TRIGGER WARNING: Redo of Healer contains numerous scenes involving rape, other forms of sexual assault, and torture. Viewer discretion is STRONGLY advised.
Original Run: January 13, 2021 - March 31, 2021 Number of Episodes: 12 Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Harem Based on the Series Created By: Rui Tsukiyo
***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Redo of Healer. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
In a previous life, the Healing Hero Keyaru (voiced by Yuya Hozumi) underwent horrific torture and sexual abuse from his own allies. In the middle of the ultimate battle with the Demon King, Keyaru turns on his tormentors and manages to reset his life to before he became a hero.
However, Keyaru retains all the gruesome memories of his treatment.
In this new timeline, Keyaru uses his knowledge and insight to undermine the corruption of the empire he once served. And to all those who wronged him, they can expect a revenge that is both cruel and deranged.
Series Overview
Redo of Healer is not something I can recommend. However, that does not mean this show was poorly made. On the contrary, there were elements that if this had been any other anime, I would give it my full support. We will come to those details in a moment.
But Redo of Healer is not like any other anime. As a matter of principle, I cannot recommend or even suggest people go out of their way to watch this show. Consequently, I won’t be pushing anyone to skip this series outright, either. Therefore, I cannot conduct this review in the usual fashion.
There are segments within Redo of Healer that are highly disturbing. Often, this show crosses the fine line between severe ecchi and softcore porn. This is not a series for all audiences. So, in case you missed it at the top, please allow me to reiterate:
Redo of Healer contains numerous scenes involving rape, other forms of sexual assault, and torture. Viewer discretion is STRONGLY advised.
If you’re sticking around, feel free to stop reading this review if you hit a point where you know this is not the right show for you.
For the record, there is a censored and uncensored version of this series. As always, I went with the uncensored option, so I can assure you, Redo of Healer left very little to the imagination. I do not know what the censored release blacks out, but I can’t imagine it is anything tame. This show gets intense.
To its credit, Redo of Healer never held any pretense about being a lighthearted adventure story. It is made exceptionally clear early on that this is a revenge tale. And while there is no excusing or justifying what he did, the motives of our protagonist, Keyaru, were firmly contextualized. After all the horrific atrocities committed against him, the path Keyaru went down was no real shock.
No, the real surprise was how deranged this series was willing to go.
Then again, I suppose a show like Redo of Healer, if anyone were ever going to do it, would come from TNK studios. This is the same company that gave us High School DxD and School Days (yes, THAT School Days).
Putting aside the restraints Redo of Healer did not have, this show established that Keyaru was no good guy. He was a broken man with the ability to sow destruction.
For example, Keyaru kept claiming he would only hurt people who had hurt him. To that extent, he never went into a crowded square and began an indiscriminate massacre; other people in this show did that. But, if Keyaru had the inclination that someone might try to harm him or his “friends” (playthings is more accurate), then that person would die a horrifically bloody and undoubtedly painful death.
I would be lying if I said this show was easy to put down once it got going. All things considered, Redo of Healer’s story was interesting. In a slightly concerning sense – because I know what it would mean if one came – I would like to see a season two. There were plenty of loose ends that need resolutions.
Now, while I say this series was attention-grabbing, I don’t extend the same sentiment to the porn-ish scenes. These, and there were many, I skipped because they were immensely f@#$ed up. I won’t apologize for not wanting to watch someone do what they wished with their brainwashed sex slaves. There are a lot of things I will sit through, but even I have my limits.
And yet, that discomfort, since it was so prevalent, I believe was intentional. How is anyone supposed to feel good when watching this series? Actually, I don’t think I want to know the answer to that question. Nevertheless, this story portrayed a dark and twisted world, and Redo of Healer had the atmosphere to back that up.
It is hard to latch onto anything technically wrong with this show. Sure, its subject matter was triggering, but that’s not an inherent flaw. For the lack of a better phrase – “taboo topics” are free game; they are legitimate narrative elements. Yes, they can be uncomfortable (and in the case of Redo of Healer, that’s putting it mildly). When such themes have no bearing on the actual plot and are just there to be there, that is when things really start to become a problem.
If you were to remove these sorts of details from Redo of Healer, that would fundamentally change everything about this show. This is a package deal.
That said, this package is certainly alienating. There is no question; this is an extremely niche anime. Thus, if you start Redo of Healer, be fully aware of what you’re signing up for. This show is not winning any awards and can be ignored with no problem. Your choice to watch this series is precisely that, YOUR CHOICE.
Final Thoughts
Provided nothing comes to my attention concerning its production or some other outside factors, I will not condemn the existence of this show as a show.
This is not an easy watch. This series is uncomfortable, disturbing, and not for everyone. However, it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It is upfront about what type of story it is going to be.
Granted, this is not the type of story that I can put my name behind.
Still, if you’ve made it this far, then you’ve seen the warnings; you’ve heard my caution. Regard Redo of Healer at your discretion.
But these were just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this series? How would you advise Redo of Healer? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
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For Anime Hajime, I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
I posted a similar comment on another blog, hopefully you’ll forgive the self-plagiarism.
So, I found this show mildly entertaining, if only to see how low Keyaru was willing to go. The interesting thing is that, as warped as his worldview is, he still has a personal system of right & wrong, which he tries hard to adhere to. What I most enjoyed was watching Keyaru contort his reasoning, to ensure he himself views his acts of evil as justifiable.
Remember the friendly feline trader he meets moments before Norn’s army massacres him? The depraved smile Keyaru gives as he mourns his “close friend” said it all — he barely knew the guy! I found the big display of crocodile tears absolutely hilarious. Keyaru had previously steered clear from Norn: she wasn’t directly cruel to him, so didn’t fulfill his criteria for revenge. But he was still fishing hard for a casus belli to take her on, and framing the dead trader as a close friend gave him the perfect excuse to indulge his worst instincts.
Keyaru himself said the thing he was most afraid of was “losing his flame of vengeance”, or some similar edgy shit. Then, his sole task consists of constantly re-kindling this flame, to make sure he never runs out of reasons to be a colossal dick. And obviously this ridiculous story will pull out all the stops to that end! I just hope he’ll wind up being a lonely bastard in the end, barely coping with a life stripped of all meaning. I highly doubt it, but I’m curious enough to give a sequel a try.