Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-

Episode 5

What makes a seemingly ordinary light novel adaptation so compelling that it can keep even LN-averse viewers coming back? With episode 5, it's the harrowing final two minutes, which make it abundantly clear that something is very, very wrong at the mansion. Apparently Subaru did indeed loop because he died, only this time he's awake and alert for the experience. Whether or not that's for the best is another story, as getting some clue about what's going on involves a lot of pain and suffering – like puking your guts out and then getting your arm sliced off. And for all that trouble, he gets messily ended before he gets to see the culprit, who is apparently very powerful and dragging some kind of heavy bladed weapon with chains attached.

Actually, we do get one potential clue buried amongst all the banal happenings up until that point. Although Subaru is now aware of the time looping and tries to take advantage of it by specifically replaying the course of events from last time and looking for clues, he finds things spinning off in a somewhat different direction when he spends the day getting taught to read and write in the local language. (His ability to already speak the local language seems to be hand-waved.) Though his ultimate goal is still to win the date with Emilia, he finds himself spending more time in the company of Rem, the blue-haired of the two maid sisters, who seems content to let her sister shine and thus covers for her. At one point, while returning from a village, Subaru carries on an inane conversation about how he prefers demons to gods, since demons actually do something. So why does that bring an unexpectedly happy smile to Rem's face? It's very suspicious in a suggesting-that-she's-actually-a-demon kind of way. But if that's the case, then why would she bloodily slaughter Subaru? Unless she's possessed by a spirit that makes her act regardless of her will, there's no motive, and she seems to get along fine with Subaru.

The only other clue is that Subaru gets violently ill shortly before he gets whacked; he's stumbling around in a darkened corridor, puking everywhere as he desperately seeks help when it happens. (Presumably he believes, as I initially did, that the illness is what killed him.) He did get bit by a dog earlier, but that's such an innocuous event in anime that it seemed harmless at the time; the fact that he was bleeding profusely from the tiny wound made it into a joke. But was that, perhaps, what he eventually got sick from? He did look at that dog bite right before he starts getting dizzy, after all. If not, then that still remains a mystery.

Those couple of minutes at the end mirror a couple more intense minutes at the front, where Subaru tries to figure out why he looped. In between these scenes, the episode takes on a decidedly more light-hearted tone, including the surprisingly chiseled Roswaal hitting on the surprisingly muscular Subaru, leading to one scene which (probably deliberately) looks like Subaru is giving Roswaal a blow job instead of just talking to him. Subaru's good-natured aspect is also starting to win me over despite his ongoing “meta” prattling, but I still have to wonder why Emilia continues to insist that her going to the village would be trouble for everyone. It's a lesser concern right now though, compared to what's happening at the mansion.

After a couple of milder episodes, the visuals have gone back to being quite graphic, and the musical score is certainly hitting its stride. All in all, this series is rolling right now.

Rating: B+

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.