Re :Zero : Starting Life in Another World - Season 2

A "sanctuary" means a refuge. The entire 2nd season, i.e. the Sanctuary arc of the literary source material, felt rather ironically like a death row prison. After a first season spent exploring the world, finding the main character's social status, and figuring out his abilities, Re:Zero moved full force into opening the doors not only of the margrave Roswaal's estate, but more importantly, the history of the wider ensemble and the local Blair witch mysteries. The purposefulness of the narrative is evident upon viewing, and this series, after a heavy-handed and overblown bombardment of flashbacks, has grounded all the important characters into specifically carved out positions, almost in a single line, with cards open and the table empty for continued runs. Ok, why not. Unfortunately, the commodity most needed yet most lacking was stage space: the characters, like us, were nonstop choking and waterboarding in the style of an interrogation behind the tight, ever-closing walls. The claustrophobic plot in the figuratively sketched labyrinth of Sanctuary viciously had us wandering several times, only to return in confusion to the starting point and then be thrown into the same vortex again, except this time the experience would be a little different, though just as annoying. The repetitive peripeteia eventually came to an end, but I can't say that I felt in any way enriched by the experience or that the new information provided was worth the time. The issues of this Gordian knot seemed easier than its legendary unraveling, my thoughts pushing Subaru with all my might to that one, disaster-predicting spot, and when it first happened, it made for that perfect spectacle that Re:Zero's potential promises. Episode 6 is a scripted, action-packed gem with a plethora of artistic ideas, creatively complemented and linked by music – which, damagingly, was never even once repeated. The stretching of the story reached such flagrant levels that it became abundantly clear when the makers of "Subaru reloaded" could(n’t) afford it. It's not hard to deduce that it wasn't too many times, because once again, no one has had the courage/reason to go through that arduous journey without throwing a noose around their neck for good. I must also mention the lackluster finale, which admittedly added to the cisterns of tears, but the more ingenious resolution of the mega-threat probably remained on Ever Given, the ship stuck in the Suez, as we got a trite 5 minutes, a severely unsatisfying substitute. In the end, only the character of the teenaged Emilie emerged confidently, interestingly completing the character of Roswaal, awkwardly dispensing with the bloodthirsty antagonist, and delivering the ultimate irritating drag. Accompanied with the stuttering plot, the visuals had a similar tendency, the quality from Season 1 blowing hot and cold. I had only minimal enjoyment from the increasingly round faces and the action sequences were cartoonishly over the top. I'm getting a headache from this season, feeling insanely sleepy after watching it, but there is hope that it’ll pick up. It just needs a little more life and, ironically, death. A weak 3 stars (29/03/2021) (moins) (plus)

In the end, I was very happy with the second season of Re: Zero − Starting Life in Another World, even though I was not too sure about it during the first half of the season. I found that whole story arc very long-winded because the screenwriters kept undermining the main male protagonist’s chances of achieving anything which is why Subaru could get so intense at times. So I thought the second season lost points for that (the first season did not). On the other hand, the first half of this season showed how intriguing and powerfully moving this anime can be because it is unusual in the fact that the main male protagonist suffers and repeatedly dies. It piqued my interest because of the way that the screenwriters showed there is no ideal solution to all the problems and complications. They almost managed to convince me and I found this different take on things quite energizing. Well, I am pleased with how it turned out, it held my attention and everything worked out in the end! I was concerned the show was just about the narrative, the emotionally charged atmosphere, the action, and the sheer excitement which were good but not enough. Then I realized that this was the run where everything would start to unravel. This made up for what I found lacking. In most cases I found the ways in which the various problems were resolved very relatable and compelling which enabled the relationships between the characters to develop nicely, the characters changed, and everything was so nicely tied together that I really enjoyed the second half of this season in particular. Moreover, it was clearly demonstrated that Re: Zero − Starting Life in Another World is not a simple story. In fact, Tappei Nagatsuki is one of those writers who have everything well thought out in detail, and I admire this style of creative writing a lot because I am not very good at it myself. To be more specific, when you try to write something, you have to have a system, and it often varies greatly from person to person. Leaving aside the copycats who just try to pass off a tweaked and slightly reworked thing they have plagiarised (and thus, for example, create a show that is just another variation on an overused theme, like a special academy...), I think there are two main approaches. The first is the one I practice. I come up with some general points about what I want to write about, sit down and just write. This produces work composed of ideas and observations flowing just as they come to mind. For movie reviews, I think this is a good approach. However, if you are writing a complex story (novel, novella, etc.) you are quickly going to run out of ideas (and fall into tried-and-true clichés without realizing it). Then you are going to start breaking the rules you made up in your creative haze, and contradict yourself, etc. The story will therefore eventually end up as something other than what you originally intended... The second approach is where before writing anything, the writers plan the whole story in their head, working out the beginning and the end, they plan how to get to various big plot twists, they define all the characters, their personalities and characteristics, their relationships, and they also set down strict rules for the world and how it works. They establish a basic framework and principles for it before they sit down and start fleshing it out and connecting their plots and storylines in the most interesting way they can. This means everything fits together and when you look back at how things have developed you can see things you had not noticed immediately, like hints at twists that come up in the middle of the story and others you might come across, and everything seems consistent and reasonable - just well thought out. After that, the author uses their skills to effectively and originally flesh out their work and draw you into their world. This style of writing is used by some reviewers, and you can see that the author has a basic framework they use for every review, which they use to know how, what and when to evaluate, so you get what they are saying, and nothing important they needed to say is lost. Anyway, I went off-topic just because I wanted to explain why I like well-thought-out stories which captured my imagination by writers such as G.R.R. Martin, George Lucas, and many others... Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing where Tappei Nagatsuki takes this next, as he has definitely got my attention with his vision. There are a variety of memorable villains and monsters, and as such a massive fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail I really loved Oousagi, in particular. Plus, the main characters make up for all the points Subaru lost in the first half. Beatrice is really cute, and in the penultimate episode, she tugs on the heartstrings and makes you well up a bit. Ram is still a fine character, and of course Otto is now legendary, plus, the new sibling duo is good. For many, Echidna is quite a popular character and the other witches are also quite interesting. Then there is Emilia, who finally started to become more mature so she is not as irritating anymore. But in the end, throughout the first and the second season the stand-out female character and MVP is clearly Patrasche! The only thing left to answer here is that strange question, surfacing from deep in my mind, that has been bothering me so much throughout season two - Who is REM? At least I am certain about the rating - 9.2/10. (26/03/2021) (moins) (plus)