English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ “The Next Location”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After reaching an agreement with Crusch’s group Subaru, and Emilia head back to the village with Rem on the carriage. Upon their arrival they notice that the village is empty and decide to head back to the mansion. Once at the mansion they’re greeted by one of Roswaal’s maid, a half-beast called Frederica. She informs them of how she returned and her understanding of the situation through a letter from Roswaal. Subaru asks Beatrice on what Roswaal is thinking and Beatrice tells him to go to the Sanctuary where all the answers to his questions lie before removing him and refusing to indulge him any further.

After that, Frederica tells them how to get to the Sanctuary, where Roswaal was making arrangements for the other half of the evacuated villagers. After two days the group is given a crystal to help them through the barrier that surrounds the Sanctuary, Subaru and Emilia set off into the forest. Unfortunately, the blue crystal starts glowing brightly and Subaru grabs it out of panic. He ends up at the entrance of some ruin and when he enters the ruins, he gets transported into a grassy hill and meets the Witch of Greed, Echidna.

Our Take:

The episode was a bit slow in terms of action but a necessary set up for the next episode. It’s good to get a bit of a break before someone gets hurt. I’m glad to see the effect of the mansion being unoccupied with the mess that Frederica had to clean up upon her arrival back to the mansion. In addition to that mess, the conversation on Emilia’s praise about Subaru was a delight to watch in bringing back more normalcy in the situation.

Beatrice’s conversation with Subaru stirs a bit of curiosity on her past and how she knew the Sin Archbishop of Sloth with the implication that most of the people she knows have already left the world. I hope that we get to find out more about her in this season along with Roswaal and his plans. Furthermore, Subaru noticing how it looked like she was about to cry was a nice tidbit to lead to him asking Petra to look after Beatrice while he’s gone. Speaking of Petra, I liked how the audience gets to see more of the world’s culture with the small custom of gifting a white cloth to wish safe travels.

The screen distortion when Subaru arrives to meet the Witch of Greed, Echidna is just what I expected from a space-traveling spell. Furthermore, the audience could venture a guess as to the witch is the one to create the Sanctuary since her voice could be heard from inside in the ruin remarking on Subaru’s desire. It was also a good auditory detail with the echo in Echidna’s voice from the ruins to her tea party space as it brings both Subaru and the audience closer to where she is.

Things are going to be interesting for the next episode with a conversation between Subaru and the Witch of Greed. While she appears to be normal, from what the audience knows about the way the Witch of Envy, Satella behaves we should be wary of how this witch acts with Subaru.