CONFRONTING THE PAST | Re:Zero Season 2 Episode 4 REACTION! 

one of my favorite episodes omg 😪

“We didn’t have you because we wanted you to do something for us. We had you because we wanted to do something for you.” One of my favorite quotes. It’s so 🥹🥹

there's an interview with the author and they said that until today subaru's family still struggling and searching for their son

Tappei has said this in a QnA Q: Now that their eldest son Subaru has been summoned to another world, what’s the situation in the Natsuki household? They seem like a couple that it wouldn’t be too surprising if they chased after him to the other world.** A: They’re enduring the disappearance of their eldest son somehow or other. The police investigation has no leads, and Kenichi is trying to comfort Naoko but it’s not that effective. They’re passing each day tearfully. This is a heartbreaking conformation that Subaru’s disappearance hurt his family more than he can even imagine. The scene with Subaru’s mother saying “Take Care” can be interpreted differently as well. In Japanese culture this saying would translate to Subaru’s mom saying “Please comeback safely” and Subaru should have said “I’ll go and I’ll comeback”. But when the last time Subaru saw his mother. He didn’t replied back to her. Subaru’s mom could have interpreted this as when Subaru was leaving home, he did not had any intention of coming back. There is a high chance that Subaru’s mom thinks that Subaru took his own life.

One of the best episodes in anime in general, not just Re:Zero. Glad you enjoyed it.

This is one of my all time favorite Re:Zero episodes. It recontextualizes Subaru's behaviour from season 1 so much and gives us a compelling explanation of his many idiosyncrasies: The constant poses and self-introductions are a means to stand out and be noticed as "Natsuki Subaru", the way he acts super extroverted and constantly makes quips is a way of getting people to like him, and the severe confrontation during the Throne Room Scene with the Knights of Lugunica similarly stems from his insecurities of being "not enough" to live up to others expectations. Subaru in season 1 was always interesting to me because you could tell that there was something brewing under the surface, especially after Rem's "My Hero" speech , but season 2 finally gave us actual depth for this awesome character. Season 1 might be the better overall production, but I wholeheartedly believe that the material season 2 covers is leagues above anything that came before!

I love how this episode showed us that the thing Subaru needed was to meet people who had no knowledge of his dad/past, to be able to evalutate Subaru totally separated from all the baggage he had from his parents/society. And then Subaru did the same thing for Rem and Emilia. They were stuck in their own pasts and Subaru, with his complete outsider perspective, was able to look past all the societal baggae they were carrying and got them to appreciate themselves. Its really a great message about just loving yourself and not getting bogged down in what others expect.

Subaru legitimately has some of the best parents in anime. Also, it’s clearer in the LN but at first he couldn’t remember the other world, that’s why he was acting like everything was normal. Also, the headaches were anxiety attacks, and usually calmed down after he missed the chance to go to school in the morning, which is why he was watching the clock. If you recall the scene from ep 18, he tells Rem that before he met them he’d been doing nothing with his life, and now we see what he meant. Unfortunately the author has said that he won’t be returning to his original world, but perhaps there’s a way for him to let them know that he’s doing all right eventually.

Subaru struggled with anxiety, which is why he had panic attacks.

This is the episode when Re:Zero went from a cool anime I was enjoying to one of my favorite animes, especially after dropping out of school for 2 years

I like how things are completely mixed up for Subaru, in most anime, parents are usually completely absent, horrible, or dead. But for Subaru, his parents are wonderful and love him. But his dad was TOO GOOD of a person, and it made Subaru feel like he couldn’t live up to his dad. Even if his dad never said anything to him to cause this, Subaru himself felt he just couldn’t be good enough. I love how it betrays your expectations for a backstory of an anime MC, it’s honestly more heartbreaking that his parents are alive and actually great parents, because it makes it all rhe more frustrating that they were separated forever 💔 One thing to point out, Subaru acted this way with his family but he never got a chance to have a heart to heart talk with either of them. Subaru got some closure, but it wasn’t even real. However his parents will forever wonder what happened to their son 💔💔 edit: also i do really relate to subaru, its why hes my favorite protagonist of all time. the journey he goes on is incredible, its never about strength or wisdom, but self love and confidence. my life is also extremely similar, i was a shut-in who couldn’t live up to my parents expectations (and my own for what i thought i needed to be like). Seeing this backstory for subaru when i was his age, it had an incredible impact on me. Subaru is probably the fictional character that has the most impact for me. Even the way both of us act is similar, im very loud and stupid and say cringe things because i dont think what i say. i tend to get a little obsessive over people . but im not lying, if it wasnt for re zero i would be probably be a possessive pos to the girls i like. it made me reflect on my i act like that and to control myself

I always cry in this episode. The same thing happened to me so Subaru's pain hit close to home

2:54 hes having an anxiety attack cuz of school. thats why he said "that normally calms it down" he gets late to school on purpose as an excuse since he feels bad and if he can say "i was late to school so now theres no point in doing it" then he feels less guilty and anxious about not going

i wasn't crying until it showed that he didn't say goodbye to his mother before he was isekai’d...

It’s so sad knowing they’re still looking for him in the normal world and won’t probably ever know why he went missing

"Your parents would never do that" Yes, I know they won't. Even Subaru himself knows well that they won't. That's what makes his story so interesting and realistic. Subaru isn't a fat, smelly, degenerate otaku who has shut himself down due to a past trauma someone else inflicted on him such as the case of Rudeus. His strife is completely internal, and caused by something many kids feel which is imposter syndrome due to not being able to live up to their parents' expectations, specially if they're Asian. It simply externalizes in him being afraid of his roots, afraid of people who know him by his family, afraid of places where he has to meet other's expectations of him. What's even worse is that there was a period of time when he could do that. Many kids grow up being good at something only to suddenly find themselves barely average in that field when they're older. Studies and sports have the biggest case studies for this. On top of that when you're always compared to someone excellent (in your eyes) when younger but suddenly lose that only bit of connection you have with them, you really start doubting what even is the purpose of your being here. These are some of the feelings Subaru had been dealing with, but his connection to Emilia and Rem has helped him find that purpose which is why he is finally able to confront his dad about it. Season 2 is interesting because it is exactly that sense of purpose of his which gets abused and manipulated in this season. "We didn't have you because we wanted you to do something for us. We had you because we wanted to do something for you." - Perhaps the greatest and most reassuring line a parent can say to their teenage child going through an identity crisis. This episode of Re:Zero plays into the story's strongest points and I'm happy to highlight it in the comments of as many reaction channels as I can.

"That's when I finally realized that there was nothing special about me at all." Realizing that as a kid is depressing

its really sad to think what his parents must be dealing with in his world, with his depressed state theres the possibility that they think he may have commited suicide

Subaru and Kazuma. Potentially my favorite MCs of all time.

As a guy who dropped out of college and was practically a neet mooching off of my parents for 4-5 years until I got my shit together, this episode made me bawl my eyes out like a little kid. It's just so fucking relatable to anyone who has ever felt hatred towards their self at a young age. Or any age really.

For me personally, this is still the best episode of Rezero so far. Made me cry so bad because it was so relatable. The messages they were trying to convey was meaningful for maybe a lot of people, including me. That's why I loved this episode so much.

More than episodes 15, 16 17 and 18, this one broke me to pieces. Little bro saw himself as a failure for not living up to his expectations, so he gave up and shut himself into his room... Damm that hits home.

This isn't just one of my favorite episodes of Re Zero, this is one of my favorite Anime episodes in general. I really related to Subaru on a deep level.

crazy to think one of Re:Zero's best episodes is a slice of life

No matter how many times I see this episode i always cry it's just too good of an episode, it was done so well and makes me think about my parents ( lost them when I was 14)

I love your comment on the world or mayonnaise line 😭

Man this episode still hits like a truck

This episode man, never fail to make my eyes watery

I haven't watched many reactions yet but I'm a season 2 addict going through these now, and you're like the most empathic viewer I've seen.

This episode solidly completed Natsuki Subaru. There are points where you can't root for him, some even hate him; I think we've all felt frustrated with him at times. But this. This is what makes him a powerful protagonist. I love everyone in this show, but there's no more complex and trialled protagonist than Re:Zero. He's real. Ugly, emotional and self-bettering. He is a true hero.

man when this season first came out, i literally cried every episode at some point, cried again watching this reaction :')

The best re zero episodes are when the characters are just yapping

This season, Emilia's friends will be saved emotionally.

My heart breaks for Subarus parents still looking for him

One of the best ep of the series

This one is probably tied with my favourite episodes. Season 1 ep 18 and this are just top tier

yep his parents are still searching for him, while he's alive in the isekai-ed world let that sink in,,,,

to make it hurt more its been confirmed by the author that subarus parents are depressed and always searching for him on earth

The worse is when you think about his family, how they know nothing about where Subaru is...

What's more sadder than dead parents backstory, a caring parents you left without sayin a word... Fun fact : The author said if Subaru's dad get transported in re zero world instead of Subaru, he would do soooooo much better LOL Another fun fact : Subaru likes to cross dress and he cross dress as a girl in his first day of school(I think it's in his elementary days cause his hair that time is long) as I remember LOL Another fact : The author himself don't know if Subaru wants to go back in his own world if he have a chance... Another fact : If Subaru didn't got summoned in Re zero world, his father would help him to get through college/highschool and then got a job and marry a cute kohai/junior like Rem and they both got married.

Yeah I cried too

This episode messed me up soooo much... good luck with the rest of S2!

Subaru has suffered more than any other anime character and to make it worse he did not die he was taken from his world to get to the other world so it’s not like he is getting a second chance of living he is getting taken from his first chance

Something thats also a bit sad to me is that his new situation and maybe mental state is objectively worse than when he was at home…

Of course nothing is official yet because only 8 of the 13 planned story arcs have been completed in the WN (and soon to be LN) to date, but if Tappei Nagatsuki's words are to be believed, Subaru's parents will never see their son again - and as others have pointed out already, they are not daijobu.

Are you excited for Oshi no ko season 2 next month?

I hope Subaru can at least make some kind of contact with his parents someday to tell them he’s ok because from their perspective, their depressed son just suddenly went missing

A somewhat sad fact about this is that, according to the author, Subaru's parents are still looking for him after being transported to the other world.

1 fact: in the real world, Subara's parents are very upset and worry because he doesn't die like isekai character, he disappears.

😭

Itterasai

1:10 Yeah Subaru seems weak in comparison to the re zero world, but he’s actually pretty strong as far as our normal standards go lol. I guess you could also say he’s crazy strong since he was even able to not not only land a hit on Elsa, but actively fight her with a big ass bat. Elsa is the same woman who is as fast as Mach 1 lmao. Anime logic or Subaru is superhuman(just not enough for re zero world)? You call it 💀

Please react on Naruto ❤

the show would be 6/5 without his cringe pose ngl

I´m just wandering around, but based on this episode and the fact that subaru was so suddenly summoned into the new world, it´s probable that Subaru suffers from heart disease and he got a heart attack when he was going out of the store. He didn´t survive and that´s why he is in this world. Maybe the jealousy witch crushed his heart, as she use to do