As you said, char* can alias any other type, but that does not allow any other type to alias char*. reinterpret_cast<char*>(T*); // Perfectly fine. rei

As you said, char* can alias any other type, but that does not allow any other type to alias char*. reinterpret_cast<char*>(T*); // Perfectly fine. reinterpret_cast<T*>(char*); // Undefined behavior. Otherwise it would be trivial for any type to alias any other type: reinterpret_cast<T*>(reinterpret_cast<char*>(U*));