Not since Magical Girl Madoka have I ever been so floored by an anime series seemingly being one thing on the surface, yet being something so much more sinister and brutal at the core.
Going into this show, I only knew one thing; that the main protagonist, Subaru, can come back to life after dying. This is a pretty cool plot device and I decided to give it a go.
The first episode is decent- Subaru is essentially a gamer nerd that for some reason is not at all shocked or surprised to be transported to this other world. There is some slap-stick comedy and it is pretty light hearted. It didn't seem like this was going to be that different or a show, until he is straight up butchered and returns to when he first showed up in the new world. Now he must re-trace his steps...and then gets butchered again in only a few minutes. Now he must re-re-trace his steps...you get the idea. It is a great concept and creates an aspect of a thriller/ horror, especially when he meets his (First) killer in passing several hours before he was previously killed.
The first half of the season does some great world building and the main characters are all likable and three-dimensional. It does a great job helping Subaru grow as a character as his total lack of social skills that in the beginning were annoying, slowly get better and he becomes pretty likable. I will admit that there are some love-interest tropes here that are pretty cringe, but this is how I would imagine a person with no social skills to act in some strange new world: Like the protagonist of an RPG with very rigid gender roles and only a fictional understanding of how relationships work.
The second half though...BRUTAL. This is where I liken this to Magical Girl Madoka. Subaru had success going back in time during his previous deaths, but when he literally is butchered and destroyed over and over and over again, he starts to go crazy. It is shockingly well done and I'd even compare it to some David Lynch type horror: Watching your friends, innocent children, and yourself be butchered and murdered over and over without making any headway into finding a way to break the cycle.
When he finally does, and the White Whale battle happens, the series really transcends into 9/10 territory. Yes the romances are still weak, but everything else is so well done that I can forgive that.
I cannot wait for season 2!
Going into this show, I only knew one thing; that the main protagonist, Subaru, can come back to life after dying. This is a pretty cool plot device and I decided to give it a go.
The first episode is decent- Subaru is essentially a gamer nerd that for some reason is not at all shocked or surprised to be transported to this other world. There is some slap-stick comedy and it is pretty light hearted. It didn't seem like this was going to be that different or a show, until he is straight up butchered and returns to when he first showed up in the new world. Now he must re-trace his steps...and then gets butchered again in only a few minutes. Now he must re-re-trace his steps...you get the idea. It is a great concept and creates an aspect of a thriller/ horror, especially when he meets his (First) killer in passing several hours before he was previously killed.
The first half of the season does some great world building and the main characters are all likable and three-dimensional. It does a great job helping Subaru grow as a character as his total lack of social skills that in the beginning were annoying, slowly get better and he becomes pretty likable. I will admit that there are some love-interest tropes here that are pretty cringe, but this is how I would imagine a person with no social skills to act in some strange new world: Like the protagonist of an RPG with very rigid gender roles and only a fictional understanding of how relationships work.
The second half though...BRUTAL. This is where I liken this to Magical Girl Madoka. Subaru had success going back in time during his previous deaths, but when he literally is butchered and destroyed over and over and over again, he starts to go crazy. It is shockingly well done and I'd even compare it to some David Lynch type horror: Watching your friends, innocent children, and yourself be butchered and murdered over and over without making any headway into finding a way to break the cycle.
When he finally does, and the White Whale battle happens, the series really transcends into 9/10 territory. Yes the romances are still weak, but everything else is so well done that I can forgive that.
I cannot wait for season 2!