Subaru Natsuki (Japanese: ナツキ・スバル, Hepburn: Natsuki Subaru) is a character from Re:Zero, a series of light novels written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka. Subaru is a young man who lives mostly at home and avoids social interactions. One day, while walking home from a convenience store, he is suddenly sent to a different world. In this new world, Subaru must learn how to survive and faces dangerous situations that cause him to die. However, each time he dies, he is brought back to a previous moment so he can try again and change events. This ability, called "Return by Death" (死に戻り, Shinimodori), helps Subaru protect the friends he meets in this world. Subaru also appears in a comedy series called Isekai Quartet.
In 2013, Nagatsuki wrote a web novel about Subaru's ability. His work impressed his editors, who asked him to expand it into light novels. Ōtsuka first drew a sketch of Subaru, but it was not accepted because Nagatsuki was worried the character might seem unkind. In the anime version of Re:Zero, Subaru is voiced by Yūsuke Kobayashi in Japanese and Sean Chiplock in English.
Subaru has become a well-known character in Japan. He won the "Best Character (Male)" award at the Newtype Anime Awards. Although some people had mixed feelings about how Subaru was written at first, critics later praised how the story shows his struggles and how he grows stronger to help others.
Creation and development
The editor of the MF Bunko J series, Masahito Ikemoto, first learned about the web novel in April 2013 when it appeared on his Twitter feed. He was very impressed by the story’s use of Subaru’s ability to return after death and how it presented a sad but unexpected way to tell a fantasy story. He later worked with the author, Nagatsuki, to turn the web novel into a light novel.
Nagatsuki first imagined that Subaru’s ability would help the main character grow stronger with each use. However, he changed his mind and decided to develop Subaru’s character through his repeated deaths. Nagatsuki wanted to explore this idea because it was uncommon in other stories. To keep the story interesting, he gave Subaru challenges during each return and included difficult experiences, such as being eaten by animals. Subaru was created as a young man who helps a silver-haired girl. The first original video animation focused on Subaru’s efforts to save the world, while the second one showed events happening alongside the main character Emilia’s journey.
The illustrator, Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka, created several character designs for the main characters and shared them with Ikemoto. Subaru’s first design made him look like a troublemaker, and Ōtsuka later said it did not resemble a teenager. Ikemoto asked for changes to make Subaru appear friendlier so the audience could feel connected to him during emotional moments. After joining the project, Yoshiko Nakamura and scriptwriter Eiji Umehara adjusted their views of Subaru and rewrote scenes where he seemed too confident. Under Masaharu Watanabe’s direction, Nakamura revised Subaru’s story in episode 6 multiple times.
Yūsuke Kobayashi voices Subaru in the Japanese version of the series. He first thought the story was a romantic comedy but became interested after reading more of it. He describes Subaru as someone who tries to prevent bad outcomes using his ability to return after death. Kobayashi sees Subaru as a cheerful teenager despite facing dangers. He was surprised when the staff cast him for the role after hearing his voice. During preparation, he said, “Isn’t this too many lines for an anime?!” because he had to portray many different emotions, which made recording sessions very tiring. In the early episodes, Kobayashi became friends with Yumi Uchiyama, the voice actor for Puck, who supported him.
Sean Chiplock voices Subaru in the English version of the series. Chiplock describes Subaru as an energetic character with a strong sense of justice, similar to Jin-Mori, the main character of The God of High School.
Appearances
Subaru is the main character in the story. He is a 17-year-old boy who does not work or go to school and lives at home. One day, while walking home from a store, he is suddenly taken to a different world. There, he meets a girl named Emilia, who has silver hair and is part elf. He quickly becomes very fond of her. When he arrives in this new world, Subaru gains a special power called "Return by Death." This ability lets him go back in time after dying, but he keeps all his memories from before. He cannot tell anyone about this power because doing so causes him to lose consciousness briefly, and invisible hands may appear to press on his heart, which could harm others nearby. This power also makes him emit a scent that magical creatures, called "mabeasts," can sense, and it repels people who can detect it.
After Subaru is hurt during a fight with a man named Julius, he has a big argument with Emilia. She decides to stop speaking to him and leaves him alone. Knowing that a mansion and village will be attacked, Subaru tries to get help from other people who are candidates to rule the kingdom, but they all refuse. While preparing to evacuate people, he faces a powerful creature known as the White Whale. After dying and returning to life, Subaru feels extremely hopeless and talks seriously with a girl named Rem, asking her to leave with him. However, Rem encourages Subaru to keep trying and tells him she loves him, even though she knows his heart belongs to Emilia. Inspired by her words, Subaru decides to start over from the beginning. Later, Subaru and Rem fight the White Whale after forming an alliance with other groups. A man named Wilhelm defeats the White Whale. After making up with Emilia, Subaru tells her he loves her, and she thanks him for saving her. When Subaru asks Emilia about his feelings for Rem, she does not remember Rem again, which surprises him. Despite trying to change the past by dying multiple times, Subaru cannot make others remember Rem, who is found in a state of not moving or responding.
In the third part of the story, Subaru officially receives a black dragon named Patrasche as his companion. In the fourth part of the web novel, Subaru makes a deal with a character named Beatrice and learns to move quickly and use whips as weapons. By the end of the fourth part, Subaru becomes Emilia's official knight.
Subaru also appears in a mobile game called Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: Lost in Memories, where players can choose different paths that change the story's outcome, creating "what if" scenarios. A visual novel titled Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Death or Kiss includes a story different from the original book and anime, allowing players to choose routes featuring characters like Emilia, Rem, Ram, Felt, Beatrice, Crusch, Priscilla, or Anastasia. Subaru also appears in a tactical-adventure video game called Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World: The Prophecy of the Throne. He is a character in a crossover comedy series called Isekai Quartet, where he interacts with characters from other fantasy stories in a school setting.
Reception
The character received the Best Character (Male) award in the 2015–2016 Newtype Anime Awards. In a Crunchyroll poll, Subaru received 2,246 votes and was named the second most popular Re:Zero character after Rem. In the Crunchyroll 2020 awards, Yūsuke Kobayashi won the Best Male Seiyuu category for his role as Subaru. FandomSpot author R. Romero ranked Subaru as the best Isekai protagonist in anime, noting that Subaru challenges the typical Isekai protagonist role by facing many difficulties.
Reactions to Subaru in the light novels have been mixed. At Anime News Network, Theron Martin praised the series for offering a fresh take on the "transported to another world" idea but criticized it for awkward dialogue and repetition, which made Subaru seem unlikable. In the next volume, Rebecca Silverman praised Subaru’s use of the Return by Death ability to save people he cares about. Kim Morrissy noted that Subaru’s traits are unique in the Isekai genre because he struggles with trauma and self-doubt rather than easily completing tasks.
Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network highlighted the anime’s use of Subaru’s death scenes as a unique feature, as the story uses them to explore the characters, especially Subaru. He described Subaru as a flawed, human character shaped by the events he experiences. Anime Now had mixed views, calling Subaru a "genre-savvy" character with common traits but a complex development. The Fandom Post noted that Subaru’s growth in the anime, including gaining Ram’s trust and discovering the shaman’s identity, made him more appealing. THEM Anime Reviews criticized Subaru’s impulsive behavior and overuse of Return by Death, which reduced tension. They also called him the "opposite" of Kirito, contrasting Subaru’s difficult life with Kirito’s. The reviewers noted Subaru’s character development improved, especially in a scene where he had a meaningful conversation with Rem.
In another article, Manga.Tokyo compared how Subaru handles a suicide in the anime and light novel to undo Rem’s death. The anime’s portrayal of Subaru’s mental state and suicide was praised for being more realistic than the original version. The article noted that Subaru’s sacrifices to save others made him more beloved by Japanese audiences. The writer compared Subaru’s deaths to those in Puella Magi Madoka Magica and noted similarities between Subaru and Konosuba’s Kazuma Sato, as both characters are transported to different worlds. Unlike typical Isekai stories focused on quests, both series emphasize character development. These similarities led to humorous parallels in Isekai Quartet, which Anime News Network found funny. Crunchyroll noted that while Subaru’s relationships with other characters received attention, his bond with Emilia was more appealing due to their mutual support and Subaru’s character growth, which other couples lacked.