In this current time where the hype train is literally is full steam ahead, zombies roam around, steel robots are sliced like butter and explode with pizzazz, and people are gaming the metagame in dark, cerebral atmospheres...
It was a relief to finally watch something relaxing, happy, and deep like ReLIFE.
I will admit that there are some biases that helped me enjoy the show:
1. I can relate to the main character; I was in very eeriely similar circumstances not too long ago.
2. I have a reasonable set of human emotions (i.e. I don't find sadness/happiness weird or foreign, crying as a man is ok, because... men are human too)
But with that said, even if the above biases does not fit for you, I would still recommend ReLIFE.
Dealing with complexity of human emotions is not an easy task; but ReLIFE handles some of the complexity well. Does it handle the complexity better than ALL other shows? No. Is it a revolution of a 'school-period' slice-of-life show? Not really. So some of the elitists might pose the question: then why is it worth my time?
My answer is: Unlike some dramas that create drama for drama, ReLIFE handles the concept of perspective really well. ReLIFE shows that when well developed characters have different, but reasonable & real perspectives, those perspectives can clash and force even the best of us make bad/sub-optimal decisions; What then naturally results from these decisions and perspectives is organic, solid drama.
Instead of simply posing realistic scenarios as food-for-thought, the show then goes a step further by educating some of us (in a non-preachy way) what are good tactics to handling some of these situations should they arise in our lives, by showing the good (and bad) decisions made by the characters. In my opinion, it is these aspects of ReLIFE that make it a strong contender for one of the top spring anime of 2016.
However.. even if, post-watching, you feel like you've known the scenarios it presents all along, are a elite/veteran k-drama watcher, and/or feel the ending is a tad predictable, then I hope the journey of the show and its relaxing, light-hearted commentary on life will give you a smile and a laugh.
