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And while I haven’t read the light novel nor read the manga; despite not knowing what lies ahead, I am so very excited for a season 3 by Studio White Fox. I loved the anime so much that I even bought season 1, and I’ve never bought a DVD of an animation before. 

So what’s so fascinating about it? For those of you who haven’t had a taste of the finest wine (or beer) that is Re:Zero, allow me to ‘briefly’ explain the plot. I’ll try not to spoil, though even so spoilers wouldn’t ruin this fantastic piece of fiction.

Re:Zero is ‘Dark Souls’ the anime (but not really)

Isekai. Time loop. Don’t roll your eyes. I actually took a hiatus after the first episode or 2 because I thought the time-loop mechanic would absolutely bog down the plot, but I was so wrong. Re:Zero is the story of Subaru, who was hit and killed by the infamous ‘truck-kun’ and got reincarnated in another world. A fantasy world, with beastmen and wizards and monsters, oh and vampires.

Sounds cliché. Subaru is lost, confused (egs. peppers are called “peppas” I think and apples are appas? Unrelated!), and notices the most stunning lass with long white hair and attire. He decides to pursue the girl, and boy is she the absolute worst person for him to become infatuated with. For he’s sent down a rabbit hole so deep it costs him his life; again and again and again. Like seriously this guy can’t catch a break dying. Just like Dark Souls. So how does he come back? A certain powerful force decided they like him a lot and sends him back to peculiar moments before his demise.

He tries to help her find a stolen crest, and that leads them to become associated with one another and they meet a cast of colorful characters along the way and Subaru vows to protect the white haired girl, Emilia.

It takes a Unique Take on the ‘Time-Loop’ Concept

I thought I would be completely turned off by the fictitious phenomenon of time travel loops, in the form of a main character’s (MC’s) death that sends them back to a certain point in time, but I was dead wrong. I was like “oh great, he’s gonna keep being brought back to the very beginning and nobody’s gonna remember anything that previously happened”. But each death sends Subaru back to a time before that particular death, not the prologue.

Re:Zero seems to come up with some of the more suspenseful situations I’ve seen in anime. Each situation, each death forces Subaru to find ways to overcome the obstacle (kinda like a video game!). And while the focus is never really “gotta jog everyone’s memories”, it gives our protagonist the ability to backtrack and find out new things he previously couldn’t. Character backgrounds and motives are revealed, especially discovering where characters were at a place Subaru previously wasn’t. It also gives him the chance to survive each and every fateful encounter.

Subaru (and Emilia) are Characters that Undergo Tremendous Character Development

Re:Zero has characters that are absolutely three-dimensional and not flat 2D cutouts. Everyone has problems and motives that drive them to be better and overcome their personal obstacles. Author Nagatsuki has crafted some really memorable characters here. 

Take Subaru, for example. You hate him in the beginning and through at least half the first season. He’s selfish and driven by his own desires. Puts himself and his wants before others without much of a care. But then he dies. But he doesn’t just die, not once. Again and again he faces certain death, and each time it takes a little part of him, his sanity and his will to keep going, to keep living. At one point near the middle of the first season we really see a disgusting side of Subaru and his true colors show. But then he’s faced with an obstacle that seems so far against the odds that there’s no way he could overcome it.

What Makes a Subaru a Subaru

And he breaks. Subaru time and time again comes off as a very tragic character, because he suffers alone and can’t share in that suffering. (I forgot to mention he can’t tell anyone he gets sent back “by death’s door”, or else his heart gets squeezed. And I can feel that just thinking about it). Its not often, at least in my opinion, we see a protagonist go beyond the breaking point, ready to absolutely give up. And this doesn’t just happen once, situations change considerably in season 2 and yet again he faces such an obstacle that feels nearly impossible to overcome. And the anxiety of feeling helpless gets to him. But he always seems to overcome it. Not alone.

Subaru is weak. He’s not the “hero” of the story, for that’s Reinhart’s role. But Subaru is the MC of this one, and its those characters that he meets and the connections he makes with them that drives him to survive and overcome the most grueling obstacles. 

Things to Come in Season 3 of Re:Zero

So much could be said about the other characters like Rem, Ram, Beatrice, Puck, Elsa, Garfiel, Satela and Echidna and the witches, and countless others but that would take far too much of your time. I’ll briefly say that while Subaru undergoes some wild growth, so does Emilia in her own way. She starts out like a bird in a cage but learns to rely on her power as well as Subaru for help, and the romance that is slow burn is very much exciting to watch unfold.

So spoilers ahead.

With a family of new members to call their own, Subaru and Emelia have decided to overcome their obstacles, together, and that’s a huge step forward for the couple, since Subaru was so used to handling things on his own. Echidna’s power and her underling Roswaal have been stopped, and the people of the village have been freed to go home.  So what’s next? What can we expect? These are my assumptions as an anime-only watcher.

The giant flying albino whale has been stopped. And so have the carnivorous rabbits. But there remains one more monster of such high caliber that the witch of gluttony has yet to show to cause absolute peril in the world,. And her archbishop is still out there as well. Rem remains in a coma sadly, and Ram’s feelings for Roswaal remain unfulfilled. The voluptuous vampire Elsa may have been smashed by a monstrous hippo, but I definitely think she’s still alive and has some crazy emotions for Garfiel. He’s just a teen who has a thing for Ram, so there’s that love-triangle (but not really). There’s even the trial of who will become the new queen, with all the unique candidates aside from Emilia, so anything could happen there. 

In all serious though,

I have no idea what to expect for season 3. I heard rumor that arc 5 and 6 are essentially the “shounen” arcs, so we can definitely expect a bit of fighting and action to take place. Pandora is still out there, and so are the other insane archbishops of the witches that could cause absolute havoc. Reinhart could save the day, but that would be far too easy to just throw him in the main storyline. I’m also curious how Subaru and Emilia’s relationship will develop further. But perhaps the one thing I look forward to the most, and I’m sick for saying this but… how will Subaru die this time. How many times and in what gruesome ways will he get killed? Will his come to near breaking yet a third time? And will Satella show herself again? What powers will she grant Subaru this time? So many questions to ask, but it is all things to look forward to in season 3 of Re:Zero!

Thanks for reading.