Despite his best efforts, Natsuki had a “colorless and gray” three years of high school. Now he’s on the verge of graduating college and starting a career, but he’s still nagged by the regrets of his teenage years. Then he wakes up and its seven years earlier. He quickly accepts that he’s gotten a chance to redo his high school years and resolves to live a more fulfilling life. First, he exercises to get in shape. Soon school starts, and along the way he encounters various friends old and new, including Hikari, his old crush. Will Natsuki be able to fill his second high school life with a rainbow of colors?
I feel like I should like this more than I do. By that, I mean the chance to resolve one’s regrets and correct one’s mistakes is a reasonably appealing (albeit not particularly new) premise, with plenty of potential, but the execution feels kind of lackluster. Natsuki isn’t quite sympathetic or likeable enough for me to really care that he’s getting another shot at high school. Like, good for him, whatever. His friends aren’t particularly unique either; they’re generic, average anime high school friends that you’ve seen a hundred times. The result is a show that just struggled to hold my interest. In other words, it’s underwhelming, not outright bad. I find the core concept appealing enough that I’m tempted to give this show another episode to win me over, but I can’t enthusiastically recommend it.
Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ is streaming on Crunchyroll.
