Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-

Episodes 1-3

Note: Because I covered the first episode in the Preview Guide, this review will entirely focus on episodes 2 and 3.

Whatever other criticisms might be leveled against this series, I sure can't accuse it of being boring.

The first episode indicated that this would be a series involving a time loop, and the way episode 2 and much of episode 3 plays out supports that. However, the end of episode 3 shows that this isn't just going to be a series where the main character repeatedly goes back through the same scenario over and over again, gradually learning more about the people involved as he does so. No, there is a bigger picture involved here, and the time loop is only part of it. By the end of episode 3, the initial looping has been resolved, allowing the story to progress forward. I suspect this means that there may be multiple different instances of looping involved in this series, perhaps even one per light novel adapted. (The end of episode 3 sure feels like a novel break to me.) That intrigues me, since that means the series could spin off in an entirely different direction than something like, say, Edge of Tomorrow.

In short, Subaru takes getting killed a third time – this time by the thugs – to finally figure out what's been happening to him, and that he might be able to stop the scene in the loot house if he uses his knowledge of how things played out. The fourth time around, he gets rescued from the thugs by a new character and crucial future ally: the knight Reinhard, a congenial fellow that we later discover commands an awful lot of magical power. He manages to track down Felt before nightfall, only to have the half-elf who originally called herself Satella (and then later denied it) independently show up too. That winds up thwarting his efforts to settle everything before Elsa (who he bumped into earlier and can't figure out why he's afraid of her) arrives, but this time the half-elf isn't caught unawares thanks to Subaru, and a battle erupts that Reinhard joins when he encounters Felt fleeing the scene and calling for help. Even Reinhard releasing his awesome power isn't enough to kill Elsa, although it does drive her off. Subaru finally learns that the half-elf's real name is Emilia, though he also gets knocked unconscious by an injury sustained in protecting her, which was no doubt aggravated by his grandstanding afterward. While he is unconscious, the hook for the next plot arc gets set: something about the stolen insignia being in Felt's possession impels Reinhard to take her into custody and promise to call on Emilia later.

The implication here is that Felt may be the long-lost daughter of someone important, but that isn't the only big question afloat at the end of episode 3. Why did Emilia call herself by the name of a reviled witch the first time around? And why was Elsa's unknown employer so keen on getting that insignia? It is clearly important well beyond what viewers have been told about so far. Whatever proves to be the case, these are some juicy plot threads to chew on. The two-part fight sequence wasn't bad either, though the animation did struggle to keep up with Elsa's slick movements. It tries to compensate for that by offering some varied camera angles, including a brief first-person view, and at least it did not rely (much) on cutscene-styled shortcuts.

There are some definite problems with these two episodes, though. The animation really struggles to stay on-model in several places throughout this span, especially during the action scenes, and too many scenes are too dark. Also, why didn't either Emillia or Puck make some comment about Subaru calling him out at the beginning of the fight in episode 3, because from their perspective, he shouldn't have even known about Puck? It seems more like an oversight than a plot point. And finally, Subaru turns really obnoxious when he slides into his geeky mode. This story works better when it doesn't resort to being “meta” and distances itself at least a bit from wallowing in light novel clichés. Of course, given the source material, that may be too much to ask.

Still, the potential I saw in the first episode has not waned. I can see the obvious LN trappings driving some potential viewers away, but the series has already shown that there's more to it underneath the surface.

Rating: B

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