Review of ReLIFE

First review so really bad. (Ok done with revisions.) Relife is about a "NEET" (he has a part-time job) who was given the choice to take a drug that'll make him 10 (?) years younger and study as a high school student, again, and use it as a means to be reintroduced into society. The concept of getting back to one's feet is something that I really appreciate but the means the anime used, which was turning younger does not really make me that happy (and somewhat disappointed) since it is akin to that of him getting reincarnated. In other words, another device for the NEETSin Japan for escapism. So, that’s basically the premise of the anime. As for the main theme/s, we’ll talk about that later.

CHARACTERS (5/10):

Characters of the show, as always, are like any typical modern anime, people who has problems, which is really not a bad thing, since that means that there is a potential for them to develop as better ones. The problem with most modern anime characters is that they have backstories that are seriously very dramatic that you’d find it very unrealistic. That is not the case here in this anime. It being unreal is toned down considerably that it can be considered as realistic. It is quite interesting to see the other cast of the show being fleshed out and some being also given slight developments. Although that is the case, it still means nothing since they are completely forgotten after their stories end, NOT. I am quite surprised that this is not the case in this anime. Most of those with resolved problems are still actually given important roles for the next arc or so, which is really good. But, of course, there is a problem again, which is the fact that there is a lesser time given to the main character. Rather than being the main character, it is more like he is now the main support character, which is VERY BAD in my book (the red(?) haired girl seems to be the mc, lol). Although this is the case, I guess it is still okay since the problems and solutions made by the author to the real side characters are more than satisfactory, NOT! Although they are relatable to most viewers (which are adolescents), I still think that the solutions given are VERY basic, aside from the solution shown for the girl bestfriends, which I consider as basic to ok. As the show has 13 episodes only, when some characters say things that one would normally say to close friends or whatnot, I find it quite hard to believe. With so many problems involved, there actually aren’t enough time to actually show the closeness of the characters with each other (or at least within their groups). And yeah, most characters are one or two dimensional.

STORY (3/10):

The anime (until 10th episode, actually) has 3 main themes that are not really related to each other and are only connected with one thing, which is society. This already means a VERY bad thing in my standard. Although this is the case, as parts, they are quite good enough to watch, albeit, again, the solutions to the problems are not things that one would really appreciate much. It was all good and well up till the 10th episode. 11th episode made every thing downhill. Why? Because it became romance all of a sudden. Although there had been foreshadowing on the previous episodes, the fact that there were no problems mixed with these romances made me have a bad feeling towards this anime, but not that much. Why? Because there is still the possibility of a case of a 27 year old guy presumably starting a relationship with a 17 year old one, which is still an interesting thing to see. The actions brought by two supporters making them have a relationship even though they know the real age of both parties irritated me though, until that part, which completely made me disappointed with the anime altogether since I know, the possibility that it’ll turn into a low-tier anime was just raised exponentially with that. And most climaxes are quite done melodramatically which is shit. Shit, I tell you. But who cares anyway, right? They are, after all, high school students (15-18 years old), right? NO F WAY! And gee, have I already said that theme explorations are basically thrown out of the window? Not yet? Yeah, it is thrown out of the window. You don’t present your themes in only 2-3 episodes. That’s basically what this show did. This is a series, damn it! This is not a movie. Writer, you are not Miyazaki so quit dreaming of writing something like Princess Mononoke. Ok, this’s quite excessive. Anyway, the story’s basically shit.

ART & ANIMATION and SOUND (7/10) & (6/10):

[Original: I have little knowledge about these but I think art & animation is slightly above average (6/10) and sound average (5/10) ]

I skimmed through the episodes to confirm my conjecture and it seems it was a wrong one. So here goes, but still amateurish: The art seems okay, ordinary, but it fits with school life so it is still great. The change of the art style to fit with what a character feels or something like that is also good. Character designs are okay. Animation is also fluid, nothing great but still good. Sound is nice, osts come whenever you need them and op and ed are alright, I guess. Voice actors and actresses fits with their characters, too.

ENJOYMENT (6/10):

This is the first modern anime in a long time that captured my interest and made me watch till the end without feeling bored. Good job with that.

VERDICT (5.4/10):

A nice time waster that has ok themes not fully explored. Characters are average, art and sound are above average. It has no conclusion so you might want to try reading the manga after.