Subaru’s “Return by Death” makes his story a loop-driven thriller, but it also makes counting deaths confusing.
This guide confirms the most defensible published-arc total, breaks it down by arc, and explains why different tallies don’t always match; especially when people debate How many times Subaru died in manga.
If you want the clean answer to How many times Subaru died in manga, read on with HariManga.
What “died” means in the Re:Zero manga?
In Re:Zero, Subaru’s deaths are not metaphorical “fail states.” They are literal deaths that trigger his Authority, commonly referred to as Return by Death, resetting him to a prior “save point” while only he retains the memories.
For a practical manga death counter, most readers use one of two rules:
- Strict (panel-confirmed): Count only deaths that are depicted on-panel or immediately confirmed by a reset/loop scene.
- Broad (narration-confirmed): Also count deaths implied by narration, time skips, or “it happened again” dialogue; even if the actual death isn’t drawn.
Because the Re:Zero manga is published as separate manga series per story arc (different artists, different serialization runs), the strict rule is usually the most defensible when someone asks How many times Subaru died in manga.
How many times Subaru died in manga?
Subaru dies 17 times in the underlying Arc 1-4 narrative the manga is adapting.
Because Chapter 4 (Arc 4) is still being released as a manga series, your personal count may be lower if you haven’t reached the later resets yet.
But the arc’s canonical loop endpoints still add up to 6 deaths, which is why most reference counts land on 17 when answering How many times Subaru died in manga.
That “17” aligns with the widely cited count for the story up through the equivalent of Seasons 1-2 (11 deaths + 6 deaths).
It is also the most practical answer to How many times Subaru died in manga because the manga adaptations of Arcs 1-4 cover the same loop endpoints that define that total.
Death count by arc (manga Arcs 1-4):
- Arc 1 (Chapter 1: A Day in the Capital): First loop in the capital (3 deaths)
- Killed early in the capital after a street confrontation (first loop-ending death).
- Killed again while trying to protect the girl he just met.
- Killed a third time during the “loot house” climax, triggering the final reset of this arc.
- Arc 2 (Chapter 2: A Week at the Mansion): Mansion suspicion + curse loop (4 deaths)
- Dies shortly after arriving at the mansion, ending a “test” loop.
- Dies again under growing suspicion, reinforcing the arc’s paranoia tone.
- Dies from the curse situation escalating beyond his control.
- Dies one more time before he finally breaks the loop with a coordinated plan.
- Arc 3 (Chapter 3: Truth of Zero): Royal Selection + Witch Cult/Whale arc (4 deaths)
- Killed after political and personal decisions push the arc into catastrophe.
- Killed again in a loop where the Witch Cult threat overwhelms his preparation.
- Killed a third time after a major battlefield setback.
- Killed a fourth time in the arc’s high-tension endgame before the “true” route sticks.
- Arc 4 (Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed): Sanctuary trials + mansion threat (6 deaths)
- Dies soon after entering the Sanctuary situation as the rules change around him.
- Dies again as information about the Sanctuary and mansion threat arrives too late.
- Dies in a loop that emphasizes psychological pressure and time constraints.
- Dies again after a high-cost confrontation that resets his progress.
- Dies in one of the arc’s most discussed loops (often referenced in “every death” lists).
- Dies a sixth time before the arc’s core conflict finally stabilizes.
Why different sources disagree on How many times Subaru died in manga?
Even when people agree the answer is “17,” they often disagree about what should be counted. Here are the most common reasons:
1) Manga vs. anime vs. light novel: small adaptation choices
Re:Zero exists across multiple canonical formats. The manga is an adaptation of the underlying story arcs, and the anime adapts those same arcs, but scene selection and pacing differ.
That is why some “every death” lists reference the light novel as their baseline, while others list what the anime shows on-screen.
2) Off-panel or implied deaths
Some arcs in the broader Re:Zero story (beyond what most manga readers have in hand) contain sequences where deaths are implied repeatedly rather than drawn repeatedly.
Fan discussions regularly flag this as a reason totals can balloon into ranges rather than neat integers.
3) “As of what volume?” matters in manga
The manga is not a single continuous run; it is multiple series, and the newest arc adapts content later in the story.
Wikipedia notes a fifth manga began serialization in 2024 (“Stars that Engrave History”).
So, depending on whether your question targets only arcs that have substantial published volumes in your language, your answer to How many times Subaru died in manga can be “17 so far” rather than “17 forever.”
Manga reading order and where the death counter currently ends
If you’re reading in English (North America, UK, Singapore, and most global ebook storefronts), the clean order is the arc-based manga “Chapter” numbering:
- Chapter 1: A Day in the Capital
- Chapter 2: A Week at the Mansion
- Chapter 3: Truth of Zero
- Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed
This is also the most reader-friendly structure to cite when someone asks How many times Subaru died in manga, because it keeps the tally aligned with published arc packaging.
FAQs
Still unsure about How many times Subaru died in manga? These quick FAQs cover the edge cases readers argue about most.
How many times can Subaru return from death?
There is no confirmed numerical cap on Return by Death. Subaru resets immediately after dying to a checkpoint he cannot control, and Echidna explicitly suggests there likely isn’t a “limit” as long as the Witch’s will/“delusion” behind the ability persists.
How many times does Subaru die against Regulus?
Zero times. Regulus never successfully kills Subaru in the story material commonly referenced for Arc 5, even though Regulus is portrayed as an overwhelmingly lethal opponent and is noted for killing Reinhard (who then revives).
Who gave Subaru immortality?
Subaru isn’t “immortal” in the normal sense—he has Return by Death, which is widely attributed in-universe to Satella / the Witch of Envy as a gift/curse that returns him to a fixed “save point” after death.
Why did Subaru’s hair turn white?
In the main continuity, Subaru’s hair does not permanently turn white as a standard, ongoing condition.
The well-known white-hair Subaru is associated with the Gluttony IF (a what-if route), where he is described as having white hair alongside a head scar / damaged eye; fandom references commonly connect it to extreme mental/physical trauma around Books of the Dead, but the exact mechanics are not treated as a simple, universally recurring rule in the core story.
Is Subaru technically immortal?
Functionally, he can be “death-proof” while Return by Death remains active, because death triggers an immediate reset to a prior checkpoint.
However, he is not invulnerable, cannot choose checkpoints, and the ability’s continued operation depends on factors outside his control.
So it’s best described as conditional functional immortality, not true immortality.
Has Reinhard ever died in Rezero?
Yes. Reinhard is killed (notably in the Regulus confrontation), and then revives via the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, which allows him to come back after death.
Who steals Subaru’s memories?
Louis Arneb (Rui), associated with the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, is tied to Subaru’s memory loss arc: she can split/attach a copy and, in Arc 6, uses that mechanism to trap Subaru’s memories within the Corridor of Memories.
So, How many times Subaru died in manga? For the story arcs the manga has adapted in a broadly accessible, volume-tracked way, the defensible count is 17 deaths so far.
If you see higher totals, it is usually a broader counting rule (implied repeats) or material from later arcs not yet widely available in manga volumes.
For more Re:Zero reading guides and spoiler-light explainers, follow HariManga; and bookmark this answer to How many times Subaru died in manga for quick reference.
