Re: Zero is not that. Subaru, our main character, is obnoxious. He's annoying, cringeworthy, pretty misogynistic, obsessed with anime figures, and arrogant. He's definitely one of the biggest losers in anime and you're not supposed to like him from the start. He is such a typical isekai protagonist that it hurts.
The show starts off strangely. Subaru doesn't die in a horrific accident like most of these shows. One day he's walking and bam, fantasy world. Okay, already changing things up. Now it's time for Subaru to gain some godly ability and take over the world, just as he's owed as an isekai protagonist. And he does - with an ironic twist.
See, Subaru has maybe the most powerful ability ever concocted. He's essentially invincible and he's able to time travel. That makes it sound pretty awesome, right?
Well, Subaru has to die to time travel. He can feel himself dying. He feels every stab wound, every broken bone, every poison. Subaru suffers greatly, and the show seems incredibly content in finding new and more painful ways for him to go. Even worse, though, is Subaru's psychological torture. You take a loser and throw him in a world where death lurks around every corner, and he's forced to adapt. Adapt after painful death after painful death. Subaru is tortured throughout Re: Zero, and he does learn from it. Throughout this, though, you can tell he starts to lose it a bit. Subaru's never going to be the same because of this "power," for better or for worse. Subaru's humbled, and yet there's no reward for being humbled.
Regardless of how many feel about this show, I think it's really great. Subaru is very dislikable from the gate, but you don't want him tortured. And yet, his new universe is filled with suffering, and he has to adapt. I like the show because of that. While I don't want to spoil anything here, I think the show really comes into its own with its second season, and I enjoy the implications that come with it.
