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An anime about a semi-NEET who is given the chance to relive one year of high school. He pops the given pill and dives in...

Spoilers--

This anime had some really good lines in it and also a tonne of jokes that had me in stitches with deathly frequency.

At the same time, I really enjoyed the more serious themes - such as why Kaizaki Arata would throw away a year of his life to go to high school everyday (just to be forced to take remedial tests), how he ended up from grad school to quitting his first job in 3 months (unheard of in Japan...unless ... you want to end your career entirely) to being a NEET.

Towards the end ReLIFE also reveals what happened to Kaizaki's senpai and also the absurdity and inhumanity of the "black" company he worked for. These companies have a really bad name in Japan so it made Kaizaki's background story more believable for me.

Compared to "society", the episode centered on the emotional ups and downs in school were much more lighthearted. The two parts of the story balanced out very well and I doubt I would have enjoyed ReLIFE as much, if one of the two were missing.

Other comments:
For those of us who love a bit of 90s nostalgia...the ending song changes every episode. Most of the songs are from the 90s and are part of Kaizaki's MD collection.

Bearing in mind this is 20 or who-know-how-many-chapters...

Story - 6 (Fair)
This is a really slow story. Most chapters are 55-60 pages long and it's almost as if the story's hit a plateau and the mangakai is now branching off on different characters and making things very, very complicated.

The story didn't start off simple either and I'm struggling to summarise it without spilling all the beans... At the heart of it, it's a very a family-orientated manga, regardless of the other genre labels that are stuck on. It's about the Kaidou family and them coming to terms with each other. The Kaidous are a very messy ... family. There's an adopted son. There are cousins who come out of nowhere...

At this point (chapter 20), I would say that the story has gotten completely out of hand. The first 11 chapters are so are still sort of straightforward because it's essentially the four Kaidou brothers and the Haru/Ren relationship. But after that... particularly from Chapter 18 onwards, Natsuo seems to be more of the focus. Haru/Ren remain stuck in some ridiculous rut. I think the mangaka is determined to draw out their "super lovers" story for as long as possible by making these intriguing detours....which end up diluting the Haru/Ren story line so that it becomes more frustrating to read.

Art - 9 (Great)
Hawwwt boys (thought on the skinny side) which would satisfy most BL readers out there. Compare with Yamamoto Kotetsuko if you will. Unfortunately, I sometimes I mistook Ren for Aki and viceversa.

Characters - 7 (Good)
It on the fence about Haru. On one hand, I feel like a pedo for enjoying Ren's antics and the way Haru treats Ren. But sometimes, I feel that my patience is tested. Of course, this isn't meant to be real and characters like Haru probably don't exist in irl (host + opens cafe + in love with adopted brother 6-7 years his junior + basically on women for twenty-odd years of his life but seems to be 100% experienced with how sex between men works and ridiculously suave about it??). I feel as if he's one conceited guy. But it gets a 7 for keeping me engaged since I feel something for the main character, just that the feeling tends towards dislike.

Funny thing is, the lack of focus on the minor characters makes me prefer them more. Juuzen, Ren's classmate is yankee-looking kid from Osaka and seems to think nothing of Haru/Ren's odd relationship and is supportive of the reticent returnee.

One thing that is a big plus to this series: storytelling alternates from Haru and Ren's POVs and sometimes is told from Shima or Aki. The things they say to each other are beginning to be a little repepitive (i.e, constantly repeating how they think Ren is an awkward wolf-child or that Haru is completely unreadable). This whole section sort of ties in with the story (story or character?? which drives which??)


Enjoyment - 8 (Good)
So despite saying Super Lovers is becoming repetitive and how I think Haru is basically a BL version of pedobear...and all, I'm still enjoying it. The drama is what makes it so addictive. I re-read Chapter 1-20 in one night and was left constantly thinking about how the plot would develop.

There is however a difference between reading it all in one go and having your patience tested in waiting for the irregular releases (I think the last one was in Jan 2014?) especially if nothing happens chapter on chapter, month on month.

Overall - 8
It actually came to 7.5 but I'm rounding it up. If you're looking for family orientated prettyboy-BL angst, then this is for you. It's worth a read if you're a Abe Miyuki fan too since this is first time I've seen her draw anything resembling Yaoi.

Otherwise, nothing separates this series from a longer shoujo series with an interesting supporting cast.

"God Lies" easily ranks amongst my favourite short series. Overall, the story was reminiscent of the movie "Stand by me". Life goes on even if the world is painted bright blue from afar and cynical and more than a little screwed up on on closer inspection, even for grader schoolers. The two main characters Natsuru and Rio seem to fill the adult role better than their own parents. The outcome of the story is deeply satisfying to see and because of it's length/timespan in the manga, it is perhaps more poignant than "Immortal Rain".

Nothing is farfetched in "God Lies" and it portrays a realistic albeit ... highly cynical "life experience" for its protagonists with clean, beautiful panels and good dialogue. I would say that this piece is a lot more polished than her previous works (though it's all good so check out her stuff!!) and therefore highly recommended!

The short version: For me, comedy and romance set in high schools are meant to be consumed like comfort food. Reading Hirunaka no Ryuusei was like forcing myself to chow down a bowl of watery, overcooked porridge, even if it had tasty kabocha and flossed pork in it.

The longer version: think mangaka started off with a great premise. Country bumpkin moves to the great capital of Japan and has to get used to being surrounded by city slickers. There's this stereotype that people from the country are unfashionable and simple-minded but also honest and straightforward. Suzume definitely fits the bill (her hair is plaited ... at the start and wears simple "unfashionable clothes) but the story fails to develop this further. She quickly blends in with her classmates and it's almost as if the fact she spent the first 15 years in the country was completely forgotten... Nothing more is made to distinguish Suzume from everyone else around her. Clueless transfer student trope done and dusted, the love triangle/square becomes the main focus and character development shunted aside.

Instead, the reader is presented with ridiculous situation after situation where said love triangle/square are thrown together, blush lots, stutter, confess and turn down confessions etc. The path to true love is not always an easy one and I think readers can appreciate a long story where the protagonists go through lots of trials to realize their feelings for each other.

But after twenty-odd chapters, I feel like this is going nowhere. The only thing that made me stick through this was that the pages are chock full of eye-candy and the cover art is gorgeous. Otherwise, I want the 3 hours of my life back...


Story - 5, Art - 9, Character - 6, Enjoyment - 5, Overall - 5

(this is a pretty harsh first review but i hope i've expressed what i wanted to say)