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“ | In this world when one says the word "witch" they're really just referring to one person in particular. The Witch of Envy, Satella. Long ago, she devoured the six witches who bore the names of the deadly sins and drained half the world dry. She's pretty much the worst of the worst. The story goes that she was starved for love. It's said that she doesn't understand human language. It's also been said that her body never withers from age, weakens from sickness, or dies. And although she was sealed by the powers of a dragon, a hero, and a sage, they were still never able to destroy her flesh. | „ |
~ Beatrice giving a description of Satella to Subaru Natsuki. |
“ | I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you... I love you. | „ |
~ Satella's obsessive declaration of love towards Subaru. |
“ | I... love you. Because you... gave me light. Because you took my hand, and you taught me about the world outside. Because... when I trembled on lonely nights, you never stopped holding my hand. Because when I felt lonely, you kissed me and said that I wasn't alone. You gave me so many things... That's why I love you. Because you... you gave me everything. | „ |
~ Satella telling Subaru the reasons she loved him. |
Satella, also known as the Witch of Envy, the Queen of the Castle of Shadows, the Jealous Witch, and simply as the Witch, is the main antagonist of the 2014 Japanese dark fantasy light novel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World and its 2014 manga & 2016 anime television series adaptations of the same name.
She was a silver-haired half-elven woman who came to possess the Envy Witch Factor, a source of power that ended up being incompatible with her. Due to the incompatibility, a new personality was formed within Satella that possessed a fierce jealousy. As the Witch of Envy, the young silver-haired woman was counted among the Witches of Sin, a group of seven women who wrought havoc upon the world.
Eventually, the Witch of Envy, who was the most powerful of the Witches, began rampaging across the whole world. The resulting calamity resulted in the deaths of the other Witches and the decimation of half of the world. Ultimately, Satella was defeated and imprisoned by three heroes. Due to her actions, the Witch became a reviled figure the world over.
She is voiced by Rie Takahashi in Japanese and by Kayli Mills in English, both of whom also voice Emilia in their respective versions. Takahashi has also voiced Flamberge in Kirby: Star Allies and Besu Besu in Sailor Moon. Mills has also voiced Runa Yomozuki in Kakegurui and Yuri Koshide in Housing Complex C.
Appearance[]
According to legend, Satella was a half-human/half-elf demi-human woman with silver hair and eyes that were amethyst with a bluish tint to them. As a half-elf, Satella's ears were noticeably pointed. When she manifested before Petelgeuse in a realm devoid of light, the details of her face and the shape of her body were both obscured by pitch-black mist. The mist that engulfed her form was so impossibly dark that it blotted out the darkness of the realm. In this state, Satella's eyes glowed brightly in contrast to the rest of her form.
When she attacked the Sanctuary in Emilia's body, Satella's form was once again obscured. Although the contours of her body were difficult to ascertain, the shadows surrounding her made her seem as though she wore a dress of darkness and had long raven-black hair. Her voice was muffled to the point that it was difficult to distinguish whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
In the anime adaptation, Satella's clothing deviated significantly from the description provided in the light novel. In the anime, she wore dark-purple thigh-high socks with golden frills on the top, a dark-purple one-piece mini-dress with golden flower decorations, and a long dark veil that covered a part of her face.
Personality[]
According to Beatrice, Satella was starved for love before her imprisonment and was incapable of understanding human language. For unknown reasons, the Witch was obsessively in love with Subaru Natsuki, who, to his knowledge, had never met her before in his life. In the realm of darkness she called home, Satella would simply sit idly and monotonously repeat the words "I love you" over and over again, seemingly swamped by her own obsessive feelings of love towards Natsuki. She was incredibly possessive over Subaru, as she wouldn't allow him to tell anyone else the secret of "Return by Death." She seemed to have no remorse nor did she pay anyone other than Natsuki heed, as she didn't hesitate to execute Emilia when Subaru told her about "Return by Death."
When Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti invaded the body of Subaru, Satella confronted the Sin Archbishop. She was initially disappointed that the man she was face to face with wasn't her beloved, an emotion that grew with every passing second. Eventually her disappointment and despondency morphed into rage, as she was furious that someone would enter the space that was only meant for her and Subaru. The characteristic jealousy and possessiveness she was infamous for flared up and, in her overwhelming rage, the Witch of Envy tore the Sin Archbishop's soul apart. Despite the feelings and dedication he had demonstrated, Petelgeuse proved to be completely worthless and meaningless to the Witch who only cared for her beloved.
If the secret of "Return by Death" was learned by another person without hinderance, Satella would find a method of bypassing her imprisonment and slaughter all of Subaru's allies in that timeline, presumably as a form of strong reprimand fuelled by her possessiveness. Although she usually paid no heed to the words of anyone including Subaru, she would take noticeable offence if Natsuki told her he preferred the other Witches of Sin to her.
Powers & Abilities[]
Satella the Witch of Envy, in her era, was the most powerful person alive whose defeat could only be attained by the combined efforts of the strongest heroes of the time. Among the Witches of Sin who were reviled by the world, Satella was easily the mightiest. Even within the modern era, the Witch remained almost completely unrivalled in terms of power. The only person whose strength rivalled her own was the Master Swordsman Reinhard van Astrea, the descendant of Reid Astrea who contributed to her defeat four hundred years ago. Despite being physically imprisoned near the Great Waterfall, Satella somehow maintained a link to Subaru's body and was constantly aware of his actions.
Powers[]
- Magic: All beings were born with a gate, a metaphysical apparatus within a person's body that autonomously absorbed the ambient magical energy that existed in the atmosphere and stored it in the individual's od (soul). Those who received training were capable of using their stored mana for a variety of purposes, one of which was for the casting of magic. Magic was the practice of expelling mana out of one's own gate and manipulating it to create specific supernatural phenomena. The power of a mage typically depended on the size of their gate and the level of their arcane knowledge. The Queen of the Castle of Shadows was a mage of immense power and talent, specializing in "shadow magic."
- Teleportation: Satella was capable of using "Al Shamak," the most advanced form of the basic shadow magic spell "Shamak." The Shamak line of spells functioned off of the principle of separating a target from its surroundings in some manner. Al Shamak, the most extreme form of Shamak, manipulated space to separate its target from their environment. More specifically, the target of Al Shamak would be instantly transported into a shadowy pocket dimension upon being enveloped by the spell. The user of Al Shamak could then redeposit the target at another point in space, essentially allowing for instantaneous teleportation. There was no discerned limit to the distance that could be travelled with Al Shamak. The spell was highly complex and consumed a large amount of magical energy to perform, though neither of those issues were a problem for Satella.
- Shadow Manipulation: Through shadow magic, the Witch had the power to generate and manipulate shadows on a gargantuan scale. She could shape her shadows into any form she wished, such as deadly tendrils/hands (of which she could summon at least two thousand at a time) that could easily pierce or rip her opponents apart. She could also defend herself by covering herself in a veil of shadow that nullified physical damage. The shadows she created were able to erode any matter and could even decay the thoughts and memories of a person they came into contact with. Additionally, she could turn her shadows intangible at will, meaning they could phase through objects and people.
- Authority of Envy: The Witch Factors were a set of nine mysterious seeds of power each relating to one of the seven deadly sins (plus the additional sins of vanity and melancholy). When absorbed by a person, a Witch Factor would metamorphize into an Authority, a power which, depending on its user, would produce various different affects. The potency of an Authority was decided by the personality of its wielder, as an individual who strongly embodied the sin of the Witch Factor they absorbed would have a more powerful variation of the Authority than an individual who embodied the same sin to a lesser extent. Additionally, the bearers of Witch Factors, including Satella, gave off a particular scent that attracted mabeasts, terrifying man-eating monsters that were created by the Witch of Gluttony Daphne. Satella absorbed the Envy Witch Factor at some point in her past, bestowing her with the Authority of Envy. However, because of Satella's incompatibility with the sin of Envy, her mind cracked, forming an alternate personality that was more in-line with the persona of Envy. Despite her incompatibility with the sin of Envy, Satella's Authority of Envy was superior to the Authorities of all of the other Witches combined. The exact abilities that the Envy Authority allowed Satella to use are unknown.
- Immortality: Satella, for unexplained reasons, never physically aged past her prime and as such never withered with the passage of time. She didn't need to eat or drink to sustain herself and there was no known illness that could end her life. Furthermore, although she could be injured and defeated, her body couldn't be destroyed by any external force. Even Sage Flugel, who was said to be all-knowing, could not conceive a method to bring about Satella's death. By the time of Subaru Natsuki's summoning, the Witch of Envy had lived for over four-hundred years.
- Possession: Similarly to the Sin Archbishop of Sloth Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, Satella had the capability to transfer her soul into another individual's body. From the inside, the Witch of Envy would overwrite the body's soul, essentially killing the essence of whomever her victim was and allowing her to take full motor control of what was left behind. Despite the body not belonging to her, Satella was still able to use her powers while possessing a person. However, any body that the Witch inhabited could hypothetically be destroyed unlike her actual body that was completely immortal. The Witch was able to temporarily leave her imprisonment by possessing a person, a capability she demonstrated when she used the body of Emilia to rampage within the Sanctuary.
- Time Manipulation: The Witch of Envy had the power to manipulate the flow of time to a certain extent. She could reverse the flow of time at least several days back and could freeze time indefinitely. The Witch could control who had perception of the shifts in time, as her beloved Subaru Natsuki could register and quantify whenever she manipulated the flow around him. Her power of time manipulation was most keenly demonstrated in the "Return by Death" ability that she had bestowed on Natsuki upon his arrival to her world. Every time he tried to tell anyone about his power, the Witch would freeze time around Natsuki while she punished him, displaying impressive chronokinetic ability despite being locked away in her imprisonment.
Themes[]
Call of the Witch by Kenichiro Suehiro[]
Satella by Kenichiro Suehiro[]
Distortion by Kenichiro Suehiro[]
Quotes[]
“ | A scary witch, a truly terrifying witch. To even speak her name would chill you to the bone. Everybody referred to her as... the Witch of Envy. | „ |
~ A description of the Witch in a children's book. |
“ | In this world when one says the word "witch" they're really just referring to one person in particular. The Witch of Envy, Satella. Long ago, she devoured the six witches who bore the names of the deadly sins and drained half the world dry. She's pretty much the worst of the worst. The story goes that she was starved for love. It's said that she doesn't understand human language. It's also been said that her body never withers from age, weakens from sickness, or dies. And although she was sealed by the powers of a dragon, a hero, and a sage, they were still never able to destroy her flesh. | „ |
~ Beatrice telling Subaru about the Witch. |
“ | Petelgeuse: Oh yes, I've waited so long... waited for your love. Merciful love, affectionate love. Satella: No... You're not the one. |
„ |
~ Satella rejecting Sloth's deep feelings of love. |
“ | Satella: Listen, don't fret all alone. Fight alongside the ones who care about you. Rely on each other. Never forget that it's those people and others you've affected who will grieve when you die. Subaru: I'll remember... Satella: There will be a day... when I'll need you... to come and take my life. Subaru: You have my word. I'm going to save you. |
„ |
~ Satella and Subaru's parting promise during the Witches' Tea Party. |
Light Novel Excepts[]
Volume 9[]
“ | It was dark. An entire world of nothing but darkness. He was tossed into a hazy world, seemingly floating in water with no sense of left or right, up or down. His body was unable to move at all. He couldn’t feel his hands or legs, and he doubted his eyes and ears were functioning. With his mind so dazed, any thoughts he tried to formulate simply slipped out of his brain. Where is this? Who am I? What happened to make it like this? What little consciousness he held on to resulted only in ramblings that made the darkness flicker ever so slightly. “—I love you.” In that pitch blackness, a voice penetrated deep into his heart. It hung in his unhearing ears. It reached what should have been his still, unbeating heart. It found his soul, which was still unsure of its own existence. He wailed as the voice touched him directly, its wild, mad emotion pressing in on his heart. The voice was so terribly fleeting. The whispers wrenched his heart, filling it with such longing that it threatened to shatter. Hearing words lovely enough to scorch his soul made him feel like he would go mad. If I had fingers, I would touch you. If I had a mouth, I would call your name. If I had arms, I would embrace you. If I had feet, I would run to your side. If I had a body, you would never be alone again. But none of these wishes could be granted. He had no fingers, mouth, arms, feet, or body to give. The feeling was the same… In fact, it was a passion even greater than what he’d felt before. The warmth he received magnified his yearning, his emotions many times over, until finally they became sins. Sloth, because I cannot wipe away your tears. Lust, because I want us to melt together and become one. Gluttony, because I want to consume you, to take all of you for myself. Greed, because I want to have everything that I love. Wrath, because I cannot forgive the absurdity of it all. Pride, because I scorn everything that is not you. Jealousy, because that is all I feel for the world that embraces you. With this realization, the world shrouded in black was filled with an overwhelming sensation of love. That instant, the supposedly empty space warped, then shattered as irreversible time began to flow backward. It was simple. He understood that he was starting over. Where he had ended in darkness, light was born, and if he walked toward it, the world would greet him once more. “—I love you.” He turned his back on the voice and walked forward. He wanted to turn toward it, but he held fast. However, surely, one day he would take her hand. “—I love you.” The lovely voice called out until the very end, when Subaru Natsuki—began anew. |
„ |
~ Subaru hearing Satella's voice in-between lives. |
“ | In that world without light, there was a pitch-black figure blotting out even that darkness. It was a woman. He could grasp that at least. Her face and the contours of her body were so uncertain, he could not be sure of anything about them. And yet his heart seethed. This chance meeting with her—no, not a chance meeting; this was a reunion. This was blessing, this was grace, this was gospel—this was true love. His lack of fingers irritated him. He wanted to walk over and take her hand that very instant. His lack of a mouth irritated him. He wanted to lavish words upon her to express his feelings. His lack of a body irritated him. If she so desired, he would offer her blood, bone, flesh—all of it. His being only a soul irritated him, for he had but that single thing to offer her. "—" As before, she continued to hold her silence. But her mind had certainly shifted in his direction. That was enough. Being in a world where she paid heed to his existence felt as good as if he had ascended to heaven. And his soul, yearning for love for so long, would be hers, forever— "—This is wrong." The voice was tinged with disappointment and despondency. He had prepared to hear her first words with extreme bliss, whatever they might be. Yet the instant he heard her voice, it created a shadow of worry that made his entire being tremble. Why did it feel like this? Here, in the place that would surely grant the love that he sought... "—You are not him." Her disappointment deepened, her ardor dissipated, and finally her despondency changed into another emotion—anger. "Why is someone not him here, in our place—?" The voice shook with anger. The angry, hateful, accursed words rejected the soul, ripping it into pieces. Unable to grasp the reason for her pushing him away... unable to accept reality that she truly detested him, and that his love could never reach her...he desperately sought words of sadness and lament, a voice that he could exhaust to assuage her heart. But he had no mouth to use to form such words, nor fingers nor a body to act out his will. All he had in that place was his soul—and she had rejected him, not permitting him to offer even that. "—Begone." The bewilderment, consternation, and grief of his thoughts never reach her. They were meaningless, for to her he was worthless, meaningless, and idle. Bathed in rejection and repudiation, he accepted his despair; the misery shattered his soul. Torn away from the framework of the world, his mind was cut from it; and so he sank far, far away, the reunion he had so yearned for...severed. The sight of her grew distant. She, whom he had so much, so greatly, so earnestly yearned for, vanished into the ether. But she no longer cared about such laments. She merely gazed silently, earnestly, into the pitch of blackness— "I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you—" It was not to anyone present, but someone elsewhere, to whom she continued innocently whispering her love. |
„ |
~ Petelgeuse's encounter with Satella. |
“ | When Subaru came to, his mind had entered a world of darkness once more. Having lost his body, Subaru Natsuki continued to hover in that vast, empty space as nothing but consciousness. As usual, the world had neither ground nor a discernable sky. Nothing but darkness spread out before him in an ephemeral dream, one he would forget when he awakened. "—I love you." But in that blank, hollow world of nothingness, there was a charming "someone" he couldn't meet anywhere else. Always it gave Subaru a soft, numbing throb, as if he were filled with joy at a painful embrace. "—I love you." The darkness unwound, the shadow formed, and the captivating "someone" appeared, approaching Subaru as she whispered her love. He could not see the expression on her face. However, that "someone" was likely spinning words of love with a face drenched with anguish. He wanted to be touched. He wanted to be longed for. Reflexively, Subaru's heart was drawn in. He wanted to respond to her love, to repay her for it. He would never be able to repay love granted to him with anything less than love of his own. And yet— "—Subaru." He heard it. A lovely voice from other than "someone" was calling his name. His thoughts alone understood. A lovely voice apart from the "someone" filling the dream with black shadow was calling him back to the world of white light. As he understood this, a white light, something that should not exist in the land of darkness, was born. "—I love you." "—Subaru." Simultaneously, the voices were tossed his way. He wanted to respond to the shadow's love. He absolutely had to respond to the love of the light. He realized that his mind was being drawn away from the voice of that "someone" toward she whose voice reached him from the land of light. The voice of that "someone" held grief at the state of Subaru's heart, for she was being left behind. Two arms woven from shadow stretched out, but they did not reach his incomplete body. As Subaru grew distant, he heard the voice tremble, sadly calling out as it sought him over and over. "—I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you." "—Subaru, please." The whispers of love repeated over and over, whereas the call of his name contained a simple plea. Remember who you are. Remember what you have to do. Remember the words you must exchange, in the world where you belong. He couldn't stay there. So— "Next time, I'll probably come to meet you." With nonexistent lips, surely unable to convey his feelings, he spoke his farewell to the "someone" fading in the distance. They were words of departure, an oath that they would meet again. That "someone" let out a small gasp. Then Subaru's mind was enveloped by a light that blotted out the world of darkness as he slowly melted away. "—I'll be waiting." That echo was the only thing left as Subaru Natsuki was torn from the ephemeral dream... |
„ |
~ Subaru's encounter with Satella in a dream. |
Volume 12[]
“ | The whisper of love echoed. It sweetly, gently echoed against his eardrums, his brain, his heart, his soul. “—I love you.” The whisper of love was muffled. Did it come from a man or a woman—? Even this was left vague. But beyond any doubt, this whisper of love was directed at Subaru Natsuki and he alone. A black wriggling shadow spoke to him softly. It took the shape of a person, clad in a dress the color of darkness, with long raven-black hair. The shadow stared at him with an inky sable face. Everything composing the shadow ensnared Subaru’s mind and body, smothering him in sweetness. “—I love you.” His thought process had ground to a halt. Subaru had even forgotten how to breathe. All he could manage was to simply gaze forward, unable to make the slightest move. A dense miasma made his skin prickle as the terrible spectacle of the Sanctuary sank into shadow. Like a small animal encountering a menace so overpowering that it struggled to breathe, Subaru was trapped in a world that had lost its vitality, ripped out by its very roots. Subaru knew this place. He had tasted its agony and despair over and over again. This was the world that always appeared whenever he broke the taboo, a place where time stopped and the Witch— “—I love you. I love you.” As Subaru was frozen in silence, the shadow slowly extended a finger toward his cheek. He couldn’t avoid it. The issue wasn’t the shadow holding him down or anything like that. His inability to move was because Subaru’s own flesh and blood would not permit it. Subaru’s soul refused to offer any resistance against the shadow. Accordingly, the shadow touched Subaru as it pleased. “—I love you. I love you. I love you.” Subaru couldn’t sense any malice from the shadow. There was no animosity. But this wasn’t because it was indifferent toward Subaru. Indeed, quite the opposite. The shadow inundated Subaru with an overwhelming level of adoration that bordered on madness. It was blind, almost stubborn devotion—enough to make a person ask, Why go to such lengths? Subaru felt like he was being blotted out by the inescapably crazed passion—in that moment, the shadow had no interest in anything besides Subaru. “—I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.” The whispers of adoration swirled around inside Subaru’s skull like they were caught in a vortex. Love stirred his eardrums. Love drenched his brain. As love filled his consciousness to the brim, love was also boiling his soul until it fell to pieces. It was an assault by love, a slaughter by love, a violation by love. “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you.” Love controlled Subaru. Love had enslaved Subaru. Love was robbing Subaru of every drop of love he had— |
„ |
~ The Witch embracing Subaru in the Sanctuary. |
“ | A sudden change desired by none present had occured. "—So she's come." "H-hey...this doesn't...concern me anymore...so, ahhh..." "At a troublesome time, a troublesome girl has come to make trouble, sigh." "Ahaaa. My stomach's reaaally reaaally throbbing. We really have the full line up now, huhhh?" The spectating Witches displayed various reactions to the change taking place. One bit her lip; one clutched her head; one gave a sigh; one licked her lips. The Witches' gazes shifted behind Subaru—and from there, an overwhelming, impossible-to-ignore presence sprung forth. As Subaru was facing her, Echidna caught sight of "it" straight in front of her. Her eyes widened slightly, and within them, Subaru saw a complex vortex of emotions—be it before or after her true nature had been exposed, this was the first time he saw hatred in them. "—" Seeing that hatred made him belatedly turn around. For a second, he hesitated, and then matching breath and heartbeat, he moved. Looking behind him, Subaru's own eyes finally beheld the new arrival. From her black dress, long hair, and white skin, he imagined she must have a most beautiful face—yet though he was certain of this, he saw not the Witch's face but a veil of impenetrable darkness that covered it. Greed, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride—with each of these attending the tea party, the seventh Witch, Jealousy, had finally joined them. "Ohhh! It's Tela! Wow, it sure has been a while!" Only one, the child Witch, greeted the Witch of Jealousy with a wave of her hand. —The Witches' Tea Party had only one invited guest. Having become a banquet, it hurtled toward its final act. |
„ |
~ Satella approaching the Witches' Tea Party. |
List of Appearances[]
Light Novel |
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Ex Volume 2: The Love Song of the Sword Devil[]
Ex Volume 4: The Great Journeys[]
Volume 1[]
Volume 3[]
Short Story Collection 1[]
Volume 4[]
Volume 9[]
Volume 11[]
Volume 12[]
Volume 13[]
Volume 14[]
|
Anime Adaptation |
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Trivia[]
- Satella is the only Witch of Sin who wasn't succeeded by a Sin Archbishop (except for Pandora and Hector). This was because, unlike the other Witches, Satella didn't perish, meaning her Witch Factor wasn't inherited by anyone.
- Aside from the former Sin Archbishop of Pride Stride Volakia, Satella was the only person known to possess a Witch Factor who wasn't named after a celestial body. The author of the series, Tappei Nagatsuki, revealed in a question and answer session that the true meaning of Satella's name will be revealed in the final story arc of Re:Zero.
External links[]
- Satella on the Re:Zero Wiki
- Satella on the VS Battles Wiki
[]
Villains |
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Witch Cult |
Capella Emerada Lugunica · Louis Arneb · Lye Batenkaitos · Pandora · Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti · Regulus Corneas · Roy Alphard · Sirius · Stride Volakia |
Witches of Sin |
Carmilla · Daphne · Echidna · Hector · Minerva · Pandora · Satella · Sekhmet · Typhon |
Mabeasts |
Black Serpent · Great Rabbit · White Whale |
Gusteko Assassin Organization |
Elsa Granhiert · Mama · Meili Portroute |
Others |
Balleroy Temeglyph · Bean Argyle · Eugard Volakia · Heinkel Astrea · Kurgan · Melaquera · Miles · Reid Astrea · Roswaal Mathers · Sphinx · Ton, Chin, and Kan · Todd Fang |