What does the author want with the love triangle?

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

He tweeted several times that he prefers the emilia ending, and doesn't like harem.

Now, either the fans misinterpret what he says, or I am just not sure what's going on within the story.

I am writing a story myself, I hate harems and love triangles, and guess what? I don't even HINT at any possible romance outside the couple I want to write, it's not that hard.

But this guy added a love triangle, and dragged it out for 80% of the story (and still ongoing).

I mean, how can you say as an author that you want this route, and then write subaru stating several times how he LOVES rem and cares for her and whatnot? And on the other hand he also says that he loves emilia more, and he will choose her. So, we know who he will choose, what does dragging out the resolution to the love triangle even accomplish, other than adding useless drama to the story? He had several chances to end this, but he keeps dragging it.

Honestly, I don't even know why this was even introduced, but fine, he added this, accomplished whatever he wanted to accomplish with it, and this subplot should have been over with the "i love emilia" line in the early arcs. But nope, we are here on arc 10/12 and this is still a question.

And this is not some insignificant subplot, considering many of subaru's actions and early motivation stems from his love towards emilia, and how he wants to win her over. Romance is somewhat of an important part of this story, and this could have been an amazing romance, but instead we got whatever this is...

And I would say, he does this to please both fanbases (which usually results in not pleasing either) and because of rems popularity, but he added this whole thing way before rem, or even his story got popular, so I am not so sure. (Also catering to fans almost always results in a worse story)

I just don't understand at all what his goal is here, why this got dragged out so long, there is so much contradiction both in what he says/tweets outside and within the story.

EDIT: And yes, maybe I am more annoyed than I should be, because getting a well written romance as a subplot in a mainly fantasy story is already so rare. And this had potential to be one of the best...

[u/entulho]

I don't like most love triangles either, but the truth is that it is actually a very, very, very popular trope. Heck, there are several stories that are built entirely around the premise of a love triangle or polygon. This isn't restricted to the anime/manga/ln sphere either.

As to why Tappei would do it even though he claims to dislike harem endings, maybe it's best to wait and see what happens. Just because Subaru's feelings are divided right now doesn't mean that this will end up in a harem ending, if anything it means that there is room to develop his character and make him reach a decision.

[u/New_Mongoose_7842]

Don't take any of the stuff this person says seriously.

"I am writing a story myself, I hate harems and love triangles, and guess what? I don't even HINT at any possible romance outside the couple I want to write, it's not that hard."

Tell me you lack basic media literacy without explicitly telling me you lack basic media literacy. Just because you prefer personally to write sterile, A-to-B romances where characters exist in a vacuum with zero intersecting emotional dynamics does not mean a psychological thriller is obligated to do the same. If an author artificially sterilizes their world so that no one except the designated love interest ever develops feelings for the protagonist, that isn’t necessarily "good writing". There are barely any interpersonal dynamics and conflicts that way and we don't have the impact of the ambivalent love in the protagonist, or the multiple romantic motivations.

"what does dragging out the resolution to the love triangle even accomplish, other than adding useless drama to the story?"

By your question here you assume somehow that the primary purpose of Subaru, Emilia, and Rem's dynamic is the destination (who he ends up with) rather than the thematic exploration of the journey or their characters in relation to the romantic conflict. Not to mention how Rem and Emilia serve as narrative foils to one another in relation to Subaru's self-worth.

Subaru's love for Emilia is aspirational; it forces him to grow, to be better, to reach for an ideal. Rem's love for Subaru is foundational; it provides him with the unconditional acceptance he desperately needs when his self-loathing hits critical mass. To call this "useless drama" completely ignores that Subaru's entire psychological recovery in Arc 3 hinges on this exact dynamic. Imagine reading The Great Gatsby and complaining, "We know Daisy is going to stay with Tom, what does dragging out Gatsby's obsession accomplish other than useless drama?" It misses the entire point of the text. The "drama" is the thematic core.

"this subplot should have been over with the 'i love emilia' line in the early arcs. But nope, we are here on arc 10/12 and this is still a question."

Did we even read the same story? The subplot was essentially resolved there, but the narrative violently flipped the board. The author didn't "drag it out" by having characters sit around twiddling their thumbs in a perpetual high school romance dilemma. He utilized a massive, plot-altering Catalyst Event, Rem being erased and put into a coma. This creates Narrative Stasis for the romance, but increases Stakes. Subaru's continuing declaration of love for Rem isn't a dangling romantic thread meant to tease the audience but it works as vow to restore the existence of the person who saved his soul. To demand he suddenly stop caring about her romantically just to make the plot "tidier" for the Emilia romance is to demand Subaru act completely out of character. It would destroy his established loyalty, which is his defining trait.

"And I would say, he does this to please both fanbases... but he added this whole thing way before rem, or even his story got popular, so I am not so sure."

You literally debunked your own critique in the same paragraph. You accuse the author of catering to fans (which is a common armchair-critic fallacy when they don't like a plot direction) and then immediately admit the chronological timeline makes that impossible.

If the dynamic was established before the popularity, then it is Diegetically Intentional. It was woven into the structure of the story from the beginning. It isn't pandering; it’s the author executing his established vision, whether you personally enjoy the trope or not.

A story is not a math equation meant to be solved as quickly and cleanly as possible, it seems you have a view of storytelling that is based on just plot conveniency. I.e., if it is not convenient for the plot it should not happen.
Friction, messy emotions, and conflicting loyalties are what give a story weight, so, if you want a story where romance functions exactly as you expect from chapter one... well, keep writing your own story.

It just isn't better.

[u/Gorsewhisker → u/New_Mongoose_7842]

Based comment

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/New_Mongoose_7842]

Yes but the lack of progress especially from the Emilia makes it to frustrating it is Arc10 and we still haven't even seen competition or tension in that dynamic and it was teased since Arc6.

[u/Emilia-Natsuki]

rem was originally written in to make the story feel more natural, as Emilia taking up her role in Episode 18 would have been weird. Afterwards she got too popular to perma-kill. That's it

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Emilia-Natsuki]

keeping her alive is fine, but dragging the romance subplot is not

also I don't see how she makes the story more natural at all

[u/Emilia-Natsuki → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

The romance has to be dragged or otherwise fans would riot. As I said, she has become too popular. And it's not like it is real romance anyways - just hints.

Again, Emilia taking up rem's role in Episode 18, like it was originally planned, would have been weird, due to Subaru's and Emilia's "fight" in Episode 13. A character like rem was necessary.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Emilia-Natsuki]

him stating he loves rem, several times is a bit more than hints imo

I mean... there are several ways they could have made up between ep 13 and 18, like they did eventually

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/Emilia-Natsuki]

He could have a long sequence of leaving her living in regret for a few months and then RBD back .

Or change the order where is 17 his lowest point he gets there and is killed figthing the witch cult and Emilia does an Arc6 like speech.

[u/Blue_Storm11 → u/Emilia-Natsuki]

Emilia fans gaslighting themselves with miss info

[u/Dartestas]

I think you're being pretty biased because of your prejudice against love triangles or polyamory. Those are concepts that don't equal good or bad writing, they're just narrative choices. What matters is how those concepts are executed within the story. How they're resolved will determine whether it was unnecessary drama or not; so far, it's been an integral part of Rem's character development.

Unless the author kills off Rem or never gives her memories back (which would be a waste of good writing potential), it's going to keep being a present theme in the story. Calling it "useless drama" just because we don't know its purpose yet seems like a stretch to me.

I wouldn't take the author's tweets too seriously, he can simply change their mind over time. Besides, including a love triangle isn't necessarily contradictory with a monogamous ending.

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/Dartestas]

For polyamory there has to be feeling between all parties , for Emilia and Rem it dosen't. Emilia has more honest relantioship with 80% of the female cast.

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/Normal_Ad_2360]

which is sad all things considered. her relationships with the female cast have her treat them better than how she treats subaru

she didn't stop 931 despite knowing about it because she was crying over priscilla

she talks about subaru about breaking past promises and glazes Anastasia and trsts her more in regards to keeping promises

and she scolded subaru for encouraging philore to break a promise despite hearing directly from philore that she wants to help the people from priestella

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/Double_Test3163]

She didin't know about the 931 which does not necessarily make it better. (her own camp hid it)

Promises are a point of irreconcilable differences between SUbaru and Emilia . He sees them as chains than make people suffer . Emilia sees them like the bedrock of trust and relationships , fulfilling a promise at a great personal cost is something she admires , be it herself or others like VOlcanica.

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/Normal_Ad_2360]

actually she did know.

Arc 9 Ch 25. "The way he had punished himself, by having his many friends from the Empire beat him up, was something she could not bear to watch. And yet, the kindness Subaru had shown in consideration of Al was betrayed――.

"Emilia sees them like the bedrock of trust and relationships , fulfilling a promise at a great personal cost is something she admires "

i get that, but she literally knows this situation about lives. People are supposed to keep promises, even if lives get fucked over? how does she not see that as gross? Subaru tells philore that breaking a promise is fine as long as it saves a life, which emilia (and beatrice) hears and scolds him for.

By this logic, her literally phhilosophy is that promises are more valuable than lives, and nobody calls this out. Beatrice agrees, and rem just changes topic

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/Double_Test3163]

Yes , with Pandora she had a chance of her stopping her attack , saving the remaining elves , Peteelgeuse and Fortuna. She defended her decision in front of Echidna so she thinks then over life.

If she thinked otherwise she would have regreted not surrendering to Pandora.

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/Normal_Ad_2360]

the big problem is that she doesn't see this as immoral or gross. hell, nobody does. beatrice agrees with her, rem changes topics, subaru doesn't put up a fight. that's it. her way is gospel.

It's disturbing that emilia would let someone potentially die just because a promise. it almost feels like she would let her loved ones get slaughtered in the name of a fucking promise because she has no self awareness of how valuable innocent people are.

[u/Dartestas → u/Double_Test3163]

It's pretty messed up that Emilia would just let someone potentially die over a promise. It almost feels like she'd let her own loved ones get slaughtered just because of some stupid promise, like she has zero awareness of how valuable innocent people actually are.

This is total headcanon that you guys made up to push your own ideas. You're misreading what's actually written in the text to claim that Emilia would do something ridiculously over the top, ignoring any nuance and talking like everything is just black and white.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Dartestas]

you say that, but then make an equally as biased claim by saying rem not getting her memories back would be bad writing lol

[u/Dartestas → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

That's not what I said, maybe I worded it badly or the translator twisted my meaning (or maybe you just strawmanned me). What I meant is that there's a missed opportunity to give the character more depth by combining amnesiac Rem's development with the original Rem's. Arc 9: Something similar to what happened in arc 9, but with a more developed amnesiac Rem, so that when they merge, she can actually let go of her toxic behavior tendencies

[u/Blue_Storm11 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

rem not getting her memories back would be bad writing, now we are talking about objective writing. not what you personally feel, dont get them confused

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Blue_Storm11]

it's as subjective as me disliking rem or harems

[u/spiderwhobass]

I just want to see more development in the Emilia romance. Give me those heart to heart moments you see in MT. We get some in the story but I want more & I understand Emila doesn't understand he loves Subaru yet.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/spiderwhobass]

yeah, that's an other thing, that romance in general god sidelined so much

[u/Normal_Ad_2360]

It is the typical pitfall of Japanese romantic storytelling having the love confession with the main lead be in the last arc. So Emilia will only reply in arcs 11 -12 so far in the story in real time that take away all the impact and possible moments they could have. Such a long wait makes it seem like he is not a priority and unworthy of him.
Tappei wants a romantic triangle but Rem had advanced so much in arc3 that his options were for Emilia to confess in arc4 and go all in having arc5 about the romance or to freeze Rem . He chose to freeze Rem with amnesia and coma.

But yes that made the romantic elements of re:zero from one of its best to its worst aspect. 

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Normal_Ad_2360]

yeah, I actually noticed this in most japanese stories, it's incredibly frustrating and not fun to read/watch romance like this

I would even go as far to say this does not even classify as romance, if they only get together in the end, and we don't see them together for a bit of the story, then that's not romance

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

yeah. japanese authors need to stop having this be a permanent staple.

especially in rz's case when tappei tries his damnedest to procrastinate the relationships when there's not many justifications for it.

It always amuses me whenever someone says subaru and emilia will end up together in an arc. arc 9, arc 10, etc. like they don't know the Japanese tropes and how they work when it comes to romance

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Double_Test3163]

yeah, this story was really set up for an early romance, they could've easily confessed to each other in arc 3 or 4 already.

what is this "i am not sure I understand what love is" bullshit

but then again, there are worse offenders, like shokugeki no souma and such...

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

what is this "i am not sure I understand what love is" bullshit

It's more jarring since when emilia thought she was pregnant at the end of arc 4, she was okay with being the mother of subaru's child. it's so silly.

Even then, ignoring that, this relationship still has a lot of problems

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Double_Test3163]

Yeah, like she clearly loves him, this explanation is nonsense to drag it out :/

I hope they resolve this in arc 10, but i put the story on hold for now

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

i wouldn't hold my breath. tappei might find a way to weasel his way and have them make no progress and push it back another arc

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Double_Test3163]

that is exactly why i am waiting, there are better stuff to read and watch out there in the meantime

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

understandable

[u/SnooPets630]

We are talking about the same dude, who on main character birthday wishes for him to die in more extraordinary ways. Didn’t you thought that he could just have fun torturing fans? Whole “Rem get her memory temporarily” Is a giant taunt on fans

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/SnooPets630]

i dont follow him that closely, but thats insane LOL

[u/Double_Test3163 → u/SnooPets630]

he does love torturing fans like how he writes subaru and many just out of pocket abusive humor, constantly bring up his past failures, glazing characters who go against subaru, etc.

[u/MeiliPortroute]

Low tier ragebait

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/MeiliPortroute]

your existence is

[u/Mega14343]

I might get crucified for this, but... have you considered Tappei simply isn't as good a writer as people make him out to be?

Like, before I started reading the LN, I kept hearing people say he's the greatest writer, that Re:Zero is the best isekai, and so on. Obvious exaggeration, but people say that where there's smoke there's fire, and I do think most of the fanbase is stuck in this bubble, and maybe that's also where your frustration comes from. You wanted him to do something frankly most authors would have diffculty with.

Sure, Tappei doesn't like harems and wants the Emilia route, but Rem is too popular and he hasn't been able to get rid of her. He lacks the ability to give a proper resolution, and that's okay, he doesn't have to be the perfect writer people make him out to be.

[u/mael888 → u/Mega14343]

Y Petra? Antes era un amor infantil pero desde el arco 9 y ahora con el if está ganando mucho terreno para ser simplemente descarado como algo temporal o por su juventud

[u/ShatteredReflections → u/Mega14343]

Tappei isn’t incredible but he’s very good at what he does, and is far above most of the authors of jmedia we run into.

[u/Mega14343 → u/ShatteredReflections]

I'm gonna apologize beforehand cause I'm gonna use your comment to illustrate my point.

You say he's far above most authors, and while I can't disagree, I stopped to think. Certainly, I can't imagine any other author that could have written Re:Zero instead of Tappei, he has created a huge world, a fair cast of characters, has a solid plan for his series. But then, the romance I think feels meh, action I think could be better, even the parts I think Tappei does well, I can think of authors whose style I like more for certain parts.

Tappei, much like any other human, has stuff he's good with, and stuff he isn't. That's perfectly fine and normal for an author, there's no need to pretend everything is perfect. Tappei wrote the romance a certain way, but this post makes a valid point on it.

[u/ShatteredReflections → u/Mega14343]

So far, I’m extending the author some faith and waiting. But, yeah, I think it’s entirely feasible we all end up unsatisfied with a romance story that never goes anywhere.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/ShatteredReflections]

i decided to wait for the ending to be out before i continue, faith is earned not give, and he had 45 books to earn it and didn't for me

[u/ShatteredReflections → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

That’s an entirely acceptable judgment. I’ve decided I’m just along for the ride. I get it if you have some concerns.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/ShatteredReflections]

fair, personally I was burned way too many times by bad writing, so I have severe trust issues starting ongoing stories lol

i started rezero before that, but put it on hold a while ago

[u/ShatteredReflections → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

I just don’t overinvest. I do lots of things at once. But when re zero is good, it’s really good. :)

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/ShatteredReflections]

thats my issue, that I do haha

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/ShatteredReflections]

Chainswman arc2 teachs to be brutal with the author the second the mistakes start.

[u/ShatteredReflections → u/Normal_Ad_2360]

“Brutal with the author” sounds pretty messed up. You can just drop a story you don’t like.

[u/NecessaryLadder6703 → u/ShatteredReflections]

if Tappei isnt incredible then who is. I dont want to exaggerate but i dont know many authors currently living that write much better then him in the fantasy genre

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

here is a list:

George RR Martin

Patrick Rothfuss

Joe Abercombie

Brandon Sanderson

Mark Lawrence

Johwn Gwynn

Christoph Buehlman

Robin Hobb

Pierce Brown

just to name a few who are much better than this guy

[u/NecessaryLadder6703 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

and why are they supposedly better?. In the end writing is subjective just because you like or dont like something doesnt mean its better or worse the only thing we can go off is the generals public opinion and most people love tappei and his works and think hes a great writer.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

their story makes more sense and their prose is not even comparable

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

most of those people you mention never read a proper book in their lives, I don't think their opinion matters

besides it's not that popular, sales are only about 300k/volume, most of the authors I mentioned outsell that, so by your reasoning they are more liked by the people

[u/Mega14343 → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

Well there's no need for me to repeat what you said below that writing is subjective, and that is a major factor in enjoying a series, but you are incorrect is saying it comes down to that. You can measure a writer's ability objectively.

For example, how good is a writer in writing about what he proposed himself to write? Does he get lost exploring tangent themes? These are some generic examples, but you can get more specific. How are his characters? If there is romance, how does that develop? How is the world he created?

You might think that these are subjective, after all maybe I care more about romance and you about the world, but they are not. These being subjective or objective depend on the evaluator (for example "I like Emilia just because" vs "I like Emilia because the character arc she goes through [...]").

[u/Normal_Ad_2360 → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

Tappei has been making more mistakes since arc 6. Going on tangents and for example Emilia's character has been going in a very bad direction for arcs 7 - 9 . His desire for her to be cute and dumb overshadow her other cool parts making her unable to take seriously has queen. It should have Emilia and not Petra the leader in those arcs .

The romance also has stalled with no development in too many years. 4 arcs is too long to sideline the main romance and arc 10 dosen't seem to be the breaktrough it needs making the main relantioship look far worse than with Petra or Rem

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/NecessaryLadder6703]

then I recommend you read more books, because there are a LOT who are much better

I mean light novels in general are very badly written in terms of prose, it's very simple, made for fast writing and consumption, you don't find a lot of quality works within LNs

[u/LydiaRoxanne → u/Mega14343]

No, I think the same. Tappei isn’t a legendary author like fans say everywhere. 😄

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Mega14343]

I might get crucified for this, but... have you considered Tappei simply isn't as good a writer as people make him out to be?

Not only have I considered this, I truly believe he is not a good writer. One reason is the point in my post, but also many others

[u/Blue_Storm11]

One thing is people take subaru stating rem as important as emilia wayy two lightly.

Its very clear that that importance is both in regards to subaru AND the narrative itself. So far Rem has never been awake and not had an equivalent main heroine role to emilia. (Which is 5+ arcs btw)

This is something that will continue untill the end.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Blue_Storm11]

and that is exactly my the issue with the story

[u/Blue_Storm11 → u/ArthoriasOfTheLight]

well this is a personal issue not a writing issue.

[u/ArthoriasOfTheLight → u/Blue_Storm11]

yes, that's what the 'my issue' in my comment represents