Mashiro-iro Symphony: The Color of Lovers

Mashiro Symphony: The Blandness of Half-Ass Ville

I've watched 2 episodes of the anime. That was all I could muster before I just couldn't watch anymore. This is a preliminary review, based on what I've seen so far, and experienced based conjecture as to where it's gonna go.

The best way to describe this is with one word: bland.

Bland, bland, bland.

Characters are extremely one dimensional. Any attempts to make them interesting or have the audience invest are cursory at best. This is especially true for the main character. He has no quirks, no eccentricities, no emotional palette. He has 3 emotions: smiling contentment, thoughtfully unsettled, ... mildly upset due to embarrassing situation. Even when he's supposed to be upset, it's amazingly uninteresting.

He's the embodiment of harem tropes, the quintessential "smiling nice guy with no particular talents or distinguishing characteristics who inexplicably has several embarrassing, sexually themed misunderstandings/encounters with one female protagonist who now views him with great disdain."

The female leads are slightly more interesting, but even they are just super stereotypes within the genre. The situations they get put in (guy walks in while girls changing, guy somehow falls forward into their breasts, guy somehow ends up at perfect angle to look at their crotch) and their reactions to them them (sudden shock, anger, and violence, accompanied with several "kyaaaa!"s) have been played out a thousand times before.

My big qualm is not that it's not original, though. Originality doesn't mean quality. But, if you're using something that's been done before, you better darn well do a good job at it, or there's no reason to watch it again. This series is all so soulless, like the writers, voice actors, and animators are just going through the motions and have nothing better to offer.

Now, I have a rule that as long as something is even remotely palatable, I have to watch at least four episodes of it, so I will. In fact, I'll probably watch the rest of the episodes two, one fast forward, just to say I've seen them. And it might turn it around; but I doubt it. There's no indication that this will recover at all and turn into something worth while.

There is a tiny potential for a decent story here. An insignificant seed, where they could have done something good. They could have gone the school life and friendship(not romance) in realistic comedy centered route that Seitokai Yakuindomo went, or done something like Kaichou wa Maid-sama and brilliantly fused the school life/politics comedy with a budding romance, or they could have done something very romance focused, like with Kanon, Clannad, even Myself; Yourself (which is greatly inferior to the former two mentioned, but still largely superior to this series). But they didn't. Instead there's just this lame, limp pile of gruel.

I have a deep seated hatred for series that waste my time by not putting any effort into doing something engaging. It's not a matter of pacing, lack of a standard story arc, or even mundane subject matter, as there are series that are amazingly engaging, even with slow pacing (House of Five Leaves), pure slice of life story lines (Kino no Tabi; Mushishi), and mundane subject matter (Azumanga Daioh) that are simply amazing, and make you feel like your life is now better for having seen them. It's a matter of the amount of effort and care put into the crafting of the story on the part of the artists that contribute to its creation.

This story is just super duper half-assed, and viewers owe it to themselves not to waste their time with this crap and instead go find something worth watching(see above mentioned series.

I decided, based on what I thought was sound reasoning to check out Manglobe's latest release Mashiroriro Symphony: The Color of Lovers. I'm not the biggest fan of eroge interpretations but when I have liked them they were usually produced out by the higher tier studios. I dug the output from studios like Kyoto Animation (Clannad, Kanon, etc.), Shaft (Ef series), and P.A. Work (True Tears) because those studios were able to mask the usual problems with harem/game based series with great animation, direction or story writing.

I don't play eroge myself so I am not too certain about how often the source ... material affects the quality of the anime but considering that certain studios like Kyoani tend to constantly make good products and certain other ones tend to put out the same crap every season, I'd wager the studio plays a big role in whether these types of series turn out to be successful. For example, I understand that both Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate were made by the same game creator and were both just as acclaimed as games. One studio did a fantastic job producing Steins;Gate and another put out an hot mess with Chaos;Head.

Although Manglobe looked like it was hurting a bit monetarily (as you can tell by cut and cover animation job in the penultimate episode of Deadman Wonderland), I had faith that they would try to be competitive with the top studios with Mashiroriro Symphony. They did a great job of animating The World God Only Knows and I even figured they would try to go all out with a moe show since programs in this genre have the potential to give a good return.

I was very wrong. So far, I've spent most of this “review” discussing why I decided to watch this show rather than discussing the actual show for a reason. There isn't much to say about the program other than it's generic garbage. The plot synopsis is a boy from a regular school now attends a formerly all girl's school due to a school merger... and a harem ensues. I'm not even the type of person who is turned off by that type of plot off the bat (why else would I watch otherwise?). However, my view is that you have to distinguish yourself in this genre, either through quality or innovation, in order stand out. Mashiroriro Symphony is poorly made and unoriginal.

All the anime does is throw a bunch of 'gap moe' characters into a typical situation and has the main character being nice to them. I know that's the general formula but if you don't add something to the general archetypes you aren't really producing anything worthwhile. While I would prefer that shows deviated from the general moe archetypes, if they are going to be used, they ought to be a skeleton or a starting point rather than having the archetype become the point where the character ends.

As the characters go, there's a little sister in there who is your run of the mill quiet girl character, and then there are four other girls who are 'in play'. The most offensive of them is the maid character with the green hair. I don't mind maid characters. In fact I think a lot of maid characters are moe like Maria in Hayate the Combat Butler or even that spinning girl in A Certain Magical Index. But, for anything to be successfully moe, you have to buy into the context. An otherwise regular school isn't going to have a maid character. The whole thing is preposterous and this isn't a gag comedy like Baka Test or something where you expect preposterous things. So, first, she shouldn't be there. Second, there is nothing about her character beyond the things that comprise of the prototypical maid character. Her only trait is that she is a clumsy maid, which we've already seen in a thousand other anime. When she is on screen the only possible reaction is to marvel at how spectacularly uninspired she is.

After the green haired maid, there are two tsundere characters, one with yellow hair and one with red hair. Again, there's nothing more to say about these two characters other than the fact of them being tsundere types. The only thing that separates the two is that the red haired one is a lot more emotionally embellished than the yellow one. You do learn some biographical facts about them but there isn't much interesting about their inner lives other than their interest in the main character and maybe the red haired girl's interest in the purple girl.

The final girl is the incredibly boring purple upperclassman. She has a whopping two traits: she is nice and she likes animals. A good deal of the show focuses on her involvement with an animal nursery high school club. I guess one different thing I can say about this show is this sort of character would get a lot less shine in other harems; unfortunately, that's probably because the creators of other harem works realize that it's a bad idea to give the most screen time to the shallowest character.

I get it though. A lot of these shows have the same character types without anything special added but a lot of them are actually watchable because of the production values. That makes sense because something you already know about can still catch your attention when it looks great. You will often see very cardboard characters in the Kyoani shows but they are so brilliantly animated that even if you are seeing something old, it's something old presented in a pretty way. When the production is bumped up or at least stylized, you're seeing characters you otherwise know in a new, more magnificent light. It's like seeing Final Fantasy IV remade in 3d and then in HD.

Manglobe did a lacklustre job possible with art direction. All the backgrounds, even ones that should look pretty, like waterfalls, seem like super-plain stock footage. The whole show plays out with one camera angle and there are almost no innovative shots. Even Pokemon has cool shots sometimes. I realize that Manglobe isn't a money studio at this point in time but there was clearly no attempt to be creative with the direction. The only notable thing I can think of is one shot where they close up from outside of a window on a rainy day and you still see the rain falling outside as if the camera was actually there. Even that shot didn't look as cool as it was supposed to.

This is my first review and I hate to hate on a show but I just can't think of anything redeeming to say. I actually did expect a lot from Manglobe before watching Mashiroriro Symphony and at the end of the day I didn't get anything. I didn't even get into the the various other problems I found but I think I've made my point

Mashiroiro Symphony is an adaptation of the eroge. I've never played the eroge, so it's kind of hard to really understand how the story was supposed to play out.

The story was kind of everywhere. It jumped from one girl to another and it was pretty obvious too. After Sena and he had gotten into a bath together, they never really talked to each other after that. It was really confusing because I thought they had become close or something after doing something like that. Anyway, I guess the story tried to get some story about all characters to fit into the 12 episode limit that ... they have been given which ended up messing the show up quite a bit because each girl pretty much gets pushed to the background after they have been in a few episodes.

Art: 5
Nothing really needs to be said about art rather than average. Standard modern artwork.

Sound: 6
I happened to like the OP, but everything else was pretty normal.

Character: 3
The characters weren't really developed that much. They're just characters with pretty faces. Sana is like the only character with development, but she is just a crybaby which is boring.
Shingo is the typical male harem character:
-Just transferred in
-Well-mannered
-Nice
-Good boy

Enjoyment: 4
This show is not really interesting, but I finished it just for the sake of completing it.

Overall 4:
This show is really nothing more than another show with pretty faces and it was kind of confusing since it kept jumping from one thing to another. This show is pretty much another average harem and somewhat bad.

Why is it so hard to produce a decent harem? If harems were pointless excursions, it would’ve been fine. If they were unpleasant, completely generic without a hint of originality than fine. Then it’d be easy to review them and dismiss them. It’s rarely the case. Often the anime hints it could be something fun, even as a light drama. All it would take is a little more character development, a few more quirks and a little more conflict.

Mashiroiro Symphony perhaps deserves credit that its path is less common in the harem genre. The harem aspect is the only thing in it that makes it ... male-friendly. Anything else is so gentle, so fragile and cute that it fits the negative usage of the word ‘gay’. Nudity and sexuality are mostly absent. Hairstyles are all over the place, complex and detailed. Even Miu’s hair, which goes straight down has a unique shape. Each piece of hair has its own curve.

It’s refreshing, since darkness is a persistent feature in fiction. Stories are rooted in conflict and changes, but the serenity of Mashiroiro Symphony is convincing. Many things point towards it – the characters’ fairly pleasant nature, the gentle art style. Its limit shows quickly, but I doubt the limit is in the style itself. Rather, the creators stopped at creating a unique atmosphere and everything else is lifeless.

Our tsunderes (yes, there are two of them) are out-of-place, especially Sana. Airi’s insecurities become integral to development, but when Sana gets into tsundere mode she makes sure to kick the main character because she saw it on other harem shows. Somehow in a world where’s little conflict and everyone’s nice to each other, nobody points out how violent she is. Kicks to the face are quite serious.

Other characters fare better, but their ideas don’t work. As a male lead, Shingo is a little better. Then again, his competition isn’t difficult. Not being a pervert or a dense idiot aren’t praiseworthy qualities. You’re praising him for not being something. What he is, is a tired character type that was done well one in big series but then everyone failed with it. Shingo is the good guy. He reads everyone, knows what they want and take every bad thing people throw at him with a smile.

You might remember this archetype from the Ender’s Game series. Ender wasn’t just a good guy, though. The psychology of it was apparent. Being such a person means containing others, understanding them and putting them above you means pushing yourself to the side. Humans are inherently selfish, so any effort to understand others won’t be easy. Any sacrifice we make for others will affect us. Shingo’s never really affected by all the good deeds he does. He faces the tsunderes like a Charizard facing a Rattata. Laughing it off once is fine, but every episode of self-sacrifice should take its toll. Shingo is just as dull as any harem lead.

The other characters fare a little better, but only Miu is actually interesting. The creators had no idea what to do with the serene atmosphere, so characters end up either incredibly dull or pointlessly wild. Ange decides her sole purpose is to be maid, and what do you make of that? It comes off like a psychological problem, but the anime is too bright for this. As a funny personality it doesn’t work since the world is too serene for it. Only Pannya (an adorable furball that should’ve been Maromi famous) and Miu are interesting. In fact, Miu’s personality is directly related to the show’s nature and it gains steam when it starts exploring it. By the time it arrives we’re at the last episodes, and there isn’t time to explore it.

The basics of a decent harem is here. It’s not annoying, and it focuses more on character interactions rather than embarrassing situations. The romantic conclusion is actually fitting. The two lovers have a clear basis for their relationship and if you seen it coming, that’s only because it makes sense. It’s all just a surface, a pleasant one but that’s it. There isn’t even surprise character deaths or a big explosion to notify you it reaches the climax. How bad is it to be stuck in the position of being pleasant, but not getting much of a reaction?

Pannya is awesome though.

2 pannya’s out of 5

This anime is complete and utter trash.

tl;dr review:

MC is a complete tool with no backbone and insists on helping everyone he meets. Naturally since he wants to help everyone that means in turn all of the bitches want his dick. Absolutely nothing new here and it drags on for the entire run.


Story: 1/10
Art: 4/10
Sound 1/10
... Character: 3/10
Enjoyment: 0/10
Overall: 1/10

Overall in bullet points:

- MC is your average tool and has no discerning qualities except that he wants to help everyone that he meets. His best friend barely has any screen time but at the very least is not a total perv

-The art of the entire series is pretty bland and weak overall

-Music composition is very weak and boring; not a song played that was either catchy or fitting for the moment

- Characters in general are very flat and fit nothing more than their typical archetype. Very little character development that is then shoved aside almost immediately

- There really is no story attached. It's basically the MC being a tool while at school. Nothing more is done to add any sort of depth to the story or even to try and flesh out the characters

Should you watch it? No.

Wow, what to say about this anime, it's just a total mess. It is so obviously based off an eroge game, it kills, it really does...

Story 2/10

The story is the most unoriginal pile of poo and while didn't sound too awful written, when watching it became overly obvious that it was just so the male protagonist would be placed in the most convenient place possible to form a harem. You could clearly tell the writers had no intention of making the story remotely good, only to make a quick buck from some popular eroge game.

Art 5/10

The art being the high point of the anime, ... the one and only. It wasn't bad looking and I did find the character designs to be "cute". That's about it... nothing more to really say, it wasn't great and it wasn't awful. Mediocre at best.

Sound 3/10

The voice acting was almost unbearable, they were clearly reading off a script to the point it just seemed like they were yelling out, "Hey, I'm reading my lines." OK, maybe I over exaggerated, but it was bad.

Character 3/10

The characters had potential to be good, but every time they develop their personality, it immediately changes in the next episode, leading to one of the most bipolar and unoriginal, cookie cutter character cast I've seen in a long while.

Enjoyment 3/10

I found this anime to be total garb and not worth the time of day for any one individual. This anime is better suited as a punishment or a challenge, god only knows how I was able to sit through all of it, because I haven't a clue.

Overall 3/10

This anime was clearly aimed for the fans of the visual novel/eroge game, and I don't see how the ratings are even somewhat decent. Please don't torture yourself, DON'T WATCH! Also, I would like to state that I did little to no back ground research, as in I really don't know if there's an eroge game for it, but watching it, it just seemed obvious.

DISCLAIMER:

IF YOU'RE A FAN OF THE SERIES, I APOLOGIZE IF I HURT YOUR FEELINGS. IT WASN'T INTENDED, THESE ARE JUST MY HONEST OPINIONS OF THE ANIME!

I dont understand how this is one of the top rated harem series out there. I'm not even going to pretend like I remember any of the names from this show, because that's how much I wanted to forget this anime. This anime centers around a guy who transfers into what was formally an all girls school with along with some others in his class. What ensues is the repetitive, redundant marching out of potential partner candidates for the main character. Well, that's pretty much what I would expect out of this genre, so no harm. However, the pacing of the story proceeds to suck ... the viewer in for a good 6 episodes thinking that the OTP (one true pair) is with a tsundere girl who initially resists the idea of having boys in her school. She eventually warms up to the idea and develops feelings for the main, only to be completely left out of the 2nd half of the script until for virtually the last episode. The proceeding next five episode focuses on a girl who has trouble dealing with her growing feelings for the boy and even goes towards great lengths to even have him notice her. In the end, the producers produce a big eff you plot twist as if to say that the first 10 episodes you just saw don't even matter. If they were serious about putting forth any sort of entertainment value into resolving the last plot twist, there weren't have been as many female characters, because given the length of the series and the number of charcters the show had, most of the characters were about as interesting as a piece of cheese. The roles that were actually focused on were written out for who knows what reason? (marketing eroge???) and the end result is that a very pissed off viewer who feels as if he's just wasted 5 hours watching this.

I enjoyed the beginning of this anime yet the ending left me feeling disgusted and the the main character isn't as clueless as most harems yet he was such an asshole.

I truly never take the time to write a review, but this time I felt it was necessary. This anime had great potential but ended being a painful experience.

The anime starts with decent quality, MC is a typical harem guy who can't do anything but smile and be nice. That's the MC from the start to the end, with no flaws and no development to be done through the story.

All the girls start the same, being archetypes of a harem anime too, but at least they all end having some kind of development, specially two of them, only one girl remained being a common shy ... anime doll until the last episode.

And I said watching this becomes a painful experience because the anime builds up the story for the other girls, trying to make you feel something for them, and when you finally start caring, the show makes an anti-climatic pairing of the MC with the only girl with no backstory, and if that wasn't enough they show us with great detail the suffering of the other girls.

Truly this is not the worst anime that I have ever seen, but I rate this so low because of the annoyance it made me feel, a similar thing that happened with baka to test ending.

I love harem animes but I finish a lot so I found this show and I am currently in episode 6 since I rewatch this show and I thought to myself this is the blandest show. the main character makes me want to punch him in the face the sister is boring and in episode 6 I believe (spoiler) the maid character was living with the main character for like at least 1 or half an episode and the principal told her to leave since they needed help in the school and I think it's because the creators just thought that if there was another ... person in the main character's house then it wouldn't balance the harem or something. overall I will give it a bad score for the boringness but if you want to kill time then I recommend it