English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ “A Step Forward”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Subaru and Echidna talk about his experience in his trial. After that, she tells him he passed the trial and the world starts to fade into white. Subaru wakes back up in the ruins and retrieves a sobbing Emilia from the ruins. After getting Emilia to sleep, the group discusses Otto’s idea when the representative for the mixed-bloods, Ryuzu Bilma shoots down the idea since they could die. Emilia does another try at the trial and comes out crying once more.

Later Roswaal and Subaru talk as partners in crime and Subaru asks him why he didn’t tell Emilia about the Witch Cult and why he had so much faith in him to resolve the conflicts with the Witch’s Cult. Subaru is unsatisfied with the answers he got. Now with Emilia inside taking the trials, Garfiel agrees to let the villagers out. Subaru tags along to head back to the mansion for a bit. Upon reaching the mansion he’s met with complete silence worried he rushes to check Rem only to be reunited with a familiar face, Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter who proceeds to kill him.

 

Our Take:

Subaru and Echidna’s conversation on his experience in the fabricated world she created as his trial to overcome his past was a good test to see if that affected his resolve. Echidna tells him that his parents were only an illusion constructed from his memories and she questions him on whether or not that reassurance gained from those conversations was just wishful thinking on his part. The eerie music that plays in the background and how Echidna questions Subaru like she’s whispering a secret into his ear was an effective display on how she can stir up trouble since it is her nature as a witch. However Subaru tells her not to insult his parents like that, and that he’s said all that he needed to them. Furthermore, their responses aren’t what he expected them to say either and he refuses to let her cloud that. It goes to show how much he believes in them. Then Echidna says that he passed the first trial and that there’s two more for him to complete with the world fading around them. Instead of punching her for creating fake parents, Subaru thanks Echidna for the opportunity for him to speak to his parents even if they were an illusion much to her surprise. It scares her that she can’t comprehend him which he’s flattered by the turnaround. He notes that she’s expecting him to complete it, and when he says that it won’t be him completing the task, but another.

When Subaru wakes up in the ruins he hears Emilia crying, and when she wakes up her teeth chatter and her eyes move wildly as if to check her surroundings. Emilia’s voice actor, Kayli Mills did a good job of conveying Emilia’s fear in this scene. Now from Emilia’s words, one can infer that it has something to do with her appearance and that some people were looking at her in a distasteful manner that the illusion scared Emilia. That moment when she reaches out to Subaru after waking up back in the village showing that she relies on him even subconsciously for support is lovely. However, I hope she tells him what happened in her trial and that she can complete the trial because it’d be a good step in confronting that fear with the bonus that she doesn’t rely on Subaru to the point where he does the trial for her. If he did do that alone then it’d throw what her actions in the third episode down the drain, and her character development would fall as a result.

Similarly, there’s Roswaal’s conversation with Subaru as Ram oversees it. Subaru’s questions are completely justified by Roswaal’s actions so far. His lack of interference and not telling Emilia about the Witch Cult, a dangerous cult group that targets her because of her appearance is very suspicious. Why doesn’t Roswaal want to fight the Witch Cult? Is it because Beatrice knew the Sin Archbishop of Sloth? Or does Roswaal know them personally and how does he know them? Furthermore, it’s definitely suspicious how Roswaal just left such grave matters to Subaru and Emilia like that. Sure it helped Emilia with the villagers in hindsight, but that was very risky of him to do that. It’s clear that Roswaal is confident that Subaru will do anything for Emilia and his meager abilities, but does he have confirmation that Subaru will just succeed somehow? Perhaps through the magic of precognition? The sinister music with Subaru’s outburst of questions was worth in setting the mood of the devious conversation.

There’s also Garfiel’s short conversation with Subaru on the way out of the Sanctuary on the trials and overcoming the past. He presents a good argument against the need for Emilia to go through the trial seeing how the trial is emotionally taking its toll on her. There’s the fact that he knows Subaru has gone through the trial. However, as I’ve said before it’d be a waste for Subaru to just do the trial alone, but if they take the trial together and get through it then it’s a win-win.

In the end, the village and mansion are dyed in red due to the sunset, and it’s a good way of foreshadowing the horror to come when Subaru enters the quiet mansion and encounters Elsa who kills him. Overall the episode was good with the answers we got from Echidna and Ryuzu, and the audience is left in anticipation with that cliffhanger. I look forward to where his reset point is, and how he’ll save everyone. Perhaps it’ll reset to after his first trial?