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This Week in Anime - Giving ReLife a Second Chance




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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:07 pm Reply with quote
I liked the first 13 episodes because they presented a different perspective on what is like to be a teenager in high school. But the end of episode 13 left me unsatisfied. As a result these OVA's have been a blessing for me because they enhanced the show and provided a satisfying conclusion. Now I just hope CR-Funi releases these 4 OVA's on disc.

Last edited by Angel M Cazares on Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DigitalScratch





PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:29 pm Reply with quote
I really love this series. I stuck with the webcomic until the very end, and was happy overall and am glad to see the OVAs finally finish where the anime left off. You both pretty much hit the nail as to why this series really sticks with you even though aesthetically it’s very simple (even the webcomic’s art is pretty simple.)

A lot about it just feels very real, and it subverted my expectations every time I thought it was going to play typical high school anime tropes straight. I connected with Arata and Chizuru’s situation a lot, but out of everyone I related the most to Rena. Even though I agree she has one too many arcs focused on her issues, her issues with self esteem and comparing yourself to others is just...Big Mood.

Overall, it’s honestly a heartwarming and relatable series if you’re willing to give a pass on the average production work. Not all good anime have to be polished after all.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:38 pm Reply with quote
Is it made clear that Chizuru is an adults at the beginning of the OVA? Cause I don't particularly feel like watching a show about an adult seducing what he believe is a teenager.

I also don't really see why they had to make the OVA in the first place, the middle portion of the show was really unnecessary, it was about actual teenager and it was like every other high school rom com ever, completely losing out anything that made the setting interesting in the first place (it's only purpose seemingly to remind me why I don't actually watch high school rom com). They could have easily cut that part out and added the OVA stuff instead.

As far as shipping I though MC had way better chemistry with the pink haired adult manager. Then again as someone who didn't really have any problem with high school and socializing (as in, I realize pretty quickly that it's perfectly fine to not socialize) I didn't really relate to Chizuru, so maybe that's why.


Last edited by meiam on Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4595
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Question for the manga readers though.

Does the manga give a better explanation for why they had to spoiler[erase their mutual memories of each other]? I could come up with no logical reason.

It provides a good dramatic ending… but it doesn’t change the fact that there wasn’t a reason to put the barrier up in the first place.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
Location: PA
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:55 pm Reply with quote
@Spastic Minnow
It was explained.. the answer was Kinda Hokey to be honest.. but yes the Manga did cover it.

All in all I think the Anime was a good gloss over of the Manga.. however 4 episodes was not enough to cover all the stuff that was skipped over that made the Manga better.

Just my .02 cents
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rizuchan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 11 Mar 2007
Posts: 974
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:56 pm Reply with quote
I personally want to say thank you guys for pushing this again - it seemed like when it came out, the consensus on ReLife was that it was pretty "Meh"? So even though I was really intrigued by the premise, it's been sitting in my Crunchyroll queue for 2 years (Really, it's been that long!?) untouched. But I definitely want to give it a real shot now.

(Also uh, is "Big Feel" like city person slang? This millennial has definitely never heard it.)
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LinkTSwordmaster



Joined: 23 Dec 2005
Posts: 371
Location: PA / USA
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:28 pm Reply with quote
I wanted to add my two cents - the whole show was fairly relatable, I loved the characters a lot, and the first season of the show had good funny & emotional moments. Ultimately though, I was letdown originally by the non-ending that seems especially popular in anime shows these days (lol Overlord S2, still no ending in sight...)

I've seen a lot of chatter online now that the last four episodes are out, that the anime skipped a ton of stuff the web manga covered - but for the most part, a lot of that stuff seemed like HS drama filler & was worth skipping. The show left me with the sense after the last four episodes that the original creator of the story just.....has a really passive reaction to life in general......maybe that's a Japanese lifestyle/culture thing....? The ending left me feeling ill/cheated when it was all done, and even going and hunting down the web manga's larger ending actually made it worse.

spoiler[Specifically, the memory wiping and generally everything along the lines of "this is a government-sponsored initiative". Just the logic that anyone in proximity of anyone enrolled in the program for a notable duration of time & not taking pills means you could literally just mind-wipe the hell out of someone (kids & even teaching faculty). Yes there is a chaperone watching, but that doesn't change the fact that an entire class' (or maybe even school's) lives/memories are being cannibalised in some sense in order to rehab 1 random schlub adult.

The entire thing leaves Onoya an emotional wreck at the end & there's no way she or anyone in her position is going to maintain that job without some extreme emotional counseling for PTSD. I'm actually rather bothered that Arata and Chizuru by the end seem to have no problem or find no fault in losing a potential year together or signing up to work for an organisation that is likely to have an exposé and shutdown due to human rights issues/violations in their future.]


I am aware I am very likely over-thinking all of this, but none of it sat well with me by the end. I know the character relationships were the main focus of the show, but the second you start talking technology & government, I feel it's irresponsible writing not to have your main characters react or address it in some capacity. spoiler[In Chizuru's position, I'd likely at minimum never want to even see Onoya's face again. At least the anime ends abruptly enough that Arata and Chizuru still have room to feel cheated after reuniting?]


Last edited by LinkTSwordmaster on Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:33 pm; edited 1 time in total
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ScruffyKiwi



Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 672
Location: New Zealand
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:33 pm Reply with quote
Spastic Minnow wrote:
Question for the manga readers though.

Does the manga give a better explanation for why they had to spoiler[erase their mutual memories of each other]? I could come up with no logical reason.

It provides a good dramatic ending… but it doesn’t change the fact that there wasn’t a reason to put the barrier up in the first place.


The reason does make sense. In essence its an unintended consequence of having 2 subjects interacting with each other. Basically it works like this: spoiler[ Included in the pill the subject takes is a virus that infects everone around them causing very specific memory erasure. The mentors are given a vacine to prevent erasure. Because the 2 subjects haven’t been givine the vacine they will lose memories of each other. ] It’s still technobabble and the ethics SUCK big time but it fits within the show.
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LinkTSwordmaster



Joined: 23 Dec 2005
Posts: 371
Location: PA / USA
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:34 pm Reply with quote
At least I'm not the only one here screaming about ethics....lol.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:13 pm Reply with quote
^ Trust me, you weren't the only one. But for me the OVA addressed a lot of issues I was having on the ethics of spoiler[him getting involved with Chizuru, from the pov of Arata's belief that she was not a subject. What bothered me most was that her suddenly having a hole in her life regarding having been involved with someone she now can't remember (or just as bad, wasting a year of her life in a relationship that just vanishes, lessons learned and all) wasn't even handwaved, it was never even considered to be an issue at all. It was all presented as only being his problem, i.e., getting into a relationship that could go nowhere. The OVA at least somewhat remedied that, in that Arata did agonize over whether getting involved with her was fair to her.]

Anyway, I still really loved the series, despite having to overlook a lot of its fantasy elements (just the world-wide ramifications of a drug that can make you look 17 again would take a whole series itself!), and not a few of its plot holes (like spoiler[the cleaners, I assume, wiped their phones but failed to confiscate the straps?]). I'll probably buy it if they put this out as a complete set with the series, and not separate them (though they should also offer the OVAs alone for those who bought the series already).
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Suxinn



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 242
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:54 pm Reply with quote
I haven't watched the anime for this yet, but I've read the manga and I love it, so I'm happy to see that others like it too.

As for the "plot holes", most of it is explained in the manga. (Though, yeah, the ethics are dubious at best.)

Gina Szanboti wrote:
But for me the OVA addressed a lot of issues I was having on the ethics of spoiler[him getting involved with Chizuru, from the pov of Arata's belief that she was not a subject. What bothered me most was that her suddenly having a hole in her life regarding having been involved with someone she now can't remember (or just as bad, wasting a year of her life in a relationship that just vanishes, lessons learned and all) wasn't even handwaved, it was never even considered to be an issue at all. It was all presented as only being his problem, i.e., getting into a relationship that could go nowhere. The OVA at least somewhat remedied that, in that Arata did agonize over whether getting involved with her was fair to her.]


I don't know how the anime handled this, but I'm fairly sure this was counterpointed in the manga because spoiler[Chizuru realized Arata was a subject very early on in the last arc, so the manga shifted between Chizuru's and Arata's perspective, making it clear that both of them were bothered by the ideas of their memories disappearing. I assume it felt one-sided in the anime since they cut out Chizuru's POV because of time constraints? And I remember Arata being very clear about wanting to distance himself from Chizuru and co. because he didn't want them to waste their high school life on memories they might not be able to remember, though eventually he's talked out of it.] Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.

Gina Szanboti wrote:
and not a few of its plot holes (like spoiler[the cleaners, I assume, wiped their phones but failed to confiscate the straps?]).


In the manga, it's heavily implied that this "mistake" was intentional. spoiler[There's a whole scene between the lab techs and the mentors in which everyone involved admitted that they would rather the subjects preserved their memories of each other, but that they couldn't find a way to do it because [insert technobabble].]
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:56 pm Reply with quote
angelmcazares wrote:
I liked the first 13 episodes because they presented a different perspective on what is like to be a teenager in high school. But the end of episode 13 left me unsatisfied. As a result these OVA's have been a blessing for me because they enhanced the show and provided a satisfying conclusion. Now I just hope CR-Funi releases these 4 OVA's on disc.

You and me both.

I was surprised by how much I actually remember of the original series, as I didn't go back to rewatch it before jumping into the OVAs. If the OVAs come out on disc, whether it be as part of a re-release for the entire series or stand alone, definitely will buy and that's when I'll watch the whole series once more.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:02 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
She is, as we millennials are wont to say, a Big Mood.


I've never head this term before.

... Shit, am I old?
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:43 pm Reply with quote
Loved this whole series and I'm glad the reviewers enjoyed it too. It's such a heart warming show and with a lovable cast.
Vaisaga wrote:
Quote:
She is, as we millennials are wont to say, a Big Mood.


I've never head this term before.

... Shit, am I old?


Not at all. With the internet now, people make up garbage language stuff all the time. Most of it is using other words that exist to describe an emotion that has a word associated.
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