The popular anime Re:Zero is based on a Web Novel. While the anime follows the main story, there are multiple side stories written by the author. (Here's the official Japanese site.) Some of them are included in the main Light Novels while others are only available on the ReZero Web Novel page.
The biggest Side Stories of ReZero are the "What if" scenarios. Subaru made many life-changing decisions in the main story. What if he made another choice?
These stories are named according to the "sin" Subaru commits by making the choice, such as Greed IF that follows Subaru making a contract with the Witch of Greed. I plan on reading all of them, but for now, the only side story I have read is "Sloth IF."
This side story is set follows Subaru and Rem's lives after they ran away from the Kingdom of Luganica. When Subaru asked Rem to run away with him in the main story, she told him "Giving doesn't suit you." In the Sloth IF timeline, she accepted his offer instead, and they live away in Kararagi state.
I first read the Rem Side Story (as I call it) in 2018 after I watched the first season of the anime. The story wasn't complete at the time, but I read all the translated chapters. A few months after that, I realized that Light Novel 9 adapted some of it along with illustrations. The full story was released in Light Novel form much later, I would love to read that in the future.
What I didn't know is that the Light Novel version was adapted in the Manga as well. It's adapted in the Manga of Arc 3: Truth of Zero Volume 11/Chapter 51.
Ch.51 comes after the ending and before the Epilogue of Arc 3 in the Manga. (If you're an anime fan, you can read it after the ending of Director Cut of season 1, or Episode 1 of Season 2.)
The rest of this article is a SPOILER if you plan on reading the Side Story. The manga chapter serves as the epilogue to the Sloth IF and it abridges the events that led to this ending.
This story is set 8 years after the moment Rem agreed to run away with Subaru. Now they're married and have two children. Subaru and Rem's hair are longer, (she kind of looks like Emilia) and they're living their best lives.
But it's not a completely happy ending as there's always the nagging thought of "Did we make the right choice?" deep inside. It's true that Subaru has the cutest wife ever, but they went to live this life knowing they're abandoning their closest friends to die. Emilia is dead in this timeline, and so Rem's twin sister: Ram.
But Subaru wouldn't let this decision be the wrong one, and he dedicated his life to making Rem the happiest woman alive, and be an example worth following for his Half-Oni Son.
Speaking about Subaru and Rem's children. Their son Regil and daughter Spica are both named after stars like Subaru himself. Rem didn't understand the meaning of the names at first but she loved him enough to let him name them.
Like his mother, Rigel could only manifest one horn. It was never explained if it was because he's a Half-Oni or because of her not having the second horn as she should. Regil doesn't understand the problem with having one horn. Having multiple horns will look stupid anyway.
I'm really glad I got to experience the Sloth IF side story, and that it was adapted in the Manga. We probably won't get a version of this in the anime, so I'm happy to see older Rem for a full manga chapter. This is probably the closest thing we'll get to Subaru and Rem romance in ReZero story, and I'll take it!
(P.S. The Manga version had a panel of an imaginary older Spica and she looks adorable.)
Thanks for Reading
- This article's image is taken from the fan-based ReZero wiki.
- You can read my impression on Season 2 of ReZero's anime here.
- This article is also on Read.cash.