Title: Re:Zero, Chapter 3: Truth of Zero Vol. 10
Author: Tappei Nagatsuki (Story), Daichi Matsuse (Art)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Shounen, Battle, Fantasy
Publication Date: February 18, 2020
The Story
After returning by death, Subaru and Julius confront Petelgeuse. In order to battle against his unseen hands, Julius forms a bond with Subaru and uses his eyes as his own. Since Subaru can see the hands, it allows Julius to see them as well. All Subaru has to do is stand there and keep his eyes on Petelgeuse the entire time. They make quick work of him but Petelgeuse once again tries to possess Subaru. Subaru comes up with a pretty unique way to end that possession and it leads to Petelgeuse’s final defeat…. For now.
With him dealt with, Subaru remembers about the explosion in the town. He learns there are stolen fire crystals hidden in the same carriage as Emilia’s. He makes a deal with Otto and chases down the carriage, getting there just in time. With the crystals disposed of, all that’s left for him is to explain things to Emilia… and explain things he does! That’s where our volume comes to a close with a “…to be continued?” statement at the end.
This felt like the end of the manga adaptation but the afterword states that the original material goes beyond what was adapted. This is a nod to the stopping point in the anime and a recognition that the light novel series has more content. Since this is not marked as the final volume, I’m wondering if this series will continue to get adapted. With Season 2 of ReZero coming later this year, it’s a question of whether or not this will get adapted before or after the anime airs. Still, there is no concrete goodbye here which is good!
Characters
There are 2 major character development points here… both involving Subaru with one of them spoiling the end to the manga so I’ll refrain from talking about that one. The one I will talk about is the teamwork born from Julius and Subaru’s hatred for one another. We know they can’t stand each other but Subaru has finally come to accept Julius as a highly-skilled knight and, in that regard, he respects him greatly. That’s how the two of them were able to work together to defeat Petelgeuse. The animosity between the two of them will never be gone but it’s nice to see that they can finally look past it and work together when the situation calls for them to!
I do have to note one thing here about Otto. That guy is more out of his mind than we originally thought he was. Someone who was introduced as some meek side character turned out to be a bit of a psychopath. He’s kind of like that person you know from high school that seems normal until you go over to his house and take a look at his room.
Final Thoughts
We all know that this isn’t the end but is the end of another return by death arc. I’m pretty sure that the ending we saw here will be the new savepoint for whatever lies ahead. Who knows? Maybe what does lie ahead is pretty calm and serene for a change to the save point will end up moving forward a bit more? I guess time will tell in that aspect.
The battle against Petelgeuse took up the majority of the volume which made the pages fly by! This volume ended up being over before I had even realized it. Still, it drew you in, offered great action and a pretty bittersweet ending depending on which bandwagon you’re on. All in all, it was a very solid wrap-up to this story arc and I can’t see where they go with it in the future as there are still many questions left to be answered.
Also, my money is still on Emilia being Satella. It’s way too heavily foreshadowed for it to not be her. My guess is she’s just a vessel for The Witch and just doesn’t fully realize it. Puck is probably the key to unlocking the Witch, too. Just my theory, though! It’s fun to think of these things sometimes!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
