Remake our Life!

Yet another manga that got cancelled, although in this case the light novel source material was ongoing (for another year). It was fun enough while reading it, but once I got to the end, there was a distinct feeling of "wait, that's all?" to it. Part of the issue, of course, is that it was only adapted part of the way through, but I still can't help but feel that I wanted more. After a disastrous day in which his employer is finally dissolved, Hashiba Kyouya moves back home with his parents, unemployed and burned out. His sister is also moving back as a divorcedmother of one, which leads to her telling him that one of his most prized possessions has been mixed in with her own things. Once he recovers it, he recognizes it as his admission letter to the Osaka University of Arts, the same school that produced the "Platinum Generation," three creative talents he has always longed to work with. He bitterly wishes he had not chosen to go to the school with the better reputation, and is gifted a chance to "redo" that choice. It's a regression manga, but the interesting part is that instead of focusing only on Kyouya's desires, the story is driven more by Kyouya's sincere desire to work with those three talents. One of the driving sources of conflict, however, is that while Kyouya is burned out creatively and is filled with total admiration for talent of the Platinum Generation, he is still a fiercely competent manager and organizer since he spent his original life salvaging disasters and single-handedly keeping afloat the company he had been working at (by the skin of his teeth, admittedly). As talented as they are, the Platinum Generation begins to feel inferior to the man who keeps them afloat through their tribulations. It's a butterfly effect from there. The art is competent. There's nothing to complain about, but there's also very little I can praise. Crying faces are done well, so is one particular scene during the school festival. Nothing I say can take this manga's strong start away from it, nor would I want to. The downfall is that the strong start does not have a strong finish since it only adapted the light novels part way. Another issue is that while I like the romantic interests, it's hard to stay invested when the story so heavily favors one specific girl over her two rivals (you'll know when). Not that there's anything wrong with her, I just preferred the other two more. I'm told that one of them actually has a trio of side story novels that take place in the timeline that continues from when Kyouya regresses, but I don't know of any groups translating those light novels. Ultimately, if you like regression manga, I think this is a sweet experience that ends too soon, and needed more to sustain it. Plenty to learn from this, especially with regards to how characters feel and express their motivation and frustration, but other readers may be turned off by the note it ends on.