A character that is not likable is not the same as a bad character. You wouldn't complain about the characters "doing stupid things" in Othello, would you? That's the point of a tragedy. Othello believed the lies about Desdemona because he was a flawed human being as Makoto cheated because he was a flawed human being. Things are not as simple as detractors make them seem and you can’t expect a cast of deeply flawed characters to make smart decisions, like the detractors of the series supposedly would.
Where did we get this idea that a character must be likable and flawless to be a
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good character? Raskalnikov from Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest characters ever written and most people who read the book simply despise him. Any of you guys read the Flashman Papers? It was some of the best historical fiction ever written, but Flashman a worthless douche and was the epitome of an immoral picaresque protagonist. People don’t hate the School Days characters because they are bad characters; they hate them because they are bad people and that simply makes no sense to me. They are fictional characters, you don't evaluate the quality of a fictional character the same way you would evaluate the moral quality of a human being.
Makoto was guilty of lust, but he was not entirely guilty of ignorance. He knew he was being an awful person, but he simply could not help himself. He was weak and eventually he stopped trying to fight his urges. He may be an awful person, he may be the "worst," as he calls himself on several occasions, but his reactions to his situation were anything but unrealistic. When examining his character it should be kept in mind that all of the women who were awful manipulative people and were responsible for making him a female-impregnating manwhore, turned their collective back on him when he abandoned a pregnant girl. And hell, he's the father, is it that ridiculous for him to want her to have an abortion? Should a high schooler be expected to take that kind of news well? It is possible to have some amount of empathy for him as well, as it should be for any three dimensional and well-written character.
School Days is somewhat dependent on its ending, but most series (particularly tragedies) are. To say that it was just a cliché romance before the last episode, as I have oft heard claimed, is simply absurd. You should have realized that this anime wasn’t a typical rom-com in the first episode where Makoto almost gets violent with Sekai over nothing. The infamous ending was the culmination of the rest of the series that was meticulously built up to, and while it was surprising, it certainly did not come out of nowhere in an otherwise normal anime.
Rather than being drawn out and ending with the couple getting together, like most harems, the relationships are established in episode 1. Most harems have an assumed happy-ever-after ending, but in School Days, just like in real life, things aren't always sunshines and rainbows. School Days deconstructs this idea and other tropes such as the "matchmaker crush." There is also a fuckton of fanservice, like there is in most "innocent" romance anime. It's very impressive and entertaining how School Days gives you a set of things to expect (largely through more subtle means than typically thought) and then proves those expectations to be false, one by one.
School Days is not entirely realistic (which I’ll discuss in a bit), but Makoto’s character is actually relatively believable. If all the girls in school suddenly started coming on to a high school guy, he might just act the way Makoto did. Many other harem protagonists, such as Manaka from Ichigo 100%, are also selfish and generally bad people, but most harems attempt to paint the main character as the good guy. School days harbors no such delusions. Makoto is the protagonist, but we are certainly not rooting for him. In this sense it’s a clever and scathing attack on the (mostly atrocious) harem genre.
That said, it’s not true that Makoto was completely worthless or a blank character. It’s also not true that the girls fell in love with him out of nowhere. One girl fell in love with him because he was the first boy to ever stick up for her against bullies. One girl started sleeping with him because he accepted her when she felt unloved. One girl fell in love with him because he didn’t make her feel self conscious and he wasn’t just after her body like all other men. Three girls slept with him due to his impressive sexual reputation. These things all happen, they are explainable and believable. Every character has their own motives and is three-dimensional.
In most anime having/being a shy and pure girl is a good thing. In School Days, just like in real life, it is not that simple. Kotonoha’s shyness makes her difficult to interact with and her prudishness is largely the reason why Makoto cheats. It’s also the reason that she was too weak to just dump Makoto or confront him, which is why the whole debacle got as far as it did. School days makes it clear that her behavior is not normal or healthy and that it’s a result of bullying and isolation. The fact that Kotonoha is an extreme version of an overused character archetype would normally be a flaw, but in "School Days" it’s used to deconstruct said archetype and darkly explore what would make a character this way.
Another archetype that “School Days” deconstructs is the "bromantic foil." You know, the perverted best friend who’s just there for comic relief, has no development, and despite being a huge pervert, can never ever get laid. Well in school days the bromantic foil commits an unforgivable and undeniably realistic act against another character, in a fit of sexual frustration. “School Days” treats that archetype like a character that actually matters and has feelings, you know, like a real person. You might not like him, but he is a well written character who has a clear purpose and significance beyond comic relief. The alpha bitch bully is also deconstructed and is given clear motivations for her actions. She hooked up with the protagonist, which defeats the usual purpose of the trope, where the bully only exists to get fucked by karma. It's also interesting how she is overthrown as alpha bitch and her posse fucks Makoto behind her back; this could be considered karma for her bitchiness, but they ended up being even bitchier than her.
While “School Days” is intentionally exaggerated and satirical in some aspects, it’s actually darkly realistic in others. People do avoid ending relationships because it’s too painful for them. People do refuse to take responsibility for getting a girl pregnant. People do fake pregnancy. These are things that happen all the time and to label them as “melodramatic” or “unrealistic” is ridiculous. There are no incurable diseases in school days, no ridiculous coincidences, and no melodrama. Believability is stretched intentionally in several elements (a certain someone sleeping with Makoto to get him to stop cheating) of the story for satirical and deconstructive purposes, but the work remains realistic at its core. It balances satire and realism in the same way that great works like Candide do.
“School Days” is a mixture between a clever deconstruction, a stunning tragedy, a realistic harem, and a somewhat comedic work of satire. The change in tone, foreshadowing, and build up to the incredible resolution were simply masterful. Watching all of the characters relations entropically crumble was a spectacle to behold. The characters and plot may not evoke positive emotions, but they do evoke emotion, as was their purpose, all the same. School Days was ultimately a shocking and memorable multifaceted experience that I enjoyed immensely and appreciated on multiple levels. The mediocre audiovisuals keep me from giving this anime a 9, but 8 is still a very good score. If you go in with an open mind I think you’ll like it or, at the very least, appreciate it for what it is.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: スクールデイズ
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
12
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jul 4, 2007 to Sep 27, 2007
Premiered:
Summer 2007
Broadcast:
Wednesdays at 02:15 (JST)
Licensors:
Discotek Media
Studios:
TNK
Source:
Visual novel
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
R+ - Mild Nudity
Statistics
Ranked:
#117012
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#308
Members:
667,169
Favorites:
3,335
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 743 / 807
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Your Feelings Categories Jul 3, 2013
A character that is not likable is not the same as a bad character. You wouldn't complain about the characters "doing stupid things" in Othello, would you? That's the point of a tragedy. Othello believed the lies about Desdemona because he was a flawed human being as Makoto cheated because he was a flawed human being. Things are not as simple as detractors make them seem and you can’t expect a cast of deeply flawed characters to make smart decisions, like the detractors of the series supposedly would.
Where did we get this idea that a character must be likable and flawless to be a ... Feb 14, 2015
"I have touched the flower that everyone wants. The feelings for that flower, I have put into words. To hurt this world was not my intention. If there was no one there to question you, would that mean you could do anything?"
Preface: Well, today is Valentine's Day, so what better series to review than one of the most controversial love stories ever to be put in animated form? That's right, I'm talking School Days, one of the biggest cases of subverted expectations I've seen in recent days. Overview: Our story begins with two star crossed lovers, Makoto and Kotonoha (Katsura). Young love is so fragile, and so ... Jan 22, 2014
Characters - The characters are ALL, ALL devoid of ANY logic. It is VERY clear that this anime started out as a visual novel. The characters are absolutely ridiculous. Almost nothing that they do makes sense. There is one character that you will feel empathy for, but only for a couple episodes. Very quickly this character turn into complete trash like the rest. Apparently every single girl in this show is insanely stupid. Girls in this show are portrayed to be walking sex dolls with JUST enough brain power to give consent to sex. The ONE THING that I will give to this show about
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Nov 22, 2008
Watching School days... and enjoying it requires a special type of person. The sort that that can view the suffering of fictional characters like a curious (or evil) scientist who conducts social experiments on a bunch of unknowing test subjects (victims) with intense academic interest (while cackling madly).
The entire anime is essentially a social experiment taken to extremes. What happens if you take a horny teenage guy with little self-restraint, and give him the temptation of almost unlimited sex? What if you add into the mix a group of fangirls, who tend to always regard sleeping with the guy who sleeps with the ... Sep 27, 2007
**Warning**
This is one of those shows that sets the viewer up for the ending the entire time. If you drop this before watching the last episode, you'll be wasting your time watching this series. Story : It doesn't seem like the story was very well thought out at first (horny teenager in high school trying to get as much girls as he can). The main character, Ito Makoto, is guaranteed to be the worst anime character you'll ever meet. He's popular among the girls at his school because he seems/they think he's a nice guy (I have no idea what basis they have ... Nov 28, 2009
We are used to tragedies happening on the grand scale. Famous Shakespeare plays like Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, the accounts of Joan of Arc , and Oedipus Rex display this very well. Many times great tragedies are set in the past or fantasy worlds. But what would a tragedy that happens in our modern world be like? One that isn't on a grand scale. A tragedy grounded in reality, set in motion by everyday events, in which the worst crime that sparks it all involves cheating on others and not paying attention to people's feelings. This is what School Days attempts to show
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Apr 6, 2008
School Days the game was released a few years ago and it drew quite a bit of attention because of the fact that it was completely animated eroge. In addition, a 30 minute non-interactive ‘demo’ (it was basically the same thing as the first episode of the anime) was also subtitled when it came out. Watching this ‘demo’ gave me the impression that School Days had a very typical romance narrative. Well a few weeks later I saw several gifs of the 3 infamous endings. Like many, I when WTF!? and became excited when the anime was announced so I could
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Sep 6, 2013
A pitfall for many shows that attempt to be dark and mature is that they often mistaken edginess for depth. They present dark world views, display acts of immorality and cruelty, all under the misconception that they are laying bare some dark truth of the world. For an example, look no further than this infamous 12 episode anime series. School Days is the perfect picture of a show that confuses sadism for pessimistic insight. This is a show that is thoroughly patience testing in its sheer unpleasantness; saved from the bottom of the barrel only by the karmic bite of its conclusion. While its ambition
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Feb 2, 2010
You ever cut your eyes out with a butter knife? Well, you will know the experience once you watch School Days. I was on the verge of just staying in my room for a couple days and not even feeding myself. Yes, this anime was THAT bad. Now by bad, I mean something other than the traditional "shitty" or "garbage" most people are familiar with. I mean, it's just so god awful that it left a sour taste in my mouth. I will expand more on this feeling and provide you with a somewhat accurate portaryal of this steaming piece of doodoo.
Story: The story is very ... Jun 30, 2010
Story: What can I say about the storyline? It has its up's and downs as well as its "WTF" and "...". I can already see the creator of School Days trying to portray an image to the viewers that this is typically a normal life of a teenager would lead, but forgetting that not every teenager leads this type of life. Getting deeper into this, I would say the moral of this story goes beyond your ordinary imagination of ecchi and romance. All I can say is, prepare yourself for a story like no other, a story that even sometimes exist in reality and that
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Jul 21, 2014
This review WILL contain spoilers.
When I first got into School Days, I didn' know what I was getting myself into. I had heard about it, by people who either loved it or hated it. So I didn't know what to expect from it. 2 years later, I still don't know exactly what I watched. Story: 4 The premise of School Days is simple; boy falls in love with girl but he doesn't exactly know how to approache her, so he gets help from another girl to get them together. Pretty innocent, right? Sure, I thought the same thing, a cute couple with a change of love blooming. Thing ... Jan 20, 2024
a very good cute anime, I just didn't know what was happening with the anime at every second sentence if you like cute anime in which there is no cheating, no trauma, nothing happens, just a happy school story feel free to enjoy this anime :D , the character development was very good i liked the MC the most he is the most loyal and friendlyest men on the earth and the most GENIUS TOO, i loved the love triangle too i think im ins- in love with this anime.
the art style is beautiful i highly recommend it to watch it with closed eyes!!!! I ... Aug 31, 2012
School days is a terrible show that is completely dependent on its ending. Otherwise, it wouldn't even be relevant to us.
Think about it, remove that "moment" from this show and what do we get? A poorly animated, poorly written story that needs a big kick at the end to leave somewhat of an impression. None of the characters in this show are likable, and all of them are simply nonsensical. There's nothing special about the male MC, and yet all the girls are flaunting their bodies to him. Sekai is a braindead character. Just watching her made me lose some brain cells. Why did she introduce ... Jan 14, 2014
AUTHORS NOTE (23/1/14): Near the end of the review, there is a spoiler regarding the final episode. I urge you to watch the series before reading the review or -- if you aren't interested in the series/have dropped it -- read it if you so desire.
Don’t be fooled this anime’s poster: it’s not all happy girls and good times. School Days is the adaption of a visual novel with the same name, infamous for its brutal bad endings. A notably absent genre this should be categorised is psychological – it shows the worst of human desire in a twelve episode, slow-paced fashion which is either ... May 22, 2010
School Days.
Personally, both one of the best and worst anime I've ever seen. Story: 9 I thought the story was technically excellent. Very interesting and completely not what you expect at first impression. While I was watching it, I didn't like it, because it made me angry...but then when I stopped to think, I realized, wow, that means it's actually really skillfully done. It makes you feel everything. Also, the way that they wrapped it up in the end left me speechless. I'm still not even exactly sure how I feel about it, but I think that's how it's supposed to make you feel, and they pull it off ... Oct 23, 2007
School Days is a Slice of Life, Romantic, Drama about a sordid love triangle between friends Makoto (guy), Kotonoha (girl) and Sekai (girl). This is anime is an adaptation of a visual novel, notorious for its tragic endings and this anime retains that reputation.
As the story begins it seems very average, with the typical storyline that this type of anime tends to follow however both of the girl's questionable behaviour and feelings do make this romance drama very interesting. Even though it is very short, the story flows well at a satisfying pace, with some major unexpected developments that will keep most unable to stop. Yet ... Mar 29, 2008
Length: 12 Episodes
Original Airdates: 07/07 - 09/07 Demographic: Seinen Genres: Drama, Romance, Psychological, (and eventually) Horror WARNING: Contains scenes of sexuality, and a "Nice Boat" ending One-sentence summary: "What the f***!?" Plot Synopsis Makoto Ito rides the train to and from school every day. However, at the beginning of his second term, he falls in love with a beautiful girl that also rides the train. Unfortunately, she barely knows of his existence. Her name is Kotonoha Katsura, and though they attend the same school, they are not in the same class. In an attempt to catch her eye, Makoto enlists the aid of a close female friend of his: Sekai Saionji. ... Aug 24, 2011
To begin with,School days is best to be watched without having any background information of it being a H-game adaptation that is infamous for many things if you want to enjoy this anime to the fullest. With that said,there was so much hype going around School days when it was broadcasted that one had to give it a watch. I did and then realised why all the buzz. Never have I saw an anime coming out from this genre so well-executed,so emotionally-draining.
School days seems like your usual teenage romance drama. Not only does the sypnosis suggests that,it even starts like one. But what you ... Mar 9, 2008
School Days is just one giant piece of fanservice, and that is it. If you are looking for your typical high school romance, this is not it. This anime takes the "perverted harem" genre to a whole new level-with some surprising and extremely unneccessary twists. The anime starts out average enough- you have your unexperienced, yet cute main boy, the shy girl he has a crush on, and the tsunedere who secretly likes him, but is in denial. The first half of the series revolves around their love triangle. Interesting enough.Throw in some uneccessary boob, crotch, and panty shots while you're at it.
Then all of ... Oct 14, 2007
I loved this anime in most aspects, it is refreshingly different from the normal cliche school romance, the characters are very interesting and I might say quite realistic, Ill explain why bellow, for now staying in the anime viewer perspective this show is technically decent although nothing special, the development is twisted delicious with incredible cliffhangers at the end of each episode, becoming rather normal at the start but you always feel like watching the next one quickly. The characters develop interestingly and in an original way, far from your usual innocent kids, I can understand why some people must hate the main character,
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