English Dub Review: Re: ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ ”The Permafrost of Elior Forest“

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Pandora reassures the young Emilia that Mother Fortuna and Petelgeuse are safe. The Witch of Vanity manipulates the young Emilia into opening the door as the key appears in the child’s hand. The young Emilia has to make a choice between opening the door or keeping her promise to her mother. The young Emilia decides to keep her promise to her mother and not open the door. Mother Fortuna arrives and then Petelgeuse coordinates their attacks to hit Pandora. Pandora’s magic creates the illusion that Petelgeuse’s unseen hand attacked her, but when in reality his power kills Mother Fortuna.

Petelgeuse goes mad with grief as Mother Fortuna says her last words. Emila unleashes her magic towards Pandora who messes with her memories as Emilia freezes the forest. Emilia’s trial ends after Echidna and Emilia talk about her answer to the trial. Meanwhile, Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel meet with Roswaal to talk about the deviation from what the book tells Roswaal. It’s thanks to Otto who got Subaru to tell him about his problems. Subaru asks for Roswaal’s surrender and mentions the true purpose of the Sanctuary.

Our Take:

This week’s episode concludes Emilia’s first trial and the events of Elior forest. It ends on Subaru with the others on the purpose of the Sanctuary. The pacing for Emilia’s trial was good. Mother Fortuna coming in before Pandora could make good on her threat to Emilia was exciting. It later leads to her coordinated attack with Petelgeuse which ends in failure.

Pandora’s attempt to get Emilia to open the door also leaves a hint about her mother’s identity. Pandora calls Emilia the witch’s daughter. Mother Fortuna confirms that Emilia gets her appearance from her mother before angrily trying to kill Pandora. Mother Fortuna’s death and her parting words to Emilia were sweet. Emilia putting on Mother Fortuna’s hairclip was a nice touch too. Emilia’s repetitive shouts for Pandora to die were good at demonstrating her abilities as a powerful ice user and her grief. Pandora’s comment also foreshadows Puck’s arrival to Elior forest with a nod to Frozen Bond.

Then there’s Echidna and Emilia’s conversation after her trial. Emilia accepts her past and moves forward to finding out a way to unfreeze everyone. She tells Echidna that she’ll apologize with the hope they’ll forgive her. Their conversation drops a bit of information for Emilia with Echidna mentioning that there are more trials. It was a good closure to the trial and it keeps up with Echidna’s disdain for Emilia.

Petelgeuse’s descent into madness after killing Mother Fortuna was great. It was painful to watch, but Mother Fortuna’s attacks on Pandora gave a hint to her authority before Petelgeuse’s arrival. The scene worked well to set up for Mother’s Fortuna’s death by Petelgeuse’s hands. His voice actor did a great job at making his disbelief turn into agony. His laugh at the end as he leaves with Pandora while Emilia freezes the forest was chilling.

Otto is an unknown variable to Roswaal’s plans from the book. His influence in this loop may appear to be minuscule, but it starts making waves by helping to get Garfiel on board. Admittedly I am curious about how Otto will help out the disasters of the mansion and the rabbit. Roswaal asking for Otto’s name and comments and how he won’t overlook him is concerning. The clown face doesn’t do things halfway especially when his clown appearance is essentially him preparing for a fight. However, for now, he’s a witness to Subaru and Roswaal’s conversation.

Overall the episode was good at dropping important details for the audience to pick up on. I look forward to the history of the Sanctuary with Roswaal and Subaru’s conversation.