It's an understatement to call this my favourite arc in Re:Zero. To be more accurate, this is one of my most favourite arcs in all of anime, and Season 2: Part 1 heavily contributes to it.

Combining the show's insane bar for thriller with Arc 4's mysterious plot elements involving its setting and characters, this season feels like it was made for me. It's precisely what I want out of Re:Zero, consistently exceeding the darkest highs of Arc 3 where Subaru as a character was brutally tested.

This time, his character is examined again with the development gained from Arc 3. He is continuously backed into corners, desperately attempting to save everyone he loves while making the mistake of carrying everyone's burdens alone. Despite his refreshed understanding of himself, acknowledgement of mistakes and resolve to be better, Re:Zero's writing understands the human impossibility of instant change. This connects with the season's theme of self-value, representing the painfully slow yet worthwhile process of realizing one's self-worth from yourself and others. Through Subaru's lack of care for his own well-being along with his fluctuating faith for Emilia in the face of adversity, his character arc culminates in the season's finale (ultimately coming full circle in the next part with "Choose Me"). He is forced to recognize the love others have for him, replacing the toxic perspective he's held against himself for so long and starts walking the road into valuing himself again.

The plot surrounding the Sanctuary and the Roswaal Mansion is continuously built upon with new layers, as hints in dialogue foreshadow future events, letting the audience piece together the puzzle on their own. All of these moving parts are weaved together in a perfect pace balancing the horrors of this season with breathing room exposition of plot events. It feels surreal to have a season like this with so many major story events and emotional beats occurring for several episodes in a row, and have them feel so digestible to me at the same time. In addition, some world building is finally granted here in spades regarding the Witches and the events occurred in Arc 3.

The cast of characters from Season 2 are especially interesting, mixing the eccentrically nuanced cast of the Emilia camp with newly introduced characters who play massive roles in the Sanctuary. Emilia, Roswaal, Ram, Beatrice, Otto, Garfiel, and Echidna are all given the spotlight this season outside of Subaru, smartly written to fit the flow of the plot along with the consequences of Subaru's decisions in each loop.

Of course, the art suffers from the show's production during covid, however, the episodes are directed masterfully as they were in Season 1 (even better here actually) to the point where I don't even mind the inconsistencies (which were eventually touched up in the BluRay). Kenichiro Suehiro has also whipped up an extremely well crafted OST containing many of the best music tracks the series has to offer, enhancing many of the already strong moments in Season 2 to a level where I'm reminded why I love the medium so much.

In retrospect, this part of season 2 single-handedly represents my feelings on Re:Zero. Not everything about it is perfect, but to me it embodies what I love most about the series and character-driven media. That's what makes it extremely special to me.