Title: Re:Zero, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed Vol. 2
Author: Tappei Nagatsuki (Story), Haruno Atori (Art), Yu Aikawa (Adaption), Shinichirou Otsuka (Characters)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 164
Genre: Shounen, Battle, Fantasy
Publication Date: December 28, 2021
The Story
In the second volume of Chapter 4 of ReZERO, Subaru learns about the barrier and why he just can’t leave. Well… technically… Subaru can come and go as he pleases but those who have mixed blood, like Emilia, are trapped inside of the barrier. There is a way out; however, and that is if someone of mixed blood undergoes a trial. If they pass the trial, then they can pass through the barrier and are allowed to leave Sanctuary.
Emilia agrees to undergo the trial and as they all stand watch outside; Subaru hears Emilia scream. Of course, being a huge simp for her, Subaru rushes in against everyone’s warning. When he gets there, he finds that Emilia has passed out. Just as he is about to tend to her, Subaru, himself succumbs to the same fate; however, we end up seeing him back in his own world!?
Yes, Subaru is woken up by his father and he is living life as if he were never transported to the world he’s in now. He goes through a myriad of emotions after being back and seeing his mother again; however, as he experiences life as normal, he begins to remember people like Emilia and Rem. I won’t spoil some of the things that happen here but it becomes pretty obvious that him being back in his original world is simply the trial… which counters something that was explained about it earlier in the volume.
At the end of the trial, we meet Echidna, the Witch of Greed. Subaru has an interesting conversation with her and, thus, the trial comes to an end. Afterward, he ends up heading to have a nice little chat with Roswaal and that ends our volume.
Characters
Man, I would really love to go in-depth on Subaru’s parents but there’s a lot here you should read and discover for yourself. It really gives some nice insight into Subaru as a character and why he didn’t mind one bit when he got summoned to another world. In addition, you also get to understand why he referred to himself as a delinquent.
You would have thought his parents had a lot to do with it but when you actually get to meet them, it doesn’t really add up. The more you read about Subaru’s background, the more you understand how he became/why he is the way that he is. It took us a total of nineteen volumes over the four “chapters” of this series to FINALLY get some answers and some background info on Subaru but it was really worth the wait!
We also have a nice little glimpse of Echidna. One thing is for certain: she is not the witch who gave Subaru his curse. While not much is known about her at this point and time, having seen the anime… I can say that we will see a LOT more of her soon. Also… if you’re a manga reader only… the scene earlier in the book where Ram brought Subaru some tea? Hint: It’s foreshadowing!
Final Thoughts
Great volume of ReZERO. Even though I’ve seen the anime and knows what happens, it’s still great re-reading it in manga form. Sometimes the manga can add small details that are left out or glossed over in the anime. Plus, it’s just nice to relive everything!
The highlight was definitely Subaru going to his homeworld as part of his trial. Outside of that, the explanation of the barrier has a bit of a loophole in it that I wonder if some people are going to pick up on. The introduction of Echidna was something all of the light novel readers were waiting on and now, if you are a manga-only reader, you will begin to understand why!
Even though we got a lot of great content in this volume, it still felt like a set-up volume for a big info dump. I do know that one is coming and, eventually, that info dump is going to lead to a recurring situation where something we’ve all been waiting for is going to happen! Well… two things, actually! This chapter of the series is just getting started and even though we are this far in, I still don’t understand why they felt the need to break this series into Chapters. I felt it would have been better to just call this book ReZERO Vol. 19. haha
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