0:00 In the Director's Cut, Subaru delivers an extended set of instructions to his class before posing for Victory; the "Victory!" chant is also repeated twice (and it sounds like a broken record).
1:30 It's the Director's Cut's turn this week to have the opening theme while its counterpart does not.
8:53 Emilia's eyes look back at Subaru for the entirety of this shot in the Director's Cut, whereas she looks forward the whole time in the original. This is also new from the BD version.
9:10 In the original version, we're shown Subaru and Emilia at the gate after the establishing shot and then Julius' back; this occurs in reverse order for the Director's Cut. His approach is swifter in this version.
40:29 In the below shot, the background is shifted slightly and blurred in the Director's Cut, while the characters are more cleanly drawn—almost every body part, including clothing, is structured differently (I can't stop laughing at the eyes). Although it seems like it would be, it's not a BD release update.
The redraws continue.
40:52 In the upward pan for the crowd, the Director's Cut removes the audience from the shot completely and replaces them with a visual effect.
40:57 Julius changes the way he holds his sword (and how he looks, slightly) in the Director's Cut.
It's evident at this point that they've redone much of this scene (bless the perspective update for the sword).
It's not just cleaning up the art, it's also improving character poses. It's not quite a brand new scene, but it's the largest update in the Director's Cut so far. They really did some excellent fixes that I'm surprised weren't in the BD release.
41:20 A non-art-related change in this scene is Subaru's expression when he's pinned to the ground by Julius. The original depicts fear and regret (Subaru even shakes); the Director's Cut depicts unwavering fury.
It's too much to note everything since it's almost completely redone, but I'd like to highlight the distinct change in character posture and art once more.
Julius looks better from a distance, but a lot rougher in close shots (at least, in my opinion).
42:41 The lip movements are slightly different in this shot.
42:48 Once again, aside from a visual upgrade, Subaru looks more vengeful than pitiful in the Director's Cut (and his sword grew three sizes).
43:07 This is, uh, quite the visual upgrade... RTX Off, RTX On, as they say. This extra layer of visible injuries persists throughout the entire scene.
43:25 He's still going to get the snot beaten out of him, but at least Subaru is better prepared to strike in the Director's Cut.
It's difficult to see, but I'd argue that Subaru's expression in the original is smug, whereas the Director's Cut version appears more violent. His head is far more animated in the Director's Cut version as well, which only adds to his rabid mindset.
43:38 When Julius delivers the finishing blow, the original version cuts to Emilia's reaction at the start; the Director's Cut shows her at the end of the sequence.
46:49 A white mark on Subaru's face in the original is gone in the Director's Cut (it doesn't seem like a tear to me).
48:16 The ending theme is played at a much louder volume in the Director's Cut.
The timing alterations were far more frequent compared to previous episodes; the usual transition replacements were also present.
