Liked Angel Beats!? Watch Rewrite!

• Episodes: 13
• Aired: July 2016 – September 2016

3 Major similarities

1. Supernatural Setting

Even though these shows are mostly about school life and attempt to portray the daily life of high school students, the supernatural element is a common addition. Angel Beats! for instance takes place in some sort of afterlife, where dead students fight against the super powered Student Council President. Combining real life with fantasy and action is a frequent thing on school anime and certainly, a winning formula. Following this formula, Rewrite has combined the liveliness and playfulness of daily school life with uncanny places and happenings.

Rewrite takes place in a very peculiar world which may seem quite ordinary at first despite the charming dense vegetation (which we assume must be there for a good reason), but we immediately find out that it’s full of supernatural occurrences. This way, we may find Kotarou coming back home from a completely normal school day and suddenly getting attacked by a monstrous wolf. Rewrite is so unpredictable in the way it combines these two factors that it can easily blow your mind.

2. Supernatural Characters

A very peculiar thing about Rewrite is that not only its setting is supernatural, but also its characters. As the story unfolds we find out about each character’s gifts and abilities and how they are affected by these, just like Kotarou’s ability to permanently rewrite his own body to become stronger. This makes the characters really intriguing and the story a lot more interesting and unpredictable. It’s basically the same principle with Tenshi from Angel Beats. We spent most of the show just wondering who was this adorable evil loli with super powers. This kind of uncertainty definitely sparks our interest for the characters, and Rewrite successfully manages to create that.

3. Tragic Stories

One of the most important features of Rewrite, however, are its powerful characters’ stories. This is also the greatest similarity between Rewrite and Angel Beats, since they are both creations of Key studio. This company is famous for presenting lovely and wonderful stories that become bitter tragedies with heartbreaking plot twists when you least expect it. If you’ve watched Angel Beats! (or played Key’s visual novel) you’ll surely know what we mean. Rewrite is no exception to this rule. This show’s characters also have their own tragic stories to make us cry and learn to love. It’s now up to you to find out about them.

Liked Angel Beats!? Watch ReLIFE!

• Episodes: 13
• Aired: July 2016 – September 2016

3 Major similarities

1. A New Life

One of the most important aspects of ReLIFE is that it’s mainly about new beginnings. Sometimes starting from scratch is the best way to get back on your feet and face the harsh trials of life. Anyone who’s watched Angel Beats! definitely knows what we’re talking about. Just like those kids were given a second chance in the afterlife, Arata Kaizaki now gets an opportunity to re-evaluate his life as a high school student.

2. Making New Friends

Making new friends can be hard for anyone, especially when you are the new kid at school. We’ve seen Otonashi from Angel Beats! having problems himself in this area. When he first got to the afterlife, he didn’t really know what to think about his new fellow classmates and whether or not he should trust them. Arata Kaizaki experiences a similar thing during his new life as a high school student.

As a 27 year old man in the body of a 17 year old boy, Arata has a really difficult time at behaving like a normal student and making friends. He often gets anxious in social situations and is rather awkward, but eventually he’s able to meet some kids who are as special and peculiar as he is. Thus begins Arata’s new journey with many new and priceless relationships.

3. Making Things Right

Of course, the whole purpose of having a new life and starting from scratch is to make things right. That is a key concept in Angel Beats, since as we get further in the story we find characters who had regrets in life or some kind of unfinished business. In the afterlife however, sometimes they were given the chance to rectify these situations.

This is ReLIFE’s main focus, since Arata is meant to fix his failing life by re-living one of the most important and meaningful life experiences, high school. During this one year long experiment, Arata is expected to find what he needs to become a fully functional member of society. How? Well, by making friends and having a socially awkward yet awesome high school senior year, that’s how!