English Dub Season Review: Remake Our Life! Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Kyoya Hashiba is a video game director. However, his company goes bankrupt, and his project is shelved, so he returns to his family home. As Kyoya falls asleep wondering what it might’ve been like if he had chosen a different path, he somehow wakes up ten years ago when he was just about to enter college! This time, he chooses the path he didn’t originally choose and gets to experience the art college life he dreamed of.

Our Take:

Remake Our Life! is an anime adaptation of a light novel series written by Nachi Kio and illustrated by Eretto. The series is directed by Tomoki Kobayashi, with Nachi Kio handling the scripts. Kōsuke Kawamura designed the characters, and Frontwing produced the series. The musical score was composed by Seima Kondo and Yusuke Takeda. Poppin’Party performed the opening song “Koko kara Saki wa Uta ni Naranai” (Starting From Now, It Won’t Become a Song), while Argonavis performed the ending song “Kanōsei” (Possibility).

It’s moments like this when you wish you could travel back in time to fix your mistakes. You might’ve made one that led to you getting stuck with a dead-on job or the one that resulted in you still living in your parents’ house. Fortunately, one guy has his wish granted, as he unintentionally has the ability to do so. As a result, he winds up on a mission to improve his life.

The first half of Remake Our Life centers on Kyoya Hashiba (Jerry Jewell) and his quest to reshape his life when he gets transported ten years in the past. He used the opportunity to attend an arts college instead of a regular university, where he lives in the Share House Kitayama with his roommates: Aki Shino (Lindsay Seidel), Nanako Kogure (Macy Anne Johnson), and Tsurayuki Rokuonji (Kamen Casey). His friends also happen to be members of the prestigious circle called the Platinum Generation in the present. Aki is a calm and motherly resident who’s also a famous illustrator named Shino Akishima in the present. Nanako has the appearance of a gyaru and is a famous singer with the stage name N@NA in the original timeline. Finally, Tsurayuki is a light novel writer under the pen name Kyouichi Kawagoe.  

The second half sees Kyoya and his roommates working on a dojin game to pay off Tsurayuki’s tuition. However, his desire to get the game out quickly causes massive changes to his future, with the remaining four episodes centering on him in an alternate timeline. There, Kyoya works to help his new company fix its latest project while coming to terms with his mistakes in the past.

At first glance, it seemed almost similar to ReLIFE, in which a young man revisits his high school life as a teenager after taking a mysterious drug from a program. However, instead of a drug, it’s someone who can transport anyone through time. I would say who it was, but it’s something you should watch for yourself to get the same experience I had with this heartwarming series. In addition to its heartfelt moments, the series is full of charm and thought-provoking elements that are nicely balanced with its time-traveling concept.

The first couple of episodes follows the basic time-travel premise from other media, with Kyoya revisiting the past and correcting the choices made in his college life. With plenty of charm and effective teen comedy in the scenarios, the series was entertaining enough to make its formula work for me. However, as the season progressed, it became more than just another time-travel comedy series.

Remake Our Life serves as a suitable love letter to those questioning their own choices in life, especially during their adult years. But it also represents the importance of helping others and how it impacts them. Kyoya believes that helping his friends with their talents and remaking his choices would help make his life better. However, he later realizes that he’s only helping himself, resulting in him being in an alternate future where his friends quit their dreams. The remaining episodes depict him losing confidence in himself for ruining his friends’ lives, only to gain it back after realizing how much inspiration he left in them. Its storytelling is far from groundbreaking, but its direction for the drama and themes was instantly satisfying.

Another reason for the first season’s success was its portrayal of the development process in specific arts. Throughout the season, the series briefly depicts the characters working on short films and video games while dealing with the usual teen drama. The processes mainly include discussions and preparations, but the series also shows the challenges of making a specific project and the aftermath. As someone who’s passionate about film, I thought it was cool that these methods were showcased respectfully in an anime.  

While I enjoyed the filmmaking segments, the scenes with the game development process in “Learn Lessons” and “Be Prepared” were the most interesting. These episodes depict Kyoya and the game company working on a mobile game in an alternate future. More importantly, it showcases how an unhealthy work environment can affect the game’s quality and the company’s reputation, mainly due to how the boss treats their employees. It’s a crucial rule of thumb that’s portrayed honestly and thoughtfully without being overly detailed.

I also enjoyed the show’s first impressions of the characters. One of them is Kyoya, who’s kind and always willing to help others hold on to their passions. Even if he takes things a bit too far, he does it in a way that allows him to grow into a better person. Jerry Jewell, known for voicing Kinoshita from Sing “Yesterday” for Me, did a solid job portraying Kyoya’s personality, although there is one scene where his scream sounded flat. The other characters were also delightful to watch, including Aki Shino, voiced by Lindsay Seidel. Her high-pitched voice was a bit concerning at first, but it eventually grew on me as it leaned toward adorableness instead of annoyance. Marisa Duran also did pretty well with her vocal performance as Eiko Kawasegawa, especially during the final scene in “Be Prepared”.

Overall, the first season of Remake Our Life is a genuinely heartfelt and charming addition to the list of time-traveling misadventures in shows and movies. It may not break the mold in its formula regarding its premise, but its solid execution makes up for it by providing a solid balance of sci-fi, comedy, and drama. The characters are likable, the representation of the arts is respectfully portrayed, and its themes are thoughtful and engaging. Additionally, it paves the way for what to expect in its possible second season, especially with Kyoya working on something significant with his friends. Whatever it is, I’ll be ready to rejoin this remake whenever that happens.