World

This page is dedicated to the rough overview of the new world of Re:Zero, the place where Subaru wound up after being summoned at the very start of the series.

General
The geographic shape of Re:Zero's world is that of a flat world similar to a diorama instead of a globe. All four edges of the world end with giant cliffs where water pours down into the abyss below. The endless waters are dubbed the Great Waterfall, which are also regarded as the world's end. The Great Waterfall is, for the most part, visible from the shore. Like Earth, it has a day and night cycle with its own sun and moon. However, it follows the Ptolemaic model in terms of rotation and orientation. Also, like Earth, it runs on a 24 hour period and has four major seasonal climate patterns. Its months consists of at least 25 days. The basic physical laws are generally the same as on Earth.

Geography
It is unknown how many landmasses there currently are or were before the "Great Calamity" brought on by the Witch of Envy destroyed half of the world and greatly changed the geography of the world. The main story, however, takes place in a large continent that houses four major powers: Gusteko to the barren north, Vollachia to the fertile south, Kararagi towards the west, and Lugnica occupying the eastern edge of continent. Beyond them, there are several smaller kingdoms that surround and sit in between them. They have been noted by Ram to have their own cultures and styles of life, which are separate from the known cultural aspects we can observe among the Four Great Nations.

Water
Despite the presence of bodies of water, the world has no actual oceans or large seas, although there are many lakes with rivers and streams feeding into them. The famous Water Gate City of Priestella, for example, was built on one of these tributary lakes. The largest accessible source of water apart from the Great Waterfall comes from the Great Tigracy River, which runs through all Four Great Nations, though most of its path can be traced over the Kararagi and Gusteko's territories. The river itself is so massive that it appears almost like a vast shifting ocean. Though oceans don't exist, some of the world's lakes are saltwater and provide much of the world's salt or equivalent.

Politics and Culture
As mentioned above, there exist four major nations collectively referred to as the Four Great Nations. These are the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, the Sacred Empire of Vollachia, the Kararagi City States, and the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. Despite each and every one having borders with each other, they have vastly different cultures and ways of life.

Kararagi uniquely resembles feudal and early modern-era Japan, even priding itself with a Kansai-esc dialect, dishes that strongly resemble the Japanese cuisine, and architecture that couldn't be more similar to that of Japan. Unlike Japan, there is no central authority governing the region, as seen in the country's name. Commerce and mercantilism is king, without restrictions and with all the implications. Street children can be enslaved and made to work in mines and mercenaries can be freely hired without consequence.

The Empire of Vollachia, on a different note, prides itself in a heavily militaristic society, where strength and pride are everything. Birthright and socio-economic privilege don't count for status, as the only way to achieve prestige in Vollachian society is through strength and, to that extent, ambition. As such, the empire practices the most fundamental form of meritocracy, in which "might-makes-right". The Empire's armies are vast and powerful and its leadership is rivaled by by few when it comes to skill and cunning, but this comes with a downside of every issue from diplomacy and succession coming down to violence. A civil war in the empire is almost certain with every change in leadership and, as detrimental as it may sound to the people living in the nation's territories, it is fundamental and even expected as part of the Empire's martial existence.

The Kingdom of Lugnica, in heavy contrast to its southern neighbor, is a feudal de jure monarchy, mostly relying on ancient and reliable institutions such as nobility to run the nation's daily business. In many ways, the society of Lugnica heavily resembles that of Europe in the middle-ages, and as such, strong social gaps between the poor and the wealthy exist. With few exceptions, social mobility is nearly impossible for those born without noble privileges. Lugnica also resembles European settler colonies, in the racial divide between Demi-humans and Humans, which, so far, is seen uniquely to Lugnica among all the nations, though tensions have lessened significantly in recent years.

Little is known about Gusteko, but the climate is harsh and people are deeply spiritual.

For more information about the individual nations, please check their individual wiki pages.

Resources
Besides lumber, freshwater, metals, and all the other natural resources seen and unseen in the Re:Zero world, elemental attuned gemstones known as Magic Ore exist and play important functions in society. They serve as trade goods, building materials, cooking products, energy producers, and other variety useful applications. These stones are mined within the earth in places with strong mana concentration. Gusteko is notable for having the largest deposits in the world. Magic artifacts called Meteor can found throughout the land, representing an advanced lost technology of bygone eras. They have useful functions such as long range communication. However, a lack of progress in being able to replicate the technology behind them have made their incorporation into everyday life impractical. Thus, a vast majority are mostly treated as antiques.

Trivia

 * It should be noted that the official Re:Zero world map only features major locations and, as such, leaves out smaller towns and settlements such as Castour Field and Shamrock Valley (two prominent locations that appeared in Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 2 where two important battles took place during the Demi-Human War).