Arata Kaizaki

**Arata Kaizaki** is the main protagonist of the *ReLIFE* anime and manga.

At 27 years old, Kaizaki is working part-time at a convenience store while looking for steady work. He maintains the appearance to friends that he still holds a regular, salaried position at a company, unwilling to admit the truth. Cut off by his parents, Kaizaki embraces the opportunity to join the ReLIFE program, hoping to be hooked up with a job when it's over.

In the AWA fics, Arata is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

Kaizaki is an adult man with an average build and height with broad shoulders and a defined facial structure. He has short, slightly spiky and messy dark blue hair with bangs framing his face, and sharp, aqua-blue eyes. His Post-ReLIFE appearance looks just the same. As an adult, he is often seen in a formal business suit consisting of a black jacket with a white collared shirt underneath and a black tie. He also wears a pair of black pants and a pair of black shoes. He is also seen to carry a black handbag quite often.

In his ReLIFE appearance, he is slightly shorter and his frame had gone away and his face took on much more of an adolescent look. His hair became slightly shorter and his eyes became less sharp. Only his appearance changed but not his body. He was often seen wearing a standard Aoba High School uniform for males.

## **Personality**

It is stated that even though he may seem and speak selfishly sometimes, Kaizaki is strongly kind and likes the act of helping and caring for everyone. Although he himself says that he prefers to stay in the shadows, he began interacting a lot with his surroundings and classmates after he became a teen, and helps them solve their problems. He is therefore said to be very mature, supportive and responsible (like an adult) but he can also be confronting depending on the situation. He always acts calmly and takes everything nicely and is understanding, but if something really bothers him, he will react in a straightforward, angry manner.

He has great social skills and easily makes friends. Even though he has a great and friendly personality as seen by many, this side of his is overshadowed by his adult, "neet" personality. Kaizaki didn't have much self-confidence and often wondered why his life had gotten to such a low point. But after becoming a teenager, experiencing youth again, Kaizaki changes and starts doing things he wouldn't before. This also had a positive impact once he went back to his original form. He has a strong sense of justice and honesty, which is one of his strongest points, but is also a major flaw that can be used against him.

He describes himself as persevering - someone who would stick to something until the end, once he has made up his mind. He likes to tease his friends, especially Kazuomi Ōga, in which he can sound like an old man according to the latter. He is highly supportive of his friends and helps them out in their relationships, and although he sees them as kids ten years younger than him, he cherishes and respects all of them greatly. Kaizaki sometimes wishes that he could grow up with his friends and talk about their high school lives once they became adults.

Once the ReLIFE experiment ended and Kaizaki went back to his original body, he decided to become a member of the support staff in the ReLIFE department. He did this so he could help others who are in the situation he was in, and give them the support he received when he was in the lowest point in his life. The experiment and support made him realize that life wasn't as dull as he once thought. He is shown to approach Takaomi Ōga, his future presumed subject, with a very energetic and straighforward manner, just like Yoake in the past.

## **Trivia**

* He owns a red smartphone.
* He likes the color red.
* In the movie adaptation, he became a teacher at Aoba High School instead of an employee at the ReLIFE Research Insitute.
* Kaizaki's surename is an homage to the Kaizaki Station in Ōita, Japan.