An unemployed man relives his high school life.

The ReLIFE manga is one of my favorites. It’s a great story, very well told.

The ReLIFE anime is a great story, very poorly told. It has no heart to it. Everything feels bland and lifeless, from the animation to the voice acting to the direction. It’s a pretty direct adaptation from the manga to the anime, and that just doesn’t work. The manga feels slow and thoughtful, with a great deal of introspection from the characters. And the way they do this in the manga just doesn’t translate well to animated form.

But mainly— there’s no heart to this.

If you’re thinking of watching this, do yourself a favor and read the manga instead.

• Storytelling – C – Great story, awful telling.
• Voice – D – Dead and lifeless.
• Characters – B – Great characters (but poorly shown).
• Attention Grab – D – They made one of my favorite manga a bit boring.
• Production – D – Bad.
• Overall – C

Recommendations – Kokoro Connect, Oregairu