I really wanted to like Re-Main in the beginning because it looked fun and it focused on water polo. Sometimes I watch sports anime and when I heard about the premise for Re-Main, my interest in it grew. But after watching all of it, I was left disappointed as each episode came and went. By the end, I just thought of it as mediocre. My issues with Re-Main stems from three things: The amnesia plot, lack of any character development besides Minato, and how the show prioritizes drama over the actual sport.
The amnesia plot is by far the most aggravating aspect of the anime. At first, I was skeptical about it at first because I wasn’t sure where the show would take it. I had hopes that it would be a defining moment for Minato in his development. But nope, the show decides to give him amnesia AGAIN and “conveniently” forgets his new memories and reverts back to his asshole self before the first amnesia. Listen, I get that with anime you sometimes have to suspend your disbelief but this goes beyond suspending my disbelief. (Plus I like how some people said that this could happen like they all of a sudden became neurologists and are experts). The show would be much better if Minato didn’t get amnesia, if he had to go through rehab and lost interest in the sport and after some nostalgia, he decides to try it again (Not with how Chinu basically blackmailed him, which was the first red flag for me)
The characters (aside from Minato) are all one-dimensional. Each one could be summed up in one or two words. None of them have any defining personality traits that make them stand out. Amihama has brother issues, Ejiri is the hot-head of the group and gets upset for no reason. Eitarou is just a Yes Man to Minato (I really hated him). The worst offender is Chinu who is nothing more than a plot filler for Minato And not even a good one at that. Redundant in the whole grand scheme of things. Then there are the two “rival” teams who didn’t even feel like rivals to begin with, much less friendly rivals.
The last issue ties back to the amnesia plotline and that how for a good chunk of the show, it focused a lot on drama than the sport. I have no issue with the two being together because I think it creates more fun and even exciting scenes between the characters but Re-Main would rather be a drama than a sports anime. It made the final match at the end seem like an afterthought because there was no build-up to it.
I had wanted to root for the team but when the show became less about water polo and more about the amnesia plotline and the lackluster drama, it became hard for me to cheer them on. With other sports anime, I was cheering for the team and was happy when they won a match. But with Minato’s team, I felt nothing. I didn’t care if they won or lost a match because there was never any real build-up to any kind of match. They lost to literal kids in one episode. KIDS! If that goes to show how incompetent they are at the sport, then I had no hope of them winning any kind of team, much less going to nationals or winning any championship.
I think this is why Re-Main isn’t as popular. Not even having anime boys in speedos did anything because I don’t hear anyone in Japan talk about it. And if what I heard was true and that it did poorly in views and blu-ray sales, a second season is probably not going to happen. Re-Main is just wasted potential.
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