Episode 12 pulls all these fascinating plot threads together into a beautiful tapestry of a show that is quite frankly about the struggles of being an adult and desperately wanting to succeed, of wanting to be a good person and succeed. It was never about Kyoya getting married or getting new friends or even just, I don’t know, having a better life: it was about him becoming a better person. The Kyoya we’re leaving the show with is so different than the young man we met at the beginning, and that’s honestly for the better. I genuinely think Kyoya’s growth was quite organic, and while the magical realism of his time-traveling are fictional, they ultimately didn’t hamper what is a genuinely heartfelt story.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 12 on the Anime News Network

While I have mixed feelings about episode 10 versus episode 11, what I can easily say about these two episodes is that these are… brutally realistic, but in a satisfying, understandable way. Kyoya having to deal with backlash against his company’s smartphone game aches in an intensely relatable way, as does the fallout he and Eiko face.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episodes 10 & 11 on the Anime News Network

EpisodeLast week, I took Kyoya to task for overmanaging Team Kitayama in the final stretch of working on their doujin game. He essentially manhandled the entirety of the back end of the project, taking the reins from each of his friend’s hands to create a game that would do numbers and be a success. And it was a success… at the expense of him creating a future where Tsurayuki, Nanako, and Aki all stop creating games. Of course, we only saw that future last week with Tsurayuki: the reveal that Nanako and Aki have stopped as well come this week, and they feel like dual gut punches.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 9 on the Anime News Network

Episode 8 threw me for a loop, and even on my seventh rewrite of this review, I’m still not sure what I’m trying to say. What I will say is that I think this episode was powerful, even if it left me feeling muddled, and threw a plot wrench into the mix. I genuinely have no clue how things are going to resolve since I’m an anime-only viewer with no interest in the fan translations, should they exist. There’s something powerful about not knowing anything: I… I kind of like being tugged along for the ride.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 8 on the Anime News Network

My one personal qualm with episode 6 is that it muddles my ship: I’m Kyoya x Eiko, and episode 6 is clearly trying to get me onboard the Kyoya x Aki train. But I’m not taking the bait, in large part because I’m still not charmed by Aki. If What’s interesting about episode 7 is how it’s starting to spend less time on character-centric episodes and more time with Team Kitayama as a group. This is both a good and bad decision, primarily because Nanako here got like, two episodes to herself, and Tsurayuki only got one and a half. Poor Aki basically only had scenes up until now, though she gets some less than stellar ones this week, which just feel kind of flat and unsatisfying.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 7 on the Anime News Network

My one personal qualm with episode 6 is that it muddles my ship: I’m Kyoya x Eiko, and episode 6 is clearly trying to get me onboard the Kyoya x Aki train. But I’m not taking the bait, in large part because I’m still not charmed by Aki. If anything, I might be convinced to take a stroll down Kyoya x Nanako lane, but… Eiko is where it’s at, even if she’s absent this episode.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 6 on the Anime News Network

I’So much of Remake Our Life! evokes nostalgia: while I was only in high school in the late aughts, I still have these vivid memories of my dreams of working in the anime and manga industry. Of course, like a lot of fans, I eventually put them on shelf. Unexpectedly, I’m here now, working in the industry in multiple ways, whether that’s as a journalist, an anime review, or as a J-E localizer. I have fingers in as many pies I can, and much like Kyoya’s second chance, my own second chance feels like a dream.

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 5 on the Anime News Network

I’m not sure I’d call Remake Our Life! good: at least… well, not yet. It has a lot of potential, but as it stands, things are One of the most intriguing things about Remake Our Life! is how it’s starting to really explore Kyoya’s studies. It’s hitting those Shirobako-esque notes I mentioned wanting way back in the premiere, though…to compare this to Shirobako is a disservice to both series. They’re different, and that’s good. Shirobako feels like watching adults find their footing in a field they’ve got experience in: Remake Our Life! feels like watching my past self fumble through college and trying to be young adult. 

Read the rest of Remake Our Life! – Episode 4 on the Anime News Network