The Fall 2017 Manga Guide

Re:Zero: Truth of Zero

What's It About? 

No sooner than Subaru has recovered from his endlessly repeating conflict with the demonic beasts stalking the woods around Roswaal Manor than he finds himself fighting a new and decidedly more political battle back in the royal capital of Lugunica. The kingdom is in turmoil since the mysterious death of the Royal Family just six months prior and so is eager to appoint a successor from the ranks of those marked with a dragon jewel, which just happens to include Ameila. Now, she must make a case for her worth as the next queen, but it won't be easy: contending with her are four of the most influential women in the kingdom (including one very unexpected – and very familiar – competitor). And Subaru, as her devoted retainer, must make the journey with her to insure not only that she comes back safe, but with the hope that he might yet discover something about what propelled him to this world in the first place.

Available October 31st for $13.00 from Yen Press, the first volume of Re:ZERO's third chapter marks the beginning of the Truth of Zero story arc.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Lynzee Loveridge

Rating: 4

Re:ZERO was easily one of the most talked about anime of last year. In between unraveling the true nature of Subaru's curse and arguing over which character is the series' “best girl,” Re:ZERO gave viewers plenty to talk about. I faithfully watched (and mulled over with friends) every single episode but I hadn't tackled any of the source material or its adaptive manga until picking up Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Chapter 3: Truth of Zero. This isn't the the manga adaptation's starting point; the series is following a similar style as the Higurashi manga where each respective arc is drawn by a different artist. Truth of Zero is the third arc and picks up after Subaru has solved the mystery of what keeps killing him inside the the Roswaal mansion. It is absolutely necessary to read the previous arc adaptations to get a full grasp of the story and where Emilia and Subaru's relationship currently stands. It also helps to fully appreciate what a self-absorbed loser Subaru is.

It's his inclination to jump to the rescue without fully understanding a situation that gets him into hot water in this volume. Anime viewers will also be happy to know that the manga volume contains a significant amount of content that was not in the anime series. I can't say as to whether it was present in the light novel and simply cut for run time or if it is expanded content unique to Daichi Matsuse's adaptation. What I can tell you is that it gives a lot more background information on the Lugunica candidates, especially Priscilla and her knight Al, who Subaru spends time with prior to the formal introductions. I'll keep the preview here spoiler free but let's say that getting a gander at part of Al's face was a definite treat.

Like the anime series, the manga is hindered mostly by Subaru who, as Priscilla apty points out, plays stupid to mask his helplessness, literally lashes out at Emilia in front of nobles for not treating him like her super special boyfriend, and otherwise shows little actual consideration for her status or feelings in favor of his own. The guy is a complete tool, but I'm of the belief that the creator and the adaptation's involved staff know this because otherwise his future confrontations wouldn't feel as genuine as they do.

Chapter 3 isn't beginner friendly for uninitiated readers who want to immediately jump into the story, but if this is your favorite arc and you've seen the anime series, you could start here. Although given the new material presented, I'm actually interested in going back and reading the other arcs' manga adaptations to see what other details might be revealed there.

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Amy McNulty

Rating:

Unlike the Re:ZERO Chapter 2 adaptation, Re:ZERO Chapter 3: Truth of Zero volume 1 throws the reader in medias res without a condensed version of the plot that came beforehand. That means it's less accessible to new readers, although there're unlikely to be many readers who decide to jump in at Chapter 3 regardless. As this arc focuses on Emilia's candidacy for queen and the royal selection, it's more political and less action-heavy than previous chapters. Subaru doesn't even make use of his ability to resurrect. While it could become repetitive to rely on that ability for the crux of each new story, Chapter 3 is a letdown after the previous arcs. At least new characters Priscilla and Al add both humor and conflict to the plot, especially when Priscilla's business in the capital is revealed. Although she flirts with and teases Subaru, it's refreshing to see him respond only on a surface level, as many other series of this ilk would go the full harem route and have the protagonist seriously consider returning the affections of every beautiful woman who throws herself at him. Subaru is devoted to Emilia, and though he's no angel, his sexual desires don't overwhelm the plot. In fact, they're rather restrained this volume in comparison to the first volume of Chapter 2.

Despite the royal selection appearing to be the crux of this new arc, Emilia doesn't have as much to do as Subaru. The other queen candidates are introduced and some lay out their visions for leading the country, and then the volume fizzles out abruptly right before Emilia is about to get her chance to make a speech. Although this installment is just the start of a new arc, it doesn't feel like enough happens to keep the reader riveted.

Matsuse's art is pleasant and the character designs, based on Shinichirou Otsuka's light novel illustrations, consist mostly of beautiful and cute women and a slightly wider variety of men designs. Still, no one in this world is hideous, but as this arc hasn't gone to dark places yet, the cheery art style doesn't clash with the story. The backgrounds are largely unremarkable, although there are occasional shots, like that of the royal palace, that are striking and help establish this fantastical world.

Re:ZERO Chapter 3 volume 1 is an auto-buy for established fans of the series and the wrong starting point for readers with limited exposure to the franchise. Thus far, it's not as action-packed or as compelling as previous arcs in Re:ZERO. It's simply building up to something more—something that's only barely hinted at in these pages.

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Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

The release schedule for this third chapter in the Re:ZERO saga feels a little off – it comes out in October, but the previous arc's final volume isn't due out until December. Seeing as the story is very much linear, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to release Truth of Zero before the conclusion of A Week at the Mansion. But here we are, and while this isn't a terrific adaptation of the third storyline in the series, it is a decently good one.

The first thing you might notice is a return of the artist from the first arc. This means that the girls are substantially sexier than in either the original light novel illustrations or the second manga arc, and if that's your thing, there are a lot more ladies to gaze upon. While it's a bit jarring to see Emilia suddenly showing a lot more skin up top, it also isn't a bad thing, because there's a nice delicacy to the way she and the other women are drawn. Rem perhaps feels the least familiar simply because her hair no longer covers her eye(s), which gives her a sweeter, younger look.

The story itself picks up soon after Subaru has successfully broken through his time at the mansion's curse. Having been wounded, he uses that to finagle a way to go with Emilia, Roswaal, and Rem to the capital, but that's where Emilia draws the line: he is in no way to accompany her to the royal selection. Naturally Subaru can't be bothered to listen to her. This sheds some interesting light on their relationship – with the memories of all of his failed lives in his new world, Subaru is far more attached to Emilia than she is to him, and he thinks that because he remembers all of the dangers she's faced before, he needs to be by her side at all times to protect her. But since he can't tell her all of this, it just to her looks like he doesn't trust her and can't follow directions, or even simple requests. It puts both of them in awkward positions: Subaru looks like a jerk and Emilia looks like she can't control one servant, which can't be good for her ruling a nation. Interestingly enough, Roswaal looks like he may have a clue, but he doesn't seem inclined to say anything. Or perhaps he can't – what's to say that he isn't compelled by a supernatural force as well?

There's a fair amount of glossing over in order to get as much story as possible into the manga, but if you don't know the novels, you probably won't notice. The one major issue is that Julius doesn't come off nearly obnoxious/snooty enough to merit Subaru's reaction to him; borrowing a bit more from the source material in his case might have been a good plan. Other than that, this is a perfectly fine adaptation of the story arc – but then, things haven't really gotten going yet, so how this continues remains to be seen.