Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

I don't have any writing talent, so i won't try to make a long-ass review, anyway - if you ever considered watching this anime, do it now.

It has been recommended for me by at least 3 people and i started watching it because i didn't have anything better to do.
Now it's my #1 favorite of all time, the story is great, the music is very climatic and everything else is almost perfect.
The only thing i can complain about is some characters.
Like, not their character, but rather appearence, mainly Felis and Beatrice, otherwise they're fine.

Anyway, best anime 2016, go watch it, kthxbye

First of all before watching Re Zero i never actually read the web novels that preceded the series so the first time that i encountered the story, setting and characters was by watching the anime itself.

Now lets get started.

The story for Re zero revolves around the character of Subaru being summoned to an alternate world from the modern world that he had resided in. This kind of story is a common enough theme having been started by series like SAO.

The character of Subaru is the main character of this anime .
Subaru is your typical teenager and shut in that only cares ... about himself and thinks nothing of others. Subaru's character changes a lot as the series progresses so much in fact that it's surprises me enough times whenever it happens. This is affected by his love for the main Heroine of Emilia.

In the beginning after Subaru encounters and befriends Emilia his attempts to impress her was funny but not that wise. This was his first personality. Gradually as he encounters and befriends more and more characters his personality changes and he shreds many of the weaknesses that his personality had and becomes braver, nicer and smarter and by the end of the series becomes a somewhat able combatant.

Subaru's unique trait however is his unique ability which while sounding silly was actually quite remarkable and in my opinion really suitable for him. Unfortunately the series does not do a good enough job in explaining why and how he got this power. Another season will probably be able explain this.

Emilia is the main heroine of the series and having seen a lot of animes since i started watching them she has to be the most gorgeous female character i ever seen. Emilia unlike Subaru is not completely defenseless in a fight as she is a mage and a rare type of one as well. Personality wise Emilia is always willing to help those in need even when it will be easier to just let them be. This is exactly how she met Subaru in the first place lol.
Her attempts at explaining why she does so despite not getting anything back in return always puts a smile to my face every time i hear her excuses.

As a character and for the purpose of the story Emilia acts as the main love interest as a well as a motivation for him to survive. In this Emilia functioned pretty well as her personality and cuteness makes her both endearing and lovable. Because of this Emilia fast become one of my fav characters in the anime.

Rem and her sister Ram are both servants of the lord that sponsors Emilia for the leadership succession race that forms the second arc of the anime. Both work as maids and bodyguards to the lord and to Emilia at the mansion that she lives in. Rem is featured far more than her sister Ram and can actually be considered the second heroine of the series. While they have a normal relationship with Emilia their relationship with Subaru is the highlight. The relationship between Rem and Subaru changes a lot over the series and especially so after a major event that those that seen the anime would know. The interactions between the two changed after this and though i always shipped Emilia and Subaru a part of me actually wished for Rem to be with him instead such was how sweet they were together.
In this Rem's seiyuu Inori Minase deserves no small amount of praise as she portrayed Rem's character and personality flawlessly.

Beatrice is a mage that serves the lord that supports Emilia's claim to the throne. At first Beatrice did not have the best relationship with Subaru but as ever this changed during the series.
I really liked her character as Beatrice spoke in a funny accent and yet she had a determination to protect Subaru that she sees as something akin to a friend despite the fact that she will never admit this to him.

Re Zero's story is another of the anime's strong points and it follows a standard three arc storyline . The story in Re zero is actually pretty straightforward and is relatively easy to understand and follow. Each arc introduces plenty of new main and support characters. Each of the story arcs are intermingled with each other pretty well. Out of the story arcs the succession arc and the witch cult arc was my favorite ones.

The art and animation for Re zero was some of the best that i ever seen and i would say its something that is to be expected in a triple A anime like this. The character designs were well designed and i though that each character was well designed.

The music for the anime was pretty good especially the opening and ending themes. The individual scene music was also good and was appropriate for the scenes that it was used in. In particular i enjoyed the insert songs that were featured near the end of the third arc and i have to say that Inori Minase is a capable singer in addition to being a amazing Seiyuu.

One thing that i like about Re zero is the sheer number of characters that feature in it both main and support.

Anyone that has seen the anime will no doubt have their own fav characters but for me mine will have to be Subaru, Emilia, Rem, Felt, Crusch, Wilhelm and Beatrice. Additionally the character of Theresia who was Wilhelms wife and though only a guest star was also a great character in small part due to her personality who was portrayed by the seiyuu Minami Takahashi of food wars fame.

Voice acting for the anime was top notch featuring equal numbers of veterans like Mamiko Noto who portrays the killer Elsa to relatively new seiyuu's like Emilia's seiyuu Rin Takahashi and Rem's seiyuu Inori Minase.

In conclusion RE Zero was a fantastic anime that had a combination of a fantastic story, excellent characters and excellent voice acting from some of Japans best and up and coming seiyuu's. This was definitely one of this years best anime and i can't praise it enough.

As you may guess, when someone gives a 9 to an anime, he isn't going to say it was a bad anime and I am no exception.

**This review contains really minor spoilers, if you don't want to know anything at all about the story or characters, you shouldn't read it**

Story (9/10) : About the story, you know it, no need for a synopsis, it's a few scroll away. Why do I think it deserves a 9?

- Well first of all, the surprise factor. The first episode is a double episode. And while the first part isn't really original, I mean it's a classic transported-to-another-world anime ... at this point.The second part, however, was really unexpected and definitely drags you into the story. Long story short, the first part is all happy-go lucky, with a cheerful main character that meets a cute silver haired half-elf. And the second part is pretty dark and sinister. That first episode could be compared to the surprise I had when I watched Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, and I think it was amazing.

- After that, there is the "Return by Death". This is the center element of the story pretty much. Some people will see this as a lazy way to put "gore" into this anime when it's just a tool to deconstruct the main character, which is also a main component of the show. I'm the kind of person that don't mind seeing the same background and (almost) the same interactions through 4 or 5 episodes, if you do mind, you should reconsider watching this, if not, then you should be fine.

- The conclusion : To every story there is an end. Don't worry I won't spoil it, I'm just going to say that I think it was a nice conclusion imo. I know some people are really afraid of being disappointed by the end of the anime because it may ruin their experience (*cough* Death Note *cough*).

So, if you like some action here and there, some violence here and there, some gentle moment here and there, you should be fine with the story. Re: Zero offers a nice variety of emotions and plot twists. (As well as some magnificent cliffhangers)

Art 9/10 : Animation is great, colors are pretty bright, the character design is good (lot of people animated in the streets, good looking backgrounds). The direction is fairly good too, I mean artwise there isn't much to say really, it's just good.

Sound 9/10 : The OST is good, especially that little chorus you hear at certain moments, it's really brief but you'll know what it is if you watch it. OPs and EDs are really good too, I love the 1st OP so much.

Character 9/10 : Now, the part that's really important, the characters. Let's do it one by one, shall we?

Natsuki Subaru : Main character. He is transported to that fantasy world and his main goal isn't to go back to where he comes from but to save the half-elf girl. Why? Well, we do know little about his life before the sudden teleportation in this new world. But the first few minutes tell us that he is a shut-in NEET with no real social life and being a fan of video-games (most likely RPGs) this new world is pretty suited for his tastes. However, he'll be going through a lot during the anime, making him unstable at times. I think his evolution/developpment was well handled, now I think I should warn you that he is probably the main reason why people don't like this anime, so if there is one reason you may not like this anime, he is the one. But if you can bear with him, you should have a good time.

Emilia : One of the main female protagonist. She is the victim of discrimination because of the fact she is a silver-haired half elf (saying more would be spoilers). However, she has the opportunity to become the ruler of her country and will do everything to achieve that goal. So, you won't be seeing her all the time, and even if she is the main love interest of Subaru, her lack of developpment and screen-time throughtout the show may not be well received by everyone. But her time will eventually come if there is a season 2. For now, she is an interesting character that we don't know much more about but I would love to hear more about her past.

Rem : One of the main female protagonist. Compared to Emilia, she will receive some developpment. Why? Because she has a key role in the second part of the anime and that developping her is essential at this point. That's what I like about this anime, it develops the character that will play an important role in the near future and I like this way of proceeding. I can only let you discover this character, that you'll get to know thoughout the show.

Enjoyment 10/10 : The cliffhangers, the twists, the brutal violence, the beautiful and colorful scenes, the characters, the atmosphere. All of this make my brain trembles. It is one of my favorites of all-time. Now I'll tell you this, if you're familiar with the term "elistist" I'm just the complete opposite, I don't need a lot to enjoy an anime, and I love the isekai genre. So there was no way I couldn't like this anime.

Overall 9/10 : In conclusion, don't get your hopes up or anything, I'm not here to tell you how to live your life, but when it comes to watching anime I think that the less you know, the better. But if you're here reading this, maybe you're just too undecisive, and you really don't know if you should watch this or not. I think the answer is in the first episode. If you liked what you saw, you can go ahead and watch the whole thing. This show repeatedly fits 24 minutes of straight content and I think it's just a proof of the investment and the general quality of this anime.

This series was amazing! I waited and watched every single episode as it aired. It explores Subaru's character development in the most awesome fashion ever! We see him persevere through all the shit that's happening and still manages to overcome his issues. The common theme gained is learning from your mistakes!

Re:zero is definitely my favourite anime of all time! I am waiting for the second season and I hope white fox manages to continue this legacy and continue the Re:Zero series.

I have never watched an anime that has invoked so much emotions within me despite the outcome. That's how well this anime was executed.

So I only gave the story a 9 because there is a main part of the plot that hasn't been discovered enough for me, which you may be able to guess after watching the series.

Re:Zero actually started out pretty poorly, I thought I was going to hate the main character. So the first episode's pace is slow but once you can get through it there is 24 episodes of just pure original and brilliant story writing.

The characters are actually pretty unique, although we don't know much about why Subaru is there he actually is a really great guy. He is calculating and as high morals. ... He goes through a lot in this story and his character development was just the strawberry on top of a parfait of sadness, anger, regret, and tough choices.

Emilia who is the other main character is hard to describe, she is very kind and caring and at first I thought she was tsundere. It actually turns out that she REALLY wants friends but because of what she has gone through she keeps people at arms distance but still manages to be the cutest thing.

There are other characters that are introduced to us slowly but surely and out of all of them only 2 seem to have a trope attached to them out right, everyone seems to have actual unique personalities.

The character design and world design is actually really breathtaking too, I cant imagine where the inspiration is. There are many different races that wander around this land and I REALLY hope we can explore more of the world that Natsuki Subaru was drug into.

There are nice political themes as well where Subaru has to make decisions to help Emilia going forward and reach a very interesting goal.

This anime had me on an emotional rollercoaster where I had to schedule a happy go lucky anime to calm down with afterward. ALL the characters make you fall in love with them and the way Subaru interacts with them all just warms my heart. This anime can be described as a well rounded anime.

Its Shoujo and light, its serious and has really dark and deep moments, it has gore and turns your stomach, it is super freaking sad at other points. I can't wait for the second season of this and I will be hunting down the manga version and the box set.

The music and sound effects are also really well done and unique, there are times where a certain tone plays and you know something just happened and it leaves you at the end of your seat.

At beginning of the season no one was talking about this anime. I didn't even know it existed. I stumbled on it by chance and I saw the summary and poster and thought it was wack.

It was on a sunday night (In April) after watching Kabaneri of Iron Fortress which initaily was my pick as the top anime in Spring (didn't turn out too great). I got nothing else to do so I might as well watch a couple of episodes, and boy I was in for a ride.

The show surprises in so many ways. The characters are so memorable and charming. The music ... is moving. Everything is on point. The lore, mystery, suspense, and the gore with a touch moe set it far and apart from other fantasy "isekai" anime.

The joy, suspense, tears, laughs, and thrills that came with the show is something that I've never experienced with any other show before. It's been such a ride watching this show from start to finish as well as discussing it with the community here. I love the Re:Zero fanbase. It's just amazing seeing it blossom into something this great and awesome.

Finally, I feel very passionate about this show. I don't know how to properly explain it. It's like when you're proven wrong but instead of hating you're loving it even more. This show did that to me. It's driving me nuts in a good way.

Fantastic, unforgettable gem that YOU should watch in YOUR life time.

"I guess, as long as I have this life, all I can do is fight with all my might."
Natsuki Subaru.
An over all Review for Re:Zero
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Re:Zero is an adaptation of the Light Novel originally created by Tappei, being an adaptation can pretty much tell you the story is still ongoing and not fully covered by the anime, but it still brings a nice closure to the 3rd arc's occurrences.


Story-(8): This show deals with the [Time Travel] aspect where the MC is able to rewind to a point in the timeline in order to prevent a lot of sad incidents from happening. So are we going to ... grow tired from the repetitive tragedies as our MC is just gonna get it fixed? No, that's never the case with Re:Zero. Our MC has no control over the point he rewinds to, and he actually has to pay a very high toll, his "Life". When someone around Subaru dies he is forced to confront what they actually meant to him, and how much he is willing to go to save them, Going to very extreme lengths. I would also like to point out this isn't "Endless-Eight" all again, the MC faces a lot of different incidents while moving on with the story as well.So the fact that our MC can shape his future doesn't mean that the tragedies have no consequences because it is nicely used for character growth and get us to know more about the sub-characters.This perfectly sums up in a fellow's quote ”These kinds of events will never lose their emotional impact because it's never been about losing people; it's been about finding them.”.THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL FANTASY SAO-LIKE ANIME!!. It's dramatic and somewhat mysterious & dark-themed. basically, every episode ends with a cliffhanger that will leave you hungry for more.


Characters-(9): Side-Characters get more than enough development in the show, and they actually have their great effect over the MC's and the story's overall progression since the story is mostly character driven in the anime. As I mentioned the time-rewind shows us a lot about the side characters and their past, how they lived on with their traumas carrying it all on their backs but finally managing to recover from it as the story goes. The psychological aspect of the show is strongly emphasized through the MC who constantly struggles, falling into despair and almost running away. Romance isn't one of the main aspects of the show but it acts as a catalyst to the characters' progression.


Art-(8): Moe Art style, but it never bothered me as it make the show's gore and depressing scenes easier to handle and characters even more likable.Although the art starts going low on quality at episode 24, I really respect WhiteFox for holding that long with the quality as they had to work extra time by taking off the OPs and EDs out of some episodes.


Sound-(10): Okay. 1,2,3... EPICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC!!!!!. *cough..cough*. Myth&Roid have really done a great job here, 2OPs & 1ED perfectly show what this show has to promise, the lyrics strongly convey the feelings of the show. White Fox seriously put a lot of work onto the OST and their insert songs that enhance the despair mode and scary vibe. They also leave out both the OP&ED during some EPs to add more content, this shows you how hard White Fox worked on this show.


Enjoyment-(10): Off to the “ My Most Favorite Anime” we go. The show is very captivating and breath-taking, it's packed with very intense moments that can (AND WILL) make you jump off your seat and bump you to death with adrenaline rushes ”Give me more!!!”.


Some Notes:
*) This is my first review ever so please forgive my unprofessional approach at some points and also my mediocre English skills.

*) The MC may look like a “self-insert” one who got summoned here by chance. Although it's still vague but the shadowing that there is one of the BEST PLOT TWISTS ever waiting at the end of the story is so damn great you can't even think about ignoring it.

*) The "8" I gave for the story is mainly because the story isn't completed yet and I can't just judge it completely now, And that doesn't disregard the fact that this show is definitely the AOTY for me.

ReZero as an anime comes in a time where "time travel" animes has been all the rage for "great animes", and as LA said in LA's Erased review, LA loves time travel animes and this once again is no exception that LA will love this series from the outset. But saying this is a time traveling anime is a bit vague, at best it's a dimension jumping anime due to the nature of the main protagonist's powers, but that a bit later.

ReZero being one of the more hyped anime to come out of Spring 2016 and really it did live up to it and no ... it's not because LA is biased towards time travel animes, people have been talking about ReZero ALOT while it was being released, LA has some praise as well as problems to give to ReZero, ok enough introductions, let's get on with this.

Now let's move onto the characters, more specifically, Subaru Natsuki. Subaru Natsuki voiced by Yuusuke Kobayashi is by far one of the more unique "heroes" in animes LA has seen, sure he is severely obnoxious and very much love to do the entire white-knighting play in order to become the hero, however where his uniqueness comes from is his power, if it wasn't for him, he would have easily be a more downgraded Rintaro Okabe from Steins;Gate, his power is similar to a "game", where every time he dies, he gets "reset" to a preset instance, cool power right?, but where the consequences and mental trauma sticks from "dying" is where Subaru becomes something else entirely, do remember that Subaru is in a fantasy land where witches, elves and ravenous monsters will brutally kill you in the most gruesome way possible and don't LA even get started on the ominous Witch. Subaru's obnoxiousness and whiteknighting personality even gets consequences when he does too much of it. LA will say here and now, Subaru is NOT a deconstruction of the typical hero/otaku archetype we see in many animes we see, LA did say that Subaru is a bit like Okabe and that is pretty close as they both use time travel in some way in order to protect those they love and is utterly determined to save to the point of their brink of their sanity, but ReZero's take on Subaru isn't a deconstruction, it's being "realistic" with his "gaming reset powers" for both his "strengths and weaknesses" to Subaru, because of that Subaru though obnoxiously as he is, he not only evolves, he learns from his mistakes even to the point that his powers can't change due to the "pre-reset" limitations, because of that, you can contemplate his misery and goals in wanting to succeed and seeing a realistic yet reckless dimension jumping hero. Ok enough about Subaru, let's move onto Emilia, Emilia voiced by Rie Takahashi is also bit of a unique character, as she's a bit of character archetype (cept Yandere) and on the outset, she was a great "kind" character but soon becomes something like a badass in disguise but she has her own goals she wants to do instead of just wanting to be Subaru's love interest, again Emilia is unique for that, however for the ending LA has a small problem with her, but that a bit later. Next up is the twin maids Ram voiced by Rie Murakawa and Rem voiced by Inori Minase, who get their own arcs just like Emilia does and we do get to sympathize with the both of with their backstory and how they got their personalities, however later on Rem gets a bit more screentime than Ram with a bit more of a role and really Rem became LA's favourite character by the end of the series. LA will say that for the most part, the main cast who interacts with Subaru gets lots of screentime, however some characters do get the shaft once Subaru gets into certain arcs, like Beatrice voiced by Satomi Arai and Roswaal L. Mathers voiced by Takehito Koyasu however even this little complaint is easily mended as really some of the arcs in which these characters aren't there don't become important for certain arcs.

If ReZero does something right is to execute the typical "guy gets stuck in a fantasy world" and "plays against those tropes" and sure it's plot structure early on fell on a slow yet "tutorial" foundation, ReZero later on makes that foundation as dark and violent as possible and utterly deconstructs the anime genre it is in ie. guy trapped in a fantasy world, and that really isn't a terrible thing, actually it's obviously refreshing with some solid writing, plot twists and great animation. LA will reiterate, the plot structure is a deconstruction of it's genre, Subaru as a character and his use of his power is being realistic with a dark undertone.

LA will say that the plot twists work and executes well for the most part because of Subaru's power and the world building, though it makes sense, Subaru dying over and over again using different routes in order to find the best route would mean we get both world building and getting to know more of Subaru's limitation in power through this. Really because of Subaru's power, he makes leeway and hints to both world building and makes many of the plot twists work.

The animation by White Fox, has by all means some of the best quality LA animation LA saw, well "best quality" isn't the best wording, more like the most consistent. From the colorful character designs to the poignant to fantastical backgrounding to the brutalized and bloody battles, the animation was pretty great, though LA would say that the blatant yet quickly unfocused CGI used sparingly was a bit annoying at times for the animation, though the CGI is and is really rare (be it just offhanded lizard-carts etc.), nonetheless, animation was great even with the awkward CGI...though it felt like te animation took a small dip near the final 2 episodes in some rare scenes.

Voice acting-wise, the entire cast is pretty well done, with many VA's such as Inori Minase as Rem, Rie Murakawa as Ram, Rie Takahashi as Emilia, Satomi Arai as Beatrice and most especially Yuusuke Kobayashi as Subaru. If anything both Yuusuke Kobayashi and Inori Minase would be LA's favorite voice actors in this anime, mainly because the both of them went into the far extreme range in this anime, from dramatically intense to shouting their god damn lungs out to just trying to be genki and "moe". The only other voice actor to note is Betelgeuse Romanée-Conti's voice actor Yoshitsugu Mastuoka, well talk about playing against the type, from voicing typical generic heroes *cough* into voicing this eccentric bundle of madness...if it wasn't for Yuusuke Kobayashi and Inori Minase, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka might have been LA's favorite voice actor.

If there were any flaws to this anime, would to be put simply, Subaru's powers to resolve everything by the end of it, he always find the right route to do it, be it physically or mentally, he finds a way to resolve matters. The other flaw LA would say is that, the solution or even little hints aren't shown until they are shown leaving us little room to actually make us think on how they are gonna resolve or ever will, but for flaws such as this, LA can easily say there are lots of defense for these kind of flaws due to how well written and executed this anime is that even with these flaws, ReZero can "get away with it". As such, Subaru resolving matters does take him more than once and dying in brutalized ways along the way, not to mention Subaru's resolution most of the time has both need help from others (as to be perfectly honest even with Subaru with this power, Subaru is by far the most weakest physical character in the anime) and that his passion and courage to get to his goal in admirable to say the least. The only time this flaw is shown and LA utterly hated is during the penultimate episode as Emilia is shown her moment of resolution with her villagers due to her discrimination as a half-elf and gave Emilia some GREAT character resolution, her badassness was just a bonus!, HOWEVER what with what happened later on it becomes moot comes the next timeline and Subaru effectively "TAKES THAT RESOLUTION AWAY FROM HER" just so that he can save everyone including Emilia and she is taken to the sidelines instead of her more badass and touching conclusion to her character, when Subaru gets top billing ALL THE TIME was what LA was annoyed and can justify this flaw as ReZero stumbling with it's compensation for the "happy ending", which wasn't good enough compensation that LA. The other flaw's defense can be summed up as due to many of the little hints given only gives the major villain of this series the "Satella the Witch" all the more reason to be feared as to what Satella does to restrict Subaru (or heck, even the Witch Cultists are something to be feared by sheer lunacy). ReZero gives us proper clarity (and solid writing) so that Subaru can't just do whatever he wants to AND so that he can't get away with the easiest route, thus makes many of the flaws in this anime as a very minor point. Well there was one more flaw LA noticed, which was that with this huge cast, it was to be expected that the screentime for some of the minor characters are small like LA said on the character section, even some of the main characters kinda get this besides Subaru, he IS kinda the main protagonist and that is the only other flaw that kinda irked LA as there were some main characters LA wanted to see more of *cough* the rest of the candidates to be King in the last half like Felt, Anastasia and especially Priscilla *cough* Rem in the last quarter *cough*...but LA did see why, they just weren't needed during those times and cramming those characters in there just wouldn't add up considering the situations here and there.

If there are STILL people who hate this anime because of Subaru, be sure that ReZero makes sure that Subaru go through hell and back in very physically torturous (and the fact he dies VERY often in horrific ways) and mentally draining moments that can make any sadist who dislikes Subaru grin. As for the typical narmy villains, typical character archetypes in this anime genre and token love interests for character flaws, LA will say that...welll...uhhh yeah LA can't put a defense for those flaws (well besides the narmy villains such as Betelgeuse and Elsa Granhiert, LA utterly loves the pure insane villain) besides the fact that ReZero ISN'T a harem and a more adventure based-dimension hopping anime and to a certain degree with the biggest character flaw going to Emilia, yeah she's a unique character with no character archetype but she's subjected to being bland due to her lessening screentime by the later arcs and for the love interest flaws, Rem outright for LA eclipses Emilia for best girl mainly because of Rem's character and romance development being much more developed than Subaru's whiteknighting romance to Emilia. What LA is being honest.

The ending well if you read the "flaws of ReZero" section, you'd know that LA got a bitter taste from the side effect of the penultimate episode had, however it slightly carried over to the actual final episode where Emilia essentially became a damsel in distress and although the final battle was slightly downplayed comparing to some of the other fights, it was decent. Really as much as LA was satisfied with this ending, the method on Subaru trying to get to this ending was slightly on "easy mode" besides the final battle. The ending did finally resolve the tension between Subaru and Emilia, however the ending still had a few loose plot threads left here and there ultimately saying to read the manga (unless there's a second season?) but still...as LA said before even with these small flaws in the ending, the ending was still satisfying.

ReZero for LA for it's technical prowess of it's characters and plot is one of the best animes LA has seen in 2016 and LA knows that this anime may not cater to the detractors from the obnoxious main character to the dark and "edgy" plot under the typical "magically transported to a fantasy world" but LA just can't help but like this anime, ReZero's strengths by far outweighed it's weaknesses.

Beginning to end I was hooked, I stayed up till 3am on a school night when I had 3 tests the next day because I wanted to see what happened next. I have never watched a sub before, I always preferred English because I was "too lazy" to read the words, so when my friend told me to watch this and said it was only in Japanese I was pretty hesitant. But then I read the reviews and saw how high ranked it was for being so new, i had to watch at least the first episode, and it was the best decision Ive made ... in a while. this really isn't a review, its just me rambling on about why you should watch this even if you don't like subs. This my first "review" to it probably sucks but all im saying is watch it and you will enjoy it.

Re zero is a must watch anime, even if your are not a fan of the fantasy genre you should give this a try. Reasons why:
Amazing story and plot.
Fun and interesting characters.
Good animation and sound.
Felix.
The main characters at first will look like the typical harem-like main character but as the series progresses you will see that thats not the case. In the start of the anime he acts like a self entitled prick but soon sees that that attitude will not get him very far in this world. He is the most humanlike character i have seen, he is not some overpowered guy that will ... beat all the odds, or someone who gets god-like powers that equal those of the villians. He is an average fit guy.Thats it. He cant go toe-toe with most characters in the series and will get completly destroy if he even tries to. But as you know "knowledge is power". Using the information that get got on his previous life he will beat the odds. You might think that this power is OP, but thats not the case as you will see. He fears death,it hurts, at times he feels and seems powerless, its only throught the friendships that he has made that he pulls through. Overall my favorite series of 2016 and easily in my top 5 animes ever.
According to the creator the web novel is only half way there. So we can expect 3 more seasons ( of course only if they are greenlit). So with that in mind i would suggest you watch it ASAP

Non-spoiler review.

Story: 9
Art: 9
Sound: 10
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9.6

Re:Zero is an anime that packs together sorrow, happiness, horror, joy, suffering, and satisfaction into a rocket ship of entertainment. The main character, ripped from his home world and having to start from zero, faces a great deal of adversity throughout the story. As opposed to other stories where the main character is either naturally skilled or somehow surpasses expectations with no degree of difficulty, Subaru must overcome his failures.
...
Hardly anybody likes to fail. Failure, especially after you've exerted a great amount of energy, can sometimes damage one's self-confidence. Humans, being as imperfect as we are, are also prone to errors. It is not our failures or our mistakes that define us, but the actions that we take to make a change after we've recognized our shortcomings.

Re:Zero does a brilliant job at capturing this essential ingredient of human nature: allowing the main character to fail (perhaps more than he succeeds) and at times succumbing to the overwhelming emotions that pain a person after a profound loss. Although the conclusion of the series might have some loose ends that were never completely tied up, the story is still this series' strong point. There were times of laughter, tears, and utter shock, as Re:Zero pulls the audience in with relatable characters, a stunning original sound track, jam-packed action sequences, and several moments of deep horror.

The character development was strong in such a way that it was easy to relate to multiple characters and watch their relationships solidify throughout the series. Whether it be the main character overcoming his trials or the relationships between a handful of characters, there is definite development and it is implemented in a beautiful way. One of the best performances of the show was done by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, who plays the character Petelgeuse. While some people are of the view that Petelgeuse was over-dramatized, I am of the view that this super-villain makes the Joker from Batman look cute and gentle. All episodes featuring Petelgeuse sent a shiver down my spine and accomplished something that few other anime have been able to pull off.

Although the animation quality is not of the same grade like what you'd see from a ufotable production or of Madoka Magica caliber, the animators without question paid attention to details and did an outstanding job with the action sequences. There were of course some errors that I could nitpick -- ranging from some "copy and pasted village characters" to blood being on a character's face one moment and then disappeared the next -- the errors are trivial and the animation as a whole is good.

Where the animation might lack at times, the sound more than makes up for it. The sound director and sound effects definitely deserve a lot of praise here. Featuring a rich OST, the songs are the type that stick around with you for days after watching the anime and the effects are executed to near perfection.

As someone who adores Steins;Gate for its thrill, Spice&Wolf for its character dynamics, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni for its horror, Madoka Magica for its dark deconstruction, Clannad:AS for its depiction of overcoming adversity, and Kara no Kyoukai for its dark action scenes, it should be clear just how much I enjoyed Re:Zero. One could argue that Re:Zero successfully borrows each element from the previously listed anime -- some of which people consider masterpieces -- and it is for this reasoning why I have rated Re:Zero so highly and among one of my all-time favorite anime.

There are of course some flaws that should be pointed out, as nothing is perfect. As the series stands and without knowing if there will be a second season, the viewer as an "anime-only" watcher will be left with a handful of questions relating to the overall storyline that were left unanswered. If one has followed the source material and has read beyond the anime, some are likely to be dissatisfied with how Re:Zero ended as it currently stands. Although it is understandable that discarding an important scene toward the end of the anime can leave the viewer feeling disappointed, White Fox adapted the source material on the whole faithfully.

If one can overlook some minor flaws in the animation and the story, it is very easy to rank this anime highly alongside the other gems out there. I will definitely be voting with my dollar and supporting Re:Zero in every way that I can in hopes of seeing a Season 2 adapted someday.

Overall, I would highly recommend Re:Zero to anyone looking for a combination of an adventure, thriller, fantasy, action, comedy, and romance. It's a great show that is definitely re-watchable and I look forward to owning the blu-rays.

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! These words and I'm sure plenty of other words have been used by me and other viewers to describe our feelings for this show. There is in my opinion NOTHING else like this show in how it paces and draws the audience in through a captivating story, the immense dynamic relationships between characters which challenges societal norms, and ultimately a brilliant yet subtle intertwining and overarching plotline. I'm going to go over 5 reasons why this show has become my number 1 show of all time. (fyi this is long, analytical and has spoilers)

1.) The Plotline

Originally, Re:zero was written ... off as a generic "Mmorpg new world" type of anime. It tried too hard to be funny like Konosuba in its first two episodes and lacked the same punch and light-hearted ironic tone that Konosuba did so well. Yet what we see on face value is not what actually develops over time. Re:zero is NOT like any spinoff we have ever seen and in fact, is possibly the most successful adaptation of this "mc in new world" genre.

(SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD) - With a very basic summary, Re:zero is about a NEET, Natsuki Subaru, who finds himself in a new world. Like traditional anime tropes, he believes he is the protagonist of this world and now must save the world from some sort of evil. He quickly finds out two things. First, that his enemy is ultimately the Witch Satella and her cults. Second, after meeting the main girl protagonist, Emilia, he has an obligation as the mc of this world to help her so she can fall in love with him and regain political power, in a different struggle to find a candidate to lead the kingdom.

Pretty basic stuff. Yet what Re:zero excels at is creating such a generic plotline into a complex and realistic atmosphere. The twist here, is that the mc, Subaru, has the ability to come back alive to a certain point in his life before he was killed. Essentially, he can return by death to some sort of "savepoint" to change his future as a result of his knowledge and actions in his previous life.

It is simply fascinating to see and understand how Subaru operates in this world as he tries to understand the rules, the mannerisms, and the customs in order to fit in and be able to change the world. In a sense, Re:zero is a trial and error process for Subaru and with each life that he loses comes with both a benefit and a price. For benefits, Subaru gains another important set of knowledge that helps him in his next life to make better rational decisions to achieve his goal and desirable outcome. Yet, remember that death is not something to blow over. In fact, one of the big themes of this anime is how death actually would affect someone like yourself in real life. What type of psychological damage does Subaru incur? What type of emotions does he feel after having to rebuild his relationships back up every-time only to fail and have to do it again? How much mental-fortitude can you sustain before you break because your efforts have been in vain? These are the themes that Re:zero deals with quite effectively. White Fox does a great job in doing this both explicitly through Subaru's increase of rational and intelligent actions while also implicitly as we see a change in his personality overtime.

Another thing the show excels at is pacing and setting up an actual nuanced and intriguing plotline. Re:zero takes many of the generic plot devices (i.e. Seven Deadly Sins) and symbols and spins it in a way that keeps the watchers hooked. After each arc, more and more of the plot is revealed and shows how deep and involved the conflicts really are even in everyday life for commoners. Every episode is incredibly important in setting up the next one and each detail is important insofar that it comes back or relates to something else. Furthermore, this plot actually deals with and interacts with the characters in a meaningful and realistic manner. Racism and other discriminatory practices are blatantly shown as a primary incentive and impact of many characters. Like the real world, there are everyday conflicts between people and they have consequences. People don't just forget and don't judge in the real world. They do. Re:zero exploits this because often times other shows are unwilling to be bold and accept this truth.

(Spoilers) As more of the plot is revealed, we begin to see how this story comes full circle a little bit at a time. The mc is here for a reason. Re:zero isn't simply a story about finding love and defeating the bad guys. It's about a story of self-discovery and change. When you see the nuances of the mc and his power Return by Death and how that is actually linked to the witch, the plotline inadvertently becomes so much more fascinating. Is Subaru actually Pride and a part of the Witch's cult? Will he eventually turn against Emilia? Is Satella simply a manifestation of what is wrong with people? This is the narrative that Re:zero challenges the audience on and that is what makes this show so great. Nothing is as easy as it seems and nothing is safe.

One thing to note is that during the last episode of the show when Betelguese is chasing down Subaru in the cart, he (Betelguese) says things eerily similar to Subaru. What we see is that while motives can be perceived good or bad by the audience, ultimately every character can be considered rational and relatable. In fact, Betelguese's emphatic love for Satella drives him to carry out her orders and do what he does in the name of love. Similarly, Subaru does the same for Emilia. She is his love and he will do what he thinks benefits her. This interplay and dialogue between the protagonists and antagonists actually reveals a far more intertwined plot line between the protagonists and the antagonists. I would personally love to see a season 2 that develops this even more.

I'm sure there are plenty of other things I can talk about that I'm not mentioning in this review as well as expanding more upon those that I did. But at the end of the day take away three things about the plotline for re:zero

It's engaging, it's nuanced/complex and it's realistic/relatable.

2.) Character Development

Three things I want to talk about in this review: humanism/realism, the cycle of character building and why it's so unique to Re:zero, the impact of dialogue as a mechanism of creating organic change.

First on humanism and the development of relatable characters. I think what anime in general has a habit of doing especially in the genre that Re:zero falls under is provide a mc as well as supporting characters that is unrealistic (i.e. SAO, Log Horizon etc.). When you do so, you target the classic niche anime community (which hey is a corporate incentive) where typical NEETs can fantasize about. Everyone wants to be overpowered. Everyone wants to get the girl. Everyone wants to be the protagonist and save the world from evil. This isn't realistic. No one is the main character in the world and your actions when you act like one has consequences. People will not simply accept that you are better than them. You need to develop your image and reputation with one of respect and credibility for people to trust you. This is how the world works and this is the basis of how Re:zero operates. I personally believe that many anime are too afraid to challenge the norms and question the very way our reality works. This was a new and refreshing change of pace that ultimately worked effectively.

What does this look like? For the mc, Subaru, I believe that his actions and the way his personality has evolved over the show provides a reasonable picture of what would happen if I were in his shoes. In the beginning after Emilia shows up, it's very obvious that Subaru believes he is the white knight. He has to save Emilia, win over her love, and save the world. Who wouldn't want to believe that after being transported to a realm that you have no clue about? However, after using his ability Return by Death, we slowly see the darkness that is in every human: fear, savagery, detest, jealousy, envy etc. Death is no simple thing. Often times, anime blows this way out of proportion and simply slides it under the rug. Death goes against every fiber of our living body. We are built to survive and ultimately to help ourselves.

For every death that Subaru encounters, it slowly erodes his soul and his personality. The first major arc focuses mostly on how Subaru can use his actions to change the future in a "parallel" or different world. He learns and adapts quickly to the situation and in fact willing dies to reset. Yet, among this arc we see constant foreshadowing of a deeper problem ingrained in Subaru: his emphatic and sometimes unrealistic devotion to Emilia. In the next arc, we see the beginning of the "true suffering" - the development of the "suffaru." The 2nd arc primarily deals with the backlash and the psychological damage of dying. At the point where Subaru cannot express any of his emotions and his struggles to anyone in any lifetime, this burden ultimately is too much for one single being. This is realistic. Too many times, do main characters disregard death or their own abilities as inconsequential. They use what they have to change the world around them without actually questioning their motives or their sanity along the way. Re:zero explicitly shows the impact of what happens when a person goes through consistent traumatic experiences and how it affects you. This is what would happen to you if you were Subaru, an ordinary person.

Second on the cycle of character building. As mentioned already, Re:zero specifically focuses on Subaru and how his actions are perceived and interpreted by others. Recognize that Subaru is not the only actor in this world and that everyone else is affected by his supposedly irrational actions. Why are they irrational? Because he cannot talk to anyone about his ability, he has to assume to some degree that they can understand him somehow. There is simply no other way for him to stay sane. He needs to believe that they understand that he is trying to help them without actually conveying it to them. The problem is, is that one when Subaru never talks, no one actually knows his motives and intentions. This is realistic. Second, often times his actions seem irrational because he simply knows more than he should. Why does he want to take Emilia with him to somewhere else? Can she actually trust him? At the point in which Subaru gives no explanation, the only course of action is to psychologically break down.

This is unique to Re:Zero. By episodes 10-15 roughly, most viewers hate Subaru for what he is becoming. He is becoming a detestable, selfish and loathsome mc which is unappealing to most audiences. However, I see that as a way that the story is challenging the standard narrative in these shows and in reality. Why is the show suddenly so cringeworthy and hard to watch? It's because it breaks down the facade that is society. Everyone puts on a good face but at its core we human beings have dark emotions. When the show explicitly presents us with a realistic adaptation of what would happen in these situations, we must confront ourselves. Are we like that? Or we are not?

This cycle of building, breaking down characters only to rebuild them and remold them differently is extremely new and refreshing. Most shows take 5 steps forward, 1 step back (usually because of someone's death), and then another 5 steps forward. This doesn't always seem reasonable. At the point which death is probably the most traumatic experience one can have, the average person is probably far more affected than it is portrayed in most shows. Subaru takes 5 steps forward, each a smaller step, falls and slides down and finally picks himself up again on a different more effective staircase. Overall, Re:zero is probably the only show ever to truly break down a character at its core after building it up a certain way only to remold them into a different person with a similar set of values. This sort of nuance is not any other show I've watched

Finally on to dialogue and why it's so effective in Re:zero. I think in most shows dialogue is rarely used realistically. If the main character is feeling down, generally someone comes up to him, says a few words about how it's not his fault and how he has to believe in himself to keep moving forward. And that's about how they solve any sort of internal crisis. Re:zero doesn't do this. Instead, they take more time in developing interesting and complex arguments that are realistic. During Subaru's breakdown with Emilia, their dialogue is extremely reminiscent of their previous actions. They explain themselves to the best they can just like people would. They understand their own incentives and motives. Putting a band-aid on a break in consciousness does not suddenly fix it. Re:zero resolves these issues in meaningful and realistic ways. The supporting characters are literally there to support the mc (i.e. Rem best girl). Re:zero dedicates almost 2 and a half episodes solely on the recovery of Subaru with the help of Rem. In fact, they spend a whole episode having Subaru talk with Rem over his problems. Their dialogue gets to the real crux of the problem and ultimately resolves the issue.

Re:zero shows and tells. It shows you why and how people behave when they break and they tell you how you get back up. You don't get back up with a few words and a pat on the back. You get it after you have meaningful and long discussions about the root problems and how to fix it.

3.) The voice acting

Plenty of other shows have had exceptional voice acting and Re:Zero is no different. This show has been the only show in my entire life that I have watched both anime and Western tv series that has emotionally charged me to the point of getting chills. I have never resonated so much with anyone else and their struggles.

Yuusuke Kobayashi, the VA for Subaru, is perfect for the role. He exemplifies both the inflection and tone during crucial parts of the show. Particularly, when in episode 7 when Ram kills him and questions "What have I ever done to you for you to hate me," in episode 12 or 13 when Subaru breaks down in front of Emilia, episode 15 when Subaru roars with anger to Betelgeues after he kills Rem, "I will kill you," and finally in episode 18 when he talks to Rem about his feelings. Every scene that should be emotional is emotional because of the actors. Every action and word that should be charged with either sadness or pure anger is done so.

Particularly Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, the VA for Betelguese, is fantastic. Despite being the mc for a completely different anime Shokugeki no Souma with a completely different taste, he absolutely nails the main arc 3 antagonist. The speed and inflection and the arbitrary emphasis on certain words exemplifies the insanity of Betelguese effectively. Re: zero is definitely not short on excellent VAs and they did an excellent job portraying humanistic elements and emotions in the show

4.) The animation/directing

Unbelievable. White Fox Studio absolutely nailed it. Everyone praises them for adapting the show accurately and it's true. They truly hit the mark on the spot. In fact, many times they were so dedicated in providing the material and the content that they eliminated the opening and ending or even extended the length of the episode to give the viewers the best possible experience.

The animation is crisp and clean. I think the animators did a fantastic job showing the fight scenes as well as displaying scale (i.e. the White whale). Furthermore, much of the lighting and use of backgrounds is often used to foreshadow or to emphasize the mood of the story. There were no lapses of bad animation quality and it was consistent throughout the show.

Furthermore, the choice of words was super important in the show. When people say words like "aishiteimasu," it has far more meaning than the english sub would make it seem. In english, I love you is pretty the strongest emotional words you can get. In Japanese however, there are many ways to say I love you. In fact, most shows say "daisuki or ashiteru." These are much less powerful forms of love in the sense that they are more casual. If you say "aishiteimasu," to someone, you better be breaking out the ring soon.

When the production studio explicitly uses language as means to achieve a certain understanding, it demonstrates the willingness to go that extra step. White Fox Productions is dedicated to this show and uses any sort of mechanism to further the plot and the characters. In this sense, the directors have a great idea of direction and how to get there in the most effective way possible.

5.) The Music

The music in Re:Zero is spectacular. The serious tones during the serious moments as well as the light hearted ones during more cheerful times. One thing that really stuck out was that the show used a variety of different types of music and styles. For example, at the end of episode 15, they use a very beautiful yet solemn elegy for Rem as the credits rolled up on the screen. White Fox was willing to experiment and see what worked and what didn't

Furthermore, they nailed the timing down for when to put music and when not to. The silences were extremely effective at bringing out the suspense and mystery. During around episode 21 and 22 when Subaru and company go off to fight the White Whale, the sound of the 1980s ringtone was incredibly eerily. White Fox productions literally went out and searched for the actual phone type and its ringtone in real-life rather than creating it inside its music production studio. This level of dedication is so unique and is really effective only in Re: zero

At the end of the day, Re:zero comes out to be a unique and refreshing experience. Its complex plot, nuanced characters, and challenge of societal norms provides intelligent discourse and conversations about what it means to be human and how can we be better? With the special attention to animation, directing, acting and music, Re:zero simply nails home the whole package.

Tl;dr watch the show. It's fantastic on all levels.

Ok, this is my first review in myanimelist.
Re:zero is one of much anime which the protagonist is transported to another world. At first, I thought so, I didn't expect too much for this anime. I thought that, "Seriously, Isekai again? This is boring!" but I tried to watch this series because my friend recommended this to me. At first cour, it just like a common anime fantasy, the problem is not that big. It's just like a slice-of-live anime, with shit protagonist. I thought that his ability is cheating, he could revive from dead and change his fate, and I thought that in last, he ... will suddenly overpowered with power of despair. But then, I was wrong.
The second cour is great, it give me speechless. The problem is too big for him to handle with that weak power that he has, it makes me so curious, what resolution will be, what will he do to fix his situation, hi fails again and again, experiencing despair, and almost run from his situation. But then, the supporting character did her role as it should be. I never think that the first cour would give a very important plot to the story. And then, his resolution give me speechless again. This is so great! I recommend this for you!
Though, the ending haven't completed yet, but it's quite good compared to the cliff hanger ending in another anime adaptation. Well, it's because ... I Love Emilia!!

Story: 10
Art: 9
Sound: 8
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 7 (1st cour), 9 (2nd cour)
Overal: 10

Ok before i start this is my 1st review

Firstly here is a brief summary of Re:zero

Re:zero is about male protagonist Natsuki Subaru (voiced by Kobayashi, Yuusuke) who is an 18 year old NEET who gets transported in to another world, (quite a common setting in a majority of anime however with a unique twist) after a visit to the convenience store, he is later saved by a beautiful silver haired elf after being mugged by a group of street thugs, he gets to know his savior who names herself Satella for a bit until they are both killed. However unknowingly Subaru has the ability "Return ... by Death" to go back in time and change the future event from ever happening.

Story(9): Now the story is mainly focused on Subaru attempting to save his savior(Emilia) from dieing and later on helping her achieve her goal however she doesn't really show much gratitude as Subaru is still a kind of stranger to her who she helped when he was in need, nothing more, nothing less, there is isn't a lot of sceentine for Emilia however she us seen quite a bit early on and definitely near the end.
WARNING!
There are many waifu's so be prepared for the MAL salt.

Art(9): The scenary in this anime is amazing in my opinion, every scene is appealing to the eyes and the art is overall spectacular though a few parts may look a bit low near the end due to saving budget for specific scenes but are still not really anything to be salty about.

Sound(10): This is one of my favorites, the music in this especially the OSTS are amazing, they all fit the moment and are perfectly used, the OPs and EDs are catchy and the anime has many soundtracks made just for a moment in the episode and are one of my favorites.

Characters(10): The character development is done very well and you can tell how much the MC, main and quite a few supporting characters grow, this anime focuses quite a bit on the supporting cast which is what i love, especially Whilhem Van Astrea, Felis and Crusch, the voice actors do a magnificent job especially in those emotional scenes, you can really feel the character's pain and suffering, Betelgeuse is the best VA of the year no doubt about that.

Enjoyment(10): I loved this series from start to finish, it did not feel rushed what so ever and i have already rewatched this series 3 times and counting. I would definitely reccomend this anime especially to those who love a dark fantasy thriller setting.
(According to LN readers this is only the prologue 10-15% of the story)
So expect a second season in a few years time.

Overall(10): Personally this have been one of my favorite anime's of all time, everything is done so well and im really impressed at how well the VAs have done, definitely in my top 3 anime of all time.

THIS IS NOT SAME AS SAO WHAT SO EVER!
For the people who relate this masterpiece to trash, i don't know what is the same or how it even feels the same, everything you here about this being a a generic harem with plain characters is all bs from the haters, i recommend ignoring them and for you to personally enjoy it, if you don't fair enough but don't be a troll like the others.

Thanks for reading, let me know if you enjoyed my first review, id be happy to do more.

Every now and then, we, the anime community, are blessed with a gem. A gem, shining ever so brightly in the sea of mediocrity that are the seasonal anime manages to blind the majority of the community with its seemingly endless blister into thinking that the title at hand is somehow special and praiseworthy. After a rather short period of time, the bright light the gem once used to vividly emulate begins to flicker, until eventually fading away into eternal darkness and being forgotten. It's nothing new; rather just a byproduct of hype culture and the negative effect it has on entertainment media. ... The implementation of various anime databases and platforms like MAL in recent years make the anime medium in particular all the more susceptible to this horrible disease that seemingly spreads like wildfire. And for that reason, I will gladly presume the role of a firefighter. This one'll go in-depth.

Adapted from a rather lacklustre source material, the story revolves around our protagonist, Subaru. When Subaru one day decides to venture out into the wilderness that is the grocery store next door, he is out of nowhere magically transported into an unfamiliar fantasy world. Why / how / who / what was it that teleported him there? He doesn't know. We don't know. No one knows. Literally 2 minutes into the show we are presented with a plot device that sets the entire anime into motion. While definitely a negative, I don't particularly mind too much as it is a problem on a far lesser scale than in say Erased, where the plot device is something integral to the narrative. The rest of the plot is fairly straight-forward. In essence, the main character explores the setting, goes through various scenarios, meets a shit load of cute girls while going through individual arcs, etc. So obviously, it possesses all of the shitty traits that plague each and every light novel in existence, and if there was one thing that all of the people who share my general consensus on the show agree on, it would be on how generic it is.

As if to counteract its' generic nature, the story constantly puts in a conscious effort to be as unpredictable as possible. It serves as a mostly-consistent source of entertainment and I truly do commend the author for that one. But.. where exactly is the line drawn? While plot twists can do wonders in the heat of the moment, Re:Zero tends to gradually overdose on them, often resulting in a faint sense of redundancy. No series is supposed to be this reliant on shock factor to keep the audience seated but apparently going in with the mentality that each respectful viewer suffers from extreme ADHD is the only way to make it big nowadays. The "dark" in the "dark fantasy" is emphasized on quite a lot, if not a little too much later on. This seems to be what most fans consider to be the driving force of the show, ultimately setting it apart from the typical light novel adaptation. However, a wise man once said "A different approach does not guarantee a quality outcome". The wise man in question happens to be your humble writer, of course.

Various anime in the past have thrived off of their dark element, but it is extremely important that you, as a viewer, are able to differentiate between shows that are completely reliant on constant edge and shows that are able to stand on their own two feet without it. I'm not implying that Re:Zero is completely reliant on its edge.. But yeah, I am. While most of the community seems to find it intensely gripping for some odd reason or another, I found most of the "dark" scenes to be outright laughable. This is not because I'm some kind of despicable shounen antagonist who has a preconcieved notion against the very fundamentals of fun, but rather the execution of said scenes being far too comical for their own good. Once in a blue moon I really was able to get invested in some of the grimdark stuff, but for the overwhelming majority it was just me laughing my ass off at the sight of villains that resembled an inflatable tube man outside a used car lot that would wiggle their arms and body around while being EVILLL.

Something that constantly kept pissing me off is how the anime goes about presenting itself. The rough transitioning between dark and goofy makes it extremely hard to ever get fully immersed into the story as it is both completely off-putting and can easily ruin the mood that was in place just a minute ago. I know not every show can have the godsend that is Puck (the elf, not the furby) to ease things out in dire times but really, they could have tried a bit harder. You've got instances where one second the protagonist is casually talking with someone and not even a full minute afterwards he is frantically running for his life. Or even better, while participating in a deathmatch against one of the deadliest assassins in the land, the characters randomly start throwing jokes and snarky remarks at each other like their current life or death situation is a family picnic. It should be obvious to virtually anyone how something that feels so out of place singlehandedly ruins the tension and intense atmosphere that the show was trying to build up just a mere second ago.

Moving on, I'd like to cover what I consider to easily be the biggest problem of Re:Zero. While I could hardly fault a show for having crazy powers in a setting that is entirely reliant on the supernatural, time resets are one of the absolute worst writing tricks in history. "Return by Death", ignoring the lack of creativity within the name itself, is by no means an exception - Granting Subaru the ability to go back in time whenever he is killed AKA basically giving him a free checkpoint, returning him to the moment that suits him the most before the time of his death. In Re:Zero, it feels like this trick is implemented whenever the writer comes to the realization that the story is incredibly reliant and dry without it, and so time is reset. It's not a bad thing to spice things up every once in a while but chances are that it's either going to be Subaru constantly going back in time before everything was fucked and starting all over again from step 1 or have the said conflict be resolved by sleazy plot conveniences. "Oh Roswaal-sama, I didn't see you there! How mighty convenient it is that you have arrived at just the perfect time to evaporate the gigantic demon-dog from the underworld that was about to devour my flesh in the span of two seconds!" It kinda makes you wonder if the concept of good writing is really such a mysterious term to the people who write light novels.

Return by Death also works as a double-edged sword in the case of Re:Zero. I am taking into consideration the fact that when executed properly, it allows for a fair number of interesting scenarios to play out throughout the series which is something that shouldn't be dismissed. Putting that aside, it is almost guaranteed that the implementation of time resets will deal a heavy blow to any cast of characters that are unaffected by this phenomenon. By having the protagonist and the protagonist only be able to utilize this ability renders the development of the rest of the cast completely null and void, seeing as he will be the only person to retain his memories from the previous iterations. It sacrifices the very fundamentals of characterization while completely throwing the concept of development out of the window for anyone besides him and is the sole reason that stories which rely on time resets have difficulty reaching critical acclaim. I can literally think of a single instance in anime in which time resets are utilized successfully but I don't see Yuasa Masaaki's name under the staff section.

Lastly, it brings up several plot threads for a brief period of time before lightly shrugging them under the rug whenever it so pleases, as if they had never existed. While not inherently plotholes, they almost feel like inconsistencies within the overarching narrative and I'm not sure if they are ever explained in the novel, but briefly covering them in the anime and never touching upon them ever again is completely pointless and a waste of time. Stuff like: Does Return by Death have the ability to take effect on others around Subaru or did Emilia just suffocate to death from the peer pressure of his hug? There are also huge inconsitincies within the world's functions, which have no backbone to sit on as the theory behind them is completely amiss. Stuff like: What was it that triggered Subaru's transportation? Will we ever be given proper information on Return by Death? - "But is explained in da light novEL! ! !" is not a valid argument, sorry. It's also worth noting how inconsistent the story is in terms of quality between its individual arcs, namely with the final act of the series being utterly ludicrous in the worst way possible.

Through a long and careful process of deduction, I have come to the conclusion that to be a character of Re:Zero, you must poses at least one of the three mandatory traits. The traits in question are as follows:

Be able to appeal to the otaku audience in one way or another ✔
Be an easy to hate, psychopathic piece of shit ✔
Lean towards borderline insanity ✔

This lot can be applied to absolutely any character in the series, from Subaru to Puck with few and far in between. And what better way to start this section off than with the man who encompasses all three?

Subaru is the very definition of a hit or miss main character. It’s not hard to decipher that at his very core, he is a self-insert who was brought into existence solely as a means of identification with your average basement-dweller, which is hardly surprising considering that this is a light novel adaptation. But while he does seem to inherit the “Nihilistic shut-in protagonist who’s actually a really nice guy on the inside” trait, he surprisingly has a few quirks of his own. In my eyes, he started off as the most hateable cunt in the known universe (Orange still hadn’t aired at this point) but as the series progressed, I was to my bewilderment able to actually empathize with his character. With that in mind, it still took all I had in order to watch most of his normal interactions with the rest of the cast when he was in his right mind so it really was a breath of fresh air when he went absolutely bonkers and stopped talking altogether. Of course this only lasted for a single episode because as we know, anime protagonists are immune to petty mental disorders. It took Kirito a year to overcome PTSD yet it only took Subaru an episode to recover his sanity. Talk about a hero!

Emilia, while supposedly being the main heroine of the story as well as Subaru’s primary love interest is a fairly mysterious figure throughout pretty much the entirety of the show. For some reason, she physically embodies the appearance of the Jealous Witch that is known and feared by citizens all across the land and unbeknownst to Subaru also happens to be one of the candidates for the throne. Her other attributes consist of being strangely sympathetic towards people she has never met before, having a pet furby and being fairly cute. That right there about fully sums up her character which is quite unfortunate as she's supposed to be the main heroine as opposed to being a side hoe, completely overshadowed by Rem.

"Only I'm allowed to sniff Subaru-kun!" Rem is first introduced as one of the 2 maids that govern Roswaal’s mansion. When Subaru is hurt and taken to the mansion, she’s appointed as his caretaker along with her older sister, Ram. She initially seems like a cute and innocent girl up until her psychopathic tendencies come rocking in and she brutally murders Subaru in cold blood without giving it a second thought. No one really seems to take that into consideration when labeling her to be the best gurl of da century but it is what it is. Unfortunately, she’s probably the character on which the time resets took the biggest toll on as a huge chunk of her development was constantly being thrown out the window during the entirety of the mansion arc. This takes effect up until the premise of her entire character shifts to being Subaru's lovey-dovey, 2nd-rate love interest during the latter half of the series. Despite that, she still manages to take the cake for the best girl of the series due to an extreme lack of competition.

Produced by studio White Fox, the art and animation really don't present anything new to the table. Although, one thing that sticks out in my mind is how well they were able to handle the tonal shifts the show makes regularly, most notably by effectively switching up the color palette from the usual bright and cheery NGNL-ish style to a more dark and brooding one. The character designs don't have a distinct style but do include a lot of variety between the individual characters. Subaru is noticeably plain-looking and dull, while the citizens that inhabit the fantasy world come off as flashy, with bright clothes and hair in every color imaginable, almost serving as to further alienate Subaru from the norm.

If Re:Zero had a strong suit, it certainly wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it lies within its music department. Despite the fact that like any other sensible man on this god-forsaken Earth, I proudly despise pop music with every fiber of my being, both of Re:Zero's ending and opening songs are admittedly catchy with a handful of decent OSTs to the side. While varied, the voice acting was pretty consistent throughout and most of the seiyuu were able to kick their game up a notch whenever shit hit the fan. Nonetheless, there are still some performances that either managed to evoke mixed feelings or just left a lot to be desired, with Petelguese being the prime example. Episode 15 felt like a comedy skit due to his constant laughter and overly-exaggerated mannerisms, killing any possible tension. Additionally, there's a scene in particular where he is just frantically laughing while the camera slowly zooms-in on Subaru's depraved expression as he screams and drools all over himself.. What? I realize that scene alone tops 95% of comedy anime out there but was that really all it took to boost it into the top 30? Not to mention how all of his lackeys from the Witch Cult also share his exaggerated tone, making the so-called "antagonists" of the show practically intolerable.

Re:Zero to me is one of those series you can't help but enjoy no matter which side of the spectrum you've landed on. Even if you don't genuinely like the show, you can still get somewhat of a kick out of it for a variety of reasons. Because the paragraph I wrote looked extremely messy, I've summarized it in good ol' Rkpandey fashion (vote-bots are still in development, though):

Pros:

+ Semi-thriller
+ Subaru offing himself
+ Subaru getting killed
+ Overblown scenes and performances (enjoyable for all the wrong reasons)
+ Inflatable tube man

Cons:

- Extremely repetitive plot-twists
- Generic
- Subaru
- Character caricatures
- Subaru
- Laughable antagonists (not a positive)
- Subaru

Nothing is worse than an over-inflated sense of self-importance.

I don't expect nor want any diehard fans of this show to agree with me. The sole reason behind this review's existence is that you lot can hopefully understand where me and many others are coming from when thinking that Re:Zero is in fact not the second coming of Christ, as that is the best I can hope for when going against the norm like this. So in conclusion: Re:Zero is a torture-porn, flavor of the month show with an uninteresting cast and a bland, oversaturated premise far too reliant on constant plot twists in order to keep the viewer seated even after long passing the point of redundancy. It does a few things right and does try to deviate from the typical light novel adaptation by adding heavy emphasis on the dark fantasy setting it establishes early on. Unfortunately, most of these scenes are either too comical or far too overblown to be taken seriously and it holds no merit when compared to other dark fantasy anime like Berserk. On the other hand, the thriller appeal is still somewhat there until it goes off the rails during the last act and even then I'd be lying by saying I wasn't entertained while marathoning through the whole ordeal, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Re:Zero- A Lengthy Yet Critical Dissertation

Well, I told myself I wouldn't review this, but I felt so disgusted while reading through the reviews of Re:Zero on MAL that I had to address the glaringly obvious issues with it. I binged 23 of its 25 episodes while sick at home with the flu, and by the end of it I'm not sure if that or the vomiting I did was worse. I know a lot of people aren't going to agree with this review, but I plead for you to take off your fan service blinders and tune in while I break down the psychological disaster ... Re:Zero truly is.

In essence, Re:Zero is a deconstruction of the fantasy/stuck in game genre, one I've never particularly been a fan of. Our "noble" protagonist, Subaru is magically transported to a mystical world where time travel is commonplace, the MC activates God Mode and chicks are all over his nether regions. Sound familiar? I decided to start the series based on a friend's recommendation that it was like Steins;Gate. I will tell you from personal experience that the biggest similarity between the two is the existence of a punctuation mark in their two titles. That or the fact they're the same amount of episodes. For the remaining episodes, writers cater to the libidos of pathetic teenagers by combining the worst elements of shows like Sword Art Online and other overpowered harem titles and do a fantastic job evading any responsibility developing intelligent plot lines. Non-cohesive potholes are disguised as "psychological" or "edgy" and the main character whines continuously like a three year old who lost his balloon.

One of the most notorious blemishes on Re:Zero's resume is the messy shifts its tone makes. It's one thing for a show to be edgy, but when there's no legitimate segway between a slapstick joke and an emotional gut punch, it leaves the viewer confused. Bunguo Stray Dogs has this same issue, which ends up making neither the comedy funny or the shocks effective. It's like watching someone comically slip on a banana peel cut short by an image of puppies being boiled in acid. That's not edgy, it's just a fucking disaster. It's feasible for a show to contain multiple genres, but they must be developed with finesse or else the viewer is left watching the equivalent of a bipolar teen not knowing what they want to be in life. The unfortunate part is how the majority of viewers are so desensitized to this streamlined method of script writing that it seems normal and acceptable. The writers could've benefitted from watching shows like Steins;Gate and HunterXHunter in order to learn how to effectively balance humor with serious or cerebral scenes.

The rest of the story seems as though it's being written week to week. Instead of taking the time to carve out an effective story, writers use sporadic shock value to trick the viewer into thinking what they're watching is good. Their adrenaline is pumping, and it almost creates a sense of tunnel vision in order to distract them from the real issues the anime has. Shows like Game of Thrones have shock value as well, but the superb writing, effective timing and added characterization separates it from phonies like Re:Zero. Unfortunately, unlike other shock and awe disasters like Akame ga Kill, Re:Zero fans will defend these contrived elements because of the time resets and other excusable aspects of the series. In that respect, the director achieved his goal of pure entertainment value. It appeals to the masses. I, like anyone enjoys a good cliffhanger from time to time. However, Re:Zero gives The Walking Dead a run for its money in the sheer amount of forced close-calls in its episode conclusions. It gets incredibly annoying if you're bingeing it, just like one of my few issues with Kaiji.

Initially I thought the time-resetting element could be incorporated effectively into the already entertaining first 3 episodes of the series. I was dead wrong. This aspect ends up existing as little more than a plot device to excuse weak writing and character development. Subaru screws up, doesn't atone for his mistakes and tries again a different way. I get that this takes place in a fantasy world, but what is the viewer learning from a kid that cries about "they didn't do what I wanted them to do! Wahhhhh!" He shows little to no respect for the world he gets transported to, and instead of learning from his errors, repeats them with somebody or something else. Since he's still a kid, this exists again as a cop out for writing legitimate character growth throughout the series. However, he probably acts close to how many other people his age would if they were thrown into a supposed "game-like" world... With blatant disregard to everything around them. In some ways, the writers really put off a pretentious vibe for the lack of responsibility Subaru has in his actions. It left a bad taste in my mouth and seemed as though they were sticking their tongues out at critics everywhere like "I'm writing this and there's nothing you can do about it, nah!"

Of course, Re:Zero offers a plethora of eligible waifus to choose from. There's the emotional shy one, the lolli, the yandere and everything in between. Not to mention, they all end up falling for Subaru in the end. It IS 2016 people, recycling the same harem formula with duplicated generic tropes for characters got old about 20 years ago. No character in the entire show, sans our antagonist, is unforgettable, unless you're speaking from purely lusting reasons. Every time a new female character was introduced it felt like another nail in Re:Zero's coffin of legitimacy. Character development isn't formed from generating multiple cardboard-cutouts and assigning them to becoming romantically involved with our MC. Regardless of what you think you're interpreting as development, it all exists as a facade to promote its narrative... whatever that may be.

But what about our Lord and Savior, Subaru???

One important piece of a television series that can make or break a viewer's experience, is the ability for us to relate to facets of a character's personality or their cause for actions in the world. Unfortunately, Subaru exhibits neither of these. Throughout Re:Zero's painstaking 25 episodes he learns virtually nothing about his previous mistakes, and his actions towards other characters are unjustifiable or entirely belligerent. He disrespects others in the world, and thinks the best way to fix his blunders is to just rewind time again. If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, not enough intelligence exists on this planet for anyone to call him out for being an idiot. Everyone just goes along with his irritating behavior because he's an "outsider". Some would be quick to call Subaru a selfless "hero", but he blindly helps strangers he's known for about five minutes. This clearly isn't a reflection of his personality, but is out of character and exists to propel the story forward. He's helping people because "he's supposed to" and continuously bites the hand that feeds him, and always seems to come out scott free. He's an oblivious moron lacking any bit of hindsight, but it's alright because he ultimately gets all the chicks, and that's all that matters right?

Whew, now that I'm completely out of breath I can mention the few positives I can take from Re:Zero. In no particular order:

1. The animation is pretty damn good. It reminds me a lot of No Game No Life with regard to the vivid, bright colored environments and attractive character models. White Fox at its finest
2. The premise is great. Execution is abysmal, but at least I can ponder about what could've been.
3. It's oddly entertaining at times, if for no other reason than to watch a train wreck in progress.
4. The laundry list of waifus ensure that all plebs can be satisfied. Most of the female characters are oddly sexy in their own way.
5. The soundtrack is consistent, pleasant and well mixed. I mean, it damn well better be based on the composer's credentials.

There, I did it. Parts of me are baffled as to how this is the 35th highest rated show on MAL as this review is completed, but after the giant Erased debacle from a few seasons ago nothing really surprises me anymore. I hope at least those individuals deliberating on whether or not to watch Re:Zero have gained some valuable information in this review. Don't be so easily deceived, use your head when you watch it.

All in all, while I'm disappointed that this is the same studio that put out gems like Steins;Gate and Katanagatari, I'm not that surprised. The director and writers successfully catered to the mass appeal of shock and awe as well as shameless fan service when they wrote Re:Zero. The writing is shit and the characters suck, but I guess if you're looking for a cheap thrill or to be hip with your fellow weeaboos, you might consider watching this pompous piece of fiction. Thanks for those who pushed me to write this review, I had a lot of (cough) "fun" reliving my sickness in order to produce this critical analysis. Be sure to check out the rest of my Summer '16 reviews!

This anime doesn't make sense at all. I can agree that the show has an interesting premise and tries it best to be something original but in most episodes it seems like the writer itself doesn't really know where to take the story. Subaru is just transported into this fantasy world and immediately accepts it without ever questioning where or how he got here or even try to at least get back to his own world. The characters are simply one-dimensional and have no personality at all and just seem like lifeless robots who are simply their to complete the harem circle. The reasons ... Subaru does things is simply illogical. The two maids are simply there for fan service and serve nothing to the plot at all except being "waifu" material. The relationship between Subaru and Emilia felt fake and forced to be honest and in my eyes don't really see why he even likes her as it doesn't feel genuine .This series could have had great potential but after the ending it was pure trash and i don't understand how anyone calls this a masterpiece. The last episode felt disappointing and felt like many things were missing like some characters were completely tossed on the side. Overall this show is a mess with a cast of bland characters and a weird main character with no intelligence.

After watching the whole series,i decided to write a review about this amazing show.

So basically in the beginning : A character named Natsuki Subaru went on a new Fantasy world, containing powers, a medieval and lovely place. Buying some stuffed at a market by blinking his eyes in the real world,more precisely in Japan was his traveled method. After failing miserably by trying to save someone, Subaru finally understood that he didn't possess any power at all... That what he though on the beginning. A torturous loop happen again and again where he died, after finally founding happiness and a beautiful girl who saved her, ... and Subaru understand after his second death that he possess not really a power,but instead a curse : Return by Death.

Subaru as a neet still possess a huge strength in hand combats, letting him kicking the ass of three street thugs, wearing a huge weapons and also act really fast on his feet, which means he is not fully hopeless. He also possess some courage, but broke up after some dramatic death and it's totally under-stable.

So, this story will showed you a new and more serious Kono suba !

So, do you like watching the main character suffering and growing up?
Do you like amazing music ? Amazing opening and ending ?
Do you like comedy? Do you like Tragedy? Do you like crying and feeling happy after watching a episode ? Then, Re:Zero is for you.

Story : 8/10

The Story is interesting, but could have been explained better. It's still have some great plot twist, and the cliffhanger are ALWAYS present.
Some awesome scene were skipped from the Light novel, which i don't understand why. Maybe because they doesn't had enough time ? But still. It's really a shame for me.

Art : 8/10

The art is good, but some scenes possess too much camera shaking, which reduce the enjoyment i had.

Otherwise, i also like the design of each character, and the CGI made the world around alive. The flashback were also really well place in each scene, and some face of Subaru are so well drawn when he goes wrong, you really feel disturb when need by watching it.

Unfortunately, the last episode of the series were becoming worse with the arts, maybe because they were starting to lack of budget and time. But it was still great overall !

Sound : 10/10

The sound was really something wonderful and powerful. It's the typical music that bring you tears of joy, and put some tingles on your back. The track of Re:Zero could even reach some level of music movies !


Character : 10/10

Oh god, the Character are soooo amazing ! I love them all so much. They all have something interesting that i like.

Natsuki Subaru : Oh god, his voice. Some people find him annoying, but i love hearing him. The voice actor put and awesome job on him.

Also, Natsuki Subaru always changed and surprised me.

Well, i find all voice in this show really good, thumbs up for all the voice actor !

Enjoyment : 10/10

When i'm watching and anime and realizing that i have to wait one more week to see another episode, it's mean for me that i really enjoyed this.

Everything was well done perfectly to make me enjoyed more and more each episode, White fox did and awesome job.

Like i said before, the cliffhanger are always present, along with amazing soundtrack. I feel hype at every episode !


Overall : 10/10

It was a great surprise, and i don't regret watching it even with the negative comment about it.

This show is truly a masterpiece for me, and nobody can make me change my though about it. It's true that it contain some lack, but overall it doesn't matter for me. One of the best anime that i watched.

Everybody rating it shit are of course some people who doesn't watch it seriously and though it was a harem by looking at the main picture, it's truly a shame.

So, I've noticed the many hateful reviews given to this anime. Despite its magnificence, many are hating on it. Some of these reviews seem to be written just for likes, and others just for trolling. I will attempt to make this review something that will truly evaluate this animated story of Re:Zero.

WARNING- may contain minor spoilers

Story- 10

The story is very simple: The protagonist wants to save people from death. In doing so, he dies, but reincarnates himself upon failure. So, what is it that makes this memorable? Answering that would be a spoiler, but the best way to describe it is failure. Everyone experiences failure. ... You, me, the guy down the street, and especially Subaru. he gets a failure stamp on his back as he continues to struggle, to fail, to try, and to destroy himself over and over and over again. In doing so, he kills himself, no longer being motivated by saving, but by desperation. He displays the average human among the beasts, magicians, and demons in his world. It also shows what would truly happen to a human in a different world. Many anime play this off by giving the protagonist a powerful sidekick, a "special power", a weapon, or luck(looking at you Konosuba.) The anime gives the protagonist ABSOLUTELY nothing. That is, if you forget the reincarnation. Even then, reincarnation doesn't help his survivability, it just gives you another chance, like a video game. When you lose in a video game, it doesn't give you cheat codes, or weapons, or the power of friendship. It just gives you the option to retry. But, when ignoring reincarnation, it gives nothing, takes everything, and kills your dreams of living in a parallel world in a realistic way.

Art/Sound- 9

These to are mainly put together because they shouldn't be the main focus of anime. The main focus should be the story. Art and sound should only be there to support, not to be a major category.

That said, the art and sound are great. The openings and endings fit perfectly to the anime's theme, and the soundtrack also fits well. the artwork had a few flaws, such as some parts being in 3D instead of being animated. HOWEVER, that happens once every 10 episodes. It's a flaw, but an extremely small one. In conclusion, the art and sound both fit the anime like sidekicks fit to main characters.

Characters- 9

The characters all work well with the story. Subaru, the main character, almost displays a human perfectly. He has flaws, goes for girls, occasionally acts weird, and has flaws. Did I mention he has flaws. Well, he has flaws. Subaru isn't perfect, which is very refreshing when watching other anime. Most of the time, protagonists are special, where either their physicality, combat ability, perception, or anything else is top notch. Almost all anime protagonists have a top-notch skill or ability. Not Subaru. He isn't special, and could be replaced by many other males from earth. He might be strong, but punches don't work on magic. He may be enthusiastic, but enthusiasm doesn't help him. He may be the protagonist, but that doesn't mean he gets special attention. He's normal. He's average. That's what makes him special.

Emilia was created out of an ideal. She was created out of other waifus to be the ultimate waifu. She's nice, strong(but not too strong) and perfect. Everyone would love her as a girlfriend. Despite this, everyone hats her because of her resemblance to someone else. That shows realism, because most anime have a completely perfect character. This anime shows that perfection could be the cause of imperfection.

Rem should not be listed as a side character. Although she is the ultimate support character, she has almost as many, if not more lines than Emilia, and should've been the main girl in many people's perspective. Rem is also strong, nice, and beautiful, but is stuck as a maid, caring for and looking after the other characters. Yet another case of amazingness lessened because of something realistic. Missed opportunity. Or, opportunities never given to her. Another case of realistic tragedy.

All other characters are basic supports. Rem's sister, Ram, Puck, the apple man, felt, Julis, Feliz, the other crown contendors, and the list goes on and on. they all have something in them that's memorable. I am really bad with names, yet I doubt I will forget anyone here.

Enjoyment- 10

I don't have to explain myself. This review does it for me. Re:Zero is incredible, and you should watch it.

Overall- Just watch it

Just watch it.

Re:Zero is not for the faint-hearted. This is a warning. The show is incredible, one of the best I have come across. But it is deceptively grim and dark. Despair is not a foreign concept here. Re zero seemingly promised a light-hearted adventure anime that bore a striking resemblance to Konosuba but then it did something I have never seen an anime do before. It took firm hold of my heartstrings and yanked them in opposite directions. It effectively ripped apart my expectations, and my heart along with them.

Story:
The story starts off with a similar note to Konosuba, a NEET that gets thrown into a ... medieval-based RPG world. His expectations of grandeur and power belonging to the typical protagonist gets dashed and by chance, he finds a companion. Then the time travel aspect gets introduced and the story starts to spiral down into the darkness. Yes, a major point of the show is that Subaru can die and can return to a certain point in time, sort of like a save point. This travel premise allows Subaru to try over and over again if he fails and this might seem like a ridiculously great advantage. It isn’t as great as it seems. The ordeals that Subaru goes through are shockingly dark. Depressingly dark. We get to see Subaru fight and struggle over and over again until your heart breaks for the poor guy. There were times that I had wondered why Subaru didn’t just break down right there and then. When Subaru finally triumphs over the depressing dead ends, there is the feeling of relief and satisfaction. The hero finally gets what he deserves. And then suddenly, you realized that you are emotionally attached to the characters.

Characters:
Re zero has an interesting cast with their own engaging back stories and character. But to avoid spoilers, I will just be focusing on the mc.
Subaru is one of the most realistic characters I have ever seen. Just like in reality, this character has his strengths as well as his weaknesses, successes as well as failures. And his flaws are portrayed exceptionally well. You can admire that kindness, determination and courage in him. But the show also ensures awareness of the stubbornness, arrogance and neediness in him. We get to see the ugly side of Subaru, his desperate need to feel needed, that undeserved pride and an irritating sense of pettiness among other things. His cringe-worthy flaws disgusted me at times but I stuck around. It was worth it. This character is worth the watch. He fights, gets the world pulled from under his feet and then he struggles again, all the time harboring thoughts and emotions that were relatable to, especially the negative ones. Subaru isn’t a perfect character and neither is he a strong one, but his life-like human qualities make him a character that you will remember whether you like him or not.

Animation and sound:
The animation is worthy of a 2016 anime and is aesthetically pleasing. But the soundtrack is the more noteworthy aspect of the show. The thing that I noticed was that it was extremely suitable. At the times when you were supposed to feel the character's joy or dejection, the soundtrack created the perfect atmosphere for that particular emotion. With impressive visuals, background music that is pleasing to the ears and a complementing atmosphere, what is not to like?

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed the experience, even if it wasn’t exactly a pleasant one throughout. It is an emotional rollercoaster and should be taken as such. The story takes the characters that you feel for then wrenches your heart as they suffer horribly. But it also takes the characters that you feel for and gives them their happiest moments as you watch with satisfaction from afar. It has highs and lows. Extreme ones. That is what makes the ride engaging and enjoyable.

Overall:
Re zero has definitely earned a place on my favorites list, the list of anime that I will never forget amongst the easily forgettable sea of generic shows. If you are looking for a masterpiece of a ride then congratulations, you have found one. But it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, despair and gore come along as a package. If you can get around that point, then you have found yourself a rare gem. To be honest, the show was something like a guilty pleasure for me. I had told myself to exercise a bit of discipline and wait for the entire series to be out before watching. But I couldn’t deny my curiosity and binged watched an entire 22 episodes in a day. That is just how captivating and alluring the series is. Don’t just take my word for it, give it a shot. (At least until episode 15. By that point, you’d probably get a gist of what the show is like.) I hope that watching Re zero will be as great an experience for you as it was for me. I was knocked off my feet.