Whether you like Isekai or not, there’s no arguing that some of the best and most influential anime in the modern era have belonged to the genre. From Konosuba’s humor to Mushokou Tensei’s beautiful worldbuilding, the anime industry has been filled with fantasy worlds with the average Joe in them. Some have been better, but the majority have sadly been less than decent.
What isn’t sad is that Re:Zero Kara Hajimaru Seikatsu, or Re:Zero – Starting in Another World from Zero, or simply Re:Zero, is an absolutely splendid Isekai filled with the darkest of tragedies and the most gruesome of suffering, as well as engaging character dynamics and extremely well-written plots and subplots. Here, we rank all Re:Zero openings, from worst while still decent to masterpieces without compare!
5
Long Shot
Season Two, Opening Two
Long Shot is the only Re:Zero opening that doesn’t have its main focus on Subaru. Instead, it focuses on other characters and what Subaru looks like to them. First, we’re shown Emilia’s past, how she got to be who she is, and how she froze for such a long period of time. We then see Subaru from Emilia’s eyes, walking alone surrounded by fire, showing how he always throws himself in danger in order to protect her.
We then see some important events that happen in the arc, followed by Subaru from Beatrice’s eyes, framed as a savior by the door frame that leads to the sanctuary. After seeing the various villains of the arc that come afterward, we see some gorgeously choreographed snippets of important events that come later on in the series, such as Garfiel’s fight with Elsa, Ram’s magic, Subaru saving Beatrice, and much more. Finally, unlike other Re:Zero openings, the last scene shows Subaru having succeeded at getting what he was aiming for, kneeling in front of Emilia as her trustworthy knight.
4
Realize
Season Two, Opening One
Perhaps Re:Zero’s saddest opening, Realize fits the arc it represents perfectly. The opening starts on a high note, with the Witch of Greed, Echidna, gently holding a glowing butterfly, throwing it up in the air as it turns into hundreds of them, representing the various different versions of Subaru in different routes. This is perhaps the only part that shows any hope in the opening, as right after being shown the faces of the various witches, we see Subaru wearing an expression worse than anything we’ve seen on him before.
What follows is a sequence of a very agonized Subaru having to experience the consequences of him selfishly dying and how it affects others, recounting all his previous deaths. He manages to hold himself somewhat together until he reaches a scene of a dead Emilia lying on the ground, which makes his emotions explode.
Unlike previous openings, Emilia hugging his back in the next scene doesn’t make Subaru cheer up or feel better but instead makes him redirect his anger and frustration to the problem at hand as he starts running toward the light he sees. He gets shot again and again, dropping to the ground and erupting in blood, but there’s always a Subaru to replace the one who falls. This is the most desperate we’ve ever seen him, not caring even a bit over his life and instead focusing entirely on reaching his goal.
3
Reweave
Season Three, Opening One
As the opening starts, you’re immediately hit with a soft melody that slowly picks up pace, hyping you up for what’s to come with a top view of the entirety of Priestella behind Re:Zero’s title card. Then, the music shifts as we’re shown the backs of our main characters standing proudly together, showing that not only is Subaru more confident but also that he’s actively letting others help him, instead of trying to solve everything by himself using his Return By Death.
You’re met with stylized shots of characters belonging to each faction, which then leads to similar clips of familiar faces from Subaru’s camp. As the music continues to speed up, we see some of Subaru’s past deaths, followed by various side characters.
This failure right as Subaru reaches his gal is a recurring theme in Re:Zero openings, showing the cruelty of the world and how, even if it seems like Subaru has figured everything out, a simple miscalculation can result in his death, sending him back to the start.
This then reaches a turning point for the opening, where flashes of the eventual disaster are shown, both acting as foreshadowing but also hinting at how different timelines can lead to different outcomes. This is followed by close-ups of the Sin Archbishops, the main villains of the arc. However, unlike other Re:Zero openings, this isn’t shown to be an unbeatable threat but rather something to actively overcome, as seen by Subaru’s allies going toe-to-toe with these villains. The opening ends with Subaru and Beatrice almost reaching Regulus, but going back in time, being a callback to previous openings, as well as a show of how, despite all his efforts, Subaru won’t be reaching the untouchable Regulus so easily.
2
Paradisus-Paradoxum
Season One, Opening Two
This opening starts with birds flying around in circles in the air, hinting at there being a corpse below them. We then pan down and see this body, Subaru submerged underwater as he looks up. Instead of having an expression of suffering on his face like in the previous opening, though, Subaru seems more calm. Even when he remembers his various deaths in the next scene, he merely winces rather than yell or cry.
The next scene follows Subaru and Emilia coming closer, as if to meet, but rather going beyond each other so they’re facing away instead as their expressions both turn into frowns. This is a major theme in the covered arc; Subaru and Emilia’s misunderstanding and how this affects both of them.
Subaru and Emilia’s solitude is emphasized even more in the next frames, where they are both seen alone in grandiose rooms, the angle of the shot emphasizing the scale of said rooms and showing just how tiny and feeble they are in comparison when by themselves.
We then follow Rem, who is now helping Subaru regain his composure and work towards his goal, even with Emilia against him, until we’re met with a very pained Subaru screaming out into a hailstorm. Taking away from the tension, we’re met with uplifting scenes showing the various camps and how their dynamics work, as well as Emilia lying her head on her desk, worrying over what happened. The opening changes gear once again, and we see a looped shot of Rem and Subaru riding Patrasche as they go into the final battle.
Finally, near the end, we see major events in the arc, with Crusche fighting the Great White Whale, Rem defeating various Witch Cultists, and Subaru and Rem’s heartfelt conversation. Time loops once more as the opening rolls over, and we’re met with Subaru chasing after an Emilia surrounded by Satella’s arms. However, even though Subaru manages to catch up with her and hold her hands, Emilia’s smile has already been taken away by the dark hands covering her face.
1
Redo
Season One, Opening One
Redo starts with a dead Subaru coming back to life as time rolls back, his blood going back into his body as he stands back up. The opening then immediately focuses on Subaru’s confused expression as it turns to horror. The shots that come afterward show the various important characters that Subaru eventually gets to meet, with copies of them flashing in and out of existence to show how their fates change depending on Subaru’s actions.
The blood resembles the wings of a butterfly, eluding to the Butterfly Effect and how changing something random can result in Subaru’s future being altered greatly.
The music, previously more eerie with signs of urgency, briefly turns soft as you’re met with a scene of Subaru and Emilia, who he deems his savior, standing in a garden of light. This sort of calming resting point that serves as a safe haven for both Subaru and the viewer, however, does not last long, with Satella’s arm coming in and Emilia fading in thin air as the entire scene turns red. Not giving you enough time to process this, a very distraught Subaru has another version of him.
Finally, we see the Re:Zero title card along with other characters that make an appearance, followed by Subaru in a panic chasing after a version of himself, symbolizing how he’s pursuing a vision where he has solved all his problems.
As he finally gets close to reaching the characters that he wants to save, Satella’s hand once more grabs onto his back, making Subaru twist his face in pain and agony, killing Subaru in the process as he thinks back to the entire opening. The opening ends with Subaru falling down with an explosion of blood, a scene that perfectly loops into the start, literally making the opening “Start From Zero,” as in the title.
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