- Mangaka : Tappei Nagatsuki, Haruno Atori, Yu Aikawa
- Publisher : Yen Press
- Genre : Fantasy, Isekai
- Published : January 2021
We’ve all had difficulties with memories. We doubt there’s anybody in the entire Earth who can claim they’ve never forgotten a single thing in their entire life. Be is the small stuff like an item on a grocery list to birthdays and anniversaries. What’s worse is forgetting about people or certain periods of time. The confusion, guilt, and emotional turmoil will be too huge to bear. However, what if instead of forgetting others, you get forgotten by everyone?
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed, Vol. 1, or Re: ZERO as how we will be referring to it in this article, follows Subaru, the reincarnated protagonist, as he and Emilia tries to find a cure for Rem’s peculiar slumber. This time, they are summoned to a place called Sanctuary, but there’s a bit of a problem. They have absolutely no idea where that is.
1. New character debuts
Re: ZERO’s White Whale and Witch’s Cult has officially ended. Well, they at least seem to be out of the picture for a good while. Despite that, we still receive a casualty. Even with Subaru’s reset skill, he still fails to save Rem, and she is now in a constant state of slumber. In their new adventure, Subaru finally meets Frederica, who is the one who tells them where the Sanctuary really is. There is also Echidna, the Witch of Greed, who is also mentioned before. Both characters are interesting in their own ways, but Echidna may have a few screws loose.
2. The start of a new adventure
As the title very obviously gives away, it’s the first volume to yet another arc. That being said, there’s really not much action yet, and Subaru hasn’t suffered that much. Come on, don’t give us that look. We all know Re: ZERO is all about watching Subaru die in all sorts of ways. Anyway, this volume has pretty much laid down the foundation. It has built up the lore, posed questions, and definitely leaves us hanging for more. Even if it’s not the best volume Re: ZERO has, it just can’t be skipped.
1. This Isn’t The Start Of The Story
We know this might sound stupid, but we’d rather state it than regret not doing so later. If you are unfamiliar with the series, the Chapter 4 pertains to the fourth arc. It’s not the usual chapter within a volume. That said, this isn’t the right place to start if you’re thinking of picking up Re: ZERO. As the title suggests there are three previous Chapters you’ll have to read to catch up on this one, but trust us, it’s worth it.
Final Thoughts
We’ve waited long enough, and we’re sure glad we’ll see Subaru repeatedly dying… err, we mean that we’ll finally see the story progress. Being completely honest, this isn’t the best volume Re: ZERO has, but it has definitely done it’s job right. The foundation for the new arc has been laid pretty well, and the Re: ZERO lore has also been expanded. Now, we can only wait for the next volume to see the story unfold.
Author: Christian Markle