Have you ever thought about re-doing a part of your life? If so, what part was it? Maybe....your life as a high school student? There is such an anime that explores such a scenario of re-living your high school life, which I came to find out about when it was in the summer 2016 anime line-up; I didn't watch it at the time, but the overwhelming popularity it was gaining and the fact that all of the episodes were available online within just one day did intrigue me. I finally got the chance to watch the first two episodes of such an anime at an anime club that I was going to, and immediately, I wanted more. After all, from watching just the first two episodes of ReLIFE, I could tell I was in for something great.

ReLIFE follows Arata Kaizaki, a 27-year-old man whose life has gone completely downhill; after quitting his first company after only three months (and for good reason, as it turns out), he has a hard time finding a steady job and ends up with part-time work. He is soon approached by a man named Ryo Yoake, who explains that he's been chosen as a test subject for the ReLIFE experiment; Arata must take a pill that turns him back into a 17-year-old and attend Aoba High School for a year as a third-year student. Seems simple enough, right? Well, if Arata's test scores have any say in it, the answer is "no". In any case, ReLIFE chronicles Arata's second time through high school as he becomes closer to his classmates and even ends up helping them with their problems.

The story of this anime is quite splendid, and I dare to say that it was nearly perfect. Not a single plot hole was found, and even the biggest surprises had some foreshadowing in a way that would make them make sense; the character development and high school drama were also portrayed realistically, and the characters were all people you could root for. In all honesty, though, I had a problem with the ending; it may have closed the current story nicely, but the overall story still doesn't feel complete (which makes me feel relieved that the upcoming OVA series is supposed to conclude the story).

When I said earlier that the characters were all people you could root for, I meant it; this is because of how realistic and alive they feel, and quite a few of them are relatable, as well. Personally, I related to Chizuru Hishiro the most, with her rather awkward behavior; as a result, she actually became my favorite character. I also genuinely liked Arata for his willingness to help others, and I truly felt the impact of his backstory of when he worked at his first company. Speaking of Chizuru and Arata, I always thought that their bond was cute and genuine, and by the time a certain reveal at the end of the anime came into play, I was honestly hoping they'd become a couple. Although I did like Chizuru and Arata's relationship the best, this anime did set up a lot of relationships - both platonic and potentially romantic - that felt real. All in all, ReLIFE had amazing characters that were what made this anime so good.

Another amazing aspect of ReLIFE was its art and animation. I was already familiar with TMS Entertainment from their work on anime such as Gugure! Kokkuri-san and Jitsu wa Watashi wa, but this is undoubtedly some of the best and most fluid animation I've seen from them. I also quite appreciated the character designs, as they weren't overexaggerated, and with an anime like this one, that's perfectly fine. The Japanese voice actors also did great, breathing life into their characters and seemingly even enjoying it. I fell in love with the opening theme, "Button" by PENGUIN RESEARCH, and if I could just find a full version of it, I'd be listening to it again and again! (....Oh, whatever. I'll just listen to the TV version again and again.) There is also a different ending theme in every episode, which is both a good thing and a bad thing; while some of the songs are pretty good (especially "Natsu Matsuri"), not all of them are songs I particularly care for.

Overall, ReLIFE is a great anime, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an anime following second chances without a time travel element. Just don't take drugs from random strangers, though; chances are, unlike the drug for the ReLIFE experiment, those drugs don't make you look younger!