Re:Zero Episode 40

Otto Suwen / A Reason to Believe (オットー・スーウェン／信じる理由) is the fortieth episode of the overall series and the fifteenth episode of Season 2 of the Re:Zero anime.

Plot
The cliffhanger from the previous episode continues: Garfiel encounters Otto, who tells Garfiel he is there to distract him and play his small role for Subaru. Garfiel punches him, and when going out falls into Otto's trap on the floor, full of bugs. Otto then recalls his childhood and how he gradually developed and became aware of his Divine Protection ability that lets him understand animals. His parents told him to try to hide it, and having been unable to do it, he was harassed by people in his town for it, after which he became an itinerant merchant. There is further flashback to the time he was captured by the Witch Cult.

Going back to his fight with Garfiel, he is shown running away as animals spell doom on him. Due to using his animal ability too much, he begins to bleed internally, a consequence he didn't know was possible. At an opportune moment, Ram finds him and saves him by keeping off Garfiel with her fist fighting skills, which greatly surprise Otto. At a moment when Garfiel was taking the upper hand, Otto distracts Garfiel, and Ram uses the opportunity to cast her powerful Al Fura attack, which greatly hurts Garfield, making him yell into the distance — enough for Subaru to hear.

Subaru meanwhile finds Emilia at the sanctuary ruins. She reproaches him for having left her bedside the previous night, after she asked him to hold her hand throughout. He insists he believes in her because he loves her multiple times and with increasing force, and that he is not lying. Emilia mentions she is remembering her past, and that he may not like the new person she might become anymore, to which Subaru replies his love is unconditional. To "prove" his love, he gets closer as if to kiss her, tells her she can move away if she doesn't want to receive it, and then they kiss each other. Subaru tells her that with her memories she will certainly find a reason to believe in herself.

Then they go right outside, and find a wounded Garfiel down the stairs, staring at them and with violent intent. Subaru tells Garfiel, "I'm sorry for making you wait", to which Garfiel replies, "I was not waiting".

Characters

 * Otto Suwen
 * Garfiel Tinsel
 * Ryuzu Meyer
 * Mazeran Suwen (Flashback)
 * Framir Suwen (Flashback)
 * Oslo Suwen (Flashback)
 * Regin Suwen (Flashback)
 * Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti (Flashback)
 * Ricardo Welkin (Flashback)
 * Mimi Pearlbaton (Flashback)
 * Tivey Pearlbaton (Flashback)
 * Ram
 * Natsuki Subaru
 * Emilia
 * Puck (Mentioned)
 * Fortuna (Indirectly mentioned)
 * Natsuki Naoko (Flashback)

Anime Differences

 * In the anime, Petelgeuse himself is shown to have captured Otto while in the Light Novel, it's not specified who from the Witch Cult captures him.
 * Otto's vow to return Ricardo a favour after the beast man gave him some privacy to cry, was omitted.
 * The scene where both Mimi and Tivey were about to tie Otto up was added whereas in the Light Novel, it was never mentioned.
 * Otto using Al Dona to try and incapacitate Garfiel was omitted.
 * Ram severely damaging her kneecap while fighting Garfiel was omitted.