Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Episodes 1-2

It's been four long years since the first Re:Zero anime, but it's like it never left. The first episode of this second season picks up right quite literally where the first one left off; story-wise, only a matter of minutes have passed between the ending of the first season and the start of the second. The anime is even kind enough to begin with the cliffhanger scene from the end of the Director's Cut that aired earlier this year, so there's no continuity gap between versions. Which is nothing but a blessing, because holy heck was that first scene a game changer.

If you're reading this, you probably know what happened, but yeah, Rem got yeeted out of existence. Nobody even remembers her now except for Subaru, for reasons that are probably related to his Return By Death ability. This is an upsetting development, especially for Subaru, who was in the middle of telling Emilia that he's up for a threesome with her and Rem when she dropped that bombshell on him. But this must also suck for a lot of viewers, because Rem was easily the most popular character in the show by far. Her unconditional devotion to Subaru in the first season's second half was touching and even inspiring. I was one of those people who teared up at her heartfelt conversation with Subaru in season 1's episode 18. In the end, though, I feel particularly sorry for all the merch makers, because if Rem is absent from this season, which girl are they supposed to make a million figures out of?

Fortunately, it looks like Emilia is attempting to step up to the plate. In these two episodes alone, she and Subaru have more honest conversations than they ever had in the entire first season. It's not just a matter of Subaru showering her with puppy dog devotion and Emilia responding with awkward bemusement anymore. Subaru has dropped all pretenses around her, and she's trying her best to become someone who can be relied upon as well. The hug she gives Subaru at the end of episode 1 here is genuinely sweet, and it feels like the series is finally bringing those two to a point where you can actually sort of see them as a couple. (That said, her "Next time, I won't just be the one who always needs saving" at the start of episode 2 seems like a line that will age poorly.)

There's a lot going on in these two episodes, although besides a brief action scene at the start where Rem and Crusch get beaten soundly by the new villains, it's more about dialogue and setup for future events than anything else. Subaru's primary goal this season is to wake Rem out of her magical coma. This means apprehending the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, who "devoured" Rem's existence in episode 1, and unraveling the mysteries of the Witch Cult. In episode 2, Subaru finally gets to return to Roswaal's mansion and encounters our old friend Beatrice, who tells him that he must go to the Sanctuary to find the answers that he seeks.

Although that premise seems fairly straightforward, there are a lot of moving parts here, along with character introductions and re-introductions. To replace the ultra-maid Rem, we need two new maids: one of them is Frederica, who got a brief cameo in season 1's episode 11 as a maid who was previously employed at Roswaal's mansion; the other is Petra, one of the village kids (the cute girl with the ribbon). Although I like Frederica's design because she's got a mouth full of shark-like teeth yet the calm and no-nonsense personality of a consummate professional maid, so far she doesn't leave a strong impression. The new villains seem fun, though. The Sin Archbishop of Greed in particular has a very punch-able face and attitude. The introduction of the Witch of Greed Echidna ends episode 2 on an intriguing note, and I get the feeling she'll probably be the gleefully manipulative type, since Maaya Sakamoto's voice performance is strongly reminiscent of her role as the Administrator in Sword Art Online: Alicization.

Finally, these episodes also deal with the aftermath of the Witch Cult attack and the Crusch-Emilia alliance. It wasn't just Rem who suffered from Gluttony's attack; Crusch also got her memories eaten. At least her soul wasn't taken, but the result is still deeply upsetting to Crusch's knight and best friend Felis (or "Ferris," but I'm going with the spellings in Crunchyroll's subtitles for these reviews). Felis is tempted to call off the alliance altogether after that, but Crusch overrides that decision because she wants to do things through her own free will. It's a bittersweet moment, because it's evident that Crusch's strong-willed personality has remained intact even with her memories gone. In some ways, she even seems happier now, offering a genuine smile to Emilia at their parting. Those of you who have read the first Re:Zero Ex novel will know of the tragedy that inspired her to take on the Royal Selection, but without those memories, it almost seems like she's been liberated of her past. Even so, I can't help but feel bad for Felis, who has strong memories with Crusch and seems to be taking things harder than she is. Although those two have exited the story for now, this will surely not be the end of their subplot.

So, yeah, these episodes were a lot to chew on, especially because they're longer than regular anime episodes and are unafraid of cutting out the OP and ED sequences to fit that extra bit of story in. I'm glad they've kept this tradition from the first season because it's things like that which make Re:Zero special as an anime. Another thing I want to note is that the animation in these episodes is actually fairly restrained; it's more usual to see a TV anime go all out with the first episodes. Given the level of care in Re:Zero's production as a whole, I get the impression that the animation team can and will go above and beyond when the situation calls for it. We haven't hit this season's best material yet, but I'm excited for it when it comes.

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