History NightmareFuel / ReZero

** Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, seems the most harmless, with her [[HealingHands healing fists]] and her CryCute moments. Web Novel readers, however, will note that her "threat" to "heal everyone" would be a legitimate concern if she was alive. Her healing powers sap the mana of the Earth itself, which is needed to keep nature in balance. When mana is lacking, powerful natural disasters result. She was actually the most ''hated'' of all the witches due to her killing far more people than she heals.

** Probably the most dreaded and gruesome death this show has to offer: Subaru's death by the [[KillerRabbit Oousagi (Great Rabbit)]]. It starts out innocently enough, with Subaru noticing the Oousagi at a distance. It looks like a harmless, cute rabbit. It comes closer and Subaru reaches out to pet it... and his hand is ''bitten off''. Subaru, horrified and in excruciating pain, sees the rabbit is chewing on his ''thumb'', its red eyes now [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing menacingly.]] Subaru tries to take a few more steps back only to collapse, having lost one of his ''feet''. Two more of the things emerge from the snow. He then looks around and sees a ''horde'' of the Oousagi rising from the snow, surrounding the poor bastard. As Subaru can do nothing but whimper in despair, every one of the Oousagi, with their eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], proceed to swarm him and [[DevouredByTheHorde eat him alive]]. There is no GoryDiscretionShot; we are forced to watch and listen as Subaru suffers yet another slow and agonizing death.

** Probably the most dreaded and gruesome death this show has to offer: Subaru's death by the [[KillerRabbit Oousagi (Great Rabbit)]]. It starts out innocently enough, with Subaru noticing the Oousagi at a distance. It looks like a harmless, cute rabbit. It comes closer and Subaru reaches out to pet it... and his hand is ''bitten off''. Subaru, horrified and in excruciating pain, sees the rabbit is chewing on his ''thumb'', its red eyes now [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing menacingly.]] Subaru tries to take a few more steps back only to collapse, having lost one of his ''feet''. Two more of the things emerge from the snow. He then looks around and sees a ''horde'' of the Oousagi rising from the snow, surrounding the poor bastard. As Subaru can do nothing but whimper in despair, every one of the Oousagi, with their eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], swarm him and begin to [[DevouredByTheHorde eat Subaru alive]]. There is no GoryDiscretionShot; we are forced to watch and listen as Subaru suffers yet another slow and agonizing death.

** Probably the most dreaded and gruesome death this show has to offer: Subaru's death by the [[KillerRabbit Oousagi (Great Rabbit)]]. It starts out innocently enough, with Subaru noticing the Oousagi at a distance. It looks like a harmless, cute rabbit. It comes closer and Subaru reaches out to pet it... and his hand is ''chopped'' off. Subaru, horrified and in excruciating pain, sees the rabbit is chewing on his ''thumb'', its red eyes now [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing menacingly.]] Subaru tries to take a few more steps back only to collapse, having lost one of his ''feet''. Two more of the things emerge from the snow. He then looks around and sees a ''horde'' of the Oousagi rising from the snow, surrounding the poor bastard. As Subaru can do nothing but whimper in despair, every one of the Oousagi, with their eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], charge and begin to [[DevouredByTheHorde eat Subaru alive]]. There is no GoryDiscretionShot; we are forced to watch and listen as Subaru suffers yet another slow and agonizing death.

* Episode 14: When Subaru walks into Arlem, LateToTheTragedy after being left behind by Rem, he finds [the entire village slaughtered by the Witch's Cult with the corpses mutilated in various ways ranging from being burnt alive, stabbed in the back, or having their [[EyeScream eyes]] ripped out.

Make no mistake; beyond its lush animations, fantasy setting and cute girls, ''Re:Zero'' is still a PsychologicalHorror series at heart. '''All spoilers are unmarked!'''

*** [[spoiler: The introductions of the two Witch Cult members, [[TheSociopath Regulus]] and [[DissonantSerenity Pandora]]. The former is a raving lunatic with a HairTriggerTemper under a razor-thin veneer of politeness, who shrugs off getting his neck snapped like it's nothing, and the latter is even worse. Her body is destroyed multiple times, but she always reappears moments later, completely unharmed and completely unfazed. She seems to have some sort of RealityWarper ability––at one point she just...rewrites reality by stating that Regulus never came to the forest but stayed at home the whole time, and he immediately disappears. All of the effects he had on the environment around them––the broken trees, [[spoiler: Petelgeuse]]'s severed arm––are undone, except for [[spoiler: Petelgeuse's consumption of the Sloth Witch Factor]] because [[ItAmusedMe it amused her]].]]
*** [[spoiler: The death of Emilia's mother, Fortuna. She and [[spoiler: Petelgeuse]] launch a joint attack on Pandora, and [[spoiler: Petelgeuse]] appears to have killed her, but then reality...*shifts* somehow, and it's Fortuna lying on the ground with a gaping hole in her chest.]]
---> '''Pandora''': It is not your fault. You simply mistook what you saw.

** [[spoiler: The elves lived in the forest in the first place because they had to protect a seal--a mysterious door that, if opened, would unleash something terrible enough to bring about the end of the world. [[NothingIsScarier We're never quite told what that is, though]]. One day, the Witch Cult comes to the forest to try to open this door, murdering countless elves in the process. Among them is the adoptive mother of a young Emilia--and, in her grief, she lashes out with her tremendous, yet uncontrolled ice powers, freezing over the entire forest along with herself and everyone she'd ever known.]]

*** [[spoiler: Archi's HeroicSacrifice. He's a young elf tasked with fleeing the forest with baby Emilia, but as they run he's attacked by [[TheCorruption one of the three great mabeasts, the Black Serpent]]. It catches him in the leg, which he slices off without hesitation, but we can still see darkness seeping from the wound, quickly swallowing up and corroding away his entire body.]]

** Echidna nearly forms a contract with Subaru before the other witches intervene and force her to reveal her motives: All Echidna cares about is getting her hands on Return by Death. As she begins to rant about how perfect of a match they are together, Echidna's sweet facade finally cracks, revealing the [[TheSociopath cold, unfeeling sociopath]] beneath who only cares about satisfying her own curiosity, regardless of the bodies it leaves behind or lifes it ruins.

* Episode 4: One of the most memorable is ironically the least violent--Subaru is killed in his sleep without warning. The sudden shock of this revelation causes incredible panic in Subaru, who had assumed the worst was over after Elsa.
* Episode 5: Despite everything Subaru has done to determine how he died in his sleep during the previous episode, he gets violently ill and starts vomiting. Then as he begins to search for someone who can help him in the mansion, he gets assaulted by an unknown assailant and murdered. If you're watching the director's cut version, [[EyeScream you see one of his eyeballs roll out.]]

* Episode 25: The final battle between Subaru and Betelgeuse...specifically how adamant the latter is in wanting to catch and kill the former. Betelgeuse utilizes the last of his power and all of his determination to turn himself into a crawling, nightmarish abomination, shouting at Subaru to "give" him Satella's love and ranting about how Satella could abandon him despite devoting all of his life to her. Subaru himself kills Betelgeuse by running him over with a cart and Betelgeuse's [[FamousLastWords last words]] is screaming [[SayMyName his nemesis' name.]]

** While an Awesome moment showcasing Subaru's iron will to persevere, seeing him die again and again (with his body exploding in various areas every time he bites it), only to see another version of him behind the destroyed version run forth is brutal. Subaru doesn't even die in some "loops" but being caked in blood and screaming defiantly at his death can be very disconcerting. The caption as this goes on even states "No matter how many times it takes to save you, I'll die".

** If you thought Sabura's deaths were bad, the illusions (hopefully) conjured by the following words during the second trial are far worse...

* Subaru's special ability is to come back from the dead. The downside is: He has to die first. And while he makes plenty use of it, death is still an ugly thing... and very bloody. Put it this way: it's like [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Kenny]] if his running gag of dying all the time was PlayedForHorror. As such, Subaru's many deaths are always either horrific or deeply upsetting:

* Episode 18: Puck's rage against the Witch Cult and Subaru. His true form and the power he holds gets unleashed the moment Emilia dies, and he goes on his way to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, which is what viewers saw in Episode 15. In the end, Pack ends up freezing and shattering Subaru, with the latter ''laughing'' at himself over how pathetic he is, his self-hatred brought to its breaking point.

** Probably the most dreaded and gruesome death this show has to offer: Subaru's death by the [[KillerRabbit Oousagi (Great Rabbit)]]. It starts out innocently enough, with Subaru noticing the Oousagi at a distance. It looks like a harmless, cute rabbit. It comes closer and Subaru reaches out to pet it... and his hand is ''chopped'' off. Subaru, horrified and in excruciating pain, sees the rabbit is chewing on his ''thumb'', its red eyes now [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing menacingly.]] Subaru tries to take a few more steps back only to collapse, having lost one of his ''feet''. Two more of the things emerge from the snow. He then looks around and sees a ''horde'' of the Oousagi rising from the snow, surrounding the poor bastard. As Subaru can do nothing but whimper in despair, every one of the Oousagi, with their eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], charge and begin to [[DevouredByTheHorde eat Subaru alive]]. There is no GoryDiscretionShot; we are forced to watch and listen as Subaru suffers a slow and agonizing death.

*** The stress from that particular death was so bad that not only does the above happen, he completely ignores Emilia's presence when before, he would at least tend to her after composing himself; Echidna had to pull his soul into her world because he was on the verge on having a permenant mental shutdown from the trauma of it all.

** Echidna nearly forms a contract with Subaru before the other witches intervene and force her to reveal her motives: All Echidna cares about is getting her hands on Return by Death. As she begins to rant about how perfect of a match they are together, Echidna's sweet facade finally cracks, revealing the [[TheSociopath cold, unfeeling sociopath]] beneath who only cares about satisfying her own curiosity, regardless of the bodies it leaves behind or lives it ruins.

*** "Behold An Unthinkable Present" [[spoiler:and see Reinhard and Puck duck it together as the latter tries to destroy the world.]]

* Episode 18: Pack's rage against the Witch Cult and Subaru. His true form and the power he holds gets unleashed the moment Emilia dies, and he goes on his way to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, which is what viewers saw in Episode 15. In the end, Pack ends up freezing and shattering Subaru, with the latter ''laughing'' at himself over how pathetic he is, his self-hatred brought to its breaking point.

*** Several gory shots include the Oousagi biting into Subaru's chest and neck, cutting off his remaining hand, one of the Oousagi actually entering his ''stomach'' (indicated as a disturbing bulge moving around) and eating his organs, ripping off and chowing down on pieces of mangled ear and tongue, etc. We get a first-person view from Subaru's remaining eye, caked in and crying blood, as another Oousagi finishes him off by eating that too, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou giving the audience a scare]]. Subaru then Returns by Death, but the pain and trauma are still there, causing Subaru to bash his head into the pavement a couple of times, drawing blood as he screeches at the indignity of it all...

*** The stress from that particular death was so bad that not only does the above happen, he completely ignores Emilia's presence when before, he would at least tend to her after composing himself; Echidna had to pull his soul into her world because he was on the verge on having a mental shutdown from the trauma of it all.

** If you thought Sabura's deaths were bad, the illusions (hopefully)conjured by the following words during the second trial are far worse
*** "Behold An Unthinkable Present"
*** "Behold An Unthinkable Present"
*** "Behold An Unthinkable Present"

** Echidna nearly forms a contract with Subaru before the other witches intervene and force her to reveal her motives: All Echidna cares about is getting her hands on Return by Death. As she begins to rant about how perfect of a match they are together, Echidna's sweet facade finally cracks, revealing the cold, unfeeling sociopath beneath who only cares about satisfying her own curiosity, regardless of the bodies it leaves behind or lives it ruins.

!!Arc 2 Season 1 Episodes 4-11

!!Arc 3 Season 1/2 Episodes 12-26

!! Arc 4 Season 2 Episodes 27-

* In the web novel, and episodes 34-35, we get to see a brief glimpse of what happens when Satella breaks free of her seal. Subaru is chased by a being wrapped in darkness that literally shreds anyone that gets between him and her to bits, repeatedly professing her love for him over and over while slaughtering his friends. It's worse for viewers wearing headphones: some of her "I love you"s are right in your ear. She attempts to absorb Subaru so they can spend eternity together. Subaru only escapes this fate by killing himself, but not before seeing Satella's uncloaked face...[[WhamShot which looks just like Emilia's.]]

** Subaru escapes with Beatrice from the mansion, only to be blocked by a girl named Maylie. Her face looks familiar...then Subaru (and the audience) realizes why. She's the same girl who was at the center of the witchbeast incident in season 1. And now she's back, as a full-blown [[TheBeastmaster (witch)beastmaster.]] And she's working with Elsa.

** Probably the most dreaded and gruesome death this show has to offer: Subaru's death by the [[KillerRabbit Oousagi (Great Rabbit)]]. It starts out innocently enough, with Subaru noticing the Oousagi at a distance and it looks like a harmless, cute rabbit. It comes closer and Subaru reaches out to pet it... and his hand is ''chopped'' off. Subaru, horrified and in excruciating pain, sees the rabbit is chewing on Subaru's ''thumb'', its red eyes now [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing menacingly.]] Subaru tries to take a few more steps back but then suddenly collapses, having lost one of his ''feet''. Two more of the things emerge from the snow. He then looks around and sees that a ''horde'' of the Oousagi are rising from the snow, surrounding the poor bastard. As Subaru can do nothing but whimper in despair, every one of the Oousagi, with their eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], charge and begin to [[DevouredByTheHorde eat Subaru alive]]. There is no GoryDiscretionShot; we are forced to watch and listen as Subaru suffers a slow and agonizing death.
*** Several gory shots include the Oousagi biting into Subaru's chest and neck, cutting off his remaining hand, one of the Oousagi actually entering his ''stomach'' (indicated as a disturbing bulge moving around) and eating his organs, ripping off and chowing down on pieces of mangled ear and tongue, etc. We get a first-person view from Subaru's remaining eye, caked in and crying blood, as another Oousagi finishes him off by eating that too, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou giving the audience a scare]]. Subaru then Returns by Death, but the pain and the trauma of THAT death is still there, causing Subaru to bash his head into the pavement a couple of times, drawing blood as he screeches at the indignity of it all...
*** Believe it or not, it's a lot worse in the Light Novel/Web Novel, as not only does all of the above happen, its being a novel can actually describe what Subaru is feeling as the rabbits eat him, with some of the monsters actually ''traveling up his anus'', not just his stomach. Subaru also doesn't die '''until the rabbits crack open his skull and feast on his brain'''. Waking up from his death doesn't cause Subaru to beat his head into the floor like the anime but he instead ''vomits violently and suffers a full blown seizure''.

* Episode 34: We finally get to see some of the witches face to face. Though they look cute, their mannerisms are strange, to say the least.

* In the web novel, and episodes 9-10, we get to see a brief glimpse of what happens when Satella breaks free of her seal. Subaru is chased by a being wrapped in darkness that literally shreds anyone that gets between him and her to bits, repeatedly professing her love for him over and over while slaughtering his friends. It's worse for viewers wearing headphones: some of her "I love you"s are right in your ear. She attempts to absorb Subaru so they can spend eternity together. Subaru only escapes this fate by killing himself, but not before seeing Satella's uncloaked face...[[WhamShot which looks just like Emilia's.]]

** It also showcases the enemies that Subaru and company have to eventually deal with in the future, like the Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony and the return of Elsa..

** Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, seems the most harmless, with her healing fists and her CryCute moments. Web Novel readers, however, will note that her "threat" to "heal everyone" would be a legitimate concern if she was alive. Her healing powers sap the mana of the Earth itself, which is needed to keep nature in balance. When mana is lacking, powerful natural disasters result. She was actually the most ''hated'' of all the witches due to her killing far more than she heals.

*** Now Beatrice's aversion to Subaru dying, or at least dying in her sight, [[HarsherInHindsight has a whole new meaning.]] It wasn't just her being her grumpy self. She was ''envious''.
** Subaru escapes with Beatrice from the mansion, only to be blocked by a girl named Meilie. Her face looks familiar...then Subaru (and the audience) realizes why. She's the same girl who was at the center of the witchbeast incident in season 1. And now she's back, as a full-blown [[TheBeastmaster (witch)beastmaster.]] And she's working with Elsa.
** Elsa's always been one creepy killer, but now she's in full AmbiguouslyHuman territory. Beatrice seemingly kills her with her yin magic, [[LiterallyShatteredLives shattering her into pieces.]] Then we get the WhamShot of Beatrice impaled with a kukri. Elsa, who's seemingly no worse for wear, sans the loss of her anti-magic cloak, giddily slices through the spirit librarian. Subaru can only watch in horror.

** Subaru goes to the tomb, hoping to get answers from Echidna, and runs into Emilia. Emilia is...not well. [[{{Yandere}} She's become a dependent, rambling mess, obsessed with Subaru.]] Her eyes have changed from soft lilac to an [[EmptyEyes empty, dark purple with darkness swirling in them.]] The constant crazed glint in her eyes doesn't help matters. You'd be forgiven for thinking that she was possessed by Satella, but the truth is worse: [[BreakTheCutie she has well and truly snapped.]] Thanks to a combination of Puck's continued absence, Subaru's sudden departure, and Roswaal's scheming, Emilia was ostracized and alone. Convinced that she needed to pass the Trials to erase her pariah status, she tried and failed over and over again. With no [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Subaru or Puck to comfort her]], the combined weight of [[DarkAndTroubledPast her past]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation the harsh reality of her present]], and the loss of her emotional support [[DrivenToMadness broke her.]]
** Roswaal demonstrates his status as TheUnfettered by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice callously piercing Ram and Garfiel with his arm]] because [[DisproportionateRetribution "they were in the way of his discussion"]] with Subaru. When Garfiel begins to transform while desperately trying to heal Ram, [[OffWithHisHead Roswaal kicks his head right off.]]

*** Then there's the [[KissOfDeath "kiss of death"]], considered to be up there with Subaru's first Oousagi encounter and his first encounter with Puck's true form for infamous deaths. An injured and exhausted Subaru returns to the tomb, to the delight of a mentally broken Emilia. She offers him a lap pillow, in a corrupted parallel to the heartwarming scene from the first season. As he rests on Emilia's lap, the OminousMusicBoxTune BGM distorts and the visuals start jumping and skipping like a damaged film reel. [[WhamShot Then we see why Subaru is so tired.]] It's blood loss from failing to completely escape the Oousagi's wrath. [[BodyHorror We see giant chunks of flesh missing, ripped off by the ravenous rabbits. Any skin that remained is littered with deep bite marks.]] Emilia [[DissonantSerenity is too far gone]] to notice any of this and leans in for a kiss as the last of Subaru's life ebbs away...[[KissingDiscretionShot cut to title card]]: "The Taste of Death".

** Elsa's always been one creepy killer, but now she's in full AmbiguouslyHuman territory. Beatrice seemingly kills her with her yin magic, [[LiterallyShatteredLives shattering her into pieces.]] Then we get the WhamShot of Beatrice impaled with a kukuri. Elsa, who's seemingly no worse for wear, sans the loss of her anti-magic cloak, giddily slices through the spirit librarian. Subaru can only watch in horror.
*** Afterwards, you'd think Elsa would put Subaru out of his misery, but no. After slapping Subaru with the broadside of her kukuri, she notes how she doesn't like the look he's giving her. She resolves this by [[EyeScream slicing his left eye out.]]

*** The dreaded [[Killer Rabbit Oousagi]], attracted by Roswaal's snow, has returned. But what's more unnerving than the thousands of red eyes outside is Roswaal's cavalier reaction to it. He barely pays attention to the rabbit horde or even shows pain as one of them chomps on his neck. He's so assured of the outcome of Subaru's future loops that he completely disregards the present, letting himself succumb to the Oousagi's onslaught.
*** Then there's the [[KissOfDeath"kiss of death"]], considered to be up there with Subaru's first Oousagi encounter and his first encounter with Puck's true form for infamous deaths. An injured and exhausted Subaru returns to the tomb, to the delight of a mentally broken Emilia. She offers him a lap pillow, in a corrupted parallel to the heartwarming scene from the first season. As he rests on Emilia's lap, the OminousMusicBoxTune BGM distorts and the visuals start jumping and skipping like a damaged film reel. [[WhamShot Then we see why Subaru is so tired.]] It's blood loss from failing to completely escape the Oousagi's wrath. [[BodyHorror We see giant chunks of flesh missing, ripped off by the ravenous rabbits. Any skin that remained is littered with deep bite marks.]] Emilia [[DissonantSerenity is too far gone]] to notice any of this and leans in for a kiss as the last of Subaru's life ebbs away...[[KissingDiscretionShot cut to title card]]: "The Taste of Death".

** Subaru goes to the tomb, hoping to get answers from Echidna, and runs into Emilia. Emilia is...not well. [[{{Yandere}} She's become a dependent, rambling mess, obsessed with Subaru.]] Her eyes have changed from soft lilac to an [[EmptyEyes empty, dark purple with darkness swirling in them. The constant crazed glint in her eyes doesn't help matters. You'd be forgiven for thinking that she was possessed by Satella, but the truth is worse: [[BreakTheCutie she has well and truly snapped.]] Thanks to a combination of Puck's continued absence, Subaru's sudden departure, and Roswaal's scheming, Emilia was ostracized and alone. Convinced that she needed to pass the Trials to erase her pariah status, she tried and failed over and over again. With no [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Subaru or Puck to comfort her]], the combined weight of [[DarkAndTroubledPast her past]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation the harsh reality of her present]], and the loss of her emotional support [[DrivenToMadness broke her.]]
** Roswaal demonstrates his status as TheUnfettered by callously piercing Ram and Garfiel with his arm because "they were in the way of his discussion" with Subaru. When Garfiel begins to transform while desperately trying to heal Ram, Roswaal kicks his head right off.
*** Roswaal knows that Subaru can turn back time, but doesn't know that it's through the latter's death, not just unfortunate circumstances. Because of this, Roswaal tries to "persuade" Subaru to return by beating the everloving crap out of him.
*** The dreaded Oousagi, attracted by Roswaal's snow, has returned. But what's more unnerving than the thousands of red eyes outside is Roswaal's cavalier reaction to it. He barely pays attention to the rabbit horde or even shows pain as one of them chomps on his neck. He's so assured of the outcome of Subaru's future loops that he completely disregards the present, letting himself succumb to the Oousagi's onslaught.
*** Then there's the "kiss of death", considered to be up there with Subaru's first Oousagi encounter and his first encounter with Puck's true form in infamous deaths. An injured and exhausted Subaru returns to the tomb, to the delight of a mentally broken Emilia. She offers him a lap pillow, in a corrupted parallel to the heartwarming scene from the first season. As he rests on Emilia's lap, the OminousMusicBoxTune BGM distorts and the visuals start jumping and skipping as if we're watching a damaged film reel. [[WhamShot Then we see why Subaru is so tired.]] It's blood loss from failing to completely escape the Oousagi's wrath. We see giant chunks of flesh missing, ripped off by the ravenous rabbits. Any skin that remained is littered with deep bite marks. Emilia is too far gone to notice any of this and leans in for a kiss as the last of Subaru's life ebbs away...cut to title card: "The Taste of Death".
*** The whole scene has a grainy, washed-out filter over it, further amplifying the hopelessness and desolation of it all. Psychological Horror indeed.
*** To add insult to injury, this is Subaru's first kiss. His first kiss is taken by a shattered, insane Emilia, and Subaru has to live with that extra trauma, on top of the guilt that her fate was indirectly his fault.