Re:ZERO (anime review)

Re:ZERO - Starting Life in a New World is a fantasy-adventure anime in which a hikikomori (a shut-in) is magically transported to a fantasy world, seemingly at random. In the midst of learning about this new world and the people living in it, he gets pulled into the more sinister workings in the shadows of the brightly shining world while trying to save all his new friends and the woman he loves.

Honestly, I watched because Akidearest is such a big fan of this one. It seemed cool enough, but I really couldn't jump on this bandwagon by myself.
On the surface, it looks very similar to the usual harem anime with fantasy elements and a conflict-esque thing going on to make it look like something other than a man finding some way to grab or mash his face into some girl's inordinately large breasts. For the first few episodes, it didn't look like I was entirely wrong in presuming such, but I trust Aki quite well as far as anime taste goes, so I stuck with it.

It's really a very clever piece. I didn't expect the most important aspect to come into play (HUGE merits to not actually reading up on a show before you watch it), and it shocked and confused me when it first happened. It's a different sort of way to show a character growing and changing. It's a bit of a cheat, but, at the same time, it's just a new and unique way of telling a story. And it also caters to some of the questions fans ask from time to time about their favorite shows. 'If this character had walked that way instead of this one, would his ending be different?' or 'If she'd said this instead of that, would they still have fought so badly?' sort of questions. I know I'm one to think about these things.

The plot starts off pretty simple. Just the boy trying to help the girl that saved his life. But things get more complicated as we learn more about the girl, and meet new characters. For a moment, it looked like this anime would consist of trials for the title of Supreme Ruler. But even that gets more complicated and other things develop in the wake of it.
This show has left me with many questions, though the ending was pretty good, nearly final. Things like why Subaru is there, why he has the power that he has, and what the true villain is out to accomplish are all still up in the air. We're not even sure of all the rules of Subaru's power.

As far as characters go, they're all pretty cool. The main character, Subaru Natsuki, is a little too lame for my interest, like they over-shot how pathetic a shut-in ought to be in his situation, but, otherwise, likable enough, and with some pretty good character development.
The girls were not all completely useless or stupid, either. Aki claims Beatrice to be 'Best Girl'. Honestly, I agree. She's the only one who isn't super fond of Subaru, and is mostly cold to everyone except for Emilia's spirit familiar, Puck. Her powers and knowledge are really cool, too.
A close second would have to be Rem. I love her powers. While it's exceedingly sad that she is all too willing to fight for Subaru's cause without regard for her own safety and well-being, I thoroughly enjoyed watching her in fight scenes.
I was not partial to Emilia. Her powers were cool, but she never seemed able to do anything on her own. She never once tried to take matters into her own hands, pleading victim half the time. It's really irritating how many characters just like her turn up in popular anime in this day and age.

The animation was adequate. Smooth all over, only beginning to brush over exceptional in fight scenes. The art is nice, though I see a lot of styles just like this one, these days. It does blend a nice mix of creepy horror elements with elegant beauty and perfect innocence. There's more blood than I would've expected, but not too much for the light-of-heart I would say, as I have a low tolerance for gore, myself.

All of the voice over was pretty good, but my favorite job had to be of this season's own villain, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka. I had no idea he was in this until today (spoiler aversion tactic of mine), and, while he's played some characters I really didn't care for, he truly is a brilliant actor. The role of Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti is a fine example of his work, in my opinion, as the character both scared me and had me rolling at the same time!

Overall, not a bad anime. It's not the best, but there are definitely some remarkable things about it, and it is worth the watch. I would've liked more out of it, once I realized what everything was leading up to. I would also have liked some things to be different, but that's a rant for another day.

Watching on,
Tatsuno13