HomeComics/MangaMANGA REVIEW | "The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl" - Vol. 1

MANGA REVIEW | "The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl" - Vol. 1

MANGA REVIEW | "The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl" - Vol. 1

It takes just one tiny mistake to cause a lifetime of downward spirals. The problem is, you don’t know the mistake happens until it’s far too late in life to fix it. For Niihama, our main male lead in The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl, it was getting close to his kindhearted classmate Haruka Shijoin back in high school. Alas, any chance of a connection has been shattered, due to a plethora of tragedies that occurred years after they both graduated.

But this is the world of manga and light novels after all, and The Revenge of My Youth gifts Niihama with a second chance to get it all right. After suffering a heart attack, Niihama wakes up in his old bedroom, with the sight of his deceased mother alive again bringing him to tears. At that point, Niihama swears to not take this second chance for granted. And the one he aims to change for the better is Shijoin, the kindest person he’s ever had a conversation with.

The Revenge of My Youth takes just about every high school scenario anyone can come across, and showcases the right path to conquer the situation. These solutions come from Niihama’s experience working at an awful company for a dozen years. Although it did not give him the chance to live a good life the first time around, his time at the corporation instead allows him to know what not to do in his second chance at life. These situations may have fantastical outcomes, but I’d be lying if I said I never dreamt of acting like Niihama if I was given another go at high school life!

A great example of this comes from two different bullies. Niihama deals with a student who used to intimidate him and steal his lunch money. Now that time has gone by, he realizes how much of a poser the bully is, resulting in Niihama getting the last laugh over him. Then there are the girls who pick on Shijoin, only because they’re jealous of her natural beauty. It takes a little info Niihama grabbed from the past to also put Shijoin’s harasser in her place, and it’s very satisfying to watch unfold.

Most of the first volume of The Revenge of My Youth resets the stage of high school life for Niihama. From dealing with studies and school festival prep to after school library help and cooking for his sister, Niihama gets many opportunities to do what he should’ve done the first time around. But where the manga shines is in the bonding between him and Shijoin. It’s obvious that Niihama cares about her, but it takes a pep talk from his sister to realize that he wants more than a friendly relationship with her. And Shijoin seems to want the same!

This first volume also serves as a nice wake-up call to those who work in a toxic environment. As he aids Shijoin in her studies, Niihama brings up his experiences in the work force. (Of course, he claims he heard about it from his cousin, which nicely covers up his tracks.) The concept of working long hours, getting no overtime pay, and earning zero respect from higher-ups allows Shijoin to realize how much she needs to think better about her future. On top of that, these facts give Niihama the opportunity to deliver the confidence boosters to Shijoin he wished he could’ve said the first time around.

In its first volume, The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl gives readers plenty of laughs, heartfelt moments, and a bountiful of life lessons. Although how Niihama acts & reacts to his situations may be fantastical — in the same way Peter Gibbons does in Office Space — Boiru Iseebi’s manga adaptation of Yuzi Keino’s light novel series does have some strong trinkets of truth. What’s demonstrated here is sometime we could all use to better our lives, with the first step towards the brighter path The Revenge of My Youth pushes us towards being the most important of all: unchaining ourselves from the things that hold us back in the first place!

FINAL GRADE:

Promotional consideration provided by Eric Margolis of One Peace Books. In stores January 23rd!

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The J-POP king of America, Evan has been bringing the hottest sounds of the Land of the Rising Sun to the English-speaking public since his college radio days. He's also an expert in the gaming, anime, & manga realms, never afraid to get critical when the times call for it. Born & bred in Boston, he achieved his biggest dream yet by making the big move to Tokyo, Japan in Summer 2023! For personal inquiries, contact Evan at evan@b3crew.com. For press/band inquiries, write to us at thebastards@bostonbastardbrigade.com. (Drawing by AFLM of Wicked Anime)