Reviews

Had very little substance, particularly comparatively to the rest of this season.

The importance of the Yeagerists is still a mystery, the willingness of Mikasa and Jean to take Floch's version of events as the truth again makes little sense.

Why, having completed the defence of the building, why Jean and Mikasa would remove their ODM gear and leave themselves unprotected against the Yeagerists makes little sense.

Start with the positives: Whilst the premise of the show, without getting to into the detail of it (something the creators also didn't feel was necessary) is genuinely intriguing. The art style and script are pretty good.

Negatives: The story is so disrupted and unclear it completely ruins the premise. There isn't a clear reason for the protagonists to do what they did. No clear antogonists, if one wants to argue the people who experimented on them or the Americans are antogonists, why were they not targeted by the protagonists, rather than the Japanese people? The protagonists did not get justice, whether that be natural or otherwise, they weren't martyred, nothing changed, they didn't make an impact, or at least if they did, the audience does not feel that catharthis at the close of the series. I don't know the motivations for 5's actions, was she competitive, in love, genuinely spiteful, or simply looking for a bit of a laugh? None of the characters are developed and they don't develop throughout the series. They are 2 dimensional and in many aspects of the show unlikeable (particularly the 'loli' character who's name I've already forgotten). 9 is perhaps the only character who sticks to his morals and principles, as unclear as they are for much of the series. I think the score is spoken much too highly of and the writing of the narrative and story is poor. There is so much more they could have done with this premise. Give this a go if you don't mind being slightly disappointed by what could have been.

I sat down to binge this show during quarantine due to the highly rated reviews and countless videos on how good this anime is. The Isekai genre, although more saturated than that sponge you left in the kitchen sink two days ago, still adds features that's keeps things interesting. Re: Zero uses tropes such as breaking the fourth wall and the character's knowledge of the situation, getting rid of the now unnecessary dramatic irony some of these shows continue to employ to poor effect. The idea of the character having lives and his previous experiences helping shape his future narrative is relatable for all those who play video games and was a good premise. The quality of animation, voice acting and attention to detail is generally rather impressive. The benefit for the viewer is that there's great immersion, you could go 4-5 episodes and not realise it. One critique I have is the continued poor use of CG images, creatures pulling carts etc are all produced by CG and it harms the general asthetic of the series. The story, however, I fear has a lot of problems. I read a previous review which said 'make it to the end of this arc'. I did, and I vaguely understand why, as you get a heartwarming ending which is somewhat cathartic for the viewer. Like all isekai's, the viewer longs for the protagonist and his love interest to come together, and they do. It does give you a good feeling inside, but in this writer's opinion it papers over the cracks of what is a weak protagonist and muddled story. After 25 episodes, I really don't know how to feel about Subaru. His epiphanic moments come at odd and poorly paced times of the story. Sudden realisations that would have been better structured by the preceding and proceeding scenes (worst example was the conversation in the capital with Rem, who we don't see in the last 4-5 episodes of the show, for such a pivotal point in the protagonist's journey, not to have her involved after that is problematic.) No doubt the writers chose to create a flawed protagonist. They did, but they also made him unbearably unlikeable, fundamentally flawed to a point of almost disgust to this viewer. His redemption arc does little to sway this view as it isn't clear how he properly addressed his many issues. Many will point to the fact the show has been renewed for a further season and thus perhaps this can be rectified. Maybe his evolution is a slow burner (like Eren in AOT), but I can only comment on what has been produced. Overall, this is a good and enjoyable show. At points viewers may find their interest waining and perhaps wonder if they should finish it. For the reasons set out above, if you get bored during the series, don't bother finishing it. I couldn't possibly recommend this as a "must watch", but a decent bit of anime with a somewhat complex protagonist, but, bland and rather typical characters in the periphery. One final point, the show lacks a clear antagonist, one may think Subaru is his own antagonist, I think not. Again something that can be addressed in further season(s). (Strictly Come Dancing reference for those confused by the title).