Review of ReLIFE

ReLife… For some unknown reason, I’ve been overlooking this anime for quite some time now. Solid 8,00 on Mal, heard a lot about the manga being great, the premise seemed right up my alley, since I was somewhat a NEET myself, but I never took the first step to watch it. Until now, it’s corona time, and that means anime all-nighters! And I’m honestly glad I finally made this first step. Even though it has been 6 years since the anime came out, and almost 10 years since the manga release, the story and art style has aged quite well. To shorten it: Nice art;great story telling; probably the realest characters I’ve seen in while in this kind of a genre. That’s ReLife.

Art 8/10
I’d put it lower, but for it’s time, it was pretty good, and perfectly fit in with the narrative. The character designs were nice to look at and, as I like to say, complimented the character’s personality. It was nice to see some amount of detail, like the mole on Hishiro’s neck, matching earrings of Kariu and Oga, and the symbolism of Kaizaki’s loose tie.

Story 10/10
Everyone caught themselves thinking about what it would be like to be back in high school. Although mostly these thoughts are focused on our already experienced high school life, that’s where ReLife comes with its original twist. It covers some very interesting existential issues like harassment, our thoughts trying to constantly compare us to someone else (disregarding our own self-worth), as I call it: the “liquid sand theory” (once something fucks up, you try even harder to get out the pit, but the more you struggle, the more you descent), living with regret and most importantly what it truly means to be an adult. I personally think it’s the most real execution of the High school genre, since it covers important issues high schoolers have to go through, and on the other hands, we consume these problems through the eyes of an adult, even though adult society might see these problems as pathetic compared to issues of the “real world”. Every problem is carried into this “real world” where the scale is a bit higher and so are the consequences. A lot of the times you see the creators making up random drama just for the sake of the plot, however in this one, every drama portrayed seems real and justified. Even though this anime doesn’t own up to the “Comedy” tag, this anime can be fucking hilarious sometimes. Mostly accompanied by a chibi art style, our favorite over exaggeration and all of this comes out of the perfect character dynamic I could only compare to Bokura wa Minna Kawai-sou. In case you’re not a fan of Slice of Life, don’t hesitate to give this anime a chance, it’s very eventful and every scene has its purpose. Trust me, you won’t get bored.

Sound 5/10
Now, this is a bummer. Such a real, dramatic and emotional anime is accompanied mostly by a goofy and simple piano music, and the same notes are used in both comedic and dramatic scenes, so you don’t even know if you should laugh, or feel sad. I thought I’m just overthinking it, but once I saw a near climax, sweet and innocent scene and heard upbeat drums and a seducing female voice singing: “Hey baby, wanna make love? Wanna make love” I seriously thought I’d sue the music team for ruining that moment (If you’ll get to that point, tell me if it had the same effect on you too). Huge disappointment. Although the voice acting saved it from a much harsher score. All the voices were picked well and as a cherry on the top they featured Noriaki Sugiyama (the voice behind Sasuke Uchiha)

Characters 10/10
As I’ve already mentioned, one of the realest characters I’ve seen in a while in this genre. The characters mostly don’t overreact and if they do, it is most certainly justified. The best example is Kariu. Yes, she can be a bitch, and some say our true personality comes to light once we are under pressure or in a stressful situation, but who watched ReLife knows that Kariu is truly a kind girl who was pushed into anger by her surroundings and her depressing experiences. She is the main example of the “liquid sand theory” I’ve talked about earlier. She tries so hard in everything and yet she always seems to be the second one. It almost seems like her hard work goes nowhere, but she doesn’t realize that her hard work has already made her better than most other people. Being second isn’t a bad thing, and it’s nicely portrayed that it’s hard to see the greater picture, when you’ve been focused on someone else’s back for so many years. Hishiro’s character is very similar to Shiira Mashiro in Sakura-sou or Kotomi from Clannad. She’s unsociable, picks up random phrases from circles and uses them in the weirdest way possible (“Fight on!” for Hoshiro, “What the heck.” or “Oh, if it isn’t ____” for Kotomi) For comedic purpose in the anime) and they all hit that weird blissful adorableness. It’s refreshing to see a strong main character once again. Yes, Kaizaki has his overly embarrassing moments, he can be nervous around the girl he likes, but he takes action and doesn’t get overly stuck overthinking. He’s righteous, honorable, considerate, and actively tries to make himself and his surroundings better. The supporting characters are all important and are contributing to solve any current issue immediately, which I think is one of the main messages this anime tried to deliver.

Enjoyment 10/10
I feel completely satisfied. I was hooked from the first episode till the beautiful end. I’m of course talking about the separate four-episode final season’s ending. Don’t need to say anything else than: Watch it!

Overall 9/10
10/10 is out of the question, because the sound completely ruined it’s chances, and I think this adaptation deserves a slightly higher score on MAL than 8,00 (like 8,35), so my 9 is now born. I’d definitely recommend this anime to anyone who seems to be lost in the adult life right after graduating, it might leave an even bigger imprint than on other people, just like it did to me.
Give it shot, you won’t ReGret it!