Re:Zero - Episode 18 Discussion / Poll

[DemonneoPT]

Originally Posted by Haruyasha

This... only happens in the realm of fiction.

Well, Rem is from a fantasy world so i guess if Dragons and magic exist there, someone like Rem is not that far-fetched. That's why people say she is the best girl

[Proto]

There are no girls out there who would stand there listening to a guy go on like that, much less stand there smiling after getting smashed in the face with rejection. (I realize he was just getting her back, but as a male that was extremely childish and embarrassing.)

Well, from her POV she was probably returning him the favor from when he kept encouraging her despite Rem saying over and over that Ram was better than her in every way and she was merely a faulty replacement. It was several levels above that though, but it keeps with the series theme that you *need* to lean on each other's shoulder's. No one in the series is strong enough to solve all problems alone.

Unless you are Puck and just freeze everything to death.

[Wandering_Youth]

Remind me again what beings can detect the Witch's curse on Subaru? Ram, Rem, and Betty right? I'm finding it very shocking that giving how the Witch is pretty much our version of the devil in that world that people don't keep a closer eye on Subaru. You would think that at least someone in the Kingdom would of sensed that something is very wrong with Subaru and he's not just one dumb kid with an attitude problem.

Surely Puck, an ancient god spirit who also seems to have fought with the Witch once before, would also noticed it, but it seems like he doesn't or doesn't bother to warn or tell her master Emilia about it? I'm quite confused why Puck is so disappointed in Subaru as if he expected something from him from a mere human. It's not like Puck himself does anything really to protect his/her master, hell at both times when Emilia was very close to death it was Subaru that called out Puck to guard Emilia otherwise she would of been dead. I feel as if Emilia herself really wants to die, but is too much afraid herself to do it.

Well enough of my rant, this anime is just getting very hard to watch now. Torture is not my cup of tea.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Wandering_Youth

Remind me again what beings can detect the Witch's curse on Subaru? Ram, Rem, and Betty right? I'm finding it very shocking that giving how the Witch is pretty much our version of the devil in that world that people don't keep a closer eye on Subaru. You would think that at least someone in the Kingdom would of sensed that something is very wrong with Subaru and he's not just one dumb kid with an attitude problem.

.

The Mabeasts from that entire forest fiasco could also detect the smell of the cure on Subaru.

[Arkard]

Originally Posted by SeaDoor

My only concern about Subaru's development in this episode is that he might have jumped from Sloth to Pride.

That's one of the first things Betelguese questioned him about. Whether he was Pride. There's a lot to speculate on when you combine Return by Death, the steadily increasing witch's smell on him, and his newfound ability to see Betelguese's Unseen Hands. I'm a bit disturbed because oh how Betelguese describes his devotion to the witch as love. Given Subaru's feelings toward Emilia, I almost feel like this a path of corruption to becoming a sin.

Originally Posted by DemonneoPT

And what about Puck? Sure he was enraged but his last sentence he said to Subaru was really suspicious... why would he repeat Betelgeuse's trademark? And the Whale is Gluttony or some of the Gluttony Witch creations?

I think Puck referred to the whale itself as Gluttony. Makes sense if its power is devour existences.

[Proto]

Ram cannot detect her scent. Puck needs to be manually summoned into the world, though the mechanics of how his summoning can be triggered have not been made explicit.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Wandering_Youth

Remind me again what beings can detect the Witch's curse on Subaru? Ram, Rem, and Betty right? I'm finding it very shocking that giving how the Witch is pretty much our version of the devil in that world that people don't keep a closer eye on Subaru. You would think that at least someone in the Kingdom would of sensed that something is very wrong with Subaru and he's not just one dumb kid with an attitude problem.

Surely Puck, an ancient god spirit who also seems to have fought with the Witch once before, would also noticed it, but it seems like he doesn't or doesn't bother to warn or tell her master Emilia about it? I'm quite confused why Puck is so disappointed in Subaru as if he expected something from him from a mere human. It's not like Puck himself does anything really to protect his/her master, hell at both times when Emilia was very close to death it was Subaru that called out Puck to guard Emilia otherwise she would of been dead. I feel as if Emilia herself really wants to die, but is too much afraid herself to do it.

Well enough of my rant, this anime is just getting very hard to watch now. Torture is not my cup of tea.

If he had fought her he would probably be dead.
My current speculation is that he is either one of Satellas creations or her former spirit contractor. - Note here how even her cultists don't call her by her name but Puck just goes 'Satella' as if they used to be friends.
He should thus be definitely be able to smell the Witch's scent is just likely not particulary bothered by it.

[bakapervert]

Originally Posted by Haruyasha

This... only happens in the realm of fiction.

There are no girls out there who would stand there listening to a guy go on like that, much less stand there smiling after getting smashed in the face with rejection. (I realize he was just getting her back, but as a male that was extremely childish and embarrassing.)

They are just missing the icing on the cake - they cut out the part where Rem was supposed to say she'd be okay with polygamy.

In the real world, there is no guy who would risk himself to wake up a demon girl that go berserk and trying to kill you, or make yourself into decoy so the girl can escape while you are actually a totally powerless guy. I know I won't. I'm going to piss myself and run away crying pathetically, just like Subaru in the last few episodes. So if actually a girl can find said guy (Which is rarer than even nessie or yeti), there is no way she would be stupid enough to let said guy get away when everyone else is exactly like Subaru in the last few episodes or even worse.

Anyway awesome episode. I'm crying there. Worth it to force myself seeing how ugly Subaru is getting through this season 2 that we finally reached this point.

[Draco Spirit]

Well that was a dam good episode and one that was nearly purely two characters talking!

The way Rem talked Subaru out of despair was so touching. The poor guy has really been through too much crap and unsurprising wanted to run away from it all with the cute maid (I mean I can see the temptation ), but instead of taking advantage of his weakness to get him all to herself (and lets be honest, she not have a hard time getting him into her bed in that situation), Rem instead focused on fixing him and his broken ego.

Which nicely bring us to the use of the word 'hero'. It tends to get throw around a lot, but Rem called Subaru her hero because he did what a hero suppose to do.. save people in general, and he was her hero specifically because he saved her in her darkest hour. Being reminded of that he -had- made a difference in the past was exactly what he needed to hear, along with the fact that he did it all despite being weak, despite being foolish and despite not knowing everything was a important set of facts to remember... especially in his current situation.

Another interesting bit of this long chat was that Sabaru talked about his old life. He's been pretty quiet about it before now by and large, but the fact he's ashamed of his old NEET lifestyle seems like something we might end up revisiting at a latter date in more depth, with the obvious question of why did our hero end up living like that if he was unhappy about it?

Also the the title finally got explained. Starting from zero.. letting go of your regrets in the last cycle and moving forwards and Re: because that his reply to his deaths, like on a email

[Triple_R]

I was loving this episode... up until Subaru said "I love Emilia" to Rem. That pretty much killed this episode for me.

For all of the ways that Re:Zero differs from the typical isekai story, it still couldn't bring itself to go against one of the most common tropes around - First girl wins. If any story was perfectly positioned to make that break, and pull it off well, this story was.

Credit where credit is due - The Director, the animators, and the seiyu did a very good job with this episode.

[BetoJR]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I was loving this episode... up until Subaru said "I love Emilia" to Rem. That pretty much killed this episode for me.

Well, you can't blame the guy for standing by his convictions, can you?
Personally, I found it quite refreshing, in a medium where people often complain about wishy-washy protagonists who are not assertive enough - even if it was heartbreaking as all hell. And, who knows, the story is not nearly over, yet. There's still time.

If not, there's a perfectly good (also heartbreaking, when you realize it'll never happen just as it's written) short "what if" story about the couple eloping at just this point, and their life afterwards. They really should make an OVA out of that.

[DemonneoPT]

Triple R

Don't lose hope. Given how big Re:Zero author's balls are, there is an high chance that some fucked up shit will happen in the future with Emilia which will give another chance for Rem to win Subaru's heart. Thing is, there is also an high probability for the author to kill Rem destroying all your hopes and dreams too..lol

[BetoJR]

Originally Posted by DemonneoPT

Thing is, there is also an high probability for the author to kill Rem destroying all your hopes and dreams too..lol

Well, there's also that...

[Triple_R]

@BetoJR and DemonneoPT - Don't worry. I'm not giving up on Re:Zero as a whole. There's no show that's been a bigger roller coaster ride for me than this one, and it's certainly possible it'll surprise me again in a future episode. Re:Zero still has my favorite anime episode of the entire year - That being Episode 15. And I still like Rem a lot. And I eventually forgave True Tears for something much like this, so I'll probably do the same for Re:Zero.

As a big Rem fan, I just really needed to get some things off my chest, when it comes to this episode.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Screw it. If I were Subaru, I'd choose Emilia too. Why? Because Emilia has Puck. And if I get Emilia, I'll get Puck too! Yeah baby, Puck 4 life!!!

[Dengar]

I'm not quite sure what the rage is all about for Subaru not going for alleged "best girl". Different people fall for different qualities.

That's like all those times in other shows where people get angry at a guy for not immediately doing the girl who obviously wants him, even though there is no real reason to go for her other than "she's hot".

[SeaDoor]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Screw it. If I were Subaru, I'd choose Emilia too. Why? Because Emilia has Puck. And if I get Emilia, I'll get Puck too! Yeah baby, Puck 4 life!!!

Note that Puck has said a couple of times that he's not "giving his daughter" to anyone. Seems that his contract with Emilia is exclusive.

[Metaneo]

Originally Posted by Dengar

I'm not quite sure what the rage is all about for Subaru not going for alleged "best girl". Different people fall for different qualities.

That's like all those times in other shows where people get angry at a guy for not immediately doing the girl who obviously wants him, even though there is no real reason to go for her other than "she's hot".

Mainly the reason is because it's not what they want to see, therefore they don't like it. I could say more but I'd rather not add more fuel to the shitstorm.

[relentlessflame]

Aside from shipping wars, I would also like to remind novel readers to not give even the slightest hints in this thread. A number of posts in this thread are being reviewed for going over the line into information the anime hasn't stated yet. Absolutely no hints or suggestions of any kind are allowed.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I was loving this episode... up until Subaru said "I love Emilia" to Rem. That pretty much killed this episode for me.

For all of the ways that Re:Zero differs from the typical isekai story, it still couldn't bring itself to go against one of the most common tropes around - First girl wins. If any story was perfectly positioned to make that break, and pull it off well, this story was.

The author obviously has big plans for Emilia in the long run since this current arc is only the 3rd arc out of 6 existing WN arcs, and I wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a very likeable and developed character later on. However what the author probably should have taken into consideration was the way he cut down on Emilia's screentime and gave her zero romantic interest towards the main character for at least 2 and a half arcs. If he keeps the romantic chemistry between the main character and the main heroine very dry for a good chunk of the story while at the same time giving massive amounts of screentime, importance, and EXCELLENT chemistry with another character who also happens to be extremely cute, honest and likeable, well, how could he NOT expect most of the audience to root for Rem?

Rem's confession in this episode was god-tier. It's the kind of amazing scene that many people want to see at the end of a romance series, the ultimate climax and romantic resolution where the characters speak their hearts out about the extent that they love each other to the smallest cutest details. Emilia would have to say something unspeakably awesome to outdo what Rem said here. Ironically a lot of romances LACK this kind of moving resolution for the main romantic couple; Rem's all-out honest confession is what a lot of romance SHOULD do yet do not, so for me to see the perfect confession scene being pulled off and promptly being dismissed because the girl involved isn't the endgame is quite a bummer and feels like a waste of a great scene.