CATDOLL: Netizens complained about the setting of "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World": I have never seen such a miserable male protagonist

Generally speaking, the male protagonists in new anime, especially those about traveling to another world, will have a smooth life, and while they are fighting against evil and upholding justice, they can also have a few concubines... However, this iron rule was broken by a new anime in April.

"Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World", if you only look at the name, it is undoubtedly one of the many "different world" themes. Since January this year, various different world animations have begun to occupy the screen and have achieved good results among the audience. Among them, "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" became the dark horse of the new anime in January, and "Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" has aroused considerable public opinion among the anime fans because of the settings of various different world characters.

After experiencing the isekai craze, many comic fans thought that Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World would be a cold reception among the new shows in April, but unexpectedly, it quickly became a craze after it was aired. Unlike other isekai-themed works, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World took the path of "torturing the male protagonist", and coupled with the cute female characters and suspenseful plot, the animation effect was surprisingly popular after it was aired, and even led to the reprinting of the original novel and comics.

Why is the protagonist who is tortured in "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World" so popular among anime fans? The reason is that "he is too miserable". Based on the comments of Japanese netizens, the protagonist Natsuki Subaru's "misfortune" can be roughly classified into the following points:

1. Die or live or die, always the one being killed

According to the setting, Natsuki Subaru's physique is "death return", and after death he can return to the time before the tragedy happened. Although it seems that the characteristic of never dying is interesting, repeating the same cycle every time really drives Natsuki Subaru crazy. In addition, he still has the "witch's breath" on him, so every time he is resurrected, he cannot tell others the secret, which is even more painful.

"Why am I always the unlucky one?" With this thought, Natsuki Subaru was killed repeatedly in Roswaal's residence, and every time he woke up, it was a nightmare. Let the male protagonist be tortured to this extent, could it be that the author really has a grudge against him in the previous life... But considering Natsuki Subaru's arrogant character, it seems that letting him suffer a little can also make the audience "relieve their anger"?

2. He has ambiguous but tepid relationships with many female characters

"Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World" has created many female characters with distinct personalities, such as Emilia, Rem, Ram, Beatrice, etc. If it were a work about another world in the general sense, the male protagonist would definitely have been surrounded by beauties and enjoying himself. However, for Natsuki Subaru, this "paradise" is not comfortable.

Although the middle school student Natsuki Subaru is quite thick-skinned and is good at picking up girls, this trick didn't seem to work at first. It was not until the incident at Roswaal's mansion that he found his true love, Rem. Of course, Subaru was tortured by Rem before that. Others use their mouths, fights, or lives to build a harem, but Natsuki Subaru uses death to build a harem, but the number is a little lower...

3. The sense of existence is too weak, it's like the child of a stepmother

As the male protagonist, his presence is surprisingly low?! So far, Japan has published 8 volumes of the main story of "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World", 1 volume of short stories, and 2 volumes of side stories, a total of 11 volumes of novels. In response to this, a Japanese netizen listed these light novels in order and found a shocking fact from the covers - Natsuki Subaru has never appeared on the cover of a light novel! It would be fine if only beautiful girl characters were on the cover to attract readers, but several male characters including the "Sword Saint" have also been on the cover, which simply shows no mercy to Natsuki Subaru.

In addition, according to a survey by Japanese netizens, the proportion of times that the male protagonist Kamijou Touma of "A Certain Magical Index" appeared on the cover of the novel is slightly less than half, which is a very good result in a world full of beautiful women; and the male protagonist Hikigaya Hachiman of "My Teen Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected" appeared on the cover of the novel only a quarter of the total number of times, which is considered to be average; however, the male protagonist Natsuki Subaru of "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-" is exactly 0%!

It wasn’t until the anime started airing that Natsuki Subaru had a chance to show his face on the cover of the special edition, but he only appeared in the promotional pictures on the book jacket (and they were all the same picture). He really didn’t enjoy the treatment that a protagonist should have…

In the eyes of some comic fans, the reason why Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World is so popular is because of its unconventional plot and exquisite character design. Apart from that, it has almost nothing to do with the male protagonist. He is only responsible for dying and dying, and then the sad experience of reincarnation is used as the audience's sympathy point. Of course, as the male protagonist, Natsuki Subaru can also enjoy some unexpected benefits, such as the knee pillow carefully prepared by the female protagonist Emilia——

I'll let you go this time...