Snake Watches Re:Zero, Because He Too Wants to Die and Escape Reality

[phil_]

There is an entire episode that is just Rem and Subaru talking. It is important, and it is amazing. Keep going.

[shiney]

The episodes that come after that one are really awesome too. Like I'm sitting here mildly geeking out that you're going to get to experience that for the first time cause I'm such a goddamn loser fanboy for it

[Solid Snake]

All right, the show most go on.

Episode 12

...Okay, Snek, before we dive into this, let's have a word.
You're going to struggle with these next episodes because Episode 11 has shattered your expectations for this series and you're no longer in line with author Tappei Nagatsuki's (who is somehow YOUNGER THAN YOU ARE, jeez, talk about feeling unaccomplished) expectations for the plot and story. You're now convinced that this is going to be an unconventional love story and every episode will now deal with Rem and Subaru realizing their feelings for each other and Subaru confronting his immaturity regarding women and relationships and how for his own sake he needs to give up on the fairy tale fantasy with Emilia and concentrate on the person who's really important to him.

...This is not the story Re:Zero wants to tell, because Tappei Nagatsuki is a jerk who's unwittingly written a phenomenal love story but it's not even the love story he thinks it is HOW COULD HE BE SO BLIND but maybe just maybe the big twist at the end will actually be that Nagatsuki knows great storytelling all along but just needs to have Subaru mature a bit more before coming to the necessary revelations Re:Zero wants to tell a different story apparently that's about suffering and continual deaths and time traveling hijinks that are utterly uninteresting and inconsequential compared to the perfection that is the Rem and Subaru ship but that's okay, we'll get through this, just enjoy what Re:Zero has for you.

Let's just go with the flow. It'll be fun! There will still be some interesting stuff here.

Here we go.

...What the heck is up with your hood, Emilia?!?

- So Emilia and Subaru appear practically transparent in what I assume is an art-related error while walking through the woods early in this episode, which I choose to view as not at all a reflection of just a mistake made with that scene but rather conclusive evidence that Subaru and Emilia's relationship is so fake that it is LITERALLY HOLLOW and empty, devoid of life or meaning
(I'm not kidding, watch that scene early in Episode 12 again. You see outlines of the forest background behind the characters!)

- Their bonding moments are just so shallow and stupid compared to...
...Yeah I'm not going to be very impartial while watching this.

- A visitor from the capital! Finally, a new character. It's rather strange to reflect on the fact that Reinhard hasn't stopped by after all that commotion in the city. It did seem as if he and Emilia were friends, and as much as I've suspected Reinhard for crushing on Subaru, perhaps Reinhard could be attracted to Emilia and thus save me from that atrocious Subaru-Emilia pairing

- "Given the circumstances, I'll try not to do anything dumb."
...Subaru. You're going to do something dumb.

- LOOK SUBARU SHE JUST SHUT YOU OUT
SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU THAT MUCH, SHE DOESN'T TRUST YOU, SHE'S NOT THE ONE, I KNOW WHO IS THE ONE THOUGH
...I'm going to react like this for the rest of the series, aren't I

- You see, Subaru! Your infatuation with Emilia makes you a jerk.
I will repeat this forever and ever.
Your infatuation with Emilia makes you a jerk.
I can't be the only one who sees this. Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees this.

- "It is a steep path you climb." Yes, please keep discouraging Subaru, kind stranger, we shall deflate this idiot's ego together

- ...Every anime has to have the cute cat girl who says "Nyan" all the time. It is a law of animes. I'm guessing this one will be about as relevant as Faris in Steins;Gate, which is to say, not terribly relevant at all.

- REM IS BACK yyyaaayyy

- Rem 'assists' Subaru because she's the bestest best and Subaru pats her head and she blushes and IT IS ADORABLE my heart is going to burst
please, PLEASE Tappei, I found out who you are on Wikipedia, please tell me you know how to write real romance and you know what you're doing

- I still don't trust you, Baron. You clearly have some ulterior motive for all this.

- "Those are the eyes of one who has experienced death several times." Daaaymn old man Wil, you're going to be a serious factor moving forward aren't you.

- Subaru-kun kawaii
NO REM, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS KAWAII

- Hey, it's the apple vendor again!
How much do you want to bet that this spot and this scene is Subaru's next Return-from-Death point.

- Finally, they mentioned Reinhard again!

- "Hot guys really have it good"
Oh Subaru, it's too late for you to feed my yaoi fantasies with you and Reinhard, good effort though

- New purple-haired swordsman is Julius, and he's now my favorite character if he's going to be established as Emilia's long-time love interest who she's really cared for all along and Subaru needs to get out out of their way and accept true love with Rem already

- YEAH THAT'S RIGHT SUBARU AND YOUR STUPID EMILIA SHIP
GET REKT
GET DUMPED
Sit there in time-out until you reflect upon your grievous error

- Oh yeah you sure do love Emilia, Subaru, what with your near-instant desire to roleplay a damsel in distress' boyfriend instead of something more innocuous like her brother
...God I want this asshole to die sometimes, which is so great, because given this story's narrative structure he gets to die horribly all the time!!!

- "Are you three the capital's only hoodlums?"
I'll give you credit Subaru, that's a great question.
...Rom to the rescue! Good to see him again.

- So this new girl has some super-High School Level luck powers, eh? Someone call Makoto Naegi, we've found him the perfect match

- Generic soldier escorting Emilia who talks down Subaru in this scene is awesome, he totally calls out Subaru for caring more about her interactions with other men than for her well-being, this guy's the best, 10/10
Also if our story's illustrious author understands the awful tropes of Subaru's affections for Emilia enough to criticize Subaru's infatuation MAYBE he's got the guts to write a different ending than the stereotypical bullshit

- Yes Emilia you glare at Subaru all day and all night
Give him the evil eye
Scold him for his utter stupidity
Also REM IS BACK REM IS BACK REM IS BACK REM REM RRRREEEEEMMM totes perma-blushin' too

- "So please wait here with Rem, alright?"
...Emilia actually says this.
Now, let's analyze the evidence.
1: There are multiple other people in the mansion, not just Rem.
But Emilia singles out Rem and wants Subaru to stay with her.
2: Emilia's been desperate to push away Subaru all episode, but he won't listen to her because he's a jackass.
3: Rem is the bestest best, therefore she and Emilia must be super-close and good friends

Clearly Rem confessed her feelings for Subaru to Emilia and Emilia's trying her best to help set them up BECAUSE SHE DOES NOT LIKE YOU that way, Subaru

- FINALLY A FUCKIN' SCENE WITH SUBARU AND REM this is like my crack now, I am now a ship addict

- Subaru's going to immediately break his promise to Emilia and violate her trust in him, because he's a jerk and they're not meant for each other.

- Oh my fucking God, Subaru, I AM GOING TO FUCKING PUNCH MY FIST THROUGH THIS COMPUTER
...She's willing to risk her hide to help you BECAUSE SHE'S AWESOME
She cares more about you than Emilia ever will
If you dare break her heart I swear to whatever God exists in that shitty universe I will HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU MYSELF
and keep fuckin' killing you until you finally make the right choice and the right choice this time is TELL REM YOU LOVE HER


- "I'm such a scumbag for relying on Rem all the time..."
Realize you can rely on her because she's Best Waifu, you pathetic corpse

- Conversing with the competition, Subaru. Smooth. Real smooth.
Please tell me Emilia exiles his sorry ass over this

- HAHAHAHA Emilia immediately sees him escorting Priscilla she's gonna think he's been some sort of enemy spy all along this is fantastic
Get REKT Subaru

- Reinhard's back!
...Maybe we can still have a Rem-Reinhard-Subaru threesome.

...Okay, so it's not Faris from Steins;Gate, it's Ruka from Steins;Gate
Glad he gets to tell Subaru off like that, though.

- The woman in military garb with the green hair looks great.

- Felt's in contention, and she's Reinhard's pick.
Interesting. Guess that explains his fascination with her after they fought Elsa.

This episode gets a 6/10 as it included a couple great moments with Rem and a couple great moments of Subaru getting destroyed by people who actually know things, but it's still an inevitable letdown after Episode 11

[Sithdarth]

Oh man episode 13 is going to be such a treat for you.

[shiney]

^

[Solid Snake]

Episode 13

...The episode starts off on a lovely note with Felt inflicting some violence upon Subaru (albeit as some form of friendly greeting?)

- I don't really understand what it means to be 'recognized as a priestess' just yet. It appears to be a prerequisite in the prophecy for the contenders for the throne, but beyond that, I'm wondering if these women have special powers or some innate ability or something.

- Looks like the Imperial Knights and the old clergy dudes who run this process don't exactly see eye to eye on most issues. Then again, being deserted by the ex-King and having half of your world consumed by some dark entity is bound to have a negative effect on just about every remaining institution.

- So, about a month has passed since Reinhard found Felt. Let's do the math, here.
We don't know how much time passed between Subaru falling unconscious in the slums and waking up in bed healed with Ram and Rem, but we do know that the mansion arc in total basically took...a bit more than four days? Maybe five or six days? A week at most?
So unless Subaru was out cold for three weeks in the mansion, several weeks probably passed between the end of Episode 11 and the beginning of Episode 12.

- I really feel for Felt here. It was mentioned a bit in passing in the first couple episodes while Subaru roamed around the capital, but it seems there are major class issues in this Kingdom.

- "I was only trying to teach an untrained little bitch her place."
Wow. Note to self: Priscilla is awful.
Her assistant Al's pretty cool, though.

- Calling it right now: If not for the existence of Rem, Crusch Karsten would be my favorite character in this story. She strikes me as my type of person, even if her hostility to the dragon is ill-advised.

- Anastasia's going to be the one I barely even remember.

- "I desire to create a nation where all citizens are equal!"
Way to be a complete Mary Sue, Emilia. Does she even know anything about the pragmatics of governing? Or is she just some nonsensical idealist with no concrete notion of how to implement her objectives?
(Sorry everyone, my shipping allegiance requires me to hate Emilia now)

- Subaru's going to do something stupid...
...YUP!!!
...This is going to be delicious.

- Subaru's Current Status: REKT'D by Emilia
Oh he just got schooled
This is an exquisite portion of Subaru's angst I am devouring at the moment

- ...Wait, I thought Puck summoned ice against Elsa? But now he's a spirit that controls fire?!? Maybe I'm just misremembering his powers.

- "He knows little of our world" is some suspicious banter from the Baron. If he really knows that Subaru is from a different world entirely (and not just some other nation or continent or whatever), I believe he had something to do with how Subaru ended up here in the first place.
...Still, is it really that easy in this Kingdom to become a knight? Usually that's not a title you can just bequeath to yourself.

- God, I hate everything about this force-fed Emilia / Subaru ship bullshit.
...Everything.
It's just gross.
Subaru, declaring you're going to make her wish come true without giving a damn about HER FEELINGS about any of this is just awful.
It boggles my mind how competent and decent he can sound around someone like Rem, or really any of the characters he isn't irresistibly attracted to, but then Emilia shows up and this dunce acts like her affections are some kind of entitlement he can earn

...Ending this story with Emilia and Subaru together would reinforce the very worst stereotypes of how shut-in dorks perceive relationships with women
Which means the ultimate outcome really depends on the following question:
How much of a shut-in dork is Tappei Nagatsuki?
Like, is he Japan's equivalent of a Gamergate, Trump-voting misogynistic turd?
If so we're screwed.

- Fortunately, Julius is asking the right questions here.
(I thought Julius was interested in Emilia, so I'm curious to learn whether he really supports Anastasia's bid or if he secretly wants to help his wannabe-girlfriend behind Anastasia's back.)

- Is Subaru's instinct right here? He claims that all Knights are 'born into' their position, but I haven't seen any evidence to confirm that; maybe it's something the anime forgot to include in a previous scene or maybe my memory's just bad.
Also: Antagonizing every Knight in attendance will sure help Emilia's bid, you supremely dense asshole.

- "SUBARU IS NOT MY ATTENDANT"
YES, YES, YYYYEEESSSSSS
Take that Subaru
Now sit the fuck down and shed a few tears and run back to Rem and accept her far-more-exquisite love like a decent person

- ROM to the fuckin' rescue
(It now occurs to me suddenly that we have a Ram, a Rem, and a Rom.)
(...I'm shocked I did not notice that until now.)

- I almost wonder if the Knights, who clearly (if Reinhard is any indication) want Felt to become the Ruler for some unknown reason, allowed Rom to go through with the kidnapping attempt in order to put Felt in a situation where she had to go through with her candidacy to save him

...And right after I finished typing that, Felt confirms my suspicions by asking Reinhard directly. Heh. I am on your wavelength, Re:Zero. Surely that means Rem and Subaru are destined for each other.

- "I hate this Kingdom! I hate everything about it! So I'm planning to tear it all down!"
FELT FOR PRESIDENT 2020
Reinhard you have great taste in candidates

- ...I thought Emilia dismissed Subaru from her service, but everyone's still acting as if Subaru is her Knight.
Now I feel bad for Emilia because no one is actually listening to her.

- Julius is going to administer the 'Death Penalty,' hmm? I'd almost rather he didn't kill Subaru. I don't want Subaru to have a second chance to endear himself to Emilia at the ceremony.
And DAMMIT Julius, he's NOT Emilia's attendant!!!

- Hahahaha Subaru tried a classic RPG style trick and failed utterly
GET REK'T SUBARU

- "You like to watch vicious beasts torment weak creatures, don't you?"
Damn, Al
Subaru's Status: TOLD / 10

- Disobeying Emilia yet again: This is NOT how prospective relationships actually work, Subaru

- "You are irredeemably powerless."
Oh Julius, you are leaping into third-favorite character status with such ease

- I'm going to take this moment of Emilia screaming "SUBARU!" to note that I will be so pissed off if this ends with them as some loving couple or something given how completely off-his-rocker Subaru is around her
Like at this point, even if Rem did not exist, I would be against Subaru and Emilia as a pairing because he is at his absolute worst around her

- Nice subtle touch with Subaru on this next scene with him in bed, though.
This time when he says "I didn't die," you can actually tell he's disappointed he didn't die, as he probably wishes he could do this all over again.

- "Let's talk, okay?"
SUBARU YOU ARE GOING TO GET DESTROYED, here comes the fun part

- I'll give Subaru a marginal amount of credit for actually being honest, here
...Still, I just wish Emilia would stick up for herself for a change. She just lets Subaru and everyone else walk all over her without really getting her point across most the time. If she really wants to rule a Kingdom and bring about massive change she has to find her voice.
...Even here, she's being too empathetic with Subaru. Trying to see his reasoning, identifying with his perspective as a reason to ditch him for his own good. She's not wrong, but it wouldn't kill her to actually be a bit of a feminist and just tell him off for being a cancerous misogynistic jackass around her on some quixotic quest to win her affections against her will.

- "It was for you, wasn't it?"
FINALLY, Emilia. Goddamn this is gonna be good.

- "I asked you to wait at the lodging with Rem."
YES YES YES YES YES YES
I am totally interpreting this as Emilia trying to get this loser to recognize Rem's the one for him even in the context of this scene where she's berating him for disobeying her

YES YOU DID DO IT FOR YOURSELF, YOU LOUSY LYING SACK OF SHIT
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP, FILTH
(I am getting way too into this)

...No, Emilia, don't give him an out. You shouldn't ever believe him. He's lying to you and to himself. KICK HIS ASS.
YES SHE STILL DOESN'T BELIEVE HIM

- This episode is actually beginning to redeem Emilia a bit for me. I hope her perspective of Subaru doesn't change and I REALLY hope Subaru can't go back through his death-powers to make this a failed timeline. This needs to be Prime-World Emilia. This needs to be how she continues to feel about him.

- Rem helped you too but I don't see you drooling over her and desiring to make it up to her you conceited jerk, now love Rem instead or I will continue to hate you

"The version of me that lives inside of you must be amazing."
YES
FINALLY
YES
YES
YES

...This is what I've wanted Emilia to say all along. All along. She's finally done it. She's finally realized the toxic nature of Subaru's idealization of her and she's fighting back.

This is perfect. Perfect! It's setting up Subaru and Rem in the exact way I wanted the author to set up Subaru and Rem. Subaru's illusions about Emilia have to be torn down and Emilia has to be clear with him that she's never been the goddess he thinks she is. Now that Emilia's free from this bullshit and now that Subaru's going to be cut out, he's going to have rebuild around people who he actually accepts for who they are and who he has authentic relationships with and not just the first pretty girl who does something nice to him in a new world.

Oh this is SO PERFECT. Re:Zero got me to this point where I just assumed Emilia would take all this abuse from Subaru without objecting but NOPE, Tappei Nagatsuki actually knows what he's doing!

Now Emilia's done to Subaru what unrequited crushes justifiably do to shut-in nerds with stupid forced romantic fantasies all the time, and now Subaru's going to man up and move on eventually and become more human.

AHAHAHAHA Subaru's losing it
He's batshit insane
He wasn't batshit insane around Rem, I'll tell you that

- Phenomenal crazy-person voice acting by Subaru's VA, by the way. You can just feel it all slipping away from him.
...We've all been there before, Subaru.
You'll live.

- "You've done enough, Subaru." ICE FUCKING COLD

Incredible episode. I mean, assuming this is it for Emilia and Subaru, and it should be, this is an 11/10, Everything I Could Have Possibly Hoped For episode.
This is exactly what I've wanted Emilia to say to Subaru for many episodes now but I assumed that this would follow more conventional heroic tropes and this would never happen because Emilia's usually so passive around him. She needed to stop the heroine-worship and she needed to stomp on his heart a bit to get him to open his eyes. She did. It was beautiful.

Mind you, I will be pissed if Emilia's conveniently written into some weird plot shenanigans where she suddenly gives Subaru another chance, because that doesn't happen in reality, this is normally where you're rejected and you just move on like a reasonable adult.

I kind of have this fear that we're still indulging some fairy tale nonsense and this is just a hiccup along the way, but given Rem's previous development and the way her episodes with Subaru played out I'm actually optimistic Nagatsuki knows what he's doing. He's laid the groundwork for Subaru to start making better choices and become a better person.

...Well, I understand why y'all told me this episode was gonna be worth watching now.
I like Subaru so much more when he interacts with any character who isn't Emilia, so here's hoping he now spends time with anyone else.
Like Rem
Also, Emilia is so irritated with Subaru on Rem's behalf, I don't care what you tell me, it's absolutely true

...Just don't erase this timeline.
Don't erase this timeline, Subaru.
If you can just pretend this never happened it ruins the whole damn story.

[Sithdarth]

So pretty soon there is going to be a stretch of episodes that are so emotionally charged it's crazy. It is probably best if you avoid the temptation to binge them and watch like one a day.

[Gregness]

When it was airing, that was the half-season finale. You can feel the mic drop.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by Sithdarth

So pretty soon there is going to be a stretch of episodes that are so emotionally charged it's crazy. It is probably best if you avoid the temptation to binge them and watch like one a day.

I've basically moved to one-a-day already because the process of periodically pausing the video to type my commentary has become so all-encompassing (SO much is happening) that it's basically an hour-long experience just to crank one out.

Originally Posted by Gregness

When it was airing, that was the half-season finale. You can feel the mic drop.

Episode 11 is still my favorite by a narrow margin because Rem is the best, but Episode 11 and Episode 13 are just such wonderful foils for each other. It's like a mirror image of "Subaru is at his best with Rem" / "Subaru is at his worst with Emilia." I really hope it was intentional.

It flows so well, though, because in a very short span you get to see Subaru at the peak of his most generous and heroic -- essentially being the version of himself he really wants to be, with someone who he can let his guard down and be himself around. And just as you're kind of starting to like him, or at least see what Rem sees in him -- his kindness with the village kids, his ability to speak to Rem's issues with confidence and lift her up -- he swings back to a couple episodes with Emilia and suddenly you hate him again.

Like, I guess what I'm saying is, even objectively and independently of my crazy Rem shipping, Episode 11 was an absolute necessity before Episode 13 because if Episode 11 doesn't exist you'd really despise Subaru right now but Episode 11's existence actually gives you some degree of hope that Subaru will be able to grow into a better person and make better life choices. So, kudos to the author to plotting that out just right.

Anyway, I'm glad I stuck with it because the first few episodes weren't all that gripping (the production values were incredible; the plot was somewhat lacking) but it's really picking up steam now.

[Gregness]

Originally Posted by Solid Snek

Like, I guess what I'm saying is, even objectively and independently of my crazy Rem shipping, Episode 11 was an absolute necessity before Episode 13 because if Episode 11 doesn't exist you'd really despise Subaru right now but Episode 11's existence actually gives you some degree of hope that Subaru will be able to grow into a better person and make better life choices. So, kudos to the author to plotting that out just right.

Anyway, I'm glad I stuck with it because the first few episodes weren't all that gripping (the production values were incredible; the plot was somewhat lacking) but it's really picking up steam now.

I am really looking forward to the post-watch discussion. There's gonna be a lot to unpack.

To make give this post a little bit of content of its own, the way I understand it is at this point in the story, his fans had something of a minor revolt against the author, because a lot of them were the sort of people for which Subaru's bullshit in 13 hits too close to home.