Re: Zero Season 3 Episode 5 Review

In an anime season full of fierce competition, the third season of Re: Zero has held up remarkably well, and in many ways, it’s thanks to episodes like this week’s. Last week on Re: Zero, we saw things in Priestella heat up, and this week, we’ve hit a boiling point – and if the formula followed in this episode is a sign of things to come, then this is shaping up to be a season rivaling the intensity of some of the most hard-hitting shonen shows out there.

This week on Re: Zero, we caught up with nearly all outstanding story threads, with each of the series’ major players getting a chance to shine. There’s a lot to talk about this week as a result, so let’s dive right into the review – spoilers ahead!

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The Review

Image by White Fox

The episode begins with an incredibly creepy scene – Regulus’ opening question was so blunt, it almost made me question whether I had accidentally skipped into the episode a bit, but no – he’s just that creepy. I had been under the impression that Regulus had taken so many wives over the years because they had been killed or passed away, but no – they’re all here, in this mansion, acting as his servants. The whole thing is honestly skin-crawling.

His line of questioning also makes me feel like maybe Emilia needs to be saved with slightly more urgency than I had thought last week. In last week’s review, I hoped that Subaru had enough resolve to commit himself to solving the much more urgent crisis in Priestella than chasing after Emilia, but honestly, after this showing from Regulus, Emilia can’t be saved fast enough – leave the city to the others Subaru! You gotta get her back!

The action resumes after the opening plays, and we go from one villainous archbishop to another, with the continuation of Lye’s battle against our protagonists. Luckily, Julius takes over the battle and we get to follow the action to a foe that I’m a lot more interested in, which is the hereunto mysterious Capella, who appears to have taken a child hostage. At first, I was going to call the villains out here for taking so many children hostage in this arc – maybe it’s to show off how unlimited their cruelty is, but I can’t help but feel like they’re undercutting their ferociousness by picking on easy targets.

Image by White Fox

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the child was actually Capella in disguise, who reveals herself and the grotesque nature of her plan through yet another incredibly unnerving scene. Capella is a lot more creepy than I had imagined, and her power is far more viscerally stomach-churning than I had anticipated. The dragon last week made me laugh. The flies this week? Horrendous. Not a fan. Capella has shot up my list as one of my least favourite villains – I enjoy her scenes, but she makes my skin crawl.

Honestly, I’m starting to feel like this season of Re: Zero is a horror anime. The show has always been graphic, as early as episode 1 of the first season, but this season is ridiculously gory, with copious amounts of body-horror and grotesque moments. Maybe it’s because we have so many villains in the one area at the moment, but it feels like every episode this season has had some sort of horror scene.

As mentioned in the intro, we catch up with nearly every storyline this season in this episode. I hadn’t expected to see Emilia for a while, but we got up-to-date with her, while also getting a look at the situation with Reinhard, Wilhelm, Crusch, Garfiel, Anastasia, and others. There was a certain feeling with this episode that we were bouncing between scenes and storylines, which is not an approach I dislike. If anything, this approach suits the action-packed season ahead of us, so I wonder if they’ll keep this style going forward. Personally, I hope they do – it worked here, and made me feel like I was a part of the chaos going down, which is an age-old shonen tactic which has led to some of the best anime arcs of all time.

Image by White Fox

Importantly, in the closing moments of the episode, we see that Subaru has been flung into the flooded city, with a leg missing, but of course, the timeline has not reset, meaning he isn’t dead. I’m pretty surprised by this. In the past, anytime Subaru took significant damage, it was pretty much a guarantee that he would be killed and we would start with a fresh slate. As such, I wonder if Subaru will be missing a leg for the rest of the season, and maybe even show? I’m sure he’ll get it back somehow, but I’m interested to see how this plays out.

There was also a post-credit scene this week, where Emilia watches the chaos unfold in Priestella below her. Maybe I had missed something in previous episodes, but it caught me really off-guard that she was this close to the city. I thought Regulus had whisked her away to some remote location but no, she’s right there. If anything, Emilia might be able to fight her way out to the streets herself at this point, but we’ll have to wait and see. The season is really ramping up each and every week.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Re: Zero? Have you been loving this season so far? Am I alone in thinking this may be the show’s best season yet? Let us know what you think of this episode in the comments, and we’ll see you next week for Episode 6!

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Where to Watch Re: Zero Season 3?

Image by White Fox

Re: Zero Season 3 is set to air on Crunchyroll weekly, every Wednesday starting October 2nd 2024. The season is scheduled for 16 episodes weekly, meaning we’ll be keeping with Re: Zero through the Winter season also! Great news for fans of the series!

See also: Re: Zero Season 3 Episode 4 Review

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