Review of ReLIFE

“Now that you're big enough to run your own show, you're just somebody that I used to know” -Elliott Smith Now what Elliott was talking about in his song Somebody that I Used To Know may have been a break up, but it holds excellent meaning in relation to this show. ReLife tells the story of Kazaki Arata, a 27 year old NEET who was approached to be a subject of the experiment ReLife, where the subject takes a pill to revert their looks back to a High Schooler, where they experience another year in attempt to reintegrate them back into society, and at the end ofthe year, the user is erased from all who interacted with them, but their memories of what the user did will stay. To avoid spoilers and to prevent this review from being too long, through wacky hijinks Kazaki grows and flourishes into a better person, affecting the people around him, leading them to flourish and grow in ways he never expected. The progression of an almost 30-year old trying to get used to High School again in a different generation is great, and you never really forget the fact that he really isn’t like everyone else, whether it be through its lack of athletic ability or the self-awareness when he gives someone a lecture when they have a problem.

Now for the other senses. The art is amazing and the character designs are great, the music can get a little bit repetitive, mainly using a couple piano tracks that really pack a punch to scenes when used correctly.

Now the final question, should you watch this? Absolutely, this is an amazing slice of life with an interesting concept that I feel like a lot of people can relate to. Feelings of wasting your High School years out of fear or being shy like me, despite currently being in my senior year and trying my best to make the most of it in this short amount of time. Maybe you’ve isolated yourself out of jealousy of others or from fear of losing them, this is a great anime that represents a part of childhood/adolescence that you don’t really think about until time has passed.

Get yourself out there, make friends, make memories that last, impact the people around you in positive ways and they’ll do the same for you. Don’t make those be the years you regret.