Re: Zero – Living in another world – is a series whose protagonist has been the subject of a lot of criticism, but the third season’s premiere jogged my memory as to why he is great, and it has to do with what Re: Zero himself is great. Re: Zero Is on his face an Iskai. The protagonist, Subaru Natsuki, is sucked into another world and given up A strange ability that allows him to rewind time upon his death.
Falling in love and otherwise falling in love with Emilia, a candidate in the royal elections for the next king of Lugonica, Subaru finds himself in the middle of a much wider conflict led by the witch cultists. There, he had to mobilize his time-setting ability to change fate. On the way, he meets faces that have surrendered. Re: Zero To become universally recognizable in anime communities: maids Rem and Ram, female catperson Ferris, tiny librarian Beatrice, and the humble former merchant Otto. Protecting the people becomes his goal in life like Re: Zero Unfolds.
Re: Zero and the trauma of absolute responsibility
Subaru’s role is unenviable, but he’s the only protagonist up to the task
To address the elephant in the room: Subaru’s ability is a devastating thing to imagine. During the trials he undergoes in season 2, it is revealed that he was an outcast in Japan. In Lugunica, he finds a sense of community and sincere love, as well as a unique purpose in life: To restructure fate through constant deathAn irrevocable responsibility. Unlike many isekai protagonists, Subaru is just a normal guy, and in Lugunica – aside from his return via death ability – he remains a normal guy.
There is no training arc, and there is no innate ability What only Subaru has. Except for Return by Death, of course: a power that’s actually a curse. It’s also a power he can’t tell anyone about. It’s hard to watch as he watches Emilia, Rem and others die time after time, trying to whisper that he can’t die and that his death resets time.
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One of the things that is frustrating about Subaru is his tendency to get into moods that can best be described as “Shinji-heart”, but at the same time, he can’t be blamed for that. Even if he wanted to leave Lugonica, he couldn’t; Even if he wanted to die, he couldn’t. Importantly, however, he does not want to. Subaru is Determined to use his one special power for the benefit of those around himEven if it kills him (literally). In Lugunica, he finds a life worth living, at the cost of an endless death meeting himself and those he loves.
Subaru is frustrating for one very good reason
Re:Zero originated as an addendum to a legendary Isekai series
Subaru is exceptional as an isekai protagonist, and it’s by design. The acquaintance of zeros light novel launched in 2004, and its anime followed suit in 2006. Both would be wildly successful, and The acquaintance of zeroThese central ideas became the foundations for today’s Isekai. With its spectacular fame came the growth of Fan-fiction communities From that, and those were where Re: ZeroThe creator Tappei Nagutsuki would spend his free time before writing the devastating IsekaI.
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The acquaintance of zero Contributed are the archetype of the “ordinary guy”, the queer maid, modern isekai’s often high fantasy settings, political subplots of royal succession, the integration of comedy and action elements into romance/harem plots, and more. The series remains A peak of escapist media based on self-insertionWith a protagonist (Saito) who is both everybody and nobody. He goes from weak to incredibly strong, a nameless person to a celebrity, and a middle-class student to a man of nobility. From zero to hero, if you will.
Subaru is not one of these. The acquaintance of zeroThe plot revolves around Saito finding a way back to Japan; Re: Zero Trembling to imagine Subaru’s return, like Subaru himself. Subaru struggles to transition to the culture, political norms and social hierarchy of his new life. With nothing much to offer, he becomes jealous, clings, and often stews in anxious frustration. Where Saito’s interactions come effortlessly, Subaru’s feel transparently off-kilter. Where Saito is the object of half-hearted affection from none other than female lead Louise, Subaru must break Rem’s heart.
The premiere of Re:Zero’s third season tricked me
Re: Zero reminded me why Subaru is perfect for the series
Because he broke Rem’s heart, saw her die countless times, and was killed by her in a life scratched out of the timeline, there’s a particular wariness when in the premiere of Re: Zeros third season, Subaru sits at the bedside of a comatose Rem. Chatting idly, he reveals that he has been visiting her regularly throughout the year since the events of the second season. However, the weight of this is not immediately to me.
In fact, the episode (“Theatrical Malice”) proceeded as if the series had never done anything wrong to me. Because Subaru never occupied the spotlight or their attention, The side characters in Re: Zero have always been well-defined. The premiere expands on this by giving Beatrice and Reinhard, in particular, a ton of screen time and exposition. Overall, this episode is an absolute masterpiece of misdirection.
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The passage of time made me forget that Re: Zero is “actual about”. I forgot, for example, the heartbreaking end of season 1, episode 15, where Subaru’s decapitated corpse holds Rem as they are buried by the snow. In that episode, the occupants of Roswell’s engine—Rem, Beatrice, Emilia, and everyone else— Measured over and overAnd he had a complete break. No doubt, it was a convenient thing to forget.
The first episode of the third season was mostly peaceful but, for the most part, Arie felt right. Everything felt right against my memory – there was a royal success speech, a lot of familiar faces, a bit of perverted humor and a certain emotion. As far as my memory and I are concerned, Everything was in its right place. In retrospect, I should have seen the end coming. Re: Zero Always tricks you, stabbing you in the gut while you’re distracted.
An unexpected enemy, the sin archbishop of anger, appeared. It was an incredible twist that totally caught me off-guard. I can’t help but feel that Re: Zero Knew I had forgotten his tricks. This shoved the scene in my face, with the theatrical voice of the cultist, which rang out over a corrupt one-man show. She captivated the crowd and threw a child to the ground, then killed everyone. Naturally, Subaru returns through death.
It happened to him in the past. He’s back in time for the first time in a year. When it hit me, he was clutching his knees, almost hyperventilating as the faces of the past-that-are-now-again closed in on him. That’s when I realized that Subaru’s vulnerability and weakness are integral to Re: Zeros appeal. His pain is terribly real.
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The number one source of frustration I’ve heard about Subaru is Saw him constantly fail and struggle. This is what tells me that Subaru is not an answer to self-insert isekai protagonist; He is Re: Zeros ingenious weapons of self-insertion as a concept. Subaru is the tragic mirror constructed solely from the viewers’ empathy and suspension of disbelief.
Subaru is weak and sometimes minces his words and often gets frustrated when things don’t go his way; He pretends to confess his love, but would also do anything for Emilia; He does all this because he is like me. Pressed with the pain of two worlds and a clock that cannot move in one direction, I feel its disgusting burden weighing on me. Re: Zero – life in another world Going around three years without new material: just enough time for me to forget Subaru So that I can be reminded in one heartbreaking sequence that he is so special.