We’re finally getting an in depth look at the past of Kaizaki, and I must say I’m surprised, mainly because I was skeptical about his backstory being as dark as what was alluded to in previous episodes. Turns out crazy, traumatic shit happened to Kaizaki, and it affected him in a way that seemed to be appealing to the ReLIFE corporation. It broke Kaizaki as a person and left him completely inadequate for other hiring companies, leaving him to work a part-time job just to get by. At some point ReLIFE decided to swoop in and help him, both financially and as a form of unbeknownst rehabilitation. Continue reading →

Okay, I’m see my main issue with this arc now: it’s using the same character to illustrate a problem that’s already been solve once before. Kariu is being stubborn and taking her frustration out on others again. Her envy is fueled by the same self-loathing that any “hardworking dreamer” goes through when in the face of extreme talent. She did it with Chizuru, and now she’s going through it with Honoka, who is actually her friend at the time unlike in Chizuru’s case. You would think that Kariu would’ve learned from that experience, but apparently not because she’s still letting her emotions get the best of her. Continue reading →

Kariu is taking her frustrations out on people again, and that just makes me want to take my frustrations out on her. Did she not learn from that whole bag stealing business from a couple episodes back? Apparently not, because ReLIFE didn’t even bother to flashback it (which the show seems to be very keen on doing overall). Still, it’s happening again, which means Kaizaki has to come to the rescue again…except this time he doesn’t know how to approach the problem. Continue reading →

Why is Kaizaki still struggling in school? Is he just an idiot? He’s seems quite in tune when it comes to solving the problems of other people, so what is it that keeps him from solving the problems of a high school test? While there does seem to be a reason narratively for his continued failures (and I’ll get to that later), there doesn’t seem to be a reason for his ineptitude as character. We don’t get to look at the contents of his test or the details of his study regimen. All we know is that Oga is a great student, but even he can’t seem to help Kaizaki for some reason. Continue reading →

We’re finally getting a look into Kaizaki before the ReLIFE program, and interestingly enough, it’s through Ryou’s moments leading up to their first confrontation. Kaizaki is Ryou’s second chance, as his first test subject didn’t produce much results. That we already knew. What we didn’t know however, is that the outcome of the first experiment may have had something to do with Ryou’s mishandling of the situation. Ryou feels somewhat responsible for what happened, as during the experiment he was torn between two approaches for supporting his test subject: hands on or hands off. He was rattled by his employer’s judgment as well, but ultimately he feels that it was his fault. Continue reading →