“ReLIFE” (July 2016, TMS Entertainment) is a story about a guy getting a second chance at life when everything isn’t alright.

This show follows Kaizaki Arata (voiced by Kensho Ono) being approached by a suspicious man name Ryo Yoake (Ryōhei Kimura) who offers him a deal of a lifetime: Become his test subject and be paid a living wage by his organization, called ReLIFE, or continue working dead end jobs. Kaizaki accepts his offer and goes on to restart high school, making great friends and memories he’ll never forget.

There’s plenty this show does well, like character development, the use of body language to convey emotions, the backgrounds of shots, and comedy. 

When it comes to character development, the audience watches not only Kaizaki but many other characters grow over the course of the show, seeing them struggle through different emotions like love, trauma, and sorrow.

While on the topic of emotions, the series uses body language to convey what a character is feeling, like in the first episode where Kaizaki has a flashback to work and grabs at his neck. The viewer during the moment may not understand what is going on but after watching the whole show they learn of what actually happened back at his old job and why he quit.

The backgrounds are appealing and unique to look at. Being the usual anime semi-life-like images. People can distinctly tell what’s a character and what’s background.

For viewers who enjoy lighthearted comedy then this show is certainly for them, with the use of all the different characters’ unique qualities. 

There’s plenty to enjoy watching the two ReLIFE workers (or “supporters” as they’re called in the show) toy with their subjects.

Confusingly, there’s not much to love about the show, but there’s also not much to hate about it either.

The character designs all feel bland, even though they’re unique and easy to tell apart. Kaizaki looks like a generic background character most of the time even if the camera is on him. 

The sound design and music direction feels lifeless when compared to the competition of other romcom anime. It isn’t quite elevator music but it wont get someone to tap their feet with it.

Although this anime is fairly enjoyable, there are a lot of others like it or more enjoyable. There are plenty of romcom animes that come out every season, so this one just gets thrown into the mix of other mediocre ones.

It’s pretty strange to see a man trying to go from being an office worker to back in high school and then get involved in the love lives of a bunch of random teenagers. Kaizaki has to consciously remind himself that he can’t do anything because he’s nearly 10 years older than his classmates, he even thinks it’s creepy for him as an adult to be there.

Although this show is fairly enjoyable it’s definitely not a must watch, if the audience is a sucker for romance (and can get past the creepy factor) then this show is perfect for them, if not then they should go watch more Shonen Jump adaptations.