English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ “I Know Hell”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The episode starts off with Subaru, Garfiel, and a group of Ryuzu clones against Satella and her shadows. Unfortunately, Garfiel gets skewered and then Subaru admits that he could have an easier time with the other witches which causes Satella to swallow him up in her shadows. In the shadows, Petra’s handkerchief glows as Subaru realizes that Echidna might have known that this was going to happen. After using the handkerchief to kill himself, Subaru returns to the ruins with Emilia next to him.

On this return, Subaru asks a favor from Ram to keep Garfiel distracted while he goes into the forest to verify the memories that he saw in Satella’s shadows. Subaru finds the hidden place and uses a blue crystal to enter a secret room where a large crystal exists and inside of it is Ryuzu. The Ryuzu that he knows, Ryuzu Bilma shows up with one of the guards of the place. She explains that they’re all clones of the original Ryuzu in the crystal and that they were the product of Echidna’s experiment for immortality. After that Subaru encounters Emilia out on a walk and they talk for a bit. The next day, Subaru convinces Garfiel to trust him and that his actions won’t harm the Sanctuary on purpose before leaving for the mansion. Once at the mansion, Subaru asks Frederica and Petra to hide out then he goes to Beatrice.

Our Take:

We finally get to see what Satella is capable of and she doesn’t hold back especially with how she wrecked Garfiel with her shadows and the clones. There’s also the scene after where Subaru essentially rejects her with the comment on how loving the other witches would be easier which visibly shocks her to where her shadows just swallow him up. That continuous overlap of memories that Subaru sees that makes him feel disjointed and the darkness around him was terrifying but also intriguing since we get to see what happens to people swallowed up by the Witch of Envy’s shadows. Then there’s Echidna’s interference with Petra’s handkerchief and for now, she continues to appear to help Subaru with that by granting Subaru a way to return. That moment when Subaru uncovers Satella was heartwarming with his words on saving her, but I think that was meant for Emilia rather than the Witch of Envy. After his return, Subaru’s trembling in the ruins was great at showing how shaken up he was at her appearance and how it carried over after his death.

This time Subaru has a good start after his return from being swallowed by Satella’s shadows. He asked for help with Ram and Ryuzu and he allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of everyone as well. That’s a good sign that he’s connecting with others again rather than being completely dependant on his Return by Death ability. The animation is really nice especially during the fight in the beginning and when Subaru and Emilia had their talk in the forest. It was a good breather for Subaru to focus on the present rather than the possible horrible events of the future.

Then there’s the secret of Ryuzu, which does answer the Ryuzu clones and Echidna’s experiment. Ryuzu and the clones were the imperfect product of Echidna’s experiment for immortality. The clones are made out of mana and don’t really have personalities save for a few of them like Ryuzu Bilma. Echidna’s experiment failed because her souls couldn’t be inherited through Ryuzu Meyer. This scene will surely become relevant in the future especially with how their bodies are constructed by mana. However, there still remains the question of Ryuzu’s contract and why Echidna sought immortality in the first place. Perhaps to continue to know more about the world? It would fit her title as the Witch of Greed.

Subaru convincing Garfiel was another great scene because after all those attempts Subaru manages to get through to Garfiel. Now underneath all that rage in his demand of answers lies fear and the desire to protect going by his questions to Subaru, and Garfiel’s voice actor really portrayed those emotions in that confrontation. Additionally, Sean Chiplock does a great job with Subaru’s dialogue in that discussion especially with that pit of hell bit and the looks in his eyes when Subaru said it.

Overall it looks like things are starting head in a good direction with Subaru’s actions. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong with Beatrice in the library again.