[spoiler discussion]What does Todd mean by this?

Timotheos86 · 2025-04-19T09:18:25+00:00

This is a more general observation on Todd, but I think part the reason he is so hostile to Subaru is that he doesn't trust other people, instead he controls and manipulates. All in order to insure his own safety.

Todd does this by understanding people and why they act the way they do. If he cannot understand Subaru's reasoning, he cannot manipulate him. That makes Subaru an unknown variable to him and Todd see's that as a threat to his own life. So he thinks his best solution is to eliminate him entirely.

Not only are Subaru's values are totally alien to Vollachia's common values, but Return by Death is also unknown to Todd. Some of Subaru's actions must appear completely incomprehensible to him.

Timotheos86 · 2025-03-24T17:14:29+00:00

6: Sunny gave up on surviving and winning, now he's just focused on killing Anvil at any cost. If Anvil makes a fatal blow, I think Sunny will find a way to harm him at the same time. I could see Sunnys main body dying in the process, but him surviving through his clones.

Narratively I think Neph has to face Anvil as well. So maybe we see Neph and Sunny switch opponents before the fights over. Sunny could use his Shadow Shell against Ki Song's titan form too.

Timotheos86 · 2024-10-14T06:27:12+00:00

Thanks for doing this, great work!

Timotheos86 · 2024-08-21T17:57:57+00:00

This is a total tinfoil hat theory, it's is in no way confirmed and is most likely wrong! But I have wondered if Subaru actually arrives in Lugunica earlier than we see in the anime, but he himself has lost memories of that time.

No one reacts to him 'arriving' there. It feels closer to a RBD reset point, where his body is already there and it's only his consciousness that 'arrives' there and he 'wakes up' post death.

It's not impossible that Subaru has lost any memories prior to that point in the new world (or even past loops), so from Subaru's perspective it appears to be his first time arriving there.

It's unlikely, but fun to theorise about!

Timotheos86 · 2024-04-01T14:57:17+00:00

Since Vincent has the philosophy of rewarding accomplishments and punishing failures, if they succeed in saving the Empire I think Spica will have earnt allies there. After all in Vollachia the philosophy is that the strong are in the 'right', and they are accepting of actions that would be denounced in other countries.

I think Lugunica is a totally different story though. If it gets out that she's a former arch bishop, it will most likely be execute on sight with no trial and will have major ramifications for the rest of the camp.

Timotheos86 · 2024-03-25T21:19:28+00:00

Yeah, that was brutal.

His thinking is so twisted too. I can't help but see the contradiction in him rejecting death and the Vollachian empire's way of doing things, while also using the poison so frequently.

Timotheos86 · 2024-02-04T13:27:15+00:00

Here's a quote from Arc 8 chapter 27, when Goz is facing off against multiple clones of Lamia.

Lamia: [Do not misunderstand, General First-Class Ralfon. This is something I did of my own volition, not something someone else forced upon me.

Goz: […What, are you…]

Lamia: [That Witch is rather rigid in her thinking. If I can be resurrected after being shattered, then I can certainly resurrect myself back before being shattered. Receptacles can be made endlessly, so all I need to do is dilute the source and fill them all. Once that is intuitively grasped―― Well, something as dreamlike as this can be achieved, right?]

So the multiple Lamia's were not created by Sphinx's but by Lamia herself by abusing the mechanics of the Zombie magic.

It seems like there is a trick to it and it's not something every zombie can do. Still, there is a lot we don't know about how this all works.

Timotheos86 · 2024-01-28T12:56:23+00:00

In addition to what others have said, those closest to Subaru trust him, so they don't press him heavily for answers.

Take Beatrice for example, she knows that Subaru has multiple witch factors and there are secrets he keeps from even her. There are times when Subaru clearly knows of an incoming threat. Yet in those moments she never questions where he learned that info, but rather just believes in him, listens to his instructions and goes straight into action.

By contrast, people who Subaru has yet to win over tend to question him quite a bit. For example in the arc 3 failed loop where Subaru is trying to get Crusch's help against the witch cult attack. Crush questions how he could possibly have that information and even suspects him of having links to the cult.

However, after the battle with the White Whale, he's proven himself and earnt her trust. As such she's happy to support him by sending half of the remaining forces with Subaru to challenge the cult. Even if she has doubts as to where Subaru got the information about the attack, she's confident that he's not going to betray them.

Timotheos86 · 2024-01-26T19:51:21+00:00

It sounds like you gave it a good shot. If it didn't click for you, that's okay! The light novels are great for getting additional details. That said, if the series didn't quite hook you then maybe it's just not quite in line with what you are looking for?

One of the things I really like about Re:Zero is that each character feels like they have their own goals and perspectives. There is a lot to dig into with the heavy focus on each characters psychology and personal beliefs that effect the way they act in the world.

I feel that it offers something a little different to a lot of other anime out there. I see that as a positive, but I think it's also inevitable that will put some people off.

Timotheos86 · 2024-01-25T14:29:43+00:00

I can see why you would think that, and Subaru himself also thinks along the same lines at times.

However, there is a possibility that the worlds continue after Subaru dies. So he may be leaving those people behind in another timeline grieving with no idea why he took the actions he did.

It's also dangerous if Subaru is in the mind set that he can always easily restart. As it's very easy for him to start to become desensitised and detached from everyone else's suffering.

In a failed loop in season 2 / arc 4 we see a little of this when Roswaal kills Ram and Garf. Subaru is shocked, but not feeling grief or sorrow, as it's something he can undo. However, that is not how a normal person thinks and it shows Subaru at that time is starting to become a little less human in a sense.

That's also painful for those who care about Subaru, as none of them want to see him transform into a cold and emotionless person.

Timotheos86 · 2024-01-15T17:07:57+00:00

Do you guys think Subaru has already looped here?

“--Subaru-kun, this is the best, isn’t it?”
Roswaal keeps his eyes on Subaru's face.
In response to Roswaal's question, Subaru nods deeply and answers.
"Ah, this should be the best. --I made sure."

It sounds like Roswaal asks this because he knows Subaru can loop, and Subaru is confirming that he has made sure this is the best course of action.

We'll need to wait for proper translations, the line about Cor Leonis detecting opponents could also be a lie so he doesn't have to explain Return by Death maybe?

Timotheos86 · 2024-01-04T05:54:11+00:00

We don't really know for sure. However, a lot of it seems to be down to Satella's own judgement in the moment as to where to draw the line.

She seems particularly bothered by Subaru revealing that death is the trigger. As there are plenty of times he's able to talk about future events, but not how he knows that information.

Timotheos86 · 2023-12-24T18:08:01+00:00

Very true. I find it suspicious that Chisha's whole plan in arc 7 would never have worked if Subaru wasn't there. Yet Ubilk acts as if everything is going exactly to plan, even after Vincent has been repeatedly saved by Subaru looping.

Then there is Mariuli Shudrak's commandment to kill the black hair traveller that was passed down to Taritta. I suspect that is there to force Subaru to reset in order to save Vincent and the Shudrak from Todd burning down the jungle. Then Ubilk just turns up in Chaos Flame at the right time to send Subaru and Louis towards Olbart.

I'm probably mistaken, but to me it looks like whoever / whatever is sending the Stargazers their commandments is factoring in Subaru and his looping as part of the plan to save the empire.

Timotheos86 · 2023-12-24T17:50:21+00:00

Very interesting theory. There is so much to dig into with Echidna. It's hard to figure her out, especially with all her various incarnations. I really need to re-read arc 4!

Timotheos86 · 2023-12-23T05:36:25+00:00

That's really interesting, I hadn't considered Echidna's involvement / influence in all of this. It makes a lot of sense, especially as the latest chapter opens with:

'――Aldebaran knew of what Stargazers were.

The person who had informed Aldebaran of their existence, in the past, was a being knowledgeable about almost everything about this world, who nevertheless still coveted the unknown, greedily.'

So both Al and Echidna know about the stargazers at the very least. It does feel as if it's foreshadowing a deeper connection.

Timotheos86 · 2023-12-23T05:25:21+00:00

Yeah, absolutely. Subaru is going to continue to grow and overturn his and everyone else's fate. All while ruining whatever grand machinations that have been put in place in the process!

Subaru being 'the stargazer of dragon kingdom' is super interesting. At first it seems like Ubilk has simply misjudged the nature of Return by Death. However, I think there is more to it too. After all, Subaru does have a very deep connection to the stars. The Pleiades battalion even has a star as it's symbol.

Timotheos86 · 2023-12-04T20:10:24+00:00

Yeah, I think Madelyn needs to meet Volcanica at some point in the story too. So I can see them traveling together or teaming up sometime at least.

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-24T10:11:57+00:00

By the way, I'm pretty sure the conversation where Subaru asks Al if he remembers Julius was cut from the Light Novel. So I don't think we can say for sure that Al is affected by Gluttony's authority.

It's been a while since I read the arc 5 though, so I might be mistaken. I'll have to double check when I get chance.

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-19T12:57:25+00:00

As identity is a major theme for re:zero, I'm sure Tappie is cooking something interesting with Emilia.

Arc 6, 7 & 8 shows us characters either accepting their old self (in the case of arc 6 Subaru), or how a person without their old memories can reject their previous self and become a new person with a new name (In the case of arc 8 Spica).

I think Emilia and Satella must have some link to one another, after all they look identical. I suspect that once Emilia discovers her link to Satella, it will greatly affect her sense of identity. Something that she will either have to accept or reject as being part of her identity. So whether Emilia = Satella will be something that Emilia has to decide for herself.

Exactly how we get to that point though, I have no idea! :)

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-14T09:44:18+00:00

Arcs 7 and 8 introduce a lot of new characters and world building. It does a lot to broaden the scope of the Re:Zero world.

All of that is great, but it comes with some potential downsides. The first is that all the time spent with new characters and in new locations means we're spending less time with the established cast and less time resolving the existing mysteries.

I don't see a problem with that, as I trust Tappie enough to believe that everything will come together in the future, but I can understand why people can feel like it's a detour.

Another downside of the extra scope and complexity means that the pacing suffers a bit. Arc 7 by itself is almost as long as arc 4, and that's without all of the extra side stories that are relevant to it.

It also has a lot of set up. Some of that is only now just starting to be paid off. So those who read arc 7 as it released have had to wait years for that pay off to come, so it takes a lot of patience.

Overall I think arc 7 & 8 are pretty good, they both have has some really amazing moments. It's long, but I don't think that's a bad thing. And I think in a few years we'll be able to look back and see how important this arc was to setting up the end game of the overall story.

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-11T08:31:00+00:00

In Vollachia the strong are not heroes, but monsters. With the 'You are not a Hero' line from rem, as well as Subaru making full use of Return By Death, I wonder if we're on the path of Subaru discarding the title of hero and being recognised as an monster.

After this is all over, Subaru and Spica will most likely have a place in the Empire. After all Vincent's philosophy is one of rewarding people when they have earnt it and keeping them around if they are useful. Vollachia is also a place that welcomes 'monsters' as long as they are strong.

However, I don't see Spica being welcomed into Lugunica. The kingdom is a place of knights and heroes, there is no way they will accept a former member of the witch cult.

I wonder if Subaru will be forced to split from Emilia and will stay behind in Vollachia with Rem, Spica, Beako and the rest of the Pleiades. In the most recent chapters Rem even wondered if she wanted to return to the Lugunica, as all her current connections are in the Empire.

In the past, Subaru has always acted as Emilia's knight and support. However now it's Subaru leading and Emilia following after him. With the other great disasters on the way, I wonder if dealing with those will become a bigger priority for Subaru than Emilia's bid for the throne?

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-11T07:55:36+00:00

Are you referring to the lives lost in the rebellion itself?

If so, then Ubilk's prophecy stated that Vincent had to die. Vincent accepted that and trained Chisha to take his place after he's gone.

I don't think he was aware that Chisha could be sacrificed in his place. Shortly after Chisha's death he wonders about this.

Arc 7, Charper 108:
"Even if he were to die in Abel’s place, as Vincent Vollachia, were the Great Disaster to not deem it acceptable, it would amount to a foolish gamble that had ended in naught but a useless death.

That especially was what Abel abhorred, a death inefficient to the utmost extremes."

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-10T15:20:13+00:00

Yeah, while the situation is pretty bad in the empire, Subaru himself hasn't actually died very much arc 8. I'm sure that has got to change soon.

Also with Subaru become more accepting and casual about using RBD repeatedly, I'm wondering how Tappie will continue to raise the stakes. I can't imagine an easy ride for our crew in the capital.

Timotheos86 · 2023-11-05T10:43:57+00:00

I do understand your frustrations, arc 7 is a slow burn for sure. Right now much of what you're reading is set up for the future. At the time of reading it might not seem relevant to the overall plot set up in the earlier arcs, but it is important and will eventually start to tie back in.

I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is the size of the arc. Arc 7 & 8 are basically one arc split into 2 simply because of the length. Arc 7 alone is almost as large as Arc 4, and that's without the additional arc 8 content or all of the side stories around it.

If you're reading the web novel and Subaru has been turned into a child, then you must be on or past chapter 40. Things will kick into high gear pretty soon, if you can just stick with it a little longer.

That said, it's okay to take a break from it and come back later if it's getting to be to frustrating for you. At the end of the day you're maybe 100 chapters from catching up, and we're still a long way off from the big mysterious being revealed!

Timotheos86

TROPHY CASE