When the responsibilities of being an adult and the ugly side of corporate bullying betrays one’s childhood dreams, many would wish to return to their innocent childhood to relive their life and make the right decisions. Dumbfounded by the offer presented to him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki hopes to turn his life around through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Returning home from his part-time job, Arata is persuaded by Ryou Yoake, an employee of ReLife Research Institute, into participating in an experiment which will help him overcome his difficulties and re-enter corporate life. As part of the ReLife experiment, Arata’s physique is reverted to that of a 17-year-old, and all he must do is relive his high school life for one year. Waiting for him at the end of the experiment is a job offer that he has been struggling to get ever since he left his first company.
With few other options, he decides to go along with this plan. However, with adult-like tendencies and many years since his last formal education, Arata steps into an unexpectedly challenging territory—a normal day of high school.
I am going to be completely honest. I completely forgot about this series. Story time…(apologies in advance for the length)
A couple years back in the early days of the pandemic, I was not allowed to work on site and was at home. There wasn’t a lot I could do because, at that time, my role was largely a lab-based R&D position. I can’t exactly bring a biotech lab back to my apartment, so I found myself with quite a bit of free time.
It was at this time I picked out a number of long, completed (or almost completed) series to read in order to occupy my time. This series is one of them that made it on that list since I had seen it was generally well received. However, first up on that list was a different title that was in the process of publishing its final chapters: Domestic Girlfriend. Going in completely blind, I was so dumbfounded that I had no idea how to process what I was reading. At the same time I could not peel myself away from it. The series captivated me and disgusted me in equal measure.
When I finally finished that series, I was left rudderless, drifting through the sea of emotions that had been stirred up in me. Rage, sorrow, frustration, and hilarity become the points on my compass rose and I could not navigate my way to another one of the series I had picked out to read. I ended up abandoning the list I had drawn up of long series and just stuck with the short and sweet series and oneshots until I got my sea legs under me again. This is one of the reasons I think oneshots can provide a lot of value and I try to seek out good ones. A short digestable nugget of story or a setup and punchline can do the body good.
Anyway, all that is to say thanks for reminding me about this series! If other people have read this far, it is also on mangadex if you prefer that interface.