[BladeMancer]

Originally Posted by Applehell

What qualities as a pivotal moment is something (or things) that impacts a character's life so strongly that it continues to influence that character throughout the story.
Meeting and becoming involved with Emilia definitely fits becasue it began his raison d'être in time he had become withdrawn (can't say much more with S2 spoilers) and that motivated him to continue living here. He also definitely wasn't the sort of person who was inclined to go out of his way help others like he did in Arc 1 (which is shown in an example with the little girl) prior to this, it was Emilia who brought thta out of him as he hadn't felt that way about anyone before.

I mean, yeah Emilia helped him and shit but its not because she was someone to bring out his better qualities. The fact that he was unwilling to help a little girl in the beginning actually devalues Subaru morally, and it proves my point. Subaru was stuck in his own selfish mindset, only willing to leave his shell because of a girl who aligned with his idea of an ideal heroine (I think that Arc 4 illustration in his room is enough to show that he's quite "particular" about females who have silver hair). Is it a pivotal moment in some guys life to start simping out to someone he'd just met for the first time? No, take the girl out of the equation and he'd revert, which is exactly what happens in Arc 3. Subaru isn't naturally a bad person, and his dedication to saving Rem in Arc 2 proves his potential. This wasn't some change inspired by Emilia though, no one who is selfish goes from self preservation to hero-hood in the span of a few days. The change is unnatural and sudden that I'd attribute it to both a inborn nature and his ability to loop, which grants someone like Subaru more then one chance.

Originally Posted by Applehell

My post isn't just my interpretation

Uh-huh

Originally Posted by Applehell

its what Subaru actually feels and what he has felt like before coming to this world. Meeting Emilia and attaining the life he has now was a new beginning for him that's why he struggle so hard to keep it while trying to hold down his anxieties of inadequacy. From Zero wasn't really just about refining who he was but reaffirming why he was here, why he cares at all. Like Subaru doesn't just go through one moment of growth he goes through several phases of them that strengthen his connection to this world and characters in it. He thinks back to these moments from time to time the especially in 2nd season when he undergoes a certain event (vol 10).

Yeah, anyone treats getting isekai'd and meeting a total hottie an important part of their lives, but when you look at it in a certain perspective, is it really? Just merely meeting Emilia and doing good by her wasn't the thing that severely changed his stance on everything. I guess you can call what he was doing in the early arcs "connecting with the world" but its apparent from Arc 3 on that he did a shit job at it. Emilia left him, his world crumbled and all this so called "strengthening" eventually led him to try and run away from everything save the one person who didn't give up on him.

Originally Posted by Applehell

So the beginning is absolute a pivotal moment for him. From Zero doesn't change those feelings he felt then

Gonna have to both agree and disagree with you there chap. Subaru was at a breaking point by the time From Zero happened, he was willing to leave everything but one thing behind and run away. From Zero is a change in both his resolve and mentality whilst being a solidification of the things he wanted to achieve before his breakdown.

Originally Posted by Applehell

it just sands away a part of his emotional baggage from his past that inhibited what he wanted to do as each arc has been doing. Its not something that occurred in a vacuum or unrelated to everything that before that nor is it the only thing that had any impact on him. Basically Subaru was already changing before From Zero due his relationships, what that did just pushed those changes further and harder which why his development is good.

Subaru wasn't "changing". The seeds to lay the foundation of change were planted (and subsequently bloom in From Zero), but he himself wasn't changed in any profound way. As stated before, his regression is counter to whatever point you're trying to set up here.

Originally Posted by Applehell

So this not an "either or" thing here, rather that this something built on over the course of the story that attempts address various parts of his flaws which is why From Zero was just culmination of all the pieces of his development from Arcs 1, 2 & 3 up to that point. Its why Rem presence and words here are important, because she is living proof that his actions made some difference when he was mired in his own self-loathing from all his failures and couldn't see that. However FZ doesn't completely fix him either, like meeting Emilia didn't, it is just one event of several others contributes to improving him as 2nd season will continue to do.

Let me ask you something. Lets bring up Accelerator from Raildex as an example, which was more profound a change? Accelerator when he decided to protect Last Order from a bullet or when he awoke the White Wings when he finally was able to comprehend what he wanted to do, no villainy bullshit attached?
Obviously, its the damn White Wings. Even after saving Last Order, Accelerator still found himself tripping and doing bad shit, he was still killing, still maiming, still staining himself with blood. Sure, his reasons were more justifiable but it eventually drove him to go batshit in Russia which required Touma, his ideal hero, to tell him that black/white mentality was bullshit.
Of course, From Zero wasn't some reality warping game changer. Subaru was still Subaru, its up to him to fix himself. But what you're failing to understand is that this moment, whose very name has the series's title stamped on it, is obviously more pivotal to Subaru then his simping for Emilia. Whilst the beginning is important as it lays the foundations of everything, the end is the culmination of the beginning and whatever transpired before the end. From Zero was an end, and that is why it will always be more pivotal to Subaru.