Conception

Warning : This anime was made to be enjoyed drunk, and boy it is a ride.


Postmodern Masterpiece,
I especially liked the deconstruction of humor and genre.
You never know what to expect until the crossover with Gurren Lagan and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Everything from the start to the finish is great. At first the anime try to trick you into thinking it's some lewd fantasy and then it become clear right at the end of ep 1 that this won't be the case.
Rather than that, the story is a commentary about the very notion of purity, it makes us rethink about the way we think about ... men's relationships with women. However, to my surprise, this anime is not about feminism, no, it doesn't get political in any way and manage to keep its purity right until the end.

The way the characters are handled is also pure genius : Most of the cast don't get any character development. While some may think about this simply as lazy writing, it's not the case, rather, the lack of character development is the point, it's a part of the show. You see, it is not a story about a protagonist nor is it a story about the maidens. Rather, this show tells us something about how vain the very concept of personality is. You do not need a personnality to care for others, nor do you need one to enjoy the company of your loved ones.

I'm a big fan of Conception and as such I proudly say that after seeing the whole show, I can't remember a single human character and that's how it was meant to be.

The art is perfect fot this piece of art, I've never seen such a generic artstyle elsewhere, it really helps the public to understand that things do not need to be sublime or even unique to be appreciated. Same with chara-design : We would not be able to understand how meaningless the characters actually are (which again, is the point) if we were able to actually tell them appart from the background.

Some people will tell you that the quality of animation is lacking. While this take has some credit to it, the only things it tell you is how ignorant those people are. Did you even take a look at the staff ? The art director is the hugely famous Yoshimi Mineta, which is notably known for his work in High School DxD, trust me, if the point was to make top quality animation, he could have, and he WOULD have.
You have to understand : The use of frames with double drawings is minimalist as a criticism of consumerism and productivity, and the close-up to not show facial expressions nor the mouth is parsimonious.

I could write another paragraph telling you about how the soundtrack clearly does an amazing job, but I think most people who watched this masterpiece get the point : It's not great, however it manages to make you wonder about the mysteries of human relationships on his own, without the need for context, which is actually great because most of the time you won't understand the context behind most of the scenes. (Which I'll have you know, is a commentary about the way the omniscient spectator in generic anime has way too much knowledge about the world the protagonists live in)

All in all, I enjoyed Conception to the fullest and would absolutely recommend it to anyone with an open mind.

I wouldn't dare to say that Conception is good, because that's obviously not the case. It is, however, quite misunderstood and hated way beyond what it deserved.

Conception is, plain and simple, an over-the-top and absurd parody of harem fiction. It nearly never treats itself seriously and simply does not function if you're looking for ecchi, romance or even traditional comedy. It's funny through absurdity, cringe, misplaced popcultural references and deeply uncomfortable plot developments that together made you question how anyone was insane enough to write it down, and especially to make it into an anime. If you ever expect it to follow some kind of ... logic, unironically strive for cohesive storytelling, or even deliver some sexy times without inserting some deeply unsettling elements, you'll be beyond disappointed. But if you embrace the insanity, it can actually be a very fun and unusual experience. Clunky, obnoxious and pervy in all the off-putting ways, but just too outlandish to not leave you with some kind of strong impression. You'll either love it, or hate it with a burning passion – and I'm personally firmly in the "love" department.

So, are you ready to make some magical children through way-less-sexy-than-they-sound "love rituals"? You should probably either way – in my adventure with anime, I haven't seen a show this unjustly vilified, so keep an open mind and give it a try.

I watched this show in 2020 and no hate if you like this show. But for me, I must admit this is honestly still the worst show I have watched completely thus far. Once I was finished with it, I ended up feeling bad I hadn't just dropped it. Guess my drive to watch isekai's at the time kept me wanting to see it through. But in all honesty, for me, this was so bad, watching it made everything feel dull immediately after. Like when you feel extremely bored, and can do nothing about it because everything seems tasteles.
But if you are wondering if you ... should give this a shot, I wouldn't, but then again, not everyone has the same tastes as me, and I wont judge you even if your opinions differ from mine.