Anime

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: A Winged Horse and Temporary Partings

Quick Summary of Re:CREATORS Episode 3

In Re:Creators episode 3, “Don’t worry about what others said. Just be yourself,” Selesia Upitiria finds herself in debt to a man she really can’t stand. Selesia’s creator Takashi Matsubara goes to unusual length to upgrade his character. Selesia and Meteora Österreich decide it might be time to live with someone besides Souta Mizushino. Military Uniform Girl speaks to someone who’s not there.

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious!

What’s In This Post

Quick Episode Summary
What Happened in this Episode
What I Liked in this Episode
What I Liked Not so Much in this Episode
Thoughts about the Episode
Related Posts

What Happened in Re:CREATORS Episode 3

Alicetelia February Crashes the Party

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: Alicetelia February arrived in time to rescue Mamika
Alicetelia February from yet another series shows up to rescue Mamika from Yuuya Mirokuji and Selesia. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Yuuya Mirokuji, having interrupted Selesia’s fight with Mamika, demands the Magical Slayer make up her mind to attack him or not. Before he can press the issue, Alicetelia February swoops down on her winged horse and takes Mamika to safety. Selesia does not like him, but she’s too injured to do anything about it. Besides, the sirens signal that the authorities are coming. They withdraw.

They retreat to a restaurant, where Mirokuji eats quite a lot and Selesia tries to heal even though Meteora doesn’t have any healing magic. Mirokuji lets Meteora bribe him with food, and he shares what he knows. Namely, that Gunpuku no Himegimi had tried to recruit him, too, but her pitch — that they should unite to make their creators change their worlds for the better — didn’t resonate with him. He asks if they’ve tried to get their creators to tweak their abilities; only Meteora seems to have even considered that. He also suggests that Himegimi chose them to bring to the real world because of their popularity. He leaves in search of fun.

Marine Joins the Team

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: Meteora considers the implications of manipulating the characters
Meteora had already consider Mirokuji’s question about asking their creators to tweak their characters. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Matsubara, in an attempt to test the idea that he can change Selesia’s abilities, introduces the team to Marine, his illustrator. Of course, she’s shocked at what’s going on, but she quickly warms up to the challenge. They try to “upgrade” Selesia first with a new chant that Matsubara writes, then with a new sword that Marine draws. Neither works, and Meteora wonders if the work needs to be published to an audience before it would take effect. Marine then realized that she knew some people at the company that produced Meteora’s game and that she could give them an introduction. That way, Meteora could meet her creator, too! Marine likes the feeling of having helped, so she offers to let Selesia and Meteora live with her. They accept. Souta Mizushino wonders if this means he’ll never see them again, but Meteora especially thinks their fates are intertwined.

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: The experiment to upgrade Selesia wasn't exactly a success
Using her writer’s chant and her illustrator’s model, Selesia tries a new sword-flame technique. Everyone’s disappointed when it doesn’t work. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Back in his room, Mizushino remembers how Marine looked when she was drawing the new sword technique. She had been in the zone. He sits in front of his computer, his drawing window still blank. Somewhere in a broken building, Himegimi sits (she thinks alone) and speaks out loud to someone named Setsuna. She shares that she’s met Mizushino and that she didn’t think he’d be involved in their destinies “again.” She vows to be Setsuna’s ally until the end of this world. Mamika listens from the shadows.

What I Liked about Re:CREATORS Episode 3

Interesting Characters like Mirokuji

I’m liking Mirokuji. Though he presents like a villain, he really just does what he wants, and he seems loyal to his friends. And I have to sympathize with how he dislikes Mamika’s indecisiveness. Though I’m sure Mamika’s personality suits her fictional world, I’m pretty sure it’d wear thin quickly in ours.

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: Mamika wasn't ready for her the effects of using her power in our world
Mirokuji’s right. If Mamika’s going to wield the kind of power she does, she needs to be more aware and decisive. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

I wonder if I’m the only one who reruns the OP a few times before continuing with the episode? It’s like it’s playing in the same key as my imagination.

Selesia demanded that Mirokuji tell them what he knew, but he faked being unable to remember. Meteora correctly read the situation and offered him a meal in exchange for the information. I hope those two women stick together. Their strengths compliment each other.

Each character seems to have a different set of expectations about their creators. Selesia and Meteora want to talk their creators into making changes for the better; Mirokuji doesn’t care. I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again: I love how this series explores the implications of its premise!

Selesia and Matsubara’s Complicated Relationship

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: Selesia and Matsubara were arguing like a child and her parent!
Meteora observed that Selesia and Matsubara were arguing like a child and her parent. Meteora was right, but neither the child nor the parent were very happy about it! Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Seeing Selesia and Matsubara bicker brought a smile to my face. Like Meteora said, they’re like a father and his strong-willed teenaged daughter.

Marine was fascinated by Selesia’s clothing, even down to the stitching. When Selesia expresses surprise, Marine explains that her pen sometimes just starts drawing on its own, and she doesn’t really think about what it’s doing. So details like stitching are a revelation to her.

It was touching how Marine apologized to Selesia for her constant battles. That’s an idea I hope they pursue: how should or will creators feel when they realize that at least some of their creations are real, living beings who actually had to live through the plots and devices? Thinking about it, I might well get physically ill if that were to happen to me!

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: Marine felt guilty for dropping manga spoilers on Selesia
Marine felt bad for dropping manga spoilers on Selesia, the anime character. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Marine dropped spoilers on Selesia! Since the princess was from the anime, she didn’t know the latest developments in the manga, and events like being betrayed by her best friend were shocking to her. I wonder how that will play out? In terms of the show’s central concept, is Selesia the anime character the same as Selesia the manga character?

Meteora Serves Coffee to Selesia

Meteora had to explain coffee to Selesia because her world didn’t have it. The aroma also helped her try it. Another cool little detail!

Marine was so proud of her drawing! That was adorable. It’s nice to see folks happy with their work.

I was really afraid that the show was going to give Selesia new powers just by drawing or writing them. That would have resulted in a seriously skewed world — characters with god-like powers just aren’t enjoyable to watch. But if they add another level of difficulty, like the audience having to accept the new power, that could be interesting. Especially if the audience could reject the idea if it’s a bad fit for the character. In other words, the audience might be the final arbitrators. The bit where the theme music starting playing as Selesia tried to activate the power, only to cut off abruptly when the power didn’t activate, was a nice touch.

Military Uniform Girl obviously misses Setsuna
Military Uniform Girl speaks to Setsuna of her meeting with Mizushino in a tone filled with regret and determination. Yet, there’s no one there. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

Of Mizushino, Himegimi says to the not present Setsuna, “He’s a part of the world that banished you.” What’s that about? And why do I have a terrible feeling it’s something tragic? If you don’t mind spoilers, there’s an interesting conversation about this on Reddit. Don’t know if it represents canon or not, but it’s an interesting read.

What I Liked Less about Re:CREATORS Episode 3

Alicetelia’s horse — why does its hooves make noise while it’s in the air? Of course, I’m not blind to the context of my question. I’m really asking why a flying, magical horse’s hooves make noise while it’s flying. Put that way, silent hooves seems like the least of the issues! But still, it seems like an inconsistency, and I’m wondering if there’s an explanation.

They split up the gang! Selesia and Meteora are going to leaveMizushino and live with Marine. Of course, it’s not realistic for two women to live with a sixteen year old boy, but I still thought Souta Mizushino could have put up more of a fight! Where’s his pride?

Thoughts about Re:CREATORS Episode 3

Tolkien and Sub-Creation

I think I enjoy the OP so much because it reeks of potential. What’s it telling us about the girl who committed suicide in the first episode? The motion of her glasses coming off seems connected to Mizushino putting his glasses on at the end. What do some of those images mean? I doubt anything there’s random, yet I don’t want to spend too much time pouring over it because there’s so much intellectually going on during the rest of the show!

Re:CREATORS Episode 3: The OP has a shark-toothed demon girl. Cool.
The OP really appeals to me. And when do we get to meet this character? Five-pointed star on her glove; sharp teeth; and she’s hanging out with friends? There’s a story there for sure! Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

The show seems to be dancing around the idea, but I wonder if they’re going to get around to considering an alternative explanation for the Created visiting out world? Namely, that the writers aren’t creating the worlds, they’re only documenting what their imagination sees is already there, in that other world. It’s a idea I first heard about years ago in conjunction with Tolkien’s idea of sub-creation. Marine reminded me of this. Remember when she asked Selesia if she could examine the princess’ clothing? Selesia was surprised that Marine didn’t know everything about it, since she drew it! But Marine answered that sometimes her pen just goes, and she’s not really consciously aware of what it’s doing.

Selesia Butts Heads with Matsubara

I really liked the idea of a created character like Selesia arguing with her creator. The idea’s appealed to me since I wrote a short story about something like it in high school (if we use the Star Wars movies as a timeline, and the present is Rogue One, I was in high school when the Emperor Palpatine was just a senator). Would a character necessarily have a reverence for their writer? How would their characterization, or lack of characterization, affect them if they came into this world? I think Meteora touches on this with her concept of information density. The deeper the characterization, the more fully realized the Created will be when they emerge in this world.

Meteora and Selesia leave to stay with Marine.
Meteora and Mizushino discuss how fate brought them together as Selesia looks on. Capture from the Amazon Prime stream.

But what’s really interesting is what that relationship stands for metaphorically. I think Meteora and Mizushino referred to that when they were discussing destiny and fate near the end of this episode. Just as the writer determines what happens to Selesia and Meteora’s worlds (character to continents), they seemed to be saying that some force is aligning events in the real world, too. Does that mean there’s another level “up” from this reality? Another level of writer creators influencing Mizushino and Matsubara? Would that writer/creator be our God?* If the answer’s “Yes,” would you take Selesia’s approach and actively engage with your writer creator — or Mirokuji’s?

Or would you take another tact?

Let me know in the comments!

* Let’s hope it’s not Being X! Yikes!

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3 thoughts on “Re:CREATORS Episode 3: A Winged Horse and Temporary Partings

  1. Magane Chikujouin.

    I’m actually writing my review for this series right now. We thought a lot of the same things about this series, including my first thought above there. Your perspective is a little different and your writing more concise than mine. My worry for my review is that it won’t do justice to this great work, whereas your writing shows how much the show spoke to you. Well, we’ll see how it turns out and I’d love to hear your thoughts when I finish it.

  2. I have rarely agreed more with a comment!

    I originally posed these reviews as Re:CREATORS aired back in what, 2017? It is, without question, far and away, my favorite series. Not just anime series; any series.

    If you’re interested, I summarized my thoughts when I put Re:CREATORS in my Caw of Fame: https://www.crowsworldofanime.com/posts/call-of-fame-recreators/

    My only regrets are that it never came out on Blu Ray and never got a dub. My wife only watches dubs, so I’ve never been able to share this with her.

    That’s real sadness!

    I’m glad to hear you liked the series so much!

  3. You will not regret the time you spend in this anime. Enjoy every moment of it. It’s magnificent. This is the only anime I ever cried after finishing the last episode simply because it was over, I must admit. It’s a strangely perfect anime.

Please let me know what you think!

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