To the annoyance of many anime fans, romantic comedy protagonists don't always end up with the fan-favorite "best girl" of the series. It's a long-running joke that adorable short-haired girls are often tragically rejected and swept aside in favor of the long-haired love interests. While romantic development does favor the short-haired Aki Shino for much of Remake Our Life!, series protagonist Kyouya Hashiba seemingly gives up a future with her at the end of the series, leaving fans wondering if Kyouya will eventually end up with Aki or whether he should even pursue her in the first place.
Based on the 2017 light novel series by Nachi Kio, Remake Our Life! is centered around a protagonist who is down on his luck but gets the chance to travel back in time and redo a critical part of his life, similar to other time travel anime like Re:Life and Tokyo Revengers. Kyouya, an aspiring game developer, finds his dreams in shambles when his game studio bankrupts, leaving him unemployed. As he thinks about the "Platinum Generation," a group of creators he admires, he regrets his course of life, realizing that pursuing arts college instead of his more traditional pathway might have given him an advantage he didn't have. After falling asleep, he wakes to find himself 10 years back in time, giving him the opportunity to pursue an arts education at the Oonaka University of Art.
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It is here where Kyouya meets his housemates and the future members of the Platinum Generation, including artist Aki Shino, actress and singer Nanako Kogure, and writer Tsurayuki Rokuonji. He also meets Eiko Kawasegawa, another aspiring game developer whom he had met and interned for in his present timeline. With the opportunity to remake his life, Kyouya works with his classmates on various projects, overcoming each obstacle with creativity and determination and leading his team with a newfound passion.
While romantic development is usually blatant in romantic comedies, it's definitely subtler in Remake Our Life!, as Kyouya does not seem as intent on getting a girlfriend as most protagonists are. In fact, while several girls are pining over him, Kyouya is oblivious -- or at the very least uninterested -- focusing instead on his goals as a game developer as well as helping those around him succeed in their passions. However, his natural closeness to Aki and the many misunderstandings surrounding Aki's behavior lead others to believe that he and Aki are in a relationship.
While this isn't the case, Kyouya and Aki do grow closer, with Kyouya encouraging Aki in her art and Aki eventually kissing Kyouya. Aside from a brief moment of uncertainty about the new status of his relationship with Aki, Kyouya does not spend a lot of time dwelling on this romantic development with her -- it simply doesn't seem to be a priority to him.
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However, after another time-leap into the future, Kyouya finds himself married to Aki, and the two of them have a daughter. He is obviously taken aback and awkward, but he spends no time wondering what got them to the point of marriage, and nor does he find any excitement over his newfound wife. Focusing on what's going on with his career in this timeline, Kyouya seems to consider his new family situation as a somewhat endearing afterthought rather than a true gift. After Kyouya works through the obstacles in this timeline, he decides to go back in time once more to regain the original future, giving up his daughter and marriage with Aki -- perhaps a little too easily.
Although Kyouya can still end up with Aki, Kyouya's reactions to the romantic development with her throughout the series suggest that he may not have any true feelings for her after all. Instead, Kyouya has always been inspired by Aki's art and likely ends up pursuing a relationship and marrying her in the alternate timeline due to guilt over stifling her creativity. When talking with Eiko in Episode 7, he actually admits to not having romantic feelings for Aki. Even though he could have developed feelings over time, it is reasonable to contend that Kyouya never truly loves Aki romantically.
While heartbreaking for many fans that Kyouya leaves Aki and his daughter behind in the alternate timeline, it therefore makes sense that he doesn't end up with her in the end. Kyouya certainly cares for those around him and wants them to succeed, but his care for Aki seems to fall into this same category and has all along. Because Kyouya easily goes overboard in his drive to help others succeed, pushing himself and those he's managing, it's better both for Kyouya and Aki that they don't end up together. It is unhealthy for Kyouya to lead Aki on and force himself to pursue a relationship with her for any other reason than true romantic interest.
While Aki certainly deserves the best, Kyouya might not be the one who can give that to her. Regardless, they are still a popular pairing among fans. Though a second season has yet to be announced, the first ended on such an open note that viewers can hope to cheer Aki and Kyouya on -- or perhaps root for Nanako or Eiko -- as the story continues. In the meantime, fans can look to the light novels for more of this heartwarming story about second chances.
