English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ Memory of Snow

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Subaru tries to make plans for his date with Emilia in the village. However, the village kids catch him in the act, and he plays with them for a bit. The next day there’s a chill in the air which grows worse each day. Therefore, Subaru and Emilia have to postpone the date, and Emilia is strangely relieved to hear that which bothers Subaru a bit. The next day Subaru wakes up freezing and he talks with Beatrice. The day after that he investigates the cause of the coldness with Roswaal and Rem: Puck. Puck’s magic release period is a phenomenon where he has to release his excess mana and as a result everything gets cold. Beatrice and Emilia have been trying to keep it around the mansion, but it’s been proven to be taxing for the others especially Ram and Subaru.

After a discussion of ideas to help Puck let it all out Subaru comes up with the idea to have a snow festival. The next day a snow festival commences with the villagers to build the best snow sculpture. After seeing the different ice sculptures, the three judges decide on the snow bunny mecha. Petra wins the corn snack from Subaru’s original world. At night, everyone except Beatrice and Subaru drink, and Subaru suggests they find the group of stars that his name comes from. The next day Emilia and Subaru go on their date.

Our Take:

Memory of Snow is a fun watch that gives us a break from all the emotional pain that Subaru goes through in the original series. The worldbuilding with the legal drinking age in the country and a few jabs at Subaru’s age was a good detail. The animation for the small snow spirits worked well with the snowy background.

For starters, it’s got an interesting problem with Puck’s excess mana being out of control. They go through the process of finding ways for Puck to release it without causing geographical damage. It was a good subtle hint to Emilia and Puck’s past in the forest in The Frozen Bond. The fact that Puck and Roswaal fought upon meeting was interesting. I would have loved to see the aftermath of that duel. In addition, the gradual descent into coldness before Subaru realizes that Puck’s causing it was amusing. Ram’s reaction is completely relatable for anyone who dislikes the drastic drops in temperature when winter comes.

There’s also the comedic moments of the OVA. Take, for example, Subaru’s exaggerated story in the beginning and his opinion on Rem and Ram’s sculpture. It was nice to see Subaru relaxed and enjoying himself in this OVA in comparison to the original series. The snow sculpture competition produced a lot of funny moments. Rem and Ram’s sculpture as a mix of Subaru and Roswaal to the kid’s version of Subaru was amusing. Furthermore, both scenes subtly hint at how common the two men are, and Subaru’s death in a previous time loop. Then when Puck uses the last of his extra mana and the camera goes over to the other candidates and Petelgeuse. It was a good hint to when this OVA takes place in the first season along with the danger that Petelgeuse presents with that maniacal smile.

Overall it was a good light-hearted OVA with the snow sculpting contest. The late-night drunken antics from Emilia and Rem were cute too. It would be nice to get more of this light-hearted fun in the future in between Subaru’s journey.