Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World Episode 1 – Pissing Promise and Premise Away

Alternative titles: “(Only) Two Minutes in Paradise”, and “Steins;Gate Was Great, Wasn’t It?”

This is a first impressions post. I rarely find that I have this much to discuss about first episodes, but every so often a show comes along and it just has so much to unpack. Well, having a 50 minute premiere certainly didn’t hurt that aspect. But in case you’re looking for the bottom line, Re:Zero’s offering was extremely uneven thus far, and most of it did not pass muster. Though I’m going to keep watching, I’m not sure I can actually recommend the show to others at this time.

When you can only notice when the jokes are pointed out to you.

And this is exactly why I have so much to discuss in the show, because while most of it is bad, it isn’t bad in the same way last season’s Dimension W was bad, which was mostly uninteresting and just throwing a whole bunch of events at the screen while forgetting its characters have personalities it has to contend with, or that they do not have personalities and perhaps they should be given some. The mix of good and bad, and bad that actually undoes the good, is exactly what makes this show interesting to speak of. I’m also going to compare it to other shows and some recent trends, which might be unfair to it, but that’s life, unfair (Spoilers galore for the first episode).

Spring 2016 Anime Season Preview and Expectations

It’s now two weeks before the spring 2016 anime season begins, which means it’s time to look towards the new season, and put behind us a season with a few great shows, and little else to recommend beyond them. Will this spring season finally save us from the drought of the last 3 seasons? It seems as if it might actually be the case!

As always, in these posts I cover shows I plan to follow, or have thoughts on why I will not follow them, or considered following and decided not to. As always, I try to strike a balance between giving you enough information on the show, and telling you why I think it is or isn’t worth watching. Shows ordered by day, and by expectation within the day, as that affects pick status. The “Almost In” category describes shows that I’d pick up in prior seasons, but decided to put aside in order to make more time for backlog, after growing unhappy with how many of the shows I pick up ending up “not worth the time”, let alone “good”.
Much space is given to the people involved with a show, as premises are easy, but execution is hard, and it’s people who are in charge of that. You’re likelier to end up with good shows that way. Link in anime title is to the show’s page on MAL, in case you want to check out the premise and details yourselves.

Most of the information about the shows can be had from the helpful Neregate Chart, and what I’ve happened to see on various sites, such as The Cart Driver. Check them out if you want more information, or information on shows I didn’t cover (such as follow-ups to shows I don’t watch).

Sunday:

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou – The Last Song / Concrete Revolutio: A Superhuman Fantasy 2nd Season – Concrete Revolutio’s first cour was good enough to end as my 6th best show of 2015. With a nuanced approach to “multiple justices,” of trying to do the right thing while accepting that the other side believes they’re doing the same thing, the show also takes a close look at how shaping the way people perceive justice might be more important than being “just” to begin with. The first cour intertwined a continuing and developing character drama with episodic vignettes.

I was wondering for a moment, “Where will they go from now?” as we “found out” what led Jirou to leave, but since the show has never been a mystery and we’ve known all along, the answer is clear – they will tell us more of the struggle, while exploring moral and social questions. They’ll also have Urobuchi Gen writing an episode or two, for those to whom it makes a big difference. But since it’ll exist within the larger narrative, I don’t find it particularly important.

I do recommend picking this show up if you hadn’t before. If you’re having trouble with the time-skips, check my episodic write-ups, which aside from a thematic discussion of each episode also provide an up to date timeline.
Hype Rating: 2.5/3. A second cour of a show I liked? I’m on board. This show rarely “excites” me, but I expect to enjoy it and find a lot that is worthwhile there, with a few touching moments and moments of highlight animation tossed in.
Airing Date: April 3rd.