Season 2 continues from where the first season left off. After defeating Petelgeuse, Subaru and his friends are thrown into a new dilemma after unknown assailants attack Rem. This attack causes everyone to forget who she is, causing Subaru immense despair. He then sets out on his quest to get everyone to remember Rem taking along Emilia, the most useless female protagonist in anime, some lolis, and other irrelevant characters. Re: Zero Season 2 spends a lot of time meandering around, wasting several episodes that could have been used for world or character building. The season revolves around one arc as opposed to the first season, which had several. In theory, this could have been a good thing because it could have given the writers to expand upon all facets of the show. However, this rarely comes to fruition. Although there is some world building where we learn more about the world, it does not feel substantial enough. The world does not feel alive. Although there are characters with grand machinations, the show never seems to reflect that scope. This season also lacks the highs of the first. Although the first season was terrible, in my opinion, it also had some highs. I think everyone who saw the first season remembers that three-episode streak that was just raw suffering and despair, culminating in the fantastic episode 15. There were also moments like the end of the first arc, which were satisfying. Season 2 does not have any moments like that. Almost everything right from the first season was not present in this season. There is no catharsis. There is no emotional payoff when Subaru solves a part of the mystery. We are just left thinking, "that's it?" Even the moments that are supposed to invoke despair are lackluster. Subaru's suffering was arguably the best part of the show. There is not enough agony,misery, and woe to justify spending 13 episodes watching this show.
Another woefully underutilized aspect is the macabre element that was prevalent in the first season. Every arc, Subaru would be gruesomely murdered and would have to discover who is killing him. In season 2, that mystery is gone. We know who is killing Subaru every time. The secret lies in what he has to do to escape death. However, without the mystery of finding out who the killer is, the mystery becomes less compelling. I no longer care about the mystery. I wait for Subaru to die or kill himself. You can tell the show fails when you value the character's death more than the events surrounding it.
Once again, Re: Zero's problems lie with its characters. Simply put, the cast is terrible. But the icing on the cake is Subaru. Oh man, this character drags down the entire show. Subaru got a lot of flak from the first season, and it was much deserved. He behaved in embarrassing ways when talking to female characters. He was selfish, spiteful, and shortsighted. These traits onto themselves do not make a character bad. I prefer it when characters are flaws or are not likable. It usually makes them more compelling to watch. The first season's problem was that all of Subaru's character development came in one episode, making his transition to a "hero" and "savior" contrived. In season 2, Subaru's character arc is redundant. Although we learn more about Subaru's life back in the real world, we are retreading the same ground. Subaru hates himself and feels worthless, and tries to compensate by engaging in reckless and "heroic" behavior. I did not find his reasons for feeling so poorly about himself to be convincing enough for me to believe that is why he engages in that behavior. I just felt disappointed. And the other aspect of his character that he changed because he met Emilia and loves her. This made me think he is a shallow character. There is nothing wrong with a character changing because of love. However, in Re: Zero, Subaru, and Emilia's dynamics leave much to be desired and problematic in many respects. I will talk more about that when I discuss the supporting cast. Subaru is also athletic. He knew martial arts and was a good runner. This conflicted with the Otaku archetype that Subaru tries to fulfill. He is good at many things but hates himself for weak reasons. An otaku character should not be so competent, at least you would think. Part of that archetype is that the character is a loser. Subaru is a loser, but a loser in a superficial way. In many ways, he feels as though he is an idealized otaku. Subaru played video games all day and did nothing with his life but is very smart and talented. Maybe that is the point, but I felt that he is too well equipped to be a "loser." Take a character like Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Many people would consider him to be a loser. But he is a loser for reasons that make sense in the context of the narrative. Shinji has legitimate reasons for behaving in pathetic ways. When Subaru acts pathetic, excuse my Reddit speak, but it is "cringe."
Re: Zero's supporting cast is horrible. Simply put, they have no autonomy. They basically cannot exist without Subaru. Emilia is the biggest offender. She continues to be milquetoast, inoffensive, and bland. Emilia has no other personality trait than being a "nice" girl. She is incapable of accomplishing anything without Subaru's help. This caused me to question is Emilia capable of becoming a ruler. The only time she has demonstrated any competency was at the beginning of the first season. Emilia continues to fail this season, accomplishing nothing. Her chemistry with Subaru is also non-existent. Their interactions either involve Subaru ignoring her wishes and saving her or some "cringe" comedy that consists of flirting. Other characters like Rem completely lose all personality and exist to make Subaru look good. Every word that came out of Rem's mouth was how great Subaru is and how he is a hero. It was tough to watch.
This season's biggest disappointment has to be the witches of sin that were hyped up the first season. Good lord, I have never been so disappointed. They were said to be pure evil, malicious, and conniving. The witches are a big joke. First, their character designs are incredibly unfitting for the role they were supposed to serve. The majority of the witches are cute lolis, with two or 3 of them looking like teenagers. They are also beautiful, which betrayed their role. I was expecting them to be adults and evil-looking, but here we get designs straight out of a harem anime. It betrays the horror of the first season. This is what we were supposed to be afraid of? And these witches are not even bad people. All the witches are attracted to Subaru and try to help him through his anguish. I was baffled by this. Why are these witches so invested in helping Subaru through his suffering? This caused me to realize that almost every female character in this show revolves around Subaru. They cannot do anything without him; they all love and adore him. These characters cannot exist without Subaru. It is pathetic wish fulfillment. I was disgusted by this. I do not hate harems, but when a show attempts to be serious, I would instead not be aspects such as wish-fulfillment in the front unless it is subversion.
Isekai continues to prove its worthlessness as a genre. It is funny because I know that there is potential for this genre. Shows and films like Now and Then, Here and There, and Spirited Away show that isekai can be amazing when done correctly. But modern writers care too much about money, too much about appealing to their audience that they fail to create anything interesting. Re: Zero was a horrible experience. I'd recommend you find something else to watch.
