Summary
Despiteits take on the isekai genre,Re:Zerois known to be a very realistic anime, particularly in terms of its characters, their emotional states, and how they emotionally and mentally handle problems. Of all these characters, Natsuki Subaru takes the limelight for having experienced some of the most tear-jerking moments of all.
However, while these moments have exposed him to sad sayings, he’s not the only one who’s had sorrowful moments in his life as the world ofRe:Zerois unforgiving and quick to take of the lives of its characters.Re:Zero’ssaddest moments are undoubtedly capable of making a wide range of individuals cry, and some of these moments are reflected in the sayings of the characters.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
Season 1, Episode 8
Shortly after reincarnatingin a fantasy world, Natsuki Subaruthought he was about to live his best life. That is until he died. Coming back with Return by Death was a surprise, but after countless deaths at the hands of Rem, her sister, and those in the mansion in general, Subaru was beginning to lose his mind.
However, refusing to believe they were bad people, Subaru kept trying to gain their favor by putting up a happy and energetic front while he was sick inside. Eventually, Emilia noticed the front he was putting up and allowed him to rest on her lap. Finally resting, Subaru let his heart out and expressed all his feelings in a heart-rending quote that showed just how much the protagonist had been through after his reincarnation.
2“Die…Die…So That I Can Live”
Season1, Episode 15
In this scene, the White Whale was after Subaru, Rem, Otto, and the fleet of carriages with them. To get away, Rem sacrificed herself to distract the Whale, but even she ended up dead. While still on the run, Otto forgot about Rem and ended up fighting with Subaru.
While Otto forgetting about Rem was sad, even sadder was Otto pushing Subaru off the carriage when he realized the White Whale was attracted to him. Due to the intricacies of the situation and the involvement of fear, Otto can’t exactly be faulted for wanting to save his skin. However, doing so at the expense of Subaru puts on a display ofman’s inhumanity to man—somethingRe:Zerois well known for portraying—and it was truly sorrowful.
3"Live…Live…Love…You.."
Season 1, Episode 15
Episode 15 ofRe:Zerohad several tear-jerking moments. One of the most impactful was undoubtedly Rem’s final moments. After facing various ordeals and dying multiple times, Subaru didn’t have it in him to continue and regressed to being a shell of a human.
Throughout his condition,he was taken care of by Rem, who believed in him nonetheless, but even that ray of light was extinguished by members of the Witch Cult who attacked their carriage and killed her. With her last breath, Rem told Subaru to live on, and that was incredibly tragic and soul-crushing—seeing Rem die in his hands.
4“I Have A Favor To Ask. Could You Turn Around? I’m Going To Cry”
Season 2 Episode 1
After dying and returning by death so many times, Subaru had undergone many forms of emotional turmoil as the piled-up deaths were beginning to affect him. However, while his overall mental fortitude did improve, he was still very susceptible to breaking down, particularly in cases where Return by Death couldn’t save everyone.
After going through various scenarios and being unable to save Rem, Subaru willingly took his own life, which was very saddening on its own. However, at the point when return by death returned him, Rem was already forgotten, meaning there was nothing Subaru could do. Lying at Rem’s side, Subaru kindly told Emilia to look away as he began bawling,making it a very tear-jerking moment.
5“Rem? Is That A Name I Should Know?”
After dying countless times and returning by death, Subaru finally managed to defeat Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti and save everyone, including himself. Everything was supposed to be fine until hementioned Rem’s name to Emilia, and the half-elf asked if she knew who that was. This moment broke Subaru and led fans to a devastating conclusion. It made it apparent that Subaru would have to return by death once more after everything. The perfect scenario wasn’t so perfect anymore.
Unfortunately, while Subaru was battling against Petelgeuse, the Gluttony Sin Archbishop had gotten to Rem and left her in a comatose state. Moreover, with his special ability, everyone’s memories of Rem had faded away except Subaru.
6“I Hate Myself.”
Season 1 Episode 15
With the whole rant, popularly known as the “I hate myself speech,” Subaru’s heroic self-deprecation speech has gone on to beone of anime’s saddest. Throughout his rant, Subaru talked about all the things he hated about himself, particularly his inability to effect change and the fact that he brought it upon himself with his complacency, even in his past life.
In his epic but deeply moving speech, Subaru also talked about how, despite his inability to do anything, he wanted everything, even though he had done nothing to deserve it. The whole rant started after Subaru declared that he’d give up, and Rem stated that giving up was easy. Unfortunately for Subaru, it wasn’t, but that wasn’t something he was allowed to explain.
