People will tell you about the hype train. There will be some telling you that this is a masterpiece while others will rate this 5 or under just because they're childish haters. This extremism between the viewers is what made me write this review. So what's really the truth?
The truth is: this anime had a lot more potential. That's true. The first half showed us that this could be one of those masterpieces that would survive the test of time no matter what. If you had to rate it from 1 to 10, you would rated it 11.
And then, it lost that genius quality. But that's ok. It missed some important aspects of the manga and about 3 more episodes were needed for the story's flow to be perfect. The ending (12th ep) was superior than the manga.
Nevertheless, it's still worth to watch. It's still the best anime this Winter. So, what's this anime all about?
This anime goes on narrating the story of Satoru Fujinuma, a 29 yo that works on delivering pizzas. As simple as his life might seem, he has a quite strange power that he likes to call "Revival". This power takes him back in time (2 to 5 mins) whenever someone arround him is in danger and without his concent. He then realizes that something is going to happen and tries to prevent it. So, you can tell that he's a good guy. Actually, during his childhood he always wanted to be a hero.
But suddently something happens. A person very dear to him suddenly is murdered and he's accused of doing it. And then his Revival acts. He finds himself going back 18 years to when he was in school (11 years old). But why 18 years? Didn't his power only work 2 to 5 minutes before something happens?
Here he remembers of a series of murders that occured when he was that age. One case in particular: the abduction and killing of one of his classmates Kayo Hinazuki. He realized that his mom's murder was committed by the same person that killed Kayo. So he wanted to protect her in order to save his friend, his mom and to stop the murderer.
In general, the story, art, character's development and overall enjoyment deserve an 8 (well done, A-1 Pictures). Also, I really enjoyed the Sound. The voices fitted the characters and both the OP and ED are pretty accurate to the anime itself. I get myself to listen to both songs in my daily life without relating it to the anime itself. They're pretty good.
This anime is definitely worth your time. Every time you finish 1 ep, you'll want to watch the next one. The uniqueness of this story is contagious.
