***SPOILERS***
that should not impact your viewing experience, or spoil you any secrets or plot points you'd only get to know by the end of it.
Still, if you wish to avoid all spoilers, stop reading it now.
Also, this review includes the 2nd season:
ReLIFE: Kanketsu-hen
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ReLIFE is a show I've been putting off since it was added to MAL with its synopsis, because I could imagine only two ways it could play out.
One, it'll take a mature approach and tackle real, every-day problems, of both (high school) children and adults alike, through the eyes of the main character, which sounds very interesting to me.
Or two, its premise is to be quickly forgotten for high school "drama" to appeal to the targeted audience: 13-16 years old kids, which I found to be more likely.
The possibility of the second was so off-putting I couldn't muster up the willpower to start the show immediately, and as it turns out, I wasn't too far off the mark.
~STORY - 2/10
The story, as per the synopsis, is about a man who gets to experience high school life again thanks to a magic pill produced by "ReLIFE"...a company, I guess? But it's unimportant.
He gets the chance to help the research in exchange for bettering his life. Should he succeed (how it works we'll never know), ReLIFE.co will hook him up with a decent job he needs so bad.
The possibilities of this premise are nigh limitless, but for that, adding this convenient fiction is a must, to explain how it is possible in the first place,
and although I found it to be disappointingly unimaginative, I was quick to accept it without further ado because of the previously mentioned reason.
Still, I hoped that was all the fiction there is going to be...
As we're explained, the subject of this experiment is to go back to high school for a year.
Imagine the possibilities! Entering a school under a different name! Having to learn or make up a story about this fake identity!
The problems of love between an adult and a teenager! The sadness, the depression! The fun? The difference between the mindset of an adult and children (well, teens), and all its pros and cons!
Non-disclosure agreements! The threat being sentenced for breaking any (existing, real) law! Searching for a solution to the problem that result in a NEET!
"Where did I go wrong?" "What should I do differently?" "Is it technically pedophilia if I was turned into a teen their age?"
Yeah you get none of that.
No real drama and no real problems an adult could face in the body of a teen back in school.
Well, except for bad grades, I suppose.
You get children's drama and children's problems that are solved by children's ways, or aren't solved at all.
Moreover, the show quickly pulled a middle finger by adding a "twist" fairly early on to make things real simple for you.
I said expected the pill to be the only fictional part, but I was gravely mistaken. There was something else I really wish the synopsis did mention: Memoryfuckery.
When the experiment ends, all memories of all people who interacted with the test subject will be wiped,
along with all proof of his existence too, as we are told later on. Every student, teacher, neighbour and stranger will forget about ever seeing the teenage version of the adult main character.
No ifs, no buts.
Now, the pill was necessary. It could've been more reasonable, it could've been explain better,
it could've taken more time to take effect, but it didn't, that wasn't the focus of the show, and I understand it. But why playing with memories? Is that the focal point of the show?
Why not just a false identity with a fake story?
Rhetorical question, OF COURSE it's all for the theatrical melodrama, and if that's not immediately obvious to you, then I'm really sorry for you. It's shitty, unreasonable and unnecessary drama.
It's like bringing sand to a desert. There's absolutely no need for it because thanks to the premise, the potential for drama is off the bloody charts!
It's literally everywhere, you just have to look around or just close your eyes and point in any direction and you'll find it, so why force this shit into it?
It makes 0 sense, it's against human rights, and let's not even mention how it's impossible to mass-wipe the memories of everyone of a specific individual,
how it's impossible to erase all trace of his existence (which isn't going to happen anyway) and most importantly,
how living a fake life for a year BUT making real connections with real people only to suddenly sever them all
could easily make things far, far worse than they were before.
"Oh, you're suffering from crippling anxiety? Here's a feels-good therapy for you, followed by a push off a rooftop."
So the core of the story is bullshit, but there's more. Much of the story revolves around everything *but* the main character. High school kids with high...no, with grade school problems.
They're supposed to be 17-18 years old but feel like 12-13 at most. Lots of unnecessary melodrama taking up way too much screen time (like half the season),
that do not add anything to the main plot, the story of the main character, but nor do they change characters. In the meanwhile, MC either takes the backseat or a mediator position,
either way it will not develop his story, the story of an adult trying to find his way, in any way. It's what the show was supposed to be about, but isn't.
And yet, even though it implemented memoryfuckery, the show really did not deal with any existential or moral questions that come with altering or removing memories, it was convenient for some melodrama then it was conveniently swept under the rug.
ReLIFE, as in the...company or government project or whatever the hell, that came up with this "solution" to the NEET problem, well, we get to know nothing about it, and we'll only barely get to know two characters working for it. Not even scratching the surface.
As for ReLIFE (the show), it's not a finished story, it's half that. It's not like Star Wars or Lord of The Rings where each episode has an ending.
It's a story that literally cuts off at the halfway point abrupltly. Its 2nd season finishes what the 1st started, which is why I decided to judge both "halves" as one.
Unfortunately, while the first season was 13 episodes long, the second season was only 4 episodes long.
The ending is the most important part of the story, it leaves the the strongest impression, it's what people will remember the best, but to give people the closure they desire, you need a good ending, a satisfying epilogue.
These 4 episodes were noticably rushed, and the ending, while more-or-less satisfying in conclusion, wasn't detailed, and the epilogue was short and unsatisfying, barely covering two characters and leaving a lot of questions unanswered.
All in all, the story is just unreasonable to a ridiculous degree, but even if I could turn off the lights at will and forget how stupid it is,
it'd still come across as weak and unimaginative. Nothing this show offers is new or exceptional.
The writing is weak, magic is pulled out of nowhere for no reason while laws, rules and common sense is thrown out the window and forgotten when it's conventient.
Whether the ending makes you feel good or not is another matter entirely.
~CHARACTERS - 5/10
Oh boy. The main character is flat. I expected a memorable, disturbed adult with real problems and flaws and maybe some merits, instead I got a blank cardboard cutout with no meaningful flaws but merits.
He tries to act like a student to fit in, but at the same time he is pretty much like your average student character;
blushing like mad because he touched a girl's hand by accident, butting in kids' love life just for fun, making innocent fun of other kids, and having bad grades because he can't be perfect.
He is not flawless, but if you expected a serious flaw in his personality that result in his NEET status which he needs to correct to better his life, you're going to be disappointed.
He's portrayed as an all around good, helpful and honest guy. It's not disturbing to watch him, but it's nothing exceptional either.
Other characters inlcude his misterious handler and observer, whom we'll never know nearly as much about as we should,
a stereotypical hard-working tsundere with stereotypical problems of whom we'll know waaay more about than we ever wanted,
a homeroom teacher who shows up like twice only to let us know the school isn't run by kids and there are adults too,
two naturally talented cardboard cutouts who are most of the time just there to make jokes or participate in the unneccessary melodrama,
and a couple more characters whom I'll not specify for spoilerish reasons. One of them should've been explored more like the handler, while the other should've been included and focused on more.
All except one of these characters (aside MC) contribute near nothing to the story to the point they could be removed or replaced without anyone noticing, and all of the characters (including MC) could've been more fleshed out and more relevant to the central plot, to the point each character feels like a wasted opportunity.
So long story short, nothing about the characters is exceptional or unique. There's potential for greatness here (thanks to the premise) but it's botched by lacking writing skills, pacing and proper focus on what's really relevant.
There's one thing though I find strange: I despise melodrama, and it makes me despise characters, which in turn make me despise shows.
However, for some reason I can't wrap my head around, it didn't really happened here.
While personally I didn't find any characters particularly memorable of likable, they didn't annoy the will to live out of me.
So despite their mediocrity and the melodrama, they were kinda...likable, I guess?
~VISUAL/AUDIO - between 5-7/10 or so.
I usually don't care about it, and it's pretty much the case with this one also. It wasn't particularly good or bad.
I watch shows for the story and characters with the added bonus of occupying two of my senses, so unless it's outstanding or outrageous, I do not care much about it.
There are two exceptions though. First, there was one fairly memorable piece of music in the show used mostly during the dramatic events that managed to add to the experience and generate some tension,
and second, the 2nd season's visuals weren't near as good, i.e. unimportant characters were replaced by hollow blue/pink translucent figures, it was noticably less detailed.
~ENJOYMENT
Now this is really subjective. While you can try your best to judge characters or the story objectively, you can't really do that with enjoyment.
To me, this story was subpar. Bad, even. Each episode was a reminder of missed opportunities, and by the end, they really piled up. The comedy was fine, not exactly what I'd expected, but it made me blow air through my nose slightly stronger than usual.
The melodrama was less fine. Even though I said it didn't make me despise characters like it usually does, it was still a chore to sit through it, and as I said, it covered a significant portion of the show.
But now that I've sorted my thoughts, I realize I enjoyed it waaay more than I should've based on what I've written.
Personally I'd give it a 4, maybe a 5 even, but again it's irrelevant as it's entirely subjective.
OVERALL -
Judging it only by characters and story, it's about 3.5/10.
With V/A included, it hovers around 4-5/10.
