Ranked #1969

School Days

School Days is a psychological anime, number one, so do not think it is about cute children playing in school and having happy days. School Days is an anime about how cheating on someone can really end up messing with their head and lives and how the human heart and mind are very fragile and how friendship is very precious and when destroyed in the worst way, it can have the worst consequences.

The main character is your seemingly typical anime guy in high school that listens to music and has a bunch of perverted thoughts about girls all the time, but who turns out to be quite different than your usual main character guy and he has a crush on this girl that he sees on the train all the time and he ends up taking a picture of her and putting it in his phone. In class, another girl who he happens to sit next to, named Sekai, sees the picture in his phone and tells him her name and then, from there goes about getting him and the girl on the train to know each other so that they can try and start a relationship, all the while falling for him herself.

This anime is very much a psychological anime and deals with relationships and what happens when someone cheats on someone, but not only one person, many people. The main character is one of the most despicable characters I have ever seen, if not my MOST HATED character and cares nothing for the people around him, it seems, but to be able to hate him that much and to have so much passion for his pain and wishing something bad would happen to him was an exciting feeling because I really felt he would have to get what was coming to him. He hurts basically every single person he meets and cares nothing about how they feel when he is done with them, only to use them again in the future. He walks all over every girl in the anime, save one or two, and they all basically sit around begging for more mainly because they want to know what it's like and why the others are doing it, so they do it, too.

The majority of the anime the main character is, in my opinion, a sociopath, as well as a sex-addict, but there are moments here and there where you see that his actions actually do bother him and these are very important in this particular anime because if they did not have them, he would truly seem to be a monster. It is sometimes scary that the most evil people are not demons or supernatural at all.

The ending is something that is perfect, though, in my opinion and it is something I ABSOLUTELY saw coming, but the way that it was done was really something creepy and gave me chills - I really enjoyed it! It was an awesome turn, but something I saw coming the entire time and something I kept repeating throughout the entire thing, over and over again and when it finally happened, I was extremely happy and satisfied. It has a very twisted ending, as well, so do not be fooled by the innocence of the title because this anime is anything but innocent, but make sure you watch until the end because there is more than just one awesome, sick twist at the end that will leave you satisfied with the feeling you get watching the rest of the anime.

Everyone basically gets what they deserve because this anime shows that the human mind and heart is an extremely fragile thing and that you can't just push someone aside like they are trash the second you are done with them because they may not be done with you or ready to let you leave. read more

I had an extremely difficult time rating this series. I found that the story was disturbing and the characters were despicable. But then, I found myself going through my daily life, thinking about why I hated the people in School Days and what they did. It brought me to an intellectual discussion with myself, about what kind of people would generate such a story and why.

So, the short answer is: I didn't exactly enjoy the events of the show. BUT I really enjoyed thinking about the different aspects that made me hate the characters and their actions, and I appreciate School Days for giving me something to think about, and to talk about with my anime-inclined friends.

The long answer is my thought process after finishing this series, and I thought other people might have the same thoughts or be interested to discuss this in a relatively objective (I know, no one can REALLY be objective) manner that is not limited to "I didn't like this person because ...". I would recommend having watched the whole series first, although I'm going to try and stay away from specific important events and spoilers. Ready? Here we go.

With a series based on an eroge, I generally expect two things: (1) plenty of sexual situations, and (2) sub-par character development. And, I have to say, School Days entirely lived up to that expectation. The sexual situations were, from a Western standpoint, completely impossible and totally demeaning to both male and female viewers. The characters were quite shallow and universally detestable, for different reasons.

Makoto: Sexually promiscuous, sociopathic, incapable of commitment, and generally a sleaze.

Sekai: Manipulative, a tease, given to bursts of anger.

Kotonoha: Shy, uncomfortable around men, more or less a doormat in most situations.

However, when considering this in the cultural context from which School Days is derived, I found myself more interested in the story and the characters as a representation of the things that are wrong with Japanese society as a result of the emotional suppression, the traditional gender roles, and the call for conformity that are so inherent in all of Japanese visual and popular culture.

School Days deals with the suppression of individual emotion and expression in several ways. First, the characters are unable to discuss anything directly, particularly relating to emotion and sexuality. For example, Makoto and Kotonoha use Sekai as a liaison at the start of their relationship; here, not only do they not communicate with one another, but Sekai also hides her own feelings for Makoto. Second, the expressions they use for a sexual act are at best indirect, and at worst descriptive of nothing. They use phrases like "do that sort of thing" and "something like this happened" in relation to sex. No wonder they're all having sex with one another; they're all completely emotionally and sexually repressed, and this kind of illicit relation allows them to express themselves in rebellion against the cultural norms that expect they be hard-working good children who are going to get into a good university and get a good job.

Gender roles also play a huge role in character development. Whatever our personal views of Makoto and his promiscuity, he plays a key part in demonstrating what can happen when those gender roles are taken to an extreme. Taisuke mentions "climbing the ladder to adulthood", which in this case means having sexual experience; from this we can only infer that sex validates Makoto and Taisuke, who stand up to impossibly high standards of what it means to be a man in Japan today. Faced with the idea of being a breadwinner and supporting a family, as well as working hard and contributing to the all-important reified society, these boys turn to the only refuge they have in order to feel like they are men.

Conversely, Kotonoha, Sekai and the other girls are demure to the point of what looks to any discerning Western feminist eye as rape. The short skirts and large breasts serve to contribute to male sexuality, not to strengthen the feminine, and Makoto's "come on, baby, you know I love you" never fails. Kotonoha manages invariably to blush and gasp when in contact with Makoto's roving hands, but since it is not for Japanese women to say no, she never does. Sekai similarly allows Makoto to take advantage of her because she is incapable of refusing the guy who is both her friend and her romantic interest. The supporting female characters flock to Makoto in the peak of his promiscuity, both out of a social obligation to satisfy male sexuality, and in an attempt to express themselves the only way they can think of.

(I'm going to do my best not to spoil the end but if you're worried about it, please stop reading now)

Finally, the end serves to remind us of what happens to those who do not conform to social norms. Makoto and his two favorite girlfriends acted outside of what is socially acceptable, and as a result could no longer be members of that society. The climax occurs in a storm of madness and rage; that madness can be viewed as the cost of going against society in a quest for self-expression, and as the ultimate self-expression ... so much so that it infringes on the rights of others.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear the thoughts of other people who found this series as stimulating, in spite of its disturbing nature, as I did. read more