So on the topic of Subaru choosing Emilia over Rem, I think it does actually more or less fit the character. I would have chosen Rem obviously, and I think a lot of people would have chosen Rem, but when I thought about Subaru choosing Rem, it just didn't feel right.
What you gotta understand is that coming into this world, Subaru immediately saw himself as the "main character". That's why in the first few episodes, he was breaking the fourth wall so much. Subaru was an otaku back in his own world, so he had seen/read many stories where the main character gets pulled into an alternate world and does all this heroic shit and blah blah blah cliches. Think back to the first episode when he tried to save that kid when he was gonna get hit with the wagon. He's being all weeby and dumb thinking magic is gonna pop out of his ass but nothing happens. He thinks this is still just a fun game for him. He thinks the world is gonna work perfectly for him because that's how it tends to work in so many mediocre shows (like SAO).
So when Emilia comes along in his time of need, what does he think? "Oh hey, here's my beautiful love interest who probably summoned me into this world in the first place". In a way, he kinda thinks Emilia exists for him to fall in love with, cuz that's the cliche. It's been a while, but I believe he had a similar initial reaction to Felt when she came running through, right? But then she ran off. Had Felt stayed, he probably woulda obsessed over Felt, but she cheesed it and Emilia came to save him, so in his eyes, Emilia became "the main heroine".
This is a large part of the reason why he started following her around. If she's supposed to be his love interest, then he's supposed to adventure with her. Yeah, it's also true that he was broke and had no clue where he was, but I think one of the main motivators was that he was "following the script". He and Emilia hit it off, and being the cringy otaku that he is, he started to actually crush on her.
And then they both get fucking murdered.
So he comes back. He remembers everything. He's a little shaken up. He meets her again, he calls her Satella in the middle of the street, she doesn't know him AND she's pissed at him. Now he's confused as shit. A lot's going through his mind. He still doesn't fully understand that he got murdered cuz he's in denial, now Emilia hates him. Everything is going to shit.
Then he dies again.
Once he starts to understand that he's ACTUALLY getting murdered and returning to a checkpoint, this is where things get dicey. He considers just avoiding Elsa and all that shit altogether, but if he does that, he knows that Emilia is gonna die. What's interesting here is that, yeah, this does mean his "main heroine" would die, but I think in this moment, he's more concerned for her as a person. He said it himself, he can't just do nothing when he knows people are gonna die. Is it his hero complex, or is it his empathy? It's probably a bit of both.
By the time he finally DOES survive the Elsa encounter, he's already died what? 3 or 4 times? What I love about Re: Zero is that his deaths actually take a heavy toll on Subaru's psyche. His Return by Death isn't just some invincible tool that he uses without a second thought. Every time he dies, he kind of loses a part of sanity. And honestly, can you blame him? It's hard to imagine anyone being mentally stable going through what Subaru went through.
So what does Emilia have to do with this? I think his love for Emilia was less a genuine love and more an anchor to keep himself from losing himself completely. Emilia was the one he worked so hard to save. Emilia was his "main heroine". He was thrust into a terrible situation, so I think he was just desperately grasping for whatever he knew, which were the anime tropes. His love for Emilia, at least at the beginning, was unhealthy.
I think his desperation was highlighted in his ordeal with Rem. We saw him trying way too hard to be accepted by Ram and Rem, and it took its toll on him. What calmed him down? It was Emilia's lap pillow and her kindness in general. That's key. In his time of need, Emilia was the one who was there for him. She calmed him down, which allowed him to save Rem and the village from the dog things. Subaru DID work hard to save Rem, but his intention wasn't for her to be a "love interest", but rather just a friend. He was fixated on Emilia, but he had gotten to know Ram and Rem and just felt like he was the only one who could save Rem because he's the "main character".
So fast forward to episode 15 with Betelgeuse. He's a pretty cringy over the top character at first glance, but what's important about him to the story is Betelgeuse's obsession with Satella is no different than Subaru's obsession with Emilia. They drew that comparison very heavily for a reason. This is the main reason why I believe Subaru's obsession with Emilia is meant to be seen as an unhealthy one. Betelgeuse is basically what Subaru could become if he continues down his current path. Remember, when Betelgeuse first appeared, this was when Subaru was in the peak of his fuckboy behavior. Subaru was becoming an increasingly infuriating shitlord. Betelgeuse is what he would have become had Rem not pulled his head out of his ass.
So finally, we get episode 18 and the meme. Why did Subaru pick Emilia over Rem? Personally, I believe Rem's speech woke him up and made him realize how fucked his behavior had become. I think by that point, it is reasonable to believe that he could have had SOME genuine affection for Emilia, but that it was mostly buried under his crazy. It's unfortunate, but I think any affection for Rem that he SHOULD have seen would have gone unnoticed because Subaru was so fixated on Emilia. I think Rem's speech was probably only the first time that Subaru would have considered Rem as a love interest. Is Rem best girl? Yes, no questions asked. But should Subaru have picked Rem? I don't think so.
Picking Rem would have meant abandoning everything he had gone through up until that point. Remember, Rem suggested they just run away and live a quiet life far away (by the way, there is a side story "what if" scenario where Subaru does choose Rem). Most importantly, Subaru would have abandoned his love for Emilia without ever allowing it to be a healthy love, if that makes sense. I think he does realize at this point that he was being too obsessive, and I think he even noticed the similarities between himself and Betelgeuse at this point. He didn't want his love story to end that way because underneath all of the crazy, I think he does actually care for Emilia. Is there still some lingering "main character and main heroine" bullshit in there? Maybe, maybe not.
So he chooses Emilia. For what it's worth, I do think Subaru begins to actually develop feelings for Rem as well. I think this is obvious in how he treats Rem during and after the White Whale ordeal. Will he ever change his mind down the line in the light novel and hopefully season 2? I don't know, I doubt it, but it's not impossible.
Basically, Subaru chose Emilia cuz he's a dumb weeb who doesn't wanna give up his first waifu. The end.?
What you gotta understand is that coming into this world, Subaru immediately saw himself as the "main character". That's why in the first few episodes, he was breaking the fourth wall so much. Subaru was an otaku back in his own world, so he had seen/read many stories where the main character gets pulled into an alternate world and does all this heroic shit and blah blah blah cliches. Think back to the first episode when he tried to save that kid when he was gonna get hit with the wagon. He's being all weeby and dumb thinking magic is gonna pop out of his ass but nothing happens. He thinks this is still just a fun game for him. He thinks the world is gonna work perfectly for him because that's how it tends to work in so many mediocre shows (like SAO).
So when Emilia comes along in his time of need, what does he think? "Oh hey, here's my beautiful love interest who probably summoned me into this world in the first place". In a way, he kinda thinks Emilia exists for him to fall in love with, cuz that's the cliche. It's been a while, but I believe he had a similar initial reaction to Felt when she came running through, right? But then she ran off. Had Felt stayed, he probably woulda obsessed over Felt, but she cheesed it and Emilia came to save him, so in his eyes, Emilia became "the main heroine".
This is a large part of the reason why he started following her around. If she's supposed to be his love interest, then he's supposed to adventure with her. Yeah, it's also true that he was broke and had no clue where he was, but I think one of the main motivators was that he was "following the script". He and Emilia hit it off, and being the cringy otaku that he is, he started to actually crush on her.
And then they both get fucking murdered.
So he comes back. He remembers everything. He's a little shaken up. He meets her again, he calls her Satella in the middle of the street, she doesn't know him AND she's pissed at him. Now he's confused as shit. A lot's going through his mind. He still doesn't fully understand that he got murdered cuz he's in denial, now Emilia hates him. Everything is going to shit.
Then he dies again.
Once he starts to understand that he's ACTUALLY getting murdered and returning to a checkpoint, this is where things get dicey. He considers just avoiding Elsa and all that shit altogether, but if he does that, he knows that Emilia is gonna die. What's interesting here is that, yeah, this does mean his "main heroine" would die, but I think in this moment, he's more concerned for her as a person. He said it himself, he can't just do nothing when he knows people are gonna die. Is it his hero complex, or is it his empathy? It's probably a bit of both.
By the time he finally DOES survive the Elsa encounter, he's already died what? 3 or 4 times? What I love about Re: Zero is that his deaths actually take a heavy toll on Subaru's psyche. His Return by Death isn't just some invincible tool that he uses without a second thought. Every time he dies, he kind of loses a part of sanity. And honestly, can you blame him? It's hard to imagine anyone being mentally stable going through what Subaru went through.
So what does Emilia have to do with this? I think his love for Emilia was less a genuine love and more an anchor to keep himself from losing himself completely. Emilia was the one he worked so hard to save. Emilia was his "main heroine". He was thrust into a terrible situation, so I think he was just desperately grasping for whatever he knew, which were the anime tropes. His love for Emilia, at least at the beginning, was unhealthy.
I think his desperation was highlighted in his ordeal with Rem. We saw him trying way too hard to be accepted by Ram and Rem, and it took its toll on him. What calmed him down? It was Emilia's lap pillow and her kindness in general. That's key. In his time of need, Emilia was the one who was there for him. She calmed him down, which allowed him to save Rem and the village from the dog things. Subaru DID work hard to save Rem, but his intention wasn't for her to be a "love interest", but rather just a friend. He was fixated on Emilia, but he had gotten to know Ram and Rem and just felt like he was the only one who could save Rem because he's the "main character".
So fast forward to episode 15 with Betelgeuse. He's a pretty cringy over the top character at first glance, but what's important about him to the story is Betelgeuse's obsession with Satella is no different than Subaru's obsession with Emilia. They drew that comparison very heavily for a reason. This is the main reason why I believe Subaru's obsession with Emilia is meant to be seen as an unhealthy one. Betelgeuse is basically what Subaru could become if he continues down his current path. Remember, when Betelgeuse first appeared, this was when Subaru was in the peak of his fuckboy behavior. Subaru was becoming an increasingly infuriating shitlord. Betelgeuse is what he would have become had Rem not pulled his head out of his ass.
So finally, we get episode 18 and the meme. Why did Subaru pick Emilia over Rem? Personally, I believe Rem's speech woke him up and made him realize how fucked his behavior had become. I think by that point, it is reasonable to believe that he could have had SOME genuine affection for Emilia, but that it was mostly buried under his crazy. It's unfortunate, but I think any affection for Rem that he SHOULD have seen would have gone unnoticed because Subaru was so fixated on Emilia. I think Rem's speech was probably only the first time that Subaru would have considered Rem as a love interest. Is Rem best girl? Yes, no questions asked. But should Subaru have picked Rem? I don't think so.
Picking Rem would have meant abandoning everything he had gone through up until that point. Remember, Rem suggested they just run away and live a quiet life far away (by the way, there is a side story "what if" scenario where Subaru does choose Rem). Most importantly, Subaru would have abandoned his love for Emilia without ever allowing it to be a healthy love, if that makes sense. I think he does realize at this point that he was being too obsessive, and I think he even noticed the similarities between himself and Betelgeuse at this point. He didn't want his love story to end that way because underneath all of the crazy, I think he does actually care for Emilia. Is there still some lingering "main character and main heroine" bullshit in there? Maybe, maybe not.
So he chooses Emilia. For what it's worth, I do think Subaru begins to actually develop feelings for Rem as well. I think this is obvious in how he treats Rem during and after the White Whale ordeal. Will he ever change his mind down the line in the light novel and hopefully season 2? I don't know, I doubt it, but it's not impossible.
Basically, Subaru chose Emilia cuz he's a dumb weeb who doesn't wanna give up his first waifu. The end.?
