The best Re:Zero opening videos

Whether you like Isekai or not, there's no arguing that some of the best and most influential anime of the modern era belong to this genre. From the humor of Konosuba to the wonderful world-building of Mushokou Tensei, the anime industry has been full of fantasy worlds with the average Joe in them. Some have been better, but sadly most have 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, full of the darkest tragedies and most gruesome suffering, so such as engaging character dynamics and extremely well-written plots and subplots. Here we classify all the openings of Re:Zero, from the worst although still decent to the masterpieces beyond compare!

5

Long shot

Second season, second opening

Long Shot is the only opening in Re:Zero that doesn't focus primarily on Subaru. Instead, it focuses on other characters and how Subaru appears to them. First, we are shown Emilia's past, how she came to be who she is and how she was stuck for such a long period of time. We then see Subaru through Emilia's eyes, walking alone surrounded by fire, showing how he always puts himself in danger to protect her.

We then see some important events that happen in the arc, followed by Beatrice-eyed Subaru, framed like a savior by the doorframe leading to the sanctuary. After seeing the various villains of the arc that come next, we see some beautifully choreographed snippets of important events that will come later in the series, such as Garfiel's fight with Elsa, Ram's magic, Subaru saving Beatrice, and much more. Finally, unlike the other openings of Re:Zero, the last scene shows Subaru having managed to achieve what he aimed for, kneeling before Emilia as her trusted knight.

4

Realize

Second season, first opening

Perhaps the saddest opening of Re:Zero, Realize fits perfectly with the narrative arc it represents. The opening begins on a high note, with the Witch of Greed, Echidna, delicately holding a glowing butterfly, tossing it into the air as it transforms into hundreds of butterflies, representing the various different versions of Subaru on different routes. This is perhaps the only part that shows any hope in the opening, as right after showing 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 his selfish death and how it affects others, recounting all of his previous deaths. He manages to hold back a little until he gets to the 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 towards the light he sees. He gets hit again and again, falling to the ground and exploding into blood, but there is always a Subaru to replace the one that falls. This is the most desperate we've ever seen him, not caring even a bit about his life and instead focusing entirely on achieving his goal.

3

Reweave

Third season, first opening

As soon as the opening begins, you're immediately hit with a soft melody that slowly picks up pace, baiting you for what's to come with a bird's-eye view of the entire Priestella behind Re:Zero's title card. Then, the music changes as we are shown the backs of our main characters standing proudly together, showing that not only is Subaru more confident, but also that he is also letting others help him, instead of trying to solve everything himself. only by using his Death Return.

You come across stylized shots of characters from each faction, which then lead 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 supporting characters.

This failure just as Subaru reaches his girlfriend is a recurring theme in the openings of Re:Zero, showing the cruelty of the world and how, even though it seems like Subaru has it all figured out, a simple miscalculation can lead to his death, putting him off backwards. at the start.

This then reaches a turning point for the opening, where flashes of the eventual disaster are shown, acting both as foreshadowing but also as a hint as to how different timelines can lead to different outcomes. This is followed by close-ups of the Archbishops of Sin, the main villains of the arc. However, unlike other Re:Zero openings, this one didn't prove to be an unbeatable threat but rather something to be 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 showing how, despite all his efforts, Subaru will not be able to reach the untouchable Regulus so easily.

2

Paradisus-Paradoxum

First season, second opening

This opening begins with birds flying in circles in the air, suggesting that there is a corpse beneath them. Then we pan down and see this body, Subaru submerged underwater as he looks up. Instead of having a pained expression on his face like in the previous theme song, however, Subaru seems calmer. Even when he recalls his various deaths in the next scene, he merely flinches instead of screaming or crying.

The next scene follows Subaru and Emilia approaching each other, as if to meet, but rather they walk past each other so they are instead facing away as their expressions both turn into frowns. This is an important theme in the span covered; The misunderstanding between Subaru and Emilia and how this affects both of them.

Subaru and Emilia's loneliness is emphasized even more in the following frames, where they are both seen alone in grand rooms, the angle of the shot emphasizes the scale of said rooms and shows how small and dim they are in comparison when they are alone .

We then follow Rem, who is now helping Subaru regain his composure and work towards his goal, even with Emilia against him, until we meet a very distressed Subaru screaming in a hail storm. Removing the tension, we are treated to uplifting scenes showing the various camps and how their dynamics work, as well as Emilia lying with her head on the desk, worried about what has happened. The opening shifts gears once again and we see a looping shot of Rem and Subaru riding Patrasche as they enter the final battle.

Finally, towards the end, we see major events in the story arc, with Bran fighting the Great White Whale, Rem defeating various Witch Cultists, and the heartfelt conversation between Subaru and Rem. Time passes once again as the opening flips and we are met with Subaru chasing an Emilia surrounded by Satella's arms. However, even though Subaru manages to reach her and hold her hands, Emilia's smile has already been taken away by the dark hands covering her face.

1

Redo

First season, first opening

Redo begins with a dead Subaru coming back to life as time runs backwards, his blood returning to his body as he gets back up. The opening then immediately focuses on Subaru's confused expression as it turns to horror. The shots that follow show the various important characters that Subaru eventually meets, with copies of them appearing and disappearing to show how their fates change depending on Subaru's actions.

The blood resembles the wings of a butterfly, eluding the Butterfly Effect and how changing something randomly can result in a significant change in Subaru's future.

The music, previously more haunting with signs of urgency, briefly turns soft as you encounter a scene of Subaru and Emilia, who he considers 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, doesn't last long, with Satella's arm entering and Emilia vanishing into thin air as the entire scene turns red. Not giving you enough time to process this, a very upset Subaru has another version of himself.

Finally, we see the Re:Zero title card along with other characters making an appearance, followed by a panicked Subaru chasing a version of himself, symbolizing how he is pursuing a vision in which he has solved all his problems .

As he finally gets close to reaching the characters he wants to save, Satella's hand once again grabs his back, causing Subaru to turn 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 in an explosion of blood, a scene that repeats perfectly at the beginning, literally making the opening “Start From Zero”, as in the title.