Intro
If you are given an opportunity to relive your school life, what would you do? In this post, I’ll provide ReLIFE manga review, sharing additional information without spoiling any plot points.
I love the Slice of Life genre. Out of the dozens of SoL manga I’ve read, few hit as hard as ReLIFE. It not only tackles school life and the hardships of adulthood but also addresses important topics like depression and social anxiety with remarkable finesse.
What is ReLIFE ?
ReLIFE is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sou Yayoi, serialized on the comico website. It received a TV anime adaptation by TMS Entertainment Studios.
Additional Manga Details:
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Number of Chapters: 237 (including extra bonus chapters)
Published: October 12, 2013, to March 16, 2018
Plot
The story revolves around Kaizaki Arata, a 27-year-old jobless man who repeatedly fails job interviews after quitting his previous job. One day, while returning home, he meets Yoake Ryou, who persuades him to participate in an experiment. This experiment involves taking a pill that reverts his appearance to that of a 17-year-old. Ryou promises that all Arata’s expenses will be covered for the duration of the one-year experiment.
But there’s a catch. Arata must attend the final year of high school as a teenager. Drunk and desperate, Arata takes the pill, thus beginning the journey of a 27-year-old man attending his final year of school.
Characters
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- Kaizaki Arata: The protagonist. His actions and involvement with other students teach us many valuable lessons.
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- Yoake Ryou: In charge of supporting and monitoring Arata during the ReLIFE experiment.
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- Hishiro Chizuru: Arata’s classmate. She excels academically but struggles socially and is trying to make friends.
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- Kairu Rena: Arata’s classmate who sits beside him and is a member of the volleyball club.
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- Ooga Kazuomi: The smartest guy in class who struggles with sports.
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- Onoya An: A transfer student who joins Arata’s class.
These are the main characters (Yes! this many). While it may seem that this series has too many characters and it would be hard to follow but that isn’t the case with ReLIFE. Rather ReLIFE is one of few manga which has quite good character development. All characters grow and help each other grow.
Not only Arata shares his mature wisdom and helps in solving problems but teenagers as well teaches him some very important life lessons despite being 10 years younger than him.
Art
The art is another high point of this manga. I’ve ready many colored webtoons but I can definitely tell that author really put time and dedication. It looks so beautiful and appealing. Character designs, background art and facial expressions are always on point. Author sometimes put chibi versions of the characters, which adds to the uniqueness of the manga.
ReLife Manga Review: Closing Thoughts
ReLIFE makes reader think about their life and how have they been living it. It proposes questions like:
If you are given an opportunity to relive your school life, what would you do?
What would you do if you are given another chance to change how you have live your life ?
It starts out somewhat simple in stereotypical high-school setting but it develops into a really mature series.
Characters are relatable (which is the point of SoL) and their traits are unique and they have great chemistry.
Even though main point of this manga isn’t comedy; it somehow never fails me to laugh out loud at times.
This manga is really easy to read and beginner friendly and can be recommended to people who have no/less experience in reading manga. Even for experienced reader this is a very nice read.
In conclusion this manga is 10/10 a must read. And if in real life I got a chance to do a ReLIFE I would gladly accept it.
Hopefully you liked my ReLIFE manga review. Please bear with any mistakes that I may have made in reviewing as I am very new to reviewing stuff.
Also please note that opinions are subjective. You may not like the thing others love and love things that others might hate. So take everything with a grain of salt.
If you want to support the author do check out ReLIFE on comico: https://www.comico.jp/articleList.nhn?titleNo=2
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