Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活, Ri:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, lit. "Re: Starting life in a different world from zero") is a Japanese light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka. The story centers on Subaru Natsuki, a hikikomori who suddenly finds himself transported to another world on his way home from the convenience store. The series was initially serialized on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from 2012 onwards. Seventeen volumes have been published by Media Factory since January 24, 2014, under their MF Bunko J imprint.

The series' first three arcs have been adapted into separate manga series. The first, by Daichi Matsue, was published by Media Factory between June 2014 and March 2015. The second, by Makoto Fugetsu, has been published by Square Enix since October 2014. Matsue launched the third adaptation, also published by Media Factory, in May 2015. Additionally, Media Factory has published two anthology manga with stories by different artists. An anime television series adaptation by White Fox aired from April 4, 2016 to September 19, 2016, starting with an hour-long special. The first of two OVA based on the series will be released on October 6, 2018. In March 2017, game developer 5pb. released a visual novel based on the series.

The novels and all three manga adaptations are published in North America by Yen Press. The anime adaptation has been licensed by Crunchyroll, which released the anime on home video through Funimation in the United States and Anime Limited in the United Kingdom. The light novels have sold more than three million copies, while the anime series has sold more than 60,000 copies on home video. The light novels have been praised for their fresh take on the "another world" concept, but have been criticized for awkward dialogue and redundancy. The anime series has been praised by critics for its "culturally complex world" and for the actions of its characters. The series received awards at the 2015–2016 Newtype Anime Awards and the 2017 Sugoi Japan Awards, and was nominated for Anime of the Year at The Anime Awards 2016.

Synopsis
Suddenly a high school student Subaru Natsuki has been summoned to another world on the way back from the convenience store. With the biggest crisis of his life being summoned to another world and no sign of the one who summoned him things become worse when he is attacked.

But when he is saved by a mysterious silver-haired girl with a fairy cat, Subaru cooperates with the girl to return the favor. When they finally manage to get a clue Subaru and the girl are attacked and killed by someone.

Subaru then awakens in the place he was summoned and notices the ability he gained “Returns by Death” a helpless boy that only has the ability to rewind time by dying. And beyond the despair can he save the girl from the fate of death!

Light novel
In the late 2000s, the light novel series The Familiar of Zero (Zero no Tsukaima) spawned a number of fan fiction on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō ("Let's Become Novelists"), also known as Narō. Tappei Nagatsuki initially began writing The Familiar of Zero fan fiction on Narō, before building on its isekai ("other world") concept to write his own original web novel series on Narō, called Re:Zero, which began serialization in 2012.

The series' editor at MF Bunko J, Masahito Ikemoto, first became aware of the web novel in April 2013, when it began to appear on his Twitter feed. He was immediately impressed by the series' use of Return by Death, and how it was a "depressing, yet surprising, twist on the fantasy genre," and began working with Nagatsuki to adapt the series into a light novel. Most light novels are around 250 pages in length, but Nagatsuki submitted a manuscript of more than 1,000 pages for the first novel, forcing Ikemoto to edit it heavily. While Nagatsuki wanted to engage in worldbuilding early on, Ikemoto felt that it was more necessary to make the readers feel engaged with the characters. He ended up rearranging the story so that parts focusing on the world and its lore were pushed back to the third arc of the series.

Prior to his involvement in Re:Zero, illustrator Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka worked on video games, which led him to draw the backgrounds first when illustrating the series. After reading the web novel, he submitted a number of character designs for the major characters to Ikemoto. Subaru's initial design made him look like a delinquent, with Otsuka later describing it as "not the face of a boy in his teens," leading Ikemoto to request that the character be "more friendly and less fierce" so that the audience could empathize with him during emotional scenes. Originally, Emilia's character design appeared extremely plain, so a number of features were added to make her more interesting. Ikemoto specified that she must fit the "archetypal heroine" mold. Rem and Ram also underwent significant changes from the first draft: their original designs lacked the characteristic hair parts, and their maid uniforms were longer and more "traditional."

Development and production
The possibility of an anime adaptation came up early in the development of the series; Shō Tanaka, a producer at Kadokawa, asked Ikemoto about properties which might lend themselves to being animated, and Ikemoto recommended that Tanaka read Nagatsuki's web novels. Despite an initial miscommunication which led to Ikemoto believing that Tanaka wasn't interested, talks of adapting the series began soon after the web novels began the transition to print.

As part of talks for the potential anime adaptation, Ikemoto and Tanaka spoke to Tsunaki Yoshikawa, an animation producer at studio White Fox, about the possibility of his studio animating the series. Hoping to adapt the series into an anime similar to Steins;Gate (which White Fox also produced), and having a positive impression of the studio as one that did faithful adaptations, Tanaka then formally approached them about producing the show. White Fox's president contacted Yoshikawa for his opinion, and Yoshikawa recommended they accept, as long as the series "doesn't violate any broadcasting regulations."

Production on the anime began sometime after the release of the fifth novel in October 2014. Masaharu Watanabe was chosen by Yoshikawa to direct the series because he had previously worked for the studio doing key animation, while Kyūta Sakai was chosen to be the series' character designer and chief animation director because Yoshikawa felt that she would be able to do the novel's art justice whilst maintaining a consistent animation quality throughout the series' 25-episode run. Masahiro Yokotani was brought on board as the main writer, with the series being his first time composing for a "reborn in another world"-type story. Yoshikawa warned him about the violence in the series, but Yokotani was still surprised by the violent and disturbing scenes in novels three and beyond, having only read the first novel when he agreed to work on the project; he delegated the script writing of those episodes in the second cour to the other two scriptwriters. Yoshiko Nakamura joined the project sometime after Yokotani had completed the script for episode 3. When it proved unfeasible for Yokotani and Nakamura to write the scripts alone, the decision was made to bring another scriptwriter on board. Gaku Iwasa, the president of White Fox, asked them to hire someone "younger," leading Yokotani to suggest Eiji Umehara. Nagatsuki had recently been playing Chaos;Child, which Umehara had written for, and he approved the choice, suggesting that they let Umehara write the "painful parts"; Umehara was invited to join the project around the time that the scripts for episodes 8 and 9 were being written. Re:Zero was the first light novel adaptation that either of the screenwriters had worked on.

Original author Tappei Nagatsuki was very active in the production of the anime, attending script meetings and recording sessions. When the staff would encounter a problem with a scene, he would occasionally write lines for them to use as reference while writing the script. The series was not initially intended to have 25 episodes, but was extended to give more time to the battle with the White Whale (which was expanded from two to three episodes) and to the content of episode 18 (episodes 16 to 18 were originally supposed to be covered in two episodes). Watanabe's main directive to the staff was to "capture the mood of the novel as much as possible"; the scriptwriters had discussions about how to compress the dense source material without losing the central elements of the story, and Nakamura recalls working with composition notes that "went on for pages." While planning and scripting the anime, choosing a proper conclusion was one of the most difficult parts for the staff, and a significant amount of time was devoted to choosing what to cover in the final episode, which included material not yet covered in the light novel.

After joining the project, both Nakamura and Umehara had to adjust their views of the main character, and were forced to rewrite scenes where they had made Subaru appear "cool." At Watanabe's direction, Nakamura was made to rewrite Subaru's telling of The Red Ogre Who Cried in episode 6 multiple times. The staff also had difficulty deciding on a song to use for Subaru's ringtone that plays during the closing scene of episode 19, considering songs like "Kanpaku Sengen," "The Beard Song," and "M" by Princess Princess, before settling on "Yoake no Michi" from Dog of Flanders.

Soundtrack
While choosing a composer to produce the series' music, director Watanabe wanted to choose someone who had "hit a nerve" with him. A fan of drama series, Watanabe was struck by a piece of music in the medical drama Death's Organ, and found that the series' composer, Kenichiro Suehiro, had also worked on a number of his favorite anime and drama series. After Suehiro was attached to the production, Watanabe gave him three major guidelines: use human voices during the Return by Death sequences; compose the music like he would for a drama or a movie to capture the emotional scenes; and "pull all the stops" for the suspenseful scenes. Additionally, for the first cour, Watanabe asked for music with a "suspenseful" vibe, while requesting music with a "romantic" feel for the second cour. Both Watanabe and Suehiro are fans of Italian composer Ennio Morricone, and Suehiro tried to take inspiration from his works while composing the soundtrack. Watanabe also requested that there be songs that mimicked Hans Zimmer's score from The Dark Knight. While Suehiro used music that wasn't very "anime-ish" during most of the series, he was asked to use more traditional anime music during the slice of life scenes. A number of times during the series, such as in episodes 7 and 15, Watanabe made it a point to use an entire song, something which is unusual in most anime.

The series makes limited use of its opening and ending themes, and Watanabe has said that he wished he could use them more frequently

Web Novels
The Re:Zero web novel was initially serialized by Tappei Nagatsuki (writing under the username Nezumi-iro Neko (鼠色猫, "Mouse-Colored Cat")) on the user-generated content site Shōsetsuka ni Narō from April 20, 2012 onwards. As of October 26, 2018, six novels and two side stories have been published, comprising a total of 466 chapters.

Light Novels
Following the web novel's publication, Media Factory acquired the series for print publication. The first light novel volume, with illustrations by Shinichirou Otsuka, was published on January 24, 2014, under their MF Bunko J imprint. As of March 2018, seventeen volumes have been published, as well as three side story volumes and three short story collections. Nagatsuki and Otsuka began publishing a series of short side-stories focusing on characters from the series in Monthly Comic Alive, starting with the character Elsa in August 2016. It was followed with one focused on Petra Leyte on November 26, 2016, and one featuring Ram and Rem on January 27, 2016. The light novels are published in English by Yen Press, who announced their acquisition of the license via Twitter on December 2, 2015. The publisher has also acquired the license to the Re:Zero EX side novels.

Manga
A manga adaptation by Daichi Matsue, titled Re:ZERO: -Starting Life in Another World- Chapter 1: A Day in the Capital (Ｒｅ：ゼロから始める異世界生活 第一章 王都の一日編 Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Dai-Ichi-Shō: Ōto no Ichinichi-hen), began serialization in the August 2014 issue of Media Factory's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on June 27, 2014. The final volume was released on March 23, 2015. On December 2, 2015, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series.

A second manga, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 2: One Week at the Mansion (Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活 第二章 屋敷の一週間編 Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Dai-Ni-Shō: Yashiki no Ishūkan-hen), with art by Makoto Fugetsu, began serialization in Square Enix's seinen magazine Monthly Big Gangan on October 25, 2014. The final chapter was published on December 24, 2016, and an extra chapter was published on January 25, 2017. The second adaptation has also been licensed by Yen Press.

Daichi Matsue began serializing a third manga, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 3: Truth of Zero (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 第三章 Truth of Zero Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Dai-San-Shō: Truth of Zero) in Comic Alive's July 2015 issue on May 27, 2015. Yen will publish the third adaptation as well.

A manga anthology, titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Official Anthology Comic (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活　公式アンソロジーコミック Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Kōshiki Ansorojī Komikku), was published by Media Factory on June 23, 2016. A second anthology was published on September 23, 2017.

Character

 * Main article: Subaru Natsuki

"What’s wrong with taking the path that’s easiest, that will let me live longer? I’ll decide how I use my life!"

- Natsuki Subaru "While we talk, look forward to making up for all the time you’ve wasted looking back! We can start by talking about tomorrow. You can say anything like, whether you’ll make Japanese or Western style breakfast tomorrow, or whether you’ll put on your right or left shoe first. It can be something silly like that. No matter how silly it is, you can talk about tomorrow because you have a tomorrow.”"

- Natsuki Subaru

Subaru is first seen at a local Japanese convenience store, buying consumer goods. After leaving the store, he somehow ends up in a fantasy world, after the atmosphere around him distorts itself. Confused by the happenings around him, Subaru later realizes that he has been sucked into another world.

Back in his original world, Subaru was the only son to two odd, but well-meaning parents, Kenichi and Naoko. From a young childhood age, Subaru idealized his dad in particular, a popular man in his community who was highly talented in whatever he did, a loving father who prioritized his family above everything else, and had a boisterous personality that charmed anyone he met. Kenichi was everything he wanted to be and growing up around him had a huge influence on Subaru's life. Taking pride in being his son, Subaru worked to live up to the expectations that came with that in his mind. For a time, he achieved this, as Subaru found himself smarter, more physically able, and popular than his peers. When he received praise, Subaru would of hear how it was expected of him being Kenichi's son, which made him feel special and entitled to a sense of superiority.

However, as the young boy's small world started to gradually expand upon entering middle school, Subaru would come face to face with limits of his own ability. Suddenly, he found people who were becoming smarter and faster than he was and, in general, being better at the things he used to be. He felt as if he was slowly losing his place and began to harbor a deep sense of shame at letting down his parents and fear of everyone leaving him for failures, doubt and self-loathing began to develop in his heart. But rather than prioritizing getting better at those things to combat his anxieties, Subaru instead placed more importance on doing daring and outrageous things to maintain his fragile dignity and keep himself the center of attention. However, the more reckless Subaru's actions became, the fewer people wanted to be around him. Yet Subaru continued to deceive himself and believe his own lies because as the son of his seemly indomitable father, he couldn't be seen as a failure. Eventually, one day, Subaru noticed he no longer had any friends and in his loneliness, Subaru realized he wasn't anyone special.

From then on, the comparisons between his father and himself turned into a curse that wounded and suffocated him everywhere he went, yet his strong admiration for his dad made it impossible to show that pain to anyone. Eventually, he stopped trying to stand out and when high school came, he found himself in a new environment where no one knew his past. Seizing this opportunity, Subaru tried to build new interpersonal relationships, but he had no idea how to be himself around others and instead only ended up emulating his father, his only frame of reference which instead led to others to treat him as a clown and classmates simply ignored his existence altogether. One day, Subaru skipped a day of school out of lack of enthusiasm, which slowly turned into a constant thing until at one point, he hadn't been to class for three months. When out of public spaces, Subaru felt liberated, but more than that, his own degradation meant people would start distancing him from Kenichi and in a twisted sense of hope, his parents come to acknowledge him as worthless and cast him aside in self-abandonment.

After being summoned to a new world, he saw this as a chance to make a fresh start; however, he didn't change as a person. He decided that he would save Emilia, and eventually, he was exposed for what he was, a person forcing their feelings on someone else, and that his white-knighting doesn't work out in the real world. He thought of himself as the hero of his own story, but was faced with reality when he didn't have the overpowered abilities of a usual protagonist, he however chose to ignore that he wasn't the hero and that the world would go on with or without and tried to force his way into Emilia's affairs, and in the process making a complete fool of himself.

The world then proceeded to show him how weak he was, and that he couldn't save anyone, after being utterly broken, he wanted to run away but was however stopped by Rem. This became the turning point for his character; he truly made an effort to change himself rather than expect that as the supposed protagonist, everything would work out, which it didn't before as he had to watch the results of his failures and see the people he cared for die over and over again. Eventually after hitting his breaking point and coming to terms with his inter conflicts with some encouraging words from Rem, Subaru began reflect on his actions and take step to amend his broken relationships, ultimately learned to be better considerate of Emilia's feelings rather than just forcing his in expectation that she would reward him. Subaru indeed became a changed character, and he also now tries to live up to the expectations of a hero that Rem had for him.

According to the author, after Subaru went missing (was transported to the Kingdom of Lugnica), a police investigation was launched but ended up empty-handed.

Personality


 * While Subaru tends to not read the situations he encounters, ultimately leading him to make irrational decisions, he is loyal to those he holds dear, willing to help them, even if that means taking the thorny path. He has his resolve confirmed through the many situations and circumstances he faces in the fantasy world, originally having been one to always take the 'easy' route. As a shut-in NEET, he is hopeful of the possibilities that being sucked into a new realm brings, but later realizes the realities of the predicament he is in. Eventually, he resolves himself to be faithful and protective of the ones that he cares most about.
 * Beneath his eccentric demeanor, however, Subaru is actually a very insecure person suffering from a severe inferiority complex due to growing up in his father's shadow. This also caused him to develop a fundamental misunderstanding of relationships where he believed he would be abandoned if he wasn't the center-of-attention. Even his otaku-tendencies were really just another method he used to stand out. Ironically, though, these desperate attempts to connect to others only caused him to make a fool of himself and push others away. It wasn't until he was transported to Lugnica that Subaru finally met people who accept him for who he is and he began learning how to build genuine relations.

Abilities
"It was rough. It was so painful. I was so scared. I was so sad. It hurt so much, I thought I’d die. I tried so hard… I tired so hard! I was so desperate, so desperate to make everything right! It’s the truth. I’ve honestly never tried so hard at anything in my life! Because I loved this place… Because it was so important to me! I was so desperate to get back. I was scared… I was so scared! I didn’t want those eyes looking at me like that again… And I hated myself so much for feeling that way!"

- Natsuki Subaru  Return by Death  (死に戻り Shinimodori): Subaru's trump card and the most recognised ability from the series, Return by Death, allows Subaru to return to an unspecified, unpredictable and uncontrollable "save point", that was set some time before his death. It happens instantly after his life was taken, there's no lag between the point of death and the point of resurrection, and there is no known limit to how many times Subaru can "Return by Death", making this ability an effective way of permanently bypassing death as it currently stands in the latest chapter of Arc 7. To Subaru, it looks exactly as if someone switched camera angles inside his head and the sudden influx of new information and sensations often makes him feel dizzy and confused. In Volume 11, it is revealed by the Witch of Greed that Return by Death is actually an Authority given to him by the Witch of Envy in order to prevent him from being shackled by mortality, granting him a means to challenge fate itself and beat impossible odds in which he's destined to die in the most cruelest of ways. Having said that, Subaru's application of this Authority – namely to use it to save his friends and loved ones from their untimely demises – is something willingly and consciously done by Subaru alone. This often results in Subaru being given almost absurdly short times between his save points and deaths, and at times, even preventing him from saving some of his friends such as when Rem's name and memories were eaten by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony in Arc 3's second interlude, while Subaru was given a save point hours after Gluttony and Greed's attack on Rem's carriage convoy.


 * Penalties: Subaru is unable to reveal his ability to others. There are three primary penalties for attempting to do so:
 * Subaru will be forcibly and painfully silenced by the Witch's hand, and, in some cases, die.
 * If Subaru was to tell Emilia about his ability, it would end in her heart being crushed by the Witch's hand. The exact explanation about this penalty is currently unknown, as according to the author, this penalty affects Emilia and no one else.
 * It will increase the density of Witch Factor at least for a short time, which will draw any Demon Beasts in the immediate area to him like moths to a flame.

"I have no strength, but I want it all. I have no knowledge, but all I do is dream. There’s nothing I can do, but I struggle in vain!"
 * Future Recollection: The trait that makes Subaru so dangerous is without a doubt his ability to recall the futures he had experienced through Return by Death. The fact that he can recall the events of the previous loops he had died in, means that Subaru inherently knows the rough actions the people around him will take, almost like a form of precognition. As he usually tries to do different things every time he returned to life, Subaru is able to gather more intel on how his allies and opponents behave under specific conditions, allowing him to predict their movements and plan strategies accordingly. Although he is average at best in terms of intellect and strategic planning, Subaru's recollections of failed futures as well as his basic problem solving abilities essentially turned Subaru into someone who expertly manipulates the events around him. Within a year and a half of arriving to the other world, Subaru had helped orchestrating the downfall of the Sin Archbishops of Sloth, Greed and Gluttony, the Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert, and two of the Three Great Demon Beasts—the Hakugei and the Oousagi. His recollection of the future also allows him to forge better relationships with those he considers allies, allowing him to amass an impressive web of political connections and friends in high places.

- Natsuki Subaru  Authority  (権能 Ken'nō): Subaru is currently able to use two Authorities: Sloth and Greed. According to Echidna, Return by Death is also an Authority that seems to have been gifted to him by Satella, but no actual conclusions of which Sin it represents have been drawn yet.


 * Authority of Sloth (怠惰の権能 Taida no Ken'nō): After the death of Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, Subaru became the current holder of the Witch Factor of Sloth, enabling him to develop an Authority of Sloth.
 * Subaru-Sloth.gifInvisible Providence (インビジブル・プロヴィデンス Inbijiburu Purovidensu): When Natsuki Subaru killed the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, he absorbed the Witch Factor of Sloth that resided within the madman for the past century. Strangely enough, Subaru's Authority of Sloth manifested itself in almost entirely the same way as Petelgeuse's did, at least appearance-wise. Unlike Petelgeuse, who called the power the Unseen Hands, after Echidna synchronised his body and the Witch Factor of Sloth, Subaru manifested an Authority of Sloth and chose to call his version of the Authority "Invisible Providence". It is a power that allows Subaru to summon a single invisible hand-like appendage from his chest and move and extend it telekinetically. If Subaru focuses enough, he can even make the hand phase through matter as though it wasn't there. Subaru's version of the Authority of Sloth is far less powerful than both Petelgeuse's and Sekhmet's Authorities of Sloth, as although Petelgeuse for instance could summon roughly one hundred hands at his maximum potential with little effort, Subaru can only summon a single hand with minimal range and damage output. Unlike Petelgeuse's Unseen Hands, Subaru's Invisible Providence is as powerful as his own two hands, and has roughly the same range, making it practically useless in combat. Lastly, the side effects of the usage of Invisible Providence should be mentioned; by calling forth his Authority, Subaru is forced to sacrifice a part of his soul. Immediately following the usage of his Authority, Subaru's internal organs begin to flair up, he feels his soul becoming more and more tainted and he's assaulted by a violent caughing attack accompanied with him throwing up smaller amounts of blood. With each usage of this ability, the backlash Subaru receives is greater and greater; currently, Subaru is borderline unable to use it as conjuring it immediately results in him receiving extreme headaches before losing his consciousness.

Magic User (魔法使い Mahō Tsukai): In the world Subaru was summoned to, individuals were capable of manipulating magical energy known as mana because of a "gate" that existed within every person's body. This gate would draw mana into a body as well as expel it out, functioning as a kind of faucet for magical energy. Each person possesses a different elemental attribute that allow them to produce magical spells related to that element. Of the six elements, Subaru's designated element is Yin Magic, a fairly rare attribute. Although he was a novice, Subaru had the capability to cast very basic-level Yin Magic spells. However, after overusing his gate, it became defective, meaning he could no longer cast any kind of magic. He is still able to use Yin magic through Beatrice, though Beatrice has run out of her mana supply when fighting the Oousagi, rendering both unable to use any kind of spell that isn't too complex. According to the author, Subaru could learn how to use other types of magic if he dedicates his life to that.
 * Authority of Greed (強欲の権能 Gōyoku no Ken'nō): After the death of Regulus Corneas, Subaru became the current holder of the Witch Factor of Greed, enabling him to develop an Authority of Greed.
 * Cor Leonis (コル・リオニス Koru Rionisu): When Reinhard van Astrea killed the Sin Archbishop of Greed in the Crusade against Greed during Witch Cult's assault on the Water Gate City of Priestella, Subaru absorbed the Witch Factor of Greed which resided within the white haired calamity for over a century. Cor Leonis is a somewhat reverse form of Regulus' Lion's Heart, which Subaru manifested in Arc 6's climax. Similarly to Regulus' Authority of Greed, Cor Leonis has two phases; First Shift and Second Shift. First Shift allows him to take on the physical and mental burdens and fatigue of people he himself considers allies, effectively eliminating problems such as injuries or lack of dexterity for his comrades in combat. He is also able to shoulder fatal injuries and save his allies' lives, however, at a cost of receiving the same wounds himself as his body naturally reproduces the sources of pain he suddenly receives; a deadly side effect which can easily kill him, if ignored. When using this phase, Subaru is able to locate his allies' position and status as he sees pale white dots, wherever they're located; though his allies must also consider Subaru their own ally, otherwise Subaru will not be able to sense their location – during the very first chapter of Arc 7, Subaru tried to locate Rem's location but was unable to, as due to her loss of memories she did not recognise him as her ally. It only works on people he recognizes as his friends and allies. Second Shift or Division of Labour, however, works very similarly to Regulus' very own Lion's Heart, in a sense where Subaru can divide the burden between the allies of his choosing. He can freely regulate how big of a burden he'll employ on each person, kind of like opening or closing a tap. Naturally, the same side effects will apply to each and every bearer of the shared burden, meaning their lives rest in Subaru's hands for the entire duration. The only condition for using the Second Shift is that the person Subaru wants to share his burden with, must be willing to accept his burden and open their heart to Subaru.

Spirit Affinity: Subaru has a rare innate gift to form contracts with spirits.

Spirit User (精霊使い Seirei Tsukai): Subaru is contracted with the Artificial Spirit Beatrice, though according to her, he isn't a true Spirit User. She also has a terrible mana consumption rate and formerly got around this by draining mana from people in the mansion using the library as a medium. After their initial fight against the Oousagi, Beatrice depleted her mana reserves in its entirety, meaning she's barely able to cast basic level magic. As Beatrice's contractor, Subaru's condition and whereabouts can be sensed by her via their connection, although he is unable to do so. Furthermore, he is capable of remotely calling Beatrice out if he focuses enough on his link with her. Like Julius, Subaru is also considered to be a Spirit Knight (精霊騎士 Seirei Kishi). As she is an Artificial Spirit, she also has several conditions Subaru is forced to follow:


 * Subaru cannot form a contract with other Spirits.
 * Beatrice cannot restore mana on her own.
 * Beatrice cannot use the mana in the atmosphere.
 * Beatrice can only drain mana from Subaru.

Spirit Arts (精霊術): Subaru is capable of using Spirit Arts with Beatrice, and is thus able to use Yin Magic with her aid. He has also created a number of original spells with her, unique to the pair. He is able to use: "All those times I got hurt, all the crying I did, all the pain I felt, all the fighting I did with my life at stake… And my reward was her name and a single smile. Jeez… Talk about unequal compensation."

- Natsuki Subaru Melee Fighter: Subaru grew up an active athlete in his early years in his school, and although he drifted from partaking in any school activities prior to his transportation to the new world, he nevertheless still maintain a strict fitness regimen and as a result, he has raw athletic prowess and a high degree of physical strength, reflex and stamina. Despite all that, Subaru is not a skilled as the very vast majority of the warriors he has met in his two years of living in the New World and can barely hold his own against normal people–according to the author, a fistfight between Otto and Subaru would always end in Otto's win. To somewhat make up for his fighting shortcomings, Subaru has sharp reflexes and demonstrated it when he was able to dodge Felt's confused swings when she confused him for an intruder and Rem's flail attack in the second attempt for his life.


 * Sword Skills: He did kendo in middle school for a bit, so he has some basics in swordsmanship. After his humiliating defeat at the hands of Julius, Subaru received some rough sword training, under Wilhelm van Astrea at the Karsten mansion, Subaru unlocked a basic grasp on swordsmanship that was helped by the kendo he did when he was younger. However, it should be mentioned that despite the combative skills Subaru picked up from his time in Japan as well as his time in the other world, he was still a low-level combatant overall who would lose to almost every opponent he faced in terms of battle power as he's completely talentless with a blade and is unable to hold his own against anyone who's at least fairly skilled with a sword.
 * Subaru personally mentions that he is able to bench 80kg (176 lbs). Before being teleported into the new world, he maintained a fitness regimen of one hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats a day, allowing him extremely above average physical ability, especially for a hikikomori whose diet consisted of mostly convenience store items.

Parkour and Survival Skills: During the following year after the incident at the Sanctuary, Subaru learned the basics of parkour from Clind and began training himself. The butler also provided Subaru with essential survival skills, which came in handy to Subaru in the start of Arc 7.

Deductive Ability: Arguably Subaru's greatest asset, aside from Return by Death, is his own mind. Though he wasn't blessed with particularly noteworthy intelligence, he has always had great deductive ability, something he prides himself on. This works well with his time-looping, as the information it provides would be useless if he wasn't able to think and act on it to find the optimal course of action. Both Garfiel and Reinhard have complemented Subaru's strategic ability.

Dragon's Blood: After his fight with the Sin Archbishop of Lust and getting infected by her so-called Dragon's Blood, Subaru's entire right arm has been covered in thick and pulsating black veins. During the 5th Arc, it was this liquid that miraculously healed his shredded right leg, after his initial fight with the Sin Archbishop of Greed. Roughly three months later, during the events of Arc 7, Subaru lost his right wrist against a giant Demon Beast snake. Immediately after falling unconscious, Dragon's Blood miraculously healed it, forming an entirely new and fully functioning arm, covered in thick black and pulsating "skin". It was noted by Subaru that the new skin was rubbery to the touch and not as sensitive to the touch as the other parts of his body. The pseudo-skin was also easily peeled off, revealing fresh skin underneath.

Apostle of Greed: For partaking in the Trial of the Sanctuary, Subaru was given the mark of the Witch of Greed Echidna that indicated him as an Apostle of Greed. Because of this title, Subaru was capable of commanding the many replicas of Ryuzu Meyer created by Echidna centuries ago. The replicas were compelled to follow any order they were given, regardless of their own thoughts on the matter. This gift from Echidna essentially bequeathed Subaru with a small army for a time, however, the Witch of Greed eventually took away his title, meaning that he became unable to command Ryuzu's replicas.

TV Anime

 * Main article: List of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World episodes
 * See also: Isekai Quartet

An anime television series adaptation was announced by Kadokawa in July 2015.The series is directed by Masaharu Watanabe and written by Masahiro Yokotani, with animation by the studio White Fox. Kyuta Sakai is serving as both character designer and as chief animation director. Music for the series is composed by Kenichiro Suehiro. Kentaro Minegishi is the series' director of photography, and Yoshito Takamine serves as art director. Jin Aketagawa handled sound direction for the anime, and sound effects were produced by Yuji Furuya. Other staff members include Hitomi Sudo (editing), Yu Karube (3D director), Saaya Kinjō (art configuration), Izumi Sakamoto (color design), and Noritaka Suzuki and Gōichi Iwabatake (prop design).

The 25-episode series premiered on April 4, 2016, with an extended 50-minute first episode. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, and AT-X. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll. Episode 18 ran 2 minutes longer than a typical anime episode, clocking at 25 minutes and 45 seconds. The final episode ran 4 minutes longer, clocking at 27 minutes and 15 seconds.

The series is licensed by Crunchyroll in the United States; Funimation announced during their Katsucon 2018 panel that they will release it on home video with an English dub as part of the two companies' partnership. Crunchyroll also holds the license in the United Kingdom, where the series is distributed by Anime Limited. Both Funimation and Anime Limited's Blu-ray releases received negative attention after it was discovered that they showed visible colour banding and compression artifacts. A series of anime shorts featuring chibi versions of the characters, titled Re:Zero ~Starting Break Time From Zero~ (Re:ゼロから始める休憩時間(ブレイクタイム) Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Break Time), were produced by Studio Puyukai to accompany the series. The shorts ran for eleven episodes before being replaced by a new series of shorts, titled Re:PETIT ~Starting Life in Another World from PETIT~ (Re:プチから始める異世界生活 Re:Puchi kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), which began airing on June 24, 2016 and ran for 14 episodes. The shorts are directed, written, and produced by Minoru Ashina, with character designs by Minoru Takehara, who also animated the series alongside Sumi Kimoto and Chisato Totsuka. Kenichiro Suehiro reprised his role as composer for the shorts, while Tomoji Furuya of Suwara Pro produced the sound effects. Jin Aketagawa directed the sound at production company Magic Capsule.

The shorts aired on AT-X after each episode of the regular series, starting on April 8, 2016. Crunchyroll acquired the streaming rights to both shorts.

An original video animation (OVA) episode was announced at the "MF Bunko J Summer School Festival 2017" event on September 10, 2017. All of the main staff and cast returned for the OVA, with Tatsuya Koyanagi joining as chief director. Titled Memory Snow, the OVA was screened in Japanese theaters starting on October 6, 2018. A second OVA, titled Hyōketsu no Kizuna (氷結の絆, "Frozen Bonds"), was announced on September 23, 2018. The OVA will be an adaptation of the prequel novel Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Zenjitsu-tan: Hyōketsu no Kizuna (Re:ゼロから始める前日譚 氷結の絆) which was included with the first Japanese Blu-ray release of the television series, and focused on the meeting of Emilia and Puck.

Music
The first opening theme song was "Redo" by Konomi Suzuki, and the first ending theme was "Styx Helix" by Myth & Roid, while for episode 7 the ending theme was "Straight Bet," also by Myth & Roid. The second opening theme song, titled "Paradisus-Paradoxum," was performed by Myth & Roid, while the second ending theme, "Stay Alive," was performed by Rie Takahashi. Myth & Roid also performed the ending theme for episode 14 titled "theater D."

The second season's first opening theme song was "Realize" by Konomi Suzuki, while the second season's first ending theme song was "Memento" by Nonoc. The second season's second opening theme song was "Long Shot" by Mayu Maeshima (former vocalist of Myth & Roid), while the second season's second ending theme song was "Believe In You" by Nonoc.

The series' soundtrack was released on CD on October 26, 2016. The disk contains 21 tracks composed by Kenichiro Suehiro. "Redo," Suzuki's 10th single, was released on CD on May 11, 2016. The single was also released as a limited edition with a DVD featuring a music video, a live concert video, and a "making of" video. The songs were performed by Suzuki, with lyrics by Genki Mizuno and arrangement by Makoto Miyazaki. The CD for "Styx Helix," the series' first ending theme, was Myth & Roid's 3rd single. Written, arranged, and performed by the group, it was released on May 25, 2016, and included both regular and instrumental versions of "Styx Helix" and "STRAIGHT BET."

"Stay Alive," the second ending theme, was released as a single on August 24, 2016. The songs were performed by Takahashi (Emilia) and Minase (Rem). The songs were written and arranged by Heart's Cry. Myth & Roid released the second opening theme as a single on August 24, 2016. The CD included regular and instrumental versions of "Paradisus-Paradoxum" and "theater D."

For Memory Snow, three pieces of theme music were used: the ending theme "Memory Memory Snow" and the image song "Relive" by Nonoc, and the insert song "Memories" by Riko Azuna.

Internet radio show
An Internet radio show to promote the series named "Re: Radio life in a different world from zero" (Re：ゼロから始める異世界ラジオ生活) began broadcasting on March 27, 2016. The show was aired every Monday and was hosted by Rie Takahashi, the voice actress for Emilia. Guests that appeared on the show included Yūsuke Kobayashi (Subaru Natsuki), Inori Minase (Rem), Yumi Uchiyama (Puck), Rie Murakawa (Ram), Satomi Arai (Beatrice), Chinatsu Akasaki (Felt), Kana Ueda (Anastasia Hoshin), and Yui Horie (Felix). The show ran for 33 episodes and concluded on December 19, 2016. The first radio CD, which contains episodes 1–8 of the show, was released on June 27, 2016. The second, which contains episodes 9–16 of the show, was released on September 28, 2016. The third, containing episodes 17–24, was released on November 30, 2016, and the fourth, containing episodes 25–33, was released on March 29, 2017.

International broadcast
The series is available with multilingual subtitles on iQIYI in South East Asia, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Video Games
In August 2016, game developer 5pb. announced that they were developing a visual novel based on the series, titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Death or Kiss (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 -DEATH OR KISS-, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu -Death or Kiss-). The game follows an original story that differs from the light novel and the anime, and allows the player to choose between routes featuring Emilia, Rem, Ram, Felt, Beatrice, Crusch, Priscilla, or Anastasia. A DLC allows players who pre-ordered the game to replace the character's costumes with swimsuits. The opening theme, "yell! magic starts with a kiss" (yell！～くちびるからはじまる魔法～, Yell!~ Kuchibiru kara Hajimaru Mahō ~), was performed by Suzuki, who sung the anime's first opening theme, while the ending theme, "Dai Dai Daisuki" (ダイ・ダイ・ダイスキ), was performed by Minase and Murakawa. The game has received a generally positive score of 30/40 on Famitsu.

In Japan, the game was originally scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on March 23, 2017, but was delayed to March 30, 2017, due to certain circumstances. The limited edition of the game came with a soundtrack CD and either a Ram (for the PS4 version) or Rem (for the PSVita version) SD figure.

A virtual reality app that allows the user to interact with the character Rem was released for iOS and Android on May 26, 2017. A version featuring the character Emilia was released on June 6, 2017. The game was later ported to both PC and to the PlayStation VR.

A role-playing mobile game called Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Infinity that was made by Tianjin Tianxiang Interactive Technology and authorized by White Fox was released on January 14, 2020, in China. Another mobile game that made by Sega titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Lost in Memories (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 Lost in Memories, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Lost in Memories) was released for Android and iOS on September 9, 2020. In the game, the player can become protagonist Subaru Natsuki and relive the story of the anime. From there, the player can branch into “What If” stories. Furthermore, a new story original to the game was produced under the full supervision of original author Tappei Nagatsuki.

A tactical adventure video game was developed by Chime and published by Spike Chunsoft titled Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: The Prophecy of the Throne (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 偽りの王選候補, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Tsuwarino-ō-Sen kōho) and was released for PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch in January 2021. The game has an original story and was produced under the full supervision of original author Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by the series' illustrator Shinichiou Otsuka. It is the first official Re:Zero game to have an English release.

A role-playing browser game called Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Forbidden Book and the Mysterious Spirit that was made by DMM Games released on July 14, 2021, in Japan. On March 14, 2022, DMM Games has announced the game will be shut down on July 14, 2022.

Other media
Kadokawa published a 272-page guide to the series' first three arcs, titled Re:zeropedia, alongside the 10th volume of the novels on October 24, 2016. An official dōjinshi art book was published at Comiket, with art by Ponkan 8 (Shirobako and My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected), Yuka Nakajima (Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!, Amagi Brilliant Park), and TakayaKi (Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou). A crossover with Natsume Akatsuki's light novel series KonoSuba, titled Re:Starting Life Blessing This World was published on December 21, 2016. The book featured interviews with each series' authors and illustrators, as well as the principal voice actors in their respective anime adaptations. A one-shot crossover manga by Daichi Matsuse and Masahito Watari (illustrator of the KonoSuba manga adaptation) was also included. A fanbook containing commentary on the episodes of the anime, as well as the collected Animate Times cast and staff interviews, was published on December 31, 2016. Bushiroad released a Booster Pack set and Trial Deck+ of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- for Weiß Schwarz on December 28, 2018.

Reception
According to Japanese light novel news website LN News, the series had 1 million copies in print as of June 2016, over 2 million as of September 2016 and over 3.1 million as of May 2017. As of November 2019, the sales count is approximately 4.6 million. The light novel series was the tenth best-selling light novel series in Japan between November 2015 and May 2016, selling 263,357 copies. During that period, the first and second volumes were the 35th and 48th best-selling light novel volumes, selling 49,194 and 41,617 copies, respectively. The series was the fourth best-selling series in 2016, selling 1,007,381 copies between November 2015 and November 2016. Its first three volumes were the 14th, 21st, and 30th best selling volumes of the year, selling 155,363, 127,970, and 110,574 copies, respectively. In 2017, the series was the third best-selling series, with 925,671 copies sold. Its 1st, 10th, 11th, and 12th volumes respectively ranking 19th (60,135 copies), 25th (56,001 copies), 7th (101,480 copies), and 12th (79,431 copies) in the period between November 2016 and May 2017.

The series was the 21st best selling anime series on home video during 2016, selling approximately 68,791 Blu-ray and DVD sets. The OVA "Memory Snow," released in 2018, sold a total of 10,429 Blu-ray and DVD copies.

Theron Martin of Anime News Network reviewed the first book, praising it for being a somewhat fresher take on the "transported to another world" concept, but leveled criticism at it for bumpy and awkwardly timed dialogue and a tendency for redundancy.

The series ranked number one in a poll of 820 people conducted by the Japanese website Anime! Anime! to determine the best show of spring 2016. Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network considered the anime adaptation as one of 2016's best series.

The Managing Editor from Anime Now!, Richard Eisenbeis lists the anime as one of his top picks from 2016 for its "culturally complex" world and characters that have "their own plans, faults, and motivations." He praised Subaru as the "most complex character of the year" due to provoking the audience to "cheer him and despise him" in a world that portrayed him as the "least special person in it."

The series took second place in the 2015–2016 Newtype Anime Awards. Additionally, director Masaharu Watanabe took first place, as did Subaru, Rem, and Puck (in the best male, female, and mascot character categories, respectively). Masahiro Yokotani's screenplay took second place, while the series' character designs (by Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka and Kyuta Sakai) took third place. The series' soundtrack and second opening theme both took fourth place in their categories. The light novels and the anime both took first place in their respective categories in the 2017 Sugoi Japan Awards.

In a survey of (primarily female) Otamart users, the series was ranked second on a list of the most successful anime/manga/light novel franchises of 2016. Re:Zero was nominated for "Anime of the Year" in Crunchyroll's 1st Anime Awards in 2016, and was also the service's most-watched series of 2016, topping Yuri on Ice.

Trivia
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