~{Story}~
As mentioned before, Re:Zero’s entire premise basically revolves around our protagonist, Natsuki Subaru, and gets teleported to an alternate world and has the ability of going back to a “checkpoint” every time experiencing death. However, the story focuses less on how Subaru got in this situation, and more on what he does with his situation. The story itself is made up of three arcs, with the third arc being the majority of the series. Each arc has its own main problem, but the overall story is what ties them together. Not many questions get answered by the end of this series, since the story is still incomplete in its web novel series. But this is a problem with most adaptations of ongoing light novels/manga. Each story is well written and they balance out its lightheartedness with tragedies. The story primarily focuses on how Subaru handles these situations and how much despair is weighing him down. Though not all of the third arc is adapted as its tragic end is left untouched for the sake of a more “pleasing ending”, but the series manages to loyally adapt its source material well. Although some key plot moments are cut down, but they will only affect the arcs after where the anime leaves off at.
Story: 7/10
~{Presentation}~
The thing that impresses me the most is how dedicated White Fox is in making this adaptation a good. Most episodes have their OP and EDs cut out because the studio wanted more time for adapting more content. That being said, the studio definitely needed that extra time. The adaptation covers 9 volumes in 25 episodes (except for the last bit of volume 9), which is quite a lot for an anime to cover. Some moments are cut out, but at least the key plot points are kept. However, the pacing is a little bit uneven throughout the series, particularly during the third arc. It might have been better if the second arc had a faster pace and the third arc had more episodes to work with. But the directing in the series is solid. The cinematography and its style is great. The series isn’t always depressing and disturbing as it has its lighthearted moments here and there (particularly during the first half of the series). The second half of the series, which consists of the third arc, is much more darker, edgier and action-packed. One key issue in Re:Zero is the lack of world-building. The writing focuses more on establishing its characters more than its setting, making this alternate world feel bland. Many features of this world is only brought up when relevant, just for the sake of plot progression. And sometimes it feels like the series is making up stuff along the way, when in reality, they might have just crammed exposition just to get the story moving. This doesn’t happen to often though, but when it does, it can be a bit distracting.
Presentation: 7.5/10
~{Character}~
The characters are what are the selling point for this series so if you don’t end up liking them, chances are that you’re not going to like the anime much. Natsuki Subaru’s a somewhat unique protagonist, but he’s isn’t quite memorable. Don’t get me wrong, his character is handled well, but it’s just that its hard to be as emotionally invested with him as let’s say some other tragic protagonist like Okabe from Steins;Gate. But he is likable though. His cheerful, yet careful attitude is fun to see and when tragedy falls on him, his breakdowns are even more amusing. His character changes out throughout the series. Even though it may seem sudden, his character change wasn’t really a character change to begin with. He was just expressing his true feelings more. The main female protagonist of the series, Emilia, is a likable character, but she isn’t anything special. Mainly because she was written without any flaws makes her a character hard to connect to. However, she doesn’t play a major role in the third arc, which leaves her appearance at the end lack impact. Rem, who plays a major role in the third arc, happens to be the most complex character of the series. Her leniency might be a little too much, but her dedication is likable. Her sister, Ram, is also a pretty good character, despite not being in the series much. There are a bunch of other supporting characters in the series and many of them are handled pretty well.
Character: 6/10
~{Art}~,
The art style of the series isn’t the most unique, but the art quality is definitely neat and pretty. There are moments when landscapes and backgrounds look gorgeous and the character designs are really good too. One thing the anime manages to excel on is its lighting. During pivitol moments, the lighting adds the emotional impact it creates. However, the art quality isn’t always very consistent. There are quality drops in some moment, particularly in the second half of the series. As a matter of a fact, the second half of the series pales in its art when compared to the much well-drawn first half. But even during art quality drops, the backgrounds tend to stay consistently good-looking.
Art: 7.5/10
~{Animation}~
Despite its fantasy genre, Re:Zero isn’t that action-packed. There are fights during the climaxes of each arc, but other than that, there’s not many moments where they can showcase their animation quality. But there are moments when sakuga animation is used, but surprisingly, they are used for the emotional scenes, rather than the action-packed one. Moments when characters cry in a sense of happiness, has a very smooth feel to it and makes the scene more impactful. However, the animation quality in general isn’t very consistent. Its most well animated fight happens in the first arc of the series and the fights after that tend to look a bit clunky. The third arc in particular had some weird looking moments. But even during the third arc, the emotional and dramatic moments had solid animations.
Animation: 7/10
~{Voice Acting}~
The main cast of Re:Zero is actually voice acted by seiyuu who haven’t done much before. However, they all manage to do an impressive job, despite their experience. Kobayashi Yuusuke may have done not much before, but after doing a character like Subaru, I’m sure he will have lots of opportunities later on. Before doing Re:Zero, he was known mostly for his role as Arslan, but now he’ll be known for doing Subaru. Not only does he manage to get his character’s carefree tone right, but during his tragic moments, he does a great job in showing how much his character is suffering. Whenever Subaru breaks down, it really sounds real. And there’s a moment in both the beginning of episode 7 and the end of episode 23, where the seiyuu shows his amazing range in voice acting. Takahashi Rie, who created her popularity with Megumin from KonoSuba, manages to do a good job as Emilia. Her script doesn’t ask for much, but she does what she needs to do well. Minase Inori, whose been doing a lot of “best girl” characters recently (and “worst girl” characters), does a great job as Rem. She showcases both a strong and emotional side to her character. But the seiyuu who amazed me the most in Re:Zero is Matsuoka Yoshitsugu. He deserves every praise for his role as the main antagonist of the third arc. Seriously, if your hating the guy only because he did some generic characters, that’s his scripts fault, not his. He delivers in every single role he does, and as Petelgeuse, he does the role of his life.
Voice Acting: 8.5/10
~{Music}~
What seemed to grab my attention the most when I first watched Re:Zero was its splendid music. But it’s not just the background music that’s good, but also its OPs and EDs. The first OP, “Redo”, is really catchy and upbeat and gets the tone of the first two arc right. Not to mention that Suzuki Konomi is a great singer. MYTH & ROID does the first ED and the second OP and they are some of the best I’ve heard. The ED, “STYX HELIX”, is very unique and mysterious and it’s simply put, one of the best EDs I’ve ever heard. The second OP, “Paradisus-Paradoxum”, is also just as good too. The second ED, “Stay Alive”, is done by Emilia’s seiyuu and it’s fairly good, but the first ED was much better. MYTH & ROID also did two insert songs for the anime, and both are excellent. “theater D” is what stands out the most. But the background music in Re:Zero is also good, particularly the mysterious pieces. “The Witch's Call”, “Prelude to an Impulsion”, “Hexentanz”, and “Takt of Heroes” in particular are really good.
Music: 8/10
~{Enjoyment}~
Re:Zero was probably one of the most enjoyable anime of the year; not just to watch, but also to discuss about… well, except for the waifu wars. But its unique take on the isekai trope and giving it a darker feel makes this stands out not only in anime of the same genre, but anime in general too. It’s got its issues here and there, but overall it’s pretty fun. Re:Zero is at its best when it plays cruel, since the selling point of the series for most people is the suffering aspect of the series. Time travel stories don’t come out very often, so it’s always nice to see more of that. Add some fantastic voice acting and even more fantastic music, and you’ve got yourself an enjoyable anime. Now, your enjoyment will heavily rely on your tolerance for the protagonist and how you interpret his change, but if you look at it in a positive aspect, all should be fine.
Enjoyment: 7/10
In the end, Re:Zero is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already. Chances are that you’ve heard about this anime already and know what it’s about. It may be too dark and edgy for some, and it has flawed and confused characters who don’t always make the right choice, but it handles its tone and style well. Even if the production values remain inconsistent, its voice acting and music is always on point. You won’t get a definitive conclusion with this series since the web novels are ongoing, but it wraps up its arcs well, despite not covering the entirety of the third arc. But definitely check out this series, even if it’s just because of the hype. Maybe you like it, maybe you won’t, but Re:Zero managed to be one of the most discussed anime of the season for a reason.
+ A unique, darker and edgier take on the “isekai” trope and handles it neatly.
+ Well-directed, especially during the more emotional and darker moments.
+ Great OPs, EDs, insert songs and fantastic background music.
+ Ridiculously amazing voice acting from Matsuoka Yoshitsugu and Kobayashi Yuusuke does wonders too.
- Inconsistent production values and pacing makes this a somewhat bumpy ride
- Lack of world-building makes the overall setting feel uninteresting.
Overall: 7.3/10
