ReLIFE – 05
Even her soul leaves her body in twintails
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I regret not combining this episode and the last one together now. I was just trying to stay on schedule since it was a long weekend (I have no idea what the holiday was, but it sure was nice) and I wouldn’t be blogging or watching anime for the next 5 days. Oh well. I’ll go for a double post next time, hopefully. No promises. |
At first, I wasn’t impressed with how easily Arata consoled Kariu. Opening up is extremely difficult for her, and she’s so resistant to other people praising her that I didn’t expect her to listen at all. So when Arata eased all her pain just by patting her head and lecturing her, I was put off. Now I’ve changed my mind. In retrospect, I think it makes sense for someone like Kariu to pick herself up so quickly. She’s independent, highly intelligent, and determined. All she really needed was for someone to set her on the right path, in the form of listening to her problems and then sincerely complimenting her efforts. You know how sometimes you get depressed and all you really want is for someone to pay attention to you (and maybe give your head a good pat)? I think it was like that. Kariu had so much internalized angst that she just needed to let it out and have her feelings validated by someone. That alone was enough to relieve her stress. She’s smart enough to work the rest out.
Arata resolving it like an old man was also a refreshing change for the usual high school student verbal scuffles. Arata doesn’t start off the discussion by harshly scolding Kariu – he calmly prods her to find the underlying reason. This is also because he trusts Kariu, and recognizes this wasn’t the work of a bad person, but a good person who was just feeling bad. He talks like an adult because he’s been through a lot more than Kariu, but it really helps Kariu in the end (even though she calls him out on the old man-ness of it all).
I also like that this incident linked back to Arata’s past and how his supervisor was sabotaged by her colleagues so that they could climb to the top instead. It gives his advice to Kariu more meaning, since it also reflects his own personal thoughts, and what we would want to say to those bullies if he had the chance now. I was expecting something a little more dramatic with why Arata quit, but I guess it really was just because his colleagues were shitty. This makes me realize that I’m so used to drama-filled, high school anime that when an anime presents something closer to real life, I’m a little shellshocked. It’s like “what, they solved this through a rational conversation and not screaming, running through the rain, and avoiding each other for weeks???”.
However, we move a little bit farther away from real life whenever Hishiro is around because boy is she an odd duck. But an adorable one. I liked her confrontation with both Arata and Kariu, and how she just kept on being herself. She’s trying to make friends, but there’s a limit to what she can change. Asking Kariu to leave her alone at lunch, for example. Still, the two girls have come a long way, and they’re pretty much friends now. I think Kariu looks at Honoka a little less jealously now, although that rivalry was much less heated since she wasn’t hogging Oga away and “smirking” at her all the time. Still, it should be interesting to see if Kariu is a little more sweet to Honoka now that her spirit has been renewed.
“This is the yuri confession I’ve been waiting for!!” “…calm down, bruh”
We’re subtly reminded that all that Arata did to arrange this friendship will eventually be forgotten. Kariu may remember to not run away and that someone confronted her about it, but the ReLIFE project will make her forget that it was Arata who said it. Hishiro and Kariu may be great friends in the future, but they won’t remember why it happened. Arata is causing such a huge impact on all these lives, and he’s still going to be forgotten. Will they have an effect on him in the end? This is the point of the project, and while Arata seem to be great at dabbling in the affairs of others, he still seems like he hasn’t changed too much from his drab self. The only difference is now he has friends…and all those will go away once he reverts to his 27-year old self. Arata needs to learn the skills to make new friends and create a life for himself after his “graduation.”
But first, he has to pass those goddamned tests. The next episode seems to feature An so there should be lots of “””studying”””.
n..nico nico…n..ii….~
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
What I thought was great was that Arata’s praise of Kariu was genuine. Kariu was well-established as a fighter (“tough”, in a good sense), and so when he says he is disappointed because he knows she is better than her actions, it’s not some B.S. line.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, I’m glad that he genuinely respects her and gives her the benefit of the doubt instead of hating her for what she did. He’s completely honest in everything he tells her in his “lecture”
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
I loved the way they resolved this incident, and Hishiro has the smile to kill all smiles. As for next episode being about An and therefore there’ll be lots of studying? Are you sure they won’t just play with their phones or gossip about Oga? I mean that’s what they’ve been doing to study so far right?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That’s why I put studying in SIX QUOTATION MARKS
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
😀
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
Rest assured though. Show ▼
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
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POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Watching episodes 4 and 5 together was what really hooked me on this show. So much great character, so much great advice and listening from Arata, exactly what I’d hope I could do in the same kind of situation. You’re right that it didn’t need much fixing, just a little reality check: You’re not that far behind, you’re a good person, and good people don’t need to turn bad.
And Rena is really a great character too, prideful but insecure, strong but worried, and considerate of others. She so wants to be recognized, and in a moment of weakness tries to pick the wrong way to do it. And just like every good kid who makes that wrong choice one time, she gets caught. But also give Arata credit for stepping in in the first place. He didn’t have to challenge Rena about the bag, but he did. And he and Yoake have the right conversation afterward: She might not remember Arata telling her those things, but she’ll remember that someone did, and how she felt when it happened.
And just like in episode 2, Hishiro’s earnestness wins the day. It’s almost impossible to not like someone who is so genuine. And all of the misunderstandings about her happen when she’s perceived as being not genuine. Rena was casting aspersions on her reasons for grinning at her, her reasons for sitting alone, and also at her reasons for calling Oga “Kazu-kun”, but they were all in Rena’s head. As more and more people find out about Hishiro, they realize that what you see is what you get.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
That is such a great point! At least at this point there is a nice lesson in there about genuineness and how as people become socialized, we tend to assume that others are being inauthentic. Even Arata’s problem in a way can be traced to his experience with the bullies at work.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It was a really solid little arc that had drama without all the things about drama that annoy me. It was solved so, so nicely.
I’m also glad Arata is learning when to meddle and when not to. Confronting Kariu about the bag took a lot of effort on his behalf, and it could have ended horribly. On the flip side, he also realized that he should tell Hishiro the truth about her bag so that he wasn’t shielding her from the truth (which allows her to then work out the misunderstanding with Kariu right after). It’s nice! Hmm, maybe he is becoming a better person already.
Looking forward to more Hishiro now that most of the cast know (sort of) how to deal with her. Or at least, they don’t mistake her smiles for evil grins
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
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Hishiro’s smile is what I imagine Wednesday Addams’ would be. Except with Wednesday’s you know you’d better worry.
It’s good to see what is basically a minor misunderstanding and a not-very mean action resolved with just talking as soon as possible and not dragged out over several episodes building into a more and more melodramatic issue.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I clicked the spoiler because I was curious and ahhh I see, there’s still more to come with that storyline. Gotcha.
Wednesday is like Hishiro gone horribly awry lol
Yes, I was so grateful they didn’t ham up the misunderstanding and drag it out over a bunch of episodes. More dramas need to be like this!
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
The ep.5 was the one where I noticed that they are playing all the early 2000s hits in the ED, because this time it was Puffy AmiYumi, and I have that CD. The ED in previous episodes went right over my head. Anyhow, the idea here is that the music is awfully ancient. In fact if anyone actually listened to Arata’s music collection would get a hint.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, I noticed some L’arc~en~ciel earlier. I love the theme of it being like his collection of old anime songs!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t think they’re necessarily anime songs. I didn’t realize that they were all older songs until I noticed a song by the brilliant green later on. My favorite is the Whiteberry song used for ep 11.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
Yeah, shame on me. But I never had L’arc~en~ciel on a CD.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
Oh, and BTW, about “all that Arata did to arrange this friendship will eventually be forgotten.” Show ▼