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Much to my surprise, Re zero season 3 has managed to restore the series to a watchable state.

In my previous review of season 2, I’d said that Re: Zero has a dialogue problem. Tsubaru is an overly-embarrassing, unfunny, long winded character who openly says anachronistic things which should logically remain inside his head and is very conveniently stupid. Most of the other characters aren’t much better, being plagued with far too many anime-isms which only serve to mask the somewhat inconsistent characterization. The banter is mostly stilted quips that make you feel second-hand embarrassment. The author doesn’t have enough faith in ... his audience. The emotional scenes are far too frequent and saccharine for their own good. Attempts at subversion are hit or miss. The plot is often contrived. The second season felt notably dry, and it mostly came down to poor direction and limited animation.

From what I can tell for season 3, all of that remains present to some degree, however, the animation and direction are vastly improved. The direction is of particular note, because previous moments of dead-air are now punctuated by visual flourishes, or dialogue is timed in a way that helps to undercut a lot of the inherent awkwardness. More varied cinematography helps better convey tone, and compliments the theatrical/kitschy writing style. The visual comedy has also improved. The writing may be *slightly* funnier and less awkward, but I’m not sure if that’s down to the aforementioned improvements. There are also some character pairings which have more chemistry than previous seasons, which helps. To clarify, it’s obvious Tsubaru is meant to be a dorky fish out of water, as well as an emotional and brash work-in-progress, but he previously came off as poorly written even with that in mind. He now feels slightly more organically written. That positive is slightly undercut by the insistent tone, such as characters flatly pointing out his development, but Re:Zero has always been like that (note the previously mentioned lack of faith in the audience).

I imagine if you’ve gotten this far with the series and managed to make it through the previous season, you’ll probably be very content with what white fox has produced here. If you were hoping for the writing to improve dramatically, this is more of the same, but presented in a more palatable way. Personally I’m just happy to say I actually kind of enjoyed this and I will continue to watch for as long as the animation and direction meet this standard.

Full disclosure, I watched a lot of this on x2 speed so that might be lending a more positive sentiment. If you’re finding it to be a slough I might suggest you do the same, as the writing still tends to be verbose. And no, I have nothing against dense dialogue, I like Deadwood, the Wire, Aaron Sorkin, etc., but the script could clearly be tighter in places without losing any subtext or meaning.

edit: Shout out to the fanboy who went through laugh reacting every one of my reviews because he's so tilted that I find the writing to be a bit amateurish. I know this fanbase can be protective but let's try to keep it to the review.

While it's not immediately obvious, this is a love story. Though one-sided, when one develops a deep, aesthetic and spiritual appreciation for something, they can become enraptured as their jaded shell melts away. The object of affection in question is the natural order of our universe. A beauty that cannot be denied once witnessed.

Set in a 15th century fictional European country, a powerful religious order is wary of heretical ideas about astronomy, cosmology and so on. Much like real life, the church serves as a barrier against disorder and ideas which do not align with our egotistical desires and preconceived notions. ... However, people have a way of penetrating that barrier in pursuit intellectual satisfaction.

The show asks many questions. How much fear must we embrace and how much must we overcome? Do we turn to beauty and truth if it means accepting darkness? What is our literal and figurative place in the universe? The delicate interplay between intellect and desire, and how one informs the other, is displayed vibrantly, as is the natural clash of political order and emotional honesty.

As someone who has been yearning for more mature contemporary anime options, it's easy to want to sing this one's praises. However, I will try to inject a bit of objectivity. This isn't Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Dickens or Joyce. It's prone to being a little pretentious, one-note or melodramatic. But there is a gravity to its presentation that demands rumination, and some lines are delivered with such weight and conviction that you can't help but get caught in its orbit. The story is grounded and often poetic. There's even a dusting of humor (typically fueled by dramatic tension), that helps keep things from being too dour. The melodrama also works well with anime as a whole, and Madhouse is a great fit for this production.

hovering between a 9 and a 10.

Re:Zero has a dialogue problem, which is an issue for a series that's largely made up of planning, discussing and reflecting.

I wanted to like Re:Zero, I found that a lot of the major plot beats were fun, it leveraged its own premise effectively, and there was obviously a lot of consideration put into both the characters and the world they live in. By isekai standards, it's still one of the better shows, and it clearly aspires to greater things, which is probably why the rough character writing feels so notable.

Unfortunately, the way almost everyone speaks is stiff, overwrought, melodramatic, uncomfortable, inorganic and ... borderline alien. None of these characters feel like real people, which is, again, a problem for a series with themes that revolve around personal growth and becoming a well-adjusted, complete person.

A list of gripes in no particular order:

Most of the characters are very "anime". they all fit an archetype. It's clear the show aims to subvert your expectations for these archetypes but the moment to moment interactions remain grating throughout the entire show. Emelia, Rem and Ram, Elsa, Puck, Garfiel, Beatrice I suppose. Almost every character.

Tsubaru will at times say things that are awkward and nonsensical on multiple levels, such as speaking of a past life while saying something anachronistic, being far too familiar with characters, or saying a 10-20 word sentence that should have been 2-5. It often feels like internal dialogue that he just says out loud. At best this will get a brief acknowledgement, but often goes unnoticed. A normal response would be "what the **** is wrong with you". Half of his dialogue would be appropriately responded to with "what the **** is wrong with you". Many might say that this was intentional, and Tsubaru is just supposed to be very weird and immature. Unfortunately, a lot of other characters are also awkward, and as time goes on, its clear that everyone acting nonplused by Tsubarau, mixed with his continued awkwardness suggests this is just how the author writes.

Characters will make "jokes" that are not jokes, they're at best observations or canned phrases, other characters will laugh and act as though a joke was told, when there's practically nothing to laugh at. The banter is typically two characters saying canned phrases back and forth. Zero charm, lack of brevity, just overall uncomfortable to behold.

Everyone feels as though they're written by the same person. Ricardo, the beast man captain, is a great example of this. He's clearly meant to have an aggressive, overbearing personality. Good natured, but scary. He, at one point, while waiting to fight the white whale, says something to the effect of "Let's get going or when I get back my old lady will be old and gray". and then says "awww come on, that was my best joke" which then gets a laugh. That just sounds like something Tsubaru would say, it's also not funny. It's never funny. The funniest part of the show was noticing that Garfiel turns into a big orange cat.

The emotional scenes are extremely repetitive, and everything is overstated. There are some core nuggets to many conversations that are good, but they're often wrapped up in inane and unsubtle dialogue. The series clearly lacks confidence in its own ideas and in its audience. A better anime, decent novel or typical HBO show would convey the quailty of ideas at play here without really spelling out any of them through use of direction, metaphor, setting, plot, character details. By being so explicit, it ironically undermines itself. You're spoonfed character intentions and feelings, and then given several more spoonfuls after you're already full. If you look at shows like Sonny Boy, Odd Taxi or the Apothecary Diaries, it's like night and day. Even shows like To Your Eternity or Ranking of Kings, which can often wear their heart on their sleeve, feels leagues ahead of Re:Zero in terms of refinement and subtlety. Hell, I've been watching another isekai with my kid, it's called Amphibia, it's a kid's show about a girl that gets transported to a frog world. I think it might actually do a better job.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with occasionally making subtext into text, but Re:Zero does this so gratuitously, and with such saccharine or dramatic delivery, that it makes you feel almost nauseated.

Another major gripe is that, while sometimes characters act in line with their established personalities, other times it's very clear they do or don't do things to move the plot forward in a way that suits the author's intentions. Sometimes a character will do something odd just so they learn a lesson or have a nice character moment later. By trying to flesh out the characters this way, you actually undermine their integrity. Tsubaru especially very rarely asks the normal questions to ask at the appropriate time. His intellect also varies wildly based on convenience.

This mostly feels like a series written by a socially awkward individual who is going through a period of self-discovery, and is learning a lot of valuable life lessons, such as self-worth, humility, working smarter not harder, authenticity, people are not the picture in your head, etc. Unfortunately, that hasn't really improved their social aptitude, and as a result everything still feels like a parody of normal human interaction.

To sum it up: it's cringe

The animation is also mediocre this season, which definitely hurts the watchability.

I considered giving it a 7, but I was honestly just not enjoying myself by the end.

Animation and art: Extremely well done. Some absolutely gorgeous shots, with subtle character animations being used to really breath life into everything. I love when a lot of love is given to something that would be a few frames or an afterthought in another show, especially when used to help emphasize a character trait and build out the world a bit. A lot of lens flare, soft glow and other tricks to help elevate the atmosphere, but all used pretty tastefully and it mostly manages to compliment the gorgeous character animation. A lot of intentionality behind the shots. Making ... the school feel a bit rundown is also a very nice touch to give a sense of place and grounding to everything. It's poetic that a show about imperfect people with broken hearts would have an imperfect school. None of it is revolutionary or mind-blowing but there's a level of craftsmanship and care here that suggests a really strong animation crew giving it their best and a competent director at the helm who really knows their craft.

Plot and characters: the hook is nice, but the actual plot itself is mostly just a collection of short vingettes about each of the girls. What I really love are the little character details and the unique dynamics between the different characters. Everyone feels like a real person, or at least the anime equivalent of a real person. No character is completely two dimensional, and everyone acts as though they are considering things from multiple angles (aside from a couple of characters who are made to be a little more dense). This is amplified by small character moments that feel pretty organic amidst otherwise unremarkable dialogue scenes, which help elevate some scenes that would feel a bit mundane into something more.

One point of contention I've seen is that the MC is boring or just exists as a shoulder to cry on, etc. I think the MC is actually pretty strong. Unlike many other generic, awkward harem protags who feel like blank sheets of paper, this guy seems like a regular, awkward dude. He's a pretty considerate and insightful person, he's insecure, he has an arrogant streak, and he has aspirations he doesn't even want to admit to himself. He isn't overly boring, he isn't overly weird, he's just insecure and he's trying to break out of his insecurity and denial a little bit at a time, that's his arc. Again, he feels like a "real" person by anime standards (esp. harem anime), and I appreciate the show letting him develop without needing to instantly build romantic tension. I also think his relationship with blue-hair is very cute and well done.

I will say I don't love the the fan-service shots that just feel completely unnecessary and gratuitous. I'm not wholely against fan-service, and I know that most of it is pretty tame if we put this in the harem genre, but it feels like it just cheapens some pretty strong material and really takes me out of it. I'd prefer a show with this level of craft to be more accessible to people outside of the hardcore weeb and degen camps.

Like many others, I am extremely disappointed by the change of animation. The first season's visual style is what absolutely sold the world and the characters. It looked fantastical, with thick, varying line work, round character designs, and an almost matted looking color palette. The backgrounds were nice, and everything felt like it had a good sense of place. It all just perfectly suited this series.

With this season, I'd say that style was even more important to create a sense of cohesion, as the plot has grown more disparate, with new characters being introduced, plot threads splintering off, and ... a far less overal focus. I get that we are clearly setting the story up for something greater, but honestly I might as well just read the webcomic at this point, as it feels like they just traced the art of the webcomic (which is not particularly good at this stage). I'd say that the art is actually even more boring than the comic, with way too many static shots of characters standing around, talking, with no interesting framing or attempt at direction. The pacing is also glacial, which is bizarre to me, given how much source material there is to work from.

The plot continues with the themes of brutal pragmatism and ultilitarianism, where sincere feelings and desires are tread upon by those that would exploit such vulnerability (capitalists, criminals, oportunists, radicals). It's starting to feel kind of pseudo-mature and performative, but I don't want to dismiss it because the struggle these characters go through feels like something the author earnestly cares about and wants to explore, rather than being some pandering grabage like we see in dozens of isekai. A few of the new characters are likeable, but a lot of them are fairly boring. Some of the humor does land, which is nice. Some of the plot beats also evoke an emotional response, or are at least mildly interesting.

One pet peeve I have is the typical fantasy manhwa thing where they introduce contemporary cultural elements such as clothes, smart phones, etc. that always just feel a bit out of place. The previous art style really helped to make that feel less jarring, but this season it comes across way more obtrusively.

I do like Tower of God, and I love that it really feels like the author wanted to flesh out all their different little creative ideas and interests and put them into this sprawling fantasy world. There's something very playful about it, like we're really seeing the inside of the author's mind, a place where they clearly spend a lot of their time. There's a sense of growth too, they don't want to be stagnant, they want to build something and push themselves. I respect those vibes, and I want to support that kind of expression.

Reminiscent of other frantic and chaotic anime in the vein of Nichijou, School Rumble, Excel Saga, or Cromartie High, Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan has a promising start, and leaves you hopeful that another cult classic has been born.

Unfortunately, as the show wears on, we are left feeling empty as it sucks the energy out of its own thin premise. While a constant, breakneck pace can work well, here it turns into an almost constant droning, where the episodes feel like they go on forever, and the show has thrown every poorly concieved bit at the wall to see what sticks. Many bits are ... also drawn out or go on for too long (which often doesn't work even when that's part of the joke). The humor also feels dated, with many of the jokes having been done similarly, and better, elsewhere. Reference humor, exaggeration, absurdism, self-awareness of said absurdism, incidental humiliation, pretty much everything you would expect from a show like this. The characters themselves also feel like makeshift comedy staples, with very little thought or creativity put into their construction outside of their one or two unique quirks that are played out from the moment a character shows up on screen. They lack a depth of character to really build out interesting gags or clever interplay, with nokotan in particular just existing as a vehicle for whatever wacky thought pops into the author's heads. That's not an inherent problem, but the raw hijinks just aren't well constructed enough to keep the show from feeling flat and even a bit desperate.

The strongest parts of the show are when the animators go all in on the visuals of a gag, and for a moment you get a glimpse of a genuine creative spark. Even the somewhat awkward looking cgi deer are used to enhance the comedy, which may be one of the more clever implemenetations of CGI I have seen. That said, even the visual gags are at times let down by the often subpar animation, which is frequently static or amateurish.

I really wanted to love this show, but it ends up feeling like wasted potential. That being said, if you are starved for a wacky comedy, there are a some genuinely funny moments that will likely satisfy that craving.

This show is painfully generic, to the point where it feels like a project designed purely for an animation house to flex its muscles, without any thought given to substance. The characters are boring, the plot is boring, it's just Mashle mixed with Black Clover, played 100% straight. There are occasional moments where the plot shows a few signs of life, but it's almost instantly buried under a mountain of insipid dialogue. I really cannot imagine why more thought was not given to how to make this show interesting, given how much love and care clearly went into the animation, which brings ... me to the basis of my tenuous recommendation-

The animation is truly gorgeous, to the point where I would recommend anyone watch the first 3 or so episodes purely for the animation if they care even a little bit about that kind of thing. The animation quality dips very hard at episode 4 anyway, with a modest return to form in 5.

The cat is also very cute. I will probably finish this show based on the animation alone, which is impressive given that I'm usually a story and character first kind of guy. I'm mostly just sad that so much love and care didn't get poured into better material.

There are three aspects of this show that I want highlight as what I feel make it somewhat special-

1.) The visual presentation. The animation looks pretty good, and while not entirely consistent across the board (including a few rough CGI sequences), there are some breathtaking scenes with some excellent key framing and striking visuals. What's more, the visual style of this show is gorgeous, with bold lines, and a vibrant, unique color palette, employing bright colors mixed with more muted tones that remind me of hand drawn cel animation. This is particularly noticeable in the intro, which I love. The ... cinematography and direction also have standout moments. The show has both a great sense of style as well as a great sense of humor, and this comes across in its visuals. Speaking of-

2.) the sense of humor is pretty decent. It does take some getting used to, particularly from the fourth wall breaking priest who can see into the future. There is a particular brand of freneticism to it that evokes shonen anime from the 80s and 90s, but the visual gags are often elevated in a way that puts a smile on your face, even if you're not outright belly laughing. This also achieves an interesting effect when sharply contrasted against darker moments, which brings me to my final and probably most controversial point

3.) the tone. The tone is a dual one. On one hand you have a typical shonen adventure with a wacky cast of youngsters: the capricious yet sincere prince, the serene shrine maiden, the mischevious ninja, the quirky mentor, the silly and menacing villains, etc. Typical themes of togetherness, loyalty, finding oneself, they're all here.
Yet the show can also be soberingly brutal, which is apt for the setting of a historical drama, just as its more playful aspects lend themselves well to the clearly embelished and magical elements of the story. While I wouldn't be praising this quality if it felt edgy, melodramatic or expoitative, in execution the contrast feels very appropriate, and it is in this contrast that some of the show's themes diverge from the usual shonen fare. Leveraging your deviancy, the use of asymetrical stratagems, the tenebrous honor of subterfuge, overcoming suvivor's guilt by rising to the occasion.

The show embracing its contradictions, instead of tip-toeing around them, keeps you invested in what's happening, and elevates the unique qualities of each character. It also helps reconcile the two opposing thematic aspects of the plot: a coming of age story about bright eyed youths, and a bloody, merciless succession battle. The characters are authentically touched by the darkness of this world, but it never becomes the focal point. It is through this feeling that I think the ultimate theme of the show is on display, just as our lead grows metaphorical wings to escape the miasma of death and destruction below him, he also soars above its dark influence to protect his heart so that he might remain the kind and sincere man his country needs.

I could see some people being put off by the somewhat jarring tone, and others questioning who this show is even for. I think I respect it for that, and appreciate what feels like a director's unique vision. I would almost describe watching this as what I imagine children's stories were like generations ago, where parents regale kids with semi-historical tales full of blunt tragedy but also mirth and fantasy.

***contains spoilers***

This series is straight-up offensively bad. Normally I wouldn't care and just move on with my life, but from the high ratings, the comparisons to much better series (such as To Your Eternity), and the constant front-page status on various manga sites, I just want to say: shame on the manga/manhwa/webtoon reading community.

As others have mentioned, this goes beyond basic wish fulfillment. It manages to be a masturbatory, fetishistic parody of something that was already indulgent to begin with.


Characters 1/10: There is only one character that 'matters', that being Sung Jin Woo. Every single other character is window-dressing meant to ... frame SJW in the best light possible, either by being in awe of him or being comically evil/arrogant in order to justify his psychopathic behavior.

Manhwa, I have noticed, seems to struggle with restraint. They are not content with merely having the main character stand out, that character must dominate every single aspect of life, and effortlessly rub it in the faces of every other male character. From women to money, to strength, to appearance, to fame, to rare valuables, to potential, and even regarding more intangible ideas like being the most mysterious, or being the most aloof and cool-headed. They are at once designed to be the superficially indulgent male suitor in a harlequin romance novel and OP protagonist of a Wuxia novel.

What's more, the edgy nature of these MCs goes beyond simple brooding to appeal to the typical hoodie weeb, it is also *heavily* sexualized. Dangerous yet loyal, charming yet curt, socially domineering yet understated, casually psychopathic yet protective, sly yet straightforward, and somewhere between arrogant and confident. These traits have heavily psychosexual implications and are nauseating to read when played straight because they are clearly not designed to create consistent characterization or an interesting person, they are meant to walk the razor-thin edge of "f*ckably dangerous". This is all very directly reflected in how unobtainable women submit to the overwhelming raw sexual energy of the MC despite *minimal* interactions, with this series even going so far as to bring smell into it. Idk if this is meant to appeal to readers who are potentially attracted to the MC or simply be another layer for readers to project themselves onto, but either way it's insufferable even by power fantasy standards when the main character is OP Christian Grey.

As a result of the above, there is absolutely nothing to humanize Sung Jin Woo. There is no room to create depth when any flaws or complexities must be spent building a carefully crafted dark-triad fantasy archetype. The superficial struggles the story presents (emotional or literal) only serves to highlight how poorly fleshed out our MC actually is. Any inner turmoil or kind act depicted is lip-service meant to pull SJW's character back from literal monster to Sigma Chad. Any mistake he makes or reckless action he takes is merely designed to build tension, as he never loses anything or faces real consequences. You can't even root for him from the perspective of zero to hero because after his reawakening he becomes literally and figuratively unrecognizable as the same character. The plot will also bend over backward to justify SJW's irresponsible actions via information he couldn't have possibly known, leaving people to die simply because of some convoluted logic he came up with at the moment. This is often done in service of preserving SJW's mystery and the "big reveal" where SJW whips out his huuuuge powers to the shock and awe of all the characters. Plot contrivances are also worked in to justify SJW's edgier moments

Speaking of kind acts, with the notable exception of saving a wealthy D ranker, most heroics result in SJW garnering the affection of women, with men in the story being treated like cannon fodder. The only people treated worse than men are non-Koreans. This story manages to surpass even Baki in its xenophobia, which is a bit funny considering SK is rarely even mentioned in other types of comics. One-sided media rivalries like this reek of an inferiority complex, which is perfect for the target demo of this series, I guess.

The foulest example I can think of to summarize many of these complaints is during the Jeju island arc, where the MC decides to hold off from helping to wipe out the poorly ripped-off chimera ants thanks to weak plot contrivances, only to have a bunch of Japanese people die horribly. It's okay though, because their boss was *evil* anyway, so SJW only shows up at the last second to save all the Koreans and unnecessarily proceeds to make sure he proves himself stronger than his opponent in every single aspect of combat before obliterating it (instead of doing the safer thing and bringing out his shadows from the beginning). Then, another male character who he previously snubbed makes a request of him, which he only acquiesces to after a bit of posturing because the other male character was respectful to SJW this time.

I will give a nod to SJW's shadows, which will often have genuinely cute moments that are elevated by the art.

Finally, our MC's motivations are not clear, which brings me to the plot.

Plot 2/10: There is obviously a broader plot being alluded to. with the gates obviously being manipulated by some interdimensional godlike figure who is forcing all of these battles to happen (gives off some Gantz vibes), but SJW seems cooly detached from it, only vaguely pursuing the goal of obtaining strength or overcoming some obstacle that is directly in front of him, from saving his mom, to saving his friend, to avoiding detection, to making some money, to starting a guild, to overcoming whatever task the system gives him. Each arc usually culminates in some tensionless boss fight.

The first chapters are boring, the first dungeon is moderately engaging, the rest of the story is terrible and feels like a mindless hack and slash video game with occasional creative flourishes. MC's shadow powers are kinda neat but are largely meaningless when it's obvious he will prevail every time regardless of his power set. There are occasionally developments, characters, and plot threads that seem interesting but go nowhere. The fact that SJW is the only character who can "grow" and has unlimited potential deflates any sense of tension or rivalry. The story has massive, gaping plot-holes all over the place, but will spend exorbitant amounts of time on trivial details or explaining an item/world/system mechanic, which all lack any sense of weight because they feel arbitrarily manufactured and poorly integrated into any other aspect of the story or the world in which these characters exist. Everything feels hollow, partially because of how flimsy the world-building is, and partially because it feels like the story exists inside a Korean fashion magazine with a coat of fantasy paint on top of it (sometimes the paint is even invisible since SJW can make his armor disappear so as not to diminish from his cool-guy persona). There is zero subtlety in the foreshadowing, and most of it revolves around random system mechanics that are used for plot convenience.

You can tell pretty early on that every organization, character, etc. introduced largely exists just to JO the main character, his own special powers being the only thing that really matters (something CONSTANTLY reinforced by the author)

Most of all, I'm just insulted by how much this series wastes your time. It will spend many chapters building up and introducing characters and plot elements, just to drop them or burn through them in one chapter for a single badass moment for SJW.

Art: 9/10

The art is good. In the beginning, the anatomy is rough, but it cleans up over time and goes from feeling like a talented amateur to Korean Joe Madureira. Where it shines is the use of color and many graphic elements. Some panels are truly beautiful to look at, with flame effects, shadow effects, laser eyes, etc. They're all very well done and extremely polished. The panoramic shots in general tend to be exceptionally done.

It even manages to utilize the single panel format better than a lot of others, with some creativity in panel placement.
Enjoyment 2/10

Art is the one major redeeming quality. The shadows can be cute.

Overall 2/10

If you want to read a Manhwa that is very similar to this, but I would say is worth reading through, Skeleton Soldier Couldn't Protect the Dungeon manages to work in a lot of the same elements, but in a much more satisfying and carefully crafted way, with characters that have genuine depth. It absolutely has some weirdly dissonant moments that seem to be common in Manhwa, but it improves on this general "edgy OP MC" formula in every way possible.

Otherwise, if you're just looking for a power fantasy fix, read something written by a competent author like Overlord or Mushoku Tensei.