Review of ReLIFE

I don't usually write reviews, partly because I lack the time and will to do so, but ReLife disappointed me to the point that... Here it goes. I started watching because the concept enthralled me. I thought that the idea of returning to high school, while as an adult but looking like a teen, was an interesting one, specially adding to the calming experience of school the wisdom of later years. However, I thought that ReLife failed to execute this amazing concept almost spectacularly. The soundtrack is laughable and irritating, consisting of, no joke, the same piano bar type tune for the entirety of the anime,and it seems to come and go uninvited and uninterrupted randomly, adding nothing to the scenes where an emotional impact is required of the music and disrupting scenes where there's no emotional baggage being presented at all. It destroys moments of levity and, because it is the same thing over and over again, you have no idea what to associate it with. It is supposed to be a pensive song? To symbolize growth in a character? To punctuate a joke? By the end of ReLife I was so sick of the piano I was amazed with myself I was able to get into "Your Lie in April" at all, though it took me months to recover from this ordeal.

Aside from the soundtrack, I was able to take a liking to the characters somewhat, the main in particular was relatively interesting. He's an adult who had to endure the reality of society head on soon after entering the business world and it broke him somewhat. His tale is simple but relatable, and I do believe he is a good character who thinks and acts much like an adult, even glossing through inappropriate situations with the appropriate response (which is very rare in the animeverse). I thought he neither a brooding idiot nor a perverted creep. He was "just right", I'd probably enjoy him and the other characters more, though, if it wasn't for the terrible yellowish color pallet of the entire show. The character designs are basic and uninteresting but I don't need much flash to enjoy and anime, although I do have a very specific aesthetic to really be amazed by the visuals, and ReLife did not impress me. Just like the soundtrack, this constant yellow hue to the anime more hinders than helps, and whenever there's a scene with an excess of yellow in it (like the very often situated late in the afternoon after school moment) it puts the characters and scenario in a very bad, puke-reminding light.

The story itself is not amazing either. They had a great idea but used it just barely. Despite the main character having the most interesting story ark, the anime focuses on his classmates and their teen drama (and oh boy, are they dramatic!), while the protagonist just tries his best to coast his friends into understanding each other better with his adult wisdom and better understanding of their conflicting, pubescent feelings. There was a twist later on that surprised me, I admit, and I'll give the anime credit for that, but in no way, shape or form does it compensate for the utter disappointment I left feeling by the end of the show. I only didn't drop it because a friend asked me to watch it and see if I should recommend it to him. I didn't.