Adhering to the expectations set by society (and sometimes by ourselves) is a continuous struggle in life. Have you ever thought of questions like, “Why should I even continue?” “What is the meaning of my existence?” Those are some of the core points in the anime Re: Zero Starting Life in Another World. *SPOILER ALERT* This anime brutally murders the main protagonist over and over throughout the series. Each, let’s say execution, is more gruesome than the last. Aside from its gore and blood, I’d like to pinpoint some of the essence of the anime and what resonate to the reality that we live in.
Re: Zero is somewhat a psychological horror, aside from an isekai anime. The typical transferred-to-the-other-world shows are growing in popularity in the last decade. A genre where any hikikomori can self-insert and imagines being surrounded by people who adore them and a roster of girls to be included into their harem. However, our protagonist here, Natsuki Subaru, is blessed (more like cursed) with a power that let him restart his life from a certain point of time, like when you have autosave checkpoints in video games. Every time he dies, he has to rinse and repeat his actions. He would later find the problem causing his death, but only to encounter other brutal ends to his life.
NEET LIFE: Meaningless Life And Its Reality
The anime introduces Natsuki Subaru as a loner, good-for-nothing teenager, who found himself in a hikikomori lifestyle. Hikikomori is a real problem in Japan, affecting 1.5 million people nationwide. A hikikomori is someone who decides to shut off any connection to the outside world and chooses a life of recluse. The other popular term for people who end up in this lifestyle is NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Being stuck in this mundane, depressing life can erode any passion you have left. The first glimpse of happiness that we see from Subaru is when he suddenly got transferred into a fantasy world. While the wonder of exploration and adventure is a core in an isekai anime. Don’t you think it is kinda depressing when the only thing that makes you happy is literally ceasing to exist in your current reality? This begs the question, would the 1.5 million hikikomori in Japan feel the same thing if they were sent to an isekai? The real world is a cruel place to live, but is leaving it the only solution for someone who is at rock-bottom?
Fear Of Dying, Repeatedly
The big, let’s say feature, of Re: Zero is Subaru’s ability, Return By Death. It works eerily similar to how autosave feature in video games. Save-scumming or restarting from a checkpoint because you mess up in video games is something that anyone can take lightly. But, remember, Subaru has to endure this process basically in his real existence. This anime shows immaculately how at first Subaru realizes that he does return if he dies. This is something so powerful, fixing a problem by going back to the past with the knowledge of that very problem will happen. However, to return to the past, Subaru has to die first. He may downplay it initially. But, when it comes to the point where he inevitably dies, this anime clearly depicts the fear kicking in and the survival instinct emerges. Death is a terrifying concept by itself, let alone when we add how brutal Re: Zero kills the characters. It shows how the strong desire of dying for whatever reason will pale in comparison to the fear of actually dying.
The Desire To Die Anyway, But To What End?
Later in this show, Subaru learns to withstand and suck up the pain and somewhat a part of his fear of dying. All for purposes that he deems as the greater good. This sentiment comes from seeing some of his closest friends and those he holds dear in the anime dies. While his justification can be considered heroic, it doesn’t really solve or prevent future problems. To say life-threatening incidents are a common occurrence in this anime is an understatement. So, Subaru has to die repeatedly to achieve what he perceives as the perfect outcome. However, in later episodes, it is hinted there is a possibility that every time he dies, the world doesn’t actually restart, he is just transferred to another reality which shares similarity to the fantasy world. What the anime means by this is Subaru only constantly avoid the consequences and the inevitable disaster he has to face, leaving the other characters absolutely disgusted with his cowardice and his choice to end his life. The desperation that Subaru emits to save everyone gets more and more painfully frustrating each time he dies.
Starting Over Doesn’t Mean A Better Life
At this point, the anime might sound overly depressing for anyone who hasn’t watched it. Well, because it is. But, Re: Zero got me thinking that not every time Subaru intentionally dies was justifiable. There are moments where these death incidents actually can be prevented if only Subaru had been patient enough and actually listened to what other characters want. Ending one timeline for the sole purpose to redo it again and again until ending up on the desired outcomes is futile. Furthermore, had the author decided to not develop how Subaru’s character, the message of the anime would render it to be overly nihilistic. To me, the first time I watched Re: Zero left me with an impression that ending your life doesn’t lead to the happiness that you pursue. It only shows immense desperation and frustration of life. Standing tall and stoic in the face of problems may sound cliché, but I think this is what Subaru’s character is intended to learn in later episodes, therefore so does the audience. While this is not the perfect take, sucking up and moving on seems to be the better option than desiring the best outcome for each scenario. Akin to the myth of Sisyphus, if you manage to found yourself in a similar fate to his, the best thing to do is to laugh in the face of the gods who put you in the terrible life you live in.
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