I feel like a lot of people don’t realize that the Emilia that we have know isn’t the Emilia that we were first introduced to. In current emilias eyes Subaru is just a boy that somehow knew that she lost her insignia and decided to get it for her in the loot house and decided to work in the mansion. She had no real connection with him .The memories Subaru has with Emilia has no real meaning to her because the only special memories she has with him was the lap pillow and “date” they had. Subaru has multiple encounters with her because of return by dea-..... the three weeks of time he spent in the mansion with her which was only about a week and a half to Emilia including the prepping and hours she spent by herself to get ready for the royal selection.
You're not wrong, but man was I salty after seeing Emilia lash out against Subaru so much so that I couldn't even try to understand her perspective because I'm watching this guy, Subaru die time and again for either trying to do the right thing or for no reason and then Rem supporting him compared to Emilia who did little to nothing and I'm just like "fuck that bitch, Emilia."
Subaru did some things wrong,for example he did not listen to Emilia,promised and broke it as if it did not mean anything,Subaru did not do EVERYTHING wrong but did something wrong,but the people around him are at folt at the same time
@@LeoArmada Well Subaru's obsession iwth Emilia had gotten worse. After what she did to him in arc 2, in the whole arc Emilia was the only person Subaru could fully trust. She also helped him relieve from all his bent up stress and trauma.
And on top of that Emilia knew nothing about subaru Yet she decided to give him a lap pillow and secondary After subaru's death in the 2nd mansion loop She left roswaal as rem brutality murdered subaru Like woah she left her goal cause a person suffered, a person who talked nice with her and made plans with her, And even in the loot house Emilia was unaware of how much she was in danger, but to her she saved subaru while fighting elsa and he saved her, still she feels grateful (yea he jumped to save her when elsa was aiming for her but just like how Reinhard asked for Emilia's well being, people care for important people) Just shows how nice she is....
Thank you for saying the things that needed to be said. It annoys me that some people criticise Re:Zero not for it's genuine flaws and problems but for Subaru's character. They call him an idiot who deserves to die and always talk about how they could do much better in his situation which 1. I highly doubt and 2. That's not the point. This is Subaru's story no one else's. It does not matter if you could do better in his situation or not. Subaru is a incredibly flawed person who is self-destructive, emotional, selfless to the point of it being extremely unhealthy both physically and mentally and is also driven constantly by fear and anxiety. But that does not mean he is a bad person. In fact despite these many flaws I find Subaru to be the one of if not the most relatable and nice characters in fiction. I see so much of myself in Subaru even relating to his backstory. I know lots of others do as well. People are not ready to confront the ugly sides of themselves. Many people are scarred that they relate to Subaru. They can't accept they can also have flaws and problems similair to his own and so they completely write him off as a character. I love how Re:Zero explains the problems that can come from Shut in NEET and extreme otaku behaviour. It does not condemn it as evil or stupid as many other stories would but attempts to help the audience understand that it for many people is a genuine form of escape albeit normally a unhealthy one. This is just my personal interpretation but I honestly think it's quite ironic that people will condemn Subaru for making the wrong decisions and being overly emotional and happy go lucky making people think he is just a simple character with no complexity. But in my opinion I feel that this is Subaru hiding under a mask. Subaru pretends and acts like he is a charming, confident person who is like your average isekai protiganist. That's what he wants others and himself to think because that's easier and less painful than the truth. He can't love himself so if he can make others do that instead surely that must be better right? He so desperately wants to be well wanted. He wants to be special because he feels like his existence isn't worth anything maybe sometimes he even will believe that his existence is actually in fact a bad thing. I honestly think there will never be a point in Re:Zero where Subaru says or thinks honestly that he can or does love himself. I don't know if this is just me inserting my feelings into this but I cannot help but relate. Subaru is selfish and greedy but not in a way the majority of people are. In his head almost everyone is above him in value and worth and he doesn't think it's bad if he suffers just to save them. It does not matter if he gets hurt because in his mind he will think that if anyone deserves all of this pain out of everyone it's me. I relate so much to that because I feel the same way. I constantly run away and escape from my problems always acting selfish and greedy when in reality I care very little for myself. Like I said this is just my interpretation and maybe I'm inserting my feelings into this too much. But at the end if the day I'm happy that I'm at least self aware of my problems now and Re:Zero especially with the help of Subaru as reference has allowed me to understand them. Anyway apologies for the essay but this was quite fun to write.
I totally get you. Subaru is a very inspiring individual, especially if you have similar, or the same, mental problems as he does. Subaru is an incredibly flawed character, and that's what makes me love him so much. He's a very realistic portrayal of a shut in that was forced to be put into a position where he has to interact with others, and it's handled in such a healthy way. It's a damn shame that people mostly just hate on him because of Rem when he only cares about her as a friend and nothing more. He's such an amazing character study and I had so much fun with this video when I originally made it because of how much I relate to him and how much I feel people just don't understand mental illness. It's painful, man.
Great essay my friend I feel the same way you do and you wrote exactly what I felt about this show. I relate with Subaru and from the very start I knew he would turn out to be a great and complicated character that is full of flaws who will progress into becoming the man he wants to be. To me, Re:Zero more or less feels like a character study about Subaru since the show mainly revolves around his behavior and actions and how those impact his fate. However, what makes the show really great to me is the fact that he can Re:Start due to his powers Return by Dea- (Satella grabs my heart). His powers allows him to have another chance to fix his flaws and thus his character development progresses further.
Also the fact that subaru is actually peak physical health, his level of strength is that of an junior athlete so when people say they would do better in his position they forget the fact that subaru is probably several times more prepared than they are. (Grip strength 70kg does 100 push ups sit ups and squats as his regular workout, man watched one punch man)
I don't get why people are scared when they see their ugly side on subaru's character, well i guess it's because they're not mature enough. It's literally my reason why i think subaru is the best Main Character, no plot armor in his live, pure suffering, he tried his best but still...,his insanity is truly understandable. You guys remember the tragedy around episode 12 or 13? Subaru shouted about "what's so good being a knight" And all that stuff, remember that?that tims I thought Subaru will be another generic MC that shits on everyone else so that the PATHETIC viewers can feel themselves as the MC and feel PROUD OF HIMSELF LOL, but Tappei says NO, this is why re zero is amazing.
Nice points on the series. Really puts Subaru's character into light and expresses his flaws in honest and decent ways. He's really a good guy thrust into a reality that has to regularly contradict his ideals. Gives a lot more perspective on the meaning behind his abilities.
To be honest Subaru changes a lot in the following arcs becoming much more competent but much more distorted, the fun of the anime is that Subaru is not a Naruto or Kirito who has an incorruptible personality, he is a normal person, most of us would probably be the same way in the same circumstances.
Oh man, I was waiting for this so long~ Because Subaru is my number 1 husbando. I’ve never thought that I would be so attracted towards a character like Subaru. He’s far from any stereotypical main characters in any anime. He looks selfish, but all he did is for everyone. He’s flawed, that’s what made him succeed. As a normal shut-in otaku, I totally understand how, and why my boy Subaru acted different. A boy who always played games, reading manga, or watching anime can somehow be delusional(like me), when being threw in an Isekai world. He never expected having died a lot, in order to save all his mistakes and bring everyone back, adding to his mental problems. But I am not only love him because he’s realistic, but also at how selfless and lovable he is. He’s brave, kind, sweet, cute and incredibly attractive at some points. What kind of a normal person can go through what he went through? People hate him because of his actions, but never tried to put their shoes in his place. He never did a SINGLE thing wrong, and never deserves any of his death. He’s a hero who sacrificed his life so many times for victory. If I was him, I would gave up and rather die right away. Ah also, one big reason why people hate him, because of their beautiful, sweet waifu is Rem. Alright let me setting up one thing! I like Rem, and love what she did for Subaru in episode 18 in the series. But just because of one girl,doesn’t mean Subaru have to choose her. Subaru did right chose to save everyone, instead of going to escape with her. Like seriously, Subaru suicided to save her LIFE even though she killed him before, he had done so many things to her, people should happy he didn’t act uneasy to Rem, and gave him a chance to love her. If you read the whole WN, you will see Rem is a side character who only help support the plot of the series, Subaru can’t abandon everyone else because only of her. I ship SubaRem, but I prefer Subaru x Emilia more. Anyway, Natsuki Subaru is my number 1 character, I also went all the way to write fanfics and draw fanarts of him. Love your theory!^^
I don't like both of them lmao. Emilia never tried to understand Subaru. While rem just left him at one point and at that time Subaru was already sad that he was unwanted and rem just straight up left him. After episode 15 if i was in his place i would just ditch everything and run
cringe guy emperor Even I don’t ship him with both girls, I can still ship him with other guys. Julius, Reinhard, Felix, Otto, bla bla... Lots of light novel readers in Japan ship him with tons of characters, including guys and girls, so SubaEmi and SubaRem aren’t my only ships =))
Well, I think he is selfish. Until episode 18, he viewed everyone around him as people who are needing to be saved, and while I do sympathize with his struggles, that doesn't justify what he has done. He disregards everyone's safety, and he himself admits he was saving her not because he loved her, but because he was so drunk on the idea of being a hero. He is a normal man, with issues that never can be helped, so he has to become mentally stronger so no one else can die.
Ra awesome You got a point, but Subaru truly loves Emilia at that very time, even if it more like obsession. His character development started from episode 18.
I feel like the story of re:zero is a story about change. As you said in the beginning he is definitely and otaku who seems to be recovering a and we slowly see him recover and change. Return by death seems like that feeling you get when you try to change yourself but somehow fail. I think it’s a very relatable story. I think it’s also why it feels so rewarding and heart wrenching. There is not right or wrong during change, there is just a lot of learning (in my opinion).
I agree. Change is hard sometimes, so it can be rough and hard to adjust to depending on how significant it is. I really enjoy your take that you got out of it.
Subaru, is a really good guy who got thrusted into a crapsack situation where all of his worst traits were magnified by the constant stress and PTSD due to repeated deaths. I do think he was a little bit too hard on himself in EP 18 where he said he did nothing back in Earth, and how he could have done anything back in Japan. Was he suggesting that it would make a difference in Lugnica, a completely different country in a completely different world with a medieval-like setting? Even if he was a normal high school student, I doubt that would make a difference in Lugnica. It ain't gonna matter what you did in your previous life on Earth. A lot of things that happened were out of his control. Case in point, the mabest attack or the Witch Cult attack. Subaru came from 21st century Japan, where technology and entertainment are everywhere. He came from a place called Earth, which is many times more peaceful than Lugnica. You also didn't have lunatic cultists, killer whales, or a certain assassin slicing your guts open. People around his age are still in school, before the transition to working in society. He's berating himself to the point where he couldn't see the good that he has done anymore. Subaru's only 17, of course you can't really do much back on Earth. In Lugnica, people around Subaru's age would be considered adults. He also said in that episode that he was a 'cowardly piece of trash' and 'lowest of the low'. Fact, he's not that at all as a person. Not even close. Subaru, you were never an awful person to me. Never. You're a good man. Trying do make things right. Just....got dragged away from...a mundane....yet peaceful life back in Japan. A comfortable life, I presume. I feel bad for him.
Yeah. I really can't wait til season 2 so I can finally see this man's backstory in animation. I had a blast reading through that arc and finding out about the parts of Subaru that make him even more interesting as a character. Subaru has been, by far, one of my favorite characters to analyze.
@@Velarix I get that, it's sometimes more fun that way. It's amazing so far, just to let you know - a bunch of people are starting to come to the rezero community as well, which is pretty nice. It'll take a wihle for the season to be done as its broken into two parts, but with how good it is, and how good the directors cut will be, I'd say it's worth the wait.
You missed the point of why Subaru said that, he wasn't trying to show that it would have made a difference in lugunica if he was a normal high school student, he was trying to show how weak and empty he was, by saying that what he was doing doesn't matter, you are denying his entire existence, his entire life, just like what Subaru was doing. He could have been anything, he could have changed his life for the better, but he never did so, he never tried doing so, this thought only resulted in him giving up, it only made it more clear to him, thay he can't do anything, nor in japan, nor in lugunica.
First episode when I saw him dead eyed in convinience store it hit too close to home. At the time I was going trough simillar faze, but mine was caused by being bullied as a kid (they were jelous because I was smarter and more hardworking) In high scool I was afraid to make friends, but was starved of friendship, and I let my life go to a waste. My grades were barely passing, and so was Final exam. Because of all of that I connected with Subaru so closely. Plus we shared simillar figure, hair, mean look (my eyebrows are thick and slightly tilted so I always look angry) playfullness, troubles and hungers... His first death was so devastating to me. I grew uneasy as I noticed light turned of... Suddently horror washed over me as I saw him ripped from his fantasy and slowly wither away in agony. And then sudden relief when he was still alive. In that moment I knew this anime, and this caracter would become my all time favourite. After that his every death had bigger toll on me too, but also my need to protect my precious cinnamon roll with an amazing hair (it really is amazing, simple but stylish). Still people hate him, and I can't help it but take it personally.
I relate a weird amount towards Subaru, more than what I thought I would given how our lives are. For me, it's more in that part of his personality that desperately wants everything to end up alright, but it also doesn't help that he was also an agoraphobic. Even in his recovering state, he reminds me of myself a little too much in some places.
He might like her as a friend now, that first impression of constantly being killed by her makes it to where he'd never love her the way the community wants him to.
I’m have some mental issues, I also know a lot of people with traumas and another issues with their mental health. So honestly, I never blame Subaru for anything, at least because I can understand him. also I never understand the people, who blame Subaru for anything he do. It’s sad for me, that people can’t understand why he acting like this. I love this character, and I absolutely sympathize with him. I'm sure, that he is a very good person, even if he have some flaws. And yeah, good video, Dude.
Cool and interesting video, and well-reasoned. I personally feel that Subaru’s image suffers from more than a little projection. People have an image of what kind of person they are and how they would respond in x/y/z scenario, but this usually clashes with how they really are and would act in real life. Subaru is remarkably mundane, and his sporadic bouts of idiocy are never an egregious break from real life behavior like in some other anime, and considering how many hate diatribes leveled at him eventually come around to some from of “he reminds me too much of...” he probably hits too close to home for some. In the end, Re:Zero is an isekai deconstruction, darker than but on equal footing with Konosuba, and like that series, holds a warped mirror to the power fantasies fans tend to bring to them. But while Kazuma’s finger in the chest to real-life otaku is softened by Konosuba’s lighter parody, Re:zero goes full balls-to-the-wall brutal, and I guess a lot of fans are turned off seeing the visceral consequences for their real-world flaws played out. Burning Subaru in effigy of their distaste is a classic psychological response.
Honestly, I'm just glad that I've been seeing more positive comments towards Subaru since season 2 started airing. That's all I really wanted because he was treated so unfairly by the community in season 1.
Based video. Subaru is a very well written character who’s character growth is so satisfying for the viewer/reader to experience. All these character flaws make it so rewarding when he actually takes the initiative to improve himself. In my opinion arcs 4 and 6 are the best example of this. As in both arcs there are very defined moments in which Subaru has a retrospection on his behaviour, mainly learning to appreciate himself more as a person.
Even the way his character growth is handled has this really relatable way its conveyed because of how many people can easily find themselves in Subaru's shoes if they were in his position. He's such a great character.
I'm season one and all I wanted was for Subaru to just be happy and not die horribly or have a mental breakdown. Of course I know this won't last forever, but having him succeed through his deaths is just good feelings all around.
That's one of the best things about Re:Zero, honestly. Subaru might end up getting a lot of shit, but the viewer feels a lot of joy when he actually succeeds in something that he's attempting to do succeeds.
I completely agree, this topic has always bothered me, its probably because people dont look at the anime as it's own interpretation, they compare it to the web novel
If you ask me, this is how I saw Subaru when I first started watching the show. I do feel he was trying to be helpful but his inability to tell others how he knows what will happen made things difficult. Also, Emilia can be rather stubborn herself; she probably thought their friendship wouldn't last because of her status as a half-elf. I think Subaru was a little harsh on himself in my eyes, because whether he was trying to talk big or not, I think he had good intentions.
@@Velarix There have been some things that have confused me. At the end of the first season Subaru apologized to Emilia for being selfish prior. Was he talking about when he declared himself a knight at the Capital and got himself beaten? Because I can understand that; he felt to proud and did without thinking and it only got him hurt. My other question was that 'greed of a pig' that Priscilla spoke of. I kinda sympathize with him because he saw Rem get brutally murdered by Petegeuse, so his negotiations with Crusch went bad because of his deteriorating mental state, and the darkness of revenge polluting his mind. When he went to Priscilla, I thought Subaru was desperate because he has already sunken very low mentally that something else demeaning would make no difference. I still stand by my reasoning that at his core, Subaru only thinks of others. But he has to go through trial and error to find the RIGHT path.
@@phillipmoghaddam7240 Yeah. He was apologizing for declaring that he was her knight when it was official since that could actually tarnish her public appearance. However, you are right that Subaru going to Priscilla was exactly him getting very desperate through his past couple of loops. It symbolized him throwing away his pride to try to get some help, but ended up getting punished because he cast aside all reason and actually stopped thinking about everyone else but himself at that moment.
@@Velarix But I can forgive him BECAUSE of his deteriorating mental state, which is something only he himself knows the cause of and the viewing audience; no one else unfortunately, but that is the burden he must bear.
@@Velarix There is one other thing that I am a little confused by. When Subaru fought Petelguese a second time (the one where he succeeded), he wore the cloak Emilia wore previously when conversing with her at the manor (you know what I mean?) Did he do that to not break his promise to not return to the manor, or was it to prove a point by conversing with her like he was someone else? Do you know?
People mostly hate him for the capital, but honestly his actions there weren’t even that bad. He had a justified reaction towards the mistreatment of Emilia and Julius poked at him saying he could never be a knight because he wasn’t powerful.
People are oddly ready to blame Subaru for failing to ask for help. I would like to cite his laundry list of traumas and seemingly preexisting mental illnesses as well but we'd be here literally all day. Subaru is currently in the equivalent of an abusive relationship with literal an apocalypse witch. His abuser is so powerful, so distant, and able to upend everythi g so quickly that it is literally impossible for anyone to help him. His abuser can literally crush his heart instantly and undetected and reslverse the time of the entire universe to before he asked for help. Add on top of that the fact that nearly every one of his "friends" have abandoned, killed or horrifically maimed him? Otto threw him off a carriage to die, Rem tortured him, ripped his arm off and caved his skull in, Ram cut his leg off and then slit his throat, Emilia abandoned him in the capital, Beatrice tossed him out in the snow to be frozen by Puck, Puck froze him THREE TIMES, Roswall beat him within an inch of his life and murdered two of hos friends right infront of him, Garfiel tore Otto and dozen of villagers apart infront of him and genuinely attempted to murder him, Meili fed him to several Mabeasts, The list goes ON. And you look down on him for not TRUSTING? Okay, fine then hot shot. With that pretty little line up, who are you gonna trust? Who are you gonna trust, and considering what they've done to you, how the fuck are you going to justify trusting them to yourself? Literally everyone in Subaru's life has been his abuser at some point, often more than once, his power simply affords most of them the luxury of forgetting. Not him though. He remembers *everything*. Remember that when you talk about his trust issues. Always remember.
Yeah, that's another thing that always gets me when I see people blaming Subaru for a lot of his actions. It just shows you how much more selfless he actually is in what he does despite living on with the fear of knowing that the people he trusts so dearly could betray him at a moments notice. The man lives through everything falsely believing himself to be selfish when he's only ever thought of those around him despite what they've done to him in his many different lives.
@@Velarix and hers another thing is that Emilia is far too naïve and forgiving to others, like with Julius. In our world, cops assaulting civilians causes an enormous uproar, yet when the equivalent of the Secret Service assaults a civilian for "rude" comments (well-deserved ones at that, the King's Guard failed the only job they had) that they themselves instigated, nothing happens. We hear that Julius gets punished, but less than a week later, he joins Subaru and co to fight Betelgeuse so was it even that bad? And she treats him like a disobedient child to the point where she felt holding his hand while strolling around the capital, despite Emilia herself losing Ram, her insignia, and nearly her life the last time she came. I hope I'm not in the minority of the community, but I believe that Subaru didn't really do much wrong in Arc 3, at the very least in the Royal Selection aside from breaking his promise. Most of Subaru's relationships were formed upon him having to "prove himself" to others, mostly figuring out what not to say to trigger their murderous impulses from failed loops. Beatrice let him die in the first loop to the curse, Rem killed him once, then tortured him for hours until Ram mercy killed him, said Ram hunted him down for false placed suspicions on her sister's death, Garfiel locked him up, then butchered not only some of the Sanctuary residents but Arlam's residents, Otto, and Patrasche before locking him back up again just to be devoured by the Great Rabbit. Roswaal's responsible for every single one of his deaths up to that point through orchestrating the many trials and obstacles Subaru faced. Frederica made the events of the Sanctuary significantly harder by not revealing the nature of the location to them because of some "vow." Man f**k the Emilia Camp, especially Ram, b***h gets on my damn nerves.
I don't think we're supposed to wholly choose one side in the situation. They're both in the right, but just don't understand the other's point of view because they haven't experienced it.
@@Velarix I may have made that comment, but the whole thing still confuses me really. I truly believed he was trying to help his friends because it was the right thing to do, not just to glorify himself. Then again, I am not a NEET like he is portrayed but I never felt he was completely useless, after all, I have seen Edge of Tomorrow, so I know how powerful knowledge is. Besides, witnessing people die gruesomely would warp any sane person's mind right? Of course he would not be thinking very clearly. Also, he may have broken his promise to Emilia, but only because he was worried for her. She may have been very sensitive but haven't there been other fictional characters who have done something similar. All in all, I still don't think Subaru was in the wrong. I don't think he needs to hate himself so much but I guess that is how he felt. I genuinely like the guy and I truly believe he thinks about others yes as people to save, but people nontheless.
@@phillipmoghaddam7240 The thing about Subaru is that he's selfless to a fault. It comes off as selfish to others, and his mind is DEFINITELY not in a good place, but his mind was already very warped before he even came into the isekai world. He's a very complex character, and it's why I enjoy talking about him so much. Even someone that doesn't suffer from the same problems as him can see themselves somewhere in his personality.
@@Velarix Well I don't think he's a powerless person, no matter what the others said prior to the White Whale battle. After all, if at first you don't succeed, try try again, and eventually you'll get it right. I still just felt he was trying to stand by the people he cares for. It didn't feel all that selfish when I first saw it.
I don't hate Subaru. He is just a little annyoing when he tries to be funny. And how can you hate someone who suffers so much and can't even tell anyone about it (in Season 1)?
I agree that people hating on him give him too much flack and don't take into account his mental state, but I think it's incorrect to say he didn't do anything wrong. Just because his actions are understandable does not make them okay, it just makes us more likely to forgive him. Like, for example I can understand why he broke his promise to Emilia, and also why he defended her against her will and battled Julius, but that doesn't erase the horrible impact it had on Emilia and her relationship with him, and it also doesn't change the fact that he was being selfish and acting out, using his feelings for Emilia as an excuse for his behavior. Like I said, as someone who has the context it's totally understandable, and Subaru is still one of my favorite characters because his misguided actions make the character development all the more satisfying, but imo it's fundamentally innacurate to excuse his actions entirely and say there was not fault on his part. It's not that he didn't do anything wrong, it's that he wasn't in the proper mental state to make the right decisions.
Girls don't care about what you did in the past and what he did wasn't even that bad. They care about what you are doing today and have you changed yourself or not
Some things people forget is: Rem knew Subaru loves Emilia already, its part of the reason why she didn't want to go with him. And even though Emilia didn't give Subaru a heartfelt speech like Rem did, she still cared for him and soothed him when he was breaking down, because of something Rem was doing may I add. I detest the notion of people imposing their opinion on Subaru and wanting him to choose Rem after the speech.
Always loved him and esp in the new season where the people who hate him get to suck their own fingers and regret what they said when they see all hes char progression and why he act as he do.. hes indeed very human.. thats why people hate him everyone want a kirito. whos op as fuck... but thats not what re zero is about... its about bettering ur self by changing and becoming who u were meant to be eventho the road is long
This guy been through hell and back he saw the one he love die in his hands he been stab got beating up I try to find out how in the hell he did not want insane
I don't think anyone could of handle this the pressure of dying over and over again just to loose everything your friends and your progress seeing your friends die and your friends killing you I don't understand why people hate Subaru none of this is his fault... 🙄
While I'm glad people like him more after seeing season 2, it still really baffles me how little the popular crowd of people were willing to like and even understand him as a person.
Emilia's character throughout can only be well understood after you watch the frozen bond and season 2, spoilers She only thinks she cares about promises as a spirit mage, her fight in the capital is more based on being used to pushing people away for their own good by playing into the fear of half elves, which Roswaal was deliberately asking of her as well in his approach to shutting down the sage council's complaints against her participating. She was raised by people who never told her anything and had very distorted relationships with her(Archie and Fortuna as guardians of the seal etc, Fortuna and Petelgeuse hiding anything about her parents, Petelgeuse who claimed she saved him when she has no memories of that) and so to her Subaru's love being incomprehensible was just as upsetting as any discrimination she receives for being a half elf plus appearance. Subaru in the argument says a lot of triggering things. He says she saved him which she has no memory of, just like Petelgeuse. He loves her and is repeatedly getting injured while hiding what he's doing from her, like Archie and Fortuna who kept her isolated for her own good without explanation. She's even had these issues with Puck, who sometimes vanished without explanation in the forest and is constrained by his contract with Echidna seemingly. All of this is before he ever starts telling her she owes him for it. Emilia's triggered by the promise breaking because the only information Pandora left her with after taking her memories(especially of the time leading to being frozen, I think it's complicated but Emilia likely suppressed her early memories herself as well and in later arcs it's good to bear in mind she still doesn't remember Pandora and has implied memory gaps but does remember her upbringing without Pandora impacting it) was that she kept her promise. At the same time she blames herself entirely for the frozen forest and her isolation which is why her discrimination only gets added to her self hatred and belief people will suffer for getting close to her. Lastly, Subaru tries to keep her around by using this as a debt she owes him, when the entire story consisted of them jokingly talking about only doing things out of obligation to each other starting in the first episode when Emilia is the one doing so. He says it seriously instead of jokingly as his fear of abandonment causes him lashing out at her. The novels use a lot of the sins to describe Subaru and others(because re zero has everyone potentially embody a sin not just Subaru) in arc 3 but in their argument the one used is actually vainglory NOT pride, what he says to her is projection and lashing out but not built on any sense of ego or entitlement because he's never thought he deserved any of them. And that ties in with my point that Emilia's breakdown before Subaru says something that bad in the argument is connected to the memories lost to Pandora the witch of vainglory. The idea of promises being important to spirit mages was a front to protect that they're specifically important to Emilia more than anyone knows. She did everything to protect Subaru, just as she watched Petelgeuse Fortuna and Archie die sacrificing themselves and hiding things in the process, and acting coldly was just a front which is convenient to her wish not to cause anyone more suffering.
That world would give ANY Normal Character, like the Characters from Yakuza, (Including the Three Legends of Tojo, Kiryu, Saejima and Majima) a problem.and Subaru doesn't have any of the badassness those characters have
Well, I agree that he has a lot of mental issues, and that he has gone through something no young adult should have gone through. However, my problem with Subaru is that, before episode 18, he refuses to empathize with anyone else, and stops thinking everyone as a person, and more as someone to save. Yes, all the characters had done something wrong, but the thing is, Subaru wants everyone to empathize with him, and refuses to empathize with anyone else, which isn't fair to him or anyone else. Maybe that's because that was what I was like when I was young, and that reminds me too much of my younger, really idiotic self.
I believe the LN has touched on this to some extent, since he was isekai'd he only thought of everyone as side characters and not as people because he was a main character. He eventually grows out of this but it would be nice if this was emphasized more in the anime.
i wish someone made a video of the curent timeline in which he doesnt die from the standpoint of everzone else like a world where he did everzthing perfectly
the anime that show me a thing:see world is wonderful,see those guy are amazing,the "partner"are strong and handsome or pretty,you want a journey?but you weak and low even you got something luck or fancy staff,all will lead you to afflict and brutal way,and first time you dont even answer for this,if you just even living in a Low-key way,or dont think about romance,probably could be better
idk man Subaru did some wrong by not having a boxer engine and awd installed by default upon his death. Some people hate Subaru for lesser things such as a pretentious spoiler.
I don't 100% agree. tbh, saying "he did nothing wrong" takes away from the fact he is written to be flawed and develop from that point. like, when arguing with emilia, him flipping at her was almost objectively bad, BUT, it was incredibly realistic, and just shows off the amazing writing. people defend him (in ep 13) almost tooo hard, when imo at that point, he is meant to be unlikeable at that point, or at least to be pitiable. Bc we all know why he acted that way, all of the trauma he's been through. But when he's acting an ass, not listening to what she tells him to do, being obsessive, he is clearly in the wrong. But it's brilliant writing, to show him at a realistic, low point of the story, and have him develop from there.
Subaru's whole arc is a comment on mental health, Subaru is a product of the trauma he experiences. I find it ridiculous that people will see this character who had mental health issues before even getting isekai'd and had to live through actual hell for weeks, of dying, making progress, resetting, again and again and again; Just to be like "well he's unlikable because he had an outburst", it's like, no, that wasn't him being an asshole, that was a cry for help. Subaru is rude to Julius and the knights, but Subaru is also a social outcast who's anxiety brings him so much pain that he became a shut in, he doesn't know how to interact with people, especially when he's in a world he doesn't belong in. I see this sentiment of "Subaru is unlikable and in the wrong" so much, and it genuinely makes me wonder what people think of the mentally ill. Also, I'm sorry of it feels like I'm going off on you, I'm not, I just hate this sentiment that I so frequently see when it comes to discussion around Re:Zero.
@@gustygal So much of this is right on the money. I would also say take the degree to which the creator pushes his “unlikable nature” with a grain of salt, even if it flows from authorial intent. Mental illness escapes universal recognition in Japan to this day, and a large percentage of the population still view things like mild depression (for which I had Subaru pegged from episode 3) anxiety, and PTSD as “personality flaws” to be overcome through willpower. That aside, I don’t necessarily agree that he’s done _nothing_ wrong; taking his mental issues into consideration, he was still rather flawed due to the “isekai protagonist lens syndrome” he carried with him from our world. He was in desperate need to see the people of his world as, well, people, and not side characters to his drama. Still, I choke at anyone who says he’s fueled by narcissism or an inflated ego, and there are many in this setting who are WAY bigger jerks than him.
@@spidergregory3857the story is told with biased narrators and the anime echoes that, so Subaru is portrayed as worse than he is because he thinks he's the absolute worst of society. At the same time in episode 18 Rem's entire disagreement with him comes from him stating his self hatred as an objective fact, when she insists he's done so much good for her. That's why she says Subaru only knows himself, what does he know of the Subaru she sees: to break him out of only accepting his own perspective as valid and dismissing her love for him as a trick or foolish. Also, he didn't see himself as a protagonist either, when he starts dismissing others that much and acting twisted he's usually thinking "I'll undo this anyway" while repressing the fact that this would require at a minimum himself to die. It's not that they're side characters but that they will literally be reduced to as much by return by death, an authority which treats others as if their feelings don't matter whether Subaru likes it or not(he doesn't). To get how much his perspective is distorted, know that he in the light novel hates himself more than Petelgeuse or any enemy he faces later on. He self harms, criticises his looks, his personality, doesn't think he deserves the loved ones he has, and devalues his life so any narrator biased towards him sounds ableist towards himself, but Emilia and the others always pull him away from bad habits. And the other characters who say similar things are consistently wrong, like Minerva who tells him he's terrible for throwing his life away but also has no understanding of emotional pain, only trying to stop the symptoms and hypocritically destroying her own body as well.
@@atari8603 I mean yeah you have a point but compare that to guts everyday life. That’s basically every monday for him. He was forced to be a mercenary at a very young age and was raped in the same age. He watched his comrades die in front of him, had his literal gf get ntrd by his best friend and watch her suffer for it. And everyday he is targeted by demons left and right, not even getting a wink of sleep unless he decided to just one day die. If he hadn’t joined a group for long he would’ve continued doing that every single day for the rest of his life. While yes the rabbit thing happened to subaru but guts’ life is just a steady decline if he had continued living that life until he dies and we don’t even know the extent of all the things that happened to him off screen. So compare that to everything subaru has went through guts would probably walk it off and go to the next fight.
I love that last word, I've literally meet hundreds or maybe 50? of people like that hating subaru just because he chose someone he loves
K2 ikr? You just can't like someone out of sympathy :/
I actually like subaru tho
Deadass bro nobody loves him bc he didnt chose rem
Everyone likes him now lmao, id say the season 2 ep 4 helped gain sympathy from most people since it was very relatable
it's so dumb, it's like "wow he's not a self insert, he has preferences how dare he"
I feel like a lot of people don’t realize that the Emilia that we have know isn’t the Emilia that we were first introduced to. In current emilias eyes Subaru is just a boy that somehow knew that she lost her insignia and decided to get it for her in the loot house and decided to work in the mansion. She had no real connection with him .The memories Subaru has with Emilia has no real meaning to her because the only special memories she has with him was the lap pillow and “date” they had. Subaru has multiple encounters with her because of return by dea-..... the three weeks of time he spent in the mansion with her which was only about a week and a half to Emilia including the prepping and hours she spent by herself to get ready for the royal selection.
You're not wrong, but man was I salty after seeing Emilia lash out against Subaru so much so that I couldn't even try to understand her perspective because I'm watching this guy, Subaru die time and again for either trying to do the right thing or for no reason and then Rem supporting him compared to Emilia who did little to nothing and I'm just like "fuck that bitch, Emilia."
Loved how you didn't fully mention Return by Dea-.....
Subaru did some things wrong,for example he did not listen to Emilia,promised and broke it as if it did not mean anything,Subaru did not do EVERYTHING wrong but did something wrong,but the people around him are at folt at the same time
@@LeoArmada Well Subaru's obsession iwth Emilia had gotten worse. After what she did to him in arc 2, in the whole arc Emilia was the only person Subaru could fully trust. She also helped him relieve from all his bent up stress and trauma.
And on top of that
Emilia knew nothing about subaru
Yet she decided to give him a lap pillow and secondary
After subaru's death in the 2nd mansion loop
She left roswaal as rem brutality murdered subaru
Like woah she left her goal cause a person suffered, a person who talked nice with her and made plans with her,
And even in the loot house Emilia was unaware of how much she was in danger, but to her she saved subaru while fighting elsa and he saved her, still she feels grateful (yea he jumped to save her when elsa was aiming for her but just like how Reinhard asked for Emilia's well being, people care for important people)
Just shows how nice she is....
Thank you for saying the things that needed to be said. It annoys me that some people criticise Re:Zero not for it's genuine flaws and problems but for Subaru's character. They call him an idiot who deserves to die and always talk about how they could do much better in his situation which 1. I highly doubt and 2. That's not the point. This is Subaru's story no one else's. It does not matter if you could do better in his situation or not. Subaru is a incredibly flawed person who is self-destructive, emotional, selfless to the point of it being extremely unhealthy both physically and mentally and is also driven constantly by fear and anxiety. But that does not mean he is a bad person. In fact despite these many flaws I find Subaru to be the one of if not the most relatable and nice characters in fiction. I see so much of myself in Subaru even relating to his backstory. I know lots of others do as well. People are not ready to confront the ugly sides of themselves. Many people are scarred that they relate to Subaru. They can't accept they can also have flaws and problems similair to his own and so they completely write him off as a character. I love how Re:Zero explains the problems that can come from Shut in NEET and extreme otaku behaviour. It does not condemn it as evil or stupid as many other stories would but attempts to help the audience understand that it for many people is a genuine form of escape albeit normally a unhealthy one. This is just my personal interpretation but I honestly think it's quite ironic that people will condemn Subaru for making the wrong decisions and being overly emotional and happy go lucky making people think he is just a simple character with no complexity. But in my opinion I feel that this is Subaru hiding under a mask. Subaru pretends and acts like he is a charming, confident person who is like your average isekai protiganist. That's what he wants others and himself to think because that's easier and less painful than the truth. He can't love himself so if he can make others do that instead surely that must be better right? He so desperately wants to be well wanted. He wants to be special because he feels like his existence isn't worth anything maybe sometimes he even will believe that his existence is actually in fact a bad thing. I honestly think there will never be a point in Re:Zero where Subaru says or thinks honestly that he can or does love himself. I don't know if this is just me inserting my feelings into this but I cannot help but relate. Subaru is selfish and greedy but not in a way the majority of people are. In his head almost everyone is above him in value and worth and he doesn't think it's bad if he suffers just to save them. It does not matter if he gets hurt because in his mind he will think that if anyone deserves all of this pain out of everyone it's me. I relate so much to that because I feel the same way. I constantly run away and escape from my problems always acting selfish and greedy when in reality I care very little for myself. Like I said this is just my interpretation and maybe I'm inserting my feelings into this too much. But at the end if the day I'm happy that I'm at least self aware of my problems now and Re:Zero especially with the help of Subaru as reference has allowed me to understand them. Anyway apologies for the essay but this was quite fun to write.
I totally get you. Subaru is a very inspiring individual, especially if you have similar, or the same, mental problems as he does. Subaru is an incredibly flawed character, and that's what makes me love him so much. He's a very realistic portrayal of a shut in that was forced to be put into a position where he has to interact with others, and it's handled in such a healthy way. It's a damn shame that people mostly just hate on him because of Rem when he only cares about her as a friend and nothing more. He's such an amazing character study and I had so much fun with this video when I originally made it because of how much I relate to him and how much I feel people just don't understand mental illness. It's painful, man.
Great essay my friend I feel the same way you do and you wrote exactly what I felt about this show. I relate with Subaru and from the very start I knew he would turn out to be a great and complicated character that is full of flaws who will progress into becoming the man he wants to be. To me, Re:Zero more or less feels like a character study about Subaru since the show mainly revolves around his behavior and actions and how those impact his fate. However, what makes the show really great to me is the fact that he can Re:Start due to his powers Return by Dea- (Satella grabs my heart). His powers allows him to have another chance to fix his flaws and thus his character development progresses further.
Aint reading all of that so ill just say im happy for you or sorry that happened to you
Also the fact that subaru is actually peak physical health, his level of strength is that of an junior athlete so when people say they would do better in his position they forget the fact that subaru is probably several times more prepared than they are.
(Grip strength 70kg does 100 push ups sit ups and squats as his regular workout, man watched one punch man)
I don't get why people are scared when they see their ugly side on subaru's character, well i guess it's because they're not mature enough. It's literally my reason why i think subaru is the best Main Character, no plot armor in his live, pure suffering, he tried his best but still...,his insanity is truly understandable. You guys remember the tragedy around episode 12 or 13? Subaru shouted about "what's so good being a knight" And all that stuff, remember that?that tims I thought Subaru will be another generic MC that shits on everyone else so that the PATHETIC viewers can feel themselves as the MC and feel PROUD OF HIMSELF LOL, but Tappei says NO, this is why re zero is amazing.
Nice points on the series. Really puts Subaru's character into light and expresses his flaws in honest and decent ways. He's really a good guy thrust into a reality that has to regularly contradict his ideals. Gives a lot more perspective on the meaning behind his abilities.
To be honest Subaru changes a lot in the following arcs becoming much more competent but much more distorted, the fun of the anime is that Subaru is not a Naruto or Kirito who has an incorruptible personality, he is a normal person, most of us would probably be the same way in the same circumstances.
Oh man, I was waiting for this so long~ Because Subaru is my number 1 husbando. I’ve never thought that I would be so attracted towards a character like Subaru. He’s far from any stereotypical main characters in any anime. He looks selfish, but all he did is for everyone. He’s flawed, that’s what made him succeed. As a normal shut-in otaku, I totally understand how, and why my boy Subaru acted different. A boy who always played games, reading manga, or watching anime can somehow be delusional(like me), when being threw in an Isekai world. He never expected having died a lot, in order to save all his mistakes and bring everyone back, adding to his mental problems. But I am not only love him because he’s realistic, but also at how selfless and lovable he is. He’s brave, kind, sweet, cute and incredibly attractive at some points. What kind of a normal person can go through what he went through? People hate him because of his actions, but never tried to put their shoes in his place. He never did a SINGLE thing wrong, and never deserves any of his death. He’s a hero who sacrificed his life so many times for victory. If I was him, I would gave up and rather die right away. Ah also, one big reason why people hate him, because of their beautiful, sweet waifu is Rem. Alright let me setting up one thing! I like Rem, and love what she did for Subaru in episode 18 in the series. But just because of one girl,doesn’t mean Subaru have to choose her. Subaru did right chose to save everyone, instead of going to escape with her. Like seriously, Subaru suicided to save her LIFE even though she killed him before, he had done so many things to her, people should happy he didn’t act uneasy to Rem, and gave him a chance to love her. If you read the whole WN, you will see Rem is a side character who only help support the plot of the series, Subaru can’t abandon everyone else because only of her. I ship SubaRem, but I prefer Subaru x Emilia more.
Anyway, Natsuki Subaru is my number 1 character, I also went all the way to write fanfics and draw fanarts of him. Love your theory!^^
I don't like both of them lmao. Emilia never tried to understand Subaru. While rem just left him at one point and at that time Subaru was already sad that he was unwanted and rem just straight up left him. After episode 15 if i was in his place i would just ditch everything and run
cringe guy emperor Even I don’t ship him with both girls, I can still ship him with other guys. Julius, Reinhard, Felix, Otto, bla bla... Lots of light novel readers in Japan ship him with tons of characters, including guys and girls, so SubaEmi and SubaRem aren’t my only ships =))
Well, I think he is selfish. Until episode 18, he viewed everyone around him as people who are needing to be saved, and while I do sympathize with his struggles, that doesn't justify what he has done. He disregards everyone's safety, and he himself admits he was saving her not because he loved her, but because he was so drunk on the idea of being a hero. He is a normal man, with issues that never can be helped, so he has to become mentally stronger so no one else can die.
Ra awesome You got a point, but Subaru truly loves Emilia at that very time, even if it more like obsession. His character development started from episode 18.
@@raintran2446 yeah, I agree.
I feel like the story of re:zero is a story about change. As you said in the beginning he is definitely and otaku who seems to be recovering a and we slowly see him recover and change. Return by death seems like that feeling you get when you try to change yourself but somehow fail. I think it’s a very relatable story. I think it’s also why it feels so rewarding and heart wrenching. There is not right or wrong during change, there is just a lot of learning (in my opinion).
I agree. Change is hard sometimes, so it can be rough and hard to adjust to depending on how significant it is. I really enjoy your take that you got out of it.
Subaru, is a really good guy who got thrusted into a crapsack situation where all of his worst traits were magnified by the constant stress and PTSD due to repeated deaths. I do think he was a little bit too hard on himself in EP 18 where he said he did nothing back in Earth, and how he could have done anything back in Japan. Was he suggesting that it would make a difference in Lugnica, a completely different country in a completely different world with a medieval-like setting?
Even if he was a normal high school student, I doubt that would make a difference in Lugnica. It ain't gonna matter what you did in your previous life on Earth. A lot of things that happened were out of his control. Case in point, the mabest attack or the Witch Cult attack. Subaru came from 21st century Japan, where technology and entertainment are everywhere. He came from a place called Earth, which is many times more peaceful than Lugnica. You also didn't have lunatic cultists, killer whales, or a certain assassin slicing your guts open. People around his age are still in school, before the transition to working in society. He's berating himself to the point where he couldn't see the good that he has done anymore. Subaru's only 17, of course you can't really do much back on Earth. In Lugnica, people around Subaru's age would be considered adults. He also said in that episode that he was a 'cowardly piece of trash' and 'lowest of the low'. Fact, he's not that at all as a person. Not even close. Subaru, you were never an awful person to me. Never. You're a good man. Trying do make things right. Just....got dragged away from...a mundane....yet peaceful life back in Japan. A comfortable life, I presume. I feel bad for him.
Yeah. I really can't wait til season 2 so I can finally see this man's backstory in animation. I had a blast reading through that arc and finding out about the parts of Subaru that make him even more interesting as a character. Subaru has been, by far, one of my favorite characters to analyze.
@@Velarix it is here!! what did you think? I cried ngl
@@goosegoose5879 I haven't gotten around to watching it yet as I like to binge watch at the end of season.
@@Velarix I get that, it's sometimes more fun that way. It's amazing so far, just to let you know - a bunch of people are starting to come to the rezero community as well, which is pretty nice. It'll take a wihle for the season to be done as its broken into two parts, but with how good it is, and how good the directors cut will be, I'd say it's worth the wait.
You missed the point of why Subaru said that, he wasn't trying to show that it would have made a difference in lugunica if he was a normal high school student, he was trying to show how weak and empty he was, by saying that what he was doing doesn't matter, you are denying his entire existence, his entire life, just like what Subaru was doing.
He could have been anything, he could have changed his life for the better, but he never did so, he never tried doing so, this thought only resulted in him giving up, it only made it more clear to him, thay he can't do anything, nor in japan, nor in lugunica.
First episode when I saw him dead eyed in convinience store it hit too close to home. At the time I was going trough simillar faze, but mine was caused by being bullied as a kid (they were jelous because I was smarter and more hardworking) In high scool I was afraid to make friends, but was starved of friendship, and I let my life go to a waste. My grades were barely passing, and so was Final exam. Because of all of that I connected with Subaru so closely. Plus we shared simillar figure, hair, mean look (my eyebrows are thick and slightly tilted so I always look angry) playfullness, troubles and hungers... His first death was so devastating to me. I grew uneasy as I noticed light turned of... Suddently horror washed over me as I saw him ripped from his fantasy and slowly wither away in agony. And then sudden relief when he was still alive. In that moment I knew this anime, and this caracter would become my all time favourite. After that his every death had bigger toll on me too, but also my need to protect my precious cinnamon roll with an amazing hair (it really is amazing, simple but stylish). Still people hate him, and I can't help it but take it personally.
I relate a weird amount towards Subaru, more than what I thought I would given how our lives are. For me, it's more in that part of his personality that desperately wants everything to end up alright, but it also doesn't help that he was also an agoraphobic. Even in his recovering state, he reminds me of myself a little too much in some places.
best mc no cap. glad to see the love for him
People forget Rem killed him twice. Emilia never killed him.
He might like her as a friend now, that first impression of constantly being killed by her makes it to where he'd never love her the way the community wants him to.
The only thing that Subaru did wrong was that he's not truly aiming for a harem ending (may subject to change)
That's a good thing harems cheapen romance in settings like this his relationship with Emilia and Rem are good enough.
That's one of the things that he did right.
Agreed. He's just human with human characteristics and flaws put through a very painful ordeal. Nothing more and nothing less.
I’m have some mental issues, I also know a lot of people with traumas and another issues with their mental health. So honestly, I never blame Subaru for anything, at least because I can understand him. also I never understand the people, who blame Subaru for anything he do. It’s sad for me, that people can’t understand why he acting like this. I love this character, and I absolutely sympathize with him. I'm sure, that he is a very good person, even if he have some flaws.
And yeah, good video, Dude.
My all time top 1 male character Natsuki subaru🕺
Great analysis my guy. I've never understood why Subaru would be a hated character, I love the guy.
Cool and interesting video, and well-reasoned. I personally feel that Subaru’s image suffers from more than a little projection. People have an image of what kind of person they are and how they would respond in x/y/z scenario, but this usually clashes with how they really are and would act in real life.
Subaru is remarkably mundane, and his sporadic bouts of idiocy are never an egregious break from real life behavior like in some other anime, and considering how many hate diatribes leveled at him eventually come around to some from of “he reminds me too much of...” he probably hits too close to home for some.
In the end, Re:Zero is an isekai deconstruction, darker than but on equal footing with Konosuba, and like that series, holds a warped mirror to the power fantasies fans tend to bring to them. But while Kazuma’s finger in the chest to real-life otaku is softened by Konosuba’s lighter parody, Re:zero goes full balls-to-the-wall brutal, and I guess a lot of fans are turned off seeing the visceral consequences for their real-world flaws played out. Burning Subaru in effigy of their distaste is a classic psychological response.
Underrated, this really deserves more attention.
Honestly, I'm just glad that I've been seeing more positive comments towards Subaru since season 2 started airing. That's all I really wanted because he was treated so unfairly by the community in season 1.
Based video. Subaru is a very well written character who’s character growth is so satisfying for the viewer/reader to experience. All these character flaws make it so rewarding when he actually takes the initiative to improve himself.
In my opinion arcs 4 and 6 are the best example of this. As in both arcs there are very defined moments in which Subaru has a retrospection on his behaviour, mainly learning to appreciate himself more as a person.
Even the way his character growth is handled has this really relatable way its conveyed because of how many people can easily find themselves in Subaru's shoes if they were in his position. He's such a great character.
_"that's a sad gamer moment for Subaru Natsuki !"_
I'm season one and all I wanted was for Subaru to just be happy and not die horribly or have a mental breakdown. Of course I know this won't last forever, but having him succeed through his deaths is just good feelings all around.
That's one of the best things about Re:Zero, honestly. Subaru might end up getting a lot of shit, but the viewer feels a lot of joy when he actually succeeds in something that he's attempting to do succeeds.
Unpopular opinion: a lot of people hate subaru just because of bandwagons
Video is nuttin but facts! Much love uploader.
I completely agree, this topic has always bothered me, its probably because people dont look at the anime as it's own interpretation, they compare it to the web novel
If you ask me, this is how I saw Subaru when I first started watching the show. I do feel he was trying to be helpful but his inability to tell others how he knows what will happen made things difficult. Also, Emilia can be rather stubborn herself; she probably thought their friendship wouldn't last because of her status as a half-elf. I think Subaru was a little harsh on himself in my eyes, because whether he was trying to talk big or not, I think he had good intentions.
Subaru is selfless to a fault. It's very endearing to see him throughout the series when you fully understand him.
@@Velarix There have been some things that have confused me. At the end of the first season Subaru apologized to Emilia for being selfish prior. Was he talking about when he declared himself a knight at the Capital and got himself beaten? Because I can understand that; he felt to proud and did without thinking and it only got him hurt. My other question was that 'greed of a pig' that Priscilla spoke of.
I kinda sympathize with him because he saw Rem get brutally murdered by Petegeuse, so his negotiations with Crusch went bad because of his deteriorating mental state, and the darkness of revenge polluting his mind. When he went to Priscilla, I thought Subaru was desperate because he has already sunken very low mentally that something else demeaning would make no difference.
I still stand by my reasoning that at his core, Subaru only thinks of others. But he has to go through trial and error to find the RIGHT path.
@@phillipmoghaddam7240 Yeah. He was apologizing for declaring that he was her knight when it was official since that could actually tarnish her public appearance. However, you are right that Subaru going to Priscilla was exactly him getting very desperate through his past couple of loops. It symbolized him throwing away his pride to try to get some help, but ended up getting punished because he cast aside all reason and actually stopped thinking about everyone else but himself at that moment.
@@Velarix But I can forgive him BECAUSE of his deteriorating mental state, which is something only he himself knows the cause of and the viewing audience; no one else unfortunately, but that is the burden he must bear.
@@Velarix There is one other thing that I am a little confused by. When Subaru fought Petelguese a second time (the one where he succeeded), he wore the cloak Emilia wore previously when conversing with her at the manor (you know what I mean?) Did he do that to not break his promise to not return to the manor, or was it to prove a point by conversing with her like he was someone else? Do you know?
People mostly hate him for the capital, but honestly his actions there weren’t even that bad. He had a justified reaction towards the mistreatment of Emilia and Julius poked at him saying he could never be a knight because he wasn’t powerful.
YESSS SUBARU IS MY FAVORITE MC
I never looked at Emilia at such a different perspective
People are oddly ready to blame Subaru for failing to ask for help. I would like to cite his laundry list of traumas and seemingly preexisting mental illnesses as well but we'd be here literally all day. Subaru is currently in the equivalent of an abusive relationship with literal an apocalypse witch. His abuser is so powerful, so distant, and able to upend everythi g so quickly that it is literally impossible for anyone to help him. His abuser can literally crush his heart instantly and undetected and reslverse the time of the entire universe to before he asked for help. Add on top of that the fact that nearly every one of his "friends" have abandoned, killed or horrifically maimed him? Otto threw him off a carriage to die, Rem tortured him, ripped his arm off and caved his skull in, Ram cut his leg off and then slit his throat, Emilia abandoned him in the capital, Beatrice tossed him out in the snow to be frozen by Puck, Puck froze him THREE TIMES, Roswall beat him within an inch of his life and murdered two of hos friends right infront of him, Garfiel tore Otto and dozen of villagers apart infront of him and genuinely attempted to murder him, Meili fed him to several Mabeasts, The list goes ON. And you look down on him for not TRUSTING? Okay, fine then hot shot. With that pretty little line up, who are you gonna trust? Who are you gonna trust, and considering what they've done to you, how the fuck are you going to justify trusting them to yourself? Literally everyone in Subaru's life has been his abuser at some point, often more than once, his power simply affords most of them the luxury of forgetting. Not him though. He remembers *everything*. Remember that when you talk about his trust issues. Always remember.
Yeah, that's another thing that always gets me when I see people blaming Subaru for a lot of his actions. It just shows you how much more selfless he actually is in what he does despite living on with the fear of knowing that the people he trusts so dearly could betray him at a moments notice. The man lives through everything falsely believing himself to be selfish when he's only ever thought of those around him despite what they've done to him in his many different lives.
@@Velarix and hers another thing is that Emilia is far too naïve and forgiving to others, like with Julius. In our world, cops assaulting civilians causes an enormous uproar, yet when the equivalent of the Secret Service assaults a civilian for "rude" comments (well-deserved ones at that, the King's Guard failed the only job they had) that they themselves instigated, nothing happens. We hear that Julius gets punished, but less than a week later, he joins Subaru and co to fight Betelgeuse so was it even that bad? And she treats him like a disobedient child to the point where she felt holding his hand while strolling around the capital, despite Emilia herself losing Ram, her insignia, and nearly her life the last time she came. I hope I'm not in the minority of the community, but I believe that Subaru didn't really do much wrong in Arc 3, at the very least in the Royal Selection aside from breaking his promise. Most of Subaru's relationships were formed upon him having to "prove himself" to others, mostly figuring out what not to say to trigger their murderous impulses from failed loops. Beatrice let him die in the first loop to the curse, Rem killed him once, then tortured him for hours until Ram mercy killed him, said Ram hunted him down for false placed suspicions on her sister's death, Garfiel locked him up, then butchered not only some of the Sanctuary residents but Arlam's residents, Otto, and Patrasche before locking him back up again just to be devoured by the Great Rabbit. Roswaal's responsible for every single one of his deaths up to that point through orchestrating the many trials and obstacles Subaru faced. Frederica made the events of the Sanctuary significantly harder by not revealing the nature of the location to them because of some "vow." Man f**k the Emilia Camp, especially Ram, b***h gets on my damn nerves.
0:05 its coming back! The DC got released today
Subaru has high intelligence but a low IQ his ability to break away from the mould make him damn impressive
Its hard to tell which gets worse his Emilia obsession or his mental state
...i'm pretty sure we're supposed to choose Emilia's side during Subaru's meltdown, when he goes full Nice GuyTM
I don't think we're supposed to wholly choose one side in the situation. They're both in the right, but just don't understand the other's point of view because they haven't experienced it.
@@Velarix fair point.
@@Velarix I may have made that comment, but the whole thing still confuses me really. I truly believed he was trying to help his friends because it was the right thing to do, not just to glorify himself. Then again, I am not a NEET like he is portrayed but I never felt he was completely useless, after all, I have seen Edge of Tomorrow, so I know how powerful knowledge is.
Besides, witnessing people die gruesomely would warp any sane person's mind right? Of course he would not be thinking very clearly.
Also, he may have broken his promise to Emilia, but only because he was worried for her. She may have been very sensitive but haven't there been other fictional characters who have done something similar.
All in all, I still don't think Subaru was in the wrong. I don't think he needs to hate himself so much but I guess that is how he felt. I genuinely like the guy and I truly believe he thinks about others yes as people to save, but people nontheless.
@@phillipmoghaddam7240 The thing about Subaru is that he's selfless to a fault. It comes off as selfish to others, and his mind is DEFINITELY not in a good place, but his mind was already very warped before he even came into the isekai world. He's a very complex character, and it's why I enjoy talking about him so much. Even someone that doesn't suffer from the same problems as him can see themselves somewhere in his personality.
@@Velarix Well I don't think he's a powerless person, no matter what the others said prior to the White Whale battle. After all, if at first you don't succeed, try try again, and eventually you'll get it right. I still just felt he was trying to stand by the people he cares for. It didn't feel all that selfish when I first saw it.
I don't hate Subaru. He is just a little annyoing when he tries to be funny. And how can you hate someone who suffers so much and can't even tell anyone about it (in Season 1)?
I agree that people hating on him give him too much flack and don't take into account his mental state, but I think it's incorrect to say he didn't do anything wrong. Just because his actions are understandable does not make them okay, it just makes us more likely to forgive him. Like, for example I can understand why he broke his promise to Emilia, and also why he defended her against her will and battled Julius, but that doesn't erase the horrible impact it had on Emilia and her relationship with him, and it also doesn't change the fact that he was being selfish and acting out, using his feelings for Emilia as an excuse for his behavior. Like I said, as someone who has the context it's totally understandable, and Subaru is still one of my favorite characters because his misguided actions make the character development all the more satisfying, but imo it's fundamentally innacurate to excuse his actions entirely and say there was not fault on his part. It's not that he didn't do anything wrong, it's that he wasn't in the proper mental state to make the right decisions.
Girls don't care about what you did in the past and what he did wasn't even that bad. They care about what you are doing today and have you changed yourself or not
Some things people forget is: Rem knew Subaru loves Emilia already, its part of the reason why she didn't want to go with him. And even though Emilia didn't give Subaru a heartfelt speech like Rem did, she still cared for him and soothed him when he was breaking down, because of something Rem was doing may I add. I detest the notion of people imposing their opinion on Subaru and wanting him to choose Rem after the speech.
Always loved him and esp in the new season where the people who hate him get to suck their own fingers and regret what they said when they see all hes char progression and why he act as he do.. hes indeed very human.. thats why people hate him everyone want a kirito. whos op as fuck...
but thats not what re zero is about... its about bettering ur self by changing and becoming who u were meant to be eventho the road is long
I LOVE SUBARU!!!
no homo
This guy been through hell and back he saw the one he love die in his hands he been stab got beating up I try to find out how in the hell he did not want insane
people who still hate subaru after season 2 can't be considered fans in my opinion
If you’re checking the comments to see what they spoil:
Season 2 spoilers that’s all
I don't think anyone could of handle this the pressure of dying over and over again just to loose everything your friends and your progress seeing your friends die and your friends killing you I don't understand why people hate Subaru none of this is his fault... 🙄
While I'm glad people like him more after seeing season 2, it still really baffles me how little the popular crowd of people were willing to like and even understand him as a person.
Honestly 😩
Emilia's character throughout can only be well understood after you watch the frozen bond and season 2, spoilers
She only thinks she cares about promises as a spirit mage, her fight in the capital is more based on being used to pushing people away for their own good by playing into the fear of half elves, which Roswaal was deliberately asking of her as well in his approach to shutting down the sage council's complaints against her participating. She was raised by people who never told her anything and had very distorted relationships with her(Archie and Fortuna as guardians of the seal etc, Fortuna and Petelgeuse hiding anything about her parents, Petelgeuse who claimed she saved him when she has no memories of that) and so to her Subaru's love being incomprehensible was just as upsetting as any discrimination she receives for being a half elf plus appearance.
Subaru in the argument says a lot of triggering things. He says she saved him which she has no memory of, just like Petelgeuse. He loves her and is repeatedly getting injured while hiding what he's doing from her, like Archie and Fortuna who kept her isolated for her own good without explanation. She's even had these issues with Puck, who sometimes vanished without explanation in the forest and is constrained by his contract with Echidna seemingly. All of this is before he ever starts telling her she owes him for it.
Emilia's triggered by the promise breaking because the only information Pandora left her with after taking her memories(especially of the time leading to being frozen, I think it's complicated but Emilia likely suppressed her early memories herself as well and in later arcs it's good to bear in mind she still doesn't remember Pandora and has implied memory gaps but does remember her upbringing without Pandora impacting it) was that she kept her promise. At the same time she blames herself entirely for the frozen forest and her isolation which is why her discrimination only gets added to her self hatred and belief people will suffer for getting close to her.
Lastly, Subaru tries to keep her around by using this as a debt she owes him, when the entire story consisted of them jokingly talking about only doing things out of obligation to each other starting in the first episode when Emilia is the one doing so. He says it seriously instead of jokingly as his fear of abandonment causes him lashing out at her. The novels use a lot of the sins to describe Subaru and others(because re zero has everyone potentially embody a sin not just Subaru) in arc 3 but in their argument the one used is actually vainglory NOT pride, what he says to her is projection and lashing out but not built on any sense of ego or entitlement because he's never thought he deserved any of them. And that ties in with my point that Emilia's breakdown before Subaru says something that bad in the argument is connected to the memories lost to Pandora the witch of vainglory. The idea of promises being important to spirit mages was a front to protect that they're specifically important to Emilia more than anyone knows. She did everything to protect Subaru, just as she watched Petelgeuse Fortuna and Archie die sacrificing themselves and hiding things in the process, and acting coldly was just a front which is convenient to her wish not to cause anyone more suffering.
Subaru is one of the GOAT, elder god tier MCs in anime imo
He's among the greatest of all MCs I've ever seen in a series, even without the degrees of relatability I have to him. Absolutely love the guy.
I still need to watch re zero. I haven't watch it yet because I couldn't find a dub
Dude! New season coming up in July! The shows great so plz
Get👏with👏it👏
@@SerafRhayn 9 anime
Subaru did not to EVERYTHING wrong,but did some things
I guess I waited for the right moment
That world would give ANY Normal Character, like the Characters from Yakuza, (Including the Three Legends of Tojo, Kiryu, Saejima and Majima) a problem.and Subaru doesn't have any of the badassness those characters have
A nice short video.
yeah fr, subaru is honestly one of my fav protags just cuz he's more realistic? relatable?? idk smthn like that lol
I'd say he's more human, honestly.
Great video
no dislikes
good
God I can only think of ep 11
Well, I agree that he has a lot of mental issues, and that he has gone through something no young adult should have gone through. However, my problem with Subaru is that, before episode 18, he refuses to empathize with anyone else, and stops thinking everyone as a person, and more as someone to save. Yes, all the characters had done something wrong, but the thing is, Subaru wants everyone to empathize with him, and refuses to empathize with anyone else, which isn't fair to him or anyone else. Maybe that's because that was what I was like when I was young, and that reminds me too much of my younger, really idiotic self.
I believe the LN has touched on this to some extent, since he was isekai'd he only thought of everyone as side characters and not as people because he was a main character. He eventually grows out of this but it would be nice if this was emphasized more in the anime.
yes
i wish someone made a video of the curent timeline in which he doesnt die from the standpoint of everzone else like a world where he did everzthing perfectly
Honestly, that sounds like it'd be pretty cool to do.
the anime that show me a thing:see world is wonderful,see those guy are amazing,the "partner"are strong and handsome or pretty,you want a journey?but you weak and low even you got something luck or fancy staff,all will lead you to afflict and brutal way,and first time you dont even answer for this,if you just even living in a Low-key way,or dont think about romance,probably could be better
idk man Subaru did some wrong by not having a boxer engine and awd installed by default upon his death. Some people hate Subaru for lesser things such as a pretentious spoiler.
Bruh he need to know how to fight or he will keep dying
Yeah cool mate ask AI in that matter you'll get the answer you wanted.
They are just noobs subaru best mc
I don't 100% agree. tbh, saying "he did nothing wrong" takes away from the fact he is written to be flawed and develop from that point. like, when arguing with emilia, him flipping at her was almost objectively bad, BUT, it was incredibly realistic, and just shows off the amazing writing.
people defend him (in ep 13) almost tooo hard, when imo at that point, he is meant to be unlikeable at that point, or at least to be pitiable.
Bc we all know why he acted that way, all of the trauma he's been through. But when he's acting an ass, not listening to what she tells him to do, being obsessive, he is clearly in the wrong. But it's brilliant writing, to show him at a realistic, low point of the story, and have him develop from there.
Subaru's whole arc is a comment on mental health, Subaru is a product of the trauma he experiences. I find it ridiculous that people will see this character who had mental health issues before even getting isekai'd and had to live through actual hell for weeks, of dying, making progress, resetting, again and again and again; Just to be like "well he's unlikable because he had an outburst", it's like, no, that wasn't him being an asshole, that was a cry for help. Subaru is rude to Julius and the knights, but Subaru is also a social outcast who's anxiety brings him so much pain that he became a shut in, he doesn't know how to interact with people, especially when he's in a world he doesn't belong in.
I see this sentiment of "Subaru is unlikable and in the wrong" so much, and it genuinely makes me wonder what people think of the mentally ill. Also, I'm sorry of it feels like I'm going off on you, I'm not, I just hate this sentiment that I so frequently see when it comes to discussion around Re:Zero.
@@gustygal So much of this is right on the money. I would also say take the degree to which the creator pushes his “unlikable nature” with a grain of salt, even if it flows from authorial intent. Mental illness escapes universal recognition in Japan to this day, and a large percentage of the population still view things like mild depression (for which I had Subaru pegged from episode 3) anxiety, and PTSD as “personality flaws” to be overcome through willpower.
That aside, I don’t necessarily agree that he’s done _nothing_ wrong; taking his mental issues into consideration, he was still rather flawed due to the “isekai protagonist lens syndrome” he carried with him from our world. He was in desperate need to see the people of his world as, well, people, and not side characters to his drama. Still, I choke at anyone who says he’s fueled by narcissism or an inflated ego, and there are many in this setting who are WAY bigger jerks than him.
@@spidergregory3857the story is told with biased narrators and the anime echoes that, so Subaru is portrayed as worse than he is because he thinks he's the absolute worst of society. At the same time in episode 18 Rem's entire disagreement with him comes from him stating his self hatred as an objective fact, when she insists he's done so much good for her. That's why she says Subaru only knows himself, what does he know of the Subaru she sees: to break him out of only accepting his own perspective as valid and dismissing her love for him as a trick or foolish.
Also, he didn't see himself as a protagonist either, when he starts dismissing others that much and acting twisted he's usually thinking "I'll undo this anyway" while repressing the fact that this would require at a minimum himself to die. It's not that they're side characters but that they will literally be reduced to as much by return by death, an authority which treats others as if their feelings don't matter whether Subaru likes it or not(he doesn't).
To get how much his perspective is distorted, know that he in the light novel hates himself more than Petelgeuse or any enemy he faces later on. He self harms, criticises his looks, his personality, doesn't think he deserves the loved ones he has, and devalues his life so any narrator biased towards him sounds ableist towards himself, but Emilia and the others always pull him away from bad habits. And the other characters who say similar things are consistently wrong, like Minerva who tells him he's terrible for throwing his life away but also has no understanding of emotional pain, only trying to stop the symptoms and hypocritically destroying her own body as well.
Aside for guts subaru takes second place for my favorite anime mc.
Guts hasn't suffer that much as subaru
@@atari8603 have you even read berserk to know what your talking about?
@@_____2219 I know but, re zero rabbit just makes you forget about it
@@_____2219 look I agree with you. But, subaru is in a lot of pain because he lacks power to do anything against his enemies.
@@atari8603 I mean yeah you have a point but compare that to guts everyday life. That’s basically every monday for him. He was forced to be a mercenary at a very young age and was raped in the same age. He watched his comrades die in front of him, had his literal gf get ntrd by his best friend and watch her suffer for it. And everyday he is targeted by demons left and right, not even getting a wink of sleep unless he decided to just one day die. If he hadn’t joined a group for long he would’ve continued doing that every single day for the rest of his life. While yes the rabbit thing happened to subaru but guts’ life is just a steady decline if he had continued living that life until he dies and we don’t even know the extent of all the things that happened to him off screen. So compare that to everything subaru has went through guts would probably walk it off and go to the next fight.
I like to think how everyone who didn't listen to (or kick Subaru) died
Even doom slayer was created with the intention to kill but, he isn't invincible
@@atari8603 wanna test that theory?
@@theauditor3224 easy doom slayer vs any anime op character. He will lose to all of them
@@atari8603 as long as its not subaru i can eventually kill them
@@theauditor3224 Reinhart laughs with invincibility and satella too
He choose Emilia over Rem, that is very Wrong :v
Lol no.
Because he isn't a douche who leaves those he truly love
Dude, back on earth he didn't even care going to school