Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu - Memory Snow

OVA doesn't progress the story as it should but gives more incite into characters and brings back characters from Roswaal's Mansion , as a OVA its very filler like and progresses a side plot which might be disappointing to some but to be fair is better than a cliff hanger and thats what a OVA does, so its still nice to watch if you haven't watched the 1st season recently and be reintroduced to the characters in season 2 hopefully soon (Summer 2019?). Overall great subplot, nice banter, took too long to be fansubbed considering its release in Japan in 2018 October? 9/10 Jihad.

"It's cold. Cold things suck. Let's play in the snow." There's your one-hour Memory Snow experience condensed into a few seconds. Those expecting the series' trademark gore, or any character development or backstory will find themselves considerably disappointed by Subaru and co.'s snow frolicking adventures. Nay, instead we have slice-of-life and comedy, because that's what everyone likes Re:Zero for, right? I've had a lot of time to think and chat about the series in the three years since I wrote my original Re:Zero review. Though I was immensely critical at the time, there was something about the series that prevailed, that made it hard for me to forget or stop thinking about. Re:Zero's portrayal of trauma is likely what stuck with me the most, as only a few other anime (Steins;Gate, to name a prominent one) have dealt with that sort of subject matter in a meaningful way. So, I guess, when you take all of that out-- y'know, everything that made the series interesting-- and have it all smiles and sunshine instead, you're left with this... Memory Snow. Let me get one thing out of the way: Re:Zero's 'comedy' is not funny. At all. Nope. I cannot imagine a scenario where anyone, even the most zealous and devoted fans of the series, are laughing at one of Memory Snow's gags. A guy is making passes at Subaru and pretending to be gay? Gold. Oh my god, Subaru is speaking in (bad) English at the beginning instead of in Japanese? Absolutely H-Y-S-T-E-R-I-C-A-L! (LOL) Japan, speaking generally, is a pretty straight-faced country that does not really understand a whole lot about humour, and while light novel adaptations have always been especially culpable, boy, oh boy, does Re:Zero's jokes feel forced. It's as if someone who has not ever told a joke in their life read a 'how to slapstick' manual and thought it okay to just emulate the same two examples ad infinitum. Overreacting, retorting with a stupid voice-- all focused on the characters delivering the comedy, without there actually being any comedy. It is painfully clear that the people working on the series are there because they want to tell a serious story, and the comedy and light novel tropes are manufactured merely to be more palatable to an audience who don't know anything else. Oh, and Rem and Emilia are apparently everybody's waifu, or something. Memory Snow, in between its painful attempts at comedy, exists mostly to appease fans of the heroines. Emilia, Rem and Ram get drunk and clingy towards Subaru, and fans can take great joy imagining themselves in Subaru's shoes. If not, well, Memory Snow is not something you should spend an hour of your life enduring. Why did I? Good question. Re:Zero, for as many issues as it had, was at least ambitious and entertaining. It swung hard, missing more than it should have, but there was enough value in there to warrant a recommendation. The second season is something I am quite interested in watching-- more than I ever thought I'd be, three years ago. So until then, we shall wait. And maybe I won't have forgotten about Memory Snow by then. Ah, who am I kidding.

Overall: 8/10 There was never a dull moment and I think it's a great movie. Feels very OVA-ish with a slice-of-life tone. I liked having no worries for once, although I was honestly worried for Subaru when some deja vu moments came up, but he laughed it off himself so I thought it'd be fine. Roswaald was amusing as usual and Subaru's comebacks were also funny. We also got some expansion into Puck's backstory, and how he met Roswaald was also shown, with a comment from Emilia 'the map had to be redrawn afterwards' describing the scale. Towards the end, we also get both drunk Emilia and Rem, and a very happy Subaru. Story: 8/10 We get an expansion into one of Puck's inner workings (literally), and how he met Roswaald. Although there wasn't anything that extended the plot shown in the anime, it was an interesting story. Art: 8/10 Some still panning frames here and there, but overall I enjoyed the art, especially that of drunk Emilia and Rem. We also got their chibi versions right from the start. I really liked the snow fragments under the starry sky towards the end. Sound: 7/10 Nothing impressive, but nothing to complain about either. Character: 10/10 Every character was shown in some way, and the entire Roswaald faction got development. Enjoyment: 10/10 I was entertained every second of the movie.

Story:- No depression, no dying and respawning countless times for our boi Subaru this time. This is a wholesome episode that does not contain any pain or suffering for Subaru. The story is all about Subaru and everyone else getting through two days of harsh cold which is due to Puck's mana side effects which Puck can't do anything about. The story is decent. Contains comedy and a little bit of romance. Art:- The art is really good. It's as good as season 1 if not better. The last few scenes looked even better. Sound:- The OST used were pretty great. This brings back the memories of the first season and the mysteries surrounding this alternate world. Really makes me hyped for the second season. Character:- Got to see Emilia's cheerful sides and a little bit comedy of Rem/Ram. We get to see Subaru trying to impress Emilia, Ram always bashing Subaru and Rem agreeing to whatever Subaru thinks of. Emilia was really cute this episode. She tried to hide her problems by talking really fast so Subaru doesn't get suspicious which was really funny and wholesome. Her expressions and interactions were also really wholesome. We even get to see Emilia and Rem drunk acting all cute in front of Subaru Then we get to see Beatrice who as usual acted all tsundere, but we also hear just a glimpse of her past which makes me impatient for a season 2 even more. I really need to know about Beatrice's past now. We also get to see Puck, Roswaal, Petra, etc acting like their usual self which was good to see. Enjoyment:- Really enjoyed this episode. It was away from all the depression that Re:Zero possesses and was quite lovely. I didn't even notice when the episode ended even though it was 1 hour long. Overall:- If you are a Re:Zero fan, then I really recommend you to watch it. You will love it! After all, we get to see Re:Zero characters once again in their usual environment after 3 years. This is a VICTORY! :D Oh btw, EMT! :) Overall rating:- 9/10

I made the mistake of this being my first experience with re:zero and its characters. I watched it together as a friend cause I don't really mind spoilers. Luckily there weren't many spoilers, not that I'd remember them anyway from this unforgettable movie. I am sure the actual show is good, but I recommend staying away from this. Do not watch this unless you're already a an avid watcher of the show and just want some mind-numbing fanservice that feels more like bad shoujo than anything. There is nothing you will gain from watching this movie other than fan service. You should fully be aware and have no further expectations. It's just bad.

[A Snow Festival] For a series that is renowned for its brutal death scenes, spectacular action sequences, and unrelenting feelings of dread, depression, and misery, will learn that this OVA doesn't contain any of these elements. Instead of scenes filled with gore and violence, they will be replaced with wholesome moments of children playing and frolicking in the snow, Subaru making witty comebacks and anticipating his date with Emilia, Rem/Emilia acting cute and cheery, and Beatrice acting her usually tsundere attitude. It's refreshing to watch a series that's known for its dark elements to have moments of happiness and relief. STORY: Now, its story is simple and can be summarized as: Puck has too much mana, and is releasing this excessive mana, thus creating a cold and harsh environment in the mansion. Subaru, unable to tolerate the coldness for two additional days, convinces everyone a create snow festival. While, the OVA is only an hour, it manages to pack many funny moments, (i.e., Emilia and Rem getting drunk, and the Subaru and Roswaal snowman combination), reveal Puck's backstory, add foreshadowing (i.e., Bond of Ice OVA, and Beatrice's mother), and add some references (i.e., KONOSUBA, Statue of Liberty, and Transformers). It's funny, heartwarming, and pleasing to watch Re: Zero without all the gore, violence, and suffering of its main series. ART/CHARACTERS/SOUND: The lighting effects are really well done, especially towards the end when Puck releases some more mana and makes it snow over the entire city. Great use of starry night sky with the green and white effects. Interesting art style during the first couple minutes of the OVA, and the great character design is as pretty as its main series was. The voice actors and actresses reprise their roles and they do an excellent job at capturing the emotions and mood for each character. And as mentioned earlier, Puck and Beatrice reveal some backstory about themselves, which will be explored in the upcoming OVA and main series. ENJOYMENT: Overall, this was a laid-back and pleasant OVA, showing the characters just enjoying themselves. It was interesting and entertaining.

Do not watch it, specially with someone else, specially if you really want to dive deeper in the main lore, because it will be a waste of time, it's irrelevant, some characters don't even act as in the first season, there's a tiny bit of fan service, just enough to be unnecessarily off putting, it's almost as if it was a parallel world where Rem is overly clingy, Subaru is overly confident, Roswald is too chalant, it breaks the slow character development of each character from the first season just to snap you back to normal once you start the next season.

This review may contain spoilers! This is my first review, so it will have flaws and it won't be the best. ENGLISH: History: 8/10 Basically it's about Subaru trying to plan the date with Emilia... but during the development they tell us interesting things like how Roswaal and Puck met, the explanations about how Mana and Odo works and also showed us a little bit of the level of magic that Roswaal and Puck have. Animation: 8/10 In general it is not better than the main anime, but it was good during most of the time and at the climax a leap in quality was noticeable. OST: 8/10 Personally I liked it a lot. During and above all in the end the ost was excellent, it fit with what was happening and the melody was very nice to listen to. Characters: 8/10 Well, there's not much to say, same as always: Subaru very excited and "restless". 7. Rem quietly and flattering Subaru the whole chapter. Very secondary. 7. Emilia, nothing to highlight except at the end when she gets drunk. 7. Beako: She didn't participate much but her personality always makes her stand out, that she has participated in the festival shows how much she loves Puck (and subaru!) and her Tsundere level. 8 Ram: In my opinion, the best of the movie. From the faces and grimaces she made, to the notes and the excellent work of the seiiyu, she stood out above the rest. 9. All: 9/10 Excellent movie to relax, laugh and enjoy the waifus and finally come back to see them after a long time. ---- Español: Ésta es mi primera review, así que tendrá fallas y no será la mejor. Historia: 8/10 Básicamente trata de Subaru intentando planear la cita con Emilia... peeero, durante el desarrollo nos van contando cosas interesantes como por ejemplo cómo se conocieron Roswaal y Puck, las explicaciones acerca del como funciona el Mana y el Odo y también nos mostró un poco el nivel de magia que tienen Roswaal y Puck. Animación: 8/10 En líneas generales no es mejor que el anime principal, pero fue buena durante la mayoría del tiempo y en el clímax se notaba un salto de calidad. OST: 8/10 En lo personal me gustó mucho. Durante y sobre todo al final el ost fue excelente, encajaba con lo que sucedía y la melodía era muy linda de escuchar. Characters: 8/10 Bueno, no hay mucho que decir, lo mismo de siempre: Subaru muy excitado e "inquieto". 7. Rem tranquila y halagando a Subaru todo el capitulo. Muy secundaria. 7. Emilia, nada que destacar excepto al final cuando ella se emborracha. 7. Beako: Participó poco pero su personalidad la hace destacar siempre, que haya participado en el festival demuestra cuánto quiere a Puck (Y a subaru!) y su nivel de Tsundere. 8 Ram: En mi opinión, la mejor de la película. Desde las caras y muecas que hacía, hasta las acotaciones y el excelente trabajo de la seiiyu, ella sobresalió por sobre los demás. 9 Todo: 9/10 Excelente pelicula para relajarse, reírse y disfrutar de las waifus y por fin volver a verlas después de mucho tiempo.

It's not a hot springs episode nor a beach episode (Ohh LA wishes) but... Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu - Memory Snow takes place somewhere before the Capital Inauguration arc where Subaru finds a good place for him and Emilia to have a picnic date with, however Emilia acting a bit odd not to mention the temperature of the mansion drops...suddenly. So this movie or OVA, though the narrative focus is with this premise, this movie is well...a snow festival, thanks to Puck not able to expend her excess mana thus the drastic temperature drop, so yeah, this movie is all in all wholesome especially with the comedic characters interactions. The movie has LOTS of focus towards Ram, Beatrice and Puck for the majority of the movie, Ram for her getting a cold for the length of the movie and her quips (LA thinks this is mostly because the anime itself didn't give her much attention thus gave it to her here LA suppose). Beatrice does gets some subtle screentime, what with her being the stoic loner bookworm and Subaru wanting everyone to have fun in the snow festival thus her involvement in this movie, also with some lines within this movie seems Beatrice finally opens up to Subaru and trusting him a bit more because of solving Puck's issue and as a result Puck kickstarting this entire movie as LA aforementioned. Now as for the rest of the cast, Roswaal does his usual scthick so not much chaaaaanges from him in this movie, Emilia is also similar but with a bit more emphasis on exposition with Puck as well as getting to know her a bit more with this movie, add in some teasing from her to Subaru as well. Rem on the other hand, well this is just LA but uhhh just LA or did Rem's characterization turned her into a caricature of her established character in this movie (and LA says this as a Rem fan!), you know like agreeing with everything Subaru thinks up, clingy to Subaru and doing some "odd" things to impress Subaru...like yes LA will say this is a light-hearted slice of life movie but considering this was set before the Capital Inauguration arc her infatuation with Subaru felt a bit touch in cheek but ehhh moe Rem is good Rem, ohh and drunk Rem & Emilia was damn cute... The production value once again done by White Fox as well as the returning voice cast, well the animation is consistent and even for a laid back movie, the animation was nonetheless great especially with the character facial animation being ALOT more expressive and comedic apt for the setting of this movie. As for voice cast, due to Ram, Puck and Beatrice getting alot of focus in this movie, the voice actors got to get a bit hammy with their character roles especially with Rie Murakawa, Yumi Uchiyama and Satomi Arai, heck, Rie Takahashi, Yuusuke Kobayashi and Inori Minase as Emilia, Subaru and Rem respectively still went crazy fun with their roles. So yeah the production value was consistent and great as expected like the anime series itself. This movie was wholesome, great comedic moments, sure a bit of flanderization towards some characters *cough* Rem *cough* but nonetheless for a snow festival slice of life movie LA can forgive it as even then Rem got some damn great cute moments in this movie. If you wanna take an icy cold dragon's breather from the seriousness and ruthlessness of ReZero and want to see great comedic interactions with the core cast of the Roswaal mansion, then ReZero Memory Snow is a definite watch and for it being a one hour movie at that, the content even being a wholesome slice of life is well worth the watch.

The plot is nothing in particular and is essentially a situation of Puck has made everyone cold. It's very cold and there is snow everywhere, so they hold a winter festival. That's the entire movie. The art style was phenomenal. It was beautiful and I was enamoured by the amount of detail and the quality of it. I already like the art style of Re:Zero but this is almost like it is on a whole different level of quality. The music always fit and was very soothing to the ears. It went well with what was happening story/art-wise. It really helped bring everything together and was overall always very enjoyable to listen to. Emilia (Emilia-tan, Lia, Emily) - A Half-Elf and a candidate to become the 42nd ruler of Lugnica. Subaru Natsuki (Barusu) -The main protagonist, he is a NEET who is transported to a fantasy world.

Story (9/10): While, compared to the nature of the anime, the direction and realisation of this movie might feel different in a way, dropping a few themes such as the gore and thrilling aspects, and even assuming such ambitions and dimensions as those belonging to the main plot are not found in this movie, the story, and its realisation, felt harmonic and appreciable. Indeed, a slice-of-life spirit reigned from start to end, and the mood, while ebbing from times to times due to the comedic elements, was evenly disseminated. Though not especially standing out, the story did not feel incoherent in any major way, which is already much to achieve, and seemed to carry out its purpose: the focus of the movie certainly was characterisation, and the plot elements in their arrangement really could lead a viewer towards feeling a connection with the protagonists. Art (9/10): A harmony existed between the art in this movie, and the visuals from the anime. While the art was not grandiloquent, except maybe two times where the art stood out, and these instants were the flower field and the snow pouring. The art was, however, effective, and its redeeming quality resides in letting a viewership be drawn into the anime. Exemplary for this. Sound (9/10): This movie's surprising potency also resides, as a sprinkled kind of spice, in the musical way. During the snow festival, a song accompanies a few scenes in a much appreciated way. I would like to testify of my appreciation towards the lyrics! In a similar way, the ending song conveyed a feeling and mood in accordance with the rest of the direction this movie followed. Truly a masterpiece of harmony and effectivity. Another distinction could be accorded towards Pack's and Beatrice's voice actors, for they did participate in a special way to create an intimacy between the viewership and the show. For this reason, I would want to thank specially Satomi Arai and Yumi Uchiyama. There was also a consistency in the way the other voice actors played their roles, and they should be revered to for this matter with a grateful appreciation. Character (9/10): Characterisation certainly felt the strongest point of this movie. I would make two remarks about it: firstly, the direction and realisation targetted the endeavour that is conveying familiarity between a viewership and a cast, and carried out such a task in an effective way; secondly, while as I already pointed out, the cast felt the same as in the anime, and such consistency is appreciable for itself, two characters were especially noticeable, giving them a visibility that could, in retrospective, be deemed one of the few anime's shortcomings. However, it is encouraging for the least, to realise this movie actually corrects a flaw of the anime. Indeed, two characters are more developed than others, would I judge. They would be, quite unexpectedly, Beatrice, our favourite bookworm blondish loli, and Pack! of all folks? While developing Beatrice felt more endearing towards her than anything else, Pack's characterisation involved a backstory permitting to develop a bit on the fictitious universe itself, involving how magic functions for some beings. Such a fact baffled me in a positive way, even so slightly. Enjoyment (9/10): Certainly, as others referred to in other reviews, this movie is a better watch for one who already knew each character sufficiently beforehand. For a show to focus on developing characters that were known to an audience previously, the least justice to do it is watching it with enlightenment. It should not be a blind watch. I personally very much liked this movie, because I could bond with the protagonists and their endearing interactions. However, it might not be as effective a mood to convey for an uninformed viewership. Also, one should be ready to give the action some respite in order to appreciate the stillness in events this show follows.

Memory Snow isn’t important at all to the Re:Zero story. However, if you just love this series and can’t get enough of it, it’s worth the watch. (spoiler free) Story - 7 The story is surprisingly good for a short anime movie extending from a series. It’s like a little slice of life moment that actually has a fun plot. It’s just not super exciting and has some out of place moments. Art - 9 I really like the art for Re:Zero. The snow is animated beautifully. Sound - 8 Pretty okay. Character - 7 I was hoping we would maybe get to see a bit more about Emilia that would actually make her seem more than just a cardboard cut out character, but that didn’t happen. It’s okay though, everyone is there and it’s a fun time. Enjoyment - 5 I am not a fan of when anime have a useless movie, and I wish this one had served a bit more of a purpose by showing the characters better so I could actually like Emilia. It was okay. Overall - 6 The art is really pretty and it’s nice to see the characters I like, but there was a missed opportunity in making the characters more lovable. If you really love Re:Zero, give it a watch. Otherwise, skip.

This movie is what would happen if Re: Zero was nothing more than a typical, simple and monotonous slice of life. The series is amazing because it has everything: comedy, drama, violence, action, horror, ... However, this movie only has slice of life elements and for an entire hour without any interesting stuff happening other than "Emilia-Tan is the best!" and the other trademark remarks from the main cast, it got boring half-way through. I hated the jap-english in the beginning because it just felt out of place with no plausible reason to be there, the animation is a bit inconsistent and I also do not like to hear english songs as part of an anime soundtrack. SPOILER: at the end everyone drank alcohol except Beako after she was advised by Subaru that she shouldn't drink despite being older than everyone present because she looks like a minor. This makes as much sense as telling someone not to get a driver license because, although they're 30 years old, they have a babyface. It's so stupid... and then having Beako's accept and follow that advice was even more stupid. In fact, the entire drunk scenes between Emilia and Rem were cringe as heck, too. This movie could've been animated in 30 minutes and it would've been fine but 1 hour of this was too much. It gets a 5/10 from me.

For an OVA that ought to be 60 minutes of fun-generating characters spending brazenly narrative-free and trope-adjacent off-hours in each other's company, Memory Snow is disappointingly barren of charm. Though I have mixed feelings about the parent show, Re:Zero at least refuses to accept its mediocrity without a fight, and this OVA strips away each of the most potent weapons in the show's arsenal. Kenichiro Suehiro's Morricone-influenced score is largely gone, for starters. Being a laid-back side story means no startling brutality, which means that the "Return by Death" mechanic is also ruled out (although it really didn't have to be). Most of all, at some point in the jump between parent series and OVA excursion, the entire cast underwent some rapid Flanderization that reduced them all to a handful of punchlines - most of which aren't worth the cost. Ram and Beatrice can always be relied on for a few good put-downs and reactions, but there's no sign of the charismatic and dedicated Subaru who carried the series, and the perfunctory relegation of Rem from "legitimate romantic interest" to "the obsessive member of the harem" feels like nothing more than a shallow mischaracterization for the sake of some dead-weight gags, and that's not worth my time. Emilia suffers from the same problem as in the parent series: she's simply out to lunch all the time, and beyond a sweet voice and impeccable dress sense, it's difficult to determine why Subaru holds her in such esteem, let alone detect any significant chemistry between the two of them. This might be the kind of material that ought to have been workshopped and farmed out to Isekai Quartet, if someone wanted to take Re:Zero for a little ride around the glibbest joke formulas in sight. Perhaps it's asking too much of an OVA to deliver something on par with the main series, but at an hour in length, it does not seem terribly unreasonable to expect - at the very least - something either more substantially romantic or consistently comedic. Memory Snow isn't equipped to fill out that much time; even with a few different scenarios that are rife with opportunity, so much of the run time drags. If the creators had simply bitten the bullet and pulled out a hot springs episode somehow, sinking into that familiar register might have explained away the general lack of concern for quality, but an hour's worth of promised date time with Emilia amidst a winter wonderland really ought to have delivered more than this. Even setting aside a few sweet moments and a few jokes that land, a lot of this OVA is just dead air.

Review in brief: Offering a nice comedic break after the more serious climax of Arc 2, Memory Snow is a well-timed lighthearted departure from Re:Zero’s first season. Some may take issue with its lack of impact or its goofy, fanservicey nature, but what it accomplishes is something the main anime could have used a bit more of in its later portions. Review in full: The story of Re:Zero is first and foremost a psychological thriller. Love it or hate it, the subgenre carries itself on overall serious tones and introspective queries into its setup, themes, and most of all its characters. That said, too much dreariness can get overwhelming if that’s all a story delivers, and one way to relieve the issue is with comedic breaks. Re:Zero already had a few in its original run (primarily in its first half as is typical) but the shift from the ultimately positive ending of Arc 2 into the darkest portion of season 1 was too drastic in the minds of some viewers. Enter the Memory Snow side story. Originally premiered as a movie after season 1, sold as an OVA, and later aired on TV as a part of season 1’s director’s cut rebroadcast in 2020, there’s a good reason why it ended up becoming so prolific. Taking place in between arcs 2 and 3, it provides that much needed break with a light, comedy-oriented little story and some extra moments with many characters whose roles were mostly locked to Arc 2. Is it filler? Yes. Is it fanservicey? Fairly. While such terms often carry a negative connotation, they aren’t inherently bad traits. In this case, some lighthearted filler makes for an excellent buffer between serious portions, and that’s a sentiment that holds up if one were to watch it later than “intended” as well. With a cleanly simple plot and a happy-go-lucky tone, Memory Snow delivers most of its humor by having the characters bounce off of each other in silly little interactions. This more character-oriented focus does some interesting things that the main anime struggles with, including adding little sprinkles of character definition via implied intent through their actions and putting them in situations where they can act looser (and therefore more honestly). The goofiness of the jokes and the ship-bait elements of some of the situations are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but as what is essentially a collection of connected skits, Memory Snow manages to have a fair share of slice-of-life-esque fuzzy moments thanks to its simplicity and delicacy. The production values of this solitary episode don’t particularly stand out from the rest of the season, which isn’t a bad thing either. There isn’t a lot of action to encourage grand animation scenes or tense moments to put dramatic music into, yet there are scattered spurts of visual creativity at play and plenty of opportunities happily taken by the vocal cast to act out the characters in ways they rarely got to during the main anime. Overall, it makes the whole package come off as something of a fun process for the production crew and not just some tacked-on cash grab in the wake of Re:Zero’s popularity. Verdict: Memory Snow is good filler, the sort that holds its own and makes you appreciate the rest of the story more. Unless you seriously hate the characters or Re:Zero’s humor in general, it fits right into its spot in the director’s cut (i.e. after episode 11 of the original broadcast), though one doesn't need to watch it at any particular point after Arc 2 to get the intended effect either.

What a sweet lil' extended episode! It's the cast of re:zero, in their normal setting, basically in-between the normal episodes, except for a change things aren't going terribly wrong. It's just some nice fun and character development with Subaru and co. Very slice of life, a snow festival, and it's just very neat. ^^ There's nothing outstanding about it as far as "movies" go (more an OVA or extended episode), but if you enjoyed re:zero, you'll probably like this, even with the lack of gore. It doesn't always have to be mayhem, sometimes we just want some nice moments with the characters we love!

Essentially, this OVA is just an extended character hang-out session set between the second and third arcs, giving us an hour’s worth of time with the Roswaal Manor crew just hanging around the mansion against the backdrop of magic shenanigannery from Puck. As a result, it lacks the underlying darkness, grit and catharsis that defines Re:Zero at its best, the moments that propelled it into a genuine masterpiece, the sense of constant purpose and meaning that made the first season feel like such a complete package. But man, with characters this great, I’ll always appreciate being able to spend more time with them, and I had a goddamn blast reconnecting with them all. Seriously, it’s become stunningly apparent in the time since I finished Re:Zero just how goddamn good an ensemble cast it features. Everyone plays off each other beautifully, everyone’s camaraderie is an utter delight, and it’s just so freaking endearing to see them relax again after all the trauma and hardship of the show proper. Plus, Drunk Rem. It doesn’t get much better than that, folks.

Doesn't feel like it adds much to Re:zero as a whole and no character's dynamic in it are engaging or endearing enough for it to really work well as fluff so it doesn't really land for me as a whole. I really wish I did love these character dynamics as it would make Re:zero for me a much better series but to be blunt they are boring, uninspired and it feels like a wish fulfilling waste of time that lacks all the parts that make Re:zero any good and emphasizes all that makes it bad. However if unlike me you really like these character's dynamics then go ahead but for me I found it a boring waste of time to watch.

What a fun OVA! This made me so happy, I won't lie. This is just an incredibly chill, fun, relaxing, humorous spin-off of Re:Zero, set in-between two episodes from the anime. It feels less like Re:Zero - with its high-stakes action, violence, and existential horror - and more like, funnily enough, some direct-to-VHS Winnie the Pooh Christmas movie... but for me, as someone who loved that sort of shit as a kid, that wasn't a bad thing at all! Just a fun little break from all of the action of the anime. This has immaculate vibes. The characters are all just being somewhat exaggerated goofy versions of themselves, hanging out and having a good time together. There isn't much in the way of story; it's just a very simple plot. Puck is on his magical-being equivalent of a period (no really! They jokingly call it a "mana-struation") which causes his magic to go all crazy, and everything gets super cold. Everyone goes out and has fun in the winter together. That's about it. There's a whole lot of quick humour and really fun character interactions throughout, such as Emilia speaking extremely fast when talking to Subaru, trying to act super over-the-top cheerful in a pathetic attempt to not come off as suspicious, fooling absolutely no one. Or Ram just being incredibly pissed off - even more than usual - for much of the OVA, due to her freezing her butt off in the sheer intensity of the bitter cold. Meanwhile, her sister Rem is completely unaffected, cheerfully dancing about like she's the happiest woman in the world because she's just so darn happy to be here with Subaru. The animation looks really nice, looking much like the anime, but just with a slightly higher budget to polish things up and add some more frames to smoothen things out a little. Small thing, but the facial expressions are great! There's several jokes in this OVA that land and are genuinely funny, simply because of the perfection of the faces that the characters make. I genuinely laughed at how pissed off Ram gets, and it's largely her face that sells it. There's not much in the way of fanservice, or even really violence or anything like that, apart from some very brief (<5 second) mildly-violent flashbacks from the anime. There is a little bit of fanservice, I guess, but it's "tasteful" and very tame. I'd go as far as to say that you could *probably* show this OVA to a kid without exposing them to anything inappropriate, really. And that was actually kind of weirdly refreshing - it just made the whole thing feel even more chill. There's not much else to comment on, really. It's just a really fun little OVA. If that sounds good, check it out!

Filler bait. Well of course, right after I was done with watching the first season, I thought to myself now that the hype is still surging inside of me, it would be the perfect time to start diving into what the franchise has to offer as a whole. Now, I was not expecting a groundbreaking, narrative spinning movie or anything, however, you'd at least think the major plot points from the parent show will be a big part of this movie. WRONG. The movie picks up after the events of the first half of the parent show, so make sure you at least watched until then before checking this one out. The art was decent, as there was a lack of action, I see the creative direction had more of an up than anything else. The sound design was fine, nothing spectacular, the voice acting too, the whole cast is talented but it felt like whatever happened in this movie did not take advantage of any of that talent. I fell asleep twice watching this, primarily because I was tired after a long day of work, nothing to blame the movie for, however, the dead dialogue did not help any of that, in fact, it contributed to it. I guess this one would have been the perfect thing to watch back in the day when season 2 was not even announced, so people would get a dose of their favorite characters interacting after such a long time. Overall: 6.4/10