86 Episode 10 Early Access
Added 2022-07-01 22:06:53 +0000 UTCNOO
Comments
This is one of, if not THE, best episodes of the cour. The meditation on "What is Freedom?" that Spearhead is on is meaningful and really characterful. Everyone here is lost, and freedom doesn't mean anything. Then Fido's Montage hit like four freight trains. I'm a softie, and Daiya's appearance talking about taking Anju to see the aurora hit hard, and I'll admit it always makes me well up. Then the reveal that it's Fido's "life" flashing before its eye absolutely crushed me. I wept. I was angry. I was sorrowful. And it was over a "camera with legs". The montage was a masterpiece of storytelling, emotion, and a full on mule kick, even if you saw it coming.
Bob Francis
2022-07-09 00:25:02 +0000 UTCTL/DR: I think the show is good and this is my favorite episode. Also I think criticism of the show fail to understand what the show is about. I remember when RE:Zero was airing, there was a lot of people who criticized it for a lot of things that I felt were misguided. They said the magic system was poorly explained, and shallow. That the politics of the world were hardly explored, that the world was really put on the backburner after the first few episodes. And here's the thing: I agree with all of that. Except I don't see it as a flaw. Because none of those things are what the show is about. The show is about Subaru. And do you think Subaru cares about the intricate details of the magic system? Do you think he cares about the exact way the politics of the world run? Let's be honest: He cared about the magic system when he found something cool, Puck was teaching him how to use magic, or his life depended on knowing what specific magic did. And the only reason he ever cared about politics was that he simped hard enough for Emilia that he wanted to help her win the election. He wouldn't even have met the majority of the people in the story if not for being weapons grade down catastrophic for a girl. The magic doesn't matter, the politics don't matter, the world doesn't matter. Because none of that matters to Subaru. He just really likes a girl, and the world, the magic, the politics. They just so happen to exist in the same world that she does. The same applies for this show. I've heard people say that the world isn't explored enough, that the politics and the "messages" are too blatant and in your face. That the combat is to sparse, and the pacing is bad. And sure, if this were a mecha, or an action, or even a political philosophy driven narrative, I would agree. The thing is, the show is none of those things. All of that--the world, the politics, the racism, the Nazi parallels, the world of Saint Magnolia and its surrounding countries--all of them are just the backdrop to a story that is about none of those things. This episode is the one that I feel best encapsulates what the show is truly about. And the important part of that, is that there is zero combat in it. The first 17 minutes are purely about the characters emotions, their desires, their joys and sorrows, their adventures, the beautiful sights they glimpse, and the people they wish could have come with them. It's about fishing under blue skies, getting lost, and being caught in the rain. Only to come to a shelter, and sit, reminiscing around a campfire. And when the politics, the war, the bad things come in, they serve not to be the main focus, but rather to break the perfect world the characters are in, and to point out what the focus really is. As they are forced to put out the fire to avoid being spotted by a swarm of their enemies. we focus not on the army behind them. We focus on them. They are scared, they are worried, and some look visibly unsure as to what they're supposed to be doing. They've fought their whole lives, oppressed by a racist government on one side, and an unbeatable enemy on the other. But they are the focus, their emotions, their lives are the focus. The way they navigate this world, and the little things they still manage to find joy in, are the focus. Shifting to Fido's perspective is a perfect way to solidify this. Fido knows not of the government, he knows not of the racism, he cares not for the war. Fido knows, and cares about is friends. He knows that Shin took him in, and they've been together ever since. He knows that his friends laugh, fall in love, get angry. He knows their lives are fragile. He is forced to watch as their spirits slowly die. As they stop updating the day count on the chalk board. He listens as his friends come to confide in him, knowing he will provide no judgement. Not even knowing that he's truly conscious. He sees as they escape the group to find a place to be alone. He sees them fall apart when they think no one is looking. But he is there, and he sees it all. He gets to know them, and care for them. He has videos of them being themselves, and then some time later, videos of Shin, holding up their name tags, for Fido to keep record of. The only glimpses we see of the cruelty his friends experience, the racism, the messed up politics, are used not to expand the world, but instead to show the characters reactions and responses to those circumstances. And from this perspective, as a character piece, one that just so happens to have the backdrop of farcical racism and fascist politics as a setting, I think the show performs admirably.
KhioneB
2022-07-03 05:40:27 +0000 UTCYou're analysis of anime is great, I see stuff I didn't my first watch. The thought that Fido might be a human in a machine never crossed my mind, despite it being the Legion's main gimmick. I guess I thought that was "dark arts" stuff, but didn't consider that the corrupt San Magnolia might not even consider it that.
Nejy
2022-07-02 20:18:20 +0000 UTCGod the Montage is such a tragically beautiful scenes and executed perfectly in every regard. It uses the mean fucking trick of showing the best sides of every now dead character just before cutting to when they die and shin executing them, and every time it hurts more, it affects me MORE instead of less.
Fab ΛΔ
2022-07-02 01:08:32 +0000 UTC
![CandidCrushTrample[CCT]](https://nokimo.com/istorage/34805.jpg)
