Back to jpoCruz's Profile jpoCruz's Profile

Updating this now that I've finished reading.

Yeah, yeah. My second review, and it's for another of Yayoi Sou's works. I'll admit it, I'm a bit biased towards her works. I definitely have my reasons though.

Before anything else, this is slice of life. Let's just get that out of the way. Another thing that should be said is that this story deals with heavier topics than your usual slice of life... Specifically sexual abuse, depression, suicide, violence. That doesn't mean it's a depressing or especially 'heavy' story, though. I actually believe the author has done a wonderful job of telling this story and developing all of ... the characters in a really "human" way.


Without spoiling too much:

In Blue Hearts, we follow Nagi, a high school student on a prestigious prep school. However, Nagi is the worse student in school. Quite literally as well... he ranks (by his grades) as the worse student in the whole school. He's not a delinquent, though. Just a bit out of place. In the starting chapters, you get to meet the other characters who make up the main crew who are, honestly, quite lovable.

Art-wise, this is standard Yayoi Sou quality. Full colour, occasional chibi faces, detailed expressions and backgrounds (most of the time). Definitely not lacking in that. All panels look gorgeous and everything is extremely well made.

Character development on this one is fantastic. That's what the manga is about. Everyone feels extremely real and human, and you get easily emotionally invested with the characters.

Blue Hearts was an extremely pleasant read from start to finish, and I think most will agree with me on this one. If you're into Slice of Life and don't mind a bit of drama, give this a try. It actually has quite a bit of action scenes mixed in, and has been really fun. If you've read the whole review so far, and anything I said sounds like your cup of tea, you should definitely give it a read. You won't regret it. :)

Alright, now that this masterpiece is finally over, I'll write my review.

Yes, this is a 10/10 in every aspect for me. Nothing could have been done in any better way. This is the best manga I've ever read, and here's why:



ReLIFE is about Kaizaki Arata, a 27 year old man. After finishing college, he went on to find himself a job, just like most of us will, or did. He suffered some complications in this job, which led to him leaving and becoming a NEET. After that, his luck in finding a new job got exponentially worse, and he was in a dire situation. That ... is, until one night he is approached by a shady-looking man, who presents himself as an employee of ReLIFE Laboratories. This man told Arata that he had been chosen for an experiment; for one year, all of his life expenses would be covered, plus he would get a guaranteed job by the end of said experiment. All he would have to do is become 10 years younger, and go through the last year of high school again.


First of all, I have to say that reading ReLIFE is a very calm, nice and joyful ride.

Each character has an unique trait, even if superficially they seem like ‘cliché’ characters, I can guarantee that casts as alive as ReLIFE’s are very rare to find. Character development is, obviously, a huge thing here. Without spoiling you too much, all characters grow and help each other grow; Kaizaki Arata, for example, learns extremely valuable life lessons from his newfound friends, while also teaching and showing them important things.

Comedy is very present throughout the manga. It is usually light hearted, poking fun at the characters and their quirks.

Romance is present in the manga, being one of it's main faces. I've personally never seen a cuter and more sincere/honest approach to love. I won't spoil you; seeing all characters develop feelings for each other by yourself is a very valuable and pleasurable experience.

The art style is very appealing to me, at least. The art has an unique but familiar feel to it. It all being colored is a definitive plus. Facial expressions are always on point, and sometimes chibi versions of the characters are used, which adds a lot of uniqueness to the manga overall. More details and backgrounds are used as needed, always on the best occasions.

The manga itself is easy to read, so I recommend it to both beginner and more experienced readers. Characters are also ‘color coded’, which is a nice addition and makes it easy to tell who is saying what.

To be honest with you, close this review just start reading this already. Let yourself feel what most of us did while reading this absolute wonder of a manga. Ugh, this gives me goosebumps.