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A discussion on two of the main characters that make up Re:ZERO.

As you know, there are a lot of unique characters in anime. Characters we admire and are inspired to be like; ones we go out to the nearest mall and buy the latest and greatest figurines of (if our wallets allow it), or better yet shop online on sites such as Box Lunch or Right Stuf Anime. But of course there are also many awful characters in anime, far more bland or copy-paste cutouts than actual decent ones.

Re:ZERO happens to have a healthy variety of decent characters that have a well-deserved place on peoples’ MAL pages or manga shelves. From the main character Subaru’s love-interest Emilia or the undyingly loyal maid Rem, to the mysterious Lord Roswaal or witch of greed Echidna. Here’s my honest opinion of some of these unique anime characters.

Spoilers are in due order, you have been warned!

Subaru Natsuki: Much as already been said in my last review/discussion about Subaru. He’s your average high school otaku, semi-pervert who got transported to another world. In the second season we learn more about Subaru’s background from his life back home; his loving parents and the societal pressure he feels to live up to their expectations despite his parents’ support. It isn’t until he’s transported to this new world that his personal weaknesses are harshly challenged. Having been saved from a group of bandits by the bewitching Emilia, he falls head over heels for her and swears his life to protecting her, quite literally.

Throughout the anime he comes across scenarios that seriously test his resolve, and because he’s weak as hell he winds up dying left and right. From the obsession of the witch of envy, he’s been given the curse of resurrection to use at the most convenient of moments, and so his character yo-yos from being the hero to zero to hero again; its a vicious cycle. And although his character suffers more than many character in anime, he’s probably supposed to be hated, but deep down we love him.

Emilia: The charming, young, possible heir to the throne, Emilia is a kind, good-spirited half-elf that rescues a distressed Subaru from a group of bandits, and ever since he’s been chasing her love since. Because he was somehow the one that helped her find her token, Emilia has been grateful to Subaru since and allowed him to stay by her. I guess part of her reason for liking him is because he outright accepts her as she is, meanwhile she’s scorned by so many for her resemblance to the witch of envy. With the father-figure high-spirit Puck by her side since she awoke from a crystal slumber, Emilia has defied the laws of the world that wanted her demise, and so she continues to exist.

With white-hair and getup, pointed elf ears, and bluish- purple eyes… whoa whoa wait a minute, her eyes are actually purple? Seriously? That’s creepy as f*ck! It reminds me of the 1990 film “The Witches”.

In all honesty though, Emilia is adorable and certainly makes it into my list of waifus. With how far he’s gone for her sake, I hope Subaru’s love for her will eventually reciprocate… but it already has, far beyond that which he realizes.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD: So in season 2 there was a revelation that Emilia is in fact Satella, the widely feared witch of envy, which I honestly saw coming ever since Emilia literally told Subaru in the first/second episode that her name is Satella. Since meeting her, Subaru has had the curse to come back ‘at death’s door’, and this isn’t a coincidence. Puck is really the only other one that Emilia trusts and talks to, he’s the only friend and family she has ever had. So when Subaru, being an outsider and hasn’t a clue about the gossip of witches, casually approaches Emilia with clear interest in her, Emilia is thrown off-guard. This has never happened to her before, and she probably became secretly infatuated with Subaru at that moment (my assumption of course), and so the witches’ scent and powers latched onto him from that moment onward. It isn’t quite hinted at in the anime as it does in the manga, but there are moments Emilia even has a sort of borderline creepy appreciation for Subaru, as such:

There’s probably a better example, but Emilia’s appreciation for Subaru runs deep, very deep. Obsession deep. Yandere deep. In episode 10 of season 2, Subaru has an enlightening conversation with the witch of greed, Echidna, however, when he comes back to reality, Subaru finds the witch of envy has swallowed everyone else as a result of him sharing the two’s secret about returning to life after death. Of course this isn’t something Emilia would be evil enough to do on her own, and as of episode 38 I’m willing to take a bet and say the witch of envy is a split personality Emilia has, and struggles for control with.

After Subaru has not one, but two run ins with the great rabbit, and having seen the deaths of his friends at Roswaal’s mansion by Elsa’s hand, he finds out about Roswaal’s jealous plan to test the mettle of Subaru’s mind, and so Subaru decides to end this hell of a loop by going to the temple, where he finds a broken-minded Emilia, like… seriously broken, and extremely isolated. Some viewers have watched this scene and labeled Emilia useless because of it. But if they payed attention to the conversation Subaru had with Roswaal, they would’ve understood that Roswaal is behind the madness.

Thinking Subaru abandoned her, Emilia was stuck running the test of the temple over and over and over again, with failure after failure. The Emilia, no, Satella we see in this scene is not far off from that of the witch of envy, and so a wildly obsessive Satella sits with a dying Subaru, for a passage of time we can assume is forever, and kisses his corpse. This was one of the most chilling scenes of Re:ZERO, and we can only hope that Subaru will have the resolve to save Emilia in the end.

Written By: The Shy Otaku