Re:Zero Season 4 Review: It's As Ruthless And Unforgiving As Ever
One of the darkest isekai anime returns with the same unrelenting intensity—answering long-standing questions and tying up loose ends, yet never losing sight of its core truth: every second chance comes at a price
“If I could go back in time and do it again, I would.”
Boy, no you wouldn’t. And you know it.
It’s the kind of line people throw around easily—safe in the comfort of knowing they’ll never actually have to prove it. A hypothetical, a convenient lie, a way to soften regret without ever confronting it. But for Subaru Natsuki, the hero of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, this is his brutal reality.
What is Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World about?
For fans of Re:Zero who’ve followed the story over the past three seasons, the premise is all too familiar. Subaru Natsuki, an ordinary boy, is suddenly transported into a fantasy world—no truck-kun theatrics, just a blink and he’s there. He meets Emilia, a half-elf royal candidate, and is almost immediately pulled into a deadly chain of events. He dies, again and again, only to uncover his terrifying ability: Return by Death—every time he dies, time resets to a checkpoint that only he remembers.
What a nightmare of a plot. And his journey throughout is exactly that
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Season 4 review
Season 3 ended on a classic Re:Zero cliffhanger, with Julius Juukulius falling victim to Gluttony—his “name” eaten, meaning no one remembers him except Subaru Natsuki.
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Season 4 Episode 1
Season 4 picks up directly from there. With several victims of Gluttony and Lust left broken or erased, Subaru and his allies set their sights on the Pleiades Watchtower, home to the all-knowing sage Shaula, who might have answers.
But reaching it is no easy task; even Reinhard van Astrea, one of the strongest figures in the world, has failed to get there due to a mysterious barrier. Along the way, another twist emerges: Anastasia is revealed to be inhabited by a different Echidna—not the Witch of Greed Subaru knows, but a separate entity who claims to care deeply for her host.
Amid all this, one of the most quietly devastating moments belongs to Garfiel Tinsel. After learning in the previous season that his mother is alive but has no memory of him, he finally faces her. There’s no grand reveal, no dramatic recognition—just Garfiel breaking down, calling her “mom” as she comforts him as a stranger would. It’s raw, unresolved, and painfully human. You realise that not every wound in Re:Zero can be undone, even with time itself on your side.
It’s a strong opening episode that ties up key threads, introduces new plotlines, and sets the stage for what’s to come.
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Season 4 Episode 2
Episode 2 brings the intensity straight back. As the group makes its way toward the tower, Subaru is killed again. Twice, in fact. However, he adapts quicker, thinks sharper, and figures things out faster, showing just how much he’s grown. And just when it feels like things are under control, the story flips again throwing everyone into the unknown through a mysterious portal. In Re:Zero, stability never lasts.
In the episode, with Ram guiding the group through the sandstorm using her vision, they finally cross the spatial barrier—only for Subaru to be killed the moment they do. It’s a sharp reminder of how unforgiving this world is.
The episode is tightly paced, balancing problem-solving with tension. Just as everything starts to fall into place, Re:Zero does what it does best—pulls the rug out, ending on a cliffhanger that keeps you locked in for what comes next.
Some might say Subaru’s deaths are becoming less impactful—but that’s not quite true. You don’t get used to it. You can’t. That first death in Episode 2 is still a shock—sudden, disorienting, brutal. From the field of flowers to the cut to black, it hits the same way it always has. That’s the point.
Because at the core of it all, the idea remains unchanged: second chances aren’t free. Every reset comes at a cost. And sometimes, that cost makes things worse.
Which brings us back to—
“If I could go back in time and do it again, I would.”
In Subaru’s world, this is a curse. Because he doesn’t get to wonder if he would, he already has. Again and again.
So go on, say it if you want. Say you’d do it again; you’d do it differently.
Just be careful.
It might come true.
The first two epsiode of episode of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World are now available to stream on Crunchyroll with a new episode releasing every Wednesday.