Re:Zero: Starting Life in Another World Review

Return by Death is a good idea because the show refuses to make it free. Subaru cannot tell anyone about it, so every loop leaves him carrying knowledge he cannot explain and grief nobody else remembers, and the series is disciplined enough to let that turn him into someone unpleasant. The stretch where his self-image collapses in front of Rem is the best writing this genre has produced and the reason the show is still discussed. The world around it is standard issue, with a royal selection, a witch cult and a magic system explained in long seated conversations.

White Fox animates competently and no better, and the fight direction is frequently flat. Kenichiro Suehiro's score and the sound design of a death loop do real work. Pacing is the persistent problem, since arcs run well past their natural length and the second season front-loads exposition for several episodes at a stretch. Judged against light novel adaptations it sits near the top of the pile; judged against the best of the medium it is uneven and much too long.