Re:Zero Season 4 Episode 1 – Japanese Reactions to the Loss Arc Premiere
Overview Re:Zero Season 4 (the "Loss Arc") premiered in Japan on April 8, 2026, and the first episode immediately stirred up Japanese fans. Rather than a flashy reintroduction, Episode 1 condensed Subaru's victory over Regulus from Season 3's Priestella arc, brought back the long-forgotten Meili Portroute, and set up the journey to the Pleiades Watchtower. This article translates Japanese reactions from a 5ch general thread covering the premiere. The big talking points: how heavily the Regulus showdown was cut down compared to the light novel, the eternal "why is Subaru still wearing that tracksuit?" debate, and confusion among anime-only viewers about who Meili even is. Some Japan-only viewers also flagged the unusual choice to skip both the OP and ED in the first episode — but as one commenter put it, that's "standard Re:Zero behavior." The thread also reveals just how protective Japanese fans are about the light novel pacing. With nine seasons potentially needed to finish the story, fan anxiety is real.
Japanese Fan Reactions (23)
So Episode 1 just speed-ran the entire Regulus fight from last season? The "Gorgeous Tiger Reloaded" sequence got butchered. Way too many lines cut. This is the kind of "anime-only viewers should just read the novel lol" production masturbation I hate.
Yeah, in the original Reinhardt actually struggles and gets pretty banged up — it's a serious, tense fight. The anime cut all of that out and made it goofy, so any sense of dread is gone.
Honestly the Regulus fight here felt awful. Subaru almost finishes him but doesn't — pure plot armor wrestling. They sideline Reinhardt because if he's present nobody else gets to shine. Then suddenly the star-trivia comes out of nowhere to finish things. No tension at all. Reinhardt, just retire from this ship already.
They should've done a 90-minute premiere like they did for S3. Episode 2 has way more impact — splitting them robbed the premiere of its hook. Big missed opportunity.
Yeah, this is the current anime trend. The premiere was the most important moment to grab new viewers and they whiffed it.
Wait, Meili was in a cell this whole time? Did the anime ever actually show how she got locked up? Or is that coming? Help me out, novel readers!! I literally googled "who is Meili" and got hits from Episode 11 and Episode 33 of older seasons, and going back I went "oh right, she was a character."
Don't worry, you're not the only one. The "Meili was here all along??" reaction is the most common one in this thread.
Honestly, fast-forward to Season 4 itself: there's a moment where amnesiac Subaru actually kills Meili, then reads her Book of the Dead. That's when her whole backstory pays off. The author kept her in the background on purpose — you're reacting exactly how he wanted.
Okay seriously, how long is Subaru going to wear that tracksuit? It's painful to watch. Does he own multiple? Is he buying them in-world? At least change his look a bit, come ON.
From Episode 2 onward his outfit changes. The tracksuit thing has a story — Rem literally hand-sews replica tracksuits because the original one is long gone. There are dozens of "tracksuits."
And he sews his own too, apparently. The fabric is one thing but what about the zippers? What happens when one breaks?
Subaru calling Anastasia out as Echidna-in-a-skinsuit was a great moment. Prisclla had also clocked her back in S3 — that "this sly fox" line was great.
Last season ended with someone being erased from everyone's memory, right? ...who was it again? I genuinely forgot.
It was Julius. Honestly though, he's such a non-presence that even people who watched the season can't remember. Says it all about him as a character.
I started watching from S1 and I'm on Episode 5 now. Subaru's behavior is creeping me out. Is he going to be like this the entire show?
You just have to grit your teeth through it. Honestly his cringe is the author's self-insert showing through. It's been that way since the start.
Subaru's real personality is the serious face he occasionally drops. The cringe stuff is him imitating his dad. If he drops that, he loses one of the few connections he has to his parents back home.
No OP, no ED in the premiere — pretty unusual structure, but that's just Re:Zero being Re:Zero at this point.
My honest concern: can they even finish adapting this? Author says the story ends at Arc 12. At the current pace that's roughly Season 9. Has any light novel anime ever gone that far?
Re:Zero is one of Kadokawa's top-selling Blu-ray franchises, so they'll probably keep making seasons. But yeah, the math is painful.
If S4 doesn't spark interest the way earlier seasons did, it could go the way of Index — where they just quietly stop animating it. The buzz feels muted this time.
Anyone else weirded out that Subaru and Meili are suddenly buddy-buddy? When did that happen? I don't remember any setup for this.
The light novel actually has Subaru personally making her stuffed animals while she was imprisoned. They have a whole quiet bond that anime-onlys never saw.
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