ReLIFE was a mediocre watch, but it does have it's great moments.
Let's get this started, *sigh*. Hope I can actually write something decent one day.
The overall story wasn't particularly special. It stars Kaizaki Arata, a 27 year old NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) who can't keep a job. Early in the story, he obtains the opportunity to ReLIVE his last year of high school (hahaha) via the use of an experimental drug that changes his appearance to his 17 year old self. It's not one of those "go back in time to relive your life" kind of shows, he simply just enters a new high school with his current 27-year old mind inatct with a 17-year old appearance. High school slice-of-life shenanigans ensue.
The whole NEET trying to redo his life is fairly cliché at this point, but the plot does have interesting points. My main issue with the plot is that it doesn't particularly know where it's going. You have the main plot of Arata trying to redo his life, but then also have a lot of other sub-stories that try to intrude upon the story begin to take over fairly quickly. It isn't particularly bad, per say, as the side stories were usually well done. Side characters in the story and their circumstances did bring in well done dramatic, and emotional moments. However, they dragged on for way too long, taking a lot from the main story. The pacing of the show in general is very slow. It starts to build up well through the first half, but then forgets about the main plot and instead provides a story that seems like it would be part of an OVA, shoehorned in without any real significance. The show tries to be humorous at points, which it succeeds at times, but falls short on others. It's very hit or miss. I either found myself chuckling or groaning.
The internet, the best advice giver for socially inept people.
The story also throws away a lot of dramatic potential in later episodes, especially settling for a fairly unsettling end after all of the build up they showed. I really wish the story didn't try to stretch itself short, and instead focused on one character at a time. It always went from one character doing X, straight to another character doing a completely different Y. The story just keeps rushing on and not really clarifying the actions of each character. I do enjoy that they didn't beat around the bush for the very predictable romances, even if they were a little overdone. The rest of the ending, however, was very unsatisfying. I'd like to have a nice end without having to read the manga.
The characters themselves were mostly one-dimensional, and didn't really go through any development except for one, Chizuru Hishiro. For a show which focuses on a rehabilitation experiment for NEETs, it's kind of surprising that the main character did not really change that much from episodes 1-13. This is pretty disappointing, since it feels like the characters were initially well designed, and could go through a lot of development. Hishiron's development really did strike a chord with me, though, as I was in a similar position as her growing up. The romantic relationships were very cliché to the point where it was kind of frustrating. I could very easily tell who was going to end up with who. However, they do have their strong moments, which I think makes up for it. Romances do come off naturally and never feel forced.
The relationship between Arata and Hoshiron was very cute at points. It never seems forced at all.
The animation and art was painfully mediocre. I liked most of the character designs, although they did seem a bit generic. This anime also makes plenty of use of the over the top "lol xd anime face" trope, with backgrounds that look like they were drawn with barely any effort put in. It wasn't unwatchable, but it was nothing impressive. The soundtrack was also lacking quite a bit. I hope you like pianos, because this show has about 5 tracks that almost always find a way to never fit the atmosphere. The opening theme was really generic, but I did like the fact that the show ended off on a different ending theme every episode.
An example of the over the top lol xd anime face
All in all, however, the show wasn't a bad watch at all, and I did enjoy watching it. I felt that the final twist in the last episode was very well done, with a lot of foreshadowing that I don't think one would notice without a rewatch. I wasn't impressed beyond belief, per say, but I would recommend this show if you have any interest in slice-of-life anime. While the animation and sound felt like a show from 2007, it doesn't particularly take away from the show. The story could use some improvements, but I think the webcomic will help wrap up things nicely. Not a fan of relying on the source material to help the adaptation, but I'd understand, since the webcomic isn't finished yet. I think this show will benefit from a season two when the story is over.
ReLIFE – 6/10