Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World is based upon the light novels. The second season is 25 episodes long. This is an isekai anime where Subaru was transported into another world. He remains as weak as he was before and the only power that he gains is what when he dies, he travels back to a “save point” of sorts. This save point isn’t by his choosing and it could advance when he doesn’t want it to, thus there is still a high degree of risk. This season starts straight after the previous season where after defeating the White Whale, Emilia is confused and questions Subaru when he mentioned Rem. Emily does not remember such a person and this is a confusing element given that the White Whale was definitely killed.
As it was, the pair ends up having to go to the Sanctuary in order to solve this problem. Along the way, there is a curveball thrown as Subaru as he meets a very important person. This meeting twists the plot into a weird and confusing thing. Similar to the first season, it can feel like there is not enough explanation or exposition such that the sequence of events can be harder to understanding. Character motivations often change or even not be quite of what they are, and this is on purpose. A common theme is that you don’t know whether any of the characters are friends or foes. Even fan favorite characters who has been there from the very beginning will act suspiciously.
Subaru’s signature ability of returning via death can make the structure of the arc feel too repetitive and expected. The arc still requires him to face against impossible odds, not knowing what is happening and having to die again and again to find out. You are hoping that the anime can subvert your expectations in some way. Bear through it and it will fulfil its promise because the anime even acknowledges how Subaru has been doing things the same way. By sacrificing himself and hoping to save others through his loops, there are certain parts where it becomes clear on what is happening and the characters’ true motivations shine through.
As a result, the season and the show as a whole, is a slow burn. However, it is satisfying when things shown this season reveals the motivations of characters in the first season. It shines a light on why they acted that way and it makes previous events make a bit more sense. Knowing this, even though you are probably confused now, you have confidence or at least the expectation, that it will make sense in future seasons even if it is not resolved by this season. It is an interesting dynamic and approach to storytelling that a lot of anime don’t even attempt to do.
With all that said, it still sucks for Subaru who must go through the same deaths, and the same feeling of despair in each cycle. Complicating matters is that each cycle has significant differences and consequences than the previous ones. Subaru does something even slightly different, and the paths and outcomes drastically diverge from before. This adds to the feeling that the viewer is on a journey with Subaru together. Viewers experience the same gap in understanding as he does in struggling to piece together the correct path to take.
The first half of the season felt like it went at a faster pace given that the loops were frequent and so many new things kept happening with each loop. The second half is where Subaru and Emily get a hold of themselves, with the final loop being covered in a lot more detail. A ton of characters get development via flashbacks as we see how they ended up the way that they are no. And then of course, Subaru’s final plans to pass through the obstacles of this loop and achieve the happy ending that he wants. This is the part where there are actually a fair few payoffs from events throughout the past two seasons.
The last few episodes are very strong, since the whole season was building up until this point. As we know the motivations of most of the relevant characters, it allows us to emphasize with their actions and their fates. We understand what they are fighting for and combined with the usage of the soundtrack, it can lead to several emotionally heightened moments. Perhaps it is these scenes where it hits the high emotional notes that makes the series so addicting, even if there is a lot of downtime. A particularly good point was early on in the season where it looks into Subaru’s past. A lot of isekai anime just outright ignores the impact of when the protagonist leaves their own world, but we get to see Subaru’s regrets and feelings on the matter, which can be quite powerful.
And lastly, this anime is nowhere near all sunshine and roses. It doesn’t shy away from all the bloodshed and horrible things that happen, particularly the deaths that Subaru is forced to witness, and then endure himself. This isn’t to the point of the anime embracing gore, but there are uncomfortable scenes in the hopes of surprising and repulsing the viewer. This isn’t anything new to the series though, and it is somewhat expected especially if you have watched the first season.
Overall, the second season of Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World is a great continuation. The first season was already decent, despite the number of gaps in understanding, but the second season fills out so many of those gaps. It’s not like it is retconning things either, as it is clearly planned and as such, it is satisfying. The amount of character development that occurs this season is crazy, especially at the end of it and you’re looking back. One of the highlights of the season is definitely finding out more about the witches, but it’s also the fact that we can now finally understand the motivations of a lot of the more prominent characters.
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