The Toxicity of Expectations

Expectations are complicated. For some they can be positive, as they help motivate, excite and bring the best out of you. For others, expectations can be extremely harmful and toxic to one’s mental state. There is no one in anime, who feels the toxic effects of expectations more than Re: Zero’s main character, Natsuki Subaru.

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Background Music-
Silent Hill 2 - Theme of Laura
Silent Hill 2 - Black Fairy
Silent Hill 2 - The Reverse Will
Silent Hill 2 - The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind
Silent Hill 2 - Promise
Silent Hill 3 - A Stray Child
Re: Zero Wishing

All Re: Zero anime images/clips in this video belong to KADOKAWA Anime and fall under fair use.

All music and other images/clips belong to their respective owners and fall under fair use.

[Jamillian]

This, was by far the hardest video I've made so far. I hope the wait was worth it!

[charlieng]

I believe you missed the change in Subaru's motivations in the first season. In much of season1 Subaru was motivated by his hero complex like you stated, he saw himself as a hero and wanted to be one and this is why he tried to do things by himself. However, when his selfish hero complex was destroyed by Emilia and his deaths it did not come back.

Episode 18 was about despair and hope, he was not trying to save Rem because of his ego, that was already gone, he just didn't want her to die and didn't think he was able to save those at the mansion.

In season2 Subaru was not trying to be a hero, he didn't even want to be a hero he was trying to shoulder the pain and burden himself. He did not take the trials because he didn't believe in Emilia, he just didn't want her to suffer. His development with Otto's from zero speech was being willing to share some of the burden with others. His development with Sattela was accepting that others cared about him even if he hated himself.

Subaru appeared to be in a good place mentally at the end of season1, however overall he was far worse then had been at the ceremony. His relatively normal, painfully relatable desire to be recognized as hero had changed into a incomprehensible and completely insane willingness to suffer endless amounts of pain alone and unseen needing no recognition or reward beyond his friends survival.

[LakshyaDeep]

Man expectations really be crushing Subaru from the and literally

[Suburukaltar]

This is a very good explanation of his character and development behind suburu and the resilience through suffering, so that those important to him, and himself can live happy. Awesome video.

[animeloverhaven]

Subaru is such an amazing character especially wn Subaru.

[jonathanbustillos]

I'm glad some addressed this, what Rem did to Subaru was far from saving him, she just gave him a reason to keep fighting but in reality, this is not what Subaru needs. As you say, most of the high expectations come from people around him starting with Rem and well, they are totally correct to have that much faith in him, it is stated by Tappei that if Subaru isn't summoned to Lugunica, most of the people in that world are screwed so he really needs to save everyone and it keeps getting worse every arc. The problem is that Subaru knows he needs to be the one and only hero, as much as people around him keep teaching him to rely on his friends and be more confident, what actions and facts show him is quite the opposite: if he doesn't move out, all of them are doomed. Yes he can ask for help, and yes he does have people at his side that would give their lives without a doubt for him, but deeply in his mind, he knows they don't have a chance if he doesn't find the correct answer and each time he fails, there is a chance that the universe goes on with that failure so going back doesn't solve anything, we can see that this senses of despair and weakness are still present later on, the only difference is that he covers it up by pretending to agree with his friends but when he's with his thoughts alone, he's still trying to be the perfect protagonist that he needs to be.
Spoilers from arcs 6 and 7: We see those self-harming behaviors in arc 6 when Betty says that is common for Subaru to cut his arms and hide them from everyone and then in arc 7 with the whole ''You are not a hero'' moment.

[megurem]

Incredible video, it very intricately explains much of the motives behind Subaru's action in the latter half of season 1 in the royal capital, and the whole series in general. When I started to understand his character better it really made me appreciate how human he is. A lot of people dropped season one during the royal palace scene because they expected Subaru to be more aware of his situation and go above his ego. I feel his struggle with expectations is incredibly important to the best chapters in Arc 6. In the whole series in general, his ego is an ever-present problem because of return by death. He never receives proper feedback for all of his actions, only his best ones. He can't analyze himself from an objective point of view, so its hard for him to come to terms with his reality. He cycles between feeling like a hero, and suffering from imposter syndrome. It really is a tragedy, and it is essential to the most emotional scenes.

[gottastoppo]

Amazing video, by the way, it does feel like a rare gem, since this topic in Re:zero community has been rarely addressed.

[Asura]

I think the strangest thing about Subaru was that he CHOSE to be a hero. The role was never thrown upon him. No one in this new world ever expected him or needed him to be a hero. At any point in the story he could've simply left. Return by death is ultimately only for Subarus benefit alone. There's a reason why his savepoint updates after every deadly event. It is a tool meant for survival, not heroics. I feel bad that Subaru endured so much pain, but at the end of the day, he CHOSE to save Emilia In arc 1 when he could've just told Reinhard about the assassin and move on with his life. He CHOSE to save Rem despite literally being tortured by her in arc 2 rather then running away at the nearest possible point. He CHOSE to be the hero that everyone needed rather then committing to the idea that he is useless and running away with Rem. At the end of the day always had a choice to put himself first but he never did. So no matter how egotistical or selfish his desires are, I can't help but respect him. He stuck to his ideals from beginning to end.

[emptylegend]

Ain’t gonna lie the author of this video made me cry at 7:20 towards the last message saying “why are you so useless” bro broke me.

[hian]

One thing that's so good about return by death is that unlike any other power you could equip a character with, return by death solves no problem on its own.

If Subaru doesn't improve as a person or improve his approach to a problem within the remits of his lack of powers, he will be trapped forever in a loop of death. Hence, RbD is not a solution to anything, but rather the tool for finding solutions. This makes it, arguably, the smartest power you could give a normal person in the context of an Isekai etc, because it primes the character having it for character development without ever cheapening the trials he has to overcome to progress on his journey in the boring and predictable way other super-powers in the medium almost inherently have to indulge(power-ups, magic attacks etc).

A second point worth considering in terms of how much Subaru struggles acclimating to his "power" and using it properly:

Subaru is a frickin teenager, raised in modern Japan and who's now trapped in a world that's largely alien to him. It's frankly speaking baffling to me that there are people out there with so much Dunning Kruger in their head that they think a tenth of the shit Subaru goes through wouldn't completely and permanently break them mentally.

I've always found that Subaru's struggles are far more general than people give them credit for. Even if the story is trying to say something specific about shut-in otaku and their unrealistic fantasies and expectations, I think his flaws actually strike at a much broader and human predisposition, because honestly; I think even when his attitudes and actions are wrong or "pathetic", they are expected given his circumstances.

If you found yourself magically transported to a different world and "gifted" with return by death, you probably would assume that you were special and summoned there for a reason.

You probably would get very attached to the people you end up saving as a result of your power as you learn they'll die without your help.

You probably will begin resenting their obliviousness to all that you've done for them at some point as you're doomed to mull over your fate in complete solitude.

You probably will start breaking mentally as you undergo physical torture and die over and over and over again.

Nothing Subaru goes through is unique to him as a former shut-in otaku. In fact, with the exception of some of his quirks and eccentricities, his responses and actions are extremely human and the people who think otherwise probably have really unrealistic and unhealthy views of their ability to cope under similar circumstances.

[siddhantchauhan]

Subaru didn’t have a hero complex in season 2, heck his hero complex was handled arguably in ep 3, where he swallowed his pride and asked Reinhardt for help as pride IF starts there. From season 2 onwards Subaru’s self image was the lowest ever and he’s struggling on his own, not cause of a hero complex but because no one should get hurt for him as his life wasn’t worth it . He was starting to return by death as a crutch putting his friends lives above his own and believing he had to do everything on his own. This toxic mindset was only fixed by satella who told him to love himself, to care for himself. That was the start, but then Otto also made his voice heard, as he knew that Subaru was suffering from a younger version of himself and helped.

[LegacyLunatic]

This video was amazingly written. Probably one of your best so far. Great job man! ❤

[danielramsell]

I got actual chills at 3:10 when you said "why are you so useless"

[Dingokay]

haven't seen a re zero analysis channel as good as you. you deserve more subs! ggs from ireland

[Lyralye]

I specially love having a look at the If stories and see how the Subaru in those versions contrasts with the one we follow on the main path of the story.

[bt]

I m so happy you mentioned his ego problem because a lot of people think he is a narcissist and yeah that's kinda true(beginning of the anime) after all narcissists became like that either if they get a lot of praise or they don't and they need to praise themselves or they pride would get crushed. He is like that too he can't believe he has any value that's why he needs to lie that he has, that way his ego's glass castle doesn't get crushed.

[greedylittleking]

Dem, this video is really good, I can see the passion put into the video, great job man, just continue on making these qualities o7

[cynicamane]

And I expected this channel to have atleast 100k subscribers with this video quality!

[wildwisewes]

This is a realllly good analysis. I like it a lot and it makes a lot of sense