Rem

Lore & Background

Rem cooks better than her sister and used to have an inferiority complex towards her. Bearing an intense hatred for the Witch's Cult, she at first hates Subaru for carrying the Witch's scent and kills him. After he saves her from the mabeasts of the Elior Forest she drops her suspicions and falls deeply in love with him, and even when he turns her down for Emilia she remains one of his most loyal followers.

An extra story in Arc 3 imagines what would have happened if Subaru and Rem had run away together: they live happily ever after with two children.

Did You Know?

• Rem's hair color is distinctively blue, and she wears a maid outfit with a unique ribbon design that differs slightly from her sister Ram's.
• Her favorite food is reportedly sweets and pudding, which Subaru often tries to cook for her despite his initial culinary failures.
• Rem's perceived weakness compared to Ram was attributed to a physical birth defect—the lack of her horn—rather than merely psychological inferiority.

Origins and Character Design

Rem is a fictional demi-human created by Tappei Nagatsuki, debuting in the second volume of the Re:Zero light novel series in 2014. She serves as the younger twin sister to Ram and works as a maid for Roswaal L. Mathers. Visually, she is distinguished by water-blue hair and eyes, with her right eye hidden behind bangs while her left remains exposed—the inverse of her sister's appearance. Her name originates from the English word "Left," reflecting this asymmetry, though it was transliterated to Rem for international audiences.

Born as an Oni, a race typically characterized by two horns, Rem and Ram were unique anomalies born with only one horn each. While Ram is portrayed as a prodigy, Rem initially struggles with an inferiority complex due to the vast gap in their abilities. This psychological burden shaped her early life, driving her to emulate her sister's path after Ram lost her own horn during a Witch's Cult attack. Her magical capabilities are primarily centered around water, though she can also utilize healing and fire magic, often wielding a meteor hammer in combat.

Relationship with Subaru Natsuki

Rem's narrative arc is defined by her complex relationship with the protagonist, Subaru Natsuki. Initially, she mistakenly identifies him as a member of the Witch's Cult due to his scent and kills him twice. However, her perspective shifts dramatically after witnessing Subaru's selfless attempts to save villagers despite his lack of power. This realization leads her to regret her earlier actions, culminating in a pivotal moment where Subaru saves her from mabeasts in the Elior Forest.

Grateful for his heroism, she becomes infatuated with him, viewing him as her savior. Although Subaru rejects her romantic proposal, Rem remains one of his most loyal allies throughout the early chapters. Her devotion is so profound that even after being killed multiple times during various time loops, her encouragement helps Subaru overcome catatonic despair. This bond persists even when she falls into a coma and is erased from everyone's memory except Subaru's, serving as a crucial emotional anchor for him in subsequent trials.

Key Story Arcs and Sacrifice

Rem plays a central role in the third chapter of the series, where her loyalty and sacrifice reach their peak. Following the royal election, she stays with Subaru at the mansion in the capital but is repeatedly killed while attempting to escape an ambush orchestrated by Archbishops Regulus Corneus and Lye Batenkaitos. In a final act of desperation to ensure Subaru's survival, she transforms into her Oni form during a battle against the White Whale.

Severely injured from this transformation, she sacrifices herself completely to defeat Regulus, resulting in her falling into a deep coma. The aftermath is devastating; due to the effects of Gluttony's sin, every character except Subaru forgets Rem ever existed. Despite this erasure, her influence remains tangible, as Subaru uses memories of her stern refusal to let him give up as motivation during the Second Trial. Later, in Chapter 6, she is transported to a watchtower where she resides in the "Green House" under Ram's care, though she eventually suffers memory loss after being teleported to the Flakia Empire.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Since debuting in the anime in April 2016, Rem has drawn massive attention, consistently placing as a top female character in fan polls. In 2016 alone, she took the top spot for most popular female character, proving her long-lasting pull on the community. Her reach hit major industry levels when she won "Best Girl" at the first Crunchyroll Anime Awards. That affection sparked special official events for both Rem and Ram, keeping them central to franchise marketing and fan buzz. Inori Minase voices her in Japanese, with Brianna Knickerbocker taking over in English; the character even inspired a personal theme song called "Wishing." Fans keep digging into what she could be, including that "What If?" extra chapter where Rem marries Subaru and starts a family. Her path from an insecure twin sister to a self-sacrificing hero has secured her as a defining figure in modern fantasy anime.