Then one day, after getting a wake up call from his family who refuse to pay for his living expenses henceforth, he is approached by a stranger named Ryo who offers him another chance at life. He tells him that he will get one years worth of living expenses and a job at the end of it all is he agrees to be the Guinea pig for an experiment. The experiment for which Arata is supposed to be a test subject will turn him into a teenager and he must attend highschool once again so as to reinvigorate his emotions and push him back into reality. The whole thing is basically supposed to make him change his ways as a NEET. Arata, after careful consideration of the prospects of a future job, decides to accept and so begins his ReLife.
In his school Arata comes across characters of all kinds and types. Whilst their character archetypes are pretty generic (the tsundere, the happy go lucky dude, the quiet reserved girl) the situations in which all of them are placed are pretty emotionally investing and I found myself hooked from the get go. The Intro to the Anime felt rushed but I was settled in soon after and from there I couldn't stop myself from watching as this story unfolded. This Anime opening theme, like most other openings that I've watched, resonated with me over time and I fell in love with it as the series progressed.
What I found most enjoyable about the show was how realistic it was, apart from the whole experiment that turns you back into teen of course. During certain parts I felt like it was paralleling my life as it continued to spout truths about our everyday existence that I had pondered many times over and relived through countless years of surviving in this harsh reality. It even felt like the cast was talking directly to me at points which I found astounding. The character intermingling was wonderful and felt completely natural throughout. Rena's tsundere character was the main focus for most of the shows run and a lot of the story revolved around how she felt and how Arata dealt with it. It was interesting to watch as I thought about what I myself would do in a situation like the many Arata faces and in addition it invoked emotions in me from across the spectrum of heartfelt feelings as I teared up more than once.
The OST to this Anime is beautiful as well, mostly composed of Jazz pieces and piano solos that brought life to many scenes in the Anime. The tensions between the characters would build up to their very peak and the OST would help bring them to that point and then, at the very climax, it'd bring them all to a resolution with a wonderful melody. Definitely one of my favourite OST from the recent Anime that I've watched.
The mystery behind the ReLife experiment was greatly implemented throughout the shows run and the identity of test subject number 1 was kept secret until the most appropriate moment which filled me with utter bliss once I realized who it was and also that I was right about the speculation of their identity. There's a small hint in the opening theme about that which I figured out because Im a focused Nancy, but you'll have to divulge that information on your own if you're interested enough.
Another thing that was welcoming was how well developed almost every character from the main cast was. Each character had their own curve of progression and each characters personality was given due development. Some characters were obviously given more development than others but it didn't feel like any character ever overshadowed another. It usually becomes an issue for me when characters go unused in an Anime but that wasn't the case here at all. Each character came out different at the end of the story than they were at the beginning and I was thankful for that.
Hishiro and Onaya turned out to be two of my favourite girls from this years Anime releases and Hishiro was especially cute in many of her scenes. Her characters development was the most astounding in my opinion and I enjoyed every second of it! Onaya and Ryo along with Rena, Honoka and Oga made up a great supporting cast and their moments together was just very enjoyable to watch.
I binged the entire show in 2 days and Im thankful to my friend Sebastian who recommended this Anime to me. It resonated with me on a very deep level and no series has been able to do that to me for a while so Im grateful that such a show exists. The end to the season left us on a bit of a cliffhanger I suppose and it sets up the premise for the second season nicely, if there's goanna be one. Here's to hoping they adapt it :D
I strongly recommend this Anime from this summers line up (although I haven't seen the others yet.) Its got great romance, it does its job well for being an awesome spice of life with great comedic moments and drama and finally, it hits home like only romance Anime can. The feelings portrayed through the characters and the dialogue spoken between them is some of the best that I've seen in recent times if memory serves me fright and I was entertained throughout!
You wont be disappointed , I promise you!
