Grisaia no Kajitsu

For nearly every minute I spent watching Grisaia, I kept asking myself the same question: "Why the hell is this only 13 episodes long?"

The natural response would be that the studio did not have enough budget to stretch the production any further. And while that does contain some truth, it does not excuse 50+ hours of story from the visual novel being jammed into a meagre four hours of animation. True, there's a lot of crap in the visual novel that could be cut out with little of value being lost. But when necessary story and characterisation is rushed through so quickly that you can ... barely even tell what the hell is going on, there is a major problem.

The suits behind the adaptation failed to understand that they could simply lighten down on the pace and leave the rest of the story for later seasons. Cover half the content from the visual novel, and if it sells well enough (and it almost assuredly would given the popularity of the franchise), cover the rest of it in a second season. Great, everyone is happy. Instead of that, we get "Grisaia: The Compilation Series". I can't imagine anyone except the most devoted of fans is satisfied with the result.

It's difficult to judge the Grisaia anime for what it is rather than for what it should be, considering nearly every issue is in some way related to the pacing. The characters frequently engage in acts of nonsense because the anime doesn't have any time to explain their actions. Sachi's episode is just laughable as it immediately transforms the naive, innocent maid into some dangerous psycho without any reasons as to WHY. A few minutes later and again without reason, she changes back into Stupid Lovable Sachi, and at that point it becomes a mystery who or what her character is even supposed to be.

Most egregious is the 'romance' between the protagonist, Yuuji, and one of the heroines. Within the first five minutes of her arc, Yuuji and said heroine become a couple after an impromptu make-out scene. It's all well and nice when an anime actually has the guts to show two characters kissing, but in Grisaia's case, the two are so unfamiliar with each other that they may as well be still be strangers. It does very little to make their relationship feel natural, and until it becomes clear what the girl's reason for hitting on Yuuji all the damn time are, it just feels like the two are incredibly desperate and don't actually care about each other. And that still doesn't change much by the end of her arc. Whereas in the visual novel it is obvious that Yuuji has genuine feelings for and a desire to protect her, in the anime's case it's just "hey, whatever, man". Yuuji is only wooing the girls because they offer themselves to him so easily.

Because the story is whiplashing from one heroine arc to another so quickly and without break -- often with only a single episode to separate them -- it is easy to get a headache from the overwhelming onslaught of drama. It's a ceaseless wave of story bombshells, 'shocking' revelations that in fact do not feel shocking whatsoever because of the needless fatigue it puts on the viewer. By the time you're done watching the first or second heroine arc, it becomes very clear how the rest of them are going to play out. Girl has crazy past, Yuuji comes in to save the day and help them overcome their trauma - again and again.

Yumiko's arc in particular feels very out-of-place and contrived, considering how she suddenly spills her entire past to Yuuji despite hating his guts and trying to stab him IN the guts only moments earlier. Hell, even the reason why she's afraid of men in the first place is skipped over and scarcely mentioned. And Sachi's arc, again, is laughable for the massive 'twist' it pulls at the end, contrasted with the complete indifference of the two people involved. I think only Michiru's and Makina's arcs are the ones that are done even moderately well, and even then I would struggle to label them anything more than merely OK. Makina's route has some issues as well, namely why the hell Yuuji -- especially when one considers his line of work -- is destroying his entire life to help some random loli he knows little about and has only been friends with for a few days. Michiru's route is largely forgettable; I actually had to rewatch parts of it to even remember what happened since the show was such a damn blur.

Another problem, if largely irrelevant to anime-only viewers, is the lack of Yuuji's witty monologues. They are what made the visual novel so entertaining and are what turned Yuuji into an actual character and not merely a collection of 'cool' and 'badass' traits like he is in the anime. Sure, he's still likeable in the anime (especially with the addition of an appropriate voice actor), but there is little to make him interesting except in contrast to the billions of mentally retarded harem protagonists. Granted, it's difficult to carry his monologues over without the show feeling awkward -- anime and visual novels are two different mediums, after all -- but it would not hurt to have added a little bit more of Yuuji's thoughts, especially during the comedic scenes. The anime adaptation is inherently inferior for not having that.

I think what frustrated me more than anything was the show's endless, pathetic need to have panty shots at the worst times possible. A character will actually be DYING and it will still have the nerve to stare at her panties. WHAT? Seriously, what the hell? Rather than drool over panties like some 12-year-old who just found out about porn, the staff should try maturing a bit by focusing on things that people actually do (and which are an actual part of the VN's story), like sex and kissing and everything in between. The show does at least have the courage to show Yuuji kissing several of the girls, so it's not entirely a lost cause, I suppose. And yes, 'several' was not a typo; Grisaia is undoubtedly a harem story, even when it decides to throw two characters into a romantic relationship.

On the bright side, the survival backstory within Amane's route is actually given a proper amount of screentime (surprising, I know!) and is a genuinely engaging story as a result, even if it isn't necessarily pleasant to watch. As in pretty much any story about a group of people surviving together, they all fall into madness at some point, and some of the things they do, like eating maggots on their wounds in order to escape starvation, will likely make you feel like vomiting. So do be prepared.

The artwork is... well, not great. The characters look out-of-place and even like blobs in a number of scenes, though the letterboxing effect is a nice touch and gives the show a more cinematic feel. Some praise can also be said for the audio. The OP - particularly its instrumentals - is a great piece of music. Godly, perhaps. It's a shame there wasn't more like that in the actual episodes.

Can I recommend watching Grisaia? If you're an anime-only viewer who has not read the visual novel, I would say no and tell you to go read that instead, especially when it has arguably the best fan translation that has ever been released. The anime is not a worthwhile story on its own, and unless you're craving for a mediocre harem anime with a cool protagonist, you're only going to find yourself frustrated and alienated by the ridiculous pacing.

If you've already read the visual novel, though, Grisaia is still a decent piece of fanservice despite my endless complaining. Seeing the story in animation and not just pictures certainly makes it more dynamic, and the addition of a voice actor for Yuuji makes him feel much more human. It's not an ideal adaptation by any stretch of the imagination, but it works, and for some fans that will be enough.

Let's just hope they don't repeat the same mistakes in the other seasons.

Grisaia no Kajitsu Review

So. Where to begin ? Grisaia no Kajitsu debuted as a visual novel, and it was quite highly praised. So, like several other visual novels, since it was starting to get very popular, Front Wing decided that it was time to adapt it into an anime, to further boost the popularity of the VN. However, most of us know that adapting a visual novel into an anime is a very "hit or miss" decision. Either it's a complete success, like Clannad or Fate/Stay Night UBW, or it's a complete disaster, the that will forever tarnish the reputation of the source material. ... It's understandable, because most adaptations don't get more than a one court anime, unless they're from some big studio like Key. And trying to adapt a VN of 50+ hours into a 12 episodes anime can be quite hard. So which one is it ? Will Grisaia no Kajitsu (I'll call it GnK from now on) be remembered as one of the few VN that got successfully adapted, or will it be simply another anime to add to the heap of horrible adaptations ?


Story : 5

To be perfectly honest, GnK doesn't have too much of a story. Yuji Kazami, the main character, join a private school, where there's only 5 other students, all girls. We'll talk about each of them later on. Pretty much that entirety of the story after the intro consists of the girls backstory, and how Yuji interacts with each of them. Because of this, GnK's focus isn't on the story, but rather on the characters, which can be both good or bad, depending on how it's done.


Characters : 8

Like I said before, there's not much to the story. So for me to give GnK such a high rating, the characters must be pretty good, right ? WRONGS !! You've got the typical mysterious transfer student, a maid, a generic tsundere, a loli, the Kuudere and a girl who REALLY wants a boyfriend. That said, those unoriginal characters become much, MUCH more memorable when you take their backstories into account. You quickly realize that nobody is normal at this school. It's like everyone is wearing a mask, desperately trying to forget their own history. Everyone has a f***** up past, and that's what make those characters so interesting. Each of the five girls have an arc. During those arcs, I ended up caring a lot for the same characters that I immediately dismissed as boring and uninteresting after the first episode.


Sound : 8

The musics are pretty good and fits well the scenes in which they appear. The EDs were good, but I didn't find them as noticeable as the opening. The voice actors also do a good job, I don't have any complaints here.


Animation : 8

It looks great for a 2014 anime. The dark colour palette fits the dark side of the story, and the character design is pretty good, none of the characters look the same.


Personal Enjoyment : 10

When I first started watching GnK, I wasn't really sure if I was gonna like it or not. But as I watched it weeks after weeks I eventually started to be really looking forward to the next episode without even noticing it. It was especially painful to wait for the next episode during Amane's arc, which is easily the best in my opinion. I've seen a lot of people who said that they didn't like it because it was too weird, but I'm a weird person myself, so I actually enjoyed it's weirdness.


Final Rating :

So. Should you watch GnK ? YES ! But it's not for everyone, so it really depends on your personal tastes. One complaint that I often heard, was that it was rushed, and took out way too much scenes from the VN. But I didn't play the VN, so I didn't noticed that. To me, it wasn't rushed. The character arcs had a good pace, with the exception of Sachi's , which would have needed at least another episode. So is it a good adaptation ? Honestly, I don't know. Those who played the VN will probably be disappointed by how short it is, but as a standalone anime, it's successful. And with Season 2 & 3 confirmed, all remaining questions will hopefully be answered.

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So ! This was one of my first review, and this definitively won't be my last ! I have a lot of improvement to do, and I know that. That's why I would really appreciate if you guys would leave me feedback and/or tips to improve my future reviews by commenting on my profile or sending me a PM ! Let me know if there's something you feel like I should improve, whether it be the length of the review, if I need to talk more or less about a certain subject, or anything else that you think needs improvement ^__^

"No matter how much I keep lowering my expectations, I still end up disappointed"
That one sentence sums up the ongoing experience of watching this anime from start to finish.

Grisaia no Kajitsu is undoubtedly one of the most successful and popular visual novels in recent years. It is a game praised for having a godlike character cast, excellent production value, great comedy, extreme lewdness and an abnormal amount of psychological depth and serious storylines for a harem series. Sounds like the perfect recipe for something to make an anime out of, right? Well three and a half years after the original visual novel was released, it ... finally happened. However unlike its source material, this anime adaptation of Kajitsu fails in essentially every single department other than the animation, and instead serves as one of the biggest train wrecks I've seen in a long time.

Grisaia no Kajitsu is the story of a little group of teenagers with problems. Said problems are generally some kind of psychological trauma or other type of darker past that in the end results in the person being unable to fit into society anymore. Introducing Mihama Academy, a specially funded high-school dedicated solely in order to educate students that find themselves unable to go to any "normal" schools any longer.

And as a result, they're all a bunch of crazy people. The characters of Grisaia are very unique and completely wacky. Because of their complicated backgrounds, not a single one of them is acting like a normal person, and consequently they give you an extremely unpredictable flow of events whenever they interact with each other. Together they make up one of the most unique setup of main characters you'll ever see, and that's exactly what makes them so likable. Unfortunately however, this anime doesn't give them much of a chance to showcase it.

Case in point: this anime is rushed. Incredibly rushed. Actually the word rushed is not even enough to explain just how much of a complete and utter mess the pacing of this so-called "adaptation" truly is. The mere idea of trying to cover about 80 hours' worth of visual novel content in a 13-episode anime is nothing short of ridiculous to begin with but here it was actually attempted, and unsurprisingly it failed miserably. The first three episodes show some promise, when the anime is merely showing the hilarious everyday antics that the characters are pulling off during their school days. After that however, as soon as the story gets into its serious elements, things rapidly start derailing, and it *never ever stops derailing*.

Michiru's and Makina's routes skip huge amounts of content, leaving out key plot elements and just leaves you feeling extremely confused and unsatisfied as a viewer. You also immediately lose all sense of time as sometimes the story pulls a sudden time skip out of nowhere and tries to proceed as if everything's all fine and dandy, despite having just left out several hours' worth of story. Sachi's and Yumiko's routes are even worse, they sincerely get *one* episode each to cover their *entire* story arcs. We're talking 10+ hours of content in *one* episode each. Since this feat is pretty much impossible, the production team's so-called "solution" to this is to simply flat-out cut away 90% of the story and pretend that the rest of the plot just doesn't exist, and unbelievably enough they on top of that even take the time to add totally nonsensical original content of their own into the mix. Especially Yumiko's route might just get the award as the worst adaptation of anything I've ever seen to be perfectly blunt. Finally Amane's route which is generally the most popular and praised one of the visual novel is fortunately also the only one that receives some sort of tolerable adaptation here, but sadly it's way too late to be enough to save this disaster of an anime.

The ones responsible for this whole mess are none other than Studio 8bit; famous for "illustrious" works such as Walkure Romanze as well as both seasons of Infinite Stratos. It would not be an exaggeration to say that people did not have a whole lot of faith in them even before Grisaia began airing, and unfortunately as it turns out; that was not an incorrect mindset at all. If there's one thing I have to give them credit for though, it's that the animation quality of this anime is still very high despite everything else. The characters and the environments both look great. Fans of the Monogatari Series will also notice the awfully familiar-looking character designs, which is quite simply explained by the fact that they are done by the same artist. The anime also utilizes a pretty interesting extreme-widescreen resolution that probably makes the show look a lot better if you have a really wide monitor.

Another thing 8bit apparently decided to randomly add to this show... was fanservice. Now don't get me wrong, Grisaia is incredibly lewd even in its original form but there's a very clear difference here. What the visual novel primarily contains is a myriad of hilarious sexual innuendos that were all clearly written by someone with taste and a good sense of humour. The anime however has virtually none of this. Instead, it goes with the age-old approach of throwing in random panty shots whenever possible, regardless of where or when. The problem is that this is not just a generic ecchi series, so when these spontaneous panty shots are shoved into the camera during life-or-death situations when the rest of the story is actually trying to be serious, it doesn't exactly feel very appropriate. Did the animators never stop to think that this might be *somewhat* out of place? Like really?

The voice acting is all-round very impressive. The same cast used in the original game makes a comeback for the anime and helps liven up their respective characters immensely. Especially Makina's and Michiru's respective voice actresses make a phenomenal performance in my opinion given how incredibly wacky those two roles in particular are. It's just a shame that the anime doesn't really give them a whole lot of time to showcase it since it's so incredibly rushed. The soundtrack there is very little to say about however: while the OST does its job at enhancing the atmosphere in more or less every scene, it is definitely nothing memorable either. The opening and various ending themes are the same story: decent, but nothing special.

Overall, the production value is solid but it's nowhere even close to making up for how incredibly butchered the story in this anime is. If you've played the original visual novel, then watching this anime is nothing but painful. It's like a guilt trip where you start every new episode holding a slight glimmer of hope that things might get better, but end up just as disappointed as the week before every single time. Seeing such a great source material dissected and ripped apart like this just hurts, and I wouldn't recommend anyone who liked the visual novel to watch this anime for their own sakes, at least not if they're expecting a legitimate adaptation. Though if you just think of it as some sort of fan fiction or similar, then it might be okay. If you have never played the visual novel however nor plan to, then this particular issue will not exist as you won't have anything to compare the anime to, so the show is not quite as bad in that case. However then you're still faced with the issue of the blitzkrieg pacing of this show which ends up eagerly skipping past its own plot points, and as a result you'll have some serious problems trying to figure out just what the hell is going on every so often. You might not be aware of what the holes are leaving out, but you'll still sure as hell notice that there are in fact holes more or less everywhere. It's just that blatantly obvious.

This anime has been the source of a lot of pain and agony for many people over the last few months. In the end despite all that, I'd still say it's a good thing that it came into existence, if only for the reason of perhaps driving up more attention for the visual novel and hopefully getting some more people to try that out instead. At least that's the only thing I can think of as anything good the Grisaia anime might bring us in the end, because at least on its own it remains one of the absolute worst adaptations in recent memory.

And lastly we can only pray that 8bit are going to do a slightly better job at adapting the remaining two parts of the Grisaia trilogy (Meikyuu and Rakuen) which have now been confirmed that they're *also* going to be adapted, starting spring 2015. In theory this should be a much easier job to pull off since they're significantly shorter in comparison, but I still think we should head into them with the lowest possible expectations this time around, just to be safe. It's the only way to make sure to avoid the never-ending spiral of disappointment that Kajitsu was.

When it comes to risk, Grisaia No Kajitsu (The Fruit of Grisaia) is no stranger to the word. Dare I say a show with based on a popular visual novel only gets a 13 episode adaptation. Take a look at some of the other popular visual novels like Little Busters and Clannad. Even with 2-cour adaptations, there are some problems with their effectiveness. So what happened with Grisaia No Kajitsu? The answer is a controversial adaptation. Or to say the least, this series is one that is a big oddball. I don’t mean it necessarily in a negative fashion but one that may strike some ... bizarre chords.

To get familiarized with the adaptation, one should first realize that the anime is based on the visual novel of the same name. The VN is actually an adult game but the anime obviously obstructs more of the sexual tones of the series for more suitable viewers; although it still adapts the gimmicks of it. Nonetheless, the series makes its presence well known with the first episode. We have starring male protagonist Yuuji who wants to enroll in a normal school. He gets sent to a place called Mihama Academy by his boss JB so his wish is granted. Or is it? The thing about the school is that there are only 5 other students, or more specifically girls enrolled in it. The normalcy barrier can easily be broken down once we see some glimpses of the perhaps what’s to come. Cryptic flashbacks such as a bus accident, bombing making materials, sniper rifle, and box cutter knife all offer a glimpse that the show meets more than the eye. And indeed, the show preys on a more dangerous side of academy life.

Life at the academy isn’t very simple. We have Yuuji, a male thrown into an environment where there are not many supervisors to look after them at school. To top it off, all the students are girls there from various backgrounds. Most of them also seems to be interested in Yuuji in some way although unlike a harem anime, they don’t all just throw themselves at him. But what do you do when you’re the new kid at school? For Yuuji, this gets tricky as he learns more about each girl. Some of them seems to have a connected past with him while others such as Yumiko wants him gone. The basis of the premise also suggests that there are specific reasons why they are enrolled there. If you put yourselves into Yuuji’s shoes, it’s easy to find yourself curious with the events going on throughout the series. That’s because there are cryptic hints thrown there (either dialogue or actions) that suggests the school is hiding something; or perhaps the characters themselves.

A main part of the show comes from the colorful cast of characters. There is one main guy (Yuuji) who is not the typical harem protagonist. He is very self-dependent and is able to maintain his cool in almost any situation. In fact, he treats almost every situation intuitively while also possessing a good judgment and control. In short, Yuuji is the type of guy that thinks before he acts. This trait of his seems to land him into situations with other girls as they also judge him. In particular, Yumiko is the most prominent of the group who declares that she ‘will not accept him’. The show chronicles each of the other girls who interacts with him in their specific story arcs. (in the visual novel known as routes) The problem though is how they are rushed and condensed in a format in which some cases are unacceptable. Yumiko is a strong example of this with her route being shortened to a single episode. In this case, her relationship dynamics with Yuuji is severely cut to a point of being non-existent. Luckily, this isn’t always the case as other routes highlights more of their moments. They also seem to focus a similar path in ways of problem, plan, and solution. Every arc/route does resolve in some way with Yuuji playing a prominent role.

Focusing on the stories of the girls, we find out that each of them have some sort of tragic past. Rather than telling their story, the series shows it with precision. And by that, I mean getting directly involved. Yuuji strives to help the other girls get through whatever problem they have regardless the consequences. This is clearly seen when Yuuji takes daring risks to help Michiru dealing with the loss of a friend or protecting Makina from assassination. The moral is that Yuuji is a guy who can be depended on and the girls seems to appreciate his deed in kind. For a special case of Amane’s arc, Yuuji learns of a secret from years ago that has some connections to his family. While he isn’t directly present in such the arc, it still provides the viewers with the fact that Yuuji can provide emotional support and later on get involved during the present timeline. The past isn’t easy to deal with after all especially once you’ve seen this show and realize how tragic some of the girls’ pasts are.

On a scale of 1-10, this show’s generic traits for the girls would rank pretty high. I don’t say this as neither a backlash or complement though; at least not with the way the show is advertised. Each of the girls have different personalities. Amane could be labeled as the talkative and flirty type who also plays a guardianship role of the other girls. Then, we got the lone wolf Yumiko who is almost the exact opposite of Amane. Michiru would be a fake tsundere although some people could see her act far too die-hard to be like one. There’s also the childish girl known as Makina who really needs someone to take care of her. And finally, we get the oblivious yet very polite maid Sachi. Get the general kind of picture now? Some may dare say that it would be like a dream come true to live at the academy like Yuuji is. But on the surface, this type of setup screams cliché that can test the patience of some fans. It also doesn’t take long to realize there’s romance in the show; some more noticeable than others. Unfortunately, most of this isn’t characterized too strongly by the length of the show. There are some noticeable parts that can be emphasized especially in regards to relationships. However, it just feels like important parts are cut out or should be there to raise the focus of such relationships. There is also less focus on some of the themes in the show. One other question raised is in regards to the symbolism found with the fruits. The tree that seems to symbolize the Garden of Eden while the fruits suggests that each of the girls relates to their personalities. Unfortunately, it’ll be up to the viewers to decide how to interpret these symbolisms. Go figure.

Artwork is surprisingly well done on most parts even for a studio like 8-bit. They had time to prepare the budget after the announcement of the anime adaptation after over a year prior. The series has a unique way with a movie feature like format to enhance the overall quality. For the characters, each of them are designed well to fit with their personalities. While being inferior to their VN counterparts, I would say it’s mostly consistent. The setting is also highlighted well with the high class designs of some of the interior rooms and structures. Not only that but we also get action in the series as well thanks to Yuuji. His kickass attitude brings an action flick in particular with a route involving Makina. On another note, the show does have brutality and fan service. Sexual suggestive scenarios are also present with characters like Amane (*see pillow humping scene). This show might not be Makoto Shinkai level with its artwork but still remains strong in the department

On most parts, soundtrack is above average. The OP song offers foreshadowing and a catchy way of giving each character some spotlight. Similarly, there are various ED songs for each arc featuring each of the girls (from both past and present). With the tragic pasts of the girls, you’d also have to expect a good voice acting team to play their roles. Luckily, the original voice actors and actresses does that from the game. They reprise the roles of the characters to bring them to life with adequacy. There are some problems occasionally with the way the tone of voice that are done though. In particular, Makina and Michiru can be annoying to watch while even Yuuji can seem dull at times. The good part relates to the humor done with the dialogues. Mix in that with emotions and you get a balanced tone backed with a soundtrack. It’s a decent resonance of the two halves to balance out the show.

With just 13 episodes, don’t come into expecting a strong story with clever characterization. What you get is a bold story that takes risks with the characters. It’s weighty with the way Yuuji’s role is carried out in each of the arcs in this adaptation. And although some relationships aren’t as strong as the others, the show does emphasize on creative scenarios without rising a big question mark in the end. Still, do be aware that the series showcases some of the most generic tendencies from the get-go. Rushed is also another word that’s no stranger in this series’ vocabulary. In the end, it’s an adaptation that could have been better but still can offer some moments to remember.

Note: it has been confirmed that the series is getting sequels so expect expansions on this season later on.

I attracted to watch Grisaia no Kajitsu since it has a unique theme (psychological+drama), a type of settings that rarely found in this era. Before I starting to watch this, I heard many great things about the Visual Novel. Many people say it's a masterpiece. So, I started to watch with great things imagined in my mind. But after finishing it, I think I drowned into the same swamp again...

Grisaia no Kajitsu is a story about a group of 6 teenagers (5 girls and 1 boy) that have a problem in their life. They cannot go to the regular school because of the problem. Well, ... I really don't know what to say about the story besides "unfocused storyline and full of flaw". Although I didn't play the Visual Novel, but I know that many plot devices that not exist in the anime. It is really poorly executed and wrecked. Grisaia no Kajitsu is another Visual Novel that failure in story execution. And they still putting fan service while the story is almost faded

I do not say many things about the animation, it's just great. Also, the background reminds me of Angel Beats. And the sound settings was decent

And like they said, too much focusing in one point is a suicide bomb Grisaia no Kajitsu main focus is in the character development, almost all of the main character have their development. But having the character development in all main character not guarantee the character became deep. People say is more concerned with process than results. Well, we have the results, but the process is abstract and full of a question mark in it. This makes the character development not perfectly done well, and such a shame.

Well, the enjoyment we have is see-saw. The feelings are mixed up, the enjoyment shine in the Amane Suou route which is the best route.

And that is Grisaia all about, a highly anticipated anime but full of flaws here and there. In the end, it's just another Visual Novel that loses its storyline but did decent in character development. Is it recommended? Maybe...., but don't throw high hope for this...

"Being indebted to someone is nothing to be ashamed of, not repaying that debt is." - Kazami Yuuji.

Sometimes you've run out of Anime to watch or are just bored and come across something that sounds so dumb but you say "oh what the heck" and by the time you realize it, it's already several hours past the time you usually sleep. Saying you'll only watch one more episode but by the time you're done, you've watched them all! This is just the Anime that does exactly that! It is a gem among stones, and this is one review I ... had to write because I do not agree with how poorly people have been rating this Anime.

The synopsis or description does little justice for the actual story within the anime, the story is far more rich as you continue watching. This Anime touches upon serious topics which is why some people rate this anime so low; pain, death, rape, incest...you could possibly find it all in Grisaia no Kajitsu. Even though this anime has it's comedic moments and a dose of ecchi moments, it doesn't take away from the serious tone for which this anime should be focused on.

The story revolves around our protagonist Yuuji and his 5 female classmates whom he meets after transferring into the school. Throughout the anime, he helps each one with the problems that they've accrued in their early lives and becomes closer to each one. Each background differs and each one brings its own serious topic, including Yuuji's own background for which is truly sad.

This anime in a sense is a masterpiece hidden among popular titles. It takes on serious topics and does it right, it's not afraid to challenge the industry, and it's a breath of fresh air from all the typical anime out there. I can honestly say I love this anime now, and I am really looking forward to season 2.

Be it for the dorky humour or the sporadic bouts of humanity in the individual routes, Grisaia no Kajitsu enstablished itself as a force in the otaku world strongly enough to pique my curiosity and get enough funds for anime projects.
The first adaptation covers the story of the first game and all five routes, but it is immediately evident that the series is cheaply made for a quick cash grab. Recycled backgrounds, vital parts of the story missing to fit screen time, rushed pacing and incomplete characterization aren't going to be noticed by VN readers exclusively, but casual watchers as well.

Fundamentally, it's the same ... thing as the novel: Yuuji is still a one man army when he needs to be, and the cast is still a relatively standard set of girls (tsundere, loli, onee-san, kuudere and maid), but it doesn't really work because of the reduced screen time, and if the novel was nothing special itself, the adaptation is even less competent at being a harem with touches of drama and shares the fate of many incomplete VN adaptations. Watch only if you have at least a passing interest in girls with dark pasts or if you care about the latest popular franchise.

Le Fruit de la Grisaia...Ok, so what with the french subtitle? Do those girls look like fruits to you? IMAO, no, their characteristics where just made to make them look helpless like a damsel in distress and the guy is a porn star in a shining armor who come to save the day..........and afterwards he gets to bang them, or at least that's what part of the manga suggest {I have only been to some of the chapters and one of them involves Yuuji banging Amane}, so no more bull butter and here are my ratings for this anime with a Hentai atmosphere, but with ... none banging {cu'z the guy get's to do it in the manga}:

Story

Ok, so this is the story of five bimbos of Mihama Academy, who were there to isolate themselves from the world that has given them pain and along come a guy who would help them to overcome the emotional pain that they've suffer for quite sometime. But, you know, regardless of the plot for each arc one thing was certain, and this anime's plot is the most purest of harem and quite frankly the situations and the plots were just too over seasoned with a lot of elements that makes this anime's story line too pathetic to comprehend, so it's a pathetic 1 for the story.


Art


Ok, so what do you see in this anime?

-A big school that only has 6 students, which includes the guy.

-Very fashionable school uniforms for the girls and the guy.

-A nice horizon and background illustration.

-Fanservice that the dogs will howl for, oh , it also comes with Suou who is pleasuring herself in one epsiode {very indecent, and should just be limited to the manga}.

So with such nice illustration...hummmm, it's a 7 for this part.


Sound


I giving a 6 since I have nothing much to comment about.


Character


Let's go over to each of those Bimbos.

Makina Irisu- Forget about her flashback scene, frankly, she is this just a lolicon element for the MC. Her arc with Yuuji can be describe an action element, it's just that the action element can be classified as like a 'B" movie.


Komine Sachi- Ok, so what we have is the quintessential maid girl that is usual in most harem genre, her arc is has that Psychological element, where it is best describe as 'STUPID." Geeez, her character alone for being this forever good girls really make her a certified SUCKER.


Sakaki Yumiko- If this anime has that thriller element it would be her, because of her who always carrys a box cutter and not afraid to slash anybody she hates , also her arc was more like an old body switching thing that was used to be done in some rated 'B" movies, her acting wasn't much that can be nominated to the Oscars, but then again no harem genre would be complete without a tsundere. But you know, I got to hand it to that girl, she is one tsundere who got owned by the guy.

Matsushima Michiru- the quintessential, crazy girl and in general, her arc is CRAZY andwas just too over-flattering, geez how can a girl like that have a heart transplant is basically ambiguous.


Suou Amane- She is the Hentai bomb in this anime, and it would be best if you guys out there just look her up in the manga, I'm pretty sure you'll wanna be playing with your joysticks. Btw, about her arc, if Bear Grylls of Man Vs Wild would be watching this, I'm sure he'll saying how stupid is original creator,Front Wing is, for making a stupid survival story out of Amane's arc.

Yuuji Kazama- what can I say, he is this prefect symbol of a knight in shinning armor who has that porn star vibe


With all the crazies, over-flattering and stupid scenarios, I won't think twice of giving this a part pathetic 1.


Enjoyment

Poor number 3 is what I give this category, I've watch it out of curiosity as to whom the MC would picked.


Overall

Generally it's a pathetic anime all along, I would have been much better if original creator Front Wing just made it a hentai and not something that has a hentai vibe without the banging and if it were a hentai anime, then I wouldn't have to waste my time to watch it, so my advice to the boys , just go with the manga at least seeing the MC bang the 5 bimbos would give you guys some joy to play your winky, not that I care anyways, since I've already dropped the manga. My rating....a 1.

I have to admit, there were parts of this story where I laughed my butt of, and other parts where I almost threw up because it started addressing several of my biggest fears in a very effective manner.

When it comes to the story, overall it has a typical visual novel type of pacing. The main character solves the problems of one girl, then moves on to the next girl. This is very typical in VN adaptations, though in Grisaia's case it's the content that makes the story interesting to watch. Yes, you may get tired of knowing that the main character can somehow solve ... the problem of any girl and have most of them fall for him in the process, but if you can get used to that then there's a lot more to this anime.
Sometimes this anime is pretty funny, but when episode 4 arrives, it tones the comedy down a bit in favor to staying serious when it should be. It doesn't try to lighten the mood with jokes, but rather lets the atmosphere stay dark until we step back into the light. This makes the drama all the more engaging because it's not trying too hard.
The romance, though it is there, it is not really addressed too much. It also contains a certain amount of ecchi, but not so much that it becomes very distracting.. That is except the OVA..
They don't really gloss over the cruel things happening in this anime, but rather shows you as much as possible without having to censor everything. This anime is not afraid to tell you that what is already pretty bad, can, and will, get even worse. I'm not kidding when I say this: This anime triggered my claustrophobia twice and I had to stop the episode for a little while before being able to continue. And this may be what turned some people off in this anime. It shows some pretty sexual scenes and some really twisted images. It's hard to get into it if you came for a typical VN type of story. Many people don't like the VN type of pacing either, so it's not the best story, though far from the worst.
I'm sorry if I'm comparing this anime with a VN a lot, but it's honestly what it felt like I was watching. This anime didn't truly manage to go from VN to anime, but it tried at least.

It's in the characters that most of this shows strengths lies. Though most of the characters seem to be cardboard cutouts of typical anime characters, like the tsundere, maid, rich girl, loli and big boobed tomboy, what makes these character so interesting is their twisted backstories. Each character has a severe trauma from the past that still haunts them to this day, and they are all pretty messed up. Heck, even our main protagonist Yuuji has a really dark past that we don't really get to see all that much of (see Grisaia no Meikyuu and Grisaia no Rakuen). Speaking of our main character, it's refreshing to finally see a male main character who is not a typical nice guy with no unique personality. He's cynical, funny and has no idea how normal life works. He can sometimes come off as robot-like, though he does show some emotion when needed. He's also incredibly smart, though very bad at taking a hint.
In this anime all girls are wearing the mask of a cardboard cutout character, when they're actually very broken people. I won't go into specifics on each character, but each girl's problems is not just a common childhood trauma or attitude issues, some of them are seriously messed up. It brings up themes like double personalities, rape, incest, suicide, insanity and abuse, and it does so without mercy. It becomes the Yuuji's job to rip off that mask and glue their real self back together. When you see what's behind the mask, that's when it gets really interesting. The change they go through is often very realistic. Tough most of them go back to their cartboard cutout by the end of their storyline, the changes are still visible. You feel the characters pain and truly wish for them to get a happy ending.
The "villains" are also very well thought out. They all have legitimate motivations for doing what they are doing, and they aren't just there to be evil.

Artwise I enjoyed it to a certain extent. It, again, had a very VN type of design, and more than often it felt like I was playing a VN. I didn't mind it all too much, but I still wish it would have gone a bit more out of that VN comfort zone. The visuals and symbolism is pretty to look at, and the scenery is not that bad. The art is also very, how should I say this.. Shiny. Light can reflect from anything in this anime. It got a bit distracting at times, but there were also times when it was very beautiful. It likes to play with contrasts, which makes everything really pop out, and is quite pleasant to look at. The colors are vibrant and can be distracting at times, but I still liked it quite a lot.

In the music department, the opening is catchy, but nothing very special. It feels like your everyday drama/harem opening and doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
There are 4 endings overall, ranging from upbeat and happy to calm and sad. Sometimes it doesn't really fit the darker atmosphere this anime often has, but I grew surprisingly fond of them. Especially the fourth ending, which is a very calm and beautiful song. If you should check out any of the songs, I would say to check out that one.
I would also talk about the OST, but I had a hard time finding it online, so I'll just say that nothing really stood out too much, but it wasn't all that bad either. It fit the atmosphere, but it wasn't something all that special.

I do have mixed feelings about this anime. After the two times my claustrophobia was triggered, and the fact that I honestly almost threw up during the last storyline, it's hard for me to decide how much I really liked it. I thought the images was pretty, the storylines were engaging and the drama was very well balanced, so I want to say I really liked it. And, actually, I will say it. I did really enjoy most of this anime. It's dark atmosphere mixed with drama, action, comedy and some ecchi was just interesting to watch. I liked that they showed everything and weren't afraid of showing us very messed up situations. It's unpredictable to a certain extent, though it does feel like a VN. It may just be that I'm a wimp, but still, beware if you have a weak stomach or claustrophobia.

Is this anime a must watch? Not really. Its strength lies in its dark and twisted character backgrounds and it can be very engaging and emotional, though you have to get used to the VN type of pacing and some pretty messed up stuff. If you enjoy this kind of story and setting, kind of like a really dark and weird version of Clannad, then go watch it.

Let me start off by saying, Grisaia is NOT a harem. Well, you kinda get that harem-y feel on the first few episodes, but it is actually not. I was actually surprised that this anime received a lot of hate from the community. I actually loved this anime. I will now explain why I enjoyed it.

STORY -6
TBH, this anime doesn't have that much story. It doesn't have a proper plot other than a guy moves in to a school for girls. But it's more than meets the eye. This anime's plot is about our MC trying to make the girls get over their past problems, ... to allow them to move forward, to be able to get past their problems. This anime is not for people who likes to have a REALLY deep story.

Art -8
This anime has an art style which reminds me of the theatre. But with HD features. The art style is normal, and the character design is pretty, bt all it does is just pushes the audience to think that these characters are just really your normal highschool students. These artstyles suits me best, and for some reason I grew attached to the animation in this anime.

Sound -8
The sound doesn't have anything THAT special, but the reason I picked 8 is because the backing music is awesome. I didn't give this a 9 because the VA is nothing special, but a special shoutout goes to Yuuji's VA. It suits his character well.

Character -9
This is the main selling point of Grisaia. The reason is that they have their own uniqe traits and pasts. Not only that but they deal with it. They try to move forward. Their personality is different from one another, making them uniqe and I've not found a character that I hated in this anime. It's a pretty nice and amazing ride just because of the interactions from one chara to another.

Enjoyment -10
Well, this is a bit weird since I'm not used to these types of anime. But for some reason I enjoyed it. I watched this anime and finished it in a day. I just plain out loved this anime, but I admit, it's not the best anime EVER, It's just an anime worth your time.

Overall -9
This anime is for those who seek character development in animes. For those who likes chara development, you will like it, love it, and eat it. Arigatou.

May 2014, Grisaia no Kajitsu is officially announced to be receiving an anime adaptation. Fans of the Visual Novel are excited to see how Juicy this animated Yuuji can be. But fans are also apprehensive, as it is being adapted by Studio 8bit. The same 8bit that butchered the adaptation of another fairly popular Visual Novel title not so long ago (Walkure Romanze), however people were hopeful that maybe, this time round, they learnt their lesson. Well did they?

Short answer: not so much. Long answer...

Well I certainly was hopeful after the 1st episode, which did a fantastic job of introducing all the important characters the ... viewers will eventually follow. Characters that break the mould of the typical 1-dimensional cardboard cut-outs, you usually find in your average Highschool Harem. Where you cannot just label a character simply as a "Tsundere", "Kuudere" or "Dandere" and say that's all there is too them. Because even our generic male protagonist is opted for a more intriguing stoic individual, where you cannot help but wonder how he came to be the way he is (Unfortunately the series does little to explain this). And to top things off, the voice acting turned out to be quite superb, with the VAs able to portray their respective roles so well.

And yet I could not wholeheartedly enjoy the series. Mind you the comedy is fantastic, both intentional with its character interactions and unintentional with the haphazard developments. However it is the latter which creates one of the numerous flaws with the story.

Like in any VN adaptation, the first couple episodes are dedicated to the common route, where a lot of the "intentional comedy" takes place. Yet the story at this point tends to jump around, taking random events from the original source material and plopping them wherever it pleases the director. This causes the story to lack some much needed connecting tissue and unfortunately it only gets worse once it reaches the heroine's storyline. That is when the story shifts from 2nd gear straight into 5th, bringing with it breakneck speed pacing, but with it damaging the engine the drives any emotion you may feel towards the characters. Yumiko & Sachi's route suffering the most damage, where it sped through 7+ hours worth of story into single episodes. At least they did not completely ruin Amane's route but that's not much of a consolation when even her storyline is marred by pacing issues.

Another noticeable issue is with the show's animation, which at first, looks quite alright with its vibrant backgrounds & character designs. But that makes it easy to notice where they cut corners. Just pay attention to any scene a character is animated walking/running and whenever a vehicle is involved.

Honestly I find it hard to review Grisaia no Kajitsu as a standalone anime series, as this so happens to be my favourite VN (so far) and it's the main reason why I'd rate the "sound" so highly. But I cannot help for agree with this particular comment I noticed in the forums: "The people involved in this are obviously professional butchers and Grisaia was another piece of juicy meat for them to chop up." Because I saw how they were butchering the routes, by taking chunks of the VN "they" deem "most important" and cramming them into a 1-cour anime series. Thus creating a series that fans of the VN will not fully enjoy and non-fans will struggle to follow, due to its breakneck pacing. Nonetheless I can say that I enjoyed the series enough to give it this score. Does this mean I'll watch the sequels? Heck No! I'll just wait for those VNs to come out on Steam.

As far as genre goes Grisaia no Kajitsu is probably one of the best in its field, as long as the genre is action, school life, comedy, romance goes.

The story begins with Yuuji being a mysterious transfer student coming into a new school. Also mysterious as in I don't trust this dude he's probably some badass who can kick my ass, not a Persona protagonist. Fitting his persona the school also seems to be special in the sense only five female students attend. Each of these five girls seems to have some kind of tragic back story as implied in episode 1. (Is this ... show saying men can't have trauma's? I mean maybe Yuuji, but he doesn't seem like it.)

Now as a reminder this is based off a visual novel, so it uses the same anime adaptation set up that consists of each of the girls being helped one by one. Along with that fact this is a visual novel which I have been told is quite popular and it only has 13 episodes isn't a reason to complain at all. I feel anime adaptation are mainly used as a means to draw in more people to the game. (I haven't played it by the way.) If they wanted to tell the whole story like with Clannad, they'd need a lot of money. Remember Clannad I believe still holds the record for best selling visual novel. (Clannad came out ten years ago by the way.) So it isn't surprising that they can't match it. Dangan Ronpa (my favorite game) was the best seller for its year and look at its anime. Same with Persona 4.

The characters begin as shallow and 2D (Its odd people complain about this since it is fiction? I mean yeah I fall in love with them, and I like realistic characters as well, but still its like getting mad at someone for being real.) however as each arc ends they go from annoying stereotypes to interesting, well developed characters. My only complaint is not everyone got a arc. Pink haired, maid didn't get any love from the company and remain 2D along with onii-chan girl. (Yeah onii-chan had a interesting back story, but still pretty generic development wise.)

Art work was great. It was fun, and really did a good job at freaking me out. Its been awhile since I was freaked out. Probably hasn't been like this Mirai Nikki, or Corpse Party and those were more plot than art. The art along with the plot gave off a great feeling. Also since this is based off an Adult visual novel who doesn't love fan service and busty women rolling around on beds. I know I loved it.

I always have trouble when it comes to the music section. Especially since I listen to the songs once, or twice then skip. (Sorry Froggy-kun. I know I'm supposed to sing along to watch anime correctly, but being a student it isn't easy managing time and work.) The bgm didn't stand out, but I guess its did its job.

Overall I really enjoyed tuning every week to see what happened next with each arc, and whose arc was to follow. This anime is for visual novel adaptation fans everywhere, along with any one who enjoys the sick and twisted, traumatic side of humanity.

Grisaia no Kajitsu is based on the adult visual novel that follows 5 female students at Mihama Academy. However, this is no ordinary school; only those 5 students are enrolled here, each with "special reasons" for being in an academy that seems more like a prison. Kazami Yuuji, a mysterious "exchange student from Canada", becomes the first male student enrolled in Mihama Academy. Although he claims to desire a normal school life, events of the students' past start to unfold, piece by piece. Just who really are these students? The girls must revisit their past and take hold of their lives for another time.

I ... was honestly very interested by Grisaia no Kajitsu, knowing that many of my friends recommended me to read the visual novel. Seeing that an anime of the series was to be released this season, I decided to go and see if the anime will entice me enough to spend time reading the VN. As I watched this series, such friends were able to let me know the differences between the anime and VN, so I can represent two parties in this review. However, does Grisaia please the VN readers as well as newcomers to the series? Sadly, this is NOT the case. Rather than showing off why this series is strong and emotional, it turned out to be incredibly disappointing, and the adaptation in short is a trainwreck.

If there are a few positives about the series, the sound and art are consistent and actually pretty well-done. The seiyuus from the PSP version of the series come back to do their individual roles. Most of the roles are well-done and solidly depict their character. Maon Kurosaki's "Rakuen no Tsubasa" is a pretty nice opening theme, and it's a song I'd definitely listen to on a regular basis. There are a whole bunch of ending songs to this series, all of which are decent, especially "Rainy Veil" by Yanagi Nagi. Best part of the series? Probably, and that's somewhat unfortunate.

The art is nothing extraordinary, but gets the job done nonetheless. Nothing particularly enticing or awe-inspiring, but the art is at least consistent and there are hardly any moments where the quality noticeably drops. Give 8-bit credit that this is really the only part where they have put noticeable effort into the series, which particularly includes putting much of their animation budget into unnecessary flashy panty shots and a couple of long H-scene-like kiss scenes.

The characters are actually very interesting from the start, each having incredibly unique personalities. From the blond twintail tsundere (Michiru), the quiet and cold lady (Yumiko), the obedient pink-haired maid (Sachi), the loli with the dirty mouth (Makina), the red haired perverted "onee-san" figure (Amane), and the enigmatic male lead (Yuuji), it's very likely that you'll like one of these characters, and that's understandable. So what is the problem about the series? The problem starts not on the characters themselves, but how Grisaia decided to develop their individual characters. This is where most of the positives end.

Grisaia attempts to mimic the visual novel by showing all the possible routes of the series, totalling to a whopping 80 hours of gameplay, and throwing it into a 13-episode anime adaptation. Now you don't have to be a mathematician to know that 5 girls = 5 possible routes, and by logic, cramming 80 hours into a 4 hour series simply cannot be done without sacrifices. However, the sacrifices Grisaia made were far too severe, and turned into a huge mess. After 3 episodes of introducing the female mains with fanservice and panty shots (at least that was pretty good, actually), classic school genre humour, and brief hints on each student's past, the series has 10 episodes to do 5 routes. Although the first 3 episodes were well-done, this is where pacing becomes a concerning issue that plagues the rest of the series.

Each route in the visual novel follows one of the female students and the male lead and her have various interactions. By these interactions, a traumatizing past rears its head back to a particular female lead after an event in the present. The anime attempts to show all the routes of the female leads in the order presented above. However, two episodes is just simply not enough time to fully develop a character without feeling incredibly rushed. Some of the main female characters even only get a single episode to represent their route, which is even more unreasonable. Grisaia made an attempt to make the viewer feel emotional about the female student in question during their particular route. But in the end, it almost felt like a race to see who can "develop" a character in the shortest time possible. Simply put, events that supposedly trigger emotions are thrown at the viewer in quick succession, and before you can swallow what just happened, the anime is already miles ahead of you, and completely different events start happening. Suddenly, the route ends off, almost like one of your coworkers that get off of work RIGHT on the dot at 5PM, and no later. The character in question finds her resolve, but you really can't feel anything for the character just because the character development was so rushed. Grisaia would be a horrible relay partner, because they would just go ways ahead of you doing its own thing, while you bite the dust and never even get a chance to catch your breath.

It's a huge shame because I really did like the characters in the series at first. Their base character before their route is very nice, and their character after their develop is good too, even if you have not a clue how they got there. However, the problem is when the character is being developed themselves. It's possible to feel incredibly sickened and shocked by the context and background information Grisaia gives you for a particular event (Episode 12), but it's strange that one can feel almost no pity for the spotlight character themselves. Worst of all, some of the main characters don't get much spotlight throughout the whole series, and feel more like a harem piece, if anything, just because they don't have substance to back up their character. Goes to show the lack of direction the character development has in the series. And it's not just the main characters that experience this problem. Motifs of the side characters are incredibly unclear and underdeveloped, and you question their position and why they are relevant in the first place. They don't exactly help build the story as they should do, which is another letdown of the series. The anime also skips a huge portion of each route just to cram it in the little time they give it, leaving viewers confused on how things jump from place to place. And a huge blow for VN readers, Grisaia decides to butcher up parts of the story in attempt to solve the time limit and end it "how they wanted it to end", a disappointment for those expecting the story to stay true to the original series.

The dialogue is also very patchy and confusing in many instances; questions are answered in awkward fashion, and it's very noticeable that it's due to the time constraint 8-bit put themselves in. Yuuji, for one, can somehow can lead thought A to thought E, while skipping potential thoughts that normally people would think of making it even more difficult to follow. Yuuji himself is a character that has little development, which is incredibly unfortunate. I know that compared to the rest of the main cast, he should not the main focus, but viewers just really know he's not your "average student" that does "dirty work in the undergrounds". Unfortunately, aside from some appearances from his boss and coworkers, not much was given about Yuuji's past at all. He really doesn't have much else other than being a classic OP character that can solve everyone's problems. Why he does this to ruin his "normal school life" is not something that's explained at all, and nothing in the series would change the fact that Yuuji is a relatively bland character right from the start. I guess Spring 2015's "Le Eden de la Grisaia" will focus on this, huh?

Unfortunately, what took the last bit of hope from this series for me was how some scenes were meant to be incredibly dark and serious to build an unimaginable tragic past and see a character's internal struggles and emotions. However, it almost as if 8-bit wants to make a fool of themselves, and make Grisaia more of a laughing stock, if anything. Just as they unveil dark imagery and psychological themes, they throw in a panty shot, or an intense and passionate kissing scene. This is supposed to be a psychological series, and based on the core that was established, there are definitely some potential to make this series interesting, dark and meaningful. Instead, it almost feels like it's a parody of the series rather than being a serious adaptation, while being incredibly unfortunate that such money is completely wasted in enhancing these unnecessary scenes instead of properly planning out the story and actually develop the lead characters. If the adaptation company themselves can't take the whole development and tragic past seriously, why should the viewer?

I really wanted to enjoy this series, I really tried to. And I'll admit, there were at least some few parts that I did enjoy, mostly from the first few episodes, and maybe the final episode too. But it doesn't save the gongshow that happened for the rest of the adaptation. It was an okay effort by 8-bit to condense 5 routes in less than 4 hours. Perhaps you'll feel something for a character, but it sure didn't last long for me. Maybe my expectations were too high going into the series, but in the end of the day, I was pretty disappointed by how this series was handled. It had the huge potential to be much better, but alas, it tried to do too much all at once, and failed to properly execute anything at all.

In the end, Grisaia is a half-baked summary of the VN series that fails to please the majority of the target audience. VN readers and fans will be incredibly disappointed by how little substance the adaptation kept from the original series, while newcomer fans like myself will feel confused while experiencing little emotions for most of the characters. The pacing and character development is absolutely atrocious, to be blunt, and doesn't allow time for the viewer to absorb any events that occur. Is it the worst anime ever? Of course not. But there's just too much missed potential that makes this series go to waste. Grisaia the adaptation can be summed in one word: disappointment. If you have read the visual novel, please save yourself and not watch this dreadful series. And if you are a newcomer to the series, you would do yourself a favour by not spoiling a more worthwhile experience of reading the superior visual novel. Will season 2 be a much more worthwhile sequel, or just another letdown? We shall see...

Grisaia no Kajitsu is an anime that had plenty of potential to be something interesting, a chance to tell some compelling stories that contained their share of some emotional moments. Sadly these moments feel too far in between. Rushed narratives and developing characters but only to stop exploring them further has held back the show.

I should first clarify that I had not played the visual novel before diving into the show. In fact, I only took a small glance at the synopsis and thought that I might stumble across something interesting. While the anime itself has certainly appealed enough to me to want to explore ... these characters further in the VN, should I really consider that a success? A show needs to be able to stand on its own, and aside from a much more engaging final arc, I can't say I found myself drawn in many times.

The story is sadly where the show suffers the most. When people talk about shows that needed more episodes, this is going to be one that will feature very prominently. The show decides to take on many different routes and cram them into the space of 13 episodes. The result? Not great. By the end of the show I was left with plenty of questions and very few things answered.

What's annoying is that these tales revolving around the five girls are actually quite interesting. Yet by the time I was finding myself intrigued, the arc would usually be finished. The worst part is that at the conclusion of each arc - aside from some subtle differences in character behaviour and appearance - you wouldn't have even known the previous arc had taken place. None of what you have previously watched seems to have any bearing on future events. You could almost take the different stories, rearrange them in any order you would be none the wiser. If you really want to add some emotional weight behind your stories then we need to see their after effects. Naturally, with an anime being made from a visual novel with very distance branches in its routes, this flaw is bound to happen. It's just such a shame to see these stories being told only for them to seemingly have no noticeable impact or development on our characters. It's not a great way to write a show.

The show won me back a little bit with its final story. Without going into detail, the shift in tone was welcome. I found myself really curious as to what would happen next. Having extra episodes set aside for the arc certainly helped its cause.

Characters themselves are very distinctive but without being memorable.
Kazami Yuuji is certainly an interesting main character. I never found myself completely drawn to his cool, collected personality. His interactions with the girls feel emotionless and at times can shift the mood of a scene for the worse. Yet at the same time it's refreshing to have a lead who doesn't lose his head when things go against him. He's calculating, clever and goes out of his way to help and protect those around him. It would definitely have been nice to have had some more development on his back story, to help explain how he developed the personality he has, especially considering everyone else around him gets their share of development - albeit a minuscule amount.

Our five girls, Makina, Michiru, Sachi, Amane and Yumiko, all get their time in the spotlight but when they're outside of it you wouldn't even know they existed. They are all sadly victims of the writing choices of the show. When they do get they're chance to shine the results are mixed. Some stories were flat out bizarre (Yumiko) and uninteresting (Sachi) while some (Michiru and Amane) definitely felt more memorable. And of course all of them were rushed, never helping the cause.

Cheap fanservice moments involving them were also very unnecessary. I'm quite aware of what the source material is like, but when you try to pack that in during inappropriate moments then the result is, quite frankly, embarrassing.

Grisaia is a show that could have been something much more had the writers chosen to remain focused on just one route. Instead of being delivered one delicious course, we've been handed five leftovers. I haven't quite lost my appetite for more but the next dish will need to be prepared with more care.

I really thought they had potential when the anime began but alas, it wasn't meant to be. That being said, it still has a few strengths that included interesting characters, and acceptable art.

Story:
The story was rushed. They had short episodes for each girls. This wasn't enough to know the full story of each girls. We just know the major points of their story. That is it. There are very many things they could have expanded on. Watching this series was like reading a chapter summary at Sparksnotes ten minutes before your next class.

While we know the general idea of what is going on, most ... of the events seems very forced. It's as if it just happened because it happened. There was no reason for it to happen. There are many unnecessary fanservices that doesn't contribute to the story. These wasted time could have been used to flesh out each of the girl's story some more.


The conclusion for each route are disappointing as well. Because the story was rushed, there were no lead-up to the climax and to the conclusion. It's as if it just happened. It's like a hurricane that just got in the middle of your street with no weather forecast of it happening


Character:
We have the emotionless overpowered sniper boy. That is all there is to the main character. While we got inside of his mind a few times in the series, that really wasn't enough to relate to him, or to learn why he acts the way he do. It is as if he's just a device to help each girls through their routes, the ignition to all their solutions. I really wanted to know more about Yuuji. No, not about him having a big uber rectangular ass but more on why he has such a straight face. I want to know why he's a sniper, and why he can read each girls well.

Each of the girls in the series have their own interesting personalities. This is one strength of the anime. The problem is that more could have been done. I couldn't really get into one of the characters story because they were bland. It's like having a friend walk up to you and they tell you their life story. It's unpolished, it sounds unfinished, and most of all, the story seems to go all over the place with no build-up.

The characters didn't grow at all throughout the series. If they did grow, it's in a snap of a finger when they suddenly realize that they should grow up and think of another way. The only thing that we learned about the characters is their past and why they act that way. We don't know much about how they will become. We can just assume that they will grow because of the protagonist. In the end, we still have retarded Michiru, we still have not so friendly Yumiko, we still have child-like behaviour Makina, we still have quiet and takes everything literally Saki, and the big tittied slut Amane. Most importantly, Yuuji is still a one-faced character.

To conclude, even if the characters are interesting, there needs more work to be done in order for them to be dynamic.




Art:
The good thing about this series is that we see the characters come to life. This is at least one thing we can be thankful for. While the art isn't next level artwork, it is still acceptable. It's pretty much the art that is in the Visual Novel.


Sound:
The anime used the exact same OST used in the Visual Novel. The first few episodes had some glaring issues with sound timing. Overall it was okay but not the best.
The VAs, like in the Visual Novel, did a very good job. The choice for Yuuji's voice was also superb.
The OP and ED were nothing memorable but they were okay.


Enjoyment:
If you have time to waste, you will probably enjoy this. Just don't expect a fully fleshed story and characters. If you came here because of one of the tags, here are what I will say about them:
Drama - Expect forced dramas because of the limitation to expand on each character's decisions.
Romance - There are promises for romance but do not expect much. This isn't the main focus of the story.
Harem - Each girl got a set of episodes (1 to 4). They all developed some kind of attachment to Yuuji.
Psychological - This is probably in the lower tier of the psychological genre. Each of the girl's routes have a different psychological aspect to them. Even though that is the case, the story was too rushed to call this a good psychological anime.

I found the anime below average in terms of enjoyment. Most parts of the anime just became boring. Its glaring issues outweighs its strengths.


Overall: 5/10
The anime is pisspoor, not only in comparison to the visual novel but also to other anime similar to this. Some anime fans can still try it to see if it's worth something. There is nothing bad with trying the first three episode. Just don't blame me if you do.

One of the most painful animes I've ever watched. By painful, I mean it killed my braincells.

The characters have little personality. They lack more traits than they do the amount of panty shots I've seen. The only part I liked was the flashback of the anime.

Here's how I rate it (1-10):
Plot design: 3. I've seen better. There's lack of depth. Typical, over-regurgitated type of cliche(not the good kind of cliche).
It's been regurgitated so much that it almost burned a hole into my brain.
Why:
Helpless, ditsy anime girls in need of cold, indifferent male protag's help. Girls holding high ranks ... in society, girls that are combative, girls that have grim pasts and anti-social personalities--they're all ditsy, air-headed, trip-over-their-own-goddamn-two-inch-circumference-legs---lack everything required in a good story--
Why?
I can put it plain and simple. They want the D. They're clutsy. They don't have depth. They don't contribute anything BUT panty shots and sex appeal.
Here's my view on sex appeal.
I'd rather watch hentai instead. I've seen hentai with more character depth and plot and at least the sex appeal gets to the point--not to mention better artwork.
Food for thought:
How can you fap to someone that acts like their IQ is abysmal? :]
First two minutes of the anime was just panty shots.
The first girl character had generic design, ditsy personality. First five minutes of the anime, she can't drive properly and almost gets main protag killed because she panicked over simple conversation.
A lot of people would say "Wow. How the f**k do you get to chauffeur the main protag with driving skills so poor? Why do all the girl characters get so easily phased by small sh*t?"
But deep down, I feel all the people who like this anime were thinking
"Oh, how cute! She's so mentally impaired that maybe I could associate her with my lonely, secluded otaku self. I'm sure she's too stupid to mind."

Character design: 1. Why? What else does '1' possibly mean? If you're asking, go find a different anime. Go watch a bunch. Learning patterns is crucial to breaking the walls of irrational thoughts.

Animation Artwork: 9. It's not bad. I don't care about the ecchi, but it has nothing to do with art. I think that the anime did well with shading, detailing, etc. The grimness of the artwork was appeasing. Of all the blood, horror, and corpses I've seen, they really worked hard on the detailing! I do also feel they did an okay job on airbrushing the asscheeks on those girls. Seriously. It's ecchi.

Sound: ANNOYING. ANNOYING. HIGH PITCHED. EMOTIONALLY PITCHED TONES OF PUBERTY. PLEASE. I abhor children, cheerily dumb anime girls and boys, etc. The music was decent--the voice acting was fine--the tone and pitch--gave me a headache.
Why: When you meet arrays of weebs that seem to be second-generation missing-link, you too will understand. Oh, and btw. Weeaboo has no ethnic background. Anyone can be a weeaboo. It's just that perfect, high pitched voice, that ecstatic, fake, joyful tone of voice. If you have paranoia or worries that people might be using you, lying to you, or even selling you out, don't talk to people who sound fake and weeaboo. Once you do something that they don't like, they're just going to change into their unappealing bara voice, grabbing your d**k and ripping it off. I've had a bad past with these sort of people. Not all of them are terrible people, but most of them are just really annoying to listen to.

Enjoyment: I wasted my time watching this. I enjoyed only the flashback episodes. All else can go into the trash. If you don't want to be that guy that watches ecchi for plot, just skip to episode 10 to the end. You'll enjoy it.
Past that is just survival, horror, children, etc. I don't feel right rating enjoyment by the whole anime, so I'll do it by two parts:
Early anime: -10. Pantyshots. Pantyshots. Pantyshots. Derpderpderp.
Late anime(episode 10+): 9 for horror. 7 for feels. 5 for ecchi. 6.5 for story.

Overall: Considering I wasted my time, destroyed braincells, and hurt my own self-esteem writing and watching this---I give it a 2. The only reason I give it 1 extra point is because episode 10+.
Here's a tip. Go watch vanilla hentai if you want soft, more meaningful ecchi.

Let's get this out of the way: I read the entire Grisaia no Kajitsu VN, and I really liked it. I outright cried at two, maybe three of the five routes.

No, let's move on to this: this fucking anime was a horrible adaptation. It was so bad I wanted to vomit. Holy shit it was the worst adaptation of anything I've ever watched, there was so much cut content the show couldn't possibly have made sense to anyone who didn't read the VN, and Sakaki's route was so butchered and wrongly adapted it was like someone giving you a cookbook and telling you it was ... an erotic novel. Everything about this anime was fucking trash, just do yourself a favor and read the VN, which was actually really good.

I was extremely surprised by this show, I was trying to find a new anime to watch and just randomly picked this from a list. when I read the synopsis I figured it would just be another ecchi/harem show and almost brushed it off. however, i looked into the show some more and decided to try it anyway. I had almost no intention of actually watching the show, i just needed something to pass the time. the first episode was okay enough and I was about to put the show down, except that the end of the first episode left enough mystery that I ... had to see what happened next. anyway, enough with the background, and on with the review!

-story-
I think the story was one of the weaker points in the show, not that it was bad, it just didn't really make sense. my biggest problem with the story was it's spacing, of the 5 heroines, each of them gets an arc. the problem was that the arcs were not even, 2 of the girls got 3+ episodes to explain everything and really flesh out their background, while the other 3 got 1-2 episodes max. overall I thought the story was intriguing enough to keep it interesting and even though it was the shows weaker point (in my opinion) it didn't do anything to seriously cripple the show

-art-
I don't have anything specific to say about the art, it seemed pretty average but it worked so smoothly that it ended up being quiet beautiful. the opening art was also very good and went with the music quiet nicely.

-sound-
I loved it, or at least the music part. the opening theme was phenomenal and while I usually skip the ending of a show after listening once to test it, I found every end theme In this show to be captivating and pleasant to listen to. As for the voices, I didn't have any particularly issues, but some of the voices were a little moe for me.

-character-
this is were the show really shows it's strength, each of the character's get's there own story arc. each arc does a great job of creating a setting and really showing the issues that these girls carry around with them and Yuugi managing to solve it somehow. my only concern is that the characters with the shorter story arcs didn't get as fleshed out as the others

-enjoyment-
as far as my personal enjoyment, I stated at the beginning that i was surprised with this show, while it does have some ecchi elements, they are mostly inserted briefly for comedy and don't do anything to harm the story. I loved this show because it was captivating and fun to watch and i highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good show.

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

A common phrase that is often said is, "don't judge a book by its cover." Obviously, the saying isn't meant for books alone. It's aimed at anything that may look one way, but has more to it than just a precursory glance can give. From food to movies, sometimes it requires one to fully understand what truly lies behind the object. This particular expression can also be applied to people. The way one acts, thinks, and wishes to be perceived are all byproducts of the past that has created him or her. In certain cases, one's outward appearances ... don't match the real person hiding within. In Grisaia no Kajitsu, such a statement contains almost too much truth.

STORY

In Grisaia, main lead Yuuji transfers to a new school filled with only five other students: Makina, Sachi, Michiru, Yumiko, and Amane. While the girls all seem quite normal, what lies beneath their visible demeanor is more than just cuteness and kindness.

When Grisaia begins, it comes off as rather strange. Its dry humor and seemingly dark atmosphere blend together quite nicely. Yuuji talking nonchalantly with the girls while dealing with their troubled pasts creates a weird feeling that permeates much of the series. This is further reinforced by the setting provided. The barren school, the special task-force, and the grim subject matters provide world-building elements that make the anime seep in a less-than-cheery sauce, providing the flavor it has. At times, though, the show prioritizes misplaced fan-service that detracts from what the anime has to offer. Now, some of it is well done: Amane masturbating in Yuuji's room defines her character or Makina starting a make-out session demonstrates her social ineptitude. But when scenes are littered with random panty-shots or more focused on boobs, it doesn't add anything to the overall narrative.

While Grisaia may have the ability to balance hilarity and drama nicely, that doesn't speak for the quality of both. More specifically, the show suffers from terrible pacing issues. The beginning of the series is rather pleasant. Characters are introduced, the world is staged, and the mood is set. Everything is primed and ready for the inevitable character exploration. However, the show fails to adequately give the cast the appropriate amount of time in which to lay their story bare. With the exception of Amane, the other girls' arcs are simply unfulfilling because not enough attention is paid to them. Attempting to cram an entire character's worth into a single episode not only does zero justice for the person in question, but also comes off as incredibly rushed. The idea, obviously, is to look at each member of the harem, regardless of screen time. While doing so addresses the entire cast, the aftereffect is a shoddy composition that is just barely held together.

Deep down, the anime actually has a purposeful message. Each girl has a past mired in tragedy and despair that prevents them from being the person they want to be. Grisaia's tale, then, is one about moving on. Learning to accept the mistakes that were made, understanding what needs to be done now, and taking that first step forward is very mature. It's thoughtful, because it is more than just saying, "What I did was wrong." The importance is in growing from the events that shaped one's life up until this point in time. And while such mistakes may be made again in the future, having the ability to become better because of them makes a world of a difference.

ANIMATION

Grisaia actually does okay when it comes to the art and animation it holds.

The most prominent artistic decision is the use of wide-screen. It actually gives the show a more refined look, making the shots themselves hold a bit more importance or weight than they usually deserve. Plus, it oozes a certain movie-like quality that is just nicer to look at. The locations are also treated well enough, with areas being visited besides just the dorm and the school. Forests, city-scapes, and countrysides are shown, each with good lighting and apparent detail.

The character designs are hit or miss. Yuuji and the less relevant characters are somewhat boring or uninspired, trying too hard to be unique enough within the cast. The girls, though, fare slightly better. They look mature, given the topics at hand, are attractive, and contain a good amount of detail, from their hair to their eyes. Among everyone, Michiru stands out the most. With her blonde twin-tails and lion tooth, she just looks like a "Chiru-Chiru."

The actual animation involved is unfortunately not always the best. It does have its moments during more intense situations, but the dialogue-heavy anime usually resorts to mouth movements instead of character expressions or fluid gestures.

CHARACTERS

As a character-driven anime, Grisaia relies on the cast to carry it the whole way through. Sadly, some are just not able to tough it out.

Yumiko is a woman who comes off as entirely unapproachable. Literally wielding a switchblade to keep others at a distance, she is quick to point out the obvious yet is easily embarrassed. Being born as an unwanted addition to the family, she often feels trapped, with no one around to accept her for who she really is. And keeping others out only perpetuates the isolation she constantly feels. Arguably the weakest character, Yumiko is often sidelined due to her usual reserved nature. Not being loud or sincere in her actions, the other girls drown her out, causing the audience to want more.

As the dorm's "personal" maid, Sachi is respectful of the people around her. Kind in mannerisms and a listener rather than a talker, she appears to be tame in personality. However, she harbors a rather obsessive side. This quirk of hers stems from a harsh reality where one decision she made changed the outcome of her life forever. As such, she always takes it upon herself to see through anything to the end, disregarding any sort of personal safety. A proponent for what it means to be selfish, she upholds a heavy burden that any sane person would have difficulty with. However, much like Yumiko, once she is "developed," she is tossed aside, providing no further relevancy.

Makina seems out of place within the academy, usually due to her stature and childlike behavior. But the more one spends time with her, the more there is to learn. Her potty-mouth, unfettered emotions, and literal daddy issues make her a handful to deal with at any given moment. Taking solace in the comfort that Yuuji provides, Makina's psychological issues are at least calmed due to his intervention. A friend to all and a fan of Tuna Man, she may act like a kid, but her willingness to experience what life has to offer makes her anything but.

As a main character, Yuuji isn't normal by any definition of the word. Unemotional, unintentionally hilarious, and unable to follow the "easy" path, his background is shrouded in mystery. Oddly willing to help those in need, his line of work often left him wanting something more. And this was found in the girls of Mihama Academy; being considered a regular, everyday guy by those around him gave him a breath of fresh air from the usual pandering and doting he received everywhere else. As the catalyst for the girls' cures, he not only earns their trust, but is likewise deserving of having his harem.

Easily the most memorable, Michiru is a big ball of joy. Overreacting to everything and just plain silly, she never seems to stop being funny. She has a passion for animals and is more caring than would at first be believed. Having both a literal and figurative identity crisis, she more often than not is unable to cope with being her regular self. Knowing the meaning of "heartache," she refuses to believe she is worth anything more than the dirt on the ground. Undergoing the greatest amount of self-reflection gives her the needed boost in confidence that she's been seeking her entire life. And with such newfound confidence, her resolve to live is forever cemented.

Where Yumiko is the weakest, Amane is arguably the strongest. Beautiful, womanly, and overtly sexual, she acts without limitations when Yuuji is in the picture. Giving off huge vibes that her behavior is sensationalized, what she reveals about the trials and tribulations she experienced as a young girl provide the much needed confirmation. Her motif is regret: regret at being unable to help, regret at sacrificing those dear to her, and regret with not knowing what to do. She is a textbook example of a person wanting to punish oneself for what has already come to pass. What she discovers, though, is that it isn't so much punishment that she deserves. Instead, she deserves to be freed from the past that haunts her. And in order for that to happen, she must first forgive herself.

Mentioned slightly within these interpretations, it's important to understand why the girls are able to take the anime's overall theme to heart. At first look, Yuuji appears to be an anchor, being the answer to all of the girls' problems. And to an extent, this is true. However, it's better to see Yuuji not as an anchor but rather as a guide post. While he may sometimes get directly involved, he much prefers to have the women come to their own realizations. Whether he lends them advice or merely hears them out, it is up to the girls themselves to take the plunge towards resolution. Yuuji is just there to push them in the right direction.

SOUND

The OP actually has a strong opening sequence, followed by a slower, rather generic middle. The song picks back up after the halfway mark, ending on a literal high note.

The first ED is rather generic, with its simple singing and strumming of the guitar. It used hardly ever, which is for the best.

The second ED appears to be quite slow and calming, contrasting with the more grim tales that the show contains. But then it picks up, falling in line with the comedy and fun that it also performs well with. The quick drums and high-pitched singing give it that non-serious feeling.

The third ED is poppy and personal, reflecting Michiru's personality perfectly. It's also whimsical, giving it a hopeful vibe that fits her arc, too.

The fourth ED is quite melancholic. It begins with soft singing and a slow arrangement that brings a certain amount of sadness alongside it. It gets a bit more fantastical and subsequently happier the further along it goes, but that inkling feeling it starts with always remains.

The soundtrack consists mostly of mood pieces. The heavy-bass riff during dramatic build-ups and acoustic guitar and piano mixes during the more lighthearted romps. The pieces are fine for what they are, but are not worth listening to outside of the anime.

The voice-acting sees above average performances by most of the cast. A special shout-out goes to Kaori Mizuhashi as Michiru.

ENJOYMENT

I actually liked Yuuji and the comedy a lot. Much of it is quite bland in delivery, but that's the point. Offhand comments are the norm, but it is intermixed with Makina's and Michiru's brand of hilarity that was fun to see. The show, as expected, got less funny the more it went on, attempting to put whatever focus it could spare on the drama instead. The laughs became more infrequent, and since the drama wasn't particularly engaging, the fun slowly withered as well.

I'm a big fan of Amane, simply because I like attractive women. I couldn't tell if she exactly "won," but I'd like to think that that is the case here, which made me both happy and sad to see. She's hyper-sexualized, as that is her character to a degree, and part of my fun with the show came from seeing her in a sexual manner.

Grisaia no Kajitsu is a psychological anime that dabbles in comedy. While the pacing and cast are wobbly, it's a semi-enjoyable time that should at least keep one interested.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, nice atmosphere, pacing issues reduce impact, meaningful message

Animation: Good, wide-screen, nice art, average actual animation

Characters: Fine, Yumiko, Sachi, and Makina are weak while Yuuji, Michiru, and Amane are strong

Sound: Fine, okay OP, okay EDs, okay soundtrack, above average VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, starts out nice but withers slowly

Final Score: 5/10

WARNING: As of writing this preview, there are only four episodes out. It may get better or worse than what it is currently. I noticed there were no reviews yet and decided it would be good to have a review of the first two episodes to give people a feel of how the show is shaping up, without spoiling it of course :P

Now on to the review.
Story - 9
As this has so far been rather well adapted from the Visual Novel of the same name, the story is pretty well the same. It is really good in my opinion and the MAIN difference ... between the anime and visual novel is that the anime obviously has to move a little faster. That doesn't mean the story isn't as good though. The anime has done well with presenting us with a good story and it is keeping true to the VN rather well and has included the more important/fun plot points of the story.

Art - 10
Now I think the art style is part of the main reason I decided to watch this show and read the VN. It is pretty fantastic and I have yet to really see any issues with the animation or the quality of the art style. It has proven to have a really nice feel to it with some darker colors for some scenes and bright/vibrant colors for other parts. The art is where this show excels.

Sound - 9
As the sound seems to be the same as the VN with some other newer pieces mixed in, I am pleased with it. Some of the bgm from the VN that I didn't care for as much is still here in the anime because they used the same music but all-in-all, it has a good musical score that fits right in with the mood of each scene.

Character - 8
Probably one of the weaker points since the main characters are all rather stereotypical tropes female anime characters BUT that said, they do like to put a nice spin on the archetypes and make the characters more interesting than in other situations or other shows. While you do have your tsundere character, she has a personality that is somewhat different (different enough to be good) than the standard tsundere and every other character is the same in this sense.

Enjoyment - 9
I have enjoyed this show and definitely enjoyed the visual novel. I recommend this show to anyone and if you finish the show and you still want more, you can check out the visual novel for more, uncensored fun ;)

Overall - 9
I have to give it a 9 overall because it has proven to be a rather good show with only a few small things to complain about. Though, most of those complaints come from the fact that this is an anime and it cannot include literally EVERYTHING from the visual novel.

So overall, this show has treated me well and I can say it'll be a good show for anyone to check out.