Isekai-Anime are plentiful. But the king of this genre is back and is dominating ruthlessly with the latest episodes.
Isekai-Anime are now as abundant as sand on the beach. From series like “Sword Art Online” to successful parodies like “The Eminence in Shadow” and completely absurd titles like “After my Rebirth as a Automatic, I now roam the Dungeon”, there is basically nothing that the genre hasn’t told yet.
But one series is often considered “the king of Isekai”. In its now 4th season, the series proves why it carries this title – and has just delivered one of the best anime episodes of all time.
Which series is it about? We are talking about “Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World –”. Like many Isekai, this anime begins with the protagonist Subaru unexpectedly waking up in a medieval-looking fantasy world and having to find his way. Unlike his genre counterparts, he is not blessed with gigantic strength – except for one:
Subaru cannot truly die. When he dies, he “resets” and is reverted to a previous point in time. This affects not only him but also the entire world.
The dark aspect of this series is the psychological implications that come with it:
- Subaru remembers everything. He remembers each of his deaths and the hellish tortures he endured. This takes a toll on his psyche.
- Every time Subaru dies, all other characters forget what happened. All relationships Subaru built between the time of his rebirth and his death are back to zero. All memories of him are lost.
Additionally, Subaru does not know exactly where his “reset point” is and when it gets updated. This means that it frequently happens that friendly characters suffer a grim fate, and he is no longer able to change it.
The darkest episode that Re:ZERO has had so far
Which episode breaks records? It’s about episode 8 from season 4, which is one of the latest episodes, titled “Who are you?” (“Omae wa Dare da”). Currently, the episode has an incredible rating of 9.9 / 10 stars on IMDb with over 22,000 ratings. This makes it not only one of the highest-rated anime episodes of all time but one of the best-rated pieces of fictional content ever.
The subsequent episode 9 is already at 9.8 / 10 stars with over 15,000 ratings just a few hours after release.
It is already clear: With the current fourth season, Re:ZERO is breaking its own records and cementing its role in the significance of the Isekai genre.
What happens in the episode? In season 4 episode 8, Subaru awakens in the recovery room of the tower where his companions are. But something has changed: Subaru no longer remembers his friendships. He has lost all his memories since arriving in this world.
For many of his companions, this is devastating. Subaru was a pillar of this group and for many the connecting piece that held the group together. Characters like Julius and Ram exist primarily because Subaru is the only one who had memories of them – and those are now gone as well.
Subaru himself desperately tries to comprehend the rules of this world and suffers from the fact that everyone apparently sees him as a good friend that one could rely on.
Until he is pushed down the stairs and awakens a second time.
Still overwhelmed by the aftereffects and pain of his death, he tries to understand what actually happened. He panics and dies a second time in one of the darkest scenes ever shown in Re:Zero. The fall down the tower, where Subaru repeatedly hits the walls and the stairs while doubting who he actually is, is likely one of the darkest scenes that have ever been shown in the series.
These are the ratings: Looking around on IMDb, the episode has apparently left many speechless. Some of the reviews:
- “I can’t find an appropriate way to describe this episode. The closest is pure madness. This is one of the best episodes of Re:ZERO in a long time. The episode was brutal, shocking, and full of madness. I’ve never suffered so much with Subaru as here. Emilia, Beatrice, and Julius also contributed many emotions. The ending was just sad. I can’t say more about this episode. Watch it yourself and experience the peak of dark fiction.” – N1nE
- “This episode destroyed me. The scene in the staircase was insane – every impact, every broken bone, and he has no idea why this is happening to him. No memories, no context, just pure horror. White Fox really put everything into the animations here. Watching Subaru exploring his “return by death” all alone, in the darkness with no one he can rely on, is the most intense storytelling the series has ever delivered.” – I_Am_Innato
- “Words cannot describe how outstanding this episode was. Everything from the animation, over the soundtrack to the voice acting and pacing felt absolutely perfect. Every scene hits you emotionally hard and the ending left me speechless. This is easily one of the best episodes I’ve seen in a long time and I don’t think I’ll forget it anytime soon.” – karen_a07
Cortyn says: For me, Re:Zero is that one Isekai that stands out from the masses. Even though Subaru enjoys many of the typical Isekai advantages at first glance – after all, he is “overpowered” as he can never truly die, Re:ZERO has a darkness and cruelty that I miss in other anime. The author has managed to make this so-called “OP ability” not feel like that.
No other anime has managed to make consequences feel so devastating and horrific. Although with every death you have in mind “that it will soon be reset anyway”, Re:ZERO creates a feeling of oppression where you regularly think: I would never want to swap places with this Isekai protagonist for any money in the world.
However – and this must be very clearly stated – Re:ZERO is an anime that you should not watch with children. The depictions of violence, both physical and psychological, are quite cruel and contribute to the series sometimes drifting a bit into horror or psychological thriller.
If you’re up for more Isekai, we’ve presented the 5 Isekai anime that every fan must see.
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