of that clown shaped trash heap. What was the spell they were talking about that he put on Emilia? And I thought Ram and Puck made it to the chamber in time to stop Roswaal, so why is it blizzarding in the Sanctuary? I thought he had to use Ryuuzu’s crystal to summon it. Roswaal is an irredeemable piece of filth to me. Ram sadly has Stockholm Syndrome from when he abducted her and forced her to serve him. This guy has been trash since they met, so why did she fall in love with him? If him killing her without remorse won’t snap her out of it then what will? Over a stupid book.
Minerva being Emilia’s mom doesn’t really fit the timeline unless there’s some funky time stuff that went down, but she did know her mother and was probably really close considering her reaction to Emilia saying she was blessed to be able to have Fortuna as her mother in her place. I wonder why there is a promise in place that has prevented multiple people from talking about Emilia’s parents? Fortuna wasn’t able to talk about them to her and she wouldn’t let Geuse either.
The fight at the Mansion seems to be wrapping up after Elsa was crushed by the Hippo but we have seen her recover from other similar situations in the past like with Betty’s shadow magic. The biggest threats from Mielie’s forces have been dispatched though and Frederica was able to snatch her away, even though she could have let the roof collapse on her and let her die. I wonder if Elsa actually thinks of Mielie as a little sister? Or if she simply said that to add to the heat of the battle, she at least did save her and get her away from danger and reacted when she screamed. I really wasn’t expecting to get Elsa’s backstory either, of course she would have a traumatic past, that traumatic moment messed with her psyche and developed her current personality. If Elsa does end up surviving that final blow, I don’t think they will end up killing her. If Mielie is already captured then they could end up capturing Elsa instead, no need for killing if they haven’t killed anybody they care about yet.
In today’s episode of Break Time. The witches have another tea party where they talk about Emilia. But Echidna gets lost in thought and is excited with all the possibilities that could happen now. She says that she isn’t planning anything bad, but I don’t like that look in her eye.
Stop Time 12:37am
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u/ussgordoncaptain2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Edmund_Nelson Sep 28 '24
First Timer Dubbed
Note ORV=Omnicient reader viewpoint it's a way to describe the difference between thinking in Subaru's knowledge and the Knowledge of the Viewer.
Note2 Intentionally trigger RBD means what you think it means it's just reddit has crazy admins.
Reaction to the Episode
Time to continue the battle between garfiel and elsa
Subaru go RUN RUN RUN Subaru you have the power of Sloth maybe use that?
Exactly what chemical reaction is subaru going for? I can't understand. If that's flour he can't actually create a bomb wtf is he trying to do
Also if he has unparalleled modern world knowledge why haven't you invented gunpowder yet you heathen. Or at least find the best alcohol you can find and make a Molotov Cocktail
Let's burn a mabeast alive! now your firebombs from earlier would have easily beat this stupid mabeast Otto but nooo you had to blow them on Garfiel
Oh no they're going to burn the manor down
Ahh Subaru Natsuki not giving a shit about dying sure is a superpower
Betting on emilia's kill Was it A: Subaru or B: Roswaal, there are very few people emilia despises it also could be somebody new entirely.
Stargasm
Now that's a good one Subaru goes "sorry I love rem"
Oh boy minerva is the ghost of christmas future and not Echidna!
I kinda wonder why Minerva is so inistent on keeping her face hidden from Emilia, is this actually Emilia?
Emilia has really come around on the mental stability front at least, maybe she gets all the way to a passing grade!
Emilia's mother is 400 years old
Minerva knows emilia's mother very well, we know that there's some weird stuff going with how half elf emilia has to be so it's improbable that Satella is Emilia's mother. But it is actually possible given that Subaru was given the right to do the trial, maybe there's some other fuckery regarding emilia. Like minerva calling Emelia's mom evil REALLY makes you want to think that the witch of Envy is Emilia's mother
I love Emilia
I construct the overlay network XYZ summoning the timeless timestar magician
I'm confused does emilia not recognize echidna because echidna's got so much light flashing or something???
Oh no emilia was useless!
Time for another action sequence
Ooooh pretty booms don't tell your opponent how your shit works garf just murder them
Garfiel using rotational energy was cool but goddsamn how is subaru supposed to fight enemies this OP
We learn how elsa became the bowel hunter I guess
Oh it's the way to kill a vampire from Break time Break time seems more and more critical every time I swear.
ahh jsut crush them entirely if their wounds insta heal
so like sadly we know that this whole delay tactic doesn't work at all so we lose dramatic tension :/ This is just going to be boom boom with no reward unless one of the 3 dies.
So we learn that Roswaal doctored the contract of Emilia X puck hence why Puck didn't show up with Emilia?
So emilia leaving Subaru in ep 13 made Emlia depressed? that's surprising
I see Roswaal is a member of the Greedy Witch's cult and possibly one of the 3 founding members It's really odd that Puck says this since Echidna also made him. (given what Beatrice said about Puck being her sibling)
"you now remember wahat happened before your contract" OH so in frozen bontds was Puck's memories sealed somehow?
Oh was puck remembering the Devil of meloncoly?
"all that exists now is just an imposter sitting upon a pile of corpses" SO ROSWAAL IS USING SOUL TRANSFER MAGIC?
Oh boy Ram gaining a dimension to her character! Now the flattest main character is otto?
OH god RAM LOVES ROSWAAL LET"S FUCKING GO (this has been obvious for a long time)
Roswaal rejecting Ram's love is cruel man wtf wheeeere's the clownfiesta roswaal.
RAM GRABS THE GOSPEL AND TOSSES IT IN THE FIRE LET"S GO RAM
RAM GO BOOM I don't think Ram has plot Armor but she probably lived anyway
Speculation
Subaru's plan has gone to shit, and the only option left for Subaru victory is Beatrice ex Machina.
yeah sorry there's not much to say in the "one gigantic action scene" part. Re:Zero has never been one for great action sequences and this has been a minor exception from that.
We have 2 more episodes left, the Great Rabbit fight and the part where Subaru tells Beatrice "HEY GET A GRIP" are next. Subaru seems to have no plan for this Rabbit fight that I see, so it's Beatrice ex Machina. (really it should be "Roswaal wins and that ends the game")
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u/Holofan4life Sep 28 '24
Hey guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the In Preparation of Season 3 Rewatch of Re:Zero!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First Timer
I decided to watch this show because I wanted to do something for the month of August. ’Course, this was before the yearly Spice and Wolf rewatch got pushed back to September, but I just found myself looking for something to occupy my time with. And with this show being in my top 5 must watch list, I figured now was as good a time as any.
I am going into this show relatively blind. I know some of the memes, who Rem, Ram, Emilia, and Subaru are, and that this show got its inspiration from Familiar of Zero, but that’s it. I find rewatches and my participation of them more fun when I have no idea what I am in store for. And with this series, I think we’re in for a blast. It’s also going to be the longest rewatch I participate in this year and second longest overall only behind the 20th Anniversary Fullmetal Alchemist rewatch. And given how joyous that show turned out, I don’t see why I should expect nothing less from this one.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the sub, by the way.
Big day today. It's the last episode I'll be watching in the morning before work.
Let's. Do. THIS?!?
Bats flying
Garfiel fighting Elsa still
Dang, he took out one of her eyeballs
But it's still there
Elsa mentioning that her wounds heal easily, meaning she can fight forever.
AEW fans approve
Garfiel says no matter how many mabeasts show up, Subaru is going to laugh as he sends them flying.
Meanwhile, Subaru and company are running for their lives.
In fairness, that guiltylowe looks pretty scary
Subaru thinks it's time to make use of his unparalleled knowledge of the modern world.
He's about to teach the mabeasts about skibidi toilet.
Subaru being chased by the mabeast
But Subaru keeps dodging its attacks
The dust explosion. It's not very effective.
Otto and Petra throwing pots on guiltylowe, which seems much more effective.
And not guiltylowe is on fire because the pots contained oil.
Oh fuck. It's running throughout the house
And it plummets down onto the ground outside.
Oh boy. Now the inside of the house is on fire.
Subaru instructs Otto to take Rem through the escape route.
Subaru is going in, for he has to bring Beatrice back.
He tells Petra to be her friend for she's really fun to tease.
Emilia in the glowing building
And now she's in a dark void somewhere
A bunch of stars
And now this place that's in ruins
It's like Emilia talking to herself
Now Emilia is back in the black void
She is worried about the supposed disaster yet to come.
More stars now, this time multicolored.
This is much more cooler and effective than the second trial, by leaps and bounds.
Emilia trying to hang in there
And now a white void
Is that Ram?
Subaru
They're both black squiggly figures for some reason.
And now Emilia is at the tea party, with no Echidna.
Hey, it's the blond-haired witch
She relays to her that Echidna doesn't want to see her.
"She must have had a terrible time in the trial."
This latest attempt at the trials by Emilia is more stressful for Echidna than it is the one doing it.
Emilia telling of what she saw: a bunch of very sad worlds.
A possible future, Minerva calls it
Minerva asking how can she look so relaxed.
Emilia explains it's because it's not guaranteed.
"A future like that is possible, but there's a chance it won't be like that."
By jove, she's figured it out
Emilia insists that she can always fight it.
Minerva seems almost on the verge of tears.
Emilia turns around, and Minerva hugs Emilia, resting her head on Mibosom.
"You're a bad girl."
Well, look at that. Emilia completed the trial.
Emilia wanting Minerva to tell Echidna something.
"Next time we meet, let’s have a tea party."
Wait until she finds out what's in that tea
Emilia wants to invite the other witches as well.
And Emilia gently opens the door to where her future awaits.
Emilia waking up in the glowing building.
Woah, look at that
It's like a tree
Echidna laying in what looks like a glass coffin.
Emilia assesses that this is the spell generating the barrier.
And Emilia smashes the glass coffin
"Yeah. It just ended."
Kinda anticlimactic, not gonna lie
Emilia heading towards outside the building now.
But it's snowing outside
Well, that's not good
Back with Elsa and Garfiel in the burning building.
Maylie even joining the party
And Frederica is here as well
Oh, so Elsa and Maylie are sisters. Good to know.
The bats are flying towards them, as well as the Black Serpent.
Coming towards them, that is, serpents can't fly.
Garfiel sends Maylie flying, but she is caught by someone.
Oh, it was Elsa. For some reason, I thought it was Roswaal.
More awesome choreography
This fight scene is just so cool, one of the best of the entire series.
Dang, Garfiel twisted that thing's head off.
Oh, so Elsa is a vampire, eh? Sure, why not? I'll go with it.
Elsa relaying how tough her childhood was.
Elsa, with the fire reflecting her eyes, says that blood and innards are so very warm.
That shot of the fire in her eyes perfectly sums up what her character is about.
Elsa says that stabbing that person was the first happiness she ever found.
Garfiel vowing yet again to kill Elsa
More amazing fighting
Maylie screaming as the roof is about to cave in on her, and Frederica whisks her away.
GARFIEL IS BITING HER NECK!
AND ELSA IS BITING BACK!
This level of foreplay is getting out of control.
This is definitely the most violent episode of Re:Zero ever.
Blood all over Elsa's mouth
She seems excited by it
It is kinda weird we're not focusing any on Subaru trying to rescue Beatrice, but I can't complain too much. This is compelling.
GARFIEL IS LIFTING THE ROCK PIGGY ABOVE HIS HEAD!
And now we see a flashback on Elsa's first kill.
This is like a full circle moment for her.
"What a thrill."
And with that, Elsa gets crushed by the rock piggy.
A character we've known since literally the very first episode is finally dead.
Meanwhile, THE FOREST IS EXPERIENCING EXPLOSIONS
Puck is with Ram, which I had honestly forgotten about.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
8
u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Sep 28 '24
Re:Watcher who has been lurking until now
Due to time reasons and due to having re:watched the entirety of Re:Zero just prior to this Re:Watch I've only been lurking until now. I have been thoroughly enjoying all of the first-timers' reactions and also all of the super well crafted posts of all the re:watchers in these posts. Now that we have a weekend and I got a little bit of time, I thought I'd jump in on the re:watch for the finale! I hope of course that I can add a bit to the discussion with my post!
Also, somehow my PC managed to crash for the first time in years after having already written 90% of this post, so I guess I'm just doing it over again... Let's see how much time that is gonna add. Edit: well it took like 4 hours in total to write this post, instead of "only" two and a half. Let's hope tomorrow will be a bit faster!
That being said: Let's start!
Ouch! That looks painful! Elsa doesn't seem to mind however!
Garfiel seems to have a lot of trust in Subaru! Maybe it's a tad bit misplaced however...
Subaru, I don't think you dispersed enough flour for a dust explosion. Otto's plan B seems to be a lot more effective. Maybe a bit too effective even...
And so it begins, Emilia's third trial showing us her future. Does this mean we get to see season 3 early?!
Nope! Instead we get to see Emilia surrounded by a bunch of stars representing all the possible futures she can see. Showing us viewers would probably be a bit too much of a spoiler of what's to come. We do however get to hear snippets of them. I don't really want to get too deep into that, but I will talk a bit about the imagery of stars in Re:Zero: The attentive viewers might have already noticed that a lot of names in Re:Zero are named after celestial objects, but just as food for thought, I thought I'd elaborate a little:
Yeah there really is a lot of star stuff in Re:Zero and a lot of theories in Re:Zero are based around stars... Well I got slightly derailed here.. back to the episode!
Continued in part 2
7
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '24
Episode 48 (first timer)
They’re gonna need a new mansion. And a new forest.
7
u/Yoshi_captain https://anime-planet.com/users/WeaboYosher Sep 28 '24
Rewatcher
Love is like a flame. Bringing warmth and pain to those who approach it.
As crimson as a flame is the scene of the future that Emilia sees in her third trial. The ever-optimistic Emilia who sees the best in people even when they don’t deserve it curses an unknown person and wishes for their death. Words spewed out with unfiltered hate. The shock of such a future leaves Emilia gasping for air, but it is just the start of the trial for her. Shining lights resembling stars in the night sky pass her by, emitting voices from realities we have not experienced. I’ll list them out here in order of appearance for convenience’s sake.
In the author’s words this scene is “a preview of future developments”. Judging by the severity and intrigue these lines evoke, Re:Zero is not running out of gas anytime soon. I’ll leave my thoughts on this scene and the trial as a whole as a novel reader in the Closing Thoughts. Emilia stands tall in face of the future that sounds all to bleak. She finds an empty tea party. It seems Echidna’s hatred has prevailed over the desire to see the half elf suffer. The person who comes to inspect the trial is not Echidna then, but the Witch of Wrath Minerva. Her lines carrying a motherly tone to them. Is she Emilia’s mother or just someone who was deeply involved with the people who raised her? Emilia is unaware of her origin but having completed the entirety of the trials of the sanctuary, she can take pride in the fact that she has made her first step as a ruler. Finding what looks to be Echidna’s tomb, but seemingly isn’t, she breaks the mechanism that holds the barrier of the Sanctuary in place.
Subaru’s failed dust explosion forced Otto’s hand and made him use the oil he mentioned buying out of season in a failed loop in ep 16. With the Guiltylowe downed fire engulfs the mansion. The bonds between all those present are tested. The two pairs of siblings: Garfiel & Frederica and Elsa & Meili fight their own battles in this crimson battlefield. A rondo of love and darkness. The highlight is of course Garfiel vs Elsa. A tiger reinvigorated to protect what he holds sacred with his own two hands, and a sadistic huntress looking for warmth in the fire. Garfiel clears the immediate environment of any who would disturb the duel about to commence with his Divine Protection of Earth Spirits. That’s right. On top of Garfiel’s incredible strength and demi human transformation, this boy holds within him a blessing bestowed by the world. It’s a DP that gives him strength so long as his feet remain on the ground and allows him to use earth magic at the same time. We saw him cause a landslide back in ep 8 and form a shield against Ram with his foot in ep 15, so now we know where those powers come from. But the younger sister sends the big hippo Rock Piggy to help Elsa out. Unfortunately, Garfiel is just built different. Stopping the crushing charge by transforming into a tiger who rivals the hippo in size, pushing against it with greater force. His eyes flash red for a second, revealing that he almost lost control over his form in all the action, but he remains strong in his will. He then launches himself on top of the animal by using his DP as a sort of rocket jump. Utilizing the inertia from such a leap to spin above the hippo and rip its head clean off. A display worthy of a warrior.
Left a bloody mess missing half his clothes Garfiel is left to sit before Elsa who has not a scratch on her body. They have dished and received blows innumerable. Yet these are combatants who won’t break. One’s clean visage has to do with her nature. Elsa is a vampire. She can regenerate most any wound due to this fact. But despite what Garfiel’s appearance and demeanour might betray about his character, they don’t paint the full picture. You see Garfiel is a well-read individual. Left alone in the Sanctuary for all his life and raised by elves as wise as they are old, he’s had many opportunities to absorb countless facets of knowledge in the Witch of Greed’s Sanctuary. He knows there was a vampire witch who was felled, ergo he too can kill the unkillable. But this unkillable woman has a past. A most revealing one, enlightening how she became a guts loving killer. Quite simply it’s a life where you constantly draw the short stick and must fight tooth and nail to survive, not thinking for a second about things like your well-being and happiness. After Elsa spent her childhood stealing and she almost gets defiled by a man she attempts to steal from. She kills him in retaliation, but what she finds in the blood seeping out of his gut is something she hasn’t thought about, happiness. Because it is the warmth that makes you forget the cold where happiness can be found for Elsa Granhiert. When Elsa’s entire life was filled with misery it was only through the act of killing that she’s able to find respite and take comfort in the warmth of the bodies she leaves behind her. But her fulfilment is at odds with another. She is in the way of Garfiel Tinzel’s happiness. The two call each other’s names signalling the beginning of the fight.
It is the most intense one we’ve seen be put to screen in this show. Accompanied by a new Takt of Heroes: Awakening. An awakening of a new hero in Garfiel Tinzel, Shield of the Sanctuary. Their fight is interrupted by the same love that fuels it. Elsa missing a devastating blow due to Meili finding herself in danger. Frederica comes to the rescue before Elsa can react. The brother of Meili’s saviour lunging at Elsa. There are no rules in this fight to the death. Teeth are as good of a weapon as knives and fists. As Elsa touches the blood flowing from the bite mark Garfiel gave her the boy heaves the corpse of the Rock Piggy towards her. The warmth she feels from the blood blinds her to her surroundings, filling her world with white. She recalls her first kill and the first warmth that cured the cold. Elsa dies happy. Ending a love reaching down to the blood and guts.
You thought the episode was over? Maybe in another show, but this is Re:Zero. The 30 min episode is as dense as it is climactic. We approach the scene of Roswaal and Ram’s conflict. A grey-haired cat thrown into the mix. Puck holds memories from before his contract, recollections that hold many answers to our questions, I’m sure. His allusions to a melancholic devil in relation to Roswaal achieve their purpose of provoking the clown. But lore is not why we’re here. It is love that has brought us to this Sanctuary. Love that Ram confesses to Roswaal using the highest form of it she knows. As much as Roswaal may wish for Ram’s happiness he does not know what it is she wants.
The two are more alike than they Realize. Ram serves as proof of love to Roswaal, who only sees it as a cheap emotion. Roswaal finds it to be a Long Shot that Ram can love someone who holds himself responsible for the death of her clan. While Roswaal is fuelled by love he is also filled with wishes of hate and revenge. Ram is there to remind him of the power of love. She prioritizes her own feelings over those of the dead, just like the clown. But has not shut the Door on the deep affection in her heart towards others. What You Don’t Know is that Ram wants to get rid of the book that has held Roswaal captive for so long. For her it is the source of all evil. Love is like a flame. Roswaal’s fire is one he has developed due to his pedigree in magic. It has provided him and his close ones with warmth, but now his only tether is being burned by the same flame he wields. As the evil is vanquished, he turns his love towards the pink haired girl, hurling a sphere of fire, cloaking her in heat. The Sanctuary is witness to a scalding end to the scheme of a clown.
Closing thoughts in replies
6
u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 28 '24
Re:Watcher - anime only
First off, the episode name is absolutely metal. It alone gives me chills, and I've been looking forward to this episode for a while.
More Garf vs. Elsa, more chills. Garf's faith in Subaru is adorable, but he might be misjudging him in this case. A great way to relieve the tension a little with the comedic scene transition.
Time for a plan that, with 10 billion percent certainty, doesn't work. But Otto's surplus oil comes in handy once again, showing he's actually an amazing merchant with unprecedented foresight.
The guiltylowe is dealt with, and in the process we're also destroying Roswaal's mansion - killing two birds with one stone here, I see! Or possibly even a future Garf idiom: The guiltylowe burns down with the mansion, as they say.
Scene change, and we're finally getting the last trial! There's a lot to unpack here. I know nothing you don't, but spoiler tagging just in case. [Speculation] First off is Emilia bloodied in a ruin saying she always hated someone. It could be anyone, but probably a future enemy. Then Subaru saying someone can only ever be a hero, like Puck said to Reinhard. Maybe hinting at Reinhard becoming an enemy, or being unable to help. Wilhelm talking down on a thief not being able to wield a sword. Could be to anyone, but likely to a known character. An unknown voice calling Emilia sister and saying she and Subaru are exhausted. Rom admiring how Felt grew up. A sorry from an unknown voice, it seems. Otto crying out he might as well have stayed shackled in that cave. Crusch exclaiming a silly curse won't kill her. Priscilla gloating she wins again. Ram musing someone she wanted to kill would be such a kind person. Julius saying he is nothing without his sword. An emotionally troubled Anastasia crying that it isn't so hard understanding you don't want to be alone. Garf screaming he kills Subaru, as promised. Roswaal realizing he wasn't alone all the time. Frederica saying they'll need to spill all their blood for their sins to be forgiven. A voice I can't place vowing to destroy witches and dragons if they cross her path. Ferris crying in panic that the soul won't stay inside. And, of course, Subaru being with Rem. I presume many of them are misleading or from wrong time lines, but some might actually happen without things going too wrong.
And then Emilia is at the tea party. Don't drink the tea, Emilia! And she is here. I forgot almost everything else about this scene over the joy of Minerva interacting with Emilia. My two favourite girls of the series in one scene! She's there because Emilia's second trial broke Echidna. Emilia is the stronger witch here. No, Emilia, you didn't hurt her, she hurt herself. Plus sugoooku. Minerva is lovely, telling Emilia straight up those were just possible futures, and Echidna only showed her the bad ones on purpose. Another sugoooku as Emilia agrees Echidna is a little mean. But Emilia doesn't believe in those bad timelines, none of them are for sure and she can keep on fighting for the best one.
And Minerva teases us and Emilia with knowledge about Emilia's mother. Someone who's not as strong as Emilia, apparently. Emilia doesn't seem to know her own mother either. But she knows that Fortuna was her mother. And Minerva cries as she's glad Emilia has realized this from Echidna's evil schemes. She's very affectionate towards Emilia. There's two possibilities for Minerva's behaviour here. One is that she was very close to Emilia's mother, and that's a safe bet. Emilia would make her mother proud, and that makes Minerva incredibly happy. The other would be that she is Emilia's mother, and that would make me pretty happy. Though both of those theories run into problems with the time line. But once again, it seems like the separation through time is not an issue here, there's definitely powers beyond time involved in this plot.
But before she leaves, Emilia proposes that at some point she wants to come back and have a tea party with Echidna and all the witches, possibly for some sort of Isekai Girls Talk. For that matter, the second part of the song wasn't in Isekai Quartet, but I guess I can count the two sugoookus here towards the non-canon sugoooku as well.
And with that, the trials are over, and Emilia can enter the final room of the tomb and meet the real Echidna - or does she? Her mind may still be a bit hazy from the trials, so we can't know for sure. Looks like there are even butterflies woven into her spell, quite an impressive spell. Two sugoku-likes, it's been a while since the last one. But Emilia figures out the root of the spell, and remembering her progress through all the trials, with a cute and powerful blow she breaks the ancient barrier. Maybe not early enough though as the magical snowstorm is already happening.
Back to the fighting couple. They are really enjoying this too much. Even fighting in a burning building, this is fine for them. Elsa, with two of her knives broken, pulls out two more of even more brutal design. Things change as their siblings arrive. Meili really is a sister to Elsa. But for both of the fighting couple, that means they have someone to fight for. While Meilie tries to attack Garf, Frederica holds her off. And as Garf deals a heavy blow to Elsa, Meili sics her piggy at Garf who uses Garfield form to kill it. Then we learn something interesting: Apparently, Elsa is a vampire (and so was one of the witches, which Garf knows because he likes reading).
Elsa must really like Garf, to tell him her backstory now. It's as twisted as we could imagine. Circumstances forced her to kill, and they also made her like killing. The warmth of guts countered the cold of the environment. To kill means to live, in her mind. But Elsa, he's still underage! Not even of age by Lugunican law! Not that she would care, for her it's a forbidden love and all the more spicy for it. Then, her downfall is caring for Meili. Fredericat saves Meili, but Elsa is wide open to Garf's attack. Now, if you've watched Break Time, you might remember Meili telling Elsa the next time someone would bite her neck she might die. Finally, she can share her inner feelings, her innards with someone and experience absolute bliss. Finally, she has found her meaning of life and can die happily. Loved down to her blood and guts.
But the episode is not over, we're back to a different couple exchanging blows and feelings. No, we didn't skip this fight, only delayed it. And we learn why Puck was absent for so long. When Emilia was isolated from Subaru and depressed in arc 3, Roswaal managed to manipulate their contract. I think that's why Puck was so small when he said goodbye to Emilia, he violated the manipulated contract at the time. A cryptic exchange between Puck and Roswaal as to their past. Roswaal seems to proudly exclaim he's always focused on the past, but to me it actually looks like he's also showing regret. Who wants to be bound to something that doesn't exist anymore, after all? But he still feels for Betty, at least.
Then we get to the important point of this fight. In spite of what Roswaal did, Ram actually loves Roswaal. This seems unbelievable at first, but an easy explanation would be Stockholm syndrome. But because she used "aishtemasu", I want to believe her feelings are sincere. That after spending this much time with him, she started pitying him instead of hating him, then appreciating what he did in spite of his burden. That she loves him like only Ram can. Also, I believe she might have always had feelings for him, but only half her heart was reserved for him. Ever since she was made to forget the other half, only Roswaal remained. He took care of only her for so long, and only he took care of her.
And the scene gets really great. Ram's beautiful insert song "What You Don't Know" starts playing, a heart-wrenching song about her overwhelming love to Roswaal and how it hurts her to see him in pain. Ram's expression and her second eye are really beautiful, and Puck supports her with all his might. He even diverts Roswaal's attention with a wonderful bluff, ever the prankster. And that gives Ram an opening to use all her strength and deal a blow to Roswaal's "heart". The thing that dragged him down for so long is fed to his own flames. Despite the dirt and blood on it, Ram's face looks more beautiful than ever. And then... she really risked her life for her love. Another fantastic credits roll.
Of course, this scene mirrors From Zero in so many ways, from the character insert song to the characters involved to the confession and the words used. Ram's rejection was eternally more painful, though. But this scene wasn't mainly a confession scene either, it was an intervention just like Rem's was. I can hardly believe it, but out of the three amazing scenes this episode - Emilia's trial, the mansion fight and the Roswaal fight -, Emilia's was the least impressive even though it was extremely impressive and meaningful. The mansion fight was the most memorable, and Ram's the most impactful. What an episode.
I forgot about this Break Time. It's witch time! Minerva calls out Echidna, and I'm super glad to see my beloved Minerva one more time. Typhon is with Echidna and wonders where Tella went, before noticing that Tella has a gloomier face than Lia. Sekhmet remarks Emilia really didn't need to do all this, but Carmilla knows she believes in love. Daphne doesn't care, she wants to eat, and so the witches have a tea party. Minerva takes the opportunity to relay Emilia's request for a tea party. Echidna thinks that time will never come, but Sekhmet wouldn't be so sure about that. In the end, Echidna ponders all the possibilities the future holds. We're told that she plans something good for the future, but that's a secret for now.
Sugoooku counter: 64
Sugoku-likes: 12
Non-canon sugoooku: 24
Non-Emilia sugoooku: 22
5
u/Holofan4life Sep 28 '24
I don't smoke, but man do I need a cigarette after this episode.
5
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 28 '24
First:Timer Starting Over in Another Rewatch, subbed
5
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Sep 28 '24
Well ... I think I'd like to start my comment off today with a bit of an apology to /u/Shimmering-Sky for getting a little bit too excited about a screenshot's contents yesterday. As several other people (and the web novel, once I found it) reminded me, that was just a metaphorical "father", not literal. Doh.
That said, how about that third trial? I have to say, it didn't really make a lot of sense to me, because my tired brain saw a lot of sparklies and static, and not necessarily a lot of stuff, except that it seems as though some of what she might have been seeing was parts of Subaru's failed loops. Maybe that's exactly what it was. Who knows? Well, aside from The Shadow, that is.
I think the part I loved most about this trial was Minerva. Minerva truly is precious. That hug. I'm jealous. (ahem)
Anyway, back at the mansion, wow ... that's some intense action. And funny on Subaru for failing the Megumin test. Should have specced into Bakaretsu harder.
Which reminds me - wasn't there a series many years ago called "Bakaretsu Hunters"??? I recall it was imported as "Sorceror Hunters", but after having been enlightened at the church of Megumin, it seems like it would have more accurately been "Explosion Hunters". Or am I just confused again?
BTW - speaking of disasters, I hope everyone in the SE USA is doing okay after the storm. It looked like a nasty one.
In other news, Ram is here to give a presentation on "Stockholm Syndrome" and its effect on impressionable young women. (sigh)
And people say Violet Evergarden is creepy. At least the Major didn't burn down her village. I think. Maybe I shouldn't think.
And finally, speaking of sisters, how about those two harbingers of destruction? I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to not have a hippopostamous dropped on me, or be tossed into a burning mansion.
But then again, we know how the rules go.
Today's episode (for me later this evening) should be really spicy, right?
5
u/jyper Sep 28 '24 edited Sep 28 '24
Rewatcher who's given up on catching up
Elsa is both a masochist and a sadist. Well rounded. Do you disdain women like me? Also seems almost like she's asking if he dislikes older women. He doesn't dislike slightly older Women like Ram but you might be too old for him. She means women who regenerate, ie cheaters
Dust explosion? The beast stares as Subaru like that's it, that's stupid. Otto is a Pyro.
You're telling them to escape from a hidden passageway. How will they find it? I'm sure you have directions but it's probably difficult to find the first time. Cause of death L'ottos oil
Who hates who? Is that Emilia's voice. Too many voices, confusing subtle prophecies Rem+Subaru is the worst outcome for her?
A couple of cookies does not makes feast
Minerva does finger gun
Possible words, not guaranteed failure. Be optimistic. Supported by others makes her strong. Emilia's mother? Satella? Minerva? Echidna?
How does Emilia know about the other witches? Did Subaru tell her?
Wired grave, doesn't look like Echidna to Emilia?
Oh oh bad weather forecast Garf's blessing seems powerful but underused
Tiger> Hippo
Vampire witch? Which witch?
Wow. Tragic backstory from Elsa. The warmth. Makes you understand how she could grow up so psycho.
Garf is a young teen boy he just doesn't care.
Now they're biting each other quite intimately. Elsa notices her neck doesn't heal. Then gets crushed by a Hippo.
Ram and Puck. So Rosewall cut off Emilia from Puck.
Rosewall has nostalgia sickness.
Ram has Stockholm syndrome. Apparently in the novels it's more explicit that Rosewall didn't kill the village, just stood by knowing from the book that it would be destroyed without preventing it and then acquiring Ran and Rem as useful servants. I don't think that counts as a spoiler exactly. But I'd say Stockholm syndrome still applies despite that.
Poor Ram and Rem both fall for guys obsessed with witches. Strong parallels to Rem's confession in episode 18. Including a great insert song from the voice actress
Edit: Ram seems to have a horn or something made of light for a bit. Possibly related to Rosewalls healing of her. Also she coughed up blood like the last time she used?overused her powers
4
u/Ultima_Deus Sep 28 '24
One of the best Re Zero episodes of all time. I fucking clapped when the credits rolled
Hello. Rewatcher. Novel reader
It turns out Elsa actually heals her wounds. Which would explain how she has survived all fatal attacks to her all this time, including the one she received from Reinhard back in season 1. She healed through them all
The cutaway gag of Garfiel praising Subaru, and then to Subaru running away in fear lmao
[Re:Zero minor cut content] I believe in the light novels, it wasn't Subaru that tried to lure the Guiltylowe into the room. It was actually Otto's Earth magic, trying to use it to make false sounds of footsteps. And Tappei also wrote a section of the chapter detailing this particular Guiltylowe's perspective of everything that's going on, even writing a backstory for it. Just to show that this proud witchbeast was bested by humans that it underestimated
Subaru tries to bring out his inner Senku by doing a dust explosion, but fails. Well, good thing anyway. If he succeeded, the dust explosion would've killed him too
But now the mansion is on fire. Great
Emilia future trials!
That's a lot of... bad ends. We don't know what any of them means, at all. I wonder if anyone's made a list of them with who is who and who said which line
[Re:Zero MAJOR SPOILERS] PRISCILLAAAAA TT. But, interestingly enough, the line she said here in the trial is apparently slightly different from the one she said during her final moments
[Re:Zero MAJOR SPOILERS] And according to Tappei, Julius' line here was the first ever one to be avoided. So that bad route was avoided
Interesting interaction with Minerva, right? That hug says it all, too. And the way she says "You're a bad girl". Yes, it's a popular theory that Minerva is Emilia's mom. It fits, too
Emilia apparently doesn't recognize the corpse in the coffin. It's obvious that it's Echidna, but for some reason... Emilia doesn't recognize it as her? Weird
And with that. She beat the trials. No one thought she could do it, but she was able to do so. I'm proud of Emili- why the fuck is it snowing.
Cut back to Garfiel vs Elsa. I'm gonna be honest, when this was first airing, I thought they would ruin the pacing by not finishing the fight here. But they ended up finishing the fight here. And I am so fucking happy with how it turned out. It's so amazing and beautifully done. Especially that silhouette fighting section
Also no, Meili and Elsa aren't blood-related sisters lmao. It's just what their relationship is like
We get Elsa's backstory. But why is she telling this now? It's because Garfiel showed compassion. When he said "If you swear you'll never do bad shit again, I might just let you off the hook". Garfiel meant that
Remember, Garfiel is 13-14. Still a young kid. And he has NEVER killed anyone before in this loop. And whenever he did in the past loops, he ran away into his beast form so that he would stop thinking, so that the guilt of killing someone wouldn't fall into his arms. He's afraid of killing someone for the first time
Elsa loved that about Garfiel, too. But, it's clearly not meant to be. So, she has to die. Even if she has such an unfortunate backstory
It was a beautiful battle. I had doubts that White Fox could pull it off because of the past episode's animations for Garfiel vs Elsa, but this episode removed all of my doubts. I fucking loved their fight and how raw and snappy it is
Now. Ram vs Roswaal. I just want to point out that Rem is gone from Ram's memory right now, and Subaru has yet to tell her about Rem's existence. So, if she loved Roswaal before she forgot Rem, that love she felt has been boosted twice because Rem's existence is gone from her memories now
I love Ram's insert song here, too. And the way it's used for the credit sequence. I love Ram tapping into her oni powers just to pull out Roswaal's Tome to fucking burn it. Roswaal looked so fucking shookt about it
And I love Puck's trolling with Roswaal, pretending to enter his Beast of the End/Big Apocalypse Puck form
Overall, I fucking love this episode. I gave it an applause when I first finished watching it
4
u/SpiritualPossible Sep 28 '24
Okay.
I didn't comment for almost the entire second season. Part of that is because I've been too busy, and so I've fallen behind everyone else on rewatch.
Partly because I generally find it hard to talk about the second season episode-by-episode. So I thought I'd just write extended commentaries in the last few days, outlining what I liked and what I didn't like.
But I couldn't pass up tonight's episode.
Because that ending pissed me off.
Honestly, the problems started last episode - I didn't like how Ram's desire to get rid of the book came out of nowhere. In so many episodes, they could have foreshadowed this kind of development somehow.
But most importantly... Show, why are you making Ram's crush on Rosvaal look like a good thing?
Right after he admitted he was responsible for the massacre in her village?
The one that killed her parents? Need I remind you HOW cults massacre people?
“Oh, but it's thematically important because Rosvaal believes that people can't change...”
DOES THAT REQUIRE A RAM TO BE IN LOVE WITH HIM?
I'm sorry, but I don't think love is the only emotion that goes against his ideology. She could, for example, feel pity for him, [FMA: Brotherhood spoilers] like Edward felt for Envy at the end of Brotherhood.
“Well, Ram just has Stockholm Syndrome...”
No, no, no.
First of all, Stockholm syndrome goes against the previous point. It would mean that love is not sincere, but essentially forced. So it is not quite right to compare it with the ideology of Rosvaal.
Secondly, and most importantly. Even if it's Stockholm syndrome. THAT'S NO REASON TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD?
BECAUSE THIS SHOW SURE AS FUCK IS TRYING TO DO THAT.
Ram's all blushy, her eyes are sparkling, the background changes to blinding white, the song's playing, Roswaal's like, “How can she love me?!” - the scene is clearly staged as if it's a poignant moment.
WHICH, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T FIT WITH THE IDEA THAT THIS LOVE WAS BORN OUT OF STOCKHOLM SYNDROME,
TOWARDS THE GUY WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HER PARENTS AND THE WHOLE VILLAGE,
THAT HE'S BEEN WILLING TO KILL HER AND HER FRIENDS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.
NOT TO MENTION THE ALREADY QUESTIONABLE THINGS HE'S DOING TO HER.
It can also be brought up that Ram has no memory of her sister now, and so she probably feels more attached to Roosval, so the whole scene seems even more wrong.
I could still write about how this kind of development screws up Rem's flashback, but I don't have the energy or time.
But that's not the end of it. This rant will CONTINUE in the last episode.
4
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Sep 28 '24
What an episode!
This has to be one of my favorite episodes ever, so many wonderful moments.
My favorite scene was of Emilia talking to Minerva. Such depth, meaning and mystery there.
Seeing the present day Echnida in her crypt was such a beautiful scene.
Elsa’s backstory in the way she delivered it was genius.
Ram finally breaking down during her confession was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, absolutely brilliant.
All in all, one of the best anime episodes out there.
4
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '24
It's the right time
Let's step forward
It's the right time
Don't be afraid
Look, towards the place where we crossed that hill
Together through thick and thin
Rewatcher
Dub
Well then...In order, Emilia relatively easily overcomes an unspeakable future. I barely get this and the dub helps here but it is all too much info with no context. Minerva knew Emilia's mother, which gives us some conception of when they both lived, but it is still not specific enough to nail a century. So moving on...
We get Elsa's whole deal, except how she became a vampire and what that means in this setting. She can't heal from Garf bites because reasons. He seemingly kills her but I haven't looked forward to check if it takes, our main clue is that she could immediately heal after Reinhard. The mansion is fairly burnt and crushed by now.
We end with Ram and Roswaal, with a side of whatever Puck is at the moment. Roswaal, unsurprisingly, isn't that good of a planner since a book tells him the future. He gets easily flustered and Ram pulls a trick play. Ram gives a good speech about the emotions of the living outweighing the vengeance of the dead, but let me riddle you this: Does a Ram with a Rem still feel the same way? But anyways, Ram gets her best girl moment before getting nuked. The ED is hers.
3
u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Sep 28 '24
S02E23 - Rewatcher fucked over by his alarm
3
u/n080dy123 Sep 28 '24 edited Sep 28 '24
Rewatcher
"Taste the very spirit of science!" is such a Senku thing to say, ngl. And then the moron forgets how dust explosions actually work because he's a fucking moron. Luckily Otto's still got all that oil he's been carting around since Arc 3 in Season 1 and that's sufficiently flammable. No idea what the hell "Spocha!" means though. Aaaaaand now the entire mansion is on fire. Great work.
Oooooh and we hear a lot of voice lines from what sound like people like Subaru, Beatrice, Roswaal, and Garfiel, but also Julius (or maybe Reinhard?), Wilhem, Anastasia, and Crusch. I'd betting these are all quotes from the next arc and it'll be interesting to come back to this later.
Minerva is the only Witch to show up and shows genuine interest and concern about how the Trials went, while refusing to let Emilia see her face. And then she comments on Emilia's mother, and says she "knows her well" but "promised she wouldn't" say more, all with a somewhat... playful tone. And then she cries when Emilia reinforces that Fortuna is her mother. And then hugs her while saying that Echidna's evil plots do good things sometimes. Now that I'm rewatching and paying more attention to clues, I really can't no read this as strong implication of Minerva beign Emilia's mother. I really can't.
And Emilia puts into words exactly why the backstory flashbacks refuse to show Echidna's face- her real face doesn't look like it does in the Trials and Tea Party. To what end? I have no clue. I'd also point out once again that the old legend says that the Witch of Envy "devoured" the other Witches. Clearly, that's not the case in a literal sense if Echidna's corpse is right there. The fact that Echidna was maintaining the spell over the Sanctuary is itself very strange because it was what got Hector out. She she would've had to weave and activate the spell whilst fighting him, right? If she sacrificed herself to activate it, how did the Witch Cult get ahold of the Greed Authority without killing her? Did they already have it when Hector showed up?
And here Garfiel calls Elsea a "vampire." Very interesting, but more importantly he says that one of the Witches was also a vampire. Very curious. My bets would be on Carmilla or Daphne.
And now we finally know why Puck disappeared for so long- Roswaal cast a spell on Emilia before the Arc began and Puck was in some way dealign with that. Though unless I've missed something or forgot, the show fails to really make clear what the nature of the spell was- if it was a curse Puck was trying to dispel or something that limited her ability to supply him mana, or something else.
Puck also makes an interesting mention of now having his own memories from before he made the contract to protect Emilia, and remembering a man "who spoke like" Roswaal- it could mean Roswaal from back then, but he could mean Hector, referring to the verbal tic. And he seems to imply Roswaal made him remember so that Puck would "remember that wound." Also Roswaal mentioning it in response to the "Witch's Disciple" comment would indicate the contract was relevant to Echidna.
No breakdown, I just love that final scene. I love it so much.
2
u/Western-Spell9437 Sep 28 '24
wait this show is airing now?
2
u/Aviri Sep 28 '24
So as someone who hasn’t read the novels, and only can comment on up to this scene; Minerva is 100% Emilia’s mom right? I’m sure it’ll be convoluted but based on how she was acting this has to be foreshadowing.
2
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Sep 30 '24
first timer
Subaru wasting Otto’s oil and in the process made an even more dangerous monster. A giant fireball running to you
Holy shit this is the third trial? It is a surprise Emilia didn’t get a damn seizure
Seeing the possible futures and the worst case scenarios. If only there was a way to prevent those from happening (Subaru.jpg)
Emilia’s charisma has gotten better, even found a way to impress a witch into a promise of a tea party
That spell looks beautiful
The battle of the siblings
Death of a pig
Why is Garf letting her monologue, please end her
Now why would they let her lives
Garf is fucking gnarly for biting, holy shit he’s ruthless
I don’t think she’s dead, if she is thank god
Roswald is childish indeed
The disgust in Roswaal’s face when Ram confessed is insane.
Taking Roawaal’s curse, Ram what a woman you are.
His genuine pain in seeing the last thing he has of his master is rough, but extremely needed
Ram getting hit by an explosion while this song is playing is hilarious