Shadow’s First Impression
Sorry for the delay but THERE WAS A LOT TO GET THROUGH IN THIS PREMIERE. I’m so glad Re:zero is back and I am so ready to see more of my queen! But holy crap. I know that Re:zero’s first episodes are typically long… but I didn’t expect it to be an hour and a half! Not to mention that they really just did a year’s worth of a time skip on us like that. I’m so curious as to what happened in that time frame because it feels like Subaru and Emilia’s relationship has not changed at all from when we last saw them. Aside from that, compared to how the first two seasons started, I do admit that I was a bit less engaged with the majority of this episode… until the end. But we will get there!
It feels so nostalgic seeing a bunch of these characters, especially those we haven’t seen since the first season like Julius, Felt and Wilhelm. We even get to see the rando guy from the first episode that was trying to rob Subaru. As soon as I saw him, I somewhat recognized him but also noticed that they made him less ugly this season lol. I honestly didn’t even think we’d see him again. And after what went down in the second season, it also felt surreal seeing Garfeil walk around the mansion and just be part of the group now. I do like that we are balancing out the group with some guys with him and Otto so it’s not the typical isekai where the main character is just surrounded by a harem. It also feels weird seeing how much nicer she is towards Subaru. Though I do like that we finally get to see her part of the group, wandering around outside and all around just seems a lot more free. And as soon as I saw Emilia, I could feel a smile slowly form on my face as a wave of affection washed over me. I recently did a top 25 of my absolute favorite characters and Emilia was one of them. And if my reaction to seeing her after so long doesn’t prove she deserves to be on that list, I don’t know what will lol.
And then there’s Subaru… After being away from the series for so long and only really recalling the more dramatic and serious parts of the series, I tend to forget just how cringe this guy can be. I was suffering so much second-hand embarrassment from him where I had to pause the episode several times because I couldn’t handle it. Like bro, WHY ARE YOU DISCUSSING YOUR KISS WITH EMILIA IN FRONT OF SOMEONE YOU LITERALLY JUST MET???? I’m honestly surprised the guy didn’t blush out of embarrassment of hearing them banter over it. And don’t get me started on when he started singing with the Liliana. I don’t know why, but when characters just start singing out of no where and it isn’t a music genre, I just have this instinctual reaction to run away because I am cringing into myself. I also take issue with just how much he dislikes Julius. Like, the guy was literally just being polite to Emilia and you let your jealousy get the better of you and cause you to insult all the knights. Subaru honestly deserved that beat down he got on their first meeting. I appreciate his development, but GOSH, Subaru why are you like this lol. Also, after seeing him in the knight getup at the end of the second season, I kind of wish he kept wearing that more instead of his tracksuit. I know his tracksuit is his staple… but come on… he looked good in the knight outfit.
Emilia and company get invited to the Watergate City of Priestella by Anastasia and I do love a city with a bunch of waterways running through it. Kind of reminds me of the city that Sonic 2006 was located even if it was a terrible game. Anyways, being that this invitation came from Anastasia, one can only assume that she wants something considering the business woman that she is. However, due to Emilia wanting to reconnect with Puck, who still hasn’t made an official return to her, it makes sense that she’d be interested in the deal that was proposed. But man, after the second season, the main group has definitely evolved into a wonderfully colorful cast of misfits who are able to work together well… for the most part lol.
Over the years, I do feel like my attention span has shortened so when it comes to isekai anime, I feel like they spend too much time sitting around and talking about the world building instead of actively showing us. It was that exact reason why I dropped Log Horizon because I get so bored of all the politic talk. While Re:Zero has always had lots of political talks through out the series, for some reason I just was not invested in a lot of the long monologues in this episode. I wonder if it was how they presented it that made me a little bored since I do remember being more attentive whenever they had their little talks in the past couple seasons. I might need to revisit the previous seasons to see just what kept me engaged since this episode’s political talks just left me zoning out and not really taking in that much information. The only information that I retained was the current status of all the candidates and that Anastasia is pulling all the parties together to go up against Gluttony to regain Crusch’s memories. To which, I totally forgot she lost her memory because it’s been way too long DX.
Despite me zoning out on a lot of the nitty gritty details of all the political and business talk, there were a few things that stood out to me. One of them being Garf’s situation. A part of his situation seems to be a case of a big fish in a small pond was brought out into the ocean. Garf probably felt like he was the strongest in the Sanctuary and which probably made him incredibly proud of his strength. However, upon coming out into the rest of the world and meeting new people, he was bound to find many others who are stronger than him First case being Elsa who he probably wouldn’t have beaten if not for her getting distracted during the fight. And in this episode, he immediately attacks Reinhard on instinct as if sensing just how powerful the guy is. Not only that, but Reinhard freaking catches his punch with one hand without any issue. For someone to stop such a powerhouse like Garf without any effort and nonchalance must have dented his pride a bit. This insecurity might end up festering into something serious later down the line if it’s not already. Especially since the guy is also suffering hallucinations of Elsa. Considering it’s easy to forget that Garf is still 14 years old I feel makes it even more worrying since he’s still incredibly young and has a lot of maturing to do. So I can see him end up getting lost in his insecurities and growing “madness.” At least he was able to get some respite from the city children… only to hit yet another stumbling block when he comes face to face with supposedly his mom. We don’t know if it’s actually her yet, but she definitely looks like her. And I honestly hope for Garf’s sake that it isn’t because the look of supposedly going out to bring back his father, only to never return and then show up with a whole new family is damning. I should have noticed that the small kid he was encouraging had similar features to him with the blond hair and green eyes. I can only hope nothing too traumatic comes out of this, but it’s Re:Zero, of COURSE it’s going to go out of its way to traumatize its characters.
Another thing that interested me in this episode was Wilhelm’s situation with Reinhard. Wilhelm was a big favorite of mine back in season 1, so the fact we’re getting deeper into him is exciting. And seeing that Wilhelm has suffered through so many failures through out his life, but keeps on fighting makes him a very interesting character. It’s a very sad situation as Wilhelm probably lashed out over his grief for his wife’s death and in the process wrecking his relationship with Reinhard, who we discover is actually his grandson. But despite his failure as a grandfather, he is trying his best to mend the relationship. To which Reinhard also seems happy about. Only for the situation between them to get a little more murky when Reinhard’s dad crashes into the meeting drunk and reveals to us that Reinhard supposedly killed his own grandmother. I honestly doubt it was on purpose especially since Wilhelm most likely wouldn’t have even tried to restore their relationship rather than blame himself for the distance between them. And I’m not about to trust a drunk and rather spiteful guy like Heinkel. The Astrea family relationship seems to be in shambles, most likely due to Wilhelm’s wife’s death. Though how it became like this is to be seen and I’m here for it.
Reinhard is such a strange character to me. On one hand, he does have this mystery of what could he actually be thinking with that polite smile of his but on the other hand, he can come across as this OP main character syndrome type of guy as he is perfect in everything he does. I’m honestly surprised that Subaru doesn’t dislike him because he’s essentially the type of person Subaru wanted to be after transporting to a new world. He’s such a headscratcher as we haven’t really delved into his thoughts or how he feels about things. Especially in regards to his devotion towards Felt, even if it is really funny. Though it may be connected to the kidnapping of a royal and Whilhelm wasn’t able to make it back to his wife because he was searching for them. I do hope we get into why Reinhard is the way that he is because I feel like he has the potential to be a very interesting character despite all the perfection he exudes.
And as if on cue, Priscilla of all people walks in because OF COURSE she’d be the one to try and stir up trouble for everyone else. I was definitely wondering why the heck Heinkel was even here and Priscilla’s presence answered that immediately. Priscilla legit scares me as depending on her mood and how she views the situation, girl can and WILL fly off the handle. Even going as far as to strike down Heinkel right then and there for disrespecting her. If not for Al, who I still do not understand why he even caters to her, the Van Astrea family’s inheritance would be moot since Heinkel refuses to allow Reinhard to be the successor. So when we see Priscilla in the city interacting with Liliana, I was legit afraid she was going to hit her after declining her invitation. Thankfully Priscilla let it go after exuding a strong case of main character syndrome where she views it as the world revolves around her. As terrible as she is, I am interested to see what plays she makes and/if she goes through any development. I can typically sniff out characters that have the potential for growth, but I’m not too sure about her since she is in a lot deeper into her narcissism than a lot of characters I had gut feelings about. But I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. Considering how this arc might be focusing more on the royal candidates, we might get to learn more about her and her most likely possible killing husband tendencies. Either way, she is proving herself to be a force to be reckoned with.
Also can we address Al’s VA real quick? I got so sad when Al started talking. Rest in peace, Keiji Fujiwara.
Another thing that I found interesting this episode was that they brought up that Subaru isn’t the only one to be isekaied into this world. I was wondering why the inn they went to was so traditionally Japanese, but ended up thinking that it was just because it was this world’s adaptation of “Japan.” Only to find out that the person who founded the place was most likely someone who actually came from Subaru’s world’s Japan. Makes me wonder what the time difference it is between worlds as 400 years could have been only 20 years in the real world or vice versa. It also begs the question if there are more people who were brought from another world currently aside from Subaru. Considering they brought this up, I can only believe that they will address it some time this season.
And then the end happened. Through out the entire episode, I was just feeling so on edge just wondering when crap was going to hit the fan and force Subaru to go back. Re:Zero loves putting us into this false sense of security and peace, only to RIP IT ALL AWAY by the end. And that’s exactly what happened. Before the really gruesome part of the episode, as soon as I saw the white haired guy, my immediate response was: OH GOSH. OH NO. It’s been a while since I’ve revisited the series and I don’t fully remember what exactly this guy did, but I do remember that he was a PROBLEM. And with them bringing up that they’re going to go after Gluttony, we’ll probably be seeing him this season as well. Who I also forgot was a giant sore spot for Subaru since he is behind everyone forgetting who Rem is and why she’s in a coma.
But man… that ending scene had me SO UNCOMFORTABLE. As soon as I saw that she was wearing the witch cult robes, I knew that things were going to get BAD. I audibly winced when she dragged out the child bound and gagged by barbed chains. But what really threw me off was how people weren’t alarmed and were making light of the situation. Even going far as LAUGHING and even poking fun at him. WHAT ABOUT THIS SITUATION IS WORTH LAUGHING OVER???? Something had to be off, especially since even Subaru was laughing along with them. And sure enough, we don’t know when or how it started, but Sirius had everyone under a spell. She’s the Arch Bishop of Wrath and I am curious as to why she is wrath. If I had to wager a theory, it might have to do with “punishing” the people who laughed at someone else’s distress. But either way, I knew that child was going to be tossed off the side of the building and boy… it was absolutely horrific in how they displayed that scene. It did such a good job just making me so uncomfortable and anxious about what was going to happen. And once that child’s head hit the ground, EVERYONE’S heads just blew up. Ah, there’s the Re:Zero we all know and love. I knew things were going to get bad, but I didn’t expect it to be THAT BAD. Especially since I don’t even know if Subaru fully remembers what transpired and is only being affected subconsciously. They definitely lived up to the episode title of “Theatrical Malice.”
That last scene just left me speechless. I hope this child distress doesn’t last too long as that always makes me super unnerved and uncomfortable. But I shouldn’t trust Re:Zero to make me feel comfortable. Considering I was getting increasingly bored with all the political talks and whatnot. Before it slapped me in the face to remind me that this is Re:Zero. The way they built up to the demise of everyone just felt sickeningly fantastic. Just from how more animated and loud Sirius got with each passing moment and showing how “excited” everyone got over a distressed child. It was so sickening, but just portrayed so masterfully that I couldn’t help but applaud how well executed that scene was. I’m honestly excited to see what unfolds now and hoping that this situation can be stopped because I don’t know how many times I can take a child being thrown off a building, screaming.
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Also, if Berry has any thoughts on the episode and wants to give her 2 cents on it, she will put them at the bottom of the post!
