Denpa teki na Kanojo

[oninosweeney]

so i just finished watching this amazing two part OVA from 2009, found it amazing and almost dare i say groundbreaking.

yet while clamoring for more, i found that there is no more.

but i had to talk about it to someone. so i turned to the forums. anyone else seen this series and wish to discuss?

[MugiwaraMarius]

^ Heh I had to stared at the title for a minute before I remembered what this show was and once I did I got a wicked little grin on my face. This little two part OVA is one of those shows that is almost custom built to my taste in anime. It explores some of the more fucked up elements of human nature and has a heavy dark, twisted atmosphere. The show also has a wicked cynical and kind of ironic undercurrent to it as well. It was really well written as well but like you said when it was over I just wanted more of it which hurt my overall score for it in the end.

Fundamentally the show explores the ways in which humans rationalize trauma. The villains are unable to come to terms with traumatic events within their own past, therefore they seek to inflict pain and suffering upon others. Spite plays a critical role in motivating their actions and the show really encourages the viewer to question the rationale behind their malicious actions. The two diametrically opposed episodes analyze happiness, fear, schadenfreude and spite. In essence, it is an essay on the limits of human reason.

Both episodes present differing ways in which spite can be used to rationalize past trauma. The first episode is about a rape victim who through the production of fear, she assures herself that her rape was not a unique incident - other people are capable of feeling fear and despair, just as she did. Throughout the episode a sense of gloom prevails. Murders are depicted in grisly detail, complete with blood, gore and mutilation, accentuating the senseless nature of the antagonist's violence. It is a very dark and gritty episode which fits perfectly with the fucked up subject matter.

As good as the first episode was the second episode was even better. Just the idea of the Happiness Club was completely insane. This is the episode where the dark, cynical sense of humor comes into play. Essentially the club is out to steal the happiness of others. Rather ironically they do this by systematically psychologically torturing those they perceive as happy. They are out to gain happiness by causing a cycle of misery and unhappiness. In contrast to the first episode the second episode is visually bright, with most of the action occurring during the day. The overt blood and gore are gone, replaced with more subtle images of decay and ruin - rusty signs, trash-filled streets, crumbling apartment buildings and broken-down electronics - symbols of a collapsing fantasy of happiness. The brightly lit story makes for a great juxtaposition with the really dark subject matter of the plot. So many anime really fuck up when they try to depict extreme bullying but this one gets it just right. Showing how far people can be pushed before they hit their limits. It kind of reminds me of and has a lot of parallels to the bullying episode in Shigofumi another show you might want to try Onion.

I think it's easy to watch this and just conclude the villains are insane. But are they really? I think the show demonstrates that even the most insane of actions are motivated by some form of rationale. And indeed, the actions of the antagonists are internally consistent within their own frame of logic. It really forces the viewer to ask am I really sane? Or more broadly, does objective rationality exist, or is rationality dependent upon a subjective frame of reference?

Ultimately the OVA is a short, concise and intelligent exploration of human irrationality. Wow! thanks for reminding me of this show Onion! After writing all of this I think I underrated the show, it needs another half a star to be a 4 out of 5 or maybe like a 7.5 out of 10.

Note: I actually went back and rewatched the anime to write this post. I didn't write this just from memory. Of course I'm supposed to be watching One Piece for the marathon so although I said thanks for reminding of this show your timing was terrible. It proved to be a pretty big distraction. :P

Also One Piece is great in a completely different way so I should get back to it. ;)

[coffeebreath]

I think it is overrated on the site listing and found parts of it a little ridiculous. Good example of the kind of story not suited to a short OVA. Still enjoyable, I gave it a 3.5

[Kruszer]

If you search around, you can find tons of great little OVA series. This is most certainly one of them. I also highly enjoyed the show and wish there were more to it.

[Sarah22]

You said very professional,I will remember