They didn't....
Well, at least not until episode 15 rolls along by and the plot sort of picks up again. If I were to list some of the most problematic things about the show, they would be most apparent in episode 4 to episode 14. Tonal inconsistencies; one moment everything is happy-go-lucky, the next moment the drama is heightened to the point of melodramatic cheese. Confusing character motivations. Sometimes Subaru does or says things and I'm left thinking, why?
I think another major issue this show has is it's plotting. If I were to recommend this to someone and they asked me what it was about, which of the three story-lines can I pick from? The plot just veers from obstacle to obstacle without a strong enough narrative through-line. Sure the obstacles are enjoyable, but I'm left thinking, 'how does this effect the overall story?' Even when Naruto is kicking ninja #4221 in the butt I know that that makes him one step closer to his ultimate goal. Subaru seems to have no overall goal other then to react to the situation he is in. Sure he eventually comes to the decision that his life is meant to look after Emilia, but even that decision feels like something he just stumbled upon.
The "reset" plot device, was another issue. It felt gimmicky to me, like the creators just wanted to merge two popular anime story lines; trapped in a fantasy (or what is basically an MMO) world, plus time looping. Once the third episode is complete and you watch further, you start get the feeling that the story was made up as it went along without much consideration for overall cohesion.
Either way, this is a messy, yet enjoyable romp. It would have been a 7/10 if it was more streamlined and focused in it's story telling. Also if the characters were better. It did hit interesting moments with Rem and Ram's backstory, but that was brief and felt forgotten about in subsequent episodes. Plus Wilhelm van Astrea had an interesting Moby Dick-esque backstory, although it was a bit on the nose. The worst character was Romanée-Conti Petelgeuse playing this ridiculously camp villian that was just annoying.
5/10
