Back to ClassyClavicle's Profile ClassyClavicle's Profile

20 Episodes. It takes 20 episodes for this anime to change from being a cringe-inducing, absolutely unwatchable mess of a person making every possible worst choice, into a half-decent story where the main character actually grows and learns. It was only after watching the show turn around after the 20th episode did I realize how much an anime relies on writing a well-developed main character, at a good pace that hooks the watcher. Re: Zero should be a case study in how not to pace an anime. The only reason I continued watching, is due to the cult-like following of this anime I have seen ... online, from those whom are absolutely death-gripping the notion that this is the best anime of all time. It most certainly is not.

Re: Zero toys with the ideas of deep and dark topics, but only when it deems convenient to do so. Subaru repeatedly shows instances of a "broken psyche" only to immediately follow that up a few scenes later with the most cringe-inducing "join my attempt at a harem" speech you've ever seen. As described in the intro, this continues for 19 episodes until the 20th which is finally a trauma dump that results in some self reflection, and the first bit of character growth seen since the start of the show. This whole pacing is made even more revolting upon realizing that certain streaming sites are featuring the shortened version of the series, which combines two episodes at a time into one, fifty minute, foot-dragging, absolute disaster of a pace, episode.

The Redemption: Beginning with episode 20 and carrying onward, the viewer is now privy to the character development that should've slowly been taking place throughout the show, all in one fell swoop. Natsuki Subaru becomes a thoughtful, reflective, and self-aware person, who takes his lessons and learns them, rather than literally defining insanity by trying the same hairbrained cringe methods over and over again. It is at this point that the viewer begin to see all the lessons Subaru learned from the first 20 episodes, and the show becomes an instant "play next episode" anime, like countless other favorites.

In terms of art, this anime is just fine. They make some intriguing art choices now and again, but it holds up, and looks just fine. In terms of cinematography, the show does quite often use "talking heads" which can feel a bit unnatural, but most things are framed well. In terms of writing: Fire whoever decided that 4/5 of the show would be spent inducing physical cringe in the viewers, leaving only masochists and those with morbid curiosity to continue watching in hopes for a complete 180 in the pace and development of the show.

As previously mentioned, the show toys with deep and dark topics, and yet manages to completely disrespect them with the use of Subaru being an absolute dunce, moments after experiencing such topics. Also, as someone who is anime only for this particular series, I could not for the life of me, tell you what the plot is supposed to be. As of the conclusion of S1, it has been: Guy gets placed in another world, falls in love with a girl, bad guys want him but also her, and he's about the dumbest guy you could ever meet so bear with us while he figure out how not to be an idiot. Essentially, the show parades (and is paraded by viewers) as some in-depth thought-provoking masterpiece look at the human psyche in a recurringly traumatic environment, when instead it is a brute force attempt to point at [inset dark topic] and say "see how messed up this is?" It doesn't trust its viewers to see and understand subplot, which is reasonable considering how many times the show intentionally subverts its own subplot by having the main character destroy the entire environment that the scene was made to create. Until, of course, episode 20 and beyond, in which the viewers see actual redemption and progress.