Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2

It's hard to write a review to a part 2 of a second season without taking into consideration all that we've been through so far. In fact, I'll go as far as saying it's wrong to do that. Re:Zero 2nd Season Part 2 its not aiming at bringing new fans to the series and if you didn't like Season 1, don't bother with Season 2, because it's more of the same. On the other hand, if, like me, you were a fan of the original, oh boy, Season 2 delivers. Re:Zero Season 2 Part 2 shows us the conclusion to the Sanctuary Arc and it answers many questions that fans had since Season 1, but of course not without raising even more. From the action scenes to the many emotional moments, the show delivers. We've finally got a lot of development for not only Emilia, but to basically every character from the mansion and even some from outside of it. Combined with a great soundtrack, as a fan of Re:Zero I can say that Season 2 delivered on my expectations. Now, that's not to say the show is perfect. While I do despise arrogant people that come here as if they were the bringer of the truth among a brainwashed crowd, as if their opinion was somehow better than other's, Re:Zero does have its fair share of criticism. For one, I do believe that some dialogues (or monologues) are too long, with characters repeating themselves frequently, and I do wish they were a little bit shorter. Some actions from the characters were, at times, a little bit difficult to understand. Sometimes the show does that on purpose, other times is by accident. Also the art is inconsistent. We have some beautiful scenes, but others not so much. The final episode I do believe could've been a little bit better. It felt like a movie ending, long and calm after a action-packed movie, which breaks the hype a little bit after waiting for a week to see the episode. Also, some plot points, that I'm sure will be the focus of Season 3, could've been brought up in the end, but didn't. In that sense, the ending left me desiring a little bit more. While MAL allows you to give different scores to different subjects, my scores are heavily influenced by my enjoyment alone. Sure, some criticism is valid, and needed, but if I enjoyed the show, that's all that matters to me. As a big fan since Season 1, I enjoyed Season 2 a lot and can't wait for Season 3 in a, hopefully, near future.

Thoughts on the series Re: Zero life in another world was spectacular the beginning was meh, middle was meh, but the ending was spectacular the journey for the whole ordeal of the entire anime made it really fulfilling and relieved to have seen all the episodes it was painstakingly long, confusing going back and forth like there was no tomorrow. I think that the anime has come a really long way and it has ending of such a work of art, story telling and overall fantastic goal. There was really annoying parts however I have to say in my thoughts, the main characters was annoying for the entire anime shouting and arguing, but the points he made, made sense and really was powerful. I felt that he was really running around in circles a lot of the time which made the series boring at some parts of the anime like the first season. Here is my rating for the final season. I hope you liked my review. Story 10/10 There were parts when he was repeatedly died a few times, and he was not going anywhere for a long time and thus made the series delay a lot of things making it boring However I felt that after having these painful experiences that we had to encounter just the main purpose for the viewer to experience the same things as the main character was impactful the most, imagine dying 60 times... The guys practically not scared of death at all now his an iron shield and so are you against anything that comes your way even though his a human, always. I felt the other characters were hiding a lot from the main character and made things really hard to follow the story because there were a lot of loop holes. The ending gave this satisfaction that the main character was trying to obtain from the beginning and eventually paid off. I liked how it turned out the most, just wish though they left a lot of the dying parts out of it and made it, so he died once repeated and carried on regardless I felt it was done really well. Characters 3/10 The only character that did it justice was the elf girl and all her troubles she went through growing up and what she destroyed, and had experience that pain stacking experience again which she cast away. The main character was too annoying at times to enjoy the series and the other characters were not opening up to him in a very long time at some parts of the anime and made the characters almost unbearably annoying. Art style 10/10 The ending part with the 2 main characters talking to each other felt special and after the ceremonial part was good as well. I felt that the trials the girl character went through and seeing her pasts was spectacular and was fascinating, it uncovered a lot of loops holes in the story which illustrated almost the entire story itself as a whole, which was really important. Sound 9/10 The voice actors were spot on except the main character because his annoying KEW HAHAHAhehehe. I love the music and the theme songs which made the ending really worthwhile. Enjoyment 4/10 the first season was hard to follow and was boring, first part of season 2 was the same. The final part which was the part 2 of season 2 there were still hard to follow and keep up as the main character does what he does best, shout at everyone for a whole 20 minutes to put his point across and guess what the others just ignore him, because his nothing but a human compared to them. The ending I loved the most was very satisfactory and relieved it end well, was worth the journey. Overall enjoyment 10/10 Sound is good, art style fantastic, story hard to follow but eventually you realise there is an actual end goal to all this messing around and going back and forth like it's a never ending loop whole. Characters are the main character been annoying but the other main character is sweet and enjoyed watching her grow and change the most throughout the trials she underwent.

First review here so bear with me here. I'll keep my review short and simple and say that despite the hectic events that took place within the first half of season 2, the second half was well done. Most RZ fans know that the sanctuary arc is the longest arc within the light novel and the fact that it took 25 episodes to be animated goes to show how invested the writers and producers are with the series. The ending couldn't have been better and seeing that dance between Subaru and Emilia warmed not only mine, but I daresay, a majority of viewers. Overall 9/10 Great show and an amazing story.

Re:zero is the closest thing I can call a true hit or miss. You either watch the show and absolutely love it, or you dislike the show and find it a incredible pain to get through. As is obvious by my score I fall into the former category for reasons ill explain in the next few paragraphs, but I also want to explain why someone might NOT enjoy this show. The Shows Animation/Sound is Fantastic: Good animation isn't necessary to tell a good story, kemono friends has a nice story and some of the worst animation I've seen but I still find enjoyment in the show; however, re:zeros animation (season 1 and 2) is down right beautiful. There are some weak points hence the 9/10 but overall the animation is fluid, the characters are always on model, and the symbolism and foreshadowing that's done through visual nods draws you totally into the world. The music and sound effects are perfectly placed throughout the season, the music conveys how you should be feeling in a way that doesn't feel forced. It's never so loud that you cant hear the characters talking and its never too quiet that the scene feels empty when it isn't trying to be, just all around amazing stuff from White Fox. The Animation is Good but The Story and Characters are Even Better: It's hard to say what's great about the season 2 cast and story specifically without spoiling the season but I'll just say that if you want a great fantasy mystery with insanely hype action scenes; AND, a show where every character feels human and organically grows throughout the season then this show fits right up your alley. Okay.. but Subaru Kind of Ruins it...: i've heard a lot of complaints but the one about Subaru is, in my opinion, the biggest issue that causes people to stop watching. Subaru's character is supposed to be someone you are not supposed to feel comfortable with. Similar to Mushoku Tensei the main character is written in a way that makes him painful to watch and hard to fully empathize with. He's designed to be someone you can sort of see aspects of yourself in but never fully want to relate to him based on his awful and selfish actions. In season 1 Subarus dislikeableness lasted over half the season and turned off many people from the series; however, in season 2 we watch as Subaru takes the knowledge he gained from season 1 and continues to grow as an individual, learning and developing as a person and helping those around him. If you didn't like subarus character at the beginning of season 1 then you will definitely like him a lot more in season 2. (spoilers for beginning of season 2 part 2) Season 2's theme (imo) has a focus on Subaru's ideological battle with Roswal, Roswal is someone who represents stagnation, he holds true to his old beliefs / emotions and doesn't change them. Subaru on the other hand is all about growth, as mentioned earlier he's someone who is trying to be better, he's trying to help the people he loves, and he's doing everything he can do to reach that goal without sacrificing what else is important to him. This is a core ideological battle between these two characters which i think is important for enjoying this part of season 2 specifically. (end of spoiler section) Overall I highly recommend this series and especially this season. If you reallyyyyy can't stand subaru in season 1 and don't care / want to wait for him to improve then it may be best for you to skip, otherwise this is the perfect series if you want a bit of everything done very well.

It's not often a series comes around that doesn't rely solely on flashy fight scenes or comedic character drama to make it good. Re:Zero S2 marks a major improvement to a series that was already very entertaining by (finally) answering more questions than it presents. [ ! MINOR SPOILERS ! ] For starters, we get a lot of much-needed backstory for ALL of the essential characters and a comprehensive deep-dive into the lore of the land. All of the weird talk about witches that left a bunch of huge question marks scrawled across the entire audience's faces? You're given about 75% of the pieces to the puzzle by the end of this season. Of course, it's not the whole puzzle. The series still needs to keep its fair share of secrets to make it interesting. The back half of this arc is huge. Do not be fooled by the episode count. Most anime episodes are only 24 minutes long with the customary minute and a half opening and credits songs. Re:Zero S2 P2 coasts right up to the 30 minute mark and omits those sequences on nearly every episode, meaning these 12 episodes easily contain the content of 16 or 18 normal episodes within them. Episode 10 in particular pans out like a short film. If you haven't watched Frozen Bond yet, it contains required knowledge for this part of the anime. I can't blame you for abstaining, since the entire movie can be easily summarized in under five minutes, but at the very least, you should go and find someone's Cliffnotes version of it before you get too far into the second half. Trust me. It will explain a lot. Natsuki Subaru, who at best is highly questionable throughout the first season, gains back some brownie points by getting slapped in the face for being an idiotic lovestruck madman who burdens everything himself. Sure, that ultimately boils down to the much-more-interesting side characters resuscitating our borderline insane protagonist and stealing the limelight (again), but at this point Re:ZERO has desensitized us for any feelings we feel towards Subaru. If you're still flinching when you see Subaru die by now, I applaud your empathy. You are a truly a good human being at heart. Part of what makes Re:Zero so amazing is the surprises it contains! Don't watch the rarely-used opening too closely if you don't want to be spoiled (of course, that's common anime-viewing knowledge, and I've probably only enticed you to watch each frame of Long Shot even closer now) because it kind of spoiled it for me. Luckily, it was nothing too major. I'd probably have figured it out a few episodes in advance, anyway. STORY: 7 If you take it at face value, the second half of season two alone is nothing super special when comparing it to the roller coaster of a ride the preceding story sent me on, but it was still very good. Re:Zero has its flaws, as does any anime, but this portion had slightly different flaws. Instead of all of those amazing mic-drop stingers that riddled the first season, S2 P2 takes a more traditional approach (whatever "traditional" may be). There's no gigantic plot twists that will spin your head fast enough to leave you with vertigo this time around. In its place, we solidify the somewhat unstable relationships between our characters. It's a good changeup that will help cement this anime into its must-watch label. ART: 6 The art is nothing super fancy. The action is dazzling and fantastical, but it's not a standout category like Demon Slayer. Still, good art, clean animation, great filmography. No complaints. SOUND: 9 The SFX and soundtrack are incredible, as always. The songs stirred up a lot of emotion. It's a beautiful OST that I'm sure will get periodically trapped within my cranial cage every so often. Also, one of the insert songs sounds suspiciously similar to Beauty and the Beast's "Tale as Old as Time". CHARACTER: 8 As per usual, Re:Zero has amazingly developed characters we get to examine from multiple angles thanks to Return by Death. In hindsight, the character dynamic of the previous installments was kind of a [poop]show, relying heavily on clichés or established truths, but the characters themselves were always remarkably multifaceted. We now emerge from S2 P2 with fully refined relationships between most of our key players. Who's friends, enemies, possible lovers, the usual stuff fandoms squeal over. Also as per usual, the main issue is Subaru, who's always been a mysteriously motivated individual. Fortunately, we get some clear insight as to what is motivating our dearly wayward protagonist, and what his goals are. Unfortunately, it's pretty lame. But it's nice to see there's at least a clear end goal in mind. ENJOYMENT: 9 Yeah, that's kind of a biased opinion, but 2020 was kind of a doldrum for anime in general, what with the weather outside being tainted by a forecast of pandemic. Re:Zero S2 is arguably the best anime series to emerge from that year, simply from a lack of anything else standout. It was very good. I enjoyed it very much. It was the only one to get me legitimately excited about the next episode release in 2020. Because it was still entertaining as hell. OVERALL: 8 There's no such thing as a perfect anime. If you think there is such a thing, you probably have a very preferential taste in anime. However, Re:Zero casts a wide fishing net over the anime community, and never fails to catch a boatload of fish (fans) simply from the scope of its original story. Does it have its problems? Of course. But in my humble opinion they are negligible in the face of this series' triumphs.

Whoever says that this cour of Season 2 is boring, you're not getting the point of this part. Upon finishing this amazing season, I can say that Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2 highlights truly the best the entire Re:Zero story has to offer, and I can say in confidence the plot "build-up" has paid immensely, resulting in a great culmination of Arc 4. The character building that results from this Arc has really developed their characters as they accept and take great leaps within themselves. I also cannot stress the amazing work again by White Fox, which has pampered this series and brings it to its full potential. The pacing of the plot and the consistent and even over-the-top animation during the fight scenes really captivates the viewer and is yet to disappoint in tandem with their great sound design (I wish they used the S2C2 OP though, its nice!). Overall, the series has once again delivered and I am excited to see what WF/Kadokawa/Tappei has in store for later.

Doing justice to the absolute masterpiece that is Arc 4 of the Re:Zero Webnovel is hardly an achievable task and i think Studio Whitefox has done about aswell as was possible. I think in anime format the story did take a bit of a hit as even with 2 Cours (more like 3 cours in runtime) they had to cut alot of important scenes short and had just enough time to get the general feel of the scene / important buildups done. When it comes to Character Rendering and Art i think Re:Zero is very well done! All of the famous WN scenes look absolutely beautiful! General Sound & Audio is 10/10 beautiful!!! The voice actors in the show are doing gods work. Kenichiro Suehiro with his Soundtracks for Re:zero is undoubtedly one my favorite producer - starting even in S1 of the show he has done OST's that are second only to the monogatari series and that is about as high as praise on OST'S can go in my personal opinion. Every Insert song carried as much weight as you could imagine and did its scene absolute justice! As WN reader my enjoyment with the show surely was a 10/10 - I love the characters, their development and the feelings the voice actors gave these scenes soooo much. Studio Whitefox has gone as far as humanly possible with giving every episode 29:30 runtime in this part of Re:Zero and I think there is noone in this world that can be fully dissapointed by season 2 unless they missed/forgot some story hooks or didnt have the attention span to keep up with the misterys of the arc. Overall I shall give this Adaption of Arc 4 of the WN a 9/10 as it did come very close in doing its Source justice but sadly it fell a bit short of the MASTERPIECE that is Arc 4 in the WN! If you love previous seasons / general concept within this show and its emotional hooks I could not recommend you to watch any show over this one but if you like reading I think the WN version is even superior. Thanks to the Author and the Studio for the amazing work!

The second part of season 2 is probably the best of the series. I am relatively indifferent about Re:Zero and was not impressed with season 1, the movie, and season 2 part 1. However, things finally start making sense! At least, to a certain point. Following the first part, Subaru wants to save everyone from impending doom. Unlike previous times, he seems determined to reach this goal this time. No more whining, despair, etc. - actual action and resolve. From this aspect alone, I thoroughly enjoyed these episodes much more than the prior 40-odd episodes. As for what I don't like, the world-building is not good. Yes, the characters get fleshed out more in this season, yes, we learn more about the history. But I'm stuck with the feeling that there is so much I don't understand and yet expected to know about. As a simple example, why was the Sanctuary even created? From my understanding, there was some sort of attack about 400 years ago, but there isn't much detail on it besides that. For a location that spans the course of 2 seasons, I would have hoped there would be more explanation on the background. I am left with many questions regarding the actual magic and fantasy of the world. Since the focus of the story is more on the relationships and personal virtues of each character, this quality falls under. I absolutely despise the relationship between Subaru and Emilia. Why does it feel like there has been no actual development between these two characters in the 40 episodes leading up to this season? Oh wait, there hasn't. This guy, who probably spawned into this made-up world about a month ago, is suddenly and instantly devoted to this white-haired half-elf, with no real good explanation except for the fact that she is a kind soul and pretty. It's the fact that Subaru has been dying over and over again and trying different things to save everyone, that there has been a complete lack of relationship development between them. I have hated Subaru's devout worship of Emilia because 1. it's boring (and unrealistic, but that's beside the point), and 2. there was nothing leading up to justify why he should be a complete suck-up. I also fail to see why Emilia is shown as some savior of the world, why she needs to be protected at all times, when she realistically has not done anything special. And the gimmick gets old - Puck is sworn to protect her at all times, Subaru is supposedly her knight in shining armor - at this point, can she even do anything by herself? All in all, if this anime is a "romance," then I'm Batman. Overall improvement compared to the disappointing prequels. Not perfect by any means, but it has its moments.

Damn, this one is a huge kicker, right in the feels. I dont know why others regard this as less than the original, but I would say this is on par if not better continuation, to the first part. AI, creating more problems and emotional damage as usual, especially watching this in 2023 scares the shit out of me, of what could be. I like this series so far, the serious and dark tones, the maturity of okabe, the huge melons, and the op and the ed, which constantly remind us that this world is the worst possible outcome and all the people their are doomed from the start, and the sad love story of this okabe breaks my heart, they truly were a perfect couple, but fate is cruel, playing with time is never fun and games. I especially like this series because it explains how okabe fights the cruelty of this reality and time to make the wholesome ending of steins gate possible. This is the real fight, this is where the stakes are high, this is where he must learn and adapt and evolve, many plotlines are explained which were taken for granted before, a truly deserved season and a must-watch to grasp the original theme of the series "the cruelty of time and fate", and how okabe overcomes it which is what makes him a mad scientist, you need to be a bit crazy to fight the fate/time itself. Absolutely loved this season till now.

Decent lore and character development. Too bad it sorta just became a yap-fest. Just yappin and yappin and it's always the same message: "i believe in you, believe in me pls" which is fine and all but having to hear it for 12 episodes gets boring. The revelation about Emelia's past was pretty cool. There is still a lot of mystery remaining in this series, and I have no doubt the next couple of season(s) will be great. As for this specific season, the plot is slightly dragged out. It also doesn't really feel like an Isekai anymore. Subaru isn't really doing anything unique or clever to get out of situations like he did in the past, kinda disappointing to see.

This season basically sums up the sanctuary arc. I'll keep it short and simple. The plot does not progress a ton here but tons of attention is put into each and every scene. Lot's of dialogues. Subaru does not die this season which really isn't a spoiler because he was never at risk of dying like in earlier seasons so don't get mad at me. Anyways, subaru is forced to use his brain this season and the writers had to switch up their approach. Yeah you don't get the drama of seeing whether subaru can make it without dying but I liked it more. The plot does not move very much but that's ok for me, given we get another season. What I love about re: zero are the characters. While plot is very important and often decides the quality of a show. WIthout good characters, nothing is possible. There was a ton of backstories and character development in this season, and the backstories are very well written. As usual, there are bits and pieces of cringe and annoying moments but the themes each character experiences in their past struggles are relatable to our everyday life, such as broken promises, saying goodbye to family, being alone, fake love, manipulation. It's aspects such as this that help develop bonds with characters. Emilia was really great in this season and improved a lot. She was always one of the biggest flaws in re: zero according to many people (not me tho i love her) and I could see why with her annoying personality, but finally subaru mans up and tells her as it is and she puts her money where her mouth is. The plot is just getting started, re: zero has source material for another two seasons. Every season builds on itself and it gets better and better, like a fine wine some would say. This season in particular really sets up the plot for the next season though, with all the developments, the next arc will be magnificent. Re: zero has it's weaknesses and you might not love everything about the show, like me, but you will love it regardless. 9/10

Short Review (Spoiler-free): In summary, Re:Zero Season 2 Part 2 is amazing. It won't change your perception of the isekai genre, and if you are not a fan of fantasy main characters having expanding harems, this season won't make you a fan of those problematic elements. And by that, I do mean there are issues with the show. However, it boils down to this: if you ever cried your eyes out as a kid reading classic fairytales and picture books, this season is going to evoke some of those feelings in a sincere and powerful way few shows can match. With more grounded character growth, more stable and confident pace and worldbuilding, Re:Zero Season 2 Part 2 is a testament to its writers' talent and dedication. Baseline quality: 9.7/10. Reduced to 9.2/10 due to some issues. I think it deserves to be called a flawed masterpiece. Recommended to: those who look for deep worldbuilding and characterization in anime, fans of adventure stories with a classic feel to them (e.g. LOTR books). Fans of classic fairy tales and medieval poems. Fans of isekai (duh~). Pros: (minor character spoilers) ++ Amazing characterization for most of the characters. Emilia finally got the arc for her character to shine after 30+ episodes of doubt (her own doubts about herself plus the audience's doubts for why this naïve, idealistic damsel-in-distress who barely did anything has been the leading female character for 1.5 seasons). If the author Tappei Nagatsuki planned her huge moments in this season since the very beginning, then kudos to him. Great character arcs dominate and define this season. Even Echidna, the enigmatic and subtly sinister Witch of Greed, goes through a touching and believable arc with her limited screen time. With Subaru's current development, the show has mostly overcome the lowly power-fantasy roots revolving the deathloop/save-load ability (it took 50 episodes of mostly consistent and sustained development, but it's worthy). A lot of foreshadowing and blink-and-you-will-miss-it clues reached their fulfillment here. + Worldbuilding. Like the past two seasons, this continues to be one of the main reasons for Re:Zero to rise above most isekais for me. Its world continues to be a lively and lived-in world where each character has their rich mythology, backstory and agenda. For example, Emilia's childhood in the Elf's forest gives us an epitome of what happened a hundred years ago to this world at large. There are far too many interesting locations and characters for this season to cover in detail, but at least the show lets you know they are not just props or plot devices. The worldbuilding is still not on the Lord of the Rings level, but top-notch among all anime, nonetheless. Its enchanted and layered history already had a classic feel to it since season 1, now with tragically corrupted virtues rampaging as deadly sins, I've got a general feeling for how the story would proceed and what inspirations the author drew from. + Satisfying and hopeful. Shedding the overtly gloomy tone of S2 Part 1, the latest 12 episodes we got bring the main characters and the audience to a real and wholesome win, and deservedly so. Imagine if Luke Skywalker went through all the trainings and tribulations in Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi multiple times, and then finally receiving Princess Leia's medal (instead of receiving the medal by conveniently saving the princess and blowing up the death star in A New Hope), how much more satisfying would that be? And that's how I felt at the end of this season. + Continues to be rewarding for thoughtful viewers. Some top reviews here asserted that the show only works well for those who bother to go into the extended light novel or manga lore. I respectfully disagree. I appreciate the thoughtful process of watching the show and trying to put puzzle pieces together in my head, even without the crutches of the extended lore. Taking Emilia's possible connections to the 7 Witches for example, yes you can definitely look up the extended wiki or lore for more concrete evidences, but it's rewarding enough to rely on the hints in the anime and make your own call on the matter. The show can be esoteric to a degree, but nothing on the "everyone except Shinji talks in riddles and made-up jargons" level of Evangelion. + Many memorable and sincerely tearful moments. For someone as jaded as me, I know a show is something when a few episodes could bring me to tears several times in such a powerful, melancholic and nostalgic fashion. The show relies on certain sensationalist crutches for sure, but there is clear sincerity in most of those pivotal moments. + Overall amazing audio-visual presentation. Camera angles, character facial animations and lighting especially stand out. + Can be genuinely helpful for your mental health, whether you are an otaku suffering depression or someone trapped in past traumas and mistakes. The life-affirming messages from Emilia after triumphing over Echidna's trials are quite powerful and well-earned. This is unexpected but wholly welcome on my book. I only wish more shows do something like this (albeit in a similarly sincere fashion). Cons: (moderate character spoilers) - The main character's ridiculously expanding harem, just like the previous seasons. In addition to Emilia, Rem and Petra, now Beatrice joins the battle for Subaru's No.1. Arguably though, Beatrice is a "Great Spirit" who implicitly went into contract/friendship with Subaru at the end of the season, landing their relationship more on the platonic side (comparable to Emilia and Puck). But Subaru's emotional confession to her rubbed me the wrong way, for it is far more convincing and romantic than his confession to Emilia earlier. (I can't even imagine what fan arts that ship Subaru and Beatrice will do). By the current direction of the story, this issue could be resolved by Subaru's resolute romantic dedication to Emilia down the road, but we will see about that. - Ram's undying love and attempt to redeem Roswaal feels wonky, and closer to a bad case of Stockholm's syndrome than a believable and angelic choice. Perhaps the original light novel gives more details to how she had transformed after interacting with the main characters, but in the anime all Roswaal did was grooming her and putting her into total servitude since she was merely 7. Had the anime made it clearer that Ram never truly lost her agency (and was only pretending to be totally obedient to Roswaal), or that she has gained the genuine concept of "friend" in her own arc and now wants to see Roswaal as a friend (an equal human being), I would have much less issue with this sequence. (Edit: I looked up the details provided by the novel readers, and it seems at least Roswaal has not made sexual moves against Ram) - A few unnecessary cutesy moments. The show is at its best when delivering mature and steady storytelling, so I wish the showrunners can be more confident with what they do the best and limit unnecessary fan service. With the franchise's popularity still rising, we are only bound for more fan service in future seasons, but this is only a minor complaint. There are other possible criticisms one can level at Re:Zero. Some may find the show too sappy or "boring", and some top reviewers here clearly have their reasons to give it a bad to mediocre rating. I wouldn't call their reviews invalid, but on my book, I never expected an isekai to move me this much. And these issues are minor flaws in a gem for me. In the end, Re:Zero Season 2 Part 2 is a testament to what the writers and showrunners can do (especially Tappei Nagatsuki, with Vivy also under his belt, he's been killing at it in recent years). I dodged it in 2021 because of my tendency to shun the isekai genre, but I am more than willing to rewatch this season, maybe even the entire series so far, in order to put more hidden clues together. If you have struggled through (sometimes seemingly) proble…

Parts one and two of this season completely changed what the show is about, in such a sense that I can fully understand previous viewers deciding they no longer enjoy it. As for myself, I see this latest season as a climax of what I've slowly seen developing in the story from the beginning. Just as season one of Re:Zero lured us in with the concept of an interesting iisekai anime and subverted our expectations with unexpected emotional turmoil and tragedy, this season revealed the real long con: This is not, in any sense, a harem anime, nor is it an epic tale of adventure and triumph. This is a story about broken people who learn to love and rely on each other, and slowly, arduously learn to love themselves in the process. Seemingly, this season of the show hardly moved forward in the previous plot regarding the Royal Selection. For the most part, we just learned lore and backstories while supposedly gathering the forces for future efforts. But this season simply did not have a plot and conflict driven focus; instead, it was wholly character driven. Any conflict existed mostly to further a character's growth. Rem, who arguably had some of the most centralized character development in the previous episodes, has (albeit sadly) been set aside for a while, giving other characters their own turns in the spotlight. Even previously minor characters, like Otto and Petra, got the chance to have their own emotionally driven arcs in this chapter of the story. Newly introduced characters were striking and engaging in their personalities and struggles, and characters we already knew and loved showed an emotional depth that we previously were not privy to. [vague character arc spoilers to follow] While part one of the season was a shockingly astute study on Subaru and his struggle to care for himself as deeply as he cares for others, part two has set its sights on Emilia, whose thoughts and feelings have up until this point mostly been a mystery. As we spent this portion of the story learning about her insecurities and hopes and dreams, a character I frankly found fairly underwhelming previously has become one in whom I am the most invested. I've found myself rooting for her in much the same way Subaru does: with high hopes for what she could accomplish, and a compassion for the trials she must face to reach that point. [spoilers end] Again, such a character-driven story isn't for everyone, especially when it didn't start out as such. But I for one find myself more fulfilled than ever, and I am hopeful for what is to come. Cheers to the weirdest found family ever. Sometimes a family is just a normal dude, a naive young woman, an unlucky merchant, a rude girl with a comatose twin, two furries, some random kid from town, a 400 year old child, and a weird clown dad. With some old lady clones and a flying cat to boot.

This is my first review on an anime so I will try to keep it brief and just in case, THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW FROM BOTH SEASONS. First off, Re:zero was one of the first few anime's I started out with and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The first season was already pretty great and though I did find Subaru's actions (especially that huge embarrassment he went through at the capital) questionable and cringy at times it still didn't stop me from enjoying this series. With the first few episodes of season 2 we get to look more into Subaru's character and why he acts the way he does. It is also amazing to see how he comes to accept that he isn't the great hero he thought he would be at the start of the series so good job to the creator for doing this, since this isn't something that I see often, especially in the generic isekai shows. I really love how the story is progressing and it all feels like a huge build up to the epic arcs that are yet to come. The way that many of the characters are made is also just as great. We get to see what they went through and what kind of burdens they have been carrying their entire lives. And as we get to know them, we find out that the majority of them just wanted to be happy but unfortunately the world wasn't so kind. A few examples of these characters are Emilia, Garfield, and even Betelgeuse. They all had a tragic past of their own and sadly some of them couldn't be saved form that. Overall this show has been an amazing ride and I'm looking forward to more Re:zero. Score: 9.6/10

Part 2 is not really different than part 1. it's nice to see their journey again plus lots of new cute and cute characters. But in season 2 there are too many flashbacks and long dialogues so it makes you bored because of the time. But the ending is really perfect, unfortunately most of them talk at length.The graphics are getting better and cuter. The VA for Garfiel is a perfect match. The character traits per character are also good so it's nice to see. Season 2 explains more deeply the characters in season 1 such as their backgrounds and others. But unfortunately it makes wordy bored.The jokes are somewhat reduced from season 1, here are less and there is more talk between characters. But because the story is like that, it can't be blamed

The story of Re:Zero is definitely an intriguing one. The way that the anime keeps you wondering without being bored is honestly very impressive. There were very few episodes this season that left me feeling unsatisfied, and especially the last two episodes were very well drawn, well animated, and had an interesting plot. Because of the different stories all going on within Re:Zero, there are always questions that need to be answered. A lot of anime leave me feeling as if "So what?" about some storylines, but Re:zero has never done that. I have always felt that almost every storyline has left me feeling like it is important and that I would like to know more. The character development that follows Subaru is very slow developing and interesting to watch, and I can't wait to see what is in store for finding out more about Emilia's possible relation to Satella, why Subaru is in this world, why he has his power, and how it will end.

"Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack." I really wanted to love this. I really did. Re:Zero s2 part 2 was the anime i was most hyped for in 2021, and it turned out... exceedingly mediocre. Of course, i am partly to blame. You know what they say, higher expectations tend to lead to disappointment. Spoiler ahead If i were to describe this season in one sentence, it would be this. "They're trying to cramp and resolve too many things altogether in a 12 episode season, resulting in poorly realized scenes." Now, let's talk a bit about how the first part of season 2 went. For me, the first part was phenomenal. The mysteries surrounding the Sanctuary, the conflict and suffering you see Subaru go through, the inner workings of the Witch of Greed, and that reveal at the end were all so well done. The entire 1st part was set up so well with a clear goal in mind: To liberate the sanctuary and save the residents of the mansion, and in order to do that, Subaru needed to rely on his friends more instead of trying to shoulder everything alone. It was great! They had set up everything they needed for season 2 and then it just... flopped While part 1 was a series of sequential events with roadblocks that needed to be solved one by one, part 2 was a jumbled up box of plot convenience puzzle that forced every single piece to fit together because they needed it to. First of all, Subaru does not even play that big a part after solving the issues with Garfiel. Look, i get that Subaru can't do everything alone, and that why he needed help from his friends, but there's a difference between relying on their help and becoming almost pointless. In season 1, Subaru was the center piece for all the operations. Despite being weak, he was still absolutely crucial to the plot. Without him, Rem would never have found closure. Without him, Crush's team would've never been able to defeat the White Whale and he would've never been able to defeat Betelgeuse. How did such a witty, brave hero turn into... a motivational speaker? That's exactly what he is in the latter part of the season. A pep talk guy. That's it. He gave a pep talk to Garfiel, Emilia, and Beatrice, and they were the ones to do everything else, which by the way does not amount to much at all. Another problem that part 2 suffered through was the pacing of the show. Contrary to part 1, part 2 is more focused on character development, especially on Emilia and her trials since she was barely mentioned in the first part at all. To be honest, i am all for this and i even enjoyed learning all about Emilia's past. However, my problem with this is that it drags out way too long, and in turn eats up most of the entire runtime for other important scenes. Emilia's trials alone took up more than half of the entire part 2. I realize that her flashback to the past was necessary to her character development and plot progression, and had it ended there, a major part of part 2's issues would've been solved. From what i could tell, the second and third trials were completely unnecessary. The whole point of Emilia's character development was to show that she had come to accept her tragic past and is now able to leave it behind and move on with her life, which she managed to do in the FIRST trial. The second and third trial only served to highlight that fact and harden her resolve even further, and could easily be covered in less than half an episode, not more than an entire episode. Speaking of pacing, the arrangement of scenes in the show were atrocious. I don't know whether that was how the original LN showcased it, but jumping from a fight scene, to a flashback scene to another fight scene is just messing up the intended emotion of the show even more. Now, let's talk about the BIGGEST problem i had with part 2. The solution and closure. Unlike season 1 and season 2 part 1, it did not feel satisfying watching how part 2 solved the roadblocks and ended the show. As mentioned before, the pacing of Emilia's trials had already ruined most of the fight scenes in part 2. I'm not gonna lie. I really enjoyed watching the mansion fight and the Ram / Roswaal fight, but the endgame fight was seriously seriously bad. Not only was it set up really half- heartedly, but its resolution was sloppy at best. All in all, the fight scenes in part 2 feels like playing a puzzle. It honestly felt like the entire show was playing a rock paper scissors game: picking characters and placing them in their own respective fight scenes and that's it, a guaranteed win win situation. Unlike the previous seasons, there's no real strategy or stakes involved, and to be frank, it felt insulting. I did not feel ecstatic or satisfied when they won, it felt massively underwhelming with a "Wait.. that's it? It's over?" thought circulating in my head. That's probably all the issues i had with this season. I still enjoyed it but i felt like this could be done so much better than what was actually realized. The under-utilization of certain characters, the lack of involvement with Subaru, and the prolonged plot with Emilia made this a lot more dull and unsatisying than it needed to be, especially when the Great Rabbit, a demon beast that can multiply infinitely as long as there's one left, is wiped out in less than 10 minutes of runtime. It's ridiculous. I won't say i'm hyped for season 3 but if the current pacing is anything to go by in future seasons, then i'll just say this now. ' I'm gonna be majorly disappointed by how much Re Zero let me down'

It took a while to digest everything that is re:zero. This review contains my thoughts on all seasons of re:zero because it's impossible to talk about, critique and evaluate re:zero season 2 part 2 without considering how we got to this point. So get comfortable, relax and let's dissect this rollercoaster. I'll be dividing this review into the following sections: S1, S2, S2 pt2 , focusing on characters and the story. SPOILERS AHEAD. S1 _______________________________________ Subaru is a weak, emotionally unstable character who has taken the role as our protagonist. I found this to be a very interesting juxtaposition to other isekai wherein our lead characters are overwhelmingly stronger than 95% of the cast. Subaru as a weak protagonist, provides us viewers with a different perspective and expectations when viewing the series, especially given his power to return by death. The restriction that forbids Subaru from telling anyone about his powers is one of the best decisions the anime has made in the series. Given this premise, anyone can see the potential the series has to offer. It reminds me of a combination of deathnote and steins;gate. Using his ability Subaru can gain knowledge by repeating events and overcoming situations using his brain as a substitute to the strength that he lacks. The series could also take a darker route and focus on despair and grief. Does the series live up to its expectation? Sometimes. The series has evoked emotional reactions from me but it has also left me swinging my head in utter disappointment. That is to say the series is filled with ups and downs. The first arc with the bowl hunter is used to establish the nature of Subaru's powers. It takes a few deaths for our protagonist to realize his powers. This provides a few insights into Subaru’s characters. He is not a super genius; rather he is a normal character just like you and me. He also has a lot of guts ( both figuratively and literally). The first arc also introduces his love interest and makes him invested into this new fantasy world. Overall the arc is well done. Moving forward from the 2nd arc you can slowly start to see gaps forming in both writing and direction. Re: zero is a show about either outsmarting his opponents, or convincing people to take his side through compelling arguments and information that he has obtained through his failures and resets. At least that's what you would expect. In the 2nd arc Suburu learns there are two threats to his life: one from a curse, and one from within the mansion in the form of Rem. He handles the first threat well, learning where and how he was cursed. His opponent, Rem as the 2nd threat is not handled well. She doesn't listen to him, killing him quickly. Disregarding the fact that Subaru cant talk about his powers, he still sucks at explaining anything. There is no real information he learns that will persuade her to his side. We learn that Emilia is a candidate to the next ruler of the country. It explains why everyone at the mansion is suspicious of Subaru. Is he a spy, assassin or does he have a political agenda. Rem kills Subaru because he carries the stench of the witch, associating him with the witches cult, a fanatic organization responsible for the misfortune events that happened to Rem and her sister. So how does he overcome this ordeal. Facing an opponent that won't listen, won't side with him. He falls into despair, gets his head placed on his waifu’s laps, recovers and then we divert from the Rem problem by turning our attention to the curse problem, essentially bypassing Rem killing him. Rem who has previously never listened to Subaru, killed without hesitation, and proceeded to heal and turture Subaru to learn about his connection to the witch's cult, now listens to him completely as he mentions he reeks of the witches spell. He asks her to trust him and she does. This is the time to be the most suspicious! Is this a trap? Is he telling the truth? Yet all these possibilities are overlooked. Not to say there aren't good scenes but it's filled with holes and illogical choices. Subaru saves Rem's life, she falls in love, which is ok and even later results in a very emotional scene but it's rushed. Speeding things along, Subaru goes through a phase of constant death and failure. He breaks as a character and gives up. He is saved by Rem’s kindness and her love which fill Subaru with renewed energy and positive allowing him to succeed in breaking his despair and ending the final arc in a happy successful end. That is until the conclusion of the series we learn that Rem, the most important and pivotal character in S1, is erased from the minds of all but Subaru. There are many plot holes, not mentioned, that drag the series to the ground. However, overall it's watchable and entertaining. We are introduced to his power, tensions build, towards the climax he gets a full dish of despair, overcomes the despair ( developing him as a character) and we are victorious in the final battle. Villains are there for the sake of being villains, Subarus acts like a baby and an immature brat sometimes, but that can be overlooked (for now). S1 verdict - 7/10 S2 Part 1 _______________________________________ I expected season 2 to carry forward with the ruler selection process, Subarus focusing between political enemies ( between all the factions) as he supports Emillia and her ascend to the throne while also focusing on his goals to get Rem back and fight against the witches’ cult that that made everyone forget about her. Instead what we get is Subaru falling into the same despair trap as we saw in season 1, negating any character development presented in S1. Unlike the previous season, Subarus’s brutal deaths serve as a visualization of gore with no purpose besides a shock factor. They do not change him as a character nor do they propel the plot forward. In fact the entire plot of S2, comes from a tiny decision made in season 1. When the mansion was being attacked part of the villagers went to the capital and the other half went to the sanctuary. In season 2 we discover that the individuals who were taken to the sanctuary never came back. The entirety of season 2 revolves around fixing the sanctuary problem alongside another attack on the mansion. The royal selection and Rem’s situation is fully ignored. There are new concepts that I like such as the introduction of the witches and Subarus’s past. I especially enjoyed the witches personalities ( particularly the witch of greed and knowledge). The witches are represented as neither evil or good. They simply follow their own twisted ideologies, some of which I even agree with. Despite this, S2 is a regurgitation of S1 with worse characters, story and motives. It has no substance. The pacing also seems very slow for a minor sub-story such as this. The biggest problem lies this season's villain, and Subaru’s return by death powers. We learn towards the end of the season that the main villain who ordered the attacks on the mansion was Roswaal L Mathers, the owner of the mansion and Emilia’s biggest supporter in the royal selection. Not only that he knew about Subaru’s power to return by death. His entire motive is to make Subaru grow as a character by making him choose who to save. The people in the mansion or the people in the Sanctuary. This is Aizen all over again from Bleach, who apparently knew everything there is to know about Ichigo, predicted his entire life, set up all his fights just so he can see him grow as a character. This is the same situation between Subaru and Roswaal and it's one of the worst forms of character writing that exists. Let me explain why. Subaru’s power is one filled with randomness. He can't choose where to resort to and he also has no control over how far into the past he can go with his power. Basically we know nothing about it, except that he returns by death. Somehow Roswaal has apparently figured thi…

Part 1 was an intro to the world building of Re:Zero and it's characters. When Season 2 starts, it goes full steamed running, breathless and doesn't give time to the viewers to let it sink in. It's a hellishly beautiful first half season where the mysteries are finally revealed, the plot thickens, we find a world constructed upon world, and astral planes emerge. Subaru goes from "saving everyone" to "saving one" and goes to undo his lessons. Subaru is henceforth burdened by his new event phases, his undoing of his objectives and his psyche breaking are fine examples of why this show excells in psychological fantasy plots. Numerous sub plots delves all around, fantatic performance across the boards, except the animation (which I think WF will fix for bluray release) This Part 2 follows up on Subaru's life as he scrambles to fix things and carry his loved ones to a safe haven from the winter storm and the devious plans of Roswaal. It's a complete high octane emotion fueled ride which doesnt pull its punches and brings together our cast, all ever so lovable! We gonna see Otto, Echidna, Emilia and the other characters shine. We're in for a treat to the exciting advents of the world relations with Subaru. P.S. I'll gladly drink Echidna's tea anytime! Join me, my suffering comrades!!!

After all of the changes that S2P1 brought, I was sure that it'll be better to wait for the entire season to air out and then watch it all at once. I was not disappointed. I can understand some of the complaints about pacing, flashbacks and whatnot, but I do feel like a show that has "season 2 part 2" is entitled to be somewhat different from its first ever season. Hence the unusual pacing, dialogue issues here and there, and so on. And yet, I'm still amazed about how much was crammed into the entirety of season 2 to fit all of the Arc 4. I've heard that it was even more massive in the web novel form, but this is still amazing – with episodes being basically 30 minutes each, and having barely 4-5 openings and/or endings for the entirety of 20+ episodes was fitting, to say the least. I feel like part 2 of S2 was a bit more... light-hearted, i guess, with a few tentative jokes here and there. And yet, I can't say that the pacing was that much affected, either, since it was more or less set in stone that Arc 4 is going to take a looooong while to get over. At the same time, I do believe that it was necessary. The entire season does seem to take a much slower pace than the first one, and I loved every minute of it. The characters are finally talking, changing and developing, the music is amazing, and the story, as the cornerstone of it all, is still nothing short of breathtaking for me. And yet, I can't just miss the obvious – yes, compared with S1, the art is... inconsistent, at best. I'm not sure if it's the budget constraints or something else, but some of the shots do feel much more static and/or simplistic when they could've improved the feeling of the moment even more than just a few static images at a ceremony in the end. It's sad that it has to be done, but at the same time I have to commend White Fox for not giving the same static treatment to the battles – they're still few and far between, and still as bloody and fascinating as I remembered them from S1. To sum it all up – yes, there are some differences, and some people might not like that, but it is my opinion that the story is still capable of keeping you glued to the screen. And this feeling of fascination, of being able to completely disconnect from reality and being engrossed to the story of another world – this is what's most precious to me in anime.