The story is the same as the 12-episode anime's first episode, with minor differences in the script. It sets everything up very nicely. The ending of this version is much more dramatic than that of its counterpart, but in a good way. The downside, however, is that it discontinues; you would have to watch the 12-episode version to find out what happens next.
ART - 4
Being an ONA, I cut it some slack. It's on par with low-quality GIF art, which I can excuse in exchange for the decent job on the characters themselves, and the recycled backgrounds are understandable. However, some of the conversation scenes include stationary characters at a long-distance shot that was eye-hurtingly bad. One thing I did like about it was that it maintained the feel of a visual novel, with unusual clip splicing (usually with character profiles).
SOUND - 5
Nothing good or bad in particular about the soundtrack. The OP and ED are typical anime music, and the background music is elevator-worthy. I suspect it was taken directly from the game; it did lend to the visual novel feel. The voice acting was decent.
CHARACTER - 6
The characters are presented much the same as in the 12-episoder. Makoto is a little more obviously violent, and Katsura seems to have more personality immediately evident. The lack of complicated character animation, however, failed to bring them out. Particularly in Sekai's case, the focus was directed on fan service.
ENJOYMENT - 5
Watching this was sort of a novel experience, no pun intended, due to the very visual novel feel. However, the animation quality was off-putting, and the familiarity of the script made it a little boring.
OVERALL - 5
Not a bad anime, but there are better things to be watching, including the other version of School Days. I wouldn't recommend this except to diehard fans or to those who haven't yet watched the other version- in the case of the latter, I will say this does make a good way to sample the anime.
