Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-
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Hiroki not Takuya
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I was waiting for Emilia's eyes to go red or something and say "I've waited so long for someone to say they loved me, I'm reborn...". The witch in the spirit world really sounded like Emilia to me though...No Beatrice either
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5494 Location: Iscandar |
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A satisfying conclusion to a crazy ride. I am rating Re:Zero Good because even though the premise and production values are strong, there were some inconsistencies, especially in its third fourth.
Ending the season in a twist or cliffhanger would have been bad. There is no guarantee that a second anime season will be made. I agree that the spoiler[final scene] was cheesy, but a break from the heart pounding intensity is nice. |
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zrnzle500
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Very high standards as always I see @angelmcazares. I do wonder what a show would have to do to warrant a very good let alone excellent or masterpiece from you as I don't think any inconsistencies in it were enough to make it merely good. I guess we have different ideas on how high praise calling something good is. Personally I put it as an Excellent, though I was tempted to go with Masterpiece, as an unexpectedly high number have on this site, even given my high opinion of the show.
As to a lack of a twist ending, I think there is something to be said to being judicious in putting twists in a work. Too many and it makes it seem more like it was done for cheap shock value than making the story better, an issue some critics have had with later seasons of Game of Thrones. |
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Vongola Prim0
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It wasn't "a failure of an ending" at all. Just because some people are Masochists doesn't mean everyone is that way. Remember NGNL shocking ending and the endless hoard of people wanting season 2 which still hasn't been announced. Cliffhangers on last episode are just plain cheap. A way to make people buy the LN. I am glad the staff cared about Re:Zero enough to put characters over marketing strategy. |
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Angel M Cazares
Posts: 5494 Location: Iscandar |
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I was close to rating Re:Zero Very good. My biggest issue is that the return by death mechanism kind of deflated some of the narrative process. And having the heroine disappear for a bunch of episodes is an odd thing. If you are so curious about my rating process go to MyAnime link and/or my website. And please stop insinuating that my quality standards and unreasonably high. |
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#844391
Posts: 517 |
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Is Emilia even the heroine? To me she's the motivation and end goal of the main character/hero but not really a main character herself. She does get some character development throughout the series but it's almost always as a result of Subaru doing something and she develops as a result of that, she never does anything on her own that leads to major changes in the story or in her character. There are also a bunch of other female characters (Rem being the obvious example but others as well) that get more character development and actively participate in shaping events, even more so than Emilia.
Anyway, I loved the series, and hasn't it covered all 8 light novels so far? Just looking at the novels table of contents and illustrations, the anime seems to have covered all existing source materials. If I'm wrong someone please correct me. |
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2487 |
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Decent finale. Not a whole lot worth commenting on once again.
Though I know I've said it before, the finale reinforced it, so I'll chime in with my parting thoughts: the show's become just another fantasy genre work for the past 6 or 7 episodes, and I find that rather dull (when contrasted with the psychologically heavier content of its first 16ish episodes, anyway; also, it does at least execute genre standards very well). I hope we haven't seen the last of thematically and psychologically interesting R;Z. For as much time during this season as I chuckled at the poor predictions in ANNs' preview guide that this was just another generic LN fantasy pick, I now find myself concerned that it's going to veer off in that direction heavily enough to redeem the previewers' fears. |
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Gistradagis
Posts: 96 |
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I'd say that what's cheap is to pull off a fluffy ending that doesn't fit an anime as a whole only because you don't want to surprise people with a plot twist ending. Even if a season 2 wasn't at least probable, most anime tries to attract sales and interest, which I'm sure Re:Zero has done towards its light novel (and manga in Japan, I guess). And ending the last episode with the kind of cliff hangers we've gotten to expect from it would have done nothing buy highlight this and leave people craving for more Re:Zero, in whatever form, pulling it if only a bit from how its last episodes had become a bit "standard" (not that it's bad, but many people had begin to miss the darker hues the anime had going before). Honestly, I'm really shocked about their decision because it doesn't really make much sense to me. Doesn't make sense as an ending to Re:Zero, and doesn't make sense commercially. Add that 1 line a couple people have mentioned, and you have a success of an ending. If they cared about the show, they would have done their best to leave it on a high note, and make it memorable. That last scene is cowardly, it's smth they have done because they weren't sure it would fly well to throw a last plot twist for people. One of the special things Re:Zero had was that (mostly during its middle course) it wasn't accommodating to standards of the isekai genre. And here we are, with an insanely generic and soulless ending. It just feels empty, disappointing. Is this an ending for Re:Zero? I can't see it as caring for the show. Last edited by Gistradagis on Sun Sep 18, 2016 4:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Silver4000
 Posts: 181 |
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It covered 9, and the 9th is supposed to come out this month. It started as a web novel, and when White Fox approached the autor, he started working on the anime and a LN version at the same time, launching the LNs at a fast pace instead of the 4 month period that it usually goes. It's not unusual, Oregairu Zoku adapted the 11th volume while it wasn't even out, but in that case the source material was indeed a light novel, and it didn't had a web novel with 6 whole arcs behind it. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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@angelmcazares Certainly Emilia's extended absence was odd. And while I did not have an issue with RbD as it relates to the narrative, I can't say I don't understand why someone would.
I will be more careful in wording my responses so it does not seem as if I believe your standards are unreasonable, which I do not believe. I took you up on your offer to see the rest of your ratings, and it was very informative (I mean that in a positive manner). To be honest, I'll just agree to disagree at this point. |
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Vongola Prim0
Posts: 36 |
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Generic? Soulless? The staff doesn't care? Clearly, you haven't been reading behind-the-scene interviews. Did you know that the author is Very Involved in this or how many re-takes the scripwriter have done to get the right feel for various scenes ? In one of the interviews, it was mentioned that there was a great discussion over where to end the series and at least,every one decided it has to be that spot. Cliffhangers don't make a show good. They can be a positive technique when used correctly or have negative impact when overused. Cliffhangers should be shocking, hold the watcher's interest over what's next. In this case, everyone(whether LN reader or not) was expecting something bad to happen. It would have been no shock. Not to mention, There is no episode next week. Ending with the plot twist would create a last second unresolved conflict. Instead the Author and the staff decided to Finish of the conflict between Emilia and Subaru that started at the beginning of part 2 with Episode 13. The ending was played a very strong part in furthering removing Re;Zero from the generics of Isekai genre. It highlighted Subaru's strength as a character. How he has changed from the guy he was at episode 13, at which point he was being very much like a possessive generic protagonist. "I was only thinking of myself". This time Subaru is also thinking of the whole situation. He knows he can't explain his circumstances of returning to death to her and how she save him so he doesn't push and instead says "I was being crazy at that time" even though he is right, she did save him. This is character progression. Subaru's character progression. That's what we watch Re;Zero for. That is all this story is about. |
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Yttrbio
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Fundamentally, nothing has changed for Emilia in terms of her relationship to Subaru. He's still inexplicably obsessed with her, he's just not as stupid about how he communicates it. Why does she burst in to joyful tears this time? |
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Gistradagis
Posts: 96 |
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We still have so, so many holes and unexplained things. And the ending scene was played for sooooo long. Even if they all decided on it, I don't see it in any way as coherent or fitting. It's great that we get more on the positive development of Subaru, but we would have gotten it anyway, no matter if they had added one last scene or not. Having a "especial" last episode that's 27 minutes, but have it spend so long with an extended chat felt like a punch to the gut. It's not that people wanted smth "bad," but rather that they wanted... something. Btw, the "caring" thing was as an answer. I got nothing on whether they care or not, and rather would imagine that they were all really invested on it. Which adds to my puzzlement on a scene that felt like an easy way out. I'll also say that them agreeing together or not doesn't change that the ending's "everything's well that ends well" felt forced and empty. I did like it, generally speaking. But I'm both confused and slightly saddened that they didn't want for an open ended last scene that would give the show a last "darkish" touch to it. It's not like we are gonna cry ourselves to death if they leave us hanging. If a 2nd season does come, we would all be hyped. If it doesn't, people would flee to the light novels in excitement. I liked the ending, but I don't think it was a good ending for Re:Zero. On another note, the chase scene with Beetlejuice made me think of Subaru and Emilia. It feels as if, in the past, Beetlejuice was in a position similar to Subaru's, and Emilia in the Witch's, since he seems to have what looks like a one-sided obsession, kind of a "what it could have been Subaru" in a "bad end" of his story. How desperate Beetlejuice is, chasing after the Witch he oh so dearly loves... |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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^I thought the same thing about Betelgeuse and Subaru. His obsession with the Witch also reminded me of Subaru's obsession with Emilia at the beginning of loop 3. Subaru's defeat of him was therefore not only taking down a hated enemy but also his past self, a nice way to show his development within the plot itself.
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2487 |
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Yeah, this is a fair bit of what worried me about the ending. For all the genre tropes R;Z has upset, finishing off season 1 with the protagonist 'winning the girl' by overcoming a bunch've obstacles did not feel in keeping with what drew me to the show previously. In particular, I winced when Emilia literally exclaimed through her tears to Subaru 'You saved me'. It was a great summary of where I was hoping the show would not take us... Last edited by NeverConvex on Sun Sep 18, 2016 5:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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