Nope. I don't think you should watch Re:Zero unless you are knee deep in the tropes for it. I suggest Steins;Gate for the time stuff and No Game No Life for the transmigration trope. If you've seen them already, then Re:Zero probably doesn't appeal to you and you should drop it.
I guess some time travel anime are hard to watch. Hmm, then have you watched Higurashi? How about Erased? Mirai Nikki has some time travelling in it. Oda Nobuna no Yabou has an MC who goes back to historical Japan with reverse gender characters.
Damn. I heard that the romance in it was solid so I was considering giving it another try but if you don't recommend it then I can go find something else
You could put it in a list of maybes. I watched Re:Zero and liked it, but I can see why some people can dislike it. If you're looking for romance in Re:Zero, then I suggest skipping. There's crushes and shippings, but not a lot of romantic moments.
Sorry to bring this back up, if you want to hear it, I am willing to give me opinion as someone who liked the anime in a personal level and is willing to defend it. Also, in my honest opinion and without meaning to offend anyone, Mister @AnAngryLinguist failed to convey the essence of the show in his speech.
Re:Zero is NOT a time-travel anime and while I do recommend you to be more "experienced" with anime before watching it, it is not something like an obligatory requirement. If you let me, I will state my reasons for saying this.
Re:Zero has the "time-traveling mechanism" as a sort of plot device. Without it, the story wouldn't come true, but this doesn't mean that it is a time-travel anime.
Usually, shows centered around that have plot points both in the past and in the future, but in Re:Zero things get a little more simple. There is a turn of events and the protagonist has to determine and change the causes and consequences.
Nothing new here, but the mechanism fades out as a part of the story, giving place to the 'present' happenings and at the same time throwing 'hints' at the truth behind everything, so it's more of a mystery anime than a time-travel anime.
As for the "true point" to the whole anime, I would say it's the character development. Subaru is under constant change, be it for the traumas he has weighing down on his shoulders or be it for his ever-changing relationships with the cast (a result of the "time-travel" mechanism).
You see him go through high and low, and things have depth. The story deconstructs him as a character, and even though the "result" from the whole thing was "expected", it felt genuine. I was cheering for him in situations I wouldn't cheer for any other character, because, in my opinion, although his changes happen suddenly, they are executed well and have a proper reason behind it.
The rest of the cast suffers a little because of the "mechanism" in terms of character progression - when it happens it is sudden, and some people can think of it as forced - but you get to know more of the characters through the different loops instead of having them significantly change. You see different sides of them, and that is also character development in my honest opinion.
So, instead of a "time-travel anime", I think it is more of a "mystery character-driven anime".
This view of mine can be rather biased though, as some characters connected with me in a personal level and I have more of an emotional attachment and view to the whole thing than an objective and rational one. The show has flaws, it isn't a masterpiece, but I really think it's worth watching.
It's perfectly fine if you do not like it though, we are different people with different views. But at least give it a try and rationalize your reasons behind it before openly declaring your dislike. That's all I ask.
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