sporer.carley - 2016-09-20 00:16:12

Oh god was it a good ride. a definite MUST watch. I can't find anything wrong with it other than I need more seasons.

emmanuelle.zemlak - 2016-09-19 02:10:20

This review is gonna be divided into 2 sections: points of praise, and disappointments. This is written with the assumption that you've seen the show, so I don't intend to explain who each character is or what their powers are unless it somehow serves to explain my point. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

Forgive me if my thoughts seem scattered, I wanted to get my ideas out before I forgot them, so I kind of dumped them as I went. Hopefully I got my points across properly.

Points of Praise:

I'm gonna get the obvious stuff out of the way first. Re:Zero looks fucking phenomenal. The character designs are extremely memorable, each telling you a lot about a character without fitting too snugly into a tired trope, with memorable and unique color palettes I never really got sick of. The contrast between Rem and Ram's blue/pink features, Subaru's (now) incredibly iconic tracksuit, and Emilia's soft, pure white hair and outfit help endear us to the characters. Animation is also incredibly fluid, with less of the jarring contrast between poorly animated dialogue scenes and overly kinetic action scenes that I'm used to in anime. This realistic sense of movement and space made brutal death/violence scenes feel extremely grave, evoking the sense of grief I'd imagine they were going for. Physical attacks, spells, or simple idle movement in characters all felt very real, like there was weight behind them, which was one of the shows greatest strengths: it had a sense of momentum.

Now for the soundtrack.

The first opening was a fairly average but serviceable song paired with a solid video, while the second opening was an extremely catchy song alongside a similarly solid video, both capturing the general mood of the show as well as the characters it centers around. The endings are both very appropriate songs in my opinion, punctuating tragic/generally sad or sentimental moments very well when an episode ends. It's also worth noting that Re:Zero didn't always include the opening or ending, sometimes opting to either not interrupt the viewing experience with an opening theme, or letting the ending scene settle in without the ending theme. Both were decisions made decently often, and to good effect. The music played during episodes was always quite solid as well, perfectly capturing the emotion (YT: Re:Zero 15 OST - Dead)

in a moment that Re:Zero is so viscerally wont to portray.

The voice acting is fantastic too. I don't even really need to make praising this too complicated, I wasn't disappointed with a single voice I heard. Each and every voice actor absolutely went above and beyond in my opinion; cute characters were unbelievably cute, stern characters commanded the room with their voices, and characters at the end of their wits sounded as desperate as could be. It hit nearly every end of the emotional spectrum flawlessly as far as vocal range is concerned.

Re:Zero's usage of imagery and animation is phenomenal. Happy moments are often accentuated by excessive bloom and beautiful coloration that lends them a sort of dreamlike atmosphere, while more grim or fear-inducing moments use darkness and fog extremely effectively. While the show knows exactly how to make the viewer feel happy and content, it's also keenly aware of exactly the best time to pry that happiness and comfort from your hands and make you feel like dog shit (in a good way, I promise!)

The world is fleshed out almost entirely on the back of scenery and visual storytelling alone, which I absolutely enjoyed. You understand almost all of the important information about the city immediately, with very few lazy exposition dumps required. Just by looking at the city from afar, you get a very solid idea of what the fantasy world in Re:Zero is like.

Re:Zero, on the whole, revolved around building certain expectations for the viewer while revealing many an (intentional) character flaw in the primary cast, and frequently expanding on that by bring that timeline to a grim end. At times Subaru used these moments to grow; at others, it's pretty clear the intention was to bring about a feeling of complete despair. This is a good thing in my opinion, as it's very hard to make both the protagonist and the viewer feel so hopeless without losing your attention. It's not often a show has me eager to see what happens next, even at times when I hated Subaru. 

Which reminds me, Re:Zero is also brilliant at completely changing your perspective on characters constantly. The way they grow and change dynamically is just a joy to watch, with characters like Subaru, Rem, and even Julius noticeably evolving before our eyes. This is the idea behind the show in the first place: the title implies starting "from zero", which most assumed to just refer to Subaru arriving in a strange fantasy world, but the show later makes it clear that starting from zero has more to do with reaching your potential and trying your hardest, understanding that your past doesn't define you. Anastasia Hoshin even comes out and says at one point "your past will always be with you and define how people see you", but that doesn't necessarily contradict the point; who you are now, what you're capable of, and what you intend to do are more important in the moment, which the scene heavily implies. All of Subaru's negotiations with the major leaders only serve to pronounce that point, as on his first attempt he "only wants" and fails miserably, whereas later when he actually has chips to bargain with and his head held high, he's able to properly negotiate and get shit done. The show uses his newly gained knowledge and perspective through his Return By Death as a method by which to develop his character, which I think is brilliant when coupled with his poor fighting skills. It forces him to adapt and think uniquely, at first relying on his charm and recklessness to endear himself to people, but later realizing that is inadequate when faced with most people in positions of power. In this universe, to receive you must give, and part of the journey is Subaru realizing he can't just continue wanting forever; what he thought to be selflessness on his part was really just a sort of odd wish-fulfillment on his part, as the show points out later on. It's not so black and white that his earlier actions were bad and they later become good, but it's more that his motivations weren't as pure as he thought, and that many people could see through that.

Like I said before, characters like Rem grew similarly. As she states herself in her confession to Subaru (which I'll talk about later), she grew from someone who'd lost everything but her sister into a person who had a future to look forward to, and a better outlook on life. Before she lived simply to serve Roswaal and Emilia, but now she wants to actually live a full life, and is able to control her power properly.

Characters like Emilia and Julius grow in smaller ways, looking to past decisions and recognizing the errors of their ways. Going with the previous "starting from zero" theme so prevalent in the show, it frequently makes it a point to acknowledge that even people with good intentions often make mistakes they regret; human interaction is complicated, and often multiple people are at fault, which was demonstrated between Julius and Subaru. Where they once fundamentally disagreed, they later apologized and forgave each other, understanding that they had both failed in doing exactly what they were intending.

The thing I most wanted to point out about Re:Zero was how beautifully it expressed emotion. As I said before, both visually and sonically the show put forth the entire spectrum of feeling and thought that people are capable, both in the highest forms of gratitude and the lowest forms of despair. Tears were certainly not an infrequent sight, both in happy scenes:

and sad ones:

Easily the show's greatest strength comes in its emotional expression. At all times there is an obvious mood to a given scene, often telling the viewer a great deal just at a glance.

One of the greatest pleasures I can derive from a good show is being given compelling characters that express themselves meaningfully, and Re:Zero is a clear example of that. 

The story was one I appreciated thoroughly, honestly taking many a step I never could have predicted, many times going against my desires as viewer only to bring me something even better down the line. Times when I was absolutely sure Subaru would have to die and start over then and there, they'd take it that much further and put a completely different spin on that iteration of his life that I completely didn't expect. For example, the first time he saw the White Whale I was sure he'd die out in that field, but he actually survived and made it all the way to Emilia's house before eventually being murdered by Puck himself in an extremely poignant scene. Each death was telling of what was to come, and how Subaru might change as a result. He was constantly pushed to his absolute limit, at one point even offering to leave everything behind and run away with Rem, but even that he bounced back from, resulting in one of the greatest character growths I've ever seen. Subaru went from a self-centered, incompetent dolt to someone who understood his place and really intended to make things happen, the right way. Not just for his own sake, but in a truly altruistic way, where he honestly sought the best for others.

Disappointments:

Re:Zero didn't disappoint me in many ways. There were times where episodes ended on sour notes, though that was usually pretty clearly intentional, resolving the issue within the next couple episodes.

Many of my gripes wouldn't really be a problem if I could expect a season 2, and the ending was written in such a way that I'm not even sure if the people writing the show know if they're getting a season 2 yet. To my understanding many of my gripes are answered in the LNs, but I'll list em anyway. 

Why was the letter that he sent to the mansion blank? What is the real identity of the witch? Is it Emilia's mother, or a future version of Emilia (both Satella and Emilia have the same voice actor, and Emilia even tells Subaru to call her Satella early on)? Why was he even transported to this fantasy world in the first place? Did the witch bring this about herself? Why is there just one white whale flying around and no others? What's the significance of that gigantic tree? What happened to Roswaal? In fact, what happened to that entire weird election process with all the knights they were doing in the city? Are all of the cultists dead? Where the fuck is Rem? 

Like I said, if there's a season 2 then I can expect answers, but for now the situation is tentative so I'm left mildly confused. It feels like a bunch of interesting plot points were dangled in front of the viewer and then not really revisited for the remainder of the season. Like what ever happened to this shit?

As for a couple of gripes that are actually rooted solely in this season, they both have to do with Subaru's romantic escapades. Re:Zero suffers from "first girl wins" syndrome, wherein the first girl introduced is his "true love" and those that come after just serve to help him grow and realize his love for the original girl. While I could've seen this idea working well, they made the mistake of not actually putting too much work into endearing us to Emilia, only spending like 8 or 9 episodes establishing her and Subaru having any sort of feelings for each other before spending basically the entire remainder of the show getting us to like Rem. Don't get me wrong, Emilia seems like a great girl, but honestly Rem did infinitely more for Subaru and he spent much more time getting to know her and fighting alongside her; I think Subaru ending up with Emilia is fine, but they should have reversed that time allotment such that Emilia was the primary focus, whereas Rem falls in love with him on the side to serve as both temptation and a reminder of his true love for Emilia. They ended up making Rem serve that purpose anyway, but with her and Subaru sharing much more screen time than Emilia had with him, it just felt odd. It feels like his love was just kind of there for the plot, without really even seeming realistic in the sense that he'd barely gotten to know her for very long.

I was also irritated with the transition from the early mansion arc to when Subaru accompanies Emilia to the city at the end of the first half, it really felt like they took what was previously a fairly copacetic atmosphere and just had Subaru fly completely off the handle, practically unprovoked. What seemed like a sort of puppy love before rapidly became this strange fanaticism, without really introducing us to the nuances that led his feelings to change that way. While that change is interesting, without taking time to show it develop naturally it felt like Subaru just lost his marbles for the sake of driving the plot. Wasn't a fan.

Conclusion:

Overall, I was really into the show. Despite the gripes I mentioned at the end, the show was a real joy to watch, and didn't disappoint on the initial hype it brought. Whether you binge watched it or watched it weekly, the pacing was fantastic, and it never felt like I was wanting for more to be going on, nor did I feel as though it was moving too quickly to understand or keep track of. Very solid, highly recommended. As of now I'll give it a 4-4.5, and with the release of a season 2 it might be bumped up to a 5. Only time will tell.

lhagenes - 2016-09-19 00:01:45

A different take on the fantasy setting, given it usually gets on a light tone or themes. This anime is at its strongest, so I'd say, when it hits dark themes or scenarios. A light novel adaptation (it usually implies a large cast of female characters), this anime does a good job at delivering your usual fantasy world but it gives it a twist (showing that world is not as lighthearted as you think it'd be). 
The protagonist, although they call him a 'bitch' for his reactions, is actually pretty human. Who'd not be affected after all he goes through? Parts of the cast could've used more screen time, but that's what the second season I yearn for is for.

jonathon54 - 2016-09-18 19:56:37

Ya estoy al día con Re: Zero, y debo decir.

No es mala, pero no se la recomiendo a nadie.

Es una historia interesante, que tiene personajes que no deberían estar en ella, lo que pasa cuando les das mucho fanservice a la gente, eso afecta hasta los autores.

alexandra.runte - 2016-09-14 08:33:22

Best ! Wow i love rem ever since totally recommend this!

haley.dayna - 2016-08-22 16:38:42

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World (ゼロから始める異世界生活, Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), is one of the brightest gems of the Summer 2016 season. While it is not something flawless, as one might think, this series is definitely doing its best to be enjoyable and interesting for its viewer. In my opinion, the fact that the creator of the series actually cares is very commendable. However, it is an open secret that trying to be fascinating and being fascinating is not the same thing. Thankfully, it is not one of these cases. Allow me to share my opinion on Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World, on the anime that is able to leave one speechless, on the anime that bullies you, and on the anime that shows you many events, which are absolutely impossible to foresee.

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World is a Japanese light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka that also has three manga adaptations and an anime television series adaptation by White Fox, which began airing on April 4, 2016. The series tells us a story of Natsuki Subaru, a normal young man that lives his normal life in the modern Japan. However, one day, he is summoned to another world. Without knowing the person that summoned him, or the reason for being summoned in the new world, he soon befriends a silver-haired-half-elf girl, Emilia. Due to some unknown circumstances, the girl is being targeted by an unknown assassin. The assassin manages to kill the two and everything seems to be over. Yet, a second later, Natsuki Subaru awakens and discovers his new ability that he names "Return by Death." That new ability gives him the power to reverse time by dying; however, only he remembers the events of the previous timeline. Why was Natsuki Subaru summoned in this mysterious world, who gave him the power to reverse time? Find the answer by watching Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World now.

The first thing that might come to your mind after reading the description of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World’s story-line is that this anime is a mix of Steins;Gate, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, and Boku dake ga Inai Machi. And I must say that you will be right to think so. Of course, this anime has nothing to do with comedy, but all these four anime do have a few things in common. Anyway, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World reworks all mistakes of its predecessors doing its best to be entertaining and I must say that Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World manages to do it. It is an open secret that the most important thing for all story-lines is to be complex: one should never be able to foresee more than thirty percent of events that will happen in the next episodes. In case of the anime we are talking about, you might have theories on first, on second, …, on thirteenth episodes, but all your theories will be destroyed in an instant. That is, in my opinion, the best part about the story-line of this anime.

The animation of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World is mostly top notch. There are many characters, they have sometimes unusual and sometimes very beautiful outfits, monsters, demons, some unknown creatures, and magic spells and they all are beautiful. At the same time, when this anime should become dark, it becomes dark. It is so amazing that it helps you to dive in the universe of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World. Without a doubt, it is not flawless, but it is on the level, which is very important for all anime that have such a setting.

The OST is on the level, as well. From pop music to amazing orchestral pieces, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World even focuses on music, which some anime tend to not do. Of course, it is not that important, but the amount of attention this anime pays to its music only helps you to dive into the universe of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World and to understand it better. I will not hide the fact that sometimes the music should have been more epic: when you see a good battle, the music should be epic very, but it is still able to make you have gooseflesh. Another part of this section, which is also worth mentioning, is the cast of this anime. All voice actors did one hell of a job making their characters vivid and lively. If it is a villain, you hate them with all of your heart, if it is one of the main heroes, you just wish that they succeed in everything they do and you cannot even imagine what you will do if something bad happens to them.

The cast of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World consists of the main characters, Rem and Natsuki Subaru, supporting characters, and villains. While I would argue that the main characters do not receive enough development, I completely agree with the fact that supporting characters should have received more development. However, I believe that the main characters and the villains compensate for it well, since Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World has the edgiest villains that you have ever seen in your life. Anyway, let us talk about the main characters: Rem and Natsuki Subaru.

Natsuki Subaru is the male protagonist of the series. On the way home from the convenience store, he is suddenly summoned to another world. He later discovers an ability that he names "Return by Death" that allows him to go back in time, if he dies. And the most interesting part about it is that only he remembers what happened and he cannot tell anyone about this ability. Natsuki used to be a hikimori, being absolutely useless, he has never done anything in his life. However, in this new world he should not only try to become more powerful, but also to use his wit. He will not be granted with the power to destroy the whole world, he does not have a guardian angel, or a harem of cute girls that will help him in every situation. He just has no other choice but to do everything alone, which makes him change himself. His character development is amazing and you just want to not see him suffer. Rem is the second main character of the series. She has a younger sister and both of them work at Emilia’s mansion. When Subaru meets her, she shows absolutely no signs of being interesting; however, as the story progresses, Rem stops being a doll and becomes a very interesting character.

The supporting characters of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World do not receive enough development; however, as I have already mentioned, the villains compensate well for it. You just want to see their death, you just want to see their sufferings, and you hate them with all of your heart. While I understand that it is impossible to grant enough screen time for all characters, I still think that all characters are very interesting to follow and it should be more than enough for you.

All in all, I cannot guarantee you that you will like this series and I am not going to do it. Personally, I like the fact that this anime tries to rework mistakes of its ancestors in order to not make them again, I like the fact that the characters of this series are realistic and not overpowered like in some other series, I like the fact that it is never possible to guess what will be shown in the next episodes, which is very important, as well. With every episode, you are trying to prolong your enjoyment and to watch this series little by little; however, it is simply not possible. You just want to know what will happen in the next episodes. It is, of course, not flawless, nothing is, but if you want to see something very dark, I would highly recommend you to give Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World a try. I hope that you will enjoy watching Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu!

If you do not, this girl will be disappointed with you. Do not make her do that. :-)

griffin.kiehn - 2016-07-28 08:58:57

Re:Zero is, in concept, a truly outstanding show, but it falls short on its execution, and performs a nosedive worthy of even SAO half way through.

Story

Simply put, Re:Zero is the story of an average person being randomly transported to a fantasy world. This sounds cliché and overdone, until you add the fact that he now also gains the ability to "Return by death", or better put, respawn whenever he dies, with memory of the things he did and learnt before his death. The premise serves as a good way of both creating intrigue in the viewer and also allowing the story to go places it otherwise couldn't. Characters can be built through not only what they do in one life, but also what they do in the next run-through. This is once again, a really compelling idea - the viewer and the main character, Natsuki Subaru are able to learn more about another character in a 'day' than in a week without this ability. The story, though should be split into two distinct sections: Act 1, between episodes 1 and 10, then Act 2 following that.

Story review: Act 1

Act 1 is very compelling. It quickly introduces the core mechanics of the world which Subaru is pulled into, introduces the romantic interest - Emilia - and then begins to explore the use of Subaru's abilities, as well as slowly dumping facts about the fantasy world on the viewer through well thought out plot elements. All in all, this arc probably gets a 7 from me.

Story review: Act 2 (major spoilers)

Act 2, on the other hand, in stark contrast to act 1 nosedives. The major issue with this arc as I see it is that the time travel element is missing for 6 episodes at the start of this arc. The narrative also almost attempts to make a legitimate point off the dumb actions of Subaru. In this arc he clearly disregards Emilia's wishes, as he sneaks in to a meeting she has with the rulers of the land, despite her wishes for him to stay put. He makes a fool of himself and her, by claiming to be above the knights of the country, and then further makes a fool of himself by getting into a duel with a knight, all justified as actions he's doing 'for Emilia'. From this point the show subtly calls him out, with Emilia sitting him down, and trying to explain to him that she didn't need him, and that she didn't want him, yet he stays stubborn and maintains that he was in fact, in the right, and he was in fact doing everything for her sake. This was almost a really moving moment in the show, and it could have provided a good opportunity for the leads to get to know eachother more, and for Subaru to develop as a character, but in handling the situation by completely dismissing the things Emilia says, and by failing to have so much as a slither of self doubt, this character development is completely destroyed before it even fully takes place. This was handled very poorly. Instead of recognizing any of his wrongdoings, Subaru instead goes on a rant about how he is the reason she's alive, how he's in fact the messiah, and a long list of other similarly outrageous claims. You may say: Well maybe that's the point. Maybe the idea here is to make Subaru seem like he's in the wrong and emphasize stubbornness as a character flaw in him. The problem with this though, is that if that were to be the case, this would no doubt be brought up again by another of the characters he holds in his harem, or even a side character. It suffices to say that this isn't explored again. The show almost forgets completely about it, and Subaru goes on to learn swordsmanship so he can win next time, continuing on doing exactly what his love interest had berated him for, despite all logic advising against it. This arc is lazy. This arc is disappointing. This arc is so close to being really good as well. But as it stands, the best I can give it in good conscience is a 5 out of 10.

Characters

There are two main characters - Emilia and Subaru. Emilia is for the most part a well written character, generally responding in the way that seems logical for her character type, and spurting out most of the memorable lines in the show. No complaints here. Subaru on the other hand, our main lead is best described as persevering. He is characterized by his slow progression towards either extreme eccentricity or outright insanity. He is generally also well constructed as far as the first arc goes. Beyond that though, he begins to lose resemblance to the original character. He goes from being somewhat capable of introspection and fear, to someone characterized by mainly his complete lack of self awareness and ability to spurt cool lines while in tough situations. This change is jarring, and little effort is made to properly key the viewer in to what is changing within his mindset that should cause him to completely lack the awareness that he at some previous point displayed. Watching him becomes almost painful, and not by means of the viewer empathizing with the character's pain, but by the viewer empathizing with those around him who have to deal with his crap. He is almost reminiscent of an ecchi lead at this point in his inability to empathize and read a situation effectively. This is a major disappointment, as far as I'm concerned.

I will only talk of two other characters - Rem and Ram are demon twins, and have been working as maids since Ram lost her horn. In the first arc Rem takes the spotlight as she feels guilt for the happiness she felt when her sister lost her horn, and while she doesn't develop on her own relying totally on Subaru to say something along the lines of "You'll never be Ram just as she'll never be you - you're both special", this character's 'growth' is certainly a good point of the first arc of the story. But, all this, it is revealed is for almost no payoff, as just like in even the most cliché of ecchi's after the main character provides some basic emotional support, she goes flying straight into his forming harem. This could have been handled better too, it suffices to say.

Overall, the characters and their treatment in the story gets a 6. But only because Emilia is written competently.

Sound and Animation

As would be expected, the sound and animation quality are both very high in this show. The effects, both audio and visual are very tastefully, and masterfully done. The only fault in here is the "meh" fight choreography, but that's not a major problem in the long run. Sound effects and specific pieces of music are sometimes used in awkwardly as well, but once again this isn't really a major issue. 9/10 for Animation, 8/10 for Sound.

Personal Enjoyment

Despite all of this, I had a blast through the first arc. I would no doubt say that that was going to be a 10 out of 10 enjoyment. The nosedive of the second arc has lowered my enjoyment to a 7 in total.

Overall

Some people will no doubt disagree with me on this point of view, and that's obviously fine. In my opinion this show is a 5 out of 10. I don't think the hype was warranted. I don't believe either though, that this is necessarily the worst show you could watch. I advise that despite my scathing review you give it a few episodes, and also advise that you should almost certainly watch up to episode 10.

dayne.donnelly - 2016-07-17 00:48:31

First of all, the story is somewhat cliche. This guy just randomly got teleported out of his world and boom. But like I said, it was somewhat cliche. Subaru never met the person who summoned him there. He never knew what his purpose was. But yeah, the story (right now) is pretty good... Rem, please..So, moving on... The animation is... There's a lot of pros and cons on it. I reaally like the character's eyes. Emilia, one of the characters, really stood out for me. Her eyes is just ahhh, kreygasm. Everyone is so beautiful here v.v...... Now, the thing I hated about the animation is the friggin' CGI background characters! ESPECIALLY THE LAND DRAGON USED FOR TRANSPORTATION! It's bothering me, to be honest. But I didn't care those background characters until episode 15.... So, anyway, the character development was just... beautiful! Subaru Natsuki, the main character, looks like the type of person to be the king on a harem. But if you've watched all current episodes, you could see that he sank the ship... Well, yeah. The enjoyment is just beyond over 10, and I can't even explain how I'm itching to see the next episode. 

kali.rau - 2016-06-29 19:34:53

I know it's only halfway through its run, but I can tell the enjoyment I'm having from watching this is gonna stick with me for a while. The main plot device in the show (which I won't spoil as it doesn't appear from the outset) allows for character development and exposition which you wouldn't normally see from animes of this genre, although due to its nature some development can be erased entirely from the show, which can't be helped. You'd think that it would get repetitive as a result of the plot device, but subtle differences each time make it so that the plot is never predictable. The main concept makes Re:Zero  completely different from other users of the time travel trope that has been very common recently, so it is a completely different (and in my opinion more enjoyable) experience than watching other time travel animes that I have seen.

doug52 - 2016-05-23 14:18:42

OH....MY....GAWD. This anime right here, this one, easily the best new anime of the year. Like, holy sh*t. Seriously, watch it, yesterday. 12/10