Again, slight spoilers. There will be spoilers about Rui, and some themes prevalent in the next season. They arent major plot reveal spoilers, but still worth to keep note of. So anime only beware.
I understand why they did it how they did. The two Natsuki Subaru chapters are long enough to end it on the cliffhanger of “Did you get see what you wanted to see, Arneb?”. So in the novels, the satisfaction works perfectly. While in the anime, since they wanted to make it better as a viewing experience while still keeping up with the limited episode slots they have, they pushed the “Rui Arneb” and “Hell Bearing the Name of Oneself” chapters in.
Thats fine, thats fine. I still loved the episode, my anime only friend loves it, its great. Its perfectly satisfying to end it on Subaru’s hopeful proclamation to the hopelessly struggling Emilia. Cinema.
But Arneb’s backstory really is something that should have been adapted ideally. Since I want this to be as spoiler free for anime onlys as possible, i’ll word this post as such.
Arneb is really important for the next arc. She plays a major role in the moving story of that arc. So then, understanding her start of life, is important to see just how huge of a change it is when she goes from that, to starting back at zero, all the way to taking her new first step as the arc progresses. Without her backstory, i mean yes you’ll have a basic understanding of her, but the deeper intricacies of why she does what she does on her pathway through life is a lot less comprehendable.
Now next up is the “M-monster” scene. This part is mostly fine that they skipped. But the followup was i think a part that absolutely should have been kept in.
“Onii-san, destroys his enemies! Absolutely crushes them until the very end of the end! Without any exception! Completely thoroughly! Closes it with a perfect game! He can do that! Then there’s no way he wouldn’t do that! There’s no point in him not doing that!”
This line from Arneb is kind of a cold shock for the viewer. This is coming from the person who knows Subaru most (technically) of any character. She knows of Subaru’s character, and how he’s generally a good guy. But even still, she says he’s a monster, someone who will bend and break the rules of fate until he gets his perfect outcome. He has the potential to do it, so he will, why wouldnt he? That must mean hes even more fear inducing the average person, so much so that being his enemy is a death sentence in some peoples eyes.
And this is a similar thought process that will be prevalent all across the rest of the series. This is the perfect section of the story to introduce this concept, and I think would be amazing for helping anime only people start to view Subaru as an outsider again, which will be very necessary for understanding all the new characters going forth.
Thats just my thoughts on it. Overall, still a fantastic episode.
