Introduction

It can be incredibly frustrating when an anime feels like it has to come with a disclaimer attached to hold the attention of new viewers or non-anime fans. Anime has this recurring mistake where, oftentimes due to the nature of the source material, the characters and plot can be wholly unapproachable with no knowledge beforehand.

As someone who always tries to "go in blind," it can be a depressing choice to make between having minor details spoiled to hold my interest and letting the desire to drop a particularly obtuse series overtake me. The first season of Re:Zero was like this is some ways, with main character Subaru Natsuki being heavily flawed to the point of being unlikeable. But, as I said to everyone I encountered that wanted to drop it halfway through, "it's intentional, you're not supposed to like him at first, stick with it."

Fans of the original will agree that Subaru's growth and change to accept both his superpower and character traits is one of the most satisfying transformations to watch, especially in a traditionally unchanging genre like isekai. Hot off the heels of one of the most successful shows in the last decade, I had high hopes that Re:Zero season 2 would deliver the same great story with no need for a disclaimer.

Synopsis

At the end of the first season, main character Rem had all traces of her memories and personality erased from everyone's mind after an encounter with the minions of the Witch of Gluttony. Subaru seeks the help of his employer, Roswaal Mathers, who has secluded himself in the mysterious Sanctuary. Accompanied by his love interest Emilia, they enter the Sanctuary only to find themselves trapped along with Roswaal and a number of new additions to the cast.

In order to escape the area, someone must pass three trials offered by Echidna, the Witch of Greed. These trials require the challenger to confront their past, present, and potential futures, and prove their resolve in the face of each. Several characters attempt it and fail, but with the help of Subaru's "return by death" power, he might just find a way to get someone through.

Strengths

The second season introduces a myriad of new characters and concepts, and fleshes out the motivations and backstories of almost all existing ones. For each member of the sizeable cast, the distinction between ally and enemy is an ever-shifting gray area, and the viewer is never quite sure who to trust while watching.

Additionally, Subaru's power allows him to travel back in time, meaning that some characters will assist him in some timelines and deter him in others. No character is ignored throughout these episodes, and each has a part to play, whether for better or for worse. I especially enjoyed the origin story of Betelgeuse, my favorite character from the original.

Following in the footsteps of the original, the audio and visuals are top-notch. Nothing to complain about here, and there is some truly high-quality orchestration in the soundtrack composition.

Weaknesses

Up until the start of part 2, the second season had me interested. The constant shifting of characters' alignments and feelings towards Subaru had me second-guessing everyone's motive. Certain individuals even seemed to figure out how Subaru's power works, leaving him a new dimension of obstacles to work around.

As I said in the introduction, Subaru is a character that is purposefully weak in his design. The first few arcs of the first season were designed around the idea that Return by Death would expose the flaws in his personality and encourage him to embrace them in order to better himself. This, in my opinion, was executed to a masterful degree.

The reason I bring this up under "weaknesses" is that this series (part 2 specifically) cripples itself by removing its most compelling feature. In episode one, Subaru swears an oath not to use Return by Death until he escapes the Sanctuary (which doesn't happen until the end of the arc). This was a mind-boggling mistake on the part of the writer.

Now, instead of subverting traditional isekai plot immunity for Subaru and having him suffer pain and trauma, he is right back to the level of his peers. The protagonist couldn't very well be killed off, and he lost his power that circumvented those consequences, so now Subaru is confronted with effectively no threats.

He goes from making countless mistakes and improving little by little after learning from them to making zero mistakes and ensuring his impossible task is done with no casualties.