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FEATURE: *Updated* Every Time Subaru Dies in Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Paul Chapman (@gooberzilla) struggling in the jaws of a life-sized model hippo.

 

Editor's Note: Death count has been updated as of 12/28/2020

 

Content and Spoiler Warning: This article contains huge spoilers for Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-. It also contains references to death (in various gruesome flavors), violence, and suicide, so reader discretion is strongly advised.

 

If you're familiar with the premise of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (aka “Anime Groundhog Day,” hereafter Re:ZERO), then you know that for reasons that yet remain mysterious and that likely involve witchcraft, the hero of the show, Natsuki Subaru, has a pretty rough time after he ends up in a fantasy world with a limited form of reincarnation.

 

Every time Subaru dies, the timeline resets from his perspective to an earlier “save point,” allowing him to re-live scenarios and attempt to alter their outcome for the better. The process is far from perfect and often horrendously painful, as only Subaru retains his memories from defunct timelines, and he's unable to communicate the experience of this phenomenon to his friends, allies, and loved ones.

 

 

With that in mind, we here at Crunchyroll have chronicled every time that Subaru expires, passes on, rings down the curtain and joins the choir invisible in the currently published episodes of Re:ZERO, all for the edification of our faithful viewers. Don't fret, folks. No matter how hard Subaru kicks the bucket, he always has another chance to start life in another world from zero.

 

Please note that the first dozen demises chronicled here use the time-stamps of the original release of Re:ZERO, rather than the Director's Cut. And now, without further ado, the Many Deaths of Subaru Natsuki, Isekai Fantasy Light Novel Protagonist:

 

Natsuki Subaru is menaced by the voice of the unseen Elsa Granheirt, an assassin who is moments from taking his life in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #1: Sliced Up by Elsa Granhiert (beginning about 3:05 minutes into Episode 1B).

 

Natsuki Subaru watches helplessly as his friends are cut down by the assassin Elsa Granhiert in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in a Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #2: Sliced Up by Elsa Granhiert, Again (beginning about 21:40 minutes into Episode 1B).

 

Natsuki Subaru vents his frustration after running into the same group of street hooligans after mutliple reincarnations in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #3: Stabbed by Street Punks (beginning about 3:20 minutes into Episode 2).

 

Natsuki Subaru awakens to find the scars on his hands missing, indicating he has died and "reset" without knowing it in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #4: As-Yet-Undefined Death In the Evening Hours (beginning about 23:55 minutes into Episode 4).

 

Natsuki Subaru begins to fall victim to a deadly curse in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #5: Magical Curse + Bonus Bludgeoning by Unknown Assailant (beginning about 22:50 minutes into Episode 5).

 

Natsuki Subaru attempts to flee from a murderous Rem in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #6: Bludgeoned by Rem and Sliced Up by Ram (beginning about 1:15 minutes into Episode 7).

 

Natsuki Subara prepares to fling himself off of a cliff in order to reset the timeline in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #7: Unlicensed Cliff-Diving (beginning about 23:50 minutes into Episode 7).

 

Natsuki Subaru is frozen solid by an unseen force in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #8: Popsicle Impression (beginning about 2:25 minutes into Episode 15).

 

Natsuki Subaru openly weeps for the deaths of his friends before being swiftly executed by Puck in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #9: Freezing Decapitation Double Whammy (beginning about 21:10 minutes into Episode 15).

 

Natsuki Subaru begins to freeze solid beneath the icy wrath of Puck in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #10: Frozen Solid & Smashed to Pieces by Puck (beginning about 2:10 minutes into Episode 18).

 

Natsuki Subaru becomes possessed by the disembodied spirit of Petelgeuse, the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV Anime.

 

Death #11: Magic & Sword Assisted Suicide to End Petelgeuse's Possession (beginning about 21:10 minutes into Episode 23).

 

Natsuki Subaru prepares to stab himself in the throat with a broken sword in an effort to reset the timeline in order to save Rem in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Death #12 from Season 2: Reenacting Romeo & Juliet While Trying to Rescue Rem (beginning about 13:10 minutes into Episode 26).

 

Subaru realizes that he's been dealt a fatal blue to his abdomen by an unseen assailant in a scene from Episode 30 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

 

Death #13: Sliced Up by Elsa Granhiert, Once More, With Feeling (beginning about 25:20 minutes into Episode 30).

 

Subaru wallows in the depths of despair while awaiting the killing blow from Elsa in a scene from Episode 32 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

 

Death #14: Sliced Up by Elsa Granhiert, Part IV: The Revenge (beginning about 4:35 minutes into Episode 32).

 

The Great Rabbit appears to be a harmless little bunny with a horn growing out of its forehead in a scene from Episode 33 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

 

Death #15: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (beginning about 15:55 minutes into Episode 33).

 

Subaru grasps a glowing shard while being enveloped in The Witch of Envy's dark magic in a scene from Episode 35 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

 

Death #16: Self-Inflicted Stab Wound to Escape Satella's Grasp (beginning about 3:00 minutes into Episode 35).

 

Subaru slowly bleeds out while resting his head on Emilia's lap in a scene from Episode 36 of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

 

Death #17: Exsanguination from Countless Bunny Nibbles (beginning about 24:35 minutes into Episode 36).

 

They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but that old adage doesn't really take the effects of “Return by Death” into account. Luckily for the viewers, Subaru persists despite the constant threat of death and dismemberment, growing as a person and becoming more nuanced as a character with every incarnation, involuntary or otherwise.

 

Natsuki Subaru flashes Emilia a wink and a thumb's up in a scene from the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- TV anime.

 

Special thanks go to Kara Dennison and Kevin Matyi for chronicling the lifes and deaths of poor Natsuki Subaru. If you'd like a little more Re:ZERO in your life, you can always check out the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL Re:ZERO REWATCH where Crunchyroll's writers explored the series. The second season of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, and English language versions of the original Re:ZERO light novels are available from Yen Press.

 

What's your favorite (or least favorite) manner of Subaru being sent to meet his maker? Which scenes did you find particularly visceral or dramatic? Let us know in the comments section below, and stay safe out there, isekai fantasy light novel fans!

 

 

 

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

 

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.



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