Not "-tan" but "-chan": A Downcast Emilia Is Heartbreaking and Adorable as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 4th Season: The Recapture Arc Begins

The anime Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 4th Season: The Recapture Arc began airing on August 12. Many viewers were left with a lasting impression of the look on Emilia's face (voiced by Rie Takahashi) when Subaru Natsuki (voiced by Yusuke Kobayashi), who has lost his memories, called her by a different name than usual.

Partway through the previous The Loss Arc, Subaru fell into a case of amnesia with no known cause. In Episode 78, "The Story from Here On," the opening installment of The Recapture Arc, he honestly told his companions that he had lost his memories. Emilia stayed close by his side, telling him, "We have to hold ourselves together. Subaru is the one who must feel the most uneasy."

Subaru usually refers to Emilia playfully as "Emilia-tan,"While looking into the cause of his amnesia, however, he said, "The suspicious place is the archive where Emilia-chan and the others found me collapsed." Emilia, catching the shift to that plainer form of address, murmured sadly at his side, "-chan..."

Even as she looks out for a Subaru who has no memories, Emilia herself must truly be shaken. That short murmur stayed with many viewers, and comments poured in on social media: "Being called 'Emilia-chan' really does make her deflate," "Seeing her look so sad really gets to me...," "I hope they can work together and take everything back from here." There were also reactions such as "Emilia-tan going quiet over being called Emilia 'chan' is so cute...," and "A downcast Emilia-tan was adorable," so it seems some fans found her dejection endearing.