Myers-Briggs Types in Re:Zero: Subaru Natsuki (ENFP)

It’s been a solid year since we last posted a personality analysis of a fictional character, but we’re breaking that now with Subaru Natsuki from Re:Zero. Subaru Natsuki from Re:Zero is typically identified as the ENFP Myers-Briggs personality type (often referred to as MBTI). We actually agree with this assessment, and of course, we will be providing a cognitive function breakdown below of Subaru’s MBTI type. I hope this makes sense! We’ll also be posting a cumulative article with type overviews of the most prominent characters in the series, so stay tuned for that.

The Myers-Briggs Personality Type of Subaru Natsuki

“I want what I want at that exact moment, and I want it from the bottom of my heart. It’s self-gratification in it’s purest form.”

Dominant Ne:

“We have to figure out a way to breakthrough Regulus’ invincibility. And my idea is to try out every possibility that I can come up with one by one.”

“Is it the fire of passion? Or a relaxed cool guy water type? A gentle wind blowing across the plain? Or possibly the solid reliable earth?”

“I bet it’s something amazing. Like talent that comes once in ten thousand years.”

“Visualize I can do. I fantasize like a champ.”

“I’ve come up with a plan. It’s pretty risky, and I’d hate to think of the odds of success. Do you want in?”

Subaru Natsuki is a spontaneous, energetic, enthusiastic, and playful individual. He manages to maintain this temperament in spite of everything that happens to him, although he occasionally (and understandably) dips down in a brief depressions when things get too bad. Subaru is described as being creative and having a lot of fanciful ideas. This is emphasized during his talk with Rem about running way, where she specifically talks about relocating somewhere that would benefit from his creativity, and during the OVA where they’re stuck at the mansion in the snow.

Generally speaking, Subaru is quick to act, like extraverted perceiving dominants usually are. Running out of ideas is what seems most likely to put him into a state of despair, although it’s not typical for him. He’s quick to speculate about his current circumstances, which oftentimes has an idealistic flavor to it. For instance, when Puck is checking his magic type, Subaru starts considering the different options in a dramatic fashion: “Is it the fire of passion? Or a relaxed cool guy water type? A gentle wind blowing across the plain? Or possibly the solid reliable earth?” When he ends up being none of the options, but a shadow type instead, he immediately tries to assume this was an amazing “talent that comes once in ten thousand years”, rather than just waiting for Puck to explain it to him. It’s common for Subaru to make and share these quick speculations rather than just waiting and watching what’s going on around him. In a similar fashion, he spends the early episodes of the series constantly assuming certain things are going to happen based on theory that he was a summon.

Subaru’s general strategy when he approaches situations is to try every single possibility that comes to mind. He expresses this during the battle with Regulus. He also seems to easily come up with ideas, which is emphasized in the aforementioned OVA. He shares several different ideas for surviving the magic release period, many of which are quickly nixed due to being either impractical or impossible to execute.

As is common for NPs, Subaru has a tendency towards “word vomit”. He’s very verbal, rather than speaking through action. He expresses himself very clearly and openly, in many instances even filling in both sides of the conversation and making premature assumptions as to what the other person is going to say.

Auxiliary Fi:

“I think I can’t help but want to be the very first thing she sees when she finally wakes up. Taking feelings out of the equation, I know it doesn’t matter who does it, just that it happens. But the thing is, when emotions come into play, I want to save her. I want to give everything I have and be the one to bring her back.”

“Has anyone ever even bothered to tell her it’s okay to cry? That if she’s hurt or sad, it’s the natural way to let it out?”

“You need to take a closer look. There’s more to see than just the weakness of feelings.”

“Everything about your attitude is so immature and shallow. It’s completely superficial. When you laugh or even when you’re mad, your whole frame of mind is… Echidna, you’re incapable of understanding how anybody else feels.”

Subaru is a deeply in touch with his feelings, and values feelings very highly. He finds it difficult to remove his emotions from the equation, often using them as his driving force. He states this very plainly when asked why he’s taking Rem to the Pleiades Watchtower. At a different point in the series, he explains that feelings hold power, that they aren’t just weakness. In addition, during a rant, he asks if anyone has ever told Emilia that it’s okay to cry, because it’s a natural way to let out emotions. This all demonstrates that he values feeling data over thinking data.

Subaru is incredibly authentic to the point of embarrassing himself. He does this often, but especially so in the beginning of the series. He’ll introduce himself by name, and then list off a bunch of traits or characteristics, including things like being broke or unemployed. He insults and/or makes fun of himself. He’s also very open about his feelings, stating them very clearly and honestly even when they’re not reciprocated or may make him look foolish. He essentially has no shame. This particular Fi tendency is more common in the auxiliary position, partly because auxiliary Fi is less image focused and more straightforward. Of course as an authentic person, Subaru struggles with people whom he deems to be shallow and superficial, Echidna being the primary example. He refuses to contract with her because of this reason and because she’s “incapable of understanding how anybody else feels.”

Subaru openly admits to being selfish, which isn’t to say that FPs are more selfish than anyone else. (Subaru is a kind and caring individual.) However, since they’re usually much more focused on their own feelings, they’re more likely to frame their motivations as selfish because they’re consciously using their personal motivations as a driving force. FPs are much more likely to perceive themselves as selfish, even if they are not actually being selfish. Subaru sees himself as chasing what he wants from the bottom of his heart, chasing self-gratification. He also seems confused when someone else would want to help Rem, when that individual didn’t actually remember her. (In other words, why would someone do something like that without a personal connection or motivation?) Likewise, when he wants to save the village (the kids had disappeared), he recalls the dreams of all the little kids in the village, essentially fixating on his personal connection with each individual he wanted to save.

Tertiary Te:

Subaru’s Te starts developing as the show progresses. Initially, it can just be seen in his blunt openness in regards to himself and his feelings, acting as the other side of the coin in his Fi/Te self-expression. He easily asserts what he wants and goes after it without much hesitation. Sometimes this can have a bull-dozing effect, because he won’t always take the time to think or strategize, which results in decisive, but chaotic action. This is an indication of lower Te.
However, as the show progresses, Subaru starts to work more with others and strategize. He also starts to implement more effective methods based on his experiences. His bluntness expands from blunt self-expression to productive tough love, for instance, when he chides Emilia during their time in the Sanctuary. He uses this approach to motivate her and compel her to act, to pull her out her wallowing and self-pity. Similarly, when Beatrice asks if he was “that person”, Subaru accuses her of being out of her mind, and said that there was no way he could be that person for her. It would have been much simpler in the moment to take a more persuasive approach, to say ‘yes’ and then back track later since their lives were in imminent danger. However, not only could he not do that, Subaru added an insult on top of it, being as opposite of persuasive as he could possible be. He was basically asserting the facts of the matter and demanding that she come with him to safety.

Inferior Si:

“You could sit there and come up with a list of ten things you hate about yourself, but I’d just reply with 2000 things that I love about you. That’s the kind of special treatment I want to give you. That’s the depth of the love in my heart.”

Inferior Si development typically involves things like learning from one’s mistakes, becoming more practical or realistic when thinking ahead, and becoming more consistent. Subaru actually struggles to think ahead initially in a way that is practical. He mostly just has his grandiose ideas or dreamy speculation. When it comes to actual action, he often acts without putting much thought into it. However, as the show progresses, he learns (usually after a few ‘return by death’ instances) to slow down, consider everything that happened, and figure out the next steps. Although until he gets better at doing this, he falls into the grip of Si at least once, seeing no way out of the loop. When this happens, his impulse is to give up and run away, to live a mundane, calm life with someone he sees as a safe alternative.

As the show progress, Subaru learns from his mistakes and very intentionally implements methods that he sees as being effective. I know I mentioned this in the Te section, but the part that applies to Si here is the fact he’s shown doing this in a very-detailed fashion. For instance, he word-for-word repeats the pep talk Rem gave him to Emilia. He also adopts Rem’s attitude and tough love approach, mimicking her methods.