English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ “The Sound That Makes You Want to Cry”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The episode opens up with Subaru rejecting both Echidna and Satella saying that he’ll figure everything out on his own. When it’s clear he’s reached his breaking point Subaru opts to commit suicide which Minerva tries to stop but Sekhmet and Typhon stop her. In his dying moments, he hears the voices of the people who care about him and Minerva’s when she headbutts him to heal. After coming to the realization that the people around him care about him and that he should try to rely less on his ability.  Subaru then rejects Echidna’s hand because it would include sacrifices that he doesn’t want to take.

After that, he wakes up outside of the graveyard thanks to Otto and Patrasche. Then he goes to Roswaal who reveals that he sent the assassins to the mansion in order to solidify Subaru’s resolve and he refused to call it off even after being told Subaru lost his qualification to enter. Subaru leaves sickened and feeling hopeless about the situation ends up in the forest. Otto finds him and after telling him to take a deep breath the merchant punches him and tells Subaru to drop the tough guy act.

Our Take:

Subaru and his tendency to try and save everyone by himself is an issue that Re:Zero brings up at the tea party. If he tries to rely on someone it has the potential to backfire as it did with Rem. Except that doesn’t mean that every time he does it will happen like that.

It’s hard not to empathize with Subaru because we’ve seen him go through so much by dying, and at the same time the witches twisted sense of reason ironically makes sense if you look at Subaru from their perspective. To most of the witches, he’s a crying kid unable to see what he really has besides his ability, the people who care about him. However his ability didn’t come with a manual, and Subaru had to figure it out on his own and consider it to be the only option he had after seeing the corpses of his friends several times. Despite their twisted sense of reason most of the witches help Subaru figure out in his dying moments that he doesn’t really want to die and that he has people that care about him in this world to rely on. Their approach is definitely unorthodox, but worth it since they finally get those truths into Subaru’s skull. Subaru thanks them for it despite not understanding their reasons for all of it.

Then there’s Echidna who didn’t help at all during that realization. She still offers her hand, but Subaru, sticking to his word can’t accept it. However, Echidna and her hint about Garfiel is a good hint for Subaru to use later since he’s lost his qualification after rejecting her. It is also interesting to note that her back is to Subaru when the mental space collapses in contrast with the other witches who are facing him. Speaking of the other witches, Sekhmet is one strong witch if she can just flatten Minerva like that. Additionally, Satella and her last words to Subaru on wanting him to take her life leads to more questions on Satella and her intentions.

Subaru realizing that he has friends that truly care for him changes how he sees Otto and Patrasche who dragged him out of the ruins. That scene was good at showing how dense Subaru is to the meaning behind Patrasche’s actions. Subaru calling Otto his friend was touching considering how the Otto scene from one of the earlier episodes where it was the other way around. It was also useful in revealing that Subaru’s lost the qualification by him vomiting at the entrance.

Then there’s the Subaru and conversation with Roswaal again. However, it comes with the unexpected twist that it was Roswaal who hired the assassins to go to the mansion in order to force Subaru to pick in between going to the mansion and Emilia. His refusal to call off the hit and his insanity is chilling as he gives Subaru no chance to negotiate. Subaru’s determination not to end up like Roswaal and not lose his humanity is a moving scene as the camera distorts his view as he slowly goes backward and closes the door on Roswaal.

Lastly, there’s Otto who tells him in his miserable state after his talk with Roswaal to stop acting tough and rely on people. It’s deja vu if you recall the Otto scene from one of the earlier episodes, but it’s more impactful since Otto punches him. The repetition of how that punch was taken was absolutely hilarious.

Re:Zero does a great job in keeping people hooked with those cliffhangers, and personally, I’m hoping in the second part of the season Subaru will actively rely on his friends more. This was a great episode filled with great animations and shocking revelations. White Fox really knows how to grip the audience with their work. Personally, I can’t wait for the second part of the season to come, because now with the knowledge that he has people that care about him in this strange world Subaru can hopefully place his trust in them to help him with these dangerous situations.