#(but yeah the novels take some pretty different directions after the initial arcs too)

[winterune]

Pet - Thoughts and Musings

I am back with my seasonal anime musings/analysis/reviews/whatever. Because of various reasons, I have not written any of these posts since...I don’t know...last spring anime season? LOL I still have soooo many on my list from last year to watch gahhh. But I did caught up with Beastars and Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo - both of which were awesome, by the way. I wanted to write some things for them (especially Araburu, because I felt like there’s a lot of things I wanted to say), but...I don’t know. Life caught up?

Anyway, here’s Pet, with an average score of 6.57/10 on MAL. Quite a low one for my taste, as I rarely watch anything with a score below 7. However, this is one of those anime I decided to see not because of the MAL score or anyone else’s influence, but because I wanted to. Heck, when it was first announced, I was immediately excited, because 1) it’s directed by Omori Takahiro, who directed some of my all-time favorite anime, such as Natsume Yuujinchou, Durarara, Baccano, and Hotarubi no Mori e; 2) the screenplay is done by Sadayuki Murai, another favorite who has also worked alongside Omori-kantoku-san and was also the one behind Sidonia no Kishi’s series composition; and 3) the entire synopsis just sounds...soo good?? Not to mention that short PV-like thing they released way back when

OK, yes, I’m not fluent in Japanese, but the music and Hiroki’s voice acting really caught me.

However, time passed, and there was no word on the anime at all until it was announced that the anime was pushed back until the winter season of 2020. Now, I still had my initial hype, but I also had my doubts. It probably had production issues and so on. Things like that often don’t bring their best to the table and ends up becoming a disappointment. It showed on the first episode.

That episode was weird. I read what people thought about it on some forums and none gave me a positive image of the anime. But I thought, what the heck? There’s no harm on checking it. Though it wasn’t entirely bad, it was weird, and I had no idea what was happening. There was so much going on and the art felt a bit weird and the story seemed all over the place and I thought, ah, it shows.

My impression of it was: this show seems like it will have a good story, but not until some time later, so maybe I should wait for several more weeks and binge-watch it then. However, I came to learn that episode 2 was much better than its predecessor. It cleared up any kind of confusion and erased some doubts. It piqued my interest again. And now that I have finally caught up with the show, I am glad that I did not drop it. 

Because so far, Pet is amazing.

Since it’s been two weeks since I saw the first episode, it took a while to grasp the meaning of the terms and so on, but once I’ve got it, it was quite easy to get absorbed inside the show. There were a few time jumps and technical terms were thrown all over the place, and I needed to remind myself that is the director who made Baccano and Durarara. Durarara had a relatively continuous timeline, but the way it jumped POVs in those first few episodes were quite baffling and you only understood what was what much later on. Baccano was crazier imo, as I read that, unlike the light novels, Omori-san took the liberty to rearrange the story in the anime to make it so that there are several stories set in different timelines in one episode, and there are those terms and whatnot and though it makes a good mystery, it doesn’t make much sense, until that one episode where everything finally clicks into place.

I have a similar problem with Pet. I can see that the story so far is intriguing. We have these “crushers” and then “pets” and then loci in the minds containing memories, divided into “peaks” and “valleys”. And then there are “images”, which I think is some kind of protection armor? A form they take to get inside other people without letting themselves be consumed by the other’s memories and feelings. Aside from that, we have a “Company” with people who have the ability to get inside other people’s minds and alter memories. What’s worse is that we’re immediately dumped in the middle of the action with not much introduction, so all we can do is just sit tight and hang on, hoping for the best that everything will make sense in the end.

And then of course, we have our enigmatic characters.

First up, Hiroki, your shounen character in a serious drama. The longer I listen to him, the more annoyed I am haha. I don’t know. His voice kind of irritates me. Maybe because he’s this naive kid with a strong ability that doesn’t really understand what’s happening around him. And then there is that dependence toward Tsukasa, whom I will get to after this. Episode 3 makes me like him though. His heart is clearly in the right place, just that he’s in a bad environment, so he doesn’t know what to do. He is the character who will question the righteousness of their actions. I believe he hates his abilities, but using it has been ingrained into his body that sometimes, he’s unconsciously using it. Like when he almost got inside Katsuragi’s head, or when he showed the girl in episode 3 what her boyfriend was like (though it was partly his imagery of him, and he knew that and that’s why he was so conflicted when she came back). I can imagine what his childhood must have been like. Probably shunned. Probably lonely. Much like how Satoru had been before Hayashi “saved” him. And then Tsukasa came, who showed him how to protect himself and to utilize his powers. Tsukasa was his savior. That’s why in episode 2, though he was reluctant to kill, he also wanted to show Tsukasa that he could do it. They didn’t have to kill. He could save this man using his powers. he wanted to prove himself to Tsukasa. I am amazed that his heart has not been tainted, and I have high hopes for his character.

Next, we have Tsukasa. Even from the posters, this guy already looked fishy. In the first episode, there’s something off about him. He’s just too good. Too accommodating toward Hiroki. Hiroki wants something, then he’s going to give it. Hiroki says not to go with Satoru. All right, I won’t go with Satoru. Hiroki wants a shop. Here, this is for you, but I used the Company’s money, so I’m going to have to pay them back by doing jobs for them. Yeah I know you told me you don’t want to do any more of them, but I’ll be the one doing them, not you. You just need to sit tight and work on your little shop. You know that’s not what Hiroki meant. Still, I like him. So far, he’s a cool character, and I like him even more on his solo job in episode 3. But what I love the most is:

That smirk! Because yes, all this time, all we’ve seen are his facades. His facade when he is with Hiroki. His facade with Katsuragi. His facade when he does a job. And then we have this moment, this small moment, and much like how that small moment with the girl who buys guppies and her boyfriend builds up Hiroki’s character, this small moment between Katsuragi and Tsukasa, when Katsuragi tells him that his next job will be Hayashi and Tsukasa pauses for a moment before asking if Hayashi has been found, it speaks volume. Because then finally Tsukasa shows us his true self (or, at least, part of his true self). His tone changes. He scolds Katsuragi for being happy or pleased.

You seem strangely happy for someone who was outwitted for two whole years.

Tsukasa is clearly talking down to him. Katsuragi, who we thought was the boss. Katsuragi, who was the jerk who would kill people to get the job done quickly. He is surprised at the sudden change and becomes visibly nervous. He stiffens and keeps his eyes on the road. Tsukasa goes on to give orders to Katsuragi. Then Katsuragi nervously puts out his cigarette and says, somewhat formally, “Understood.” (though he’s just saying “hai” in Japanese, but it’s vastly different from the Katsuragi we know in the last two episodes). He obeys Tsukasa. 

I did wonder if Katsuragi was under Tsukasa’s control, but it didn’t seem like it. Heck, Tsukasa might actually be one of the Company’s higher-ups (or he might even be the Head of the Company, if I want to stretch it). And then we have that split-second smirk, that shows he is in complete control of the situation. It makes sense with how he refers to Hiroki as his “pet” in such an off-handed manner. It also makes sense with how he makes cold, calculating judgment. Of course he’s using the Company’s money to buy the shop. Of course he’s still doing odd jobs for the Company. He’s not the good guy he shows Hiroki he is.

Right now, I can actually see Tsukasa being the “big bad boss” of the series, if this series has any kind of villain. Or, well, I think he’d make a pretty good anti-hero. Just imagine a showdown between Tsukasa and Hiroki... So far, I am most intrigued with Tsukasa and I hope he will have a great arc.

[izzyizumi]

( re: Digimon’s timeline issues, Hikarigaoka battle: “1995″ )

( ..... this too )

[entergamingxp]

The Definitive Ranking of Every Halo Story Campaign

April 9, 2020 2:30 PM EST

After playing through every mainline Halo game over the past year or so, here’s how every entry’s campaign stacks up against the rest.

For the past year and a half or so, I’ve been gearing up for the release of Halo Infinite by revisiting every mainline game in the series. Despite having played nearly all entries countless times, this was the first instance in nearly a decade that I was finally returning to some of these classic shooters. I also did this seven-game playthrough with fellow DualShockers writer Michael Ruiz, and speaking for us both, I think it ended up being some of the most fun either of us have had with video games in a hot minute.

Of course, now that I’ve finished my playthrough of the saga, there’s only one thing left to do: rank every game in order from worst to best. Using math, science, and my own objectively correct intuition, I’m going to let you know which Halo game is the cream of the crop and which ones just can’t match up. You’ve surely seen Halo game rankings, but I can promise you: this is the only one on the entire internet that is completely factual.

Also, as the title indicates, my rankings here are only going to be based on the campaigns from each Halo entry. While I have spent a fair amount of time with each game over the years and can still recall my feelings of multiplayer, Forge, Firefight, Spartan Ops, and a variety of other features that have been present, we’re just going to be sticking to nothing but campaigns for this ranking. So before you go yell at me in the comments and tell me that I should’ve put one game higher or lower than another, keep this in mind.

7. Halo 5: Guardians

If you clicked on this article and expected to see Halo 5: Guardians in last by default, well, you weren’t wrong. Unlike a lot of other fans, I really didn’t remember strongly disliking Halo 5’s campaign before playing it again here recently. Upon finishing it up a little under a week ago, yeah, I can now reaffirm that it’s definitely not great.

Overall, there isn’t one major thing I can point to in Halo 5 that makes it a lesser experience than every other entry. Instead, it’s a death by a thousand cuts situation. Most notably to a lot of fans, myself included, playing as Locke and Osiris Team for 80% of the campaign isn’t as fun as it is to play as Master Chief. Then there’s also the fact that the squad-based gameplay that 343 tried to lean into with this entry just doesn’t work well at all. Since the game is more focused on fighting as a team, 343 littered the environments with way more enemies than in past entries, leading to me and my companions being downed in this installment way more than any other Halo campaign. Plus, I cannot begin to express how lame it is to have to fight one boss nearly ten different times over the course of the game.

There are some redeeming aspects of Halo 5, but those mainly are present in the game’s multiplayer offering, which, as I said, isn’t being taken into account here. As such, Halo 5: Guardians easily stands as the worst in the series and makes me somewhat nervous about Infinite��s prospects later this year. If anything, I’m glad that Halo 5 at least prompted 343 to return to the drawing board and create an entirely new engine before continuing on with the development of the franchise.

6. Halo 4

This one was actually really tough for me because largely, I think Halo 4‘s campaign is pretty darn good. For 343’s first outing, Halo 4 ended up boasting a tight, concise campaign that feels excellent to play. Like, seriously, before 343 really mixed up the franchise’s control scheme with Halo 5, 4 was the best installment in the series by far with the “classic” shooting stylings. Not only that, but all the new additions to the game in the way of new enemy types, new weapons, and new vehicles all felt great to me.

I think the only reason it didn’t end up going higher on this list is just because I really cannot get invested in the new direction that Halo 4 took the series’ story. Look, I’m not a big Halo narrative guy by any means. I’ve never read any of the novels, listened to spin-off podcasts, and honestly, I don’t care if that TV show ever gets up and running. Still, I just find it hard to care about Master Chief’s current struggle with the Forerunners. DualShockers‘ own Steven Santana wrote a piece for us a few months back talking about how Halo‘s storytelling felt better when it was smaller, and I totally agree with that. For all of the qualities of Halo 4 that I like, I wish it was a bit easier to get invested in.

5. Halo 3

Despite being the game where Master Chief finishes the fight, Halo 3‘s campaign isn’t as great as I remember it. Yes, there are standout levels like The Covenant and Tsavo Highway that are excellent, but it’s the missions in between that I forgot were so straightforward and bland until this recent replay. This isn’t to say that the campaign is bad though, because it absolutely isn’t. Halo 3 has so many memorable moments, it ends on a high note, and altogether just wrapped up the initial Halo trilogy in a fantastic way.

Halo 3 is arguably the zenith of the franchise’s popularity and it’ll likely never get bigger than it was when it launched in 2007. Even though it’s my least favorite installment in Master Chief’s original three-game outing, Halo 3 is still excellent in its own right and is a game that an entire generation of players will look back fondly on for years to come.

4. Halo: Combat Evolved

It’s honestly wild how well Halo: Combat Evolved holds up. For a game that is nearing its twentieth anniversary (that’s so bizarre to even say), Combat Evolved still feels fresh to this day. Having played through the game countless times in my life already, I was really surprised in this most recent playthrough at how fun the game still is. This just speaks to how well-polished and realized Bungie’s initial outing was on the original Xbox.

Comparatively, Combat Evolved doesn’t reach the same highs as other campaigns in the series, but from front to back, it’s still a much stronger experience than a handful of other installments. As such, it slots in nicely right here in the middle of the pack.

3. Halo 2

In the opening hours of Halo 2, Master Chief prevents a bomb from blowing up his ship. He then drags that bomb with his bare hands to an airlock, jumps out into space with it, flies into the middle of a Covenant ship, and then detonates it before safely landing back aboard his own aircraft.

Halo 2 is far and away the most memorable campaign in the Master Chief line of Halo titles, which is crazy because you don’t even play as Chief in about half of the game. Bungie’s bold idea to place you in the shoes of the Arbiter, the initial antagonist of the first Halo, paid major dividends in this sequel. Not only did this decision help spice up each mission a bit and make them feel more varied, but it further fleshed out the world of Halo to great effect. The way that Master Chief and the Arbiter’s stories also end up crossing over near the conclusion of the game is also fantastic.

Halo 2 also just has so many little things that really put it over the top, too. The game’s score features the work of legendary guitarists Steve Vai and John Mayer, the ending cutscene is perhaps one of the most iconic in the history of video games, and the Anniversary edition which launched with Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a truly fantastic remaster. If Combat Evolved was the game that brought console shooters to the masses, this sequel is what made Halo a household name.

2. Halo: Reach

From the outset of Halo: Reach, you know how the campaign is going to end. Not only had Reach’s history been well-documented in Halo lore, but the campaign opening itself makes it clear that you will not be surviving this mission. And with this at the forefront of your mind, it makes Reach all the more compelling and intriguing to play.

Even though the entire Halo series is set on the backdrop of war, Reach is really the only game that captures that wartime atmosphere. Some of the missions within Reach are set on the backdrop of massive battlefields, reminding you constantly that you’re just one cog in this larger scheme. Plus, Reach is one of the few Halo entries that actually makes the Covenant feel threatening, unlike the fodder that they can sometimes be for Master Chief. Reach also makes you feel overwhelmed in the best way possible, with the epilogue mission really nailing this idea more than anything else.

Bungie really went out on a high note with Halo: Reach. Not only is the storytelling and journey of Noble Team perhaps the best single arc in the series, but some of the new ideas, guns, and mechanics that were introduced here worked incredibly well and are still present in the franchise to this day. Bungie was really starting to take the Halo saga in some interesting directions before its work on the series ended. At the very least, I’m glad that the studio gave us Reach before moving on.

1. Halo 3: ODST

I’m going to be honest: I’m shocked that Halo 3: ODST ended up reaching the top of my list here. To me, stepping into the shoes of an overpowered super soldier is half of the allure in playing each Halo campaign. For the best installment in the series to end up being the spin-off entry of Halo 3 that doesn’t have you playing as a Spartan and instead forces you to utilize a faceless, voiceless soldier shouldn’t work as well as it does, but here we are.

Compared to every other Halo entry except for maybe Reach, ODST just oozes a distinct tone and feeling that is never present in other campaigns. Backed by the best Halo soundtrack of them all, ODST‘s focus on isolation in a somber environment makes it wholly unique compared the loud, bombastic tone that is frequently found in other installments.

More than anything though, I think what I realized I loved the most about ODST was just how the campaign was constructed. Instead of just going from one mission to the next without pause, Halo 3: ODST is a semi-open world title for some brief portions. You’ll have to wander around the streets of New Mombasa and try to figure out what happened to the rest of your squad before being launched into a flashback sequence that details what they’ve been up to. It’s a simple idea on paper, but it’s one that makes ODST feel more cohesive in its storytelling than any other Halo campaign.

I’ve had a lot of ideas in recent months about how 343 Industries should look to construct Halo Infinite’s campaign and I really hope that they look to ODST for inspiration. While we don’t know what Infinite might look like just yet, if the game does go in a more open-ended direction, ODST‘s template blown up on a larger scale could potentially work out really well. If the Halo series wants to bounce back moving forward, 343 would be smart to borrow ideas from the franchise’s best campaign of them all.

April 9, 2020 2:30 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/the-definitive-ranking-of-every-halo-story-campaign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-definitive-ranking-of-every-halo-story-campaign

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL RE:ZERO REWATCH Comes to a Close in Episodes 21-25

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the final installment of THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL Re:ZERO REWATCH! My names Danni Wilmoth, and I’ll be your host through episodes 21 - 25 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-. In last week’s episodes, we saw Subaru finally turn things around and deliver one of the most infamous rejections in anime history. We pick up this week in the midst of a spectacular battle wondering if we’ll get any sort of resolution before season’s end. 

  I’ve gotta say, I didn’t expect to like Re:ZERO as much as I do now. I’ve never quite bought into the appeal of isekai anime that isn’t focused on moms, but I suppose that’s because I never really gave them a chance. I also understand why some friends of mine told me they thought Re:ZERO got better as it went along and others that thought it got worse. I do think the show lost a lot of the mystery that made its first half so appealing, but by the time that happened I had already completely bought into this incredible cast of characters. I can’t think of a single character I didn’t like in Re:ZERO. Not many shows can say that. 

    Before that, though, I’d like to shout out Heavenspiercing for totally having my back on the whole “I love Emilia” thing: 

  “This is the first time he's been openly honest about his feelings, and he's saying it to Rem of all people. Why is that? Well, it's because he knew that voicing his feelings, conveying the conviction and determination behind them, is the answer Rem most wanted. Because it was that determination to never give up on those he cared about that Rem fell in love with.”

  Seriously, cut him some slack! With that out of the way, it’s time to find out how the rest of the Crunchyroll Features team felt about this final batch of episodes!

    This season wrapped up with Subaru finally reuniting with Emilia and apologizing for his past actions. Do you believe he’s really changed and earned this reunion? He’s still throwing himself wildly into danger for her sake every chance he gets.

  René: I do expect him to still be kind of reckless in the upcoming second season—though less to the detriment of others. I hope that Subaru has grown enough so that he thinks about the impact his actions have on others from now on.

  Paul: Earning forgiveness is not just about admitting one's past mistakes and how they've harmed people, but also actively working to do better in the future. I feel that Subaru has had a genuine change of heart, albeit one that isn't completely visible to the other characters yet due to the nature of Return by Death. The world of Re:ZERO is perilous, and now at least Subaru is taking bold, heroic action in order to try to mitigate that danger for others. That's what Emilia has been doing all along, so Subaru emulating her example is a good thing.

  Noelle: I think it’s still a little too hard to tell. One thing for certain is that Subaru has no doubt improved himself and learned from some of his mistakes. That deserves credit! I think it’s more how the show is framing things that gives me my doubts, because Subaru has very earnestly admitted his misgivings and swallowed his pride in some respects. Unfortunately, how he views Emilia is something we’re not privy to, and that’s the biggest thing that he had to learn. Everything else though, he seems to have taken to heart and credit where credit is due. 

  Jared: While his apology did feel at least sincere, it still seems too soon to tell if he’s legitimately changed or not. In essence, it hasn’t been that long since the big blow of with Emilia and his breakdown with Rem, so it’s hard to say that he’s truly and fully changed. Perhaps he’s actually on the road to that. Although, I will say he kind of put himself in a bad situation since he doesn’t want to selfishly help Emilia, but prioritizing helping one person in general is kind of selfish in general, so he kind of put himself in a pickle there. I think as a whole though, I was more bummed with Emilia just wholeheartedly reaccepting him again so soon.

  Kevin: I think that he’s honestly realized his past mistakes and wants to grow. Whether he will actually change or will continue to mess everything up… well, I guess season 2 could prove me wrong, but after this rewatch his track record seems pretty weighted against him just learning a lesson and moving on.

  Carolyn: In real life I would heavily doubt it. That fast? Under so much stress and trauma? Healing takes time. But he did seem to mean it and he does seem to have actually learned from his mistakes. Though I still would have liked to see him step back just a bit more. He was quite confident that Emilia would eventually return his love and I guess that’s not a bad thing in and of itself but combined with his past entitlement, I would have liked to see a little more space given there.

  Kara: Subaru is Subaru. He has a track record of messing up, going into the absolute depths of despair, crawling his way back up by remembering how to care about other people, and then hitting a point of self-realization. I don’t think any of those moments are worthless, because each of them shows some progress—admittedly he seems to be “three steps forward, two steps back.” For the moment, I do believe he’s realized that he was acting from a very selfish place, and I do believe he’ll at least attempt to do better. But if he got it right from here on out, we wouldn’t have a season 2 coming, would we?

  David: While I doubt he will be a completely different character going forward, I do think he will be acting with a different perspective and with different priorities. That’s what basically the entire second half of the show was about, so at the very least I would hope that wasn’t all for nothing.

  Joshua: Watching Subaru in these episodes and thinking back to his behaviour in past weeks, I think he’s finally matured a great deal. His apology was overdue, but it felt like it genuinely came from the heart, and those earnest feelings are likely what Emilia responded to. It was an incredibly touching moment, seeing Subaru finally process and own up to his behaviour, and to see Emilia finally receive the acknowledgement she’d longed for. Subaru’s gone through an awful lot, and he’s definitely changed for the better, so yeah—he deserved it. I don’t think Subaru’s recklessness will ever change. When Emilia’s involved, there’s no lengths he’ll go to. Hopefully there’ll be a difference in how he goes about now he’s realised the price of his own selfishness, however.

  Austin: I think he’s at least become more self aware, which I’d say has earned his reunion. It’d be a little silly to expect him to suddenly do a complete 180, at least to me, so hopefully more awareness of how his actions affect and are perceived by others will nudge him in the direction of making more rational (and healthy) decisions.

    It’s hard to believe we’re already done, isn’t it? For the newbies here, how did the show stack up against your early expectations? And for those who’d already seen it before, do you feel any differently about it now compared to before our rewatch?

  René: I appreciated a lot more of the small things and was able to focus on the mysteries that aren’t solved within this first season, like the details of the relationship between Ram and Roswaal and why Emilia chose to pose as Satela in the first loop. It definitely strengthened my appetite for the second season and I can’t wait for it to finally come out.

  Paul: Re:ZERO was better than I anticipated, and I didn't find Subaru as detestable as I thought I would. Even at his peak levels of narcissism, I could understand why he was behaving in such a bone-headed manner, and I pitied him despite how much of his suffering was self-inflicting by his own selfish actions. I didn't expect that, and I also appreciate how richly realized the world feels. There's a lot going on outside of Subaru and his circle, enough to fill entire spin-off novels.  

  Noelle: I think it’s one of the better isekai that I’ve managed to watch. The plot was speedy and intriguing, and I found myself wanting to marathon it instead of waiting for segments per week, which is a pretty good sign. Overall, I think I had a pretty good time, even if I still have quite a few misgivings. I’d still be up to watch season two though. 

  Jared: To me, it’s a tale of two halves. The first half has an interesting mystery and gimmick that keeps you invested, but the second half you have to deal with the height of Subaru being bad and the gimmick losing its luster. It also has the problem of most adaptations where you’re only getting a tiny portion of the story, which isn’t a knock against it, but is still unfortunate. I also thought at times the character writing bordered on being real bad, especially when it came to the romantic interests where they get reduced down to just being tools for Subaru’s drive and determination and that’s it. I suppose with all of that, it was worse than what I was initially anticipated. 

  Kevin: I’ve seen this show I think three times before, with one viewing being with my Mom, which ended after the White Whale. This time, I think I actually had a more mellow reaction that previous viewings. Sure, I still liked Rem and Subaru talking for most of episode 18, but I found more faults and nitpicks than in previous viewings. Likewise, I used to think that the last arc wasn’t really a good ending, that the show should’ve ended with the White Whale. Binge watching the series over a couple of weeks kept Subaru’s motivation at the forefront, and so the last arc now seems a lot more fitting, since his entire goal is to rescue Emilia. 

  Carolyn: I had never seen it before and it was very different from the impressions I sort of had when we first started. I think I was thinking it was like a video game sort of thing? I liked the fantasy aspect, I liked how dark it got. The characters are great and the story is great. I’m a fan.

  Kara: Honestly loved it within a single episode. It’s got time loops, nightmare fuel, character development, more nightmare fuel… and as much as I bag on Subaru, it’s obvious that we’re actually meant to feel that way about him and want him to do better. Put me down as extremely pro-Re:ZERO… enough that I went and bought one of the shirts from the capsule collection on the Crunchyroll Store.

  David: Every time I watch this show I like it more. I think the main thing I’m taking away from this rewatch is being more scared than ever about how many ways future seasons could mess everything up, but in a way that speaks to how much I like it in the first place.

  Joshua: Despite having owned the Blu-rays for a while, this was my first time watching since the original broadcast! I’d say that I’ve gained a new appreciation for Subaru’s narrative arc. I admittedly found it hard to let go of my first impression the first time around, but reliving this gradual transformation made me realise just how multifaceted a character Subaru is. He’s not perfect by any means, but I wish far more protagonists had this kind of growth. I also find it hilarious that I was once creeped out by Betelguese. This time around, I just found him pitiful. Watching Subaru outright toy with him in these episodes was delightful. In contrast however, my opinion of Crusch has shot up. Rem’ll still have a special place in my heart, but Crusch is definitely best girl now.

  Austin: I forgot a good amount of the details between now and when I watched it back when it first aired, but I remember liking it a lot then and still did this time around as well. Something that did apparently change is I was much more emotional watching it this time around and probably cried at least once a week rewatching it.

    We’ve heard a lot of arguing ever since Re:ZERO started over who Best Girl is. We all know now that it’s obviously Beatrice, but there’s one important question left unanswered: who in Re:ZERO is Best Boy?

  René: By the classical definition, I’d have to choose Puck but I’m instead gonna buy with Betelgeuse. I love out of control villains already and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is a treasure when voice characters like this. It’s a real shame that he often gets cast as regular nice guy or well-meaning hero because him eating the scenery is just pure joy to listen to.

  Paul: I'm putting my Best Boy vote down for Felix. Not only is he essential as the main healer of the series, but he also doesn't demonstrate any of the stiff attitude and honor-culture baggage displayed by other knights like Reinhard and Julius, and that puts him as prime Best Boy material in my book.

  Noelle: I do love a good knight, so I am initially privy to Reinhard, but I found myself liking Julius, especially by the end. In the start, everything is framed from Subaru’s POV, so he comes off as very malicious, but it turns out he’s the type that will give respect to those that have earned it. And that’s pretty good!  

  Jared: I would probably also go with Felix, although I did come around on Julius near the end as well since they fleshed out his and Subaru’s relationship.

  Kevin: Uhh excuse me, what do you mean unanswered? Did the White Whale erase Wilhelm from your memory or something?! Oh wait, of course it didn’t, because Best Boy Wilhelm’s sheer badassness and emotional catharsis killed it, along with any competition for the title (although even I have to admit that he might fit better as “Best Dad”)!

  Carolyn: Wilhelm for sure. He’s just a good guy.

  Kara: Thirding Wilhelm. Leaving some wiggle room for Al, though. He seems like a bro.

  David: I pick Julius after being reminded of the neat little character arc he goes through, but an honorable mention goes the Otto the Carriage Guy, who sort of gets dragged through the mud in every timeline but still manages to be pretty reliable (when he isn’t having his mind poisoned by the White Whale’s mist).

  Austin: Felix! Definitely not at all influenced by Yui Horie voicing him in Japanese. Nope. Not one bit.

  Joshua: There’s simply no competition—it’s Wilhelm. His love for Theresia was both tragic yet heartwarming, but that moment when he finally avenged his beloved and was able to triumphantly put that chapter of his life to peace, was sublime. Besides, he’s a kick-ass old man who survived far more than his body should have let him, and we know he had a grumpy emo phase too!

    We already know that there’s more Re:ZERO coming, are there any characters or aspects about the world you’d like to see addressed in greater detail?

  René: I can’t wait for Emilia to get more time in the spotlight, so that the world as a whole can see how right I’ve been all these years putting her on a pedestal. I will have so much fun to go full “Told you so” mode once the second season comes out. Besides that, I’m looking forward to finally meeting Satela in person (since the trailer already showed her off).

  Paul: Although these episodes end on a high-point, the story of Re:ZERO is just getting started, so I'd like to see more about the royal selection, more about Roswaal's plans to slay the dragon, and more about Subaru's connection to the Jealous Witch. I'd like more of everything, really. I'd even like some more resolution for what's going on with Elsa, the “Bowel-Hunter” assassin from the earliest episodes. She seemed like a major antagonist, so I'm surprised that she hasn't resurfaced.

  Noelle: I want to know what Satella’s deal is! She is obviously a person with considerable influence, and is even connected to Subaru’s curse, but we never really know anything about her? It’s her cult that causes most of the problems, and we know she’s a major antagonistic figure, but what does she want? Why Subaru? Tell me more!

  Jared: There’s a ton of mysteries still left to tell that I’d hope they’d get to address in the second season. Everything with Satella and why she’s very into grabbing Subaru’s heart all the time, why Subaru has his ability, what’s truly up with folks like Roswaal, the royal selection, and probably completely new things that will crop up to keep Subaru from his goal. The bad thing is though that all of that might be too much to cover all in another season.

  Kevin: Basically everything that they’ve hinted at in the show. I would love to go out of Legunica to see the northern Provinces (where Elsa’s from and may well be hiding), I definitely want to know more about Roswaal’s plan to kill the dragon. What was Ram referring to when she said she’d take half the villagers to the Sanctuary? What’s up with Dollar Store Sun Bro Al? Is Subaru really the Archbishop of Pride? Why in the first timeline did Emilia introduce herself as Satella? I’m not even sure that a season two would answer everything, but I’m really excited for more, even if it mostly brings up new questions, rather than answering the ones I already have. 

  Carolyn: I will echo René but in fewer words: Emilia.

  Kara: I’d be up for seeing any of the above, but I for sure want more Return by Death logistics. Does something in particular cause the alteration of Subaru’s save points, or is it just narrative causality? Why did he get isekai’d over in the first place? Satella, I need to know your logic here.

  David: I mostly want more of the Royal Election. That concept got introduced and then mostly put back away after Subaru had his temper tantrum, but I’m very interested in everyone involved.

  Joshua: I definitely want to know more about the different plot threads, like Roswaal’s scheme, Subaru and Emilia’s ties to Satella, and the Witch Cult. Betelguese said he represented Sloth and that every sin bar Pride had an archbishop, right? So that means there are others out there for us to meet too (please no spoilers if you’ve read the light novel!). On a purely personal level though, I really want to see more Beatrice. She’s such an enigmatic character with a peculiar position in the world as we know it, so I’d like to learn more about that.

  Austin: I’d love to see more of Anastasia, Frederica, and Felt outside of the royal selection process, kind of like how Crusch got in these last few episodes. I feel like there are certain plot threads they absolutely have to follow on, like Satella and the Witch’s Cult, so having a little slice of getting to see more of these characters and getting to know them outside of them playing political 3D chess would be nice.

    Finally, what were your highs and lows for Re:ZERO as a whole?

  René: My absolute high was how the show portrayed the importance of acknowledging other people’s viewpoints and how not doing it can quickly turn for the worse. Even if you don’t agree with someone, it’s important to be aware that not everything centers around you—something that a lot of isekai sadly go against. I wish we could get more stories with an actual moral instead of just wish fulfillment from this genre.

  My low point unfortunately remains the backstory of the twins. It’s probably my biggest sore spot with the series as it still stands as the one less elegant storytelling part due to it being so shoehorned. Maybe I’d even be more positive on Rem as a character if that hadn’t been the case.

  Paul: My high point for the series is all of the work that went into making Subaru such a flawed but ultimately redeemable protagonist. I'm glad that he's finally pulling his own weight at the end, and although he still has to rely on stronger characters for all of the fighting, at least now he's using his brains to solve problems, rather than just going with his gut and hoping everything works out. My low point is that presently, the TV series of Re:ZERO is only about one-quarter to one-third of a complete narrative. I hope the upcoming second season has a chance to tie up some of the plot threads that have not yet been resolved.

  Noelle: My high point is honestly, Subaru. As much as I’ve ragged on him, it’s so (unfortunately) rare for isekai to challenge the bravado of their protagonists. Protagonists don’t deserve to have everything handed to them, especially romance and good will, just because they’re shiny people. Subaru acknowledging his own powerlessness and that he has to prove himself instead of expecting things to fall into his lap is good. Really good. I don’t think he’s made a complete transformation, but he is progressing and I appreciate that. Low point is that the cult sure came out of nowhere. I can’t really feel this major impending threat for bad guys that sprung out of the ground suddenly. If they had a little more setup, I wouldn’t have this issue, but it felt like they were thrown in there and didn’t amount to much. The whale felt like more of a threat. 

  Jared: I think my high point was just trying to figure out all of the mysteries and questions that kept popping up throughout the season, even if most of them weren’t answered. I also enjoyed a lot of the side characters that showed up and the world of Re:ZERO is interesting. Low points would be how the writing shifts poorly for Emilia and Rem in the latter half. I still don’t like Subaru and think you could replace him with anyone because he feels like a generic slate. Return by death really lost its luster near the end as well because anytime something bad would happen for Subaru, you knew that he’d get bailed out by that. It’d probably worked better if this story was the length of this first season and that was it. Going forward it’s going to be incredibly difficult to put him into any sort of danger because that kind of drama and tension will be cancelled out since he’ll just come back again and somehow find a way to fix things.

  Kevin: High - I absolutely love Wilhelm in the White Whale fight. We’ve previously seen that he’s a competent fighter, at least able to train Subaru, and those preceptive enough might’ve made the family name connection to Reinhart, but we finally get to see him fight all out, and get his backstory at the same time, both showing his motivation for fighting and why this fight in particular means so much to him. The same fight also shows Subaru truly in control of things for the first time in the series. He’s not just putting on a brave face or fooling himself into thinking he knows what’s happening, he is directly aiding a plan and even helping to push it forward when many others have given up hope. Low - How they decided to end the show. Back when the show was first airing, as we were nearing the ending people started speculative whether we were going to get to some specific line. No one seemed to spoil what it was (I also didn’t look too hard, for fear of spoiling it), but as best I can tell, the shot of Subaru opening his mouth was the start of whatever that line was. Sure, for fans who know what’s coming, that’s apparently a really big cliffhanger, but for the rest of us it’s just a strange way to end.

  Carolyn: My high is absolutely the dark mystery surrounding Subaru’s first few deaths. Who did it? Why did it? What the heck is up with Roswaal’s castle? I was definitely into that. Low without a doubt was the scene in which Rem pours her heart out to Subaru only for him to decide he’d rather have Emilia… right after asking Rem to run away with him… right before asking Rem to stay loyal to him anyway. Geez. 

  Kara: Two high points. First, just the way it looked, especially the more horrific elements. There was something about the moments of horror (especially Subaru’s descent into madness on the trips back to Roswaal’s place) that really felt like a very liminal nightmare, and creating that effect well isn’t easy. Second, Subaru’s presentation as a flawed character. I see a lot of shows with jackass protagonists where we’re encouraged to forgive them everything they do, or given all the reasons why things are so bad that they “deserve” to act like a jerk. But even after seeing all his friends die repeatedly, we’re still reminded that Subaru is a work-in-progress who can and should do better. My low point is I get the sense I’m missing a lot having not read the books. I guess that’s a low point I can fix myself, though…

  David: Echoing others, my high point is Subaru as a protagonist, in no small part because of how underwritten he makes other already rote-feeling isekai protagonists feel. My low point is just the general feel-bad of essentially nothing being resolved in the entire course of this season. It feels like endless plot threads were constantly being thrown into the mix but none of them were dealt with. Hopefully the second season starts tying some of those up before inevitably introducing more.

  Joshua: Just so we don’t end on a bum note, for a change of pace I’ll lead with my low points! The first, is actually one I’m still feeling after discussing it last week: the second half’s juggling of the witch’s cult and white whale felt unfocused. This wasn’t helped by the white whale actually feeling far more threatening than Betelguese in the end. One thing that’s always niggled me though, is how Subaru’s returns just wipe out chunks of character development. Then, having lost that, why are people so willing to trust him without enough scrutiny? Sure, he can’t explain Return by Death to anyone, but shouldn’t more people to be asking, even if they can’t get the answer?

  I echo my friends’ comments about Subaru’s character arc, especially in relation to other isekai series. As a whole though, while the genre is arguably stagnating with more and more works that are either derivative or just plain bland, Re:ZERO stands out perhaps the best in the genre. The series also really knows how to twist my heart with dramatic scenes, like Subaru pleading for Felix and Julius to kill him in this batch—such a powerful scene. I also love Re:ZERO’s characters and their emotions that allowed me to connect with them. Subaru, Rem, Emilia, Wilhelm, Crusch, Betty… they’re all great in their own way.

  Austin: Something I noticed on a rewatch is I absolutely love the happy notes this show hits on. Emilia telling Subaru her name, Rem crying after being saved by Subaru, Rem’s monologue, Wilhelm avenging his wife, and so on all feel incredibly satisfying and hit at the perfect moments. All of the suffering and trial and error Subaru goes through and us having to follow along the whole way gives even bittersweet moments this feeling of relief I really really love. Alongside characters that feel more human than I honestly expected from a show like this, these scenes all got me at the very least a little bit teary eyed.

  Low point on the other hand is hard. That said, back when I first watched the show I had a complaint that it really liked introducing characters and leaving it at that while showing the story was absolutely capable of fleshing them out with cases like Wilhelm. Just fleshing out some interesting characters makes me wish everyone was fleshed out; I want to know more about Felt and her upbringing before finding out she was a dragon priestess, I want to know more (or really anything) about Roswall instead of him just being a wall of mystery, I want to know more about each of the knights, I want to know more about everyone! Obviously a lot of this is due to the show only getting two cours but it still upset me quite a bit a few years ago.

    Counters:

Weekly:

Barusu - 1

Subaru Deaths - 1

Methods of Death - Assisted Suicide

  Overall:

Barusu - 32

Subaru Deaths - 11

How Subaru Died - Disembowelment, Disembowelment, Stabbing, Curse, Combination (Curse+Dismemberment), Slit Throat / Torture, Suicide, Freezing, Beheading, Freezing, Assisted Suicide

  And just like that, the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL Re:ZERO REWATCH comes to a close! Thank you all so much for joining us on this fun journey as we watch shows and discuss them weekly. Stay tuned for updates on the next chapter of THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL REWATCH!

  CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH:

Episodes 16-20: Moby Dick with Catboys

Episodes 11-15: Enduring Heartbreak

Episodes 6-10: From Apples To Demons

Episodes 1-5: Starting Life in Another Rewatch

Re:ZERO Introduction Questions

  What are your answers to the above questions? What show are you hoping we rewatch next? Let us know in the comments below!

        -----

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

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