Re:ZERO Season 4 Episode 17 delivers an emotional Emilia and Subaru reunion before throwing everyone straight into battle.
Masahiro Shinohara directs the fourth season, also known as Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 4th Season (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 4th season) / Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World.
Re:ZERO Season 4 Episode 17 Review
Emilia’s Reunion With Subaru Says Everything About Their Bond
The reunion between Emilia and Subaru was as wholesome as expected. Emilia quickly recognises that the real Subaru has come back, and Subaru also declares that everything will be fine because Emilia’s knight is here. Lye definitely tries to get the upper hand and attack Emilia, but she quickly counters him. One thing was very interesting here. Emilia asks Subaru what happened to his past self, who did not remember Emilia and the others.
Usually, someone else would not really care about such a thing. However, Emilia cared for the other Subaru as well, who ceased to exist and has actually mingled with the original Subaru’s soul. Subaru reassures Emilia that his other self also lives within him, and that tells a lot about the kind of relationship that Emilia and Subaru have. There can be many different romantic interests for Subaru, but the chemistry between Emilia and Subaru is something special.
Subaru Divides The Forces As Ram Gets Her Shot At Revenge
The reunion with others also goes fairly well, but we do not really get the time to dwell on lighthearted themes. Subaru quickly informs them who should go where to fight. He decides to stay with Shaula and control her while she loses herself and becomes a spider.
Emilia actually goes to the next level because she’s the only one who passed the exam. On top of that, Anastasia just tells Julius the message that Subaru sent. It was to wrap things up quickly and help others as soon as possible. However, that is not all. Ram is on her own revenge mission as she encounters Lye alone. She has a score to settle, and she decides to do that in her own way.
Reid Finally Reveals Why He Saw Something Special In Julius
In this episode, we also realise why Reid had been so fixated on Julius. It becomes clear that he saw some potential in Julius even though he was getting beaten by Reid continuously. Once Julius finally understands what Reid saw in him, he gains a new sense of confidence and begins fighting differently.
Julius also opens up about his childhood and what it was like growing up as a commoner. That experience shaped the way he presented himself to others. He chose to hide his true identity behind an appearance, determined to become someone greater than the person he had once been. This turning point also led Julius to build an entirely new connection with the spirits.
This essentially gives way to one of the greatest fights of this season, and we finally see Reid with an actual sword. This was hands down the highlight of this episode.
Final Thoughts
The first half was definitely really good; yet, it was when the battle between Julius and Reid started that the episode became truly great. Their fight animation was absolutely gorgeous, and the makers used a lot of techniques to give us a heightened sense of movement between Julius and Reid.
The outcome of the battle was also very interesting and very unexpected. However, there was another thing that happened in the end that was really good. So yes, even though Subaru was not the main highlight of this episode, this was definitely one of my favourites.