Back to Firipin's Profile Firipin's Profile

~Spoiler Free~

Being able to fix our mistakes might as well be a dream to strive for. We all have regrets in life no matter who you are and it is up to the individual to work their life around it. Well, ReLife takes the concept by the horns and directs it to a path that is not necessarily different, but interesting.

(Optional)This series is an adaptation of a web comic by the same name and takes on the story of Kaizaki Arata and his life of high school. Funny thing, he is a full grown adult. Acknowledging the fact that life is going downhill due to ... an unstable job and bad habits, Arata enrolls in the ReLIFE program that gives him the persona of a 17 year old. With this new identity, Arata is then tasked to live one year in this state while attending High school. (Optional)

Now, the story itself is not something to be the determining factor of whether the series is worth to pick it up or not. Keep in mind, this show is a slice of life/school life anime. It follows an ambiguous plot which tends to branch off into sub arcs that are not necessarily relevant to the main conflict of ReLIFE. Although that may not sound very pretty, what drives the anime's story is through character interactions. The plot is more or less a character-driven narrative which is built upon our cast learning more about each other and branch off from there. From then, it depends on whether you, the audience, will find interest in drama that are found through what has been given throughout the series. ~ While the story gets progressively interesting, I will be honest, it is slow.

With how the anime is presented, the ART and SOUND are both not the greatest and not the worst. The animation is definitely keeping up with its modern day counterparts. It does not necessarily do anything out of the ordinary aside from adding in comedic chibi art (and might I tell you, the anime uses that aspect very well) here and there. Now SOUND is what I want to talk about for a bit. It is unique with how music is used in ReLIFE. Initially looking at this series, I was thinking that modern synthesizers will be used for how I viewed the premise. It was not too serious nor did not give a classic vibe as if the series is taking place way back when. However listening in, it was interesting to hear that a lot of jazzy rhythms that capitalize on piano riffs are what consisted in ReLIFE's bgm. It was weird in a way that kept me interested to see how the music would affect the tone of where the anime is heading towards.

The CHARACTERS are a very interesting bunch. A bulk of the series is our casts' development, so it will be apparent to the viewers how much they change through their interactions. Personally, Hishiro stood out the most for me due to her portrayal as the "quiet girl".

~~~Personally, I did enjoy the series. It was a wonderful take on the Highschool/SoL genre by adding in an odd aspect. It is definitely interesting to watch and understand our casts' character development. But the way ReLIFE presented itself may not appeal to the general crowd. Some may shy away with how the plot progresses and that is understandable, but it is all for the sake of tying knots together in the end.

Many know of this split decision that we all come to, making a decision because we are told to, or make a decision by our own beliefs. What is right is entirely subjective and can only be judged by the person making the decision right? Well, I learned that near the end of this first season when everything is wrapping up. I learned a lot of things near the end of this series, and yep, that's pretty much the forte for Owari No Seraph S1

This first season is more of an introduction to the world of Owari No ... Seraph. Personally, this is a borderline between alright and bad and let me tell you why. We've seen this before. With the boom of post-apocalyptic series popping here and there, series are getting adapted in order to cater to what is desired. Supply and demand. And that is where this series got the short end of the stick. Owari No Seraph has the same formula as many of the more "better" post-apocalyptic series which shines a generic light to this show. But let's not take this into too much consideration yes?

(After you have read the Synopsis)

The story is...not very interesting. I'll admit, I was not very too enthusiastic about starting the series. It follows a strong willed boy who wants to avenge his family by getting stronger and overcoming what he lacks which he will then kill those who did wrong to him. But that is not it, surprisingly. Owari No Seraph has what I believe many look over and that is the irony of the series. Many key points like color (the uniforms of both factions had connotative meaning, but their meaning contradicts the actions which are being done in them) and beliefs on what is "right" are prominent in this series (they highlight the points of "hey, do you think you should be doing this?" and "Yo, that's wrong, listen to me"). Basically, it is very much of food for thought to look back at yourself

Visuals were pretty good. The fight scenes that were shown were flashy and sparkly and really caught my eyes off guard. But sadly, I wanted more. Just like an appetizer; delicious but not satisfying

The pacing of the series is what disgusted me a bit and it was because information and story progression were inconsistent. The first episode had a strong opening introducing the plot, motives, and character progression of main protag-kun. But it slowed down mid way to the point where I literally had to watch over scenes because I fell asleep on my futon. It was not until the last bunch of episodes is where moments took my expectations of this series away. A slow build up and a great introductory "chapter" for a second season.

The opening was a bit bothersome because it had
1. A major spoiler which pretty much ruined the plot twist of the story
2. Focused on a conflict which is not prominent in most of the 12 episodes
3. Anti-climatic which contradicts the main mood of the series
The music is good, but it was just used in a bad way

Characters, boo. Many are not very interesting and were almost even boring in my opinion. We have a cute uke, quiet seme, a rushed tsundere character, a hot headed shonen, a jealous best friend, and my personal favorite, Shinoa. It feels like she made progression of the story the most while the others were plot devices in order to set up a route where Shinoa comes in and explains/helps the situation.

Should you watch the series? Well, yes. I surprisingly enjoyed this show. Vampire anime is not my cup of tea but this managed to work. Relaxing yet climatic at time, something to watch while you eat dinner, and a good amount of feels here and there.

I give this a mid way point of 6/10 "livestock"

(SPOILER FREE) (:

I'll honestly admit wholeheartedly that I teared up to point of almost crying towards the end of this special. Not because it was sad, hell no. But ever since I started this series, it seriously felt like I have made friends whom have fun together, play together, and tease each other over the most simplest matters. This, in my opinion, was a fantastic way to end off the series by using all the development that was built up by the past three seasons.

For my personal thoughts on the special, Working!!(!) did a great job on conveying the feelings and ... personalities of each character in the series, and that is seen especially within this special. Each character had their spotlight to highlight what they are known for without using up too much or too little with the time that was given. Some gripe I had watching this on the other hand is that the main "plot" did not actually start until a little bit before the midway point. What led up to it was your classic and love able slice of life comedy that the series has always showed. This is not much of a problem per ce because it did a good job setting up the final push of a certain couple (and mind you, that Scott Pilgrim gauntlet sequence was just gold).

On a more critical tone, Working!!(!) Lord of the Takanashi did not much of a story in how it was presented. Throughout the 50 minutes of this airing on my screen, most of this consisted of comedy and random antics that the characters have done in the past three seasons. Looking at it from a different angle, this special could have just been done in a normal length episode instead of 50 minutes if it took the route of purely just wrapping up unfinished character x character tropes.

But who am I kidding, there isn't much to complain about especially if you're a fan of this series. Like myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this special in almost all aspects.

Story 7/10 (I explained earlier)

Art 8/10 (Has the same charm as past seasons)

Sound 9/10 (Timing of the music with the instrumentals of previous pieces just adds a wonderful cherry on top)

Character 10/10 (They grow up just way to fast! buhuhuhu...)

Enjoyment 9/10

Overall 8/10