RE: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – 11

Girl gets what she needs….

It’s a Red Oni, Blue Oni remix…But first, before we begin, I’d like to add something I’ve forgotten in weeks past. Three cheers to White Fox for giving us anywhere from one and a half to three more minutes of story per week with this show. No OP or ED? No problem. And now, let’s get to it…

Even if I overdo everything…

The start of guilt, the start of drama

I really enjoyed the first nine or ten minutes that was on offer. But to be honest it had a few sticking points. I’m not really in love with they were against us when we were babies routine as it seems really silly that a powerful demon clan would even have a restriction against twins other than trust our oddball prophecy. It feels like an artificial start to the base of an arc, and I’m thankful they didn’t overdo that aspect of the story. Also, the surprise killers in the night aspect coupled with the flash out of nowhere “de-horning” felt rushed. As it stands, it works if you take it as if coming from a child’s recollection. I’m hoping more of that play’s out in the future as their story get’s an expansion.

Two arrows are better than one…

But as for the rest, thematically, it was quite endearing and very enjoyable. This was a good follow up and resolution to the Red Oni, Blue Oni story that was brought up earlier. It was also quite the transformation, rather than an outright copy, of the much-used trope, as I think this production introduced it’s own ideas to the narrative device. Switch the dispositions around, and then spring away from them – but still keep to the basic outline. As that developed, I loved Rem’s earnest nature, as she will try anything to keep pace, no matter what, when, or where.  I also love how her parents weren’t overbearing on her, letting her be herself without insisting overmuch that she has to be a certain way; well, they didn’t want her to be a bother, but that’s normal for parents.

Compliment competition….

I have a cunning plan

I’ll throw myself into it’s massive jaws. The monster will never think of that, thusly I will have outsmarted it.

But leave it to Barusu to conceive of rendering himself nearly dead – well okay, really dead – in order to resolve everything quickly and cleanly. And really, that’s the shoe that never got dropped during the middle scene; he was going to Restart. His back was up against he proverbial wall, and this time it really had a different element of risk to it, not just for what he’s learned and lost, but for what Rem will be able to learn and risk losing. But going back to nearly getting killed, that was part of the risk process. He could either take out King ‘Garm Puppy, or get taken out himself, either by tooth and claw, or oncoming curse, so it had to be all the guns, didn’t it?

I have a new cunning plan! Save me!

But, Rosewaal stepped in for his Big Damn Hero moment, and gave us the first part of exactly how large and in charge he well and truly is. Sure, it ruins Subaru’s Big Damn Hero moment, but that’s the way it has to be. Subaru, for now, is a much better hero when he works at actual size, that’s really where he is writ large. I mean, creative use of spell and funkyfruit, but still. So, much like he will soon encourage and even admonish Rem to be herself, he has to listen to his own advice as well. But that’s kinda why I like the big idiot.

To be fair, Rosewaal kinda owns the place…

What Ram doesn’t have, you do…

Time it was, there was a time

Which bring us to the most endearing scene in the show, and the resolution – for now – of the story. I’ve often thought it’s bad to judge a book by it’s cover, but I do it any way. I also feel it’s pretty bad to judge by a single page, or even a set of them. We’re a continuity, and all of us are part of a much larger story that get’s more and more impossible to judge easily by a single page. Rem simply didn’t want to be better than her sister, she wanted to replace her, with complex levels of want and need burned into the recipe.

She’s earned that happy cry

It was the guilt that really sunk it all in. It made her turn inward to much, to soon, to early in her life. She stopped seeing either her or her sister as a developing pair that could blossom into individulals. That one could compliment the other, something I think their parents wanted to let emerge rather than force. It made a great deal of story sense for them to be eliminated, and especially in such a harsh fashion. That adds a great deal of bitter-sweet to the drama. However, in the end we have to leave it to Subaru’s really cunning plan of complete self-admonition, to help Rem see that what’s she looking up to may be an ideal that isn’t all that. Which isn’t to say that Ram is a terrible person or sister. It’s just as he said, a pedestal isn’t fair to either one of them. And Ram really is a bit of a lazy one isn’t she?

A few things to look for

Who wants curry?! Well, I don’t have any, so have some extra images instead!

Show ▼

—————————————————————————————————————————–

But let’s not leave just yet. I implied a larger part Rosewaal played this episode, and now it’s time to pay that off. I have a tendency to look at good storytellers and how doubling up on the stuff that happens in specific scenes can multiply the storytelling force. So with that in mind,  Rosewaal must have a huge amount of mana if he is able to keep Ram charged, so to speak. Or he knows how to get return on the right sorts of investment. It pays to do so as being part of what we now know to be a great Oni Team makes Ram a good informant/spy. But that begs more…

A solid investment?

Let’s add it all the talk of crazy character’s he meet during his pursuit to put Emilia on the throne, and how that’s all part of the plan to get him in striking distance to the Dragon. It implies that he has quite a few burners going, not only for the previous characters – in addition to enduring now missing child sized mabeast masters – we’ve already met, but new ones to come. Who is willing to off him through his minions and how all of them may be sacrificial pawns he energizes just to get to that striking distance? Quite sinister to be sure. So, if all that is true and they left it hanging there, then they did a good job to end the show on a fine and happy note, didn’t they?

Date Get!