Re:Zero Season 3 episode 5 might be the best so far for some reasons, but not for others. For me, the consistently over-the-top facial expressions and great animation production were definitely the highlights of this week's episode, but it still has its limitations.
Advantage
Going back and watching this episode a second time as I usually do before these reviews, I see even more clearly the level of attention to detail in this episode's facial expressions. They've been incredibly good this season, especially last week, but with Capella finally getting more screen time, it's only paved the way for the production team to have some fun with her character.
There were many times I had to stop, rewind, and replay scenes over and over again because the Capella character was so overly expressive in this episode. There are so many different faces that you can make a scrapbook out of them. It really elevated her character as well as Aoi Yuki's voice acting abilities. I was very impressed throughout the episode.
But it goes beyond facial expressions. The animation and impact frames were probably my favorite highlights of the episode. Every time there is an impact, the screen shakes and blurs, giving them a super realistic feel to these scenes. It may be difficult to notice upon first viewing, but when you look closely, you'll see the level of detail is astonishing.
I think another highlight of the production is Susumu Nishizawa's storyboard work. Of course, some credit must still go to episode director Kazue Ootsuki, as well as animation directors Kenji Terao and Hitomi Miura, but for me, the storyboards themselves stand out the most. Nishizawa has a knack for arranging things properly in this episode to draw your attention to specific characters. Just see the examples below:
The constant use of light on a dark background or vice versa, background and foreground is an interesting touch that I love about this episode, it seems to stand out from previous episodes. While the action still feels like it hasn't really peaked, now that Reinhard is about to enter battle, the scene setup from the storyboards and perspective art looks great.
And again, this scene's constant blur and blur and the shaky effect used at high-impact moments breathed a bit of life into those very moments. Aside from some animation hiccups with the dragon, they are definitely one of the best I've seen so far this season along with others such as from the currently airing anime Mecha- Ude. The action in Re:Zero Season 3 continues to be impressive so I can only imagine what it will be like when things get really serious.
Limitations
I think there were a few things I didn't really care for in this episode that were just personal things rather than them being something on an objective level. For example, screaming continuously for almost 23 minutes can give you a bit of a headache. I understand that the Sin Archbishops are all evil and have wild personalities, but it's comforting in a very strange way to know that when Coronet appears on screen, he won't be screaming at the top of his lungs at people 5 feet in front of me.
Lye, Capella, Sirius—all three of them had an innate obsession with screaming at anyone in front of them. Yuki's performance as Capella? Great. Absolutely incredible work. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for Subaru like my team had just won the World Series after he threw a rock at Capella's face just to keep her quiet for a few seconds.
Another downside for me in this episode was that Emilia was too soft. I understood she was in a vulnerable state—in a place she didn't know and with scary people. Waking up in that situation would probably make most people nervous in the first place. But considering how she fought Sirius without hesitation a few episodes ago to now this poor girl is in distress, it's pretty annoying. I don't know if it's related to Cornea on a magical level, but it's almost like a side of Emilia that we know is completely gone.
She went from confronting a Sinful Archbishop and standing up to Heinkel to now doing nothing but worrying. I know it's always in Emilia's nature to care and worry about the people she loves if they're in trouble, and it would go against her nature if she wasn't in trouble. But this episode portrays her as completely helpless, almost as if she's forgotten her true abilities.
The third limitation is the scene with Sirius and Anastasia. After asking Mimi's brothers, Hetaro and Tivey, to buy Anastasia time so she can escape, the hallway scene feels extremely out of place due to the emergency situation. Being stopped in the hallway and having this second random reassurance felt strange to Anastasia when she had a Sinful Archbishop right on her back and the city was flooding. It makes me wish someone would pop up and yell “Are you ready to go now!”
The remaining mysteries
The episode also did a great job of leaving some story points open. Where will Crusch go when she learns that Subaru tied her to the dragon? Did Subaru finally die when he fell into the water or would Garfiel, possibly Reinhard, save him? What will happen to Emilia? Does Number 184 at the end show a little emotion towards Emilia but immediately suppress it? Also, will it be revealed that Wilhelm might be fighting with his late wife after another quick moment of curiosity?
There are a lot of storylines going on right now but none of them feel overbearing. The script seems pretty tight and I think Eiji Umehara's work in this episode might be the reason for that. But there's no doubt that Re:Zero Season 3 will continue to boost this season's anime numbers at its current pace.
Re:Zero Season 3 Episode 5
Re:Zero Season 3 continues to show off its strong production muscles as we move towards the climax of the current season. Fans have waited years for this season and it has paid off handsomely. Like I said before, I don't think Re:Zero will drop to the lower quality levels we're used to seeing at this point. This is a great movie that I think will continue to get better.
Episode 5 rating : 9.5/10
Episode 4 rating: 8/10
Episode 3 rating: 8.5/10
Episode 2 rating: 10/10
Episode 1 rating: 8/10
If you liked Re:Zero Season 3 episode 5 then be sure to vote for it in the weekly poll! Re:Zero season 3 episode 6 will be released on Wednesday, November 6.
Image from Crunchyroll
©Tappei Nagatsuki,KADOKAWA/Re:ZERO3 PARTNERS
