Diligent yet lazy? Introducing Petelgeuse!

The long-awaited second season of the anime "Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-" has finally been announced! It has become a huge hit as a fantasy set in another world with a loop. In this article, we'll be focusing on Petelgeuse, the final boss of the first season! We'll tell you all about him, from why he's called lazy despite being hardworking, to his abilities and surprising past!

Madman? Who is Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti?

Appearing at the end of the first season of the anime, In fact, Petelgeuse does not have a physical body!

Petelgeuse's true identity is an evil spirit that lives in a body. And he is an astonishing 402 years old! In fact, he is a person who is also related to Emilia's past. I will tell you more about Petelgeuse's past later.

What is the Witch's Cult?

What kind of religion is the Witch's Cult to which Petelgeuse belongs? The Witch's Cult worships the "Witch of Envy, Satella," and is an organization that is feared by ordinary people because it commits heinous crimes all over the world. Witch cultists are considered so dangerous that it is considered acceptable to eliminate them on sight.

Why is he in charge of "laziness" even though he is a hard worker...

Although Petelgeuse is in charge of "Sloth", he has strong feelings for the witches and works diligently to make sure that the Gospel is written exactly as it is. He is so diligent that even Subaru comments, "Even though you're in charge of Sloth..."

In fact, Petelgeuse had an incident that caused him to absorb the witch factor of "Sloth" into his body. Therefore, although he is diligent, he is in charge of "Sloth". This does not mean that Petelgeuse is lazy!

Petelgeuse's abilities

By incorporating the witch factor of "Sloth", Petelgeuse is now able to use two powers: "Invisible Hand" and "Power of Sloth". In the anime, he only used "Invisible Hand", but since I have the chance, I would like to introduce both of them.

Ability 1: Invisible Hand

This ability was manifested by the Sloth Witch Sekhmet, and was originally a "hand" for grabbing and moving things far away without moving. Petelgeuse, who absorbed Sekhmet's witch factor, is very diligent, so he has used his powerful "invisible hand" to crush and kill many people in order to move things according to the gospel.

In the story, Rem was also killed in a cruel way, with all the bones in her body twisted by the "invisible hand". Incidentally, Subaru, who has a high aptitude for the witch factor, can see the "invisible hand."

Ability 2: The power of sloth

This is not used in the anime, but in a word, this is the power of "mental contamination." The power of sloth is only effective on those who are not aptitude for the "witch factor of sloth," and it is a terrifying ability that causes them to lose their will to fight, lose their sanity, and turn to self-harm. Even though it is not effective on some people, it is a terrifying ability...

What are "fingertips"?

The witch cultists around Petelgeuse, known as "Fingertips," are actually a stock of bodies. Petelgeuse is an evil spirit and can possess anyone who is suitable. Even in the anime, I struggled with this ability. Even after defeating the first Petelgeuse, he continues to possess more and more, so you can't defeat Petelgeuse unless you defeat all of his "Fingertips."

He even possessed the main character, Subaru!

Finally, all the "Fingers" have been defeated! At that moment of relief... Petelgeuse has now possessed Subaru's body. Subaru can start over even if he dies with "Return by Death", so he asked Ferris, who was there, to kill Petelgeuse along with him, but Ferris, who didn't know about "Return by Death", must have been very sad...

Subaru and Julius, the nemesis, appear!

Petelgeuse, who has the "invisible hand" and possession abilities, is famous as a sin archbishop who has caused many casualties. However, Subaru, who can see the "invisible hand" and knows the abilities through "Return from Death", is Petelgeuse's nemesis! Furthermore, Subaru has appeared in a tag team with Julius, who is a spirit and therefore beyond the reach of Petelgeuse's abilities as a spirit, as he has already made a contract with another spirit... This is the worst tag team in Petelgeuse's long life.

The end of the madman Petelgeuse...

The joint alliance led by Subaru and Julius defeats all of the "Fingertips" and finally corners Petelgeuse. Then, Julius shares Subaru's vision, allowing him to see the "invisible hand," and Petelgeuse is defeated without being able to do anything.

However, after that, Petelgeuse pursues Subaru, driven only by his obsession and love for Satella, even though he has become a ridiculous figure. Subaru then threw away the Gospel that he had treasured, and Petelgeuse reached for it, losing his balance. Subaru shot flames at him, and this time he met his end.

The secret story behind the birth of the madman Petelgeuse.

So far we have introduced Petelgeuse as the Archbishop of Sin, but in fact he has a shocking secret from his past. Please note that this will be a spoiler.

Petelgeuse's past.

As mentioned in the introduction, Petelgeuse has met Emilia and her foster mother Fortuna (Emilia's father's sister) in the past. Emilia lived with Fortuna and the elves in the Great Elior Forest, and Petelgeuse was a person who supported the lives of the elves and gave them protection before becoming a Sin Archbishop.

The power he obtained to protect those he holds dear.

But one day, the Witch of Vanity Pandora and the Archbishop of Sin Regulus arrive in the Great Elior Forest, and Emilia and her friends' peaceful life falls apart. In order to allow Emilia and Fortuna to escape, Petelgeuse takes in the witch factor of "Sloth", which he is not suited to, and fights Pandora and her friends, but is nearly killed.

However, in the worst possible outcome, his mind and body are destroyed...

No one can stop Pandora and her friends, and Pandora faces Emilia again. Fortuna and Petelgeuse rush to her side, but due to the power of Pandora's vanity, Petelgeuse mistakes Fortuna for Pandora and kills her. And Petelgeuse destroys something important to him with the power of the "Witch Factor of Sloth" that he obtained by force in order to protect it. And the shock of that causes his mind to collapse...

The acting of voice actor Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is amazing!

And when watching Re:Zero, pay attention to the performance of Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, the voice actor of Petelgeuse! His performance was so crazy that it became a hot topic. Matsuoka is known for his role as Kirito in the Sword Art Online series, and is known for his refreshing, handsome characters, but he perfectly expressed the madness of Petelgeuse. To be honest, I was surprised when I watched it!

Petelgeuse Summary

Petelgeuse is the symbol of the madness of the Witch Cult and the final boss of the first season of the anime. But behind that madness, there is a sad past and pure feelings towards witches, making him a character that is hard to hate. I think other Archbishops of Sin will appear in the second season, but I don't want people to forget about Petelgeuse!