A few months back I saw a OVA prequel of a light novel called Bungaku shoujo, at the time I wasn’t quite sure of what was I getting into, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, I decided to watch it because I was looking for a more dark perspective on the romance genre and that’s what I got for most part, I even watched the movie who pales comparing it to the prequels but that’s a topic for another day, keep in mind these OVA´s have completely different purposes and stories, Now without further a do Ill start my review:
Story:
The story centers around a boy named Inoue Konoha a boy who likes to write, and its shown that he has talent for it.. Has a kid konoha met a girl called Miu Asakura a girl with a cold attitude that doesn’t get along with other kids, everyone “hates” her and she can be called a loner. She can be also considered a pathological liar, she lies for the most trivial things but for me I can interpret it has a method she has to try to affirm and get the attention of others, she does not care about what others say but deep down she shows sorrow because what she really wanted was someone to rely on and interact with, it’s a common thing among children and human in general, they strive for emotional connections and seek romance in this world. Consequently it also shows our greed and obcessiveness over something we hold dear, and sometimes it gets the best of us.
It’s a bitter sweet story with a decent direction and presentation and has great atmosphere. It stays focused troughout and doesn’t try to diverge from it, being a single OVA is very limiting yet they made something worth watching, this however is much more well explored in the LNs.. , this OVA has all had great ideas, great direction and presentation, the setting while being quite generic also fit (another fucking highschool setting), I give it a 6 because it doesnt have a ending (its continued in the movie) and because it was indeed rushed.
Art:
The art was solid for most part, sometimes some re used footage but very rare, other than that the character designs were generic, and the characters look like robots sometimes (Production IG) The backgrounds were pretty simple and it didnt had anything to the overall atmosphere and tone settled by the show wich wasnt a good thing, especially when I am a sucker for atmosphere.
Sound:
The sound was pretty forgettable but fitting, the opening was suave and melancholic (fitting the show´s themes). On this case the soundtrack actually contributed to the atmosphere, (even being forgettable) like I said above it fitted the show.
The VAs did a pretty good job, especially Aya hirano wich was amazing while voicing Miu.
Character:
I have a lot of mixed feelings regarding this, the problem is that despite Miu Asakura being a great character the rest of the cast is just bland and uninteresting, most of them just being mere plot devices, one of the main things I absolutely love about this OVA is the fact that it has Miu has the MC and it shows you Miu perspective of the world, it was a great move by the writer.
Even if Miu is a great character I still stand for my point that a single character cant carry a show no matter how good it is. Its meaningless when the same character doesnt have anyone to interact with and influence others with the ideals and motivations they couldve introduced in the others.
Inoue is a bland ass MC for a show, he is absolutely annoying and bland, he almost comes off has a self insert if it werent for his reactions and motivations towards MIU, he is just forgetable
Miu´s parents was just there to provoke victimization that isnt necessarly bad in this case since it was needed to introduce us to Miu´s situation, the same goes for Miu´s classmates wich they show understandable reactions to her gimmicks, it all plays to Miu, they all rely on Miu but in the end they build their own grave because like I said " a single character cant carry a show no matter how good it is" .. and well Ill keep saying that because the side characters are just moved by reactions nothing else, bland like a sheet.
Enjoyment:
I clearly enjoyed the show, because Miu was the MC, that alone gives me the confidence to give this single OVA a 6 out of 10. I just hope for a remake just featuring Miu and her perspective on the world, without the bland ass characters.
