Re:Zero IS a Masterpiece. F*** You, Fight Me.

rezero means a lot to me and to a lot of other people anyone who was watching anime back in 2016 can tell you that it had the entire community in a death grip and it never really let go four years after it's only season it's why Foos are still top-tier weebs still quoted endlessly and they're still selling figures by the truckload as is the case with anything that popular re0 has its share of detractors too it's faced a barrage of criticism to match the praise supporting it and through that discourse the anime community at large seems to have reached a middle ground conclusion about the series Gygax summed up the apparent consensus fairly concisely in the title of his video Ruiz ero is no masterpiece but it's still damn entertaining where he argues that the show has a neat high concept and it's shocking moments and impressive production values make for a thrilling ride but a lack of weight behind its characters and themes makes it ring a little hollow when all said and done in case the title of this video didn't give it away I disagree with that sentiment quite strongly particularly the part about re0 having weak characters and no overarching point for as much love as the anime community has heaped upon this series I still think it's being sold short way short and I can see why it is a very popular overtly edgy entry and a trendy and oversaturated sub-genre that's not exactly known for its substance its lead subaru bears a striking resemblance to well take your pick of e Sakai heroes really his design intentionally evokes the everyman protag can common in these stories and that creates certain audience expectations some of which are then subverted when he and everyone around him start dying horribly and time starts looping but the show still leaves a general first impression that it's probably not that deep and if you believe that you might never even think to dig into the massive subtextual strata in which most of our easy rows narrative substance can be found a lot of that to be fair isn't readily apparent on first viewing if you haven't rewatched 3-0 you haven't really watched re 0 but re watching a whole 25 episode anime is a bit of a tall order even with the currently airing director's cut you the perfect excuse to do so so to aid those of you who don't have the time and maybe convinced those of you who don't have the interest to give it another go I'm gonna lay out my own observations and interpretations of re0 gleaned across multiple viewings and make the case that it is actually kind of a masterpiece [ __ ] you fight me this deep dive is brought to you by book Walker kadokawa's official ebook store where you can buy hundreds of english-language light novels and manga to read on your phone tablet or PC including re0 which I've been using book Walker to read myself stick around to the end to hear more about their winter 2020 kickoff event where you can get great rewards for reading the source material of the coldest seasons hottest shows if you go into rezero expecting yet another mechanical plot driven escapist adventure story about a meek young man becoming an unlikely hero and saving another world with some gore and time-travel [ __ ] mixed in for fun I mean your expectations will be met it is in part those things sometimes but it's also a lot more which means it's a bit too bulky to comfortably fit that mold more generic II sakai like Wise Man's grandchild succeed by being easy breezy affairs shows you can fully enjoy without having to think too much about them they're like anime potato chips not nourishing but satisfying a nice light snack between meals and that's where I think some weaves run into trouble with re0 because this series is not a snack no matter how many snacks it may contain it is a full three-course meal plus salad and dessert it is dense and heavy it's the thing that puts you in the emotional food coma that you need the snack to recover from and if you turn your brain off while watching it it's gonna leave you a little bored rezero does have a strong elaborate and detailed plot it needs to writing good time-travel stories demands a complex understanding of cause and effect if the plot is weak the whole concept collapses around it but as good as it is that plot is not the focus of the series rather re0 lives and dies in it's characters who are more than just appealing wife who's and husband owes they're complicated multi-layered human beings with distinctive sometimes conflicting personalities values and desires the show can get away with retracing its steps over and over holding off on sometimes even basic plot developments for multiple episodes at a time because its characters are interesting enough to carry it the real brilliance of return by death as a concept in my opinion is the way it allows us to see multiple sides of this entire cast by resetting Subarus relationship with felt for instance we get to see how she reacts to him as someone Rama's for and as a total stranger how she treats someone she sees as a mark versus a legitimate client with Emilia we see how she responds to him first as some know-nothing kid whom she can't help helping as a random [ __ ] shouting the elf equivalent of the n-word at her in the street and finally as the selfless hero who swooped in from nowhere and nearly died to save her asking nothing in return but her name of course that last impression doesn't last because it's not who Subaru is it's definitely who he wants to be who he needs to grow into but Subaru isn't just another Jesus couldn't and he's barely even a hero when the story begins Subaru is a hikikomori otaku who never really thought much about anyone but himself back on earth who read his share of e Sakai in his time and thus expects certain things when an e Sakai happens to him cute girl magic powers easy life all wrapped up in a neat little bow and dropped in his lap by Haruhi herself unfortunately for him Lagoona K isn't a fantasy video game playground it's a real ass country with real ass problems like crime and racial segregation and a market economy just like the real last country he just left and unless he shapes up pulls his head out of his ass learns to read a room and most importantly figures out how to understand what people other than him actually want and need that real ass country is gonna keep chewing him up and spitting him out at subtly ironic checkpoints forever again just like the slightly more forgiving world he just left in Ruiz ero the e Sakai fantasy is not an escape from the responsibilities of growing up it's a wake up call the series hammers this point home with the very thing that Clues subaru into the I'm Luke the fact that he keeps running into the same three goons in the same alley over and over again something that he chalks up to fate but which is actually very obviously the product of his own dumb ass not paying enough attention to avoid them Subaru grows a lot in very incremental stages after being subjected to all the horrible painful consequences of his own inadequacies and that slow growth the procedural peeling back of his own worst traits is the most interesting narrative arc in this series at least out of what's covered in the show it's what keeps the story driving forward not the desire to figure out what happens next but to see how Subaru will overcome himself and rise to the occasion it's important to note that he's not a bad person as puck says many times subaru can be inconsiderate but he's never malicious he's a creature of impulse for good and bad a man-child as selfish and ignorant as any real kid but also as playful naive and willing to do a good thing just cuz he feels like it he's got serious shortcomings as a human being but they only make his eventual triumphs feel that much more triumphant rezero isn't just interested in critiquing the otaku hero archetype it strives to improve on it and the way it does so feels incredibly cathartic when it gets there but that takes a while and if you're not paying close attention to the characters and the underlying ideas the show is toying with if you're just watching to see ISA kyshin Anakin's get edgy those cathartic moments may come a bit too few and far between for your liking which is not a knock against anyone who wants to watch a show like that sometimes you just don't have the energy to invest and if you don't reserve a rough time I get it but I will say that the return re0 gives on your attention is well worth the investment there are so many subtleties to how these characters are portrayed from the way REM constantly watches Subaru through each loop of the mansion arc because she's suspicious of him - the whale song buried in the sound effect of reinhardt's finishing move a subtle hint at his family history there's a lot of subtle world building to be found by reading between the lines as well it's pretty obvious from the way that Emilia reacts to Subarus nonchalant acceptance of her half-elf nature that she's dealt with some serious systemic and social prejudice in her life for instance but if you pay attention in the scene where she's trying to help the lost little girl you'll notice that her ear is what spooks the girl and makes her double down on crying hey no wonder she keeps her hair swept in front like that and yet despite how horrible it must feel to be judged like a monster by an innocent child based on nothing but her heritage Emilia responds only with kindness she is the very definition of pure hearted and it's moments like this that make her the best girl in the entire series don't at me REM stands actually do I would relish the opportunity to make my case for why I love Emilia but this video is gonna be pretty hefty as it is so I'll be saving that for a Watson a waifu down the line anyway there are signs of inequality and social tension all over the city and in every one of Subarus interactions with Emilia but he only notices the sharp divide between haves and have-nots in Laguna kheh when the plot forces him to go down into the slums and stare it directly in the face and the hints are subtle enough that any reader who's only concerned with what will happen to Subaru next will share in that experience and that's not just the anime trying to sneak in some sly social commentary though that is part of it it's crucial to Subarus character development each arc of re0 story culminates in our big air quotes at first hero learning a very basic lesson about how to be a functioning member of society and using that knowledge to not suck just enough to avoid getting everyone around him killed in the loot house arc for instance subaru manages to break the cycle and save everyone's lives by paying just the tiniest amount of attention to the world and people around him and he's only able to survive the mansion arc by learning to think about the needs and wants of the people he cares about instead of acting like an incredibly suspicious self-centered imbecile all the time he then carries that lesson forward into the fight against the ma beasts in the woods and overcomes the threat without dying for once by putting Ram ROM and Amelia ahead of himself unfortunately the success kind of goes to his head and he buries himself in a deep deep hole shortly thereafter by failing to listen to literally anything that Emilia tells him to do ever because in his mind the fact that she's a powerful mage and experienced hero and also one of the five most important and powerful people in the entire country is overshadowed by the fact that she's a pretty girl who he's claimed as his waifu that toxic possessive attitude coupled with his insecurities and anger issues causes him to view julius as an arrogant [ __ ] boy who's moving in on his turf when he's actually just a really nice guy who takes his job seriously and is showing Emilia the bare minimum of Knightly respect befitting someone of her station episodes 12 and 13 of this show are painful and frustrating for me to get through in a good way it's just really hard to watch subaru thinking with his dick and making all of these stupid obvious mistakes that are eerily reminiscent of mistakes that I made when I was younger and more sheltered and thought interests and quirky behaviors were the same thing as a personality and found it easier to be critical of media than myself and most importantly didn't have sufficient respect for other people around me especially the women I see an uncomfortable amount of myself in subaru made more uncomfortable still by the fact that I know I didn't see it when the show came out back in 2016 you know when I was still living with my parents in 2016 I was on ironically in Subarus corner through this up until he made a fool of Amelia and hindsight kicked in and I think that speaks to how good the shows character writing really is while it's being intensely critical of selfish male otaku re0 manages to represent their mindset authentically enough to be relatable to one of those or at least a then barely recovering one that's not just valuable because it may encourage some self-reflection and people who really need it it's an example of the show doing its genre right Reesie row like a lot of other top Issa Kai isn't just fantasy it's dark fantasy horror in a fantasy setting and truly great horror seeks to do more than just shock with oceans of gore and big scary monsters although just as an aside re0 has some bomb-ass monster designs like holy [ __ ] guys holy [ __ ] and the ones we see in the anime are great too I love the little popper that turns into a very very big popper the animation on that's incredible the white whale manages to live up to like six straight episodes of hype when we finally get to see it and then there's the friendly critters like my homegirl patrasche these are some of the dopest monster designs this side of maiden abyss and I am super here for it wait I was talking about something wasn't i right good horror psychological horror tries to identify what its target audience is afraid of insecure about and play to those fears re0 is very obviously targeted at otaku and what are otaku scared of being bullied made a fool of and tormented by people stronger than them being hurt by people they care about and seeing those people get hurt in turn being rejected being alone are easy ro has moments that speak to all of these fears in a setting that's supposed to be our shelter from them and by emphasizing how Subarus choices lead to those consequences the looping story structure creates an unnerving implication that maybe it's not just the rest of the world that sucks these things keep happening to Subaru in part because of Subaru and that means they'll keep happening to him forever no matter where he goes or what he does so long as he's the same person he is now of course the flip side of that is that if he can change things can get better starting from zero Subaru still has the potential to become a hero and with infinite time to achieve that potential it potentially counts for a lot there is so much more to say about Subarus character arc he's a very underrated protagonist but I'd be making the same mistake he does if I focused entirely on him because it's not just the one great character that makes re0 great it's all of them literally all of them every major character in this series is as complex as subaru and keep in mind I just spent like ten minutes talking about him and even the minor side characters who don't have much substance behind them still feel like they have lives that continue off-screen they also all have great designs to match memorable distinct silhouettes and color palettes across the board with styles of dress that create a general impression of each personality at a glance and smaller accessories and details that speak to the characters personal relationships and histories it's no wonder that rezero has generated so many figures and works of fan art even if the distribution of both is a little bit skewed toward one character in particular now as for those characters personalities amelia is as I said the very embodiment of pure hearted heroism but she's also intelligent and tries to be pragmatic so she often ends up performing mental gymnastics to logically justify the good things she does on gut instinct puck is both adorable and wise enough to know he's adorable a combination that has resulted in essentially a magical talking cat fuck-boy a puck boy if you will with more swagger than people a hundred times his size he's also an empath which means that he can communicate with Amelia psychically and tell who she can trust at a glance the pair clearly have a deep and intimate symbiotic relationship beyond anything Subaru could possibly understand as evidenced by how willing puck is to murder anyone who's not Emilia when she dies and together they make an AI unbeatable team felt and ROM likewise share a symbiotic relationship the younger girl despite her pluck and talent never could have made it in the slums if the old merchant hadn't taken her under his wing felt is still a kid trying very hard to be the adult she knows she needs to be to survive while still clinging to optimistic dreams of getting rich and paying rom back one day the old man for his part has clearly seen some [ __ ] in his day he's got history with the Estrella family just for starters and he's doing his best to protect that optimistic smile from the harsh realities of the world Elsa who comes in to tear both of these found families apart is clearly more than a little unhinged and takes legitimate pleasure in fighting and killing she's more of a predatory animal than a human being able to smell fear and always looking for her next opportunity to strike but like many real predators there's an element of playfulness to her hunting she enjoys a good fight and getting carried away with that proves to be her undoing for all her bluster she doesn't even stand a chance against Reinhard dashing kind selfless and extremely capable he's every bit the hero Subaru isn't a real champion of the people type who carries his sword around while off-duty specifically so that he can do heroic [ __ ] that's outside his jurisdiction as a royal guard he is a capital G good dude but still believably flawed driven by the very real insecurities that naturally come with having to uphold a family legacy that includes this guy that guy Wilhelm is a complex enough character to carry his own three-volume spin-off series which is really good and you should read it his victory over the white whale is so well earned and that depth is apparent from his very first appearance where his reactions imply that he recognizes a bit of his younger more adventurous self in Subaru he immediately understands specifically the hurdles that a young dumb dude like that with a big pure hearted crush on an incredible lady way out of his league and social standing is gonna face and because of that he decides to give subaru some kindly grandpa wisdom instead of giving him the cold shoulder that felix is apparently used to and like really take that in felix is one of the most adorable and endearing creatures in existence he's a gorgeous bishi cat boy with the campy flirty mannerisms of Bugs Bunny impossible to hate and Wilhelm can Stonewall him so it really says something that he's friendly with Subaru from the outset a lot of re0 'he's most interesting male characters do also serve as foils to subaru in one way or another including its most brain trembling villain pizza juice romanée-conti represents the logical extreme of Subarus otaku obsession and entitlement a creepy gross overzealous nerd who hangs out with a bunch of anonymous genocidal goons and a hug box cult dedicated to the top waifu in their favorite book he leads a life of unrepentant cruelty completely divorced from the consequences of his actions because he believes that the blessing of his witch wife who makes him inherently superior to the unloved sub humans that populate the rest of the world Petzl juice is driven by a possessive twisted one-sided love to do literally anything for the witch of envy just with no regard for what she actually wants kind of like how someone else we know ends up treating his favorite silver haired half elf girl with magic powers which makes it incredibly fitting that before our heroes can truly finish petal juice off Subaru first has to find a way to rip the entitled little creep out of his own mind which he does with a cold blast of reality specifically by proving definitively that his wife who will never love him back now on that notes atella there's a fascinating character all we ever see of her in the first season of the show is her hand reaching out to either pull Subaru back from the cold embrace of death or to hold his heart in her own cruel embrace should he ever think of sharing what they have together with another a few lines of expository dialogue and a handful of animations are all it takes to actually I probably shouldn't get into characters who don't even appear on screen in season one because I'm not even halfway through talking about all of the ones with identifiable faces and names even the three muggers who ambush Subaru in the back alley have consistent discernible personalities that reflect and sometimes contrasts with their appearances both the little guy in the big dude Kon and tone put on scary faces but they're not super down with hurting or killing people while the skinny dude with the knives chin is clearly a bit more reckless and ends up dragging them into trouble I could literally sit here all day analyzing the psychology of these characters and I will for at least one of them if you philistines keep insisting that REM is best girl but i guess before i stop i should at least talk about her and the rest of the show's most important supporting characters the first time I watched re0 I found the mansion Ark to be the toughest part to get through it's the most time that Subaru spends in one place and as a result it kind of feels like he's spinning his wheels there after a while which is frustrating when you just want the plot to go but by keeping the story at a standstill there the show does give us a lot of time to get to know the mansion's inhabitants and they're all so great rom for example is super underrated and I understand why REM gets way more screen time in the gap between her initial cold demeanor towards Subaru in the blushing sweetheart she becomes when her guard is down is so [ __ ] my way I could die but then so is the way that ROM is actually super helpful all the time and tries to lift everyone's spirits by leveraging her natural resting [ __ ] for a grade insult comedy her back-sass game is consistently incredible and the way that her baru soon nicknames seamlessly transforms from an expression of disrespect to one of endearment as he proves himself to her is I I wrote chef's kiss in the script and now that I'm here I'm realizing that's not gonna come across super well in a video that's all voiceover but you get the point rom being clairvoyant and therefore responsible for overseeing rosewall's entire domain is very concerned with the well-being of everyone close to her all the time especially her sister who she recognizes is trying way too hard to fill her shoes even though she can't really do anything about that she's also acutely aware of all the ways that she can be a burden on the much stronger people around her which is probably why she's slow to take a shine to the weak and oblivious Subaru definitely why she's so loyal to Roswell and also probably why she's so prone to falling back on humor REM does her best to keep up with the comedy routines I'd wager their telepathic link really helps with the timing and she's got fantastic deadpan delivery regardless but beneath the surface she's a lot less confident than her sister which you already definitely know if you've watched the show REM is the only character in the first season to be the subject of several proper character study episodes mostly so it hurts more when this happens and also when ah ok never mind at any rate I don't think I really need to tell you how well rounded and good Ren's character is she's a fan favorite for a reason and I'd much rather spend the time extolling the virtues of roswall and Betty who are deeply underappreciated Beatrice is adorable then as soon as you get to know her she's not but then she is again because she's got layers the first of those layers is her appearance which much like that of puck is too cute for words immediately clashes with the second layer her personality which is brash abrasive and arrogant she does everything she can to belittle subaru and push him away telling him multiple times that he's an insect a pest but that's when we get down to the third layer how she really feels Beatriz spends all day locked up in the library only allowing others to see her when she feels like it and she's happy with that on the surface but deep down she's lonely and while it bothers her that Subaru keeps pushing obliviously through all her defenses and entering her room without permission part of her kind of appreciates having him around and also that he seems to really like her despite her abrasive demeanor so while she's very beatriz about it she ends up helping him a lot and being really nice in her own not very nice way they've got a playful comedic dynamic with each other and her presence makes scenes where Subaru would otherwise just be pacing in circles thinking to himself a lot more fun and interesting than they have any right to be that said Subaru also has pretty great comedic chemistry with the Lord of the house roswall doesn't get much screen time but he steals almost every scene he's in he's a charismatic eccentric hedonistic rich dude with a strong personal brand and an anarchic sense of humor he's savvy enough to respect the formalities of his class but not really bound by them and he seems to take a shine to Subaru specifically because the young man is so Cavalier and open with him despite the obvious to him differences in their social standing roswall is a hoot he has great comedic moments with basically everyone but he's also very serious when he needs to be and a nun parallel badass when it comes to combat I mean most of the people around Subaru are considerably more competent than he is whether he notices it or not but roswall in particular is scary he needs all of one word to turn a whole forest into the Amazon right now still and considering that he's very clearly operating on his own shady agenda that might be a problem for subaru later which is another part of what makes Reesie ros characters great they don't just show up to be interesting once and then disappear forever they have clear potential to develop in interesting ways far off in the future and it's really fun to speculate about what they might do in different scenarios I think that's why this franchise has been able to support so many solid spin-offs and short stories speaking of spin-offs the show explores these characters in even greater depth through the Reiser breaktime shorts these two minute comedic interludes which quite clearly lead some of the groundwork for ISA Kai quartet show additional conversations that happened off camera in their corresponding episodes those conversations actually reveal a surprising amount about the supporting cast some of them are modified versions of cut content from the light novels and they also deliver a lot of exposition about Ruiz eros world which if you didn't know is one of the coolest most thoroughly realized fantasy worlds in anime those shorts touch on a lot of interesting things but to know the full story you really need to read all of the light novels spin-offs included which I know is a lot but if you're into that kind of thing it is so worth it you might remember in my favourites of the decade video that I said Ruiz ero has a great hard magic system well that was a bit of an oversimplification it actually has three elemental magic which authorities and divine protection that operate on different principles and interact with each other in interesting ways there's also a huge Timeline full of very interesting events both political and magical that explains basically everything about the present state of this world from where the mob east came from to how a dragon got involved in running a country to how come there's so much racism everywhere all the time if you like lore re0 has so much war politics religion Wars economics topping the Gatzke has covered it all in as much detail as he's devoted to his characters and it's not just there to be flavor text Reesie ros individual volumes make for compelling psychological thrillers but on a macro scale the grand overarching story that this series is telling is a fundamentally sociological one driven by the forces of history and competing ideologies most ISA Chi send their heroes off on a morally brain-dead by-the-numbers black and white to beat the demon king and save the world rezero tosses Subaru right into the middle of an incredibly volatile political [ __ ] where five mostly well-intentioned but ideologically incompatible leaders and their factions plus a secret evil cult are all competing to fill a power vacuum so that they can apply their own solutions to complicated societal problems that really have no clear right answer worst girl Priscilla is a staunch monarchist who believes that the world is made in her favor and that thus everyone will be happiest if they just do everything she says all the time Cruz is a hard-line nationalist and militarist who believes that the people of Laguna have become soft under the Dragons protection and wants to build a truly independent nation with a strong military at its centre both were born as elites and their philosophies of leadership very much reflect that out-of-touch perspective Anastasia Ho Sheen is an elite as well but one who rose to her station out of poverty with a lot of help from her demi-human friends and more than a little luck she's a capitalist at heart who wants to count the kingdom among her possessions and believes that will be in everyone's best interest because she does take very good care of her things she sees that the systems governing Laguna KR unfair but has also benefited from similar systems and thus seeks to reform rather than replace them in contrast her fellow orphan felt who was raised in the slums by an old demi-human rebel and had to steal to survive hates everything about the kingdom and its class structure especially the military and nobility and wants to raise the whole broken system to the ground she is my aunt our kissed waifu and i love her though not quite as much as I love Amelia who true to her pure heart just wants to build a world where everyone is truly equal though she seemingly needs some help figuring out the finer practical details of how to make that happen though some are clearly better than others all of these potential leaders have their own pros and cons and based on their backstories it makes complete sense why each of them believes the things they do none of them not even priscilla are truly bad people which is only going to make it more tragic when their competing ideologies finally come to a head it's a very serious situation that a very unserious person like subaru really has no business being a part of at all and he probably wouldn't have any interest in it either if he'd been born into this world but because he sees it like we do as cool fantasy lore that he wants to learn more about as part of a grand heroic adventure story that he thinks he's part of he gets in way over his head and spends a lot of his time making things worse he's quite lucky then and so is the entire country that his superpower allows him to reset all of the complex systems that he keeps accidentally [ __ ] with without knowing what they do meaning he can effectively save scum his way through this big game of magic civilization exploring different possibility States until he arrives at the one that causes the least amount of strife for everyone and because this constant resetting both allows and kind of forces him to understand the points of view of every major player in the Royal elections he might just end up becoming a real force for political good if he ever fully dislodges his cranium from his rectum but that's just another potential story development that's fun to speculate about at this stage in the anime Subaru is still very much bumbling his way through more conventional fantasy adventures defeating monsters and bad guys and stuff without fully realizing the implications of his actions or even thinking about the big picture and the way that he and mostly his friends defeat those bad guys it's worth noting is immensely entertaining re0 has truly great action scenes they're well animated with strong cinematic lighting and framing but its greatest strength is well-thought-out fight choreography that makes heavy use of each location the characters find themselves in and builds on the painful lessons that subaru learns as he returns by death just look at how the battle with Elsa evolves from the one-hit-kill out of nowhere that ends Subarus first loop to the longer but still hopeless fight alongside felt and old man rom to the final showdown where Subarus muscle memory of the assassins attacks just barely doesn't quite save his life but it's okay because he bought enough time for the real heroes to save the day and instead if you scrutinize the animation you can the characters thinking and reacting to each other's attacks and it's super cool how the fight spills out into the entire loot house it's really good [ __ ] and I'm honestly not sure whether I should cover that or the white whale or the fight with the MA beast pack if I ever do a rezero anime lay let me know in the comments I might also maybe have to bring back what's in a scene to talk about the camera work outside of the fights because there's a lot of subtle visual storytelling going on there Masaharu Watanabe should direct more shows but what really ties these action scenes together along with all the quiet character beats intense pulse pounding thriller moments is Jin a categorization from AnoHana to toradora to recreate errs a categorical soundscapes have brought many of my favorite anime worlds to life and i've got to say this is some of his best work subtle environmental and clothing sounds helped to give the characters a real sense of physical presence while not so subtle weapon effects make the action pop the deadly whistle of Elsa's blades whipping through the air the rattling chains of REMS Morningstar these sounds have a way of sticking in your mind long after you watch the show and it makes use of them too chilling effect and that's not even taking into account the incredible score composed by Kenichi rosso a hero the standout piece to the point that it kind of overshadows the rest of them is clearly the call of the witch [Music] it's a near perfect accompaniment to the heights of the shows horror and a great song to listen to if you're feeling constipated that terrifying wailing is every bit as iconic as any of the show's characters and the piece pulls together many of the series most impactful scenes but it's far from the only great song in this OST no matter the tone of a scene be it happy and upbeat sad and heartfelt or somber and foreboding sue a hero nails it with a beautiful blend of gentle piano mournful strings and when it's needed more eerie chanting the battle music especially is fun and varied ranging from playful and tense to properly heroic and triumphant [Music] there are very few aspects of re0 production that I can find any real fault with white fox is a very good studio in general and they clearly prioritized making this show as good as it possibly could be the only thing that really stands out is bad or at least jarring is the CGI used in big crowd scenes and even that's impressive in its own way there's a wide range of character models with clothing and designs that all fit the setting perfectly and they do a lot more than just stand around to fill space a clear efforts been made to make the capital of Laguna in particular feel both lively and lived in and the makeup of the crowds even serves to reinforce the world-building we see a mix of humans and Demi humans out in the city shopping district while the rich parts of town have mostly human inhabitants and the dingy er areas are filled with more beast people none of this makes the CGI compositing or animation any better a lot of that is really awkward but it's at least used well in service of the story and that is of course what all of this is for rezero looks and sounds mad pretty in a brutal chilling kind of way but none of that would matter if it didn't use it to tell an absolute banger of a story to this point I've spent a lot of time seriously a lot of time thanks for making it this far talking about the things that make me love re0 rich character psychology super nerdy lore and especially complex political intrigue are my jam but they're hardly everybody's and rezero has such a broad appeal not because it's smart but because it's exciting this series is a thrill ride built end to end from unpredictable twists and turns gut-wrenching drops and exhilarating crescendos above all of those layers of hidden meaning lies a rock-solid hero's journey narrative that just works on a fundamental level screenwriter Yoko Thani Masahiro paced out this adaptation very deliberately to end on the most satisfying possible point this early in the light novels it's an unexpectedly happy ending for a series this mired in human misery but it's what the audience needs and desperately wants after all of that Subaru to his credit really earns it in part by learning another basic adulting lesson that sometimes you need to listen to other people and do things that you don't want to do for them in order to get them to help you but also he works really hard and especially toward the end of the series does a lot of truly heroic courageous [ __ ] to make that happen he doesn't lead the charge in the fight against the white whale but he sticks his neck out multiple times to save others and create openings to attack the Beast and while Petzl juice does manage to best and kill him a couple of times he gives his all to that fight in every loop and eventually strikes the decisive blow against the villain with his own harder and strength that's something else the time loop gimmick is really good for by the way instead of just ISA caring language and sword fighting skills into Subarus brain the anime is able to use his first days at Rosewall and Khruschev states like hyperbolic time chamber training sessions with ROM and Wilhelm respectively and the hard work we see him put into that really adds to the feeling that he earns his victories which makes those great action scenes that much more exciting and satisfying while it's busy earning all those crazy set peace climaxes re0 also manages to set up some really powerful emotional story beats more than one of which straight-up made me cry whenever this series breaks out the bloom and soft line art you know it's time to break out the tissues re0 ends with subaru saving Amelia from imminent danger entirely on his own something the guy who barely bothered Elsa and got eaten alive by mah beasts could never have managed in doing so he proves how far he's come and finally pays her back properly for saving him in the very first timeline earning the confidence to confess his love to her as an equal it's downright poetic classic fantasy adventure [ __ ] and even though there's more story left to tell if we zero never got another season it would still feel complete and satisfying much like Ruiz ero I could keep going from there for like a long time until not even my mom likes me anymore as a writer I sit in awe of top enna got skis craftsmanship and massive attention to detail given what rezero accomplishes as a work of fantasy a work of horror and work of social commentary and that it manages to pack all of that into a tightly plotted adventure with some of the best wife who's in anime without killing the pacing or detracting from the thrills I can think of no more fitting word to describe it than masterpiece re0 is a masterpiece [ __ ] you fight me I hope I'll be able to say the same for the second season when it drops but at the very least I know I can say it for the light novels and if you'd like to read ahead in those book Walker has you covered right now they're running a winter 2020 anime kick-off event highlighting the great manga and light novels that have been turned into anime this season so from January 28th to the 30th if you buy the first three volumes of rezero kono Suba overlord shield hero Tanya the evil guru camp infinite dendrogram inspector interspecies reviewers toilet bound Hanako kun drifting dragons Somali and the forest spirit Madoka Magica nanatsu no taizai chi haya Faru or rail decks you'll get 50 percent of your purchase back as book Locker coins that can then be used to buy anything else on the store and if you use the promo code basement when you check out you'll get an additional 600 yen off any purchase making that great deal even greater I think I've already made a solid case for why re0 is worth reading even if you've watched it already but drifting dragons is another personal favorite of mine I love stories about fantasy careers and dragon whaling is a pretty damn interesting one the series features an immersive fantasy setting with airships and cool monsters rendered in a gorgeous cross-hatched illustrative style reminiscent of the books of jules verne that is gonna make any steampunk nerd happy and it also has lots of tasty looking anime food if you're into that click the link in the doobly-doo to check out our easy row drifting dragons or any of the other titles in the promotion and then go read a book you nerds I'm Jeff through professional [ __ ] signing out from my mother's basement

Channel: Mother's Basement

Views: 1,221,403

Keywords: Anime, Anime Analysis, re zero, re zero is a masterpiece, re:zero -starting life in another world-, i love emilia, video essay, re zero op, re zero waifu, Rem, subaru, re:zero kara hajimeru isekai seikatsu, natsuki subaru, best girl, re:zero review, mothers basement, f*** you fight me, anime (tv genre), isekai anime, re zero gigguk, emilia vs rem, Shield hero, konosuba, re zero abridged, overlord, isekai quartet, tanya the evil, Mother's Basement, bookwalker, re zero basement

Id: Q5cJKpQvqWI

Length: 42min 16sec (2536 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 28 2020