Haibara's Teenage New Game+ is a new anime series that premiered in 2026, with its first episode drawing critical attention for its handling of male power-fantasy tropes.
Haibara's Teenage New Game+ is a new anime about a man who gets a second chance at high school. The series premiered in 2026, and the first episode was reviewed by Anime Feminist. The review, written by a critic who previously covered the similar series Remake Our Life! for Anime News Network, found the premiere unappealing.
The episode introduces Natsuki Haibara, a lonely college graduate who prays to return to his high school years. He gets his wish and works to improve his body and mindset before restarting his freshman year. The review criticizes Natsuki as a typical sexist male lead whose main goal is to win over his teen crush, rather than become a genuinely better person. The reviewer also objects to the depiction of the protagonist's pre-time-travel weight as a sign of failure, calling the trope tired.
While the reviewer acknowledges the power fantasy may appeal to some viewers, they describe the episode as treading familiar ground for the male second-chance genre and not a standout. They do not recommend it unless the viewer already enjoys this type of narrative. The series also participated in the June 9 Rock Day celebration in Japan, posting themed art and messages alongside other anime and manga properties.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/haibara-s-teenage-new-game.
CC BY 4.0.
When a claim about Haibara's Teenage New Game+ was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
June 9, Rock Day in Japan, saw anime and manga properties including Girls Band Cry, My Hero Academia, Precure, and Haibara's Teenage New Game+ post themed art and messages. The date is a wordplay on the numbers 6 (roku) and 9 (ku).
Anime Feminist published a review of the first episode of Haibara's Teenage New Game+, the new anime about a man who gets a second chance at high school. The reviewer, who previously covered the similar series Remake Our Life! for Anime News Network, found the premiere unappealing. The episode introduces Natsuki Haibara, a lonely college graduate who prays to return to his high school years. He gets his wish and works to improve his body and mindset before restarting his freshman year. The review criticizes Natsuki as a typical sexist male lead whose main goal is to win over his teen crush, rather than become a genuinely better person. The reviewer also objects to the depiction of the protagonist's pre-time-travel weight as a sign of failure, calling the trope tired. While the reviewer acknowledges the power fantasy may appeal to some viewers, they describe the episode as treading familiar ground for the male second-chance genre and not a standout. They do not recommend it unless the viewer already enjoys this type of narrative.