Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) is starting the second cour of its Season 2 in Winter 2021. A LOT happened in the first cour, which already feels like a million years ago, so we thought it would be good to go over where we are in this epic tale. Obviously, there will be spoilers up to the end of the anime’s Season 2 Part 1 mentioned here. You’ve been warned!
Depending on how you look at it, things got way more complicated for our protagonist Subaru in the first cour of Season 2. In Season 1, Subaru was up against assassins and witch cultists - evil people who looked obviously evil from the get-go. From Season 2 Part 1, we learn more about those people Subaru has surrounded himself with as Subaru uses his powerful ability Return by Death to investigate who he can really trust and how he can possibly save everyone.
It may have surprised some viewers to learn that Roswaal is one of the season’s main antagonists. Because of his twisted sense of nobility, he is willing to kill innocence or use Subaru to get what he wants. It’s not entirely clear what that is, but it involves the Witch of Greed, Echidna. So we should expect him to continue being a major obstacle to Subaru’s goals in Season 2 Part 2.
Echidna wants ALL the info. She's Greed, alright.
Speaking of which (and witch), we were introduced to Echidna and got to know her quite a bit. She helped Subaru at times, but again, for her own selfish interests. Even though she’s a witch, she’s been a very charming and entertaining addition to the cast thus far. Now that Subaru has rejected her deal, we’re not sure what part she’ll play moving forward...
And who would have thought we’d get to know all of the other witches as well! Including Satella! Even without much screen time, the show was able to develop their characters. They’re memorable, overpowered beings, and we hope to see more of them in the second half of the season. As for Satella - the mysterious veil over her has been lifted a little. She might be unhealthily obsessed with Subaru but it seems she means him well. But why?
What we do know for certain is that because Roswal hired assassins Elsa and Meili to attack the mansion, Subaru is being forced to make an impossible decision. He must choose whether to save the lives of Emilia and the people of Sanctuary, or to save Rem, Beatrice and the girls in the mansion. And now, coming to the conclusion that he values his own life (and his friends like Otto and Ram value it as well), he chooses not to use Return by Death to solve the problem. So what will he ultimately do? What can he do? We can’t wait to find out!
We learned about Betty's past and suffering. Poor girl!
(images source: Amazon)
