Re-Kan!

The topics of death and a possible afterlife (or rather, the fear of them) can be quite distressing to think about, and philosophers and scientists alike have banged their heads on countless brick walls trying to figure out what exactly life is about, and why there has to be an end to it. However, death may not be so dreadful, and there may be a playful side to what happens after it, well, at least in Re-Kan.

The plot revolves around Amami Hibiki, a transfer student who mysteriously has the ability to see and interact with ghosts. Now, as per traditional Japanese beliefs, these ghosts are ... figures known as Yurei, spirits living in a peaceful afterlife which are known to protect and bring good luck to the living family members. Being totally friendly and even playful at times, the ghosts cause a lot of lighthearted commotion to the lives of Amami and her friends. In fact, they run into these ghosts quite often, be it at a ceremonial tombstone on the way to school or at the beach on a hot summer day.

The characters are all quite lovable, and there really isn't an antagonist by definition in the anime as one of the ongoing themes is simply learning to get along with "others". All the person to person and person to ghost conflicts are quite short lived. However, I must mention that the personalities we see have a limited amount of depth, and as of right now, we rarely, if at all, see introductions of new, radical characters that drive the plot forwards.

Additionally, as creative as Re-Kan is, there are shortcomings with the story. As of right now, the plot doesn't have a lot of depth, and other than the fact that the ghosts will deliberately spook people out (especially Amami's friend Inoue), there's a lack of conflict. Dramatic scenes and cliffhangers? No, we likely won't see those. I believe that the first episode will give you a good sense of the mood of the series and what the sequential episodes will be like.

As for the visual aspects of Re-Kan, the art, first of all, is very poor and inconsistent, and isn't considered by any means stellar by today's standards. That being said, the art does contribute to the light mood of the story, so essentially we can't say that art is that bad.

The other thing to mention in terms of Visuals are the OPs and EDs. They're not a treat to the eyes, but we do have to give every♥ing! credit for good theme song performances, as "Colourful Story" (OP) and "Kesalan Patharan" (ED) are two of their first singles. As for the rest of the audio, the BGM is alright, but one thing that you will notice upon watching is that except for Amami (since she just transferred to the school), all the characters speak with a strong Kansai dialect, which may not be what you are used to hearing. Most Japanese don't speak with a Kansai-ben.

To sum up, tuning into Re-kan this season for a breather is a good idea, especially if you've just watched something with a deeper plot, such as Plastic Memories.

I hope that you have found this review to be of help.

Re-Kan! is a supernatural comedy that can be funny, cute, or surprisingly touching...

...but the majority of it is so head-shakingly silly that I had a hard time enjoying all of it.

The concept isn't exactly original, and even this season there are shows that involve characters who can see ghosts (Kyoukai no Rinne, I'm looking at you), but Re-Kan! takes a much more lighthearted, easygoing, and realistic approach.

Well, as realistic as a show about ghosts can be.

Our story centers around routine interactions between Hibiki, our main character, and various spirits around town. Emphasis on "routine," because Hibiki greets and converses with these spirits in the same ... way that she would talk with her human friends, much to the chagrin of some characters...

Along the way, we inevitably learn of the backgrounds of many of the ghosts, and this is where the "surprisingly touching" part comes in. Even in this show, death is a somber topic, and as a result, Re-Kan! often ends its episodes with bitersweet realizations by living and dead characters who can accept the death of a loved one and move on with their lives. It made sitting through the rest of the episode worth it, usually.

By this, I am referring to the silliness that the rest of the show is dominated by. The show tends to fall back on running gags, and this inevitably leads to most of the jokes being rather predictable. A good amount of the characters (Yamada, Yamada's brother, the Ero-Neko) exist solely for the purpose of silly, nonsensical, or often perverted humor. As a result, they function as the subject of rage from the more violent characters, or ones who are simply fed up with their antics. And why wouldn't they be? Their lines are repetitive and their presence in the show gets stale pretty early on.

While some of the female characters suffer from the same issue, we at least get to see a more enjoyable relationship develop amongst them. Their bonds form primarily through, you guessed it, Hbiki's ability to see ghosts. Their progression as friends is so slow it's almost unseeable, but it's just another aspect of the show's slow, easygoing nature. Maybe I'm just simple-minded, but seeing those kinds of interactions is cute and enjoyable for me.

Particularly, the interactions between Hibiki and Inoue, our token tsundere, are pretty darn cute. Their biggest obstacle is that Inoue couldn't be a worse friend for Hibiki - she's terrified of ghosts! Despite her fear, she somehow gets dragged into all of Hibiki's ghost antics, and comes to accept Hibiki as she is... for the most part. Also, it's pretty obvious early on that Hibiki has a crush on Inoue, so for all you yuri fans out there (myself included), it's an added bonus.

Unfortunately, due to the show's short run time and episodic nature, the usual "characters-don't-get-enough-development-or-screentime" problem is prevalent here. As only one example, Inoue's relationship with Hibiki is cute, but she shows no hints of breaking out of her tsundere nature by the end of the show, which is rather disappointing considering how much she's changed her attitude towards her friends. Also, I would have expected her to at least try to act less terrified in the presence of ghosts, but I hardly got any of that. The rest of the human female cast got one episode of development, if they were lucky. I'm not sure if a 24-episode series would have dragged this show out or not, but again, 13 episodes certainly isn't enough for everyone.

Instead, what I got were situations where all I could think of was "Are they really going to spend ten minutes on this subject?" I don't think I needed Yamada's older brother to talk about how much he loves girls in swimsuits for ten minutes, or a spirit that jumps off of a cliff everyday for a silly reason, or a zombie-loving girl running all over town because she had a possessed zombie doll. I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but these are more cases where the comedy either fell flat for me or was so silly, all I could do was sigh.

The openings and endings are cute... however, there was an obvious drop in animation quality between the opening and the rest of the show. It's like 70% of the budget went into animating the opening, and the rest went into the actual content. Character and background designs, while cute and colorful, were average at best and disappointing in the context of the opening.

Openings and endings aside, the soundtrack is quite relaxing. I was particularly fond of the acoustic-centric inserts, and it emphasized the "slice-of-life" feel that I am so attracted to.

Re-Kan! has its moments, but the moments are too far in between the stale jokes and the eyebrow-raising scenarios. It's entertaining enough, and it's not the worst option if a break from the standard shounen/ecchi/harem fare is wanted. It's just not the best option, either.

(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

My sister was born on Halloween, so I am no stranger to all of the common tropes that follow such a holiday. There are pumpkins to carve, candy to pass out, and the movie Hocus Pocus to watch at least once, all done to commemorate such a special occasion. Another major trait that Halloween almost always has is the prevalence of ghosts. Ghosts are not real (like most other phenomenon hosted during that time of year) but they usually beg the question: what if? If ghosts suddenly became corporeal tomorrow, would you avoid them entirely? Or ... would you attempt to converse with them to learn more about who they happened to be? Re-Kan! focuses on these supernatural beings, giving an anime that relaxes both body and mind.

STORY

Re-Kan! stars Hibiki Amami, a young woman who has a sixth-sense, allowing her to communicate with entities that are no longer living. One day, she happens upon Narumi Inoue, with the two becoming at least acquaintances and the tale progressing from there.

Ghosts are most often perceived as scary, what with their translucent bodies, ability to float, and the hauntings they take part in. But here, in Re-Kan!, ghosts are the complete opposite. They help the characters with the problems that appear, they are generally kind in their normal dealings, and they refrain from harassing the living. For example, the ghosts at one point watch over Amami’s inner spirit or assist in the school festival’s haunted house. This is the first sign of the anime being able to generate such a calming atmosphere. By taking a concept that is normally seen as horrifying and diluting it to the point of cuteness, the anime is able showcase its relaxation to a higher degree. It is not so much dissonance as it is dichotomy; the application of a subject that is not usually placed in such a positive light makes it so that the anime’s calmness is more pronounced than if such contrast was not employed.

Re-Kan! continues building its calm atmosphere through the construction of the narrative itself. Here, the anime avoids any lasting tension by foregoing long-stretched conflicts, instead opting for an episodic, “monster (ghost) of the week” format. There do exist partial carry-overs between episodes – such as specific ghosts or allusions to previous happenings – but for the most part, the anime keeps each tiny tale segmented from one another. The drama is there but the resolution comes quickly, giving the anime the chance to showcase more heartfelt moments like an elderly man enjoying his wife’s homemade chocolates or a little girl getting to play with her childhood friend. While the individual occurrences are not profound or deeply moving, they manage to sit snuggly among the show’s tone, thereby heightening its relaxing effect once more.

To round out the experience, the anime focuses on a specific theme to unify the disjointed events: the small things in life matter most. It is quite simple, but this aspect, like the others before it, finds easy comfort due to the endearing nature of the motif. Many of these moments demonstrate this idea. For instance, a group of small kids running around in the park and a mother hugging her daughter are the kinds of occurrences that do not seem like much but are quite relatable. In fact they almost come off as insignificant, but in essence that is life itself, a series of “forgettable” happenings that are small in scale now but have a large, everlasting impact later on. This is exactly where the anime goes as it comes to its conclusion; these “insignificant” moments are revealed to be more than what they are at face value. Those little kids allowed Inoue to understand the connectedness she herself has, and the mother becomes inspired to cook like she used to. The majority of the previous plot points are revisited to showcase how such small events really do have quite the impact. However, the most profound part is that this message is revealed through thedead. That is, cherishing life’s smaller experiences is made possible by the non-living. It is ironic, but again, this dichotomy gives it added meaning since they are the ones who can no longer do this. In other words, everyone eventually moves on, so love the small things as much as you can while the opportunity is still there.

Now, the entire outing is by no means perfect – there are specific plot points that are not fully expanded on or used, such as Mary the cellphone ghost; and the comedy often relies on the same, repetitive jokes – but as an anime aimed at healing its audience, Re-Kan! performs at a very nice level.

ANIMATION

Re-Kan! takes a strange approach to its art style. The best way to describe it is that the backgrounds are three-dimensional in nature, or that the characters are quite obviously superimposed onto the setting they find themselves in. By doing this, the art takes on a “photorealistic” effect that helps to keep the anime’s sense of realism despite the ghosts that permeate it. Various locations are visited, like the beach, parts of the city, and Amami’s abode, but the show takes place mostly at their school. While the style can take a while to get used to, and the lighting and camera direction are nothing noteworthy, it does its job handily enough.

The character designs are weird mainly due to how shiny everyone is. Hair, eyes, and skin all have this sheen to them that makes the members of the cast glow. In a way, it makes them seem unnatural, in the same vein that the ghosts are “not of this world.” Besides their shininess, characters like Amami with her long purple hair or Inoue with her short twin-tails are appropriate but not too dazzling.

Actual animation barely manages to be average in execution. The characters do not do much in terms of movement, sticking mostly to sitting or standing while having their conversations. A possible reason for the anime’s direction here was to keep the feeling low-key; preventing the characters from engaging in gratuitous action coincides with the relaxation it was going for. However, when the characters do move, it can be somewhat choppy, such as with running or during reactions.

CHARACTERS

In an anime like Re-Kan!, the characters are not looking to be complex or incredibly fleshed-out. This is apparent when noticing the lack of drama (no personal conflict) and the format of the plot (no long-lasting effects) which causes the characters to refrain from developing to any extent. Meaning there needs to be some leniency applied when analyzing said characters.

To this end, the anime is competent with at least the characterization of the main troupe it touts. Some of them are rather interesting, such as Kyouko’s past as a thug who protected the streets and Ogawa’s infatuation with zombies. Others are common tropes found throughout the medium, such as Inoue the “tsundere” and Amami the super-nice young woman. While each does get an episode that semi-revolves around them, such as Kana having issues at home and Ogawa aiding a possessed doll, again it is more about using their shticks in the moment – either to further the comedy or drive home the sentimental idea for those events – as opposed to expounding on their actual persons. The same direction can be seen with the minor characters, like Ko-gal Spirit and the “Roll Call Samurai.” The former reconnects with her mother in a tender moment but later on is used as comedic relief whereas the latter is humbled by Amami’s kindness, so he makes it his mission to protect her, which leads to his own type of gags. So, while the characters do not individually go through much, their respective personality traits are at least shown and used in an acceptable manner.

More powerful than each character’s singular facets are the bonds that they share between each other. The idea that the connections people have with one another being important is introduced in the “final” episode, but in retrospect it becomes clear how much focus was placed on the relationships established. Kyouko and Kana get angry at each other all of the time, but that is because they understand one another due to the rough-and-tumble attitudes they own. Ogawa and Yamada also manage to relate to one another due to their outlier status. Ogawa’s obsession and Yamada’s “anti-harem” role make them stand-out from the rest of the group, allowing them to get one another more readily. Even the relationship between Ko-gal and Samurai has a foundation. Ko-gal’s laidback nature contrasts with Samurai’s dignified manner of behaving and speaking, which causes the two to tease one another as only companions could.

Best of all is the dynamic between Amami and Inoue. Amami is unbelievably gentle and enjoys communicating with people of the transparent variety. Inoue rests at the opposite end of the spectrum; she can be rude and overly-direct at times yet she is deathly afraid of ghosts. But as a testament to the strong bond they share, the two overcome such a huge gap in differences and become the best of friends. Amami gives others the chance to see Inoue’s kindness hidden behind her abrasiveness, such as when Inoue agreed to continue being next to her, and Inoue gives Amami a backbone, a wall to lean on when troubles arise, like when Amami was forced by Inoue to wear ghost-warding glasses to let her friend rest. They appear to be the most unlikely of duos, but that is precisely why they are so close to begin with. Amongst Re-Kan!’s characters, it is clear that the understanding relationship shared between Amami and Inoue is one of the stronger parts offered.

SOUND

The opening theme starts off well then heads into quite the guitar riff, which eventually devolves into a tired beat and a bout of singing that is not entirely pleasant. However, when the second half of the track begins – where it matches the very beginning – it finds strength once more, with the nice catchiness and the back-and-forth vocalists. The ending theme is oddly quick, but it works because of the contrast it has with the anime that precedes it – this contrast being a common motif found throughout the anime. It contains many various sound-effects, fast singing, build-ups, tonal changes, and catchy lyrics that come together to create a fun song to hear.

The rest of the soundtrack presents an arrangement that sticks to relaxation. There are goofy pieces like the ones that play during rambunctious moments – a distinct, ghostly whistle can be heard during one – and serene piano pieces for those sad moments, but many of the tracks are composed with softness in mind. One of the most prominent and memorable tracks from the show is the four-note, acoustic guitar ensemble that captures the sweetness that is everyday life. The OST is by no means great, but it manages to contain a number of pieces that follow the atmosphere nicely.

Voice acting for the anime is somewhere around average. A special shout-out is deserved for Ibuki Kido as Amami for her extremely kind way of speaking.

ENJOYMENT

I like cute anime; anyone who knows me knows this to be true. And this one definitely fits the bill mostly thanks to Amami’s unending kindness and affability. Her simply saying “Inoue-san…” in her gentle voice was more than enough. But watching her stumble around, helping the ghosts and the living alike, would always make me smile because she was smiling while doing it. Viewing someone that is doing what they love, seeing as their passion manifests, makes me happy because that is something everyone should experience.

The only other character I cared for was Inoue, who was also a source of entertainment due to her scaredy-cat ways. It was always a game, trying to see where she was hiding in the background when ghosts entered the area, or watching as she shook and panicked while screaming “no” with her hands to her cheeks. Her relationship with Amami – with the “yuri” undertones, strictness (as the show put it), and “tsundere”-ness towards her best friend – was hilarious because of how genuine it was. Amami’s innocence was something that Inoue never took for granted, with Inoue wanting nothing but the best for the girl that, as she did with the ghosts around them, treated her so well.

Beyond the comedy, there were two moments that managed to tug at my heartstrings. The first was with “Little Ghost Girl” who got to play kitchen with the boy (now a grown-up) she made friends with years ago. I hate goodbyes, and the one between her, the gang, and Moriya was very touching. The other moment was when Amami realized just how much she impacted the people around her, subsequently getting her sixth sense back. It was a tender moment between her and Inoue, bringing about both a fulfilling and satisfying conclusion.

Re-Kan! targets more than just ghosts. Championing simplicity and the connections we hold with the people around us, the anime manages to be a relaxing ride with heartfelt roots. While it is somewhat weak in its art and music department, those aspects do not dissuade the notion that, corporeal or not, life is a truly beautiful entity.

SUMMARY

Story: Good, the subject of ghosts is utilized well, the episodic nature works in its favor, and the theme on life’s smallest things is executed nicely, with minor flaws in terms of specific plot points and the comedy

Animation: Fine, weirdly real backgrounds, shiny character designs, and just about average actual animation

Characters: Good, Amami, Inoue, and the rest have their characterizations used well, with the connections between them being more important than their singular aspects

Sound: Fine, okay OP, good ED, okay soundtrack, average VA work

Enjoyment: Good, Amami and Inoue were fun, with specific moments getting me emotional

Final Score: 6/10

First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile.
------

✦Story
Probably the easiest review I have written. Simple premise, simple presentation and good enough result. Story is about a girl who can see ghosts and her friends and how they all get along. That's all you need really. Very easy to enjoy this Anime, it isn't bad nor good, it's something you just sit down, relax and watch and by the end you feel as you enjoyed such simplicity.

✦Art & Sound
Cute, clean and satisfying art with some a bit odd photo-realistic backgrounds. As for music & ost, ... cannot really remember much. Think they were good enough, but nothing worthwhile.

✦Character
Lots of stereotypes and cute characters. Main shippable duo was very cute. Inoue X Hibiki

✦Enjoyment & Overall
As mentioned enough it already in a review. Its a very simple and enjoyable series. Light-hearted, joyful, cute, bright. Type of "6" that comes not from boredom, but simply from not getting any sort of surprises. I finished this Anime almost in one go, if it would been a boring Anime, it would take me much longer to finish.

Re-Kan! Is a supernatural, comedy anime that aired in the spring of 2015. The story revolves around Hibiki Amami a high school girl who has the ability to see and talk to spirits. We see the daily life of Hibiki and her friends as they often assist with helping spirits come to peace.

Now I originally reviewed this series back in the summer of 2015. Fortunately I have had time to reflect over my original thoughts on the series and see if this new one gets taken down. Wish me luck!


Story:
Hibiki Amami is just your average high school ... girl who has a heart of gold and a personality of sweetness so over used that I had to drink my tea without sugar whilst watching this anime.

The series was episodic dealing with different spirits and the life they lead before passing on into the spirit realm. Hibiki and co set about helping the spirits find peace, but they never move on and still linger around Hibiki, more often than not to provide comedic relief.

I feel that it was a shame that the bad humour took out the sting of the more heart felt moments from the heavy hitting stories.

Episode Nine was a prime example of how the comedy made said heart felt moments look completely out of place. I was actually surprised with how sad the ending of that episode was especially since the cast assumed that Hibiki dating an elderly gentlemen. That for me was a prime example of Re-kan’s undoing.

Well… maybe im being a bit too harsh on the comedy elements as I’ll admit some of it got me smiling.


Characters:
Like most comedy shows the supporting cast does much better than the main character herself. Mainly the dead spirits which Hibiki interacts with provide more comedy and honestly more story. Hibiki is the one that brings the living and dead together like the mother Teresa she is.

Hibiki Amami is a sweet but ditsy girl who is a ghost whisperer. She is a nice girl and at times can be taken advantage of unintentionally by spirits who crave for her attention. Hibiki often helps the spirits to find peace. Her relationships with the living cast of friends are not the focal point, but the friendship she has with her group is just as meaningful as it is with the dead. It is implied that Hibiki and Narumi Inoue are Yuri partners, but never specified.

Narumi Inoue is the secondary character who is afraid of ghosts and is the shows Tsundere. Over time she befriends Hibiki without ever really admitting it until later episodes. Narumi does a good job of supporting Hibiki and being there for her in good times and bad.

Other mentionable characters include the role-call samurai who has a massive crush on Hibiki, Merry-San who haunts Kana Uehara and Ero-Neko the perverted cat who… has his moments.


Art:
The Artwork isn’t great and neither is the animation. I rarely see points throughout the show which suggests this is pretty to look at.

Kana Uehara is an example since her hair covered her eye, yet you could still see the eye… I don’t know why this bothered me really. This is the first show I’ve watched of Pierrot’s work but I wasn’t impressed.


Sound:
Re-Kan’s opening felt that I should have been is a stereotypical Yuri show, which to be fair appeared to have the lingering undertones of one.

The rest of the soundtrack was nice actually. I could range from happy peaceful music to upbeat and whacky at a moment’s notice. Some parts of the soundtrack can stand out on its own.


Final Verdict:
Overall Re-Kan! was an average show. Whilst there always seemed to be a positive message by the end of most episodes it’d hard to justify watching through twenty minutes of a perverted cat looking for girls panties.
(I’m probably over-blowing that scenario, but I hope you get the gist)

Hibiki stole the lights for your typically sweet main protagonist and the side cast do a positive job in progressing the movement of the episodes, whether that be offering comedy or helping the spirits find peace as well.

Animation is almost below standard and the soundtrack does an relatively decent job.

I’d recommend that you watch sixth sense if you want something a bit more serious.


Overall Re-Kan! Gets a 6 out of 10.

Alternate recommendations are the aforementioned Sixth Sense which is not an anime.
I also recommend Death Parade focussing on dead people and their passage in to the abyss or reincarnation which does a more serious take on the dead and the infamous realm known as ‘In Limbo’

Thanks for reading guys. Have a nice day!

I get that most older comedy shows have a perverted character that creeps on the female characters, I'm just tired of seeing it. I love the concept, a girl can see ghosts, and goes out of her way to make their lives easier. I love that kind of wholesome story. Any wholesomeness is taken away by the friggin perverted cat. Anything wholesome is just taken away by the creepy laughing and the "show me your panties!" bs. it's a stupid trope and I'm tired of it. If it were once or twice an episode it'd be much more manageable, but it's once every 5 minutes. ... A bunch of ghost kids are trying to form a connection with Inoue? Let's throw in a cat trying to peek up her skirt. Amami's tired because she hasn't been sleeping well? Oh, it's because the cat is literally in her dreams pressuring her to show her panties. FFS, just cut it out.

Re-Kan! summed up is a high school slice-of-life with light comedic and emotional elements, following a girl who can see ghosts. It was average budget-tier in all aspects, but it impressed me with subtle technical production creativity, which gave it a polish that increased the enjoyment factor. The harsh reality is that this anime is basic by today's standard. It doesn't try too hard to entertain, but instead is seemingly used to progress the staff's art experience.

It's set in a late 90s Japanese town. The main character is a girl with traditional Japanese traits who had no mother to raise her, able to see ... ghosts due to a family ability passed down to her. She seemingly had a sheltered princess childhood and had been raised to be compassionate. This leads her to meet and connect with a seemingly endless number of other characters, as she takes to helping ghosts out of kindness during her high school years.

Characters can all have their personalities described with one word, matched with a stereotypical physical appearance, such as cranky old man or yankee girl. Living characters with foreign physical traits, and ghosts from all sorts of time periods and backgrounds seem to take interest in and befriend the girl. The show seemingly runs with this fact, even making running jokes about it. Plain ghosts are shown as just hands or floating blobs.

The visuals and audio seem to be budget oriented, but there seems to be technical creativity to make it work out well. The backgrounds/settings seem to be CG that's given a fair amount of additional touch-up to make it fit fairly consistently. I took notice of how characters and CG objects in the settings were masked and layered, giving a sense of depth (e.g. scene with aho-senpai doing his dance in the back, while girls sat on or at their desks in the foreground). The animations have a subtle slap-stick feel, and are colored with exaggerated highlights. Even on a gloomy day, the characters shine brightly, and shadows, such as on their necks, are still well defined. There's no faceless living characters--the entire class and incoming new class have unique physical appearances. There's even a scene where the entire class is shown turning to face the main character.

The audio reminds me of video game quality (e.g. RPG, such as Trails in the Sky), and find that it factored in strongly to evoke strong emotion. Sounds echo in the bathroom and utility poles woosh by in high speed pans, with a little ambiance here and there.

As far as enjoyment, I have to say that there needs to be a term that describes "sakuga" moments that involve audio and cinematic cuts instead of action choreography. This show had a few of these that stunned me. This, in turn, made me more alert, looking out for further technical production expertise, making me turn a more critical eye towards the basic parts of the show. I saw no weakness, only well executed polish on what seemingly is an average show.

My experience wasn't all good. I went from being somewhat bored after about 5 episodes, taking a break before finishing ep6, and then marathoning the rest. I had a number of tear jerk moments towards the end, and admit that I was charmed by the main character by the end, enough to share some feelings.

All in all, it's a show I don't regret finishing, but will be reluctant to recommend to others. Props to the production team for making this at least a little enjoyable. Seems like it could've been done a lot better, with a stronger comedic element, but I'll take the few eps of emotional motherly relationship stuff.

Looking back on this series as a whole... I don't have as much to say about this anime as I thought I would. I've been on a personal mission of sorts lately, trying to find a Slice of Life show I really enjoyed. (It is my least favorite genre, but I have tried.) I guess I should have figured years ago that the answer was to add ghosts. The construction for this review has been a disaster, so I'm just going to throw my thoughts out there in no particular order.

I did eventually get sucked in and want to see more, but it was ... a slow start. To its credit, the series does eventually address nearly all of my early critiques, but our main protagonist is not one of them. Hibiki is just so bland. She's one of those characters who comes across as being just a little too perfect. The thing that was supposed to make her stand out was her ability to see and communicate with ghosts, but the ghosts in this show are super... accessible. When regular people can see them through the lens of their cell phone cameras, it sort of takes away from the one thing that was supposed to make Hibiki stand out.

And then there's her group of friends... I will say that they grew on me over time. But they certainly contributed to episode one being really hard to swallow. This show starts out with that 'Main character with a dead mother moves to a new town trope.' But very little time is focused on showing Hibiki settle in. One second it's her first day, then jump to a week later and she already has a close group of friends who believe in her abilities completely and have no reservations about hanging out with the girl who speaks to the dead. Right... To be fair, none of these new friends are exactly what one might call "normal" themselves, and as time went on, their own quirkiness grew to be more endearing than unrealistic.

Re-kan! is certainly a lot more lighthearted than all the other ghost shows I've been watching lately. But it does have its moments where they do address death and the effect is has on the living. Namely, grief. And it was those slightly darker, more heartfelt episodes that really drew me in. As I mentioned, this is still a Slice of Life series, and it shows. They have their beach day and their culture festival and their New Years' celebration, but these episodes all have a supernatural twist to them that held my interest a lot more than those sorts of episodes usually do.

If you're already a Slice of Life fan, I definitely suggest checking this one out. And if you're not a SoL fan, but you enjoy things with a supernatural touch, (like myself) you may want to give this one a try also. My suggestion is to watch at least up through episode three before deciding whether to continue or not. (That was the first of the deeper episodes, the ones that gave me hope for this series.) Personally, I'm going to call this a mission accomplished and put the genre to rest for a while.

Update Note: I watched the whole show but my opinions have not changed. I liked the story(although there were some unnecessary and rushed parts) and everything but the sound + artwork especially really bugged me throughout the whole show.

I gave this show a six because I liked it but the director really blew it for me to give it anything higher. Eyes visible past the hair and the sound is horrible.

There were so many inconsistencies that I thought that they changed voice actors. Also in one scene Uehara sounded so different that I thought that they messed up and mixed Yamada's line in there. ...

I put no blame on the seiyuus at all, this is entirely on the director and the audio people. There is absolutely no oomph to their voices especially when Inoue is yelling. It's like they used a voice equalization filter. Felt absolutely no menace from their words and the delivery just felt flat. These aren't new seiyuus. They're experienced, they know what they're doing and they're good at what they do. Should add that it wasn't just Inoue's lines that felt flat but it was the same case for everybody, it all just felt lifeless. I haven't had an issue with sound in an anime before so this was a bit of a surprise to me.

The art really messes with you sometimes. The characters switch between good and ugly and sometimes the girls, Inoue especially look masculine in some scenes. Which is a shame really because Yuuhi, Hibiki, and Uehara were good character designs. I know they tried to make Inoue cute and Esumi cool but it didn't really pan out with the consistencies.

It felt like they had a really tight schedule or really just wanted to get it done with as fast as possible.

Overall Impression: Re-Kan is a slice of life dramedy about a girl that can see ghosts and her best friend that is terrified of them. It's fairly forgettable, though could have been much better with a few relatively small changes. It's not necessarily "bad" or unpleasant to watch, but the biggest problem here is the kind of cookie-cutter otaku pandering and indulgence in cliches that makes it feel like it came off an assembly line rather than bringing something original to the table.

+ Positives: The positive aspects of the series are carried by the relationship between Hibiki, a lovable airhead who can see spirits, and ... Narumi, her tsundere best friend that tries to keep her distance because she's frightened of the ghostly happenings that surround Hibiki at all times. Their dynamic is cute and full of heart, and their friends (Uehara and Esumi in particular) are just as charming for the most part. The character designs are strong and the animation, while more functional than fancy, is well storyboarded. In contrast to the similar-in-premise Mieruko-chan, the ghosts here are not malevolent or grotesque, and they end up being fun characters in their own right. The show is light-hearted for most of its run, but it does engage with the inherent tragedy of its premise, that Hibiki is mostly interacting with ghosts of children and young people that died far too young. When it does choose to switch gears into heavy drama, most notably in episode 8, it generally does a good job of not trivializing or undermining the necessary dramatic parts with poorly timed comedy. Those scenes can hit surprisingly hard, especially if you aren't prepared for the tone shift. Itou Miku, VA for Narumi, does a solid job of being the "scream queen" of the series when she reacts to the ghosts.

- Negatives: An aggravating overuse of the kind of pervert humor that is unfortunately endemic to comedy anime. Things like the cat that's constantly trying to look up the skirts of the female characters or Kenta's police officer brother openly lusting after underage girls just gives the whole thing this icky vibe that simply did not need to be there. It's not funny, it's just creepy, and I struggle to understand why they think this kind of cringeworthy shit is in any way entertaining. Kenta, likewise, adds nothing, and his single repeated gimmick of yelling and then getting beaten up by Esumi wears out its welcome almost immediately. This all adds up to a sense that you get throughout the show that they could just get rid of a few elements of this series, like the cat and Kenta, and it would be vastly improved, or at least not as groan-inducing. The pacing is also very strange, it's hard to get a sense of how fast time is passing unless it's a holiday episode, but the series covers over a year of in-universe time and it doesn't feel that way at all. Furthermore, the most questionable part of how it's paced is the ending. Episode 12 feels like it's the clear end of the series and then it's just... not. There's a 13th episode after it that's just, like, a random episode, without any of the sense of finality and closure that 12 ended with. It almost feels like an OVA that was tacked on at the end or something. It's a strange decision that makes the ending much weaker than it would have been if it had ended on 12. In general, Re-Kan stays safely inside of its box and regurgitates most of the slice of life tropes you're likely to be familiar with, and not to belabor the point on the pervert humor, but even that feels incredibly derivative. There are a couple bits that feel fresher, like the ghosts of the samurai and the gyaru becoming friends, but it often feels uninspired and rote, like it was written by someone that didn't really have any ideas and just leaned on the kinds of tired cliches that they picked up from a general survey of shounen anime and manga.