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Re:Zero 2 pt 2 episode 46 – Fire and Ice

Irina

So I finished xxxHOLiC, the manga last week and guys, do yourselves a favour and read xxxHOLiC. It’s such a lovely musing on the subtle nature of friendship and family. I really liked it. Right now, I’m reading Noragami. I’m finally into material that was not covered by the anime and it’s the best so far. I hope that show gets a season 3 because the story gets way better.

How are you Crow? Anything on your radar? By the way guys, I’m in normal font and there will be spoilers. Like these spoilers for Crow’s week!

I’m glad you said that about spoilers. Now I can speak freely! If only I had something riveting to say… Glad to hear you enjoyed the xxxHOLiC manga. The anime remains one of my absolute favorites. Maybe you can give the manga the same treatment you just gave Blue Period? That would be cool!

So Emilia is different now. And Subaru is back with the boys telling them what I have been screaming at my TV for weeks now! That he should probably check on all that mansion massacre business. Especially now that he made it so much worse with Roswaal. Good job breaking it, hero!

So we hustle Subaru and Garf out of the way for act 1 and get a brand new intro. Very poppy!

I really like Garfiel now that he’s not trying to slice Otto in half or turn Subaru into compost. He’s so nice now that it would have been totally unbelievable without knowing how he got here. He has a quiet confidence that’s really endearing.

The actual first act catches up with a now weirdly serene Emilia who is met up by Ram for a bit of a chat. However, that doesn’t last too long as the scene launches into a heart-pounding verbal confrontation between Emilia and Roswaal. It seems he is shaping up to be the antagonist of this part. Emilia finally got a chance to show that she is more than just talk.

That seen completely pulled me in. The way each comment would elicit a change in Ram’s grip on Emilia’s hand, or on Roswaal’s expression, so clearly dramatized their feelings that it almost felt like watching subtle real-live actors. 

After Roswaal’s diatribe that he felt assured would turn Emilia into the hesitant, tearful damsel in distress, I was on the edge of my seat. How would she react? Would she back down and crush not only her future, but Ram’s hopes as well? 

How she reacted was also lovingly animated. She placed her hand on her chest and took a breath. Then she opened her eyes, looked straight at Roswaal, and asked, “Is that all?”

She might as well have punched him in the face. That was some serious animation craftsmanship right there!

Just when we thought things would calm down as Emilia walked back into the temple from which she had just exited, the episode hurled us into a flashback. We were treated to the sight of a balmy exchange between Otto and Ram. 

Wasn’t it great how Otto just popped out from behind a tree and was all like, “Hey, there, Ram. Nice weather we’re having today, eh?”

It was also awesome how she seemed to shoot him down after he said he thought he and Subaru could help her realize her dreams. He looked crestfallen until she said, “Give me more details.” That was classic Ram!

But wait, we don’t even have time to catch our breath when once again, Roswaal plays the villain, but with Ram this time. Back in the clone chamber, the two talk it out and Ram repeats what she told Emilia earlier but not as directly. Then Roswaal takes out a book. 

Before the scene ends, we even get a glimpse of Puck who seems to be back already. What did you think of the mid-episode cliffhanger?

It was nice to see Puck in all of his cute-smug glory. I’m really curious to see how it ends up.

BTW: Did I see correctly around 19:45? Did Roswaal say he was one of the attackers on Ram’s home village? Did I get that right? Did we already know that, and I forgot?

I couldn’t help but notice that Roswaal’s character model was extremely inconsistent this episode. Maybe it’s cause we usually don’t see him that much and when we do, it tends to be from the same angle.

I saw that, too. I was able to put the observation aside because they apparently spent their animation budget on the small movements, especially in Roswaal’s conversation with Emilia.

Unless it’s really a clever plot, and Roswaal is undergoing some strange magical transformation? Probably not… 

Despite all that, there is still one more act to the episode. We think that maybe, Subaru will be too late this time as Frederica must hold a dialogue with the witch cultist all by herself. Well not entirely alone, Petra was there for a brief time. 

However, Petra got the chance to remove herself from the parlay and go look for Beatrice in empty rooms.

Frederica had to talk her into it! I love the affection that’s grown between the two of them. But Knifey is back! Not sure why I’m happy about that, except that as far as insane villains go, she’s really, really committed to her shtick. To a frightening level, actually…

Just when it seemed hopeless, little Petra was surprised by Subaru arriving in the nick of time. He managed to find Beatrice pretty quickly so it seems at least 2 girls should be ok. 

My favorite quote from the episode was probably Subaru trying to comfort Petra by saying, “Just leave it all to me! …is what I’d like to say, but if I rush in there, I’ll be dead in a heartbeat. So I sent some super-strong reinforcements instead.” 

Did you notice what he said to Beatrice? He’s going to take her outside to play until her dress is dirty. Finally, he gets her. After learning her history from Ryuuzu, and after his last experience trying to get her out of the mansion, Subaru thinks he knows what’ll give her a bit of happiness. 

The final moments of the episode showed us that touching reunion between Frederica and Garfiel. The two even managed to catch up a bit and talk about old times. It’s nice to rekindle sibling bonds especially now that Garfiel is a new man. 

His reaction to actually seeing her again made me laugh literally out loud. Come to think of it, since LOL really means to make a tiny smile in front of a computer screen, maybe we should make it LLOL when it’s real. Anyway, Garfiel, shocked, said, “Whoa! You’re huge!” Frederica didn’t seem to think it was funny.

The episode ends on something of a second cliffhanger as Garfiel tells his sister to grab Rem and run. Rem and run is fun to say and sounds like the mispronunciation of a cocktail name.  

Next week, we’ll find out if Garfiel can actually hold that lady back and if they make it out of the mansion in one piece. My prediction is that everyone is going to be fine.

I think you’re probably right, but it’s going to be a heck of a fight!

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