Before I get into talking about RE:ZERO it should be noted that there will be references to episodes up to ep:21.

RE:ZERO is an Anime focused on Natsuki Subaru, a young man who is wrenched into a fantasy kingdom. There he meets a small group of people and is immediately involved in something much bigger than himself, the royal selection. On his quest to retrieve ‘Satella’ (Emilia’s) insignia however, he is killed and finds events around him repeating themselves from the point of his arrival.

First things first, I have been really enjoying this Anime. The series has an interesting setting in an alternate universe. As in Konosuba, the main character has a spectacular lack of anything special, this isn’t Kirito, he possesses a fairly unique but useless magic. The thing that makes him special is that when he dies he comes back to life at checkpoints and tries all over again. However in my opinion the best thing about RE:ZERO is the side cast.

Or more specifically Rem.

For the majority of the season so far Subaru has been self absorbed and shallow. His focus was on what he wanted and what he thought was best for other parties involved. Whilst this sometimes results in him saving the day, more often than not it lands him in trouble with his love interest, Emilia. Emilia suffers from a distinct lack of development, Emilia is Emilia and her backstory isn’t important, she is in short the Mary Sue.

Rem on the other hand has a depth of character, her backstory is brought across in typical anime fashion; saddening childhood sequences, her sister always being better than her, the slaughter of her family. This part of the series brings Rem out of the shadows and makes her and Subaru the main focus for a number of episodes. During this time we see the best character development in the series. Moving away from Rem I want to focus on the latest story arc, the best in the series so far.

The White Whale arc brings to life characters that were previously just Emilia’s rivals. Crusch Karsten is her rival to the throne, an interesting character who displays moments of political ruthlessness. These moments teach Subaru that he needs to be smart,  not just emotional and headstrong. A previous trait that has made the series exceptionally awkward at certain moments. In the last couple of episodes Subaru has begun to display an awareness that not everything is about him. The series felt  like it realised he was underdeveloped and threw in an entire episode building him up,  detailing the trauma of his previous deaths and the consequences of his actions. It was a great episode until Rem told him she loved him and he said ‘I love Emilia.’

Crusch becomes an important character over the course of the next few episodes displaying her ability to lead and also a depth of character in her dealings with those close to her. She cannot however live up to her epic manservant, Wilhelm. Wilhelm goes from being a minor character to a man with a personal vendetta against the whale, he becomes desperate and in my opinion proves that the developers know how to make a character gripping and worth caring about. I never thought I would care that much about the motif of a patch of flowers. You’ll understand if you watch it.

If I had to gather up my thoughts on Re: life in a different world from zero, I would say that it has its flaws. I think some characters are laughably underdeveloped, the main character very rarely gives you a reason to root for him early on. Later  however the series gives you characters to care about and improves the current cast, good battle sequences and a fun plot line. I would recommend people check it out if you enjoy fantasy anime with dark turns.

Oh and Rem. Watch it for Rem.

Enjoy your day folks.

H