History YMMV / ReZero

** Did Subaru actually go crazy after the events of episode 14, or [[BatmanGambit was it a ploy to get Rem to take him back to the Manor as quickly as possible, to convince Emilia to leave before the assault by the Witch Cult]]?

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m-OHfkg_IM "Requiem of Silence"]], the ending theme of episode 15, is considered by many to be one of the most hauntingly beautiful and sad music pieces heard in anime in years. The full-length version takes this to an unprecedented level.

*** More in general, people put Subaru's motivations into question, particularly those regarding Emilia. Supporters claim they're perfectly understandable, since they have more than enough interaction for Subaru to genuinely fall in love with her, and it creates a solid foundation for the story to brutally depict Subaru's character archetype. Some compare this to how people can become [[LoveMakesYouDumb infatuated]] with others, and blindly "loving" someone for shallow or little reason. Especially in episode 14, where Emilia mentions, "the version of me inside of you must be amazing", which many supporters say is justified, since Subaru has seen Emilia in more ways and has had more intimate moments with her throughout his loops that she's not aware of, but Subaru is. Detractors, on the other hand, disagree that they have enough chemistry to justify Subaru going to such lengths for her, which, coupled with his aforementioned non-reaction to being in a different world, makes him feel artificial. And that's ''before'' [[ShipToShipCombat including Rem in the equation]], which takes things up to eleven.\\\

*** Did his breakdown in episode 13 show that he was an entitled dick or was it just him grasping for straws as his mental trauma surfaced due to the sudden fear of being abandoned, rendering all his former suffering for naught and then leaving him alone with it?

** The sloth soldier who appeared after the White Whale's defeat gained a lot of popularity after [[spoiler:his DeathByIrony at the hands of Sloth]]. People were ecstatic to [[spoiler:see him return in episode 24]].

** Subaru degrades into one as part of his HeroicBSOD after [[spoiler:being rejected by Emilia]] at the end of episode 13. Thankfully, he gets a HeroicSecondWind thanks to a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Heartwarming]] YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech from Rem in episode 18.

** Rem is also this in an extent, as many fans often mocked her being completely non-existent [[spoiler:thanks to episode 17]].

** Ram flying through the air after Subaru hurls her at Rem quickly became memetic following episode 10's airing. Ram is seen with open hands extended in front of her, one of the versions of the UpUpAndAway trope.

** On a more romantic note, the [[http://i.imgur.com/IKpiuEN.png beautiful image]] from episode 21 of [[spoiler:Subaru and Rem embracing under a blue sky with a rainbow. Many [[PortmanteauCoupleName SubaRem]] supporters]] asked around in forums for hi-res files so they could put it as their new wallpaper and/or profile image for social media.
** [[PlayAlongMeme "Who's Rem?"]] [[spoiler:Because of episode 17 it has become extremely common for people to make comments about Rem not existing due to her existence being erased by the White Whale, and later when she has her name and memory eaten by the Archbishop of Gluttony.]]

** "I Love Emilia" [[note]]As of episode 18, image macros of people confessing is followed by that phrase as an [[StrangledByTheRedString out-of-nowhere]] in-your-face love declaration. When applied to other series, the phrase is typically uttered in comments and such whenever a confession is about to happen, especially when a supporting female is deemed "best girl" by the fandom over the actual female lead by a large margin and they expect the latter to "win" regardless.[[/note]]

** Ramped up with later arcs, but arc 3 in particular is when the shit truly begins to hit the fan, and it barely lets up from there.

** Elsa ''touching'' Subaru's bleeding guts after she slashes him in the second half of episode 1, all with a sadistic smile on her face showing that she ''enjoys'' doing this kind of thing to her victims. [[NightmareFuel Yikes.]]

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Reinhard's battle with Elsa in episode 3 was universally praised for featuring very fluid animation.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Subaru is disliked even by many fans of the series, who consider him an overly stupid, silly schoolboy who makes mistakes in moments where even another normal person wouldn't. Moreover, even when Subaru begins to win, he does it not because of his analytical abilities, but only because he knows the enemy's actions in advance. In most cases, how much sympathy a viewer has for him or not is dependent on how much of the series they've has seen or known about, as beyond his character development in the second half of Arc 3, [[spoiler: details about his backstory, his parents, and his life back home aren't given until Arc 4, with a lot of his earlier behavior, personal wants, and still existent character flaws are given more depth and context that cast him in a new light once you know more about his past prior to the start of the series.]]

** Part of the fanbase also considers the anime to be a controversial or even bad adaptation in the context of material handling, which is especially evident in accusations of Flanderisation of Subaru as an even more silly idiot, cutting off most of the romantic subtext between him and Rem, and replacing the DownerEnding of the third arc with an almost artificial happy ending. Especially because of this, the scene in the hall of royal elections suffers, along with the conversations Subaru have with Rem before and after the battle with the White Whale, and, of course, the whole ending of the third arc, which is perceived even by anime fans as a huge missed opportunity. The announcement that the first season would be getting a recut prior to Season 2 with additional footage doesn't help.

** The beginning of the Roswaal mansion arc, since most of it is spent in the mansion [[spoiler:since Subaru keeps on respawning there]]. Some like it since its focus on character interactions give the viewer time to better understand the characters, making future scenes even more brutal. Others think it's the weakest part of the series due to the fact that it could have made its point in a shorter time-span, and how it constantly repeats the same events while rarely ever leaving the same location.

* MagnificentBitch: [[TheCorrupter Echidna]], the [[Characters/ReZeroWitchesOfSin Witch of Greed]], once viewed all living things as her children and [[DespairEventHorizon despaired when she was unable to save them]] from death and suffering. Devoting herself to becoming an all-powerful protector, Echidna creates the powerful spirit servants, twists the nobleman Roswaal L. Mathers into devoting himself to her and researches soul transference to achieve immortality. Hundreds of years after her body dies, Echidna meets [[Characters/ReZeroSubaruNatsuki Subaru Natsuki]] in her spirit realm and puts him through a series of trials to confront his past and slowly gains his trust as she explains to him the mysterious nature of his "[[DeathActivatedSuperpower Return by Death]]" ability. Meanwhile having Roswaal attack Subaru and force him into a dire situation in the real world, Echidna nearly lures Subaru into signing a binding contract with her, only stopped by the sudden arrival of the other Witches. Saving her faithful Roswaal after he is injured and fighting on his behalf, Echidna even makes amends with her wayward "daughter" Beatrice, her soul resting in peace after accepting her.

** "Who's Rem?" [[spoiler:Because of episode 17 it has become extremely common for people to make comments about Rem not existing due to her existence being erased by the White Whale, and later when she has her name and memory eaten by the Archbishop of Gluttony.]]

** Betelgeuse is either an effective villain you LoveToHate or an overly narmy villain that is hard to take seriously. Some fans actually like him for immediately establishing himself as one of the most threatening villains in the series and find his CrazyAwesome antics and [[EvilIsHammy hamminess]] to be amusing. Others find him to be a one-dimensional villain who's only crazy for the sake of being crazy and tries way too hard to come off as frightening, and who only gains more interesting dimension to his character in flashbacks that occur well after he's been killed off.

* CompleteMonster: [[EntitledBastard Regulus Corneas]] is the Archbishop of greed who murders his own family because of their poor background. Regulus then kills everyone in his village and nearby towns, including the family of a childhood friend who he [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forcibly makes his first wife]] and constantly abuses. Regulus enslaves 290 more women to this horrific fate when his first wife commits suicide, killing 238 of them for petty reasons or selfish gain. Recruited into the [[Characters/ReZeroWitchCult Witch Cult]], Regulus destroys the city of Garkla, killing thousands, and joins Pandora in slaughtering everyone in [[Characters/ReZeroEmiliaCamp Emilia]]'s village, while planning to make Emilia's aunt Fortuna his next wife. When Fortuna gets killed, the apathetic Regulus simply sets his sights on claiming Emilia years later, massacring a convoy and brutalizing her allies when they get in his way.

** Elsa Granhiert the Bowel Cutter is immediately established as someone who is... not well. Thanks to both the EvilIsSexy and EvilIsCool tropes as noted below however, you'd really have to watch the show or read the novels to know of her true nature.

* EvilIsCool: Combined with EvilIsSexy. A lot of viewers were immediately drawn towards Elsa, who had the crowning achievement of [[spoiler:killing TheProtagonist as soon as he encountered her]].
* EvilIsSexy: Elsa Granhiert. Her chic figure, combined with a wide neckline, attractive appearance, and the voices of Creator/MamikoNoto and Creator/CristinaValenzuela, makes her very charismatic and beautiful.

* ShipToShipCombat: Though mostly civil, there are fans who are debating which girl Subaru should end up with, Emilia or [[{{Meido}} Rem]]. Helps that the series has a healthy dose of ShipTease for both.

** Puck also has shades of this, considering just how overprotective he is of Emilia.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Subaru is disliked even by many fans of the series, who consider him an overly stupid, silly schoolboy who makes mistakes in moments where even another normal person wouldn't. Moreover, even when Subaru begins to win, he does it not because of his analytical abilities, but only because he knows the enemy's actions in advance.

*** [[WordOfGod Tappei has confirmed]] that the former interpretation is true. He [Subaru] really did mentally crumble, Petelgeuse not recognizing it as such is more a case of him [Petelgeuse] not understanding different forms of madness.

** Petelgeuse has seen some lighter portrayals among the fandom as well, especially given his memetic status.

* FountainOfMemes: '''Petelgeuse'''. His nonsensical reactions as well his catch phrase have inspired a large number of memes, for example Aladdin references due to him flying with his invisible hands.

* GrowingTheBeard: Episode 6/arc 2 is the start of this for ''Re:Zero'', as this is when the series stops being a part-slice-of-life, part-action-fantasy anime and shifts to a darker fantasy take on the Isekai genre.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/YoshitsuguMatsuoka is often criticized by anime viewers for frequently voicing protagonists in [[Literature/SwordArtOnline light]] [[Literature/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou novel]] [[Literature/NoGameNoLife adaptations]] or [[Manga/TrinitySeven harem]] leads without much differentiation to his voice. However, even his most vocal critics were pleased with his performance as Petelgeuse and seeing him dive into AxCrazy territory.

** After the third arc, some shippers have taken to pairing up Subaru and Otto because of their friendship.

* LoveToHate: '''Petelgeuse'''. His hilariously over the top behavior coupled with the absolutely horrible things he does made him the most memorable villain in the entire series.

** Twister [[labelnote:Explanation (spoilers)]] A [[http://imgur.com/aRBdeXm shot of Rem]] after she is pulled apart by Petelgeuse modified to look like she's playing Twister.[[/labelnote]]

** '''[[VideoGame/MassEffect2 ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL]]''' [[note]]''Mass Effect 2'' has a primary antagonist named Harbinger, who is known for his penchant for {{Villain Override}}s on random mooks in the game, [[spoiler:which is similar to Petelgeuse's power of possessing his followers]].[[/note]]

** Petelgeuse's over-the-top antics can reach a point where they stop being creepy and become funny.

* RootingForTheEmpire: With Subaru being an extremely [[BaseBreakingCharacter divisive lead]], Petelgeuse being a FountainOfMemes, and the [[TooBleakStoppedCaring general bleakness]] of the plot, many viewers were genuinely on Petelgeuse's side and wish he'd succeeded in [[spoiler:taking over Subaru's body and replacing him in his role as the protagonist]].

** Petelgeuse licking Subaru's eyeball to try and prove that he is merely pretending to be a vegetable is just as bad, for entirely different reasons. Overall, everything Petelgeuse does can easily be considered this trope.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Subaru is hated even by many fans of the series, who consider him an overly stupid, silly schoolboy who makes mistakes in moments where even another normal person wouldn't. Moreover, even when Subaru begins to win, he does it not because of his analytical abilities, but only because he knows the enemy's actions in advance.

* ArcFatigue: The sanctuary story in Arc 4, part of the longest arc in the series. While it's the point at which the series starts to sink its teeth into the meaty parts of its MythArc, this comes with the downside of most of the action and intrigue being left on the back burner to favor {{flashback}}s, [[InfoDump exposition dumps]], repetitive dialogue, and background elements that hurt the story's flow. To put it in perspective, the first season of the anime took 25 episodes to cover the first three arcs; the second season takes that same amount just to cover this one, and that's not even taking into account the fact that every episode in that season has anywhere from ''six to ten minutes of extra content per episode''. While the arc introduced fan-favorite characters and offered big developments, its slow pacing and large amount of padding make it a slog to sit through.

** Emilia is disliked by part of the fandom because they see her as a bland, generic love interest of the main character, claiming that Rem, who is more fleshed out and has a more active role in the series as Subaru's sidekick, should be Subaru's main love interest. The other part (usually people who have read the light novels) defends her, claiming that this is justified as part of the series's handling of the "trapped in a different world" genre, and knows that she will be more fleshed out in the future. Web novel readers instead perceive her as too immature, with the writing reflecting that with her interactions with Subaru and her being better received during the flashback chapters when she actually is as young as her mental age. It is justified due to her mental age not lining up to her physical age due to being frozen and unconscious, but whether or not it's well written is a matter of debate.

** Petelgeuse is either an effective villain you LoveToHate or an overly narmy villain that is hard to take seriously. Some fans actually like him for immediately establishing himself as the most threatening villain in the series and find his antics to be amusing. Others find him to be a one-dimensional villain who's only crazy for the sake of being crazy and tries way too hard to come off as frightening.

** Whether or not the series went through SeasonalRot in the third arc. Most viewers find it to be the best in the series due to how brutally it shows the "trapped in a strange world" concept and how the GenreShift allows the show to take itself more seriously by dropping the humor from the first two arcs, to later on give Subaru a much-needed CharacterDevelopment that gives a satisfying resolution to the arc. There are some people however who feel that the series goes downhill during this arc in two different ways in its two halves: in the first half, the criticism is that it borders on torture porn and lacks the humor from the first two arcs, which causes it to lose its charm from early on, and Subaru's idiotic decisions, which many argue are so due to plot contrivances, instead of genuine character flaws. As for the second half, there are those who think that the show becomes a generic "isekai" story.

** Part of the fanbase also considers the anime to be a controversial or even bad adaptation in the context of material handling, which is especially evident in accusations of Flanderisation of Subaru as an even more silly idiot, cutting off most of the romantic subtext between him and Rem, and replacing the DownerEnding of the third arc with an almost artificial happy ending. Especially because of this, the scene in the hall of royal elections suffers, along with the conversations Subaru have with Rem before and after the battle with the whale, and, of course, the whole ending of the third arc, which is perceived even by anime fans as a huge missed opportunity. The announcement that the first season would be getting a recut prior to Season 2 with additional footage doesn't help.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The series has the feel of a shounen with darker elements such as ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' or ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', given all of the gratuitous violence. However, while the series is a light novel, the manga version is a seinen and the anime adaptation airs in a midnight time slot, allowing for more violent content.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Creator/WhiteFox went through a SeasonalRot for some viewers following the disastrous GeckoEnding for ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' and ''VisualNovel/UtawarerumonoItsuwariNoKamen''. The universal acclaim that this anime received restored faith in the studio for most anime fans, with many putting this show up there with ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'' and ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' as one of their best works.

* CompleteMonster: [[EntitledBastard Regulus Corneas]] is the Archbishop of greed who murders his own family because of their poor background. Regulus then kills everyone in his village and nearby towns, including the family of a childhood friend who he [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forcibly makes his first wife]] and constantly [[MaritalRapeLicense abuses and rapes]]. Regulus enslaves 290 more women to this horrific fate when his first wife commits suicide, killing 238 of them for petty reasons or selfish gain. Recruited into the [[Characters/ReZeroWitchCult Witch Cult]], Regulus destroys the city of Garkla, killing thousands, and joins Pandora in slaughtering everyone in [[Characters/ReZeroEmiliaCamp Emilia]]'s village, while planning to make Emilia's aunt Fortuna his next wife. When Fortuna gets killed, the apathetic Regulus simply sets his sights on claiming Emilia years later, massacring a convoy and brutalizing her allies when they get in his way.

** ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'', due to the authors being friends and the similar premise (tracksuit-wearing otaku NEET gets transported to another world and finds out it's not as awesome as they had hoped it was), it isn't surprising that there is overlap in the fandoms. The ''Memory Snow'' OVA even features the ''Konosuba'' cast in a cameo, and they're two of the four series headlining ''Anime/IsekaiQuartet''.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Creator/WhiteFox went through a SeasonalRot for some viewers following the disastrous GeckoEnding for ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' and ''VisualNovel/UtawarerumonoItsuwariNoKamen''. The universal acclaim that this anime received restored faith in the studio for most anime fans, with many putting this show up there with ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'' and ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' as one of their best works.

** Rem is also this in an extent, as many fans often mocked her being completely non-existent [[spoiler:thanks to the episode 17]].

** "I Love Emilia" [[note]]As of episode 18, image macros of people confessing is followed by that phrase as an [[StrangledByTheRedString out-of-nowhere]] [[ShipSinking in-your-face]] love declaration. When applied to other series, the phrase is typically uttered in comments and such whenever a confession is about to happen, especially when a supporting female is deemed "best girl" by the fandom over the actual female lead by a large margin and they expect the latter to "win" regardless.[[/note]]