Behold an unthinkable present I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesnt even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesnt even matter In the End by Linkin Park A fool thinks himself to be wise but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. William Shakespeare Grief trauma sacrifice burden despair depersonalization and perseverance. This is what the dark and harsh reality of Re: Zero calls to wake Subaru up from his blind confidence and optimism before the light of hope and darkness of despair. It is a charm of suffering with a vicious substance in the depth of loneliness. The world with shine and gloom bestows ones fate to realize before his eyes and crawl through the walls of fear. The horror of solitude craves him to curb his fancy by the answer of truth. With answers and consequences what fate will judge Subaru according to his deeds? With his weak yet immortal ability called Return By Death Subaru must determine if his hope will either remain him standing or cripple him out till the corner of despair. Lost in the new world he found his hope to grasp away from the solitude and build up with his smiles and plays as Emilia and others share the bond together. He truly wants to save his friends and comrades to stay away or fight through it but his fanciful determination will result either in miracle or collapse. His ability considers as a reset button to move forward through a solitary phenomenon for altering his fate and judgment however the price of it such as others forgetfulness because of dimensional hopping and the restriction to expose his truth behind the curtain by himself is intensely flawed delivering the chance for an alternative resolution within the plot as if he acquitted himself for cleansing his own sins. Tappei did an outstanding job at applying the Law of Equivalent Exchange to his ability especially his weak physicality making it a simple yet intense thrill to catch the audience away from its boredom of perfection. The suspense is masterful and consistent based on every context which makes Re:Zero intriguing to let more fans craft more theories and questions as a layer of curious engagement. Moreover his character means to be morally gray as he doesnt look at the other side easily which means he can be once a foolish and casual person like us to aggress somebody to those who might threaten him or not. He has his own priority flaws pride ways of resolve and love for Emilia as his knight in shining armor personality drives him to be whoever he is. He can cry as a wimpy bastard or a tryhard hero of himself but his determination grasps it ever since he had been gradually developing by chasing his grit even further with alternative resolution. Through his behavioral process he manages to be casual without forcing himself to be an uninvited guest in front of a pillar of society. Thats what makes Subaru a human person and a true knight not his own heroic and fanciful delusions which most people like Ram Priscilla and Julius despised him for his amateur overconfidence by his selfimportance back from the prequel of this anime adaptation. He manages his personality to be uptight and miserable however Rem volunteers to be as one whom Subaru will vent out his drastic feeling that flows within him as the time of Episode 18 snaps him out despite resulting in an expected rejection. His vulnerability strikes him to grasp his confidence but his lack of selfesteem asserts the reason for his failure. For now he frequently realizes that the world itself doesnt fulfill his fanciful wishes to become reality at all which fate matters based on the context he made in the first place. It only works if the ethical standard has been met and then Subaru will come for the rest. Hence he is a wellwritten character. He consistently had gone through the process of DunningKruger effect in a psychological sense based on his character from the midway of Season 1 and right now were still looking forward to its next level. I mean this second season. From the reference of DunningKruger effect to the extent of Subarus Peak of Stupidity till his Valley of Despair in the first season the second season will project about his Slope of Enlightenment through the Trial of Sanctuary by Echidnas lost soul. It tackles more about the diversity of its gloomy atmosphere. The mechanism of reality with unawareness of difference is crucially perilous. Without facing it there will be no point to gain the courage against others with dreadful courage and competence. Compared to most isekai series Re:Zero subverts the common trope into its substantial value for achieving the unique message and formulating the setting to an authentic extent. The overarching plot has been connected and the premise of this series becomes more lucid. Most characters are compelling to provide their own ideals based on the contextual background and there are little to no nonsensical tropes to be presented in a big picture. There are also new characters being set up to their motive creating its thickness of plot development and some side characters are wellreserved for their own plot progression. Most of them arent just here to boost Subarus morale they usually have their own priority which provides the importance of their livelihood as the role of themselves and society. Sometimes can be friendly and sometimes can be contradictory. The power of friendship trope is well done with proper foundation of each others relationship as if most students are sometimes doubting each other for some tentative reasons. They have their own stories which affect how they have been nurtured ever since behind Subarus back making them relevant in most cases. With proper consistency it is understandable for audiences to pique their curiosity and craft more hypotheses based on the observation throughout every significant scene. The slow pacing of this season did a great job of building up more worldbuilding character interaction and lore for serving the premise to its promising level as the plot thickens further with multiple ways to ensure and stabilize the core theme of the story into a complex understanding of every fundamentals in a gradual manner however there are some scenes that are rushed yet sensible to assert its foundation. The story is written in ThirdLimited narrative style which Subaru always owns the spotlight of Re: Zeros main storyline and the narrative standpoint matches it up to deliver both contextual factors of shock and suspense. The plot follows in dimensionalhopping theory which most audiences think this is a timetravelling series hence it laughs me off whenever I mostly hear of its misconceptions. It fleshes out the message of the story and the concept of Subarus purpose and development for living in another world especially Episode 4 which it also fills the space for making its premise to be more purposeful and adds the mystery or any substantial details on why Subaru was sent to this world to begin with. It also molds Subarus selfreflection during the time in his original world for projecting more leniency and understanding about his own character. The poignancy within Season 2 encapsulates and expands all the underlying feelings Subaru had before. There are a lot of minor details that have foreshadowed for the future occurrence within a big picture and there will be more twists to come if you pay close attention to every little detail. These perceptible details throughout the series significantly matter the most for the plot progression to be understandable and connecting each plot point with sensible pictures is worth engaging to liven the audiences up in a mindblowing extent. Moreover the story puts so many obstacles and chilling aura as Subaru will face against the odds for his objective to pass the trial and deactivate the barrier of the Sanctuary. As a LN reader I really hope this Arc 4 will give a proper and consistent adaptation since this is the best arc among the rest and it did however there are some slight chances which disappoints me for a bit. Particularly the animation quality and cut contents clouds me to clench my fist for a while however I dont care about it since Im all up for this beautiful and eerie story of a psychological drama and thrill in a visual manner because the rollercoaster is on the way. It also reminds me that they might cut some LN contents to avoid an excessive level of exposition dumps and instead the anime adaptation prioritizes more into Show dont tell rule or in other cases Show and tell rule. There are also some episodes with dialogueheavy standards but it is essential and relevant to its case for building up more consistency and adding the layers of intensity and progression with more directional questions as the anime provides more exploration with subtle explanation. The orchestral music hits the thespian or gloomy vibes with a phenomenal melody which enthralls more transverse atmosphere as it pleases our ears to render its theme with consistency. The symbolizing beats are presented well with contextual deliverance. It signals perfectly to every characters tone as it builds up more aura and meaningfulness around them. Each scene comprises its suitable meaning which it brings more vigor to express the stimulation between fear and courage. However I despise that they mostly havent provided the time for opening and ending song to present within every episode yet it also exchanges with more lengthy minutes to catch up the writing size into an essential and almost absolute extent for recognizing the plot progression into a comprehensible standard. Lengthwise it is appreciative to offer each episode with significant impact by providing more projection to adapt. In regards to the character section please be aware of spoilers because I might go detailed for this. WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT At first Frederica is introduced to be a new or rather a recurring maid as she formerly served Roswaal before the time of Rams duty. Her gentle personality has shown and explained about her professional experience of being Roswaals former and latter maid so it suits her to be a person with decent help as a maid herself. Since there is an effect to forget someones existence it also affects Roswaal to hire two maids especially Petra. She also establishes a significance about her own character as she trains Petra to be a proper maid and also swear herself by the letter that she only got in her own hands as a hidden background about her which we will get to know more about her later in the second cour. The twist of events is clear and connected between Rems occurrence and the purpose of their introduction hence its understandable. However one problem in dialoguewise for example is Petras inappropriate response which triggers something abrupt to progress the story in a silly way. Whenever I see her I always cringe when she often baffles me and other compelling characters with awkward moments throughout every scene nevertheless I dont hate her since she is a kid with potential. There is also another new character being introduced with relation to Frederica called Garfiel. Compared to Frederica his older sibling Garfiel appears to be a barbarous yet friendly character with strong finesse to begin with. At first he remains intact and rational to the fact that he slightly cares for other people especially Arlam Refugees to have their sojourn. However because of many loops from Subarus deeds he alters his behavior to assault Subaru and his other supporters/Arlam Refugees because he senses an outgrown miasma throughout Subarus aura dictating that he will protect the Sanctuary at all cost. He surely has his own deeds and priority with Ryuzu Shimas help to establish his significance as a side character who will put himself as an obstacle against Subarus odds making himself relevant to this case. On the other hand Otto has the support for Subaru Emilia and the rest of Arlam Refugees. He has the role to provide them with transportation but its not just for that. He also has more responsibility to build more wholesome interaction with Subaru and Garfiel ensuring himself that he will be in a great place for them especially Otto saves and impresses Subaru with his timid humor and personality. However Ottos wholesome development has been wasted and paid by Subarus death loops to alter his destiny for a greater cause but it doesnt mean for him to be just a neglected accessory to Subarus eyes since Subaru himself wants to hide his burden and lift it up by himself. For now he has a good potential to be a prominent character and I hope the second cour will give him more screentime to showcase his significant greatness by helping Subaru out and determining himself to develop out of his comfort zone of timidity. Roswaal has revealed his importance and plot progression for serving his purpose with the Gospel which also has it with Beatrice uncovering their agency behind them. Surely they have a longtime relationship between both of them since they have been residing within the mansion for a long time and the context makes sense as it is according to the plan. Beatrice however has some share of problems with Subaru about her supposed role which clouds her from being isolated. How she conveys her emotional confrontation with Subaru grasps her outstanding chance to vent out her feeling of solitude within her own comfort zone conserving it to build up more layers about her for the potential development. Beatrice also represents herself as a hermit which makes her an intriguing and realistic symbol of an isolated persona. Similar to Ottos case of development she can be a suitable candidate for that as well looking forward to getting out of her comfort zone. Echidna is also introduced as the Witch of Greed and a transcendental character by letting Subaru enter the Castle of Dreams. Her cold yet charmprovoking personality shines her gloomy aura to be a likeable and knowledgeable character as if she perceives logic through emotions just as she provides Subaru to confront his own past through his memories for his selfreflection. Her mild support to Subaru by his reminiscence helps the audience to know more about his character and build up a connection between the fantasy and the reality which makes Episode 4 so special to our own eyes. However Echidna knows her own goal behind Subarus back and stabs it as she teases his intuition with her plan. Her sham and manipulative exaggeration hits the bullseye towards Subarus heart which surprises me by her deceiving plan as her blackhearted aura impresses me more. Her greed and love for knowledge is intelligible. Her sense of hatred and dark humor conveys well and well see more about it. Thus I really love her pride and competence of being the Witch of Greed which gives an impact of her neutral strength. Hence shes my favorite character. The rest of Witches have their unique characteristic based on their respective symbols. However one of them doesnt properly present their substance such as Minervas obnoxious personality and yet the charm of it is still there. The message delivers well to show how Subaru is judged by his own flawed nature and deeds especially Typhon who projects Subarus sin within the depth of his inner core as being a good guy doesnt mean to be truly a sinner. Each of their metaphors are simply considerable with their perceptible charm. Furthermore we get to know more about Satella who isnt entirely a villain character whom we thought to be and her selfconflict is a minor point to recognize the value behind something we cant see. Meanwhile Elsa has reappeared once again to achieve her goal by putting herself before Subaru and his friends as their obstacle making herself as a wellreserved antagonist. From the prequel we can understand that her goal failed to achieve Emilias badge as she retreated from Reinhards abrupt help however this second season made a reservation for her to reveal her Plan B in a hidden manner. We really dont know her motives behind the curtain yet but the second cour will open the curtain for more explanation in a suitable time. Meili Potroute is also reintroduced as a hostile character alongside Elsa and a minor detail from Season 1 makes a plot twist understandable when you pay close attention to it. Her introduction in scenewise however feels boring yet equitable to play her own part. Its grueling for Subaru to learn from his mistakes and face against the odds as he needs a harsh and gradual realization for his endurance against his obstacles before his eyes. I know hell is what creates his words for him to act and that hell is a laudable metaphor to describe his clasp of strength for shouldering the burden and moving forward despite its vicious outcome. The heavy impact throughout his experiences is understandable which in return most audiences can connect their empathy with Subaru conveying more concerns regarding his own concerns. He has a lot of aims to set and stand by himself up for persevering through many ways to alter his fate against itself. He plays the puzzles in which one or multiple moves will tear him down into pieces if he stumbles on the wrong floor welcoming him to the pit of despair. If not then there will be a light of hope awaiting towards the end of Sanctuary. Because in the end the only way for Subaru to fix the situation is to fix himself. Meanwhile Emilia will also face the trial by facing her tragic past that is still behind the curtains yet. For this season we finally see her worthwhile flaw from being a perfect girl. Its twisted helplessness cripples her pragmatic mind in a discordant extent from bearing what comes before her as if she has been taking a lot of Math exams and being overly preoccupied by her restless yet twisted cloud of effort. Her uncontrolled state gives the impact to pull her away from blind of kindness. There is no world where we can escape that loneliness without changing the core. SPOILERS END In regards to animation there are some episodes especially Episode 6 and 12 which have rigid proportions and movements as if some animators have a hard time rendering the sketches due to some bit of miscommunication amid the quarantine period. This is one of a problematic category which slightly baffles me to enjoy less than the quality in Season 1. Some erroneous frames and CGI renditions can be noticeable for most audiences to identify its upsetting quality. Whenever I rewatch these scenes Id rather grab my dumbbells and do the squats to sweat out my frustration and Im not also the type who will just cross my eyes and say Fine. Nonetheless its still fine if the adaptation is faithfully welldone which it is truly as it is. Overall this anime adaptation has exceptional results to capture its aesthetic value to a further extent. As Season 1 delivers some weak conclusions within the second half the first cour of Season 2 provides a high slope of twist to let the audience rise for an engaging rollercoaster ride. Oh boy It punches right through the feels with sensible foundation as this show serves like a dark chocolate with 25 of sweetness. The worldbuilding here is excellent as it builds up more atmosphere into a thematic balance between light and dark. Re: Zero is packed with epitome of suffering perseverance for truth and doubts horror of loneliness and substantial depth of selfreflection through the mastery of melodrama with contextual deliverance. Forcing Subaru to confront the consequences of his many deaths is a masterstroke for the series even before you consider the terrifying and heart wrenching way in which it was delivered. While Re:Zero is great at genuine horror and gore it is in the psychological terror that this show truly shines. I can safely say that it deserves more acclaim because this season fills up more layers from what it lacks in Season 1 and it has fulfilled the promise. All I do right now is to sit back and relax to enjoy my smiles and frowns while connecting myself through its excellent narration with indulgence of an outstanding cliffhanger. If there will be a single teaser for Season 3 adaptation I will moan and cry for it. Hence its my alltime favorite anime. This show is highly recommendable if you already have watched Season 1. As the first cour offers more questions will the second cour answer them? To be continued in Winter 2021