Behind The Nihon Review

 

School Days. Everyone’s probably heard about it by now. Easily one of the season’s most anticipated (and hated) shows, by both the hardcore and the casual anime-watching community.

To start you off, a few quotes from friends of mine.

“You know, they made Makoto into a bigger douchebag than he was in the game.”
“They combined all his man-slut varieties into the ultimate man-slut >.>;;;”
“Everytime I watch this show my MP goes down…”
“This show is fucking horrible. Literally.”
“Even Kyo-ani couldn’t save these crappy characters.”

And the general consus from everyone on Nico:

“Makoto and the rest of the cast can all go die. lolololololololololol”

So what do I think? (Warning: Major Spoliers follow. Not like anyone really cares… its School Days, for Christ’s sake.)

I’ve played the game. I’ve gotten my shares of good and bad ends. It’s a personal favorite of mine, in fact. Everyone knows about the “BAD ENDS” in School Days. Everyone should know them by now. They are: Makoto being stabbed to death with a knife (that’s actually a good end, I’ll argue), Kotonoha’s suicide (BAD END ;_;), and Sekai being ripped apart by Kotonoha’s saw (ROFL). These bad ends, especially the Chainsaw end, was remarkably easy too obtain. Why is this? This brings us to my first point about School Days.

Itou Makoto. It shames me that I share the same namesake (Prime Minister Itou Hirobumi) with this guy. This man represents everything real men need to refrain from becoming. Inconsiderate, adulterous, selfish, cowardly: these are only a few adjectives in a long string that can describe him. In the game, he was a bit better. After all, he was the player character. I could choose to make him a moral and upstanding individual. (No, not really. But at least I could keep his hormones in check, even if for only a little while…)

This guy just lets loose in the anime. As of episode 10, he’s screwed every member of the main cast, with the strange exception of Kuroda. (Kanrouji doesn’t count, she’s a man.) This guy is ruthless. An attack dog. I personally like the director’s choice of making him such a huge asshole; no one genuinely liked Makoto in the game anyway, so it makes sense that they’d villify him to the extreme. That’s fine with me. I’m one of those nicotards that post “MAKOTO SHINEEEEEEEEE (MAKOTO GO DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE)” over and over during every episode of School Days, and I love it. He deserves to die. Seriously.

Oh, did I also tell you that the Kanji for “Makoto” is “Honesty?” Go figure, har har. He can go die now.

Then we have the heroines. What a dynamic duo!

Let’s start off with the one I despise a bit more, Saionji Sekai.

It’s quite ironic that her name is “Sekai”, which, as she so eloquently puts it, “World no ‘Sekai’ desu.” Because unlike her namesake (ZA WARUDO), she is quite narrow-minded, often to the point of lacking common sense. She seems to believe everyone around her is an absolute idiot. Well, when your boyfriend/love interest is someone like Makoto… >.>;;; She’s also never true to her feelings. This whole problem could have been evaded if she just said a simple “I love you” to Makoto after kissing him at the end of episode one. =_=;;; It’s just that simple. Then, she lets Makoto screw her under the pretense of practice. …Girl, you are not right. NOT RIGHT. Promiscuious and whore-like, isn’t she a perfect match for Makoto? I wish Kotonoha would just kill her already. Someone needs to slap some sense in this girl. =_=;;;

Then there’s Kotonoha. “Kotonoha” has the same kanji as “Kotoba”, which means “words.”

Does anyone other than me notice a pattern? I dunno, what could it possibly be? O_o?????

Kotonoha, is, in the words of a female friend of mine who is currently playing School Days (If you’re reading this, I freakin’ love you, by the way), “Pathetic.”

In more ways than one.

When she’s getting picked on, I really do feel sorry for her. No one seems to like her either. And that really makes me sad. People are like, “She’s as boring as Makoto is a douchebag”, but really, that’s how she was meant to be. Appreciate her as she is… poor girl… She finally gets to go out with the guy she loves, and he turns out to be the world’s biggest manslut. I mean, really. Her story is probably the saddest; her transformation from a shy, quiet, kind girl into a homocidal/suicidal maniac is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. She’s quiet, but headstrong and determined… and kinda creepy. But I do feel really bad for her… I want to cry when she’s picked on, cry with joy when Makoto is good to her (the few times that he is…), and I laugh when she’s happy.

You’re all probably thinking, “This guy’s a Kotonoha fanboy.” No, not true at all. Let me introduce you all to the love of my life: Kiyoura Setsuna.

To put it short, “obsession” doesn’t describe the degree to which I love her. I spent 8,500 yen on a pillow cover of Kiyoura Setsuna. I’m actually getting midly depressed because she’s not real. (Don’t worry, Shadow, you’re not AA yet.)

As a warning: MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW SPOILER ALERT LOLOLOLOL

Setsuna, in my opinion, stands out amongst the rabble of one-dimensional characters within School Days. She’s definitely the most complex; certainly the most realistic. Silent, strong, with an impeccable sense of humor and a rather mischevious side, she colors the dull, one-dimensional world that all the other characters live in.

She harbors a strong love for Makoto, but is never able to express this love. Her loyalties lies with Sekai, her best friend. Unwilling to interfere with Sekai’s love for Makoto, she quietly watches him from afar. As of episode 10, it was revealed that Setsuna, not Sekai, was supposed to sit next to Makoto. Sekai begged Setsuna to trade with her, and Setsuna, even though she loved Makoto, willingly acquiesced. That, I think, is amazing.

In the game, Sekai, depressed about Setsuna’s departure from Japan, shuts herself in her room. Setsuna then goes over to her house, and says, “If you’re not going to go… then I will. Sorry.” And proceeds to seduce Makoto, in her last chance to finally express her love for him. Afterwards, she cries, and says, “You must forget about me. Look at Sekai only…”

Such loyalty! I love Kiyoura because she stands out from the rest of the characters as a shining beacon of morality. While Kotonoha turns into a homocidal manic, Sekai’s a promiscuious nymphomaniac, Setsuna’s quiet, resolute, and unwavering in her loyalty. That’s why I love her so much. Because she’s so different from everyone else.

And she’s a loli. But I didn’t say that.

Ultimately, the thing about School Days is, it really gets you involved. Granted, it isn’t the BEST story in the world, but at least it’s entertaining. I’ve never felt so much passion for a story in a long time, never felt so much loathing for a character like Makoto. As art, School Days fails miserably. As entertainment? Top-class.

For anyone that’s read this far, I thank you.

Kiyoura, this one’s for you.