Ever since losing his memories, Subaru’s been ruled by suspicion and paranoia—which isn’t exactly surprising given his recent (and repeated) painful deaths. However, with his last loop, he was able to have another “restart from zero” moment—to reevaluate himself and who he wants to be.

A big part of this was Emilia, in the face of certain death, explaining how Subaru went from the guy we met in episode 1 to the hero so many count on. This was something the amnesic Subaru was unable to even imagine. He couldn’t understand how he could become the well-respected companion of the much stronger people surrounding him—which is why he feared he might secretly be a monster.

This is why the conversation between him and Ram is important in this episode. While it mirrors the other time we’ve seen this conversation, Subaru is much more collected and self-aware. His words are backed by conviction, not bluster. Ram is still irrationally angry, but she can see this, allowing the conversation to go in a different direction from its previous incarnation. Her metaphor of Subaru as a land covered in snow is apt. He isn’t the welcoming summer field he was upon entering the tower, but he can very much become that again—and by saying this, she lets Subaru know he is on the right path to becoming the best version of himself once more.

The other major aspect of the last loop that allowed Subaru to “restart from zero” once again was the unquestionable love and support of those around him. Being shown this, even when he didn’t deserve it, goes on to dictate his actions this episode. He’s put together the pieces that Meili is the one who killed him in previous loops. Yet, now, instead of lashing out in paranoia, he treats her with compassion. Having read her book, he truly does know her better than anyone else—and then there’s the fact that the phantom version of Meili had been living in his head, trying to mold him in her image.

He can empathize with her so much that he is even able to predict her suicide attempt (and enlist Emilia’s aid to stop it from succeeding). The simple fact of the matter is that Meili is a confused child lashing out—unsure of her own feelings, not to mention her wants and desires for the future. Emilia’s advice to Meili is solid. This cramped, high-stress environment is not the right place to make any life-altering decisions. Space, time, and thought may very well reveal options that were previously unthinkable.

All that is to say that Meili has spent her life either as a monster or the ward of a psychopathic mass murderer. She doesn’t really know how to be human, so now it’s up to the entire party to show her the best of humanity instead of the worst—and hope she grows and learns from their example.

With that issue solved for the moment, the party can once again focus on the immediate issue in front of them—namely passing the current challenge and climbing the tower. The idea of finding Reid’s death book is a good one—though I’m not sure who would be suitable to read it given all that happened with Subaru and Phantom Meili.

And beyond that, there is still something important that Subaru has overlooked. While it’s pretty clear now that Phantom Meili was caused by reading her death book (hence why repeating Phantom Meili’s words about “murder becoming a habit” had such an impact on the real Meili), this also means she was a figment of his imagination. This, in turn, implies that she was neither the cause nor in control during Subaru’s blackouts. There is something else lurking around—something capable of not only taking over Subaru’s body but also knows enough about him to sadistically play on his fears. Or to put it another way, there is a much bigger problem facing our heroes than a bored legendary swordsman—and overlooking it may spell the end for Subaru on this particular loop.

Rating:

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

While every episode of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is emotionally resonating, this sixth episode was an especially weighty gut punch! Still not content to just depict a cute, wholesome interpretation of an age-gap relationship, this episode goes further, exploring the anxieties these people face at different stages of their lives and how the other helps them overcome those hardships. While this is still far from the most lavishly produced series of the season and its use of montages to convey information is becoming a bit of a narrative crutch, with scripts this affecting and voice acting this impactful, I can’t help but fawn over this latest episode of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You.

This episode’s cold open features Sasaki expressing anxiety about his upcoming annual medical exam, which, as a thirty-one-year-old acutely aware of recurring aches and pains I wasn’t dealing with even a few years ago, I can relate to! Tayama/Yamada gives him a pep talk and assures him that he’ll be fine…which turns out to be empty comfort when the second act opens with Sasaki telling Tayama that his doctor ordered a scan of his lungs to screen for cancerous growths. Considering that the main hook of Supermarket Smoking is the relationships and connection that are fostered by a shared activity in a third space, I wasn’t expecting this flagrant reminder of how terrible habitual smoking is for a person’s lungs and their overall health, but I’m glad we get this reminder PSA!

The rest of the second act focuses on Tayama/Yamada working up the nerve to tell Sasaki about the trick she’s been playing on him (and likely confessing her romantic interest in the process), but he gets a call at the last second that reveals that his organs are fine! While this reveal is a bit of a rug pull that undermines the previous narratives, this is still a very cute sequence, and it’s fun to see Tayama/Yamada on the back foot for a change!

We see even more of Tayama/Yamada out of her element in the third act, which is a flashback to eight years ago when she had just started at the grocery store and had yet to perfect her retail voice. As she’s being harassed by a disgruntled customer (proving Karens exist in every culture), an adult man who’s definitely not Sasaki steps in and offers the young woman terrific career and life advice. I understand that I’m predisposed to liking this show, as I’m halfway between the ages of these characters and, as such, relate to both of their experiences extremely well, but this really is one of the sweetest episodes of anime I’ve seen in a minute.

God, do I wish I had someone like Sasaki to lift me up when I was younger, and boy am I grateful that I have people like Tayama/Yamada to ground me and make my life more fun now that I’m older.

Rating:

Lucas DeRuyter is your one-stop shop for smoking hot anime takes, and you can read the best of those by checking out his portfolio. You can also catch him filling a double shift as a columnist for ANN’s recurring This Week in Anime segment, where he shares his insights into that week’s news, trends, or special topics.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

I have played a lot of visual novels before, but this is the first time I’ve played one structured like Sweet Hamster Days. Unlike others that use stock art or animations to set up interactive scenes with the player, this game is 90% live-action, using real filmed footage of the Shiratori sister actresses. There is a novelty to this approach, and the different camera angles really emphasize Kota’s size, the character that you play as. The video quality is also incredibly crisp, so if staring at Japanese women is one of your general interests, then this game is tailor-made for you.

Ironically, the problem with this presentation is that it creates a game that feels less interactive than your standard visual novel. Unlike other visual novels that can branch out into other scenarios while still using the same library of sprites or animations, this game offers far more limited interactivity because the scenes needed to be shot on film before being edited into the game. Making decisions and choices that affect the overall narrative trajectory of the game is, in a lot of ways, the main appeal of playing a visual novel. However, most of the choices that occur in this game are ultimately superfluous. It comes down to the fact that, production-wise, increasing the number of choices in branching paths would mean more footage would’ve needed to be recorded, which might not have been possible.

The other issue is that the main character Kota is a hamster for most of the game. He has no clear way of communicating with the sisters outside of squeaking, and his small stature makes it hard for him to do anything besides react. I do think that contributes to some of the game’s charm, but the problem is that the outcome isn’t really that different because the dialogue choices sound the same to the sisters. So if you’re looking for a game where every choice you make matters, this is not for you.

The game sometimes struggles to create new forms of interaction. There is a hamster icon in the bottom left corner that lets you express a variety of moods in real time while the live-action cutscenes are playing. This is encouraged in order to get an idea of what Kota is thinking at the moment, but all it does is spam sound effects and stock reactions over the screen. I tried utilizing these reactions during dozens of scenes only for it to ultimately not matter. It was the visual equivalent of dangling keys on screen, which also felt counterintuitive since doing it too much ultimately blocked the live-action footage. The game does have some occasional cute overlays that also pop up from time to time, but they are incredibly basic even at their best.

Don’t worry though; there is still a game here. While most of your choices ultimately don’t matter, that doesn’t mean that all of your choices don’t. The game is divided into multiple routes, each focusing on a sister. It’s your job to follow each sister around, see what troubles are going on in their day-to-day life, and do what you can to cheer them up, even if it is limited. It’s usually the final choice in each story segment that ultimately matters, even if the game doesn’t always make it clear. Worst-case scenario, you’re still allowed to go back to replay that same story section right away. Plus, the game has a very handy skip feature so you can skip all the cutscenes to make the right choice in a short amount of time. The funny thing is that if you make the wrong choice in a story segment, then the game classifies that as an ending, which means there are technically dozens of “endings” in this game. But it’s not like a hard Game Over; you just didn’t make the right choice to advance the specific story that the game wants to tell. Some of these “endings” are a little fun while others can literally result in your death. It was sometimes very random, but there was a little bit of amusement in the challenge of trying to “collect” all of these endings.

There are technically a few other collectibles in this game, like background information on all of the different women that isn’t revealed in the cutscenes or hints on how to acquire very specific endings. However, the draw is the eye candy segments. Finishing specific routes unlocks full videos that run for about one minute of the sisters changing or wearing different outfits. It’s nothing overly explicit; it could be Himari posing in a teacher’s outfit on a bed or Futaba slowly putting on her stockings. You don’t see anything like nudity or a panty shot. In a lot of ways, this is the most basic of voyeurism, but at least the music during these moments is relaxing.

Now the women aren’t strictly eye candy, even if I’m pretty sure their attractiveness is supposed to be one of the main appeals of the game. All of the sisters do have their own stories, whether it’s Himari struggling with her job or Miyu struggling with her inferiority complex. I do feel for these characters because it’s clear that all of them are working really hard just to live their lives. Their struggles were very relatable, and having an affectionate pet nearby does help alleviate that pressure. The way they talk to Kota as a hamster feels very similar to the way that I might talk to my dog when I get home after a long day. There is some genuine emotion here that I can’t ignore. It’s clear that Kota was put into the body of this hamster with a mission to make sure that the sisters can live their best lives, and while I didn’t feel like the game had me by the heartstrings, I did want to see them get their happy ending.

Going through all the routes of the game will take you a couple of hours. I commend the presentation and the commitment to the live-action elements, even if it ultimately renders a lot of the gameplay elements superfluous. I also feel like the perverse wish-fulfillment angle clashes a bit with the genuine sweetness the game is trying to have at times. But there is a lot of novelty that is worth checking out if you find yourself in the right mood. If you’ve never tried a game like this before, it’s worth a peek and the occasional emotional moments, but you’re not missing out if you would rather prioritize something a bit more involved and narratively enriching.