Re:Anima is off to a rough start in my personal opinion. This first volume doesn't really standout or have enough build up to really pull me into the story and make me want to move forward with it. While I like the comedy buddy cop duo I do think it over shadows the seriousness some of the minor stories attempted to tell. Not only this I feel like each of the cases moved to fast. While the case involving the brothers is the most fleshed out even that one felt like it was missing pieces. Some of the details of the case were solved off page and explained to us through one of the main characters going over the evidence. It made it hard to really feel the weight of the actions of both brothers because we barely knew them and because of how fast the case solving happened.

The world building is the most intriguing part, a world where its been damaged so badly by climate change that humans live underground and now use an avatar like system to "live above" ground. There was a few moments where I could tell the author was trying to be profound in the message he is trying to send about why this is beneficial to humans, but I feel it might have come too soon in the story because we haven't really seen the full extent to what living underground does to the people negatively.

There are a few elements that are intriguing to me, such as Shinano's backstory, and the reason why Kara seems to be able to withstand the heat and UV rays, the bit at the end with him unfortunately wasn't a super big draw for me. I'll give this a few more volumes to see how it fleshes out from here but I wouldn't be opposed to it taking a turn and becoming more serious and less comedy buddy cop style.

The artstyle is cute, not overly detailed but not under detailed either, the fight scenes are easy to follow and understand and the flow of each of the panels on a page are very cohesive and easy to follow along with. Character designs are great too, no fan service outfits or shots, which is a plus, and we have some disability rep too which is great, if its good or not I can't be the judge on that but it was nice seeing it.

Absolutely incredible start to a manga! Excellent blend of intriguing characters, climate-fiction, and mystery. Will be continuing with the series.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

I highly enjoyed this book and found the story to be very engaging and fast-paced ... the human race is underground in robot bodies called RE:Anima connecting their mind waves so they can go outside, while their human bodies rest at home in the machine.

We follow the main character and his sidekick but the main character is a human but a different kind who's able to stand the sun... we have many fights of people losing their minds because they live in these shells during the day that cannot feel pain etc.

I plan to continue this series and had loads of fun

This was a dystopian unlike any I've ever read before and I love that! The current world being overheated seems very likely to happen and made the story line that more believable. The character's were so likable, I want to know more about them. As an adult that loves manga, I like that the character's are grown too. The action scenes were so well drawn and put together. This is a series I can see really becoming popular, glad I got to read it early! I'm looking forward to more from this series and author.

In the not-too-distant future, a solar flare has vaporized the ozone layer, forcing humans underground. Fortunately, they can live a virtual life on the surface via Re:Anima: artificial bodies that allow users to exist (mostly) in the manner to which they’re accustomed. Of course, new tech comes with new exploits, and some seek to make illegal mods to their Re:Anima for their own gains. That’s where the Enforcement Bureau comes in. This group takes down illegally-modded Re:Anima, keeping the populus safe. But Kara, one of their lead operatives, hides a scientifically fascinating secret.

Gate of Nightmares writer/artist Yoshinori Matsuoka offers an interesting take on a recurring theme. While many climate change and post-apocalyptic stories focus on human hubris, Re:Anima takes the superheating of the world out of human hands. But that doesn’t mean there’s no musing on human selfishness. Rather than a broad stroke, it’s more granular. The wrongs of humans are person-to-person, rather than cumulative and catastrophic. It also brings into question the nuance of human experience. What does the removal of consequences like pain and death do to a person’s willingness to commit heinous acts? We’re eager to see these concepts continue to be explored in later volumes.

This is an example of the premise on the back of the book seeming a little generic, but the actual execution of the central idea is very solid. How the titular reanima work is a huge draw to this volume (and why people will go to such lengths to modify and or steal them.). Thought was clearly put into the hows and whys of this over-heated world. I'll be curious to see what kind of story gets told from here. If it keeps up the more human-centered narratives, this could be a hidden sci-fi gem.

This manga is perfect for anyone who is interested in distopian universes. The story is set in a post-climate-change universe where the earth is uninhabitable. People have been forced to live underground to survive. In order to traverse the surface level they have had to invent Re:Anima. This is a really cool concept, but you have to dispel a lot of belief to make this story make sense. This wasn't for me, but I can see it being enjoyable for anyone who enjoys a post-apocolyptic, dystopian read.

The year is 2032, after a solar flare destroyed the ozone layer, humanity escaped to the relative safety of the underground. The RSC in a joint venture with the government, however, develops the Re:Anima System. Able to replicate a humans body not only does it allow humans to live on the surface again it has made pain and even death obsolete. Thanks to this people have started modding their Re:Anima, allowing them to turn body parts into everything from knives to bombs, and while they may not be able to kill people these modded "suits" not only cause chaos but ensure those who encounter them suffer the long terms effects from the trauma of watching your friends and family "murdered". That's where the Enforcement Bureau comes in, their job is to track down and eliminate these modded Anima. And for Shinano that's fine, she has her Re:Anima to keep her safe, but Kara her partner at the Bureau fighting people who can turn their severed fingers into bombs is a little bit more dangerous because Kara, somehow, still has his own body.

I thought this was going to lean a little harder on climate change and while I would have enjoyed that as well, I found the conversation around the fact that the whole population is just a little crazy and most definitely suffering from PTSD far more interesting. It isn't just that these people are snapping because killing someone simply doesn't matter, it's the fact that people are witnessing a robot for all intents and purposes that resembles their family members being killed in some of the most messed up situations with the killer being fined at best because they didn't actually kill someone. So you've got half of the population who are mentally unstable because hey they can get away with murder and the other half trapped in a PTSD cycle because even though they watched someone they care about die, for all intents and purposes, they didn't actually die. That would mess anyone up for life. Honestly, it's a way deeper conversation on the human experience and trauma than I was expecting. And I think what makes it even more interesting is Kara is the only one who can truly understand why all of this is so traumatic as he's the only one who is actually at risk of not just feeling pain but actually dying. He mentions multiple times that the Re:Anima "suits" should include pain receptors and he's get shut down time and again. And while I believe the people shutting him down believe it's for a good reason it's almost impossible for them to understand how by taking away a little thing like being able to tell when you step on a Lego is literally depriving humanity of, well, their humanity.


Overall, I'll definitely be continuing this series. This is just an incredibly unique dystopian world that offers a glimpse at how much simply being able to feel pain contributes to our ability to not just empathize with people but genuinely not lose your freaking mind.


As always thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the eArc!

i liked where the story was going but the characters are not my cup of tea, too comedic for me, some seriousness is needed throughout the story, maybe some back story would be great as well.

I really liked the worldbuilding - with the post-climate disaster world and humanity’s inability to give up normalcy even in a completely unliveable environment. It reminded me of The Ones We’re Meant to Find.

But the characters were a little too unserious for me. I would have liked a bit more of their backstories and less of their buddy-cop comedy routine / railfan nonsense. If the story was darker in tone, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Interesting concept! I found the book kind of boring but its not bad. Trains being a special interest is an interesting character trait, and I find it amusing now that I've been to Tokyo and used their train system!

I find the idea of an unlivable world because of climate change and the fact that now people have use this synthetic bodies to be able to live on the surface while the real bodies are confined underneath very very interesting. When I realized the manga would be about a police group that fights against moded synthetic bodies I was really excited for the infinite fighting posibilities. Instead, the three episodes that compose this volume were quite underwhelming in my opinion. The bodies are not real and they can't even feel pain and you can use mods and programming to make them do anything, but the fights are just... not that interesting? That's a death sentence on a fighting manga.

I have to be honest and say that I find the pacing quite slow. The episodes feel like they are a bit too long and drag on. I don't know if I would rather the manga was serialized weekly but I do think it would benefit from tightening the chapters (either by adding more content or by making them a bit shorter, or perhaps adding subplots? Although to be fair, it's still a bit early to do that, we're only three chapters in)

Regarding the art, I think it's quite good? It's not super original in this genre and demographic but I do enjoy that women aren't super stylized (so far) to have gigantic breasts or hips, that's always a bonus point for me.

I think the plot of the manga has a LOT of potential, but it needs to be exploited FAST.