"Re:Zero" Looking Back at the Timeline of the 【Confirmed World】 Through the Eyes of Emilia, Rem, and Ram
With the power of "Return by Death", Subaru has gone back in time over and over again not only to save his own life but also the ones he loves.
However, many incidents that others can't perceive have been overwritten through traveling through time, and Subaru had to pay the price of keeping the "memories" he would have shared with others to himself.
This article looks back at the events of season 1 and 2 of the TV anime series and the films "Memory Snow" and "Bond of Ice" through the eyes of Emilia and others, and this is a simple chronological chart of the past events revealed up until episode 31 of the TV anime.
This data provides a bird's eye view of the events that have taken place in the timeline of the current world.
By organizing the events, the words and actions of the characters have a different meaning... We hope this chart will guide you through the past episodes and help you to revalidate the events.
[Composed and written by Kigasawa Masashi]
■From the age of lore to right before Subaru gets summoned in another world.
【400 years ago / age of lore】
The "Witch of Envy", a silver-haired half-elf named "Satella", absorbed the other 6 Witches of Sin and brought upon the Great Calamity that destroys most of the world. Satella does not age nor does she die, so she was sealed by the 3 heroes of the time, including a dragon and sage.
(Episode 8 "I Cried, Cried My Lungs Out, and Stopped Crying")
【A few hundred years ago / age of lore】
The "Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica" was founded by the pact between the current royalty and the dragon. The dragon watches over the kingdom from the Great Waterfall, hoping for the peace of the kingdom. As for the promise and what the dragon wished for, is unknown.
(Episode 6 "The Sound of Chains")
【Age Unknonwn】
The head of the Roswaal family begins to manage the "Sanctuary" currently known as the "Graveyard".
(Episode 28 "The Long-Awaited Reunion")
【About 50 years ago】
The "Demi-human War" brakes out between the humans and demi-humans. The war ends with the defeat of the demi-humans and leads to the increase of prejudice towards half races between humans and demi-humans.
("Re:Zero: Bond of Ice")
【17 years ago】
Ram and Rem are born in an Oni village. Twin Oni's were traditionally killed as unwanted children, but due to Ram having extraordinary power, though having only one horn, the sisters are decided to be kept alive.
A few years later, the village is attacked by the Witch Cult and every Oni except Ram and Rem are killed. Ram loses her horn.
Later, the sisters are taken in at the Roswall mansion as maids.
(Episode 11 "Rem")
【10 and a few years ago】
The former "Sword Saint" Theresia van Astrea, wife of Wilhelm van Astrea, who later comes to serve Crusch, dies during the battle against the White Whale.
(Episode 20 "Battle Against the White Whale", Episode 21 "Wilhelm van Astrea")
【A few years ago】
Emilia, who was frozen in the Elior Forest, awakens. She was living alone in the woods until she contracts with Puck during the battle against the Arbitrator Melakuera.
Though Emilia has lost her memory before awakening, she has a vague image of the moment when the forest got frozen, a silver-haired woman with the same hairpiece as her, and a figure similar to Petelgeus.
("Re:Zero: Bond of Ice")
【A few years ago】
Roswaal invites Emilia, who lived in Elior Forest, to live in his mansion. He and Puck engaged in a magic battle so furious, the map got rewritten.
("Re:Zero : Memory Snow")
【Half a year ago】
The former king went into hiding at the same time as an epidemic spread through the castle. The king and his descendants become victims of the epidemic and their bloodline was cut off. As a result, the Sage Council is in charge of the country until the new king is elected in the Royal Election.
(Episode 7 "The Happy Roswaal Mansion Family")
【Age Unknonwn】
Frederica, who worked at Roswaal's mansion along with Ram and Rem, leaves her job a little while before Subaru comes to this world.
(Episode 27 "The Next Location")
■Events that took place in season 1 of the TV series.
【Episode 1 to 3】
Subaru gets summoned in the royal capital of the Kingdom of Lugnica. After taking a look around the city, he passes by Kadmon's fruit shop. He realizes he has the power of "Return by Death" and thinks of enjoying his life in this world by welling his cellphone worth of over 20 sacred gold coins.
However, he could not forget about the girl who called herself "Satella" and decides to save her. He finds out that the emblem had been already stolen, so he goes to see Felt to get it back from her.
On the way to meet her, Subaru bumps into a beautiful lady. She is Elsa a.k.a. the "Bowel Hunter", the person who asked Felt to steal the insignia in the first place.
Elsa sees through Subaru's hostility, anger, and fear, but leaves him alone because she doesn't want to make a scene.
Later, Subaru meets Felt and waits for Elsa at Old Man Rom's stolen goods warehouse, when "Satella" comes to the stolen goods warehouse to get back her emblem.
At first, she thinks Subaru as a member of the bandits, but changes her mind after being attacked by Elsa. During the fight against Elsa along with Felt and Reinhard, the knight Subaru met in the back alley, she recognizes that Subaru is on her side. After fighting off Elsa, she tells Subaru her true name "Emilia" and takes him in temporarily to take care of his wounds from the battle.
【Episode 4 to 11】
Midnight, Subaru wakes up to find himself in a bedroom of Roswaal's mansion. Emilia protected him and tended his wounds. However, he accidentally enters Betty's Forbidden Library and gets put back into a coma by her.
He wakes up in the morning and suddenly grabs the hands of Rum and Rem. The two of them are confused by his "perverted actions". They can't be blamed, because to the sisters, it's the first time to meet him, but he held their hands as if he knew them for a very long time and showed them unwavering trust. Moreover, he continues to act in an inexplicable manner since he starts working at Roswaal's mansion.
Subaru acts cheerful while working hard at his job. But it is clear to everyone else that he is making it up, and was at the brink of breaking down anytime. So Emilia tries to comfort him by letting him sleep on her lap though she's only known him for a short time.
Despite his strange actions, Subaru is loved by the villagers and even gains the trust of Roswaal so much as he asks him to look after Emilia during his absence.
And when he finds out that there is a demon beast hiding in the village, he fights it with no regard for his own life. Though he couldn't capture the "child" who was said to be controlling the demon beast, he was able to save Petra and the other kids of the village.
Roswaal sets his new goal of "winning the Royal Election to kill the dragon", and Subaru makes a promise with Emilia to go on a "date".
【"Re:Zero : Memory Snow"】
Right after defeating the demon beast, Subaru was checking out places in the village while being excited for his "date" with Emilia. However, before going on the "date", a strange incident happens at Roswaal's mansion. Puck goes into his Hatsumaki (a magical release period), bringing the whole mansion to a sudden surge of cold weather. Subaru tries to do something about the situation and decides to organize a snow festival in the village.
【Episode 12 to 25】
With the addition of Felt, the last "Dragon Priestess", the Royal Election begins with 5 candidates, including Emilia. But at the declaration, Subaru doesn't listen to Emilia's "wishes" and goes out of control again, calling himself Emilia's knight, which results in her strongly rejecting him.
Subaru is feeling bad for himself from being rejected by Emilia. Rem tries to cheer him up by taking him to the market, but instead, he suddenly grows weak and becomes frightened, as if he were a different person.
Rem is worried that maybe he got tired of the crowd at the market, but Subaru suddenly grabs her hand and tells her to run. Obviously, he is in despair. Rem holds him gently and encourages him though she doesn't know what's going on with him.
Subaru gets back on his feet and defeats the demon beast "White Whale" along with Crusch, Anastasia, and others. He makes peace with Julius, who he dueled at the royal capital, and together, fights off the Witch Cult led by Petelgeus.
However, the story doesn't end happily ever after, and a mysterious incident suddenly happens, Rem's presence disappears...
■Events that took place in season 1 of the TV series.
【Episode 26 to 31】
Rem's presence disappeared because she was attacked by the Sin Archbishops of "Greed" and "Gluttony", and the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" devoured her past and presence. Moreover, she shows no signs of waking up. Subaru and Emilia decides to go to the "Sanctuary", where Roswaal had taken refuge along with the villagers of Irlam Village, to inform him about the situation and ask for guidance.
The "Sanctuary" is the graveyard of the "Witch of Greed" Echidna, which has been managed by the Roswaal family for generations, and is an important hideout for Roswaal.
His "tricks" to make Subaru a worthy knight of Emilia's by leaving him on his own in situations which wouldn't have been a problem if Roswaal were there, were revealed.
But the "Sanctuary" was currently in an unstable state with some of the villagers rebelling. The residents were not allowed to leave the boundaries of the "Sanctuary". Those who wanted to go out took the villagers of Irlam hostage and planned to make Emilia take the test to open up the "Sanctuary".
But that wasn't the only hardship that awaited them. Elsa the "Bowel Hunter" is after Subaru's life, and he has to go through the painful "Return by Death" experiences again.
[Things Subaru lost from "Return by Death"]
When you cut out the events in different timelines and take a bird's eye view of the events in chronological order, Rem and the fruit vendor Kadmon must have thought it odd how Subaru suddenly spaces out or mentally breaks down.
To those who do not have the power to travel through time, it's a continuous timeline.
But for Subaru, it's a save point at the end of a long detour. Each "moment" has events that have been overwritten as if they "never happened".
Meeting Emilia for the first time and taking care of a lost child. The promise to get a haircut by Rem. Being taught how to read and write by Ram...
The deeper the relation was, the harder the "loss" hits Subaru. For example, how he meets with Subaru was always the same, and with the merchant Otto, it was better that it was overwritten, since the tragedy of the White Whale was gone.
His "Return by Death" not only hurts him physically but also scars him in the heart.
Elsa's attack brings him back to the test of "Return by Death".
The 2nd season has only just started. Will Subaru "grow" as Roswaal expects him to? How will the new "truth" be revealed? Let's look forward to seeing what happens.
"Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World"
(C)Nagatsuki Tappei, Kadokawa Corporation / Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World 1 Production Committee
"Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World" 2nd season
(C)Nagatsuki Tappei, Kadokawa Corporation / Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World 2 Production Committee
