Re:Zero Season 4 Episode 5 – Japanese Fan Reactions Translated
Overview
Re:Zero Season 4 Episode 5 aired on May 13th and immediately set Japan's 5ch anime forum ablaze with theories and reactions. Reid Astrea (the legendary swordsman wielding chopsticks) made his proper debut, the Pleiades Watchtower trials kicked into high gear, and the official voice cast announcement effectively spoiled the eventual appearance of the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony.
This article translates Japanese fan reactions from a 5ch episode discussion thread, covering the episode itself plus broader theories about where Season 4's "Loss Arc" is heading. Several comments reference the official voice cast (Rie Murakawa as Ram, Inori Minase as Rem, Kengo Kawanishi as Lye Batenkaitos, Konomi Kohara as Lui Arneb), which Japanese fans dissected as soft spoilers from the production team itself.
Japanese Fan Reactions (30)
The chopsticks.
The fact that this woman is casually deflecting chopsticks that can shatter swords with her chest—she might be the strongest in the entire series.
Honestly though, "stroking with chopsticks" feels underwhelming. He should be using attacks that actually leverage the unique shape of chopsticks.
Reid is clearly modeled on Miyamoto Musashi. There's that famous legend about Musashi catching a fly with his chopsticks—same energy.
The influence Fate/UBW had on later anime is honestly insane. Every blade-summoning sequence in the past decade traces back to that show.
Subaru needs to die or this won't have any tension. Also it feels gross that Julius is being used as the punching bag here.
Just wait a bit longer. It's about to turn into actual torture-tier hell.
"He won't just die easily, he's basically a convenient tool"—someone literally said that back in earlier seasons. Subaru's existence as a plot device is the running joke.
But I still believe a happy ending awaits after all the suffering. That's what Re:Zero is to me.
Looking forward to Julius and Reinhard finally getting to shine!!!
Anyone else remember the third trial from Season 2—"the calamity yet to come"? The dialogue we heard during that trial is starting to make sense now.
You mean Echidna's tomb's final trial. The one where Emilia is forced to witness possible terrible futures. Search "the calamity yet to come" if you want to refresh your memory.
Look at the official cast list, they're casually spoiling everything: - Lye Batenkaitos: Kengo Kawanishi - Roy Alphard: same VA - Lui Arneb: Konomi Kohara These are the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, right? They haven't appeared yet but clearly they're coming.
That cast list is on the official anime website. If anyone's spoiling, it's the official staff themselves lol.
Rem: Inori Minase The fact that a VA is officially credited for her means she's going to wake up, right?
Not necessarily. Remember in Season 2 when Lust appeared in Rem's form? Anything can happen with Re:Zero.
There's a brief shot of a maid standing tall at the very end of the OP—she's definitely waking up.
Season 4 confirmed setup: ① The goal is to wake Rem up ② Sin of Gluttony's VAs are already cast ③ Rem's VA is already credited Suspicious character placements: - Rem still asleep - Ram protecting a sister she doesn't remember - Forgotten Julius - Subaru who remembers everything All the pieces are in place for Rem to wake up! …But Re:Zero specializes in using exactly this kind of expectation as misdirection, so any meta analysis along these lines might be completely worthless. My prediction: Rem stays asleep and we get an emotional gut-punch instead.
Will Rem actually wake up? If she does, are they going to defeat Gluttony this arc? I'd be so happy if she finally wakes up.
Honestly I'm starting to think she doesn't need to wake up. There are plenty of heroines already.
Honestly they could drag the "Rem still asleep" thing out until the final episode of the entire series and I'd accept it.
This episode was textbook-perfect. Pacing, animation, voice acting, all clicking.
Just started watching this season blind. The only character I know by name is the sexy-bodied Shaula. Help.
I watched Season 1 but bounced off Season 2. Will Season 4 make any sense to me?
Honestly probably not. You can skip Season 2 and just watch key scenes, but Season 3 is genuinely worth your time. Season 2's animation was mediocre and the pacing was off, but Season 3 is essential.
I dropped Season 1, then came back via Season 3 → Season 2 → Season 1 in reverse. The VAs they cast for the Sin Archbishops are absolutely stacked.
I still don't really get the Sin Archbishops. They're a cult worshipping the Witch and got special powers from her—that part I get. But what are they actually trying to achieve?
The Witch Cult is a fanatical organization worshipping the "Witch of Envy" Satella. They cause incidents and massacres across the world and are feared as the worst-class threat by ordinary people. Their leaders are the "Sin Archbishops"—deranged individuals named after the seven deadly sins. Famous examples include Betelgeuse (Sloth), Regulus (Greed), Sirius (Wrath), Lye (Gluttony, casting this season), Pandora (Vainglory)… Their goal varies by individual but generally aligns with "summoning the Witch of Envy" or "fulfilling the Witch's last wish."
Julius is too pretty, I'm watching him on loop every day 😭
She's incredibly strong but mentally fragile. (referring to a certain character whose appearance hasn't been animated yet)
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