Some of the best aspects of Re:Zero are also the ones I usually start with when writing my reviews: the animation and sound. I’m a person who finds aesthetics to be the most important part of anything – an artist and musician such as myself would most naturally consider aesthetics before anything else. Re:Zero offers exquisite enjoyment in both animation and soundtrack.
All of the characters had unique and remarkable designs, which is an important asset in today’s anime industry, where half of the characters have similar faces and appear to come from one and the same show. Re:Zero’s characters, on the other hand, are utterly recognizable and unforgettable. And even though I had to watch the entire series in 720p, for BD rips weren’t available yet, I still found the animation to be stunning. As you might be aware of, BD versions tend to improve animation and art in anime, but if they are already impressive, imagine what would be when the 1080p BDs come out. Not that it would make a big difference for me, since everything, 1080p included, looks rasterized on my 4K monitor. Anyway, if you haven’t seen the show yet and are planning to watch it in the near future, I’d advise you to wait for the BD rips, for this show is worthy of enjoying in its full HD glory. I might as well rewatch it after the BDs come out.
As for the soundtrack, I often found myself listening to the songs and music played in the background instead of reading the subtitles, so I had to rewind the show at some scenes to catch on what I had missed. The first OP and ED songs were the ones I liked the most, so I downloaded them immediately after I completed the show. In fact, I’ve set them on repeat in my music player at the moment.
As for the plot and characters, I found them enjoyable as well. The plot was quite interesting, combining the common elements of fantasy and time travel – it’s an original approach I haven’t seen in another fantasy anime. Of course, you can compare the time travel to revival of protagonists in RPG games. However, this element of the story wasn’t just a gimmick to differentiate Re:Zero from other fantasies, and played an important part in fleshing out the characters. In fact, without this “Return by Death” ability of Subaru, the show wouldn’t have had the character development it had. The series explores common fantasy themes, such as self-sacrifice and heroism – traits that most fantasy protagonists share. However, what makes Re:Zero different is its exploration and extrapolation of these themes to the point of reaching their fundamental cores – and this creates the character development in the protagonist. Protagonists in many anime shows are left without a significant development, if any – most of them are usually stripped of their dignity and even humanity, and reduced to simple self-insert characters with no personality of their own. Moreover, if anyone in the cast of such anime gets some development, it would usually be some supporting character. That’s why I’m saying Re:Zero is different in this aspect. While the supporting characters’ personalities get explored in depth, it really is the protagonist, Subaru, who gets the most character development in the story.
All in all, I found Re:Zero to be quite enjoyable a series and recommend it for everyone who is looking for an original and well-done fantasy series. However, as I said above, I’d advise you to wait for the BDs before you set to watch it, so you can enjoy it even more – the waiting is worth it.
