Time travel and redemption stories have hit a sort of stride as of late, with titles like Tokyo Revengers and ReLife being popular examples of such. So it is no wonder that we would begin to see derivative shows such as BnR emerge into the foray.

The premise of BnR is shockingly gripping. A 28-year-old salaryman is let go from his job, after which he questions the decisions he has made in his life up to this point. "What if I had gone to art school instead of economics school, and followed my true passion? What if I lived a life of no regrets?". More on that later.

Very flowery, very romantic. Naturally, the main character is then transported 10 years into the past to remake his life as an art student. He coincidentally joins a sharehouse where his roommates are none other than the 3 great artists from the so-called Platinum Generation of his time. Cue the slice of life antics and subplots that follow and you have a 12 episode anime that is great at times, and weak at others.

The characters in this show are its strong point. The 3 Platinum Generation characters are all interesting, if not a bit cliche. But their development throughout the series is what makes them special. There is one arc involving the writer character which was a particular bright spot for the show. It subverted my expectations of what this show was capable of. However, there were also some weak romance subplots that I felt weren't explored that well. They kind of just... existed. It didn't feel like there was any real drama associated with the romance, and I wish that BnR had run those out a bit more. Currently, the romance subplots feel like they are just there to tick a box on the slice of life trope list.

When it comes to art, animation and music selection, the show was inoffensive in all three. The art and character art is well done. The girls are cute, but the boys are pretty boring. There was nothing complicated to animate in this show, so there was nothing for me to be impressed by, but it was up to standard for the industry. The music was forgettable, both the OP and ED as well as the soundtrack. There was one moment with the singer subplot where the music had real impact, as they had used time-appropriate (2007) music to highlight a pivotal point in anime and internet culture.

The main reason why I felt compelled to write a review for this otherwise innocuous show is the dilemma I have with the overall message it is telling. The show appears to be telling the audience to give everything their all, and to have no regrets. However, it's layered underneath this show which is, to be blunt, wholly and sorely forgettable and lacking any real passion. It makes the message come across as half-hearted, or perhaps even fake-sounding. Which, if you suffer from an extreme mental delusion, such as myself, then you may be inclined to think this show's real message is that "even if you could reverse time and do everything amazing, the outcome is still inevitably not up to you". This is a deeply meta over-analysis for a show as benign as this, which is what makes it all the more compelling to me.

Anyway, the score. Big booba, time travel that wasn't overly cringe, weird meta-message, but lacking consistent follow-through from arc-to-arc piloted by a boring MC lead me to give BnR an unremarkable 65/100. Bland but not bad.