He officially became Emilia's knight and subsequently became a knight of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica[1] (though with no official duties towards the Kingdom) following the incident at the Sanctuary and is later revealed to be a Sage Candidate: someone with the necessary qualifications to become a Sage.
Born and raised in Japan, Natsuki Subaru is a young Asian teenage boy. He stands at a height of 172 cm with an athletic physique which he maintains both prior to and during his summoning to Lugunica.
He inherited a shared mix of physical traits from both of his parents; his medium-length thick black hair bore a striking resemblance to his father as well as his face shape, while his black (brown in the anime) sanpaku eyes which have small irises that made the whites of his eyes stand out, were inherited from his mother although some people find them intimidating, with the exception of some individuals who like them, namely Emilia. Just like his father, Subaru has quite an athletic build, as back in Japan, he was raised as an athlete by his father. Despite his shut-in nature later on, he nevertheless continued to train himself to maintain his physique.
Subaru's main attire throughout the early parts of the series is his cheap, athletic-theme outfit he was summoned in. The ensemble consists of deep-grey tracksuit bottoms with an orange stripe down the side, black sneakers with vibrant orange laces and soles, and a black t-shirt. Additionally, Subaru has with it a zipped-up white tracksuit jacket with a stand up collar, deep-grey sleeves with an orange line running down their sides and orange cuffs, and deep-grey shoulders. On the left breast of the jacket is a black brand symbol that is reminiscent of the letter N.
In the Water Plumage Inn in Arc 5, he wears a yukata. Later on during the Battle for Priestella, Subaru's right arm and leg were affected by Capella's cursed Dragon blood, thus he wrapped a bandage around his leg to hide the wound. Following his battle with the Elgina, the cursed blood that was visible on his arm is no longer there, thus it appears to be seemingly back to normal.
During his adventure in the Pleiades Watchtower in Arc 6, Subaru wore an outfit better suited for travelling. The outfit in question consisted of an orange scarf that matched the colour featured on his track suit, black trousers tucked into lighter brown boots with black lacing, a black shirt that matched the shade of his trousers, a light brown buttoned blazer worn atop the shirt that ensured that only the shirt's collar was visible, a brown belt matching the shade of the boots, and an open green jacket. He also occasionally wore a long black hooded cloak alongside the outfit.
In Arc 7, Subaru was forced to cross-dress and adopt the name Natsumi Schwartz. During the Bloodless Siege of Guaral, Subaru wore a transparent primarily white and orange long dancer's dress adorned with ornaments and gems, and a black wig, as well as a fake chest and a large amount of make-up. Following the group's victory and the departure for Chaosflame, Subaru clad himself in a black wig and a primarily red and black military outfit with a red beretta, disguising himself as Vincent's female military advisor in order to not garner too much attention. Coupled with his fake name which he had used once in the month between Arc 2 and Arc 3, Subaru attempted to discretely alert his allies from the Kingdom, of his location in the Empire.
Later in the same arc, Subaru took on the form of a 10-year-old child due to Olbart Dunkelkenn's infantilization technique. He began wearing an oversized green shirt with rolled sleeves and a yellow collar, as well as a yellow band serving as a makeshift belt for his jeans. However, he eventually returned to his original form towards the end of Arc 8.
Subaru dressed in an attire protecting him from the harsh environment of the Auguria Sand Dunes.
Subaru dressed in a butler uniform during the time he served Roswaal.
Subaru posing as Natsumi Schwartz, during the Bloodless Siege of Guaral.
Subaru as the military advisor of Vincent Vollachia.
In the Sloth What-IF story, where Subaru chose to abandon Emilia to run away with Rem, Subaru's hair was longer. Although he kept his basic messy hairstyle, Subaru now had a clump of hair tied up in a ponytail, apparently influenced by the style of Wilhelm van Astrea. Furthermore, he ditched his signature tracksuit, for a more comfortable and environment-specific dark-blue kimono and a pair of simple wooden zori.
In the Gluttony IF, Subaru had given himself a scar on his head that damaged his eye and blinded it, and his hair had also turned white.
Personality
While Subaru does not tend to read into the situations he encounters, ultimately leading him to make irrational decisions, he is loyal to those he holds dear, willing to help them, even if that means taking the thorny path. He had his resolve confirmed through the many situations and circumstances he faces in the fantasy world, originally having been one to always take the 'easy' route. As a shut-in NEET, he was hopeful of the possibilities that being sucked into a new realm brings, but later realizes the realities of the predicament he is in. Eventually, he resolves himself to be faithful and protective of the ones that he cares most about.
Beneath his eccentric demeanor, however, Subaru is actually a very insecure person suffering from a severe inferiority complex due to growing up in his father's shadow. This also caused him to develop a fundamental misunderstanding of relationships where he believed he would be abandoned if he wasn't the center-of-attention. Even his otaku-tendencies were really just another method he used to stand out. Ironically, though, these desperate attempts to connect to others only caused him to make a fool of himself and push others away.
After being summoned to a new world, he saw this as a chance to make a fresh start. However, he didn't change as a person. He decided that he would save Emilia, and eventually, he was exposed for what he was: a person forcing their feelings on someone else, and he realized that his white-knighting doesn't work out in the real world. He thought of himself as the hero of his own story, but he was faced with reality when he didn't have the overpowered abilities of a usual protagonist. However, he chose to ignore that he wasn't the hero and that the world would go on with or without, and he tried to force his way into Emilia's affairs, and in the process, made a complete fool of himself.
The world then proceeded to show him how weak he was, and that he couldn't save anyone. After being utterly broken, he wanted to run away, but he was stopped by Rem. This became the turning point for his character; he truly made an effort to change himself rather than expect that as the supposed protagonist, everything would work out. Having hit his breaking point and come to terms with his inner conflicts with some encouraging words from Rem, Subaru began reflect on his actions and take step to amend his broken relationships, ultimately learning to become more considerate of Emilia's feelings rather than just forcing his expectation that she would reward him. Now, he tries to live up to the expectations of a hero that Rem had for him.
In time, Subaru ended up gaining self-harming habits, such as biting his lips or scratching his arms until they bleed, and so that he wouldn’t forget or become used to the feeling of pain that goes alongside his Return by Death, he’d even requested the poison he’d use later to be painful, something which others have questioned.
After his infantilization in Arc 7, Subaru regained much of his confidence that he’d lost as he aged, which when paired up with his usual habits alongside his Authority, have made him much more of a force to be reckoned with, as well as significantly bolder, allowing him to pick fights with and persuade people as stubborn as Gustav Morello and Jawsrough into following him. Likewise, he has shown to be even more charismatic, managing to gain the loyalty and friendships of nearly 1000 people during his travels in Vollachia, as well as the assistance of numerous similarly stubborn people such as the Nine Divine Generals and Vollachian Emperor.
History
Back in his original world, Subaru was the only son to two odd, but well-meaning parents, Kenichi and Naoko. From a young childhood age, Subaru idealized his dad in particular, a popular man in his community who was highly talented in whatever he did, a loving father who prioritized his family above everything else, and had a boisterous personality that charmed anyone he met. Kenichi was everything he wanted to be and growing up around him had a huge influence on Subaru's life. Taking pride in being his son, Subaru worked to live up to the expectations that came with that in his mind. For a time, he achieved this, as Subaru found himself smarter, more physically able, and popular than his peers. When he received praise, Subaru would of hear how it was expected of him being Kenichi's son, which made him feel special and entitled to a sense of superiority.
However, as the young boy's small world started to gradually expand upon entering middle school, Subaru would come face to face with limits of his own ability. Suddenly, he found people who were becoming smarter and faster than he was and, in general, being better at the things he used to be. He felt as if he was slowly losing his place and began to harbor a deep sense of shame at letting down his parents and fear of everyone leaving him for failures, doubt and self-loathing began to develop in his heart. But rather than prioritizing getting better at those things to combat his anxieties, Subaru instead placed more importance on doing daring and outrageous things to maintain his fragile dignity and keep himself the center of attention. However, the more reckless Subaru's actions became, the fewer people wanted to be around him. Yet Subaru continued to deceive himself and believe his own lies because as the son of his seemly indomitable father, he couldn't be seen as a failure. Eventually, one day, Subaru noticed he no longer had any friends and in his loneliness, Subaru realized he wasn't anyone special.
From then on, the comparisons between his father and himself turned into a curse that wounded and suffocated him everywhere he went, yet his strong admiration for his dad made it impossible to show that pain to anyone. Eventually, he stopped trying to stand out and when high school came, he found himself in a new environment where no one knew his past. Seizing this opportunity, Subaru tried to build new interpersonal relationships, but he had no idea how to be himself around others and instead only ended up emulating his father, his only frame of reference which instead led to others to treat him as a clown and classmates simply ignored his existence altogether. One day, Subaru skipped a day of school out of lack of enthusiasm, which slowly turned into a constant thing until at one point, he hadn't been to class for three months. When out of public spaces, Subaru felt liberated, but more than that, his own degradation meant people would start distancing him from Kenichi and in a twisted sense of hope, his parents come to acknowledge him as worthless and cast him aside in self-abandonment.
According to the author, after Subaru went missing (was transported to the Kingdom of Lugunica), a police investigation was launched but ended up empty-handed.
Abilities
Return by Death (死に戻り, Shinimodori): Subaru's trump card and the most recognized ability from the series, Return by Death, allows Subaru to return to an unspecified, unpredictable and uncontrollable "save point", that was set some time before his death. It happens instantly after his life was taken, there's no lag between the point of death and the point of resurrection, and there is no known limit to how many times Subaru can "Return by Death", making this ability an effective way of permanently bypassing death as of Arc 7. To Subaru, it looks exactly as if someone switched camera angles inside his head and the sudden influx of new information and sensations often makes him feel dizzy and confused. In Volume 11, it is revealed by the Witch of Greed that Return by Death is actually an Authority[2] given to him by the Witch of Envy[3] in order to prevent him from being shackled by mortality, granting him a means to challenge fate itself and beat impossible odds in which he's destined to die in the most cruelest of ways.[4] Likewise, the Witch seems to have some control over it, as when the connection between her and Subaru was temporarily severed in Arc 7, his checkpoints not only became erratic, but they also seemed to reduce in time with every reset. Having said that, Subaru's application of this Authority – namely to use it to save his friends and loved ones from their untimely demises – is something willingly and consciously done by Subaru alone.[5] This often results in Subaru being given almost absurdly short times between his save points and deaths, and at times, even preventing him from saving some of his friends such as when Rem's name and memories were eaten by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony in Arc 3's second interlude, where Subaru was given a save point hours after Gluttony and Greed's attack on Rem's carriage convoy.
Penalties: Subaru is unable to reveal his ability to others. There are a few primary penalties for attempting to do so:
If Subaru tries to tell someone about his ability, the Witch of Envy will stop time and squeeze his heart. This penalty does not work within the Castle of Dreams as it is outside of the world.
If Subaru was to tell Emilia about his ability, it would end in her heart being crushed by the Witch's hand. The exact explanation about this penalty is currently unknown, as this penalty is so far only confirmed to affect Emilia and no one else.[6]
It will increase the density of Witch Factor at least for a short time, drawing any witchbeasts in the immediate area to him like moths to a flame, which Subaru has used to his advantage.
Though there were no penalties within the Castle of Dreams, the Witch of Envy still possessed Emilia in the outside world and devoured everything with her shadows in response to revealing Return by Death to Echidna.
In the case of Rui Arneb, who had become aware of his Authority and attached herself to him, the Witch of Envy summoned a mass of shadows to force Subaru to reset until she was removed.
Future Recollection: The trait that makes Subaru so dangerous is without a doubt his ability to recall the futures he had experienced through Return by Death. The fact that he can recall the events of the previous loops he had died in, means that Subaru inherently knows the rough actions the people around him will take, almost like a form of precognition. As he usually tries to do different things every time he returned to life, Subaru is able to gather more intel on how his allies and opponents behave under specific conditions, allowing him to predict their movements and plan strategies accordingly. Although he is average at best in terms of intellect and strategic planning, Subaru's recollections of failed futures as well as his basic problem solving abilities essentially turned Subaru into someone who expertly manipulates the events around him. Within a year and a half of arriving to the other world, Subaru had helped orchestrating the downfall of the Sin Archbishops of Sloth, Greed and Gluttony, the Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert, the Witch Sphinx, and two of the Three Great Witchbeasts—the White Whale and the Great Rabbit. His recollection of the future also allows him to forge better relationships with those he considers allies, allowing him to amass an impressive web of political connections and friends in high places.
Authorities (権能, Ken'nō): Subaru is currently able to use two Authorities: Sloth and Greed. According to Echidna, Return by Death is also an Authority that seems to have been gifted to him by Satella, but no actual conclusions of which Sin it represents have been drawn yet.
Authority of Sloth (怠惰の権能, Taida no Ken'nō): After the death of Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, Subaru became the current holder of the Witch Factor of Sloth, enabling him to develop an Authority of Sloth.
Subaru using "Invisible Providence" for the first time.
When Natsuki Subaru killed the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, he absorbed the Witch Factor of Sloth that resided within the madman for the past century. Strangely enough, Subaru's Authority of Sloth manifested itself in almost entirely the same way as Petelgeuse's did, at least appearance-wise. Unlike Petelgeuse, who called the power the Unseen Hands, after Echidna synchronised his body and the Witch Factor of Sloth, Subaru manifested an Authority of Sloth and chose to call his version of the Authority "Invisible Providence". It is a power that allows Subaru to summon a single invisible hand-like appendage from his chest and move and extend it telekinetically. If Subaru focuses enough, he can even make the hand phase through matter as though it wasn't there. Subaru's version of the Authority of Sloth is far less powerful than both Petelgeuse's and Sekhmet's Authorities of Sloth, as although Petelgeuse for instance could summon roughly one hundred hands at his maximum potential with little effort, Subaru can only summon a single hand with minimal range and damage output. At times, however, it seems that this ability can cause significant harm to his target, as he managed to severely damage Todd Fang’s face with it during a failed loop. However, as a side effect of calling forth his Authority, Subaru's internal organs begin to flair up, he feels his soul becoming more and more tainted, and he is assaulted by a violent coughing attack accompanied with him throwing up smaller amounts of blood.[7] There are even times when he blacks out because of the severe drawbacks of its use, leaving him unconscious for at least two days.
Authority of Greed (強欲の権能, Gōyoku no Ken'nō): After the death of Regulus Corneas, Subaru became the current holder of the Witch Factor of Greed, enabling him to develop an Authority of Greed.
Cor Leonis (コル・レオニス, Koru Reonisu): When Reinhard van Astrea killed the Sin Archbishop of Greed in the Crusade against Greed during Witch Cult's assault on the Watergate City of Priestella, Subaru absorbed the Witch Factor of Greed which resided within the white haired calamity for over a century. He manifested Cor Leonis towards the end of Arc 6. Similarly to Regulus' Authority of Greed, Cor Leonis has two phases; its base form and Second Shift.
The base shift of Cor Leonis allows Subaru to take on the physical and mental burdens and fatigue of people he himself considers allies, effectively eliminating problems such as injuries or lack of dexterity for his comrades in combat. He is also able to shoulder fatal injuries and save his allies' lives, however, at a cost of receiving the same wounds himself as his body naturally reproduces the sources of pain he suddenly receives; a deadly side effect which can easily kill him, if ignored. When using this phase, Subaru is able to locate his allies' position and status as he sees pale white dots, wherever they're located; though his allies must also consider Subaru their own ally, otherwise Subaru will not be able to sense their location – during the very first chapter of Arc 7, Subaru tried to locate Rem's location but was unable to, as due to her loss of memories she did not recognize him as her ally. It only works on people he recognizes as his friends and allies. Regardless, once he is connected to someone with his Authority, so long as he does not pass out or fall unconscious, the connection will be maintained no matter the distance.
Second Shift (セカンドシフト, Sekando Shifuto): Second Shift, also known as Division of Labor (負担の分配, Futan no Bunpai), works very similarly to Regulus' very own Lion's Heart, in a sense where Subaru can divide the burden between the allies of his choosing. He can freely regulate how big of a burden he'll employ on each person, kind of like opening or closing a tap. Naturally, the same side effects will apply to each and every bearer of the shared burden, meaning their lives rest in Subaru's hands for the entire duration. The only condition for using the Second Shift is that the person Subaru wants to share his burden with, must be willing to accept his burden and open their heart to Subaru.
Curses (呪い, Noroi): Subaru has been afflicted by two curses: a curse from numerous Wolgarm witchbeasts and a curse from an unnamed Dragon's blood. For unknown reasons, he has also displayed a seeming resistance to curses, as seen from his reactions to the Dragon blood's curse and a killing curse that has since been removed from him.
Wolgarm Curse: In Arc 2, Subaru was bitten by numerous Wolgarms that attempted to drain his mana with their curse. Although they were all slain before the curses were activated, the curses were too numerous to be removed, so he was forced to keep the curses inactive within his body.
Curse of the Dragon's Blood: After his fight with the Sin Archbishop of Lust and getting afflicted by the curse within her Dragon's blood, Subaru's entire right leg was miraculously healed, despite having it torn off after his fights with the Sin Archbishop of Greed and Lust. This very same leg was covered in thick and pulsating black veins, turning it completely black, and it attained the ability to regenerate from damage it took, as tested by Priscilla Barielle. It also seemed to have given him a form of enhanced leg strength as he found that he could leap impressive distances while he was being pursued by Regulus through Priestella, even allowing him to run along the surface of walls with ease. Similarly, he took in even more of the curse into his right arm after touching Crusch, who had the very same curse within her, making his arm look as though it was covered in black veins. Roughly three months later, during the events of Arc 7, Subaru lost his right hand while fighting against an Elgina, and immediately after falling unconscious, the curse spilled out of his bloody arm and completely regrew his hand, which was beneath a layer of black, rubbery, peelable skin. As such, the curse that once rested in his arm is gone. Unlike his leg, this hand was not able to heal.
Magic (魔法, Mahō): Subaru is able to use yin magic. Although he was a novice, Subaru had the capability to cast very basic-level yin magic spells. According to the author, Subaru could learn how to use other types of magic if he dedicated his life to it. However, after overusing his gate, it became defective, meaning he could no longer cast any kind of magic or expel mana on his own.
Spirit Affinity: Subaru has a rare innate gift to form contracts with spirits. His affinity for it is also rather high, as when Julius Juukulius attempted to use his spirits to break out of a spell, it resonated with Subaru and left the Spirit Knight baffled. Similarly, despite not being contracted with him, some spirits show willingness to assist him, as in the case of one of Emilia’s lesser spirits in Priestella and Ia during the Subjugation of Sloth.
Spirit User (精霊使い, Seirei Tsukai): Subaru is contracted with the artificial spirit Beatrice, though according to her, he isn't a true spirit user. She also has a terrible mana consumption rate and formerly got around this by draining mana from people in the mansion using the library as a medium. Due to her mana consumption rate from Subaru, the two cannot cast spells freely. As Beatrice's contractor, Subaru's condition and whereabouts can be sensed by her via their connection, although he is unable to do so. Furthermore, he is capable of remotely calling Beatrice out if he focuses enough on his link with her. Like Julius, Subaru is also considered to be a Spirit Knight (精霊騎士 Seirei Kishi). As she is an artificial spirit, she also has several conditions Subaru is forced to follow:
Subaru cannot form a contract with other spirits.
Beatrice cannot restore mana on her own.
Beatrice cannot use the mana in the atmosphere.
Beatrice can only drain mana from Subaru.
Spiritual Arts (精霊術): Subaru is capable of using spiritual arts with Beatrice, and is thus able to use Yin Magic with her aid. He has also created a number of original spells with her, unique to the pair. He is able to use:
Shamak (シャマク Shamaku):
Subaru unleashing Shamak on the leader of a pack of witchbeasts.
One of the most basic shadow magic spells, and the only spell Subaru could use until the collapse of his gate, was "Shamak." When cast, a blanket of black smoke would erupt from the user that would cover a significantly large area. Any target engulfed by the smoke would completely lose their spacial awareness. Under the spell's effect, the only thing the target could sense was the ground under their feet and any damage done to their body. Although it was a low-level spell, it proved an effective smokescreen when retreating or for masking attacks. As it was the only spell he was capable of using, Subaru was particularly fond of Shamak. he used it a number of times, and even came to grow attached to it, calling it "Shamak-san." He is still able to use the spell through Beatrice.
Minya (ミーニャ): Subaru can create stakes made of crystallized mana covered with light purple flames as an offensive attack via spiritual arts. They are strong enough to penetrate defenses. Any stakes in the air explode and release smaller stakes that fly in all directions which then rips targets apart.
El Minya (エル・ミーニャ): The spell works very similar to normal Minya. The only difference is the number of stakes, which increase to around 40.
Murak (ムラク): Subaru reduces the effects of gravity. Just by jumping lightly, a person can jump as if they had springs. If Subaru wishes to, it can also be used to fly, although Subaru will get blown around by the wind like a leaf, but he won't flip around in midair. He can also use this on his opponents to throw them off balance and combine it with his whip to send opponents as large as a fully transformed Shaula flying.
EMM (E・M・M; エミリアたんマジ女神, Emiria-tan Maji Megami; "Emilia-tan is Seriously a Goddess"): EMM is an "absolute defence magic". Beatrice uses Yin Magic to interfere with the time and space around Subaru, and while he can't move during activation, he experiences no interference from outside the barrier. It is similar to Regulus Corneas'sLion's Heart, but does not have the same risk, renders Subaru and Beatrice unable to move, and can be used until mana runs out.
EMT (E・M・T; エミリアたんマジ天使, Emiria-tan Maji Tenshi; "Emilia-tan is Seriously an Angel"): EMT is an "absolute negation magic". It is a spherical field several ten meters long with Subaru and Beatrice at the center is created, which negates effects from mana within it. Julius remarks that it is useful against mages and those who use mana to assist their techniques. However, the magic only negates the use of mana, and so it has no effect against opponents who fight without it.
Non-Stop Abyss (ノンストップ・アビス): Non-Stop Abyss made its debut in the non-canon Isekai Quartet Movie. Likely using Beatrice's Door Crossing magic, this combination technique connects a miniature handheld door to a much larger door. By using this technique, Subaru and Beatrice can move someone from the smaller to the larger to quickly transport them from point A to point B. Even if the opponent is considerably larger than the mini door, it can still absorb them and teleport them to the other.
Rental Goa (レンタル・ゴーア):
Subaru using "Rental Goa" against Petelgeuse.
Not being one of his spells made after forming a formal contract with Beatrice, this was instead a Goa used on the spot during Subaru's provisional contract with Ia, hence why he chose to call it a "rental" spell. It was used against Petelgeuse to set him on fire after being doused in oil.
Cocytus (コキュートス, Kokyūtosu): Cocytus is a large scale spell made out of two combined elements, which was used by Subaru and Emilia during their fight against the Great Rabbit. While Subaru used Yin Magic to form some sort of a barricade around the witchbeasts to prevent them from escaping, Emilia used Fire Magic to carefully apply magical energy to the already-casted Minya spell, creating an icy cage and lifting the cage, the witchbeasts, and the ground itself high in the air.
Melee Fighter: Subaru grew up an active athlete in his early years in his school, and although he drifted from partaking in any school activities prior to his transportation to the new world, he nevertheless still maintain a strict fitness regimen, and as a result, he has raw athletic prowess and a high degree of physical strength, reflex, and stamina. Despite all that, Subaru is not as skilled as the vast majority of warriors he's encountered during his time in the New World and can barely hold his own against normal people - according to the author, a fistfight between Otto and Subaru would always end in Otto's win. To somewhat make up for his fighting shortcomings, Subaru has sharp reflexes and demonstrated it when he was able to dodge Felt's confused swings when she confused him for an intruder and Rem's flail attack in the second attempt for his life.
Sword Skills: He did kendo in middle school for a bit, so he has some basics in swordsmanship. After his humiliating defeat at the hands of Julius, Subaru received some rough sword training, under Wilhelm van Astrea at the Karsten mansion, Subaru unlocked a basic grasp on swordsmanship that was helped by the kendo he did when he was younger. However, it should be mentioned that despite the combative skills Subaru picked up from his time in Japan as well as his time in the other world, he was still a low-level combatant overall who would lose to almost every opponent he faced in terms of battle power as he's completely talentless with a blade and is unable to hold his own against anyone who's at least fairly skilled with a sword.
Whipmanship: After the events of Arc 4, he was taught by Clind how to use a whip. Though he doesn’t usually use it directly for offense, he uses it in tandem with his parkour and survival skills and other various tricks in combat. At times, he also uses the crack of the whip to temporarily catch his enemies off guard, and he even uses it in tandem with his Yin Magic, mostly with Murak.
Above Average Physique: Subaru personally mentions that he is able to bench 80 kg (176 lbs). Before being teleported into the new world, he maintained a fitness regimen of one hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats a day, allowing him extremely above average physical ability, especially for a hikikomori whose diet consisted of mostly convenience store items.
Parkour and Survival Skills: During the following year after the incident at the Sanctuary, Subaru learned the basics of parkour from Clind and began training himself. The butler also provided Subaru with essential survival skills, which came in handy to Subaru in the start of Arc 7.
Deductive Ability: Arguably Subaru's greatest asset, aside from Return by Death, is his own mind. Though he wasn't blessed with particularly noteworthy intelligence, he has always had great deductive ability, something he prides himself on. This works well with his time-looping, as the information it provides would be useless if he wasn't able to think and act on it to find the optimal course of action. Garfiel, Reinhard, and Vincent have complimented Subaru's strategic ability.
Leadership: Numerous times throughout the story, Subaru has shown to be an excellent leader, as he has often been seen acting like a general in several battles. Of course, while a big part of this comes from knowledge obtained from his Return by Death, even without it, he has shown to be capable of directing everyone around them to places they need to be, with the Battle for Priestella being one of the most prominent examples of his leading skills. Similarly, he has shown to have great charisma, as he managed to obtain many followers during the Imperial Civil War and create the Pleiades Battalion, which he promptly led as its commander.
Apostle of Greed: For partaking in the Trial of the Sanctuary, Subaru was given the mark of the Witch of Greed Echidna that indicated him as an Apostle of Greed. Because of this title, Subaru was capable of commanding the many replicas of Ryuzu Meyer created by Echidna centuries ago. The replicas were compelled to follow any order they were given, regardless of their own thoughts on the matter. This gift from Echidna essentially bequeathed Subaru with a small army for a time, however, the Witch of Greed eventually took away his title, meaning that he became unable to command Ryuzu's replicas.
Equipment
Cell Phone: When he first came to the world, he had his cell phone on him. Though he could no longer make calls with it, it came in handy alongside his Return by Death, allowing him to obtain an accurate time of when certain beasts may appear or using it in negotiations. He gave his phone to Russell Fellow some time after Arc 3.
Guiltywhip: Subaru uses a whip as his main weapon. Like his parkour, Subaru learned the basics of using it from Clind. In the Light Novel, it was revealed that his preferred whip was made of the witchbeast they fought in Arc 4, the Guiltylowe. He named said whip the Guiltywhip.
Meteor Ring: For a short time in Arc 7, he was given a meteor ring that was imbued with the element of fire which required a kiss to activate. He ultimately destroyed it during the battle against the Elgina.
Lethal Poison Packet: Throughout the events of Arc 7 and Arc 8, Subaru kept poison, created by Null from the Gladiator Island Ginunhive, packed between his molars that he could easily smash between his teeth if he required it. He used this when he needed to guarantee his death and trigger his Authority. The packet has since been removed by Sphinx.
Etymology
Natsuki means "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na) and "moon" (月) (tsuki).
In astronomy, "Subaru" is the Japanese name for the constellation Pleiades. Of which, seven stars in the constellation are named after the Seven Sisters, the daughters of Atlas and Pleione in classical mythology.
Due to his name being related to a constellation, Subaru used to have a love and obsession over them, thus having vast knowledge of Earth's stars. It was through this knowledge that he was able to solve of the first trial of Pleiades Watchtower, and deduce the stars the Sin Archbishops were named after corresponded with their abilities (Petelgeuse, "Hand of Orion", Sirius, "Shining", Regulus, "Little King", and Capella, "She-Goat", respectively).
Trivia
According to the author, Subaru's birthday is April 1, and his birth flower is a Gypsophila elegans, or annual baby's breath.
Subaru has been ranked among the five weakest characters in Re:Zero.[8]
Subaru is surprisingly talented at sewing. In the later arcs, his skill improves to the point where he can even make stuffed toys.
Subaru had once cross-dressed in his old world under the name "Natsumi Schwartz". He has used this alias and cross-dressed on a few occasions in the new world.
The reason why Subaru tapped Crusch's hand instead of shaking it at the start of Arc 4 is because he was shy about shaking a girl's hand.
From the very moment Subaru was summoned to another world, he subconsciously knew he would never return to Japan.
Subaru's phone ringtone is "Yoake no Michi" from Dog of Flanders.
In a Q&A, the author stated the chance of Subaru not dying in an arc is 0.[9]
Even before meeting Emilia, Subaru preferred girls with silver hair.
Subaru has a personal ranking of his friends and he would use Return By Death if one of them died.
According to the author, the reason he made Arc 3 was for Subaru to say two lines. The first one being "I hate myself" and the second one being "I love you" (to Emilia).[10]
In Arc 6, Subaru is revealed to regularly partake self-harm, scratching his arms until he bleeds, biting his lips, et cetera.
Shamak was in fact more useful to Subaru than Invisible Providence is, according to the author himself.
Following the incident involving Rem, Greed and Gluttony, Subaru visited Rem daily, discussing his day with the sleeping girl, without fail.
Many of the Sin Archbishops such as Petelgeuse seemed to suspect that Subaru is supposed to hold the seat of Pride in the Witch Cult, with both Petelgeuse and Rui claiming that the vacant seat belonged to Subaru, however, it is currently unknown if this is true or just deluded gibberish from the Sin Archbishops.
Subaru is the Sin Archbishop of Pride in the Ayamatsu IF, but the short story is non-canonical to the mainline story.
In the web novel, Subaru was in fact able to read Petelgeuse's Gospel. This event, however, was cut from the Light Novel, for reasons yet unknown. Furthermore, the reason why he was able to do that, remains unknown.
Subaru considers Wilhelm to be the very ideal of a person and a man,[11] and he is the person Subaru respects the most in the new world.[12]
References
↑"This is a misunderstanding. I merely wished to advise him as his senior. Now that he is a knight of the kingdom, his conduct has an effect on the reputation of all knights."Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 16 Chapter 2, Section 5
↑"Though it vexes me, the Authority that allows you to Return by Death is rooted in the Witch's wild delusions."Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11 Chapter 5; Section 3
↑"The being that made me walk the path of suffering... –The Witch of Envy."Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11 Chapter 5; Section 3
↑"Employing this power to save others is strictly your own doing, your own desire... The Witch of Envy has nothing to do with it."Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11 Chapter 5; Section 3
↑Q: Couldn't confessing about Return By Death be used as an instant kill? A: At this point, it's only been confirmed to work on Emilia, so if Subaru feels that he wants to kill Emilia, he might use it.
↑"Organs feeling a pain as if being carved, rushing forth was a sense of despair as if he’d been tainted, Subaru immediately fell upon the ground with both knees. Harsh coughs that were even tinged with blood wracked him."Arc 5 Chapter 58; Section 2
↑"I've said previously that arc three was an arc for the purpose of me wanting to have him say "I hate myself." and one more line, but the other one was "I love you, Emilia."" Season 1 Directors Cut, Episode 13 Commentary
↑"Wilhelm was pretty much Subaru's ideal, both as a person and as a man."Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 16 Chapter 3, Section 6
