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Last season I promised to release mini analyses of the running anime that piqued my interest/gave us stuff to talk about. Unfortunately life got in the way. It's actually happening this time around. These threads will be updated regularly and may become essays. RE:ZEROPermalink On twitter.com
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What I can say about this show is limited, because it's a Bullshit no Yuusha show. I have very long and detailed thoughts about its strengths, weaknesses, thematic resonance and lack thereof, something something capitalism something, the works.Permalink On twitter.com
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I'm not really a fan of gore or horror, so I guess I'm already biased against Re:Zero. But there are specific writing trends that really started to manifest towards the middle of the first season that stop me from thinking this show is as great as they say.Permalink On twitter.com
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It feels like the author has ideas for scenes that he bends the plot around, and not drawing tension naturally from character interaction. A lot of the conflict in Re:Zero feels artificial. I think it was when 3 white whales appeared in S1 I realized the writing just pulls shit..Permalink On twitter.com
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...out of its ass for shock value. Since then I haven't really been able to take the show's emotional beats seriously.Permalink On twitter.com
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But the main problem setting Re:Zero back, and this is something I've written a ton about in work you haven't quite seen yet, is that the narrative is obsessed with Subaru. He's not a Mary Sue, exactly. But he monopolizes screentime as if he were one.Permalink On twitter.com
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Plot points happen for no other reason than to make Subaru suffer. Characters exist for 3 reasons: to make Subaru suffer, to tell Subaru he's a great person who shouldn't hate himself, to move Subaru to the next plot point where he will suffer more.Permalink On twitter.com
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Everything feels shallow as a result, and Season 2 is already suffering because of it. This season really wants to focus on Subaru and Emilia's relationship, but we only ever see Emilia in the context of Subaru liking her.Permalink On twitter.com
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Emilia's two defining qualities are "she's nice" and Subaru likes her. And her being nice is why Subaru likes her. So really her own defining quality is that Subaru likes her. Emilia could be replaced with a very cute puppy and the story would stay the same.Permalink On twitter.com
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Emilia is a candidate for the royal selection, but we've only ever seen what that means for Subaru. We know Subaru got jealous of Julius and Subaru wanted to help Emilia win, but we don't know anything about how Emilia sees herself in her own story.Permalink On twitter.com
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We know she wants to be queen because she's "nice" and she wants "equality for everyone and stuff". Which is, again, another reason Subaru likes her.Permalink On twitter.com
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So when Subaru risks his life to save Emilia at the end of Season 2 episode 3, am I supposed to feel anything? Are images like this supposed to be heart warming? When, after a full season I still know nothing about who this girl is?Permalink On twitter.com
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Every single character in Re:Zero has this problem. It's especially bad with Emilia this season, but the same applies to Rem, Ram, Otto FELTPermalink On twitter.com
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Remember Felt? She goes "I'm going to destroy the system of exploitation that built this country", this making her the most interesting character in the whole show, and then she never comes back her last scene is someone saying she'll be back youtu.be/ymo-L2P-03oPermalink On twitter.com
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Well that's because Felt has nothing to do with Subaru, so we drop her storyline. When she becomes useful to Subaru's story again I'm sure she'll be back. If the show wants to win me over someone other than Subaru needs to have... any sort of arc whatsoeverPermalink On twitter.com
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So it's midnight and I'm not even finished with the Re:Zero episode yet but it's SO BAD I have to tweet about it. I'm chortling right it's this is very funny.Permalink On twitter.com
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This episode of Re:Zero is supposed to be "The Emilia Episode". The show makes a big stink about how it's not Subaru that'll save the day. It's Emilia. Because this show is PROGRESSIVE and it has STRONG, CAPABLE FEMALE LEADS.Permalink On twitter.com
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The show really, really wants to write strong, independent female characters. It's trying everything. Everything! Except y'know giving the female characters any agency whatsover or a story or somethingPermalink On twitter.com
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The result is the most amount of cognitive dissonance I've seen in an anime for a while.Permalink On twitter.com
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For example, Garfiel says he thinks Ram is hot because she's a strong and capable woman. But then in her VERY NEXT APPEARANCE she tells us she just does whatever her master says. She has no dignity or self respect, she just serves.Permalink On twitter.com
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No one said these scenes had to be back to back! I didn't even have to build a case against this show it DOES IT TO ITSELF. Not to mention RAM IS A MAID HER OUTFIT *SIGNIFIES* SERVITUDE HOW IS SHE AN STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN????? HOW?????????On twitter.com
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To be clear, not every character needs to be a girl boss. My issue is not that Ram exists, but that the show seems desperate for strong female characters but refuses to just... write them. Into the story being told.Permalink On twitter.com
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In the episode about how great Emilia is, we see none of it from her perspective. It's from Subaru's perspective. And then we learn that Lord Roswaal has been manipulating things behind Emilia's back. And he and Subaru are pulling the strings to make her successfulPermalink On twitter.com
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So in other words, in the episode that's supposed to be about how much agency Emilia has, we learn EMILIA HAS NO AGENCYPermalink On twitter.com
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JUST MAKE THE EPISODE ABOUT EMILIA. JUST ONE! THAT'S ALL YOU HAD TO DO AND YET THIS IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR SOME REASON. Because the show is obsessed with Subaru. Every single thing needs to rope back to him. I never thought the show would make it this hilariously clear.Permalink On twitter.com
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Instead of being told this is hard on Emilia. You can just show us it being hard on Emilia. And you can show us how she handles that. On her own. It's a crazy concept, I know. But when you're the writer it turns out you can just write things!Permalink On twitter.com
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Strong independent woman right here. "I'm a fucking dumbass but I do what I'm supposed to" What a fuckin pitch! I'm sold!Permalink On twitter.com
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So we will continue this thread, I guess much to the chagrin of Re:Zero stans. Hopefully they're over themselves by now. S2E6 is a perfect example of another recurring flaw with Re:Zero, something I'll call "artificial suspense".Permalink On twitter.com
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A lot happens in this episode, but there's almost no context given to it. Emilia's still struggling with her past, but we don't see what that is. Big-booby slasher lady from S1E4ish is back, but we don't know why or who sent her. We're supposed to be learning about Witch Factors?Permalink On twitter.com
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And I'm not stupid, okay. I get that at some point eventually, whether it's the next few episodes or a season 3, we'll learn what all these things are. I understand that the story is holding off on these answers for later. What I want to know is: is this good writing?Permalink On twitter.com
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Re:Zero is primarily a story about choices. Subaru and the people around him make XYZ choice, and it results in this or that doomed timeline. He resets, he makes different choices. It's how it works. If that's the case...Permalink On twitter.com
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How is the story made better if I don't actually know why anyone makes any choice when they are making them? Why is it a better writing decision that I learn after the fact?Permalink On twitter.com
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This is why I'm calling this "artificial suspense". Because the story withholds random pieces of information and world-building in a vague promise for "later". It thinks this information is valuable for it's own sake, when it's not. The suspense isn't real.Permalink On twitter.com
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You can contrast this with something like The God of High School. TGOH doesn't dump all it's information on you at once, but you basically always know what every character in a scene wants. You know enough to be invested, and are given more info liberally and as needed.Permalink On twitter.com
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We know Jin Mo-Ri wants to get stronger. We know Han Dae-Wi wants to pay his friend's medical bill. We know Yu Mi-Ra wants to succeed as the successor of her family's martial art's style. Information is never stochastically withheld with the promise of being revealed "later".Permalink On twitter.com
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In an earlier episode we're told Han Dae-Wi's special move have 4 stages. But he beats an opponent using only 3. This is real suspense, as opposed to artificial, because we have enough context to understand what this special move means to him, and we're excited to see it in full.Permalink On twitter.com
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Of course, we eventually do see it in the best way possible and it's already one of the best parts of any show to have come out this season. Meanwhile, stuff in Re:Zero seems to happen as is convenient to the author and his desire to make everyone die painful deathsPermalink On twitter.com
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There's a funny bit of dialogue at the beginning of episode 7 that may be worth pointing out. This conversation basically boils down to Subaru asking Beatrice why she makes the decisions she does, and Beatrice responding she doesn't fucking knowPermalink On twitter.com
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We learn that Beatrice doesn't make her own decisions. She just does whatever this fucking book tells her to. Which is just another in a long line of Re:Zero's female characters not having agency, but whateverPermalink On twitter.com
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It's revealed this book is the religious text of the Witch's Cult, and that Beatrice serves the whims of Mother. One problem: we don't really know what the Witch's Cult is, other than a Bad Group who did Bad Things.Permalink On twitter.com
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We have no idea who the Mother is. The wiki says it's the Witch of Greed but we barely know her either. She's a Bad Witch who does Bad Things and also makes tea out of her pussy juice or whatever the fuck.Permalink On twitter.com
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The music swells like this is some big betrayal, but Subaru doesn't really spend time with Beatrice unless he needs something. God when was the last time these two hung out? Early season 1? They don't have the deep friendship the show asserts is there.Permalink On twitter.com
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Beatrice saves Subaru, and then immediately lets him die. Presumably because the book said so? This book makes no sense and, like, neither does she.Permalink On twitter.com
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Anyway, Subraru gets himself locked in the basement because he smells bad and refuses to shower or change his tracksuit. Otto comes to save him and we have a very similar scene, where Subaru asks "why" and he's like "cuz we're pals". Subaru flips the fuck outPermalink On twitter.com
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The scene is supposed to remind Subaru that he really does have allies he can trust. It's not a bad scene. It would be a better scene if the Beatrice scene at the beginning worked in any sort of capacity whatsoever.Permalink On twitter.com
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Don't touch the rabbit. Don't touch the rabbit you piece of shit. The narrative has basically all but declared you're dead at this point. Everyone is dead. We all know you'll Return by Death at this point. Don't be a fucking dumbass and touch the rabbitPermalink On twitter.com
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You motherfuckerPermalink On twitter.com
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I actually like this thread, despite the drama it causes every week, because Re:Zero, as much as I don't like it, *is* an interesting show. And there are so many different things you can talk about. Plus the news out of Kenosha rn is pissing me off so this is how I cope.Permalink On twitter.com
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I want to talk about Steins;Gate. But I'm not sure how many of you have seen Steins;Gate? So this might not work. I'll try anyway.Permalink On twitter.com
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There's a bit in the middle of Steins;Gate where a lead character is fated to die at a certain point in time no matter what. And our protagonist travels back in time countless times to save her in vain.Permalink On twitter.com
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Later, the protagonist, out of options, sits down and explains to the love interest what's actually going on. And we realize at that point that the couple are basically in love, and are stronger together than apart. It's a really good scene!Permalink On twitter.com
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And sometimes when I watch Re:Zero, I get the feeling that Re:Zero wants to be that show *all the time*. And who wouldn't? Steins;Gate is fuckin fantastic (minus the transphobia). But if Re:Zero *is* trying to imitate SG it seems not to understand what made that work.Permalink On twitter.com
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For one, there's only one arc like that in Steins;Gate. Because it works once. And it took 13 episodes of build-up to make it work. It's not really a format made to be done 8 times a season.Permalink On twitter.com
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But secondly and I think more importantly, in S;G there's a character lesson that the protag needs to learn to stop his friend from dying. In this case, he needs to learn that he has to work with is friends instead of alone if he wants to save anyone.Permalink On twitter.com
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But in Re:Zero, it never really feels like Subaru has to change who he is as a person to "win" the time loop. In fact, a lot of the time, it feels like Subaru NEEDED to die to learn something that will be used on the next iteration.Permalink On twitter.com
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S;G views each death as unnecessary. It even calls out the protag for almost being okay with his friend dying again and again, to suffer, as long as it allows him to time travel and mine for information.Permalink On twitter.com
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In this episode, everyone Subaru knows and loves dies for like the third time this cycle. It's not because he's done anything wrong, but just because it turned out that way. Then he's randomly teleported to the snow, where he's eaten by rabbits because it's shocking I guess??Permalink On twitter.com
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Why rabbits anyway? Or lemme guess that'll be explained someday too lol. It's the frustration from this that allows him to luck his way into meeting Echinda again, who just so happens to be the only person in existence who he can tell Return by Death to.Permalink On twitter.com
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All the aesthetic trappings of a good time warp puzzle are here. The gore. The death. The pain and hopelessness of the protagonist. But none of the substance that makes it good ever comes with it. And Re:Zero just delivers this aesthetic again and again instead of writing.Permalink On twitter.com
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Bonus points for introducing another woman who seemingly exists to be Subaru therapist. Because I guess going through the EXACT SAME THING w/ Emilia and Rem wasn't enough? idkPermalink On twitter.com
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It's timePermalink On twitter.com
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So I was debating whether or not to say something good about the show this time around. After all, I have pretty much run through all my big criticisms of Re:Zero and it's not like this show is the WORST anime ever made (or this season, by a lot)Permalink On twitter.com
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I genuinely understand why people like Re:Zero. The characters are likeable enough, the art is good, the emotional beats are pretty effective. It's decent horror. Most importantly, for an isekai it's leagues and bounds ahead of the rest of the genre.Permalink On twitter.com
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This thread is my longest seasonal anime thread and there's a reason for that. However, I hated this episode as much as I hated all the others and mama didn't raise no liar so.... no. We're gonna tear it apart some more. This is very fun for me.Permalink On twitter.com
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Whhoooo caaaraeeess??? Re:Zero is lore heavy, and none of it is interesting. I'm still processing why this is myself. But for one thing, it often feels like "the lore" and "Subaru" as entities are too disconnected from each other to really care about.Permalink On twitter.com
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A lot of the stuff Subaru learns about the lore is stuff no one else in this world knows but him. The information is basically always used to help Subaru out of a time-warp puzzle.Permalink On twitter.com
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We never meet, like, average people from this world and we never get a sense of how all this talk of great mabeasts created 400 years ago affects day-to-day life. It doesn't help that Subaru lives with the some of the most privileged people in society.Permalink On twitter.com
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When I say Felt is best girl, it's not just because she's cute, but because, had we followed her, I'm convinced the world building would have mattered more. Because she feels the brunt of the systemic and societal issues in Lugnica.Permalink On twitter.com
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Of course just following Felt around wouldn't be enough. You would have to focus on characters who are not Subaru for 5 fucking seconds, and generally set things up before revealing them like a normal writer. But it's a start.Permalink On twitter.com
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As it is right now, the lore is just puzzle pieces that Subaru can use to "win". Early parts of Re:Zero avoided this, actually. In fact, I think the first few episodes are generally well done on this issue?Permalink On twitter.com
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Thing 2: when I first watched Re:Zero I was convinced the author only really added the witches because they'd heard of the 7 deadly sins and were like "heh that's cool". Now that we're meeting them I can confirm... that's 100% what happened lmaoPermalink On twitter.com
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The Witch of Wrath? She's, uh, an angry girl yup that's her. Get it? The Witch of Pride? Proud little kid. The Witch of Greed? Greedy. Greedy for BOOKS. The Witch of Envy? Jealous ex-wife. The Witch of Gluttony? Perpetually skipped breakfast.Permalink On twitter.com
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The one character traits are in the name, you see.Permalink On twitter.com
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And I'm sure someone's gonna tell me that if I read 200 chapters of the light novel I'd discover that they have more to their character but whhhyyyyyy Why can't it just be good?Permalink On twitter.com
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Compare w/ Deca Dence, which is fantastic, and a show I will do a thread about tomorrow. One of the reasons why it's fantastic is that you can tell what kind of person every character is after a few scenes.Permalink On twitter.com
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We're not surprised when Kaburagi flips on the system and decides to become a bug. We know from the start that, although he followed the system, he had the potential to rebel. After all, he was the same person who refused to report Pipe to the system.Permalink On twitter.com
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We know Natsume is insecure about her arm in the SECOND scene she's in. So it's not a surprise when she declares she fights not just to save the world, but because she wants self-confidence. Fuck I could be watching Deca Dence right now!Permalink On twitter.com
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But in Re:Zero, the women especially have this default personality trait where they're just generally motherly and helpful? I couldn't differentiate Rem from Emilia from Echidna from Frederica personality-wise. Could you? Be honest.Permalink On twitter.com
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Can you differentiate Julius from Garfiel? Really? They both have the generally standoffish but loyal male rival thing going on. Ram is characterized. Felt is characterized. And surprise surprise I like them both! I think the show would be a lot better if they showed up more!Permalink On twitter.com
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And maybe, in a hypothetical fourth season, these characters will be expanded on. But when there are so many shows that get this right, you'll forgive me for docking points here.Permalink On twitter.com
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Thing 3 (last thing, this is long, sorry): thisPermalink On twitter.com
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Some of you people argued that Emilia makes decisions on her own KNOWING that Subaru would just do the trial in her place and I'm pissed. Fuck you. Emilia doesn't get to do things. I know it, you know it. And let me tell you, they're doing a great disservice to our country.Permalink On twitter.com
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It was really obvious actually. If Emilia was really going to do the trial, the story would have to focus on her. Treat her pain as a character trait to overcome and not just another piece of Subaru's puzzle.Permalink On twitter.com
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The only scene I kinda liked was when we saw the Witch of Envy for the first time. Because, as the source of Return by Death it's kinda built up to? But I still lack a lot of context to really appreciate this in any meaningful way.Permalink On twitter.com
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Thankfully I'm getting over my sickness alright, so we can start updating these threads again. I think this is actually one of the better episodes this season, in the sense that there are a lot of moments that work on their own out of context.Permalink On twitter.com
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For example, the bit at the beginning where Subaru is staring down the Witch of Envy herself, genuinely creeped me out. Had my heart going which isn't something Re:Zero has done for me since early season 1Permalink On twitter.com
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However, in the grand scheme of things this was SUPER disappointing. This is the Witch of Envy we're talking about. The being responsible for all of Subaru's suffering. And their first real meeting takes up 5 minutes split between 2 episodesPermalink On twitter.com
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Later we learn that this encounter allowed him to read the memories of the people she killed, which allows him to find a cloning factory of some kind? And it just feels like what should've been a big confrontation was instead another plot device for Subaru to solve this "puzzle"Permalink On twitter.com
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There's this scene here where Subaru breaks down after reincarnating and Emilia comforts him. It's frustrating that the show has Emilia do emotional labor for Suabru when Emilia herself has been suffering because of the trial. It throws Emilia's "arc" (lol) awayPermalink On twitter.com
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Then there's this bit where Emilia says she's happy Subaru has finally decided to be emotionally vulnerable with herPermalink On twitter.com
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This makes no sense because this is not the first time Subaru has been emotionally vulnerable with Emilia. Did we just forget about the Love Pillow from Season 1? Or did this not happen because Subaru returned by death and erased this. I'll admit I don't exactly remember.Permalink On twitter.com
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But that doesn't matter. The real issue here is that this message is entirely contradicted by the end of the episodePermalink On twitter.com
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The show gives lipservice to the idea that men should be allowed to be emotionally vulnerable, but Subaru's role is still to just suffer endlessly for others. The show just says so. A lot of people pitch Re:Zero as anti-toxic masculinity, but it isn't.Permalink On twitter.com
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Subaru suffers endlessly and oftentimes unnecessarily to save Emilia. In response, Emilia and the other female owe him emotional labor so that he can continue to sacrifice. This is the fundamental dynamic behind Re:Zero, and it's weird that people keep telling me otherwise?Permalink On twitter.com
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The end of S1E13, Subaru yells at Emilia in desperation. Talking about how he saved her more times than she can imagine and how because he suffers for her, she owes him her affection and appreciation. The show never challenges this. The show thinks he's right and we're seeing itPermalink On twitter.com
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Other things that really bugged me: Subaru tells Emilia he believes she can complete the trials knowing full well that he's the one who has to do it. He only says this because he wants her to feel good and fully plans on killing himself to reset the timeline. Patronizing afPermalink On twitter.com
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Subaru has a slave army now? People told me the female characters in Re:Zero have agency knowing full well he gets a slave army, lmao inb4 "NOO MO THEY'RE NOT SLAVES THEY'RE CLONES THAT HAVE TO DO WHATEVER HE SAYS IT'S DIFFERENT NOOOO 😭😭"Permalink On twitter.com
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I'll be honest, the Re:Zero megathread is finally starting to wear me down. I keep waiting for this show to show me any sign that it could possible turn into something it's not, but that never happens.Permalink On twitter.com
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This episode made me consider just dropping the show. After all, I have all the research I need for Bullshit no Yuusha by now, and I've made my main points abundantly clear.Permalink On twitter.com
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At the beginning, we learn that the book Beatrice follows has been blank for centuries. She's been "following" it out of fear. I thought, maybe, the Re:Zero fans who told me to "just keep watching" were right and had proved me wrong.Permalink On twitter.com
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I thought we were going to launch an arc about Beatrice learning to live free from contracts and blood oaths. But instead we learn that the last thing that she read in the book was to wait for "that person", and that Subaru is that person...Permalink On twitter.com
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So when Beatrice goes with him, she's just doing what the book says again? I was willing to give the show a chance on this arc and admit I was wrong, but the show won't let me. It just constantly does the things I complain about while its fans say otherwise.Permalink On twitter.com
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The story turns an arc that should be about Beatrice and her emotional pain into another obstacle for Subaru to "fix". What happens to Beatrice is all up to him. Does she live? Does she die? Only Subaru can decide.Permalink On twitter.com
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Compare to Spinel from Steven Universe: Future. Spinel was abandoned for 6,000 years waiting for her master to come back, and this traumatized her. The show assets what happens to her next is her decision. Because SU, despite its flaws, is a good show.Permalink On twitter.com
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Spinel: You don't understand! You can't change the way I feel! Steven: That's right! Only YOU can! youtu.be/SFqE8Ny-HOo?t=37Permalink On twitter.com
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I constantly compare Re:Zero to other things because people always tell me Re:Zero is the way it is because of its "premise" or because of "the way it tells stories". But it doesn't have to be this way. Other characters, female characters especially can and have had agencyPermalink On twitter.com
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The rest of it is more people dying terrible deaths and the show acting like I haven't seen this exact scenario play out 800 million times from this show. It sucks all the stakes out of the story when we went into this episode KNOWING Subaru was creating a doomed timeline.Permalink On twitter.com
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Ram dies like a bitch for her master. And I like Rem, I really do. I don't even blink. I've lost the capacity to carePermalink On twitter.com
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What makes me care about character deaths is not how much blood there is, but the emotional and thematic weight behind the deaths. Re:Zero uses blood and trauma as cheap tricks to get me to care. But I don't like those things. They don't give me chills. It's just gross.Permalink On twitter.com
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The Love Pillow: Redux could've been a good scene if the show interrogated the dynamics between Subaru, Emilia, and emotional labor at all. But as it is it's just shock value. He's already been eaten by rabbits before it's not even shocking.Permalink On twitter.com
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At this point, consider the Re:Zero thread concluded. I won't be watching the second half of the season that comes out after this. I won't update this thread unless the show fucks up in a way that hasn't been covered already. Peace, y'allPermalink On twitter.com