Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Episode 18 Discussion

auron12 said:
Damn subaru.Rem is so hot.You deserve to die 1000 times.

Rehls said:
-snip about Subaru's Love-

Rehls said:

¬¬ Nothing you're saying matters, really. In reality you can have a friend that falls in love for someone that has no time to spend with said friend. Then you go and complain how life didn't go the way you'd want? Complain that you'd want to learn more about the person your friend fell in love to, but couldn't? Because the person is beyond your reach? Yeah, you're not used to the kind of treatment the show's giving you, eh. But it appears immature to me for you to complain so much about it.

And again, only a few weeks have passed in the story. Alright? ... Wow, is really what this show doing too much an innovation for you? Eh.

Yorozuya4Ever said:


^I fucking hope so.

I hated the last two episodes, simple because they infuriated me. He knows he can come back when he dies, so why isn't he the strongest person in the anime!? He has advanced knowledge of every situation!

I'm not going to go into more detail on that, because I will never stop, but back to this episode.

Please dear god. I hope he is over his cowardice now. I thought two episodes back where he had the hatred in his eyes for Betelgeuse, that he would go on a rampage and we would see some action, but nah Subaru just screams and cries.

Now there is hope again after this episode. I hate to admit it, but me hating the last two episodes, will probably make me like the next few even more. I hope that is the way the writers planned it at least.

Shrimperor said:

Sorry, but if a main Character only starts being a main after 2 whole Cours, then she probably wasn't a main character to begin with, but a side Character, and a minor one atm.

Rehls said:

Andy you'll know, but not now. Like someone else said, I'd agree with you if this wasn't 10% of the story, only. This story is long. Get used to it. Next season we'll see more of Emilia.

Rehls said:

But you're making yourself be the issue. The show's fine. But you're unreasonably wanting it to be what you want more. Man, how much of what people consider 'issues' have sprouted by the fact the story's long.

FononZero said:
lmao, now they're shoving Emilia in our faces? The Emilia hate is so strong right now. While we have a lot to learn about Emilia, when we finally do, I'm pretty sure the information we learn will be a lot more interesting and important than anything Rem can provide.

Rehls said:

Yeah, I don't consider Emilia's situation a problem. Objectively speaking.

Rehls said:


Subaru's not in love with Rem. Subaru has implied many times that Emilia is his ideal girl. He's praised her plenty. She made the first and best impression. And he kept loyal to her, and faithful to his love. What happened in the castle didn't serve as a definite rejection. He misunderstood what she said, and thought that she was talking about his love for her, in the 'special treatment' he gives her. But it was about the prejudice - she was talking about pity, instead. She didn't say enough there. She wasn't clear, as it wasn't possible for her to, at the moment.

Shrimperor said:

If you actually bothered to read, you will see i have been saying 'for now' and 'atm' everywhere.
And tbh, other people told me Emilia will stay the same with not much screen time, but we will see.


Man, guess what? People like different stuff and enjoy stuff differently. Nothing is perfect. I never once said i hated the show, infact i quite like it, but like everything it has it's problems.
IF you want to Circle-jerk Re:Zero and say it's 11/10 aweshum best perfect animu ever, do it. Don't expect people to agree with you tough, and don't offend them or go personal if they don't.

flack said:
Anyone curious as to why this entire time Subaru hasn't ever thought about anyone from the real world? Surely he has people (like his parents) he cared about and thought about the possibility of never seeing them again? And surely they are more important than these people he met in this world.

Rehls said:

It isn't. I've given reasons as to why it isn't a problem. They're not based on my personal opinion. They're facts.

Rehls said:


Dude, it's you who commented on Rem being more important to Subaru than Emilia. You're quite confusing in your points. Your grammar is getting to me.

Rehls said:
I'm seeing it from an objective perspective, as not being a problem.

aboynameddeath said:
Subaru: I AM USELESS I HATE MYSELF

Rem: I LOVE YOU SUBARU

Subaru: OK, I AM FANTASTIC AND I LOVE EMILIA LoOoOL, HELP ME SAVE HER?

Rem: YES! :))))))))

ROFL the writing is beyond atrocious.

For the first 17 minutes of the latest episode Subaru was the most real, the most intelligent, and the most relatable that he has ever been the entire series, and I actually managed to really feel something for him. Then it all went down the drain.

Rem is just flatly written waifu bait. There are multi-dimensional fascinating characters that would also happen to make a great waifu, and there are characters that exist for the sole reason of pandering to the viewers. Rem unfortunately is the latter. There's zero personality or thought behind any of her actions other than being in love with the mc. As far as I'm concerned her character development died episodes ago the moment she fell for Subaru.

There are so many interesting things the show could focus on like the five candidates for the throne, or what exactly is the witch, or what are Roswall's (and the other backers) true intentions, but it just chooses to show a boy's unhealthy obsession with a girl he barely even knows and waifu wars.

Subaru's rant was really great and memorable though. Hits way too close to home.

Hitzuki said:
Please. If you don't want Rem just give her to me! I would love to have me a demon maid of such beauty and adorableness! D:< You can have the half-elf, I don't care! DEMONS ALL THE WAY.

Mll23 said:


if you have not notice how Rem's character is used to kickstart the plot progression and character development than I think its more a personal problem then poor writing. They execute what they want to be seen, its our jobs to pick it apart and figure it out

mahoupenisu said:


Did you pay attention to the episode? He said he knew all of those things about himself, but still kept acting that way. Then, he wanted to run away. That isn't developing. If you're original statement was about potential character development, then I would have agreed.

I was not being serious about the few days thing by the way. He clearly stayed more than that at the mansion.It still hasn't been a lot of time. Like I said in my OP, they're just kids so it isn't that serious. Still cringey af.

MrAM said:
Subaru roasted himself good.

I've come to be ambivalent towards the scenes of "characters scream their feelings/explain their personalities while dramatic music plays culminating in epic climax," but Re:Zero built up to this so expertly, established everything stated explicitly here before, and executed the scene itself so excellently that I'm willing to give this a pass. It worked brilliantly as a much-needed cathartic moment for both Subaru and the audience, heralding Subaru's lowest moment and subsequent rebirth, and marking a turning point for this arc's story, fitting as this was basically its halfway point.

But wow, this episode. This here was Re: Zero's most damning condemnation of NEET shut-in otaku culture, its most withering critique of what Subaru represents, its most dramatic deconstruction of the "escape into fantasy-game world" genre that it clearly sees as nothing less than toxic. No, the narrative says, leaving behind your miserable life to start over in a fantasy world will not magically fix your problems. It will not suddenly make you a better person. It will not suddenly turn you into the flawless, super-powered hero you wish you could be. It will not transport you to heaven. It will not make you happy. The same personal flaws that dragged you down in your old world will drag you down in this one, because your past will not suddenly vanish, no, it will keep dogging you until you learn to change yourself. Your escapism is but a shallow illusion. Re; Zero takes an idea that many people fantasize about (escaping their problems by living in an idealized fantasy-game world) and demonstrates just how terrifying it would be if a living, breathing human being actually experienced it (the show's central conceit of "Return by Death" is a brilliant display of how inhumane the literal application of video game mechanics to real people can be). Subaru wasted away his existence before coming to this strange place, and the consequences of that lifestyle have asserted themselves over and over, exacerbated rather then remedied by this new world.

And yet, in the same breath that Re: Zero condemns Subaru and his ilk, it reaffirms them. This is done via Rem, of course. Her insistence on highlighting Subaru's positive qualities, the ones that inspired her love, even in the face of his raw expression of self-hatred, is the narrative's own way of acknowledging the heroic potential of people like Subaru. It's not Subaru's grand gestures that endear him to Rem, a direct rebuttal to the popular LN notion that it is grandiose powers and godly capabilities that define one's heroism and personal achievement. It's the small things that make Subaru human that point to the best of him, that confirm his essential goodness. Subaru is severely flawed, but he is not without redeeming qualities, and so he cannot be the filth that he claims to be.

This story's writer made an interesting choice in writing an arc that showcased Subaru's best (Arc 2) before the one that displayed his worst (Arc 3). It's led some people to claim that Subaru randomly regressed to generate drama and pointless character development. The reality, however, is that everything wrong with Subaru was established subtly (perhaps too subtly) in the first two arcs. Subaru is a complex enough character, and the writing nuanced enough, that he can both be the hero we saw in the first two arcs and the coward we saw in this one without any fundamental contradiction. Different circumstances brought out different sides of him, and that it is his worst side that he must come to terms with now. More so, having seen the best of Subaru before seeing his worst, we the audience can agree with Rem's praise. It does not ring hollow, because we have seen it first-hand. And so, to return to the meta analysis, the narrative does not unilaterally declare shut-ins ruined. That would be cruel. It criticizes the bad while highlighting the good as a way of showing that they have the capacity and the potential to do better. And Subaru does.

I liked the visual parallel between the shot of his eyes this episode and the one that ended episode 15. People thought the one back then signified the arrival of hero Subaru, but really all it led to was more pathetic Subaru. The murderous gleam in his eyes did not indicate his awesomeness, it indicated his heedless greed and all-consuming desire for vengeance, which simply led to more destruction and mattered nothing without a genuine resolve to change. Contrast that to the plainer shot here, which is the real signifier of hero Subaru's arrival. They are clear and firm, a sign that Subaru has set his mind straight and is ready to truly move forward. From zero.

A last note: Rem is awesome and Subaru is extremely lucky to have her, but I'm somewhat disturbed by the (seemingly) popular notion that that somehow ENTITLES her to Subaru's love. Just because a person selflessly aids you does not mean that you are obligated to return the favor with love. That's exactly the problem with the White Knight complex, the idea of which Re; Zero has viciously attacked throughout this arc. For Subaru to suddenly change affections just because Rem's acts of kindness weigh heavier on a scale than Emilia's would be a pretty gross thematic betrayal of everything the show has stood for, and nonsensical because love is not a math problem. And Rem, by agreeing to help Subaru despite the knowledge that she is not the ultimate target of his affections, demonstrates the depth of her love in a way that her many confessions never could.

Great stuff, this.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying that all shut-ins are NEETs by choice or that using video games as escapism is inherently wrong. I think Re; Zero is addressing only a specific subset of the Japanese NEET population, and I don't think it's criticizing video game escapism as a general concept as much it is criticizing the mindset that gives birth to "fantasy-video game" stories like SAO.

FononZero said:
@Shrimperor doesn't know facts are.