The story is somewhat unique. At first it seems to be another copy-paste "Wake up in a game-type world with newfound power and a harem." type of story, but it takes a turn to a more comedic and parodied version, with the main character noting that the magic is annoyingly realistic and his hand still stings after punching people.
After a chapter of the main character walking around town and helping the heroine with her problems, the story takes a nosedive into another twist out of nowhere, with the MC and the heroine both dying horribly on the ground after finding the body of a shopkeeper.
Everything after this point is what I consider the best part of the story.
The MC struggles to find the source of his and the heroines untimely death by having to die over and over again while learning new things about his situation, and what he can do to stop it.
It all flows nicely, and you never feel left out with no idea whats going on.
Somehow, in this crazy point of the story, they still have time to mix in some comedy, which is why I love it so much.
I also have a sweet spot for the "revive after death but keep memories." type of story.

The art was very good.
The facial expressions of the characters are nice and simple so you can easily understand their emotions, but in a time of need, they can go to a good amount of detail to emphasize the raw anger and suffering they are currently going through. Even after a nice little chat, the detail put into the smiling faces just makes me want to smile as well.
The backgrounds didn't stand out to much. A majority of the story takes place in the middle of a city, so the background is usually just a bunch of buildings.

The characters is what really sells it.
Each and every character is completely different and shows a great deal of personality. Felt, the thief, is given a backstory of being a poor child living in the slums with no family besides Old Man Rom, and you can tell how deep their bonds go when you witness their death and reactions in the first few chapters.
The heroine comes off as a cold, honest individual but after spending some time with Subaru, the MC, her true, kind nature starts to show.
The antagonist has their motivation for what they do, and never seems to just do things for no reason.
Every single character reacts appropriately to events, down to the nobodies in the slums giving advice faster when Subaru looked worn-down.
It builds a great atmosphere and makes it all the better when it comes crashing down.

Because of all the great features of the characters, the detailed faces of suffering, and the compelling story, I personally feel like a enjoyed this manga way too much. It was just a wonderful time spent, with certain enjoyment every page turned.

And when you finish it, there happens to be a squeal, that does everything 10 times better.
9/10, amazing read. Worth every second of your time.

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Re:Zero Dai-1 Shou - Story 6, Art 8, Character 7, Enjoyment 7

A not so good opening for a overall good series. The characters are sketchy and the story is mostly redundant or unnecessary convoluted. It also could have been shortened considerably. It still is a good manga and opens up a series that is much better than the first one would make it look like.

This manga is for you: If you want to read the other re:zero mangas (which are overall very good)

+ Good points: Action, Art, some of the characters are interesting
- Weak Points: Lack of world building and most characters are not explained very much. Pacing is a bit off. (The sequels are doing all of these points better).

If you are interested in the series but uncertain if you will like it, I recommend you to look into one of the sequels 2 or 3 and read the first 10 chapters. there are no or only minor spoilers in the beginning of the sequels (Just note: The first chapter of sequel 2 (chapter 0) is a recap of this manga. So if you do not want to get spoiled skip that one chapter.)

Lastly the series is known for depiction of cruelty and psychological horror. Most of it is not overly extreme, but it reaches a certain level, that is not very pleasant. So if you are averse towards that then you should maybe not be reading it.



In the following I discuss some of the points that I think could have been done better. No spoilers are given other than information that is entailed in the synopsis.

Relevance for the series:
If you read through the Synopsis then you know most about the story. MC is getting to know Emilia and some other characters that will not be relevant until sequel 3. That is more or less it. Not much is done with the world or explained about the situation of the MC other than sidenotes. Also everything interesting about the characters can be concluded or reread from later entries. This means that this manga feels rather empty compared to its potential. It is notable that most of the story is not relevant for the sequels (other than what is found in the synopsis). You should be fine with just reading the last chapter of this manga or the recap in the sequel and skip this one. Because of that this manga feels rather irrelevant.


Characters:
Most of the characters are introduced, but not detailed. All of them other than Felt feel very sketchy and are not explained enough. They seem to be unique and have an interesting story, but the reader is not told about it. Becaue of that they are on the verge of appearing shallow and fleeting.
This is especially obvious in regards to the MC and Emilia (main female). Since the first volume of the manga resolves around their relationship it feels vexing that there is not more to it than some standart interactions and character traits. No reason is given about the motivation of Emilia for her behaviour (which is important for the sequels) or the MC (other than him being confused and in love). Also no insights into their background or standing in the world are presented. And as the manga continues there will be less and less meaningful interactions between the MC and Emilia, which leads the characters to feel less relevant and disregarded. Overall I think that the last chapter was the one that saved it from overall disgrace. It managed to reestablish the relationship of the main MC and Emilia and give some insights into some unique character traits.
Since the sequels do evolve most of the characters later and introduce interesting new ones, one should think of this one as an initial setting for later adaptions. If you are only looking at this one manga, then most of them feel average at best.


Pacing:
The pacing of the manga is not optimal. I think that it could have told the story in a more condensed fashion. Everything of the second volume (chapter 6-10) is mostly reiteration of previous events and action scenes. This is not a problem but it takes up too much volume of the manga. Especially since the reader will understand the story quick enough. In my view around 4 chapters for the manga would be sufficient. If you consider the recap of this manga contains most information in one chapter, it proves that many details are not very relevant.
Also one strange thing about this manga (and the other mangas in the series) is that it is divided into two parts. First part (chapter 1-5) is mostly peaceful and concerned with character development and the second part (chapter 6-11) is centered around action scenes and conflicts. This is especially strange since the first part does not really indicate any major conflicts in the later chapters and the second part is nearly independent from the previous. It often feels like a cut off arc. One could skip the second part and would still understand most of the ending. Also as a reader you might not like both parts equally because of their different focus. This is a strange approach since a reader might not be willed to read one part for the other and might be putting the manga aside because of that. Of course, if you like both parts then it is great, otherwise it appears strangely paced.


All in all it is an okay start for the rest of the series. So even if this review is mostly crititzing it, you should keep in mind that this is an overall good manga. Some of the characters are interesting and the story is presented simple and clearly. Also the sequels will give you more character progression and world building if you want that. If you are looking for a more or less self-contained story arc that introduces the main setting and characters then you might like this one but might be confused about its meager relevance for the series.

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