Alphy

The Short:

Story 7 - Offers a different (arguably disturbing) take on previously-seen situations and settings with a fitting ending (I found it somewhat satire and extremely satisfying. how evil of me!).

Animation 7 - Well-done and pleasant to look at, but is pretty typical with nothing new to offer.

Sound 7 - Similar to the animation; does it's job well, but nothing eye-opening save the VAs.

Characters 6 - Well-designed and fleshed out (stereo-typical due to the nature of the show), yet utterly unlikable on my part.

Overall 6.5 - Take one part kimi ga nozomu eien or similar, mix with one part higurashi no naku koro ni and garnish with your favoured selection of Harem anime, and you'll get School Days. A spicy, yet bittersweet anime with a creamy center, filled with spite, lust, apathy, jealousy, wrath, and just maybe, a hint of inner-truth for us all.

...That's if you can look the past scandalous relationships and teen drama that essentially revolve around a lust-filled douchebag, hopping from female to female looking for his next sexual fix. That kinda thing tends to stick out a little.

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The Long:

School Days, in case you haven't heard, starts out innocently enough with a typical boy -falls-for-girl-and-asks-close-female-friend-who-secretly-loves-him-for-help love trangle story. As the story progresses, it evolves, much like the lead male, from innocent and sweet, to angsty and scandalous, and ending with a climax that would make fans of a certain anime series smile. It's fraught with teen problems, and some more, arguably, adult problems. Sounds a bit messed up? It is.

This series serves as a take on some typical/previously-seen situations, with exaggerations of the worst emotions and decisions made. This extends to the outcome as well, which I found really fitting. It's hard to watch, but only just, because to varying degrees, all humans are capable of such acts (and have certainly done worse). Makoto (our lead douche) serves as the rather flat, pivotal point of lust-fueled and sex-centered relationships, and the various girls offered outlets for different personality scenarios, as well as outcomes. I've heard this is even more so in the game.

Despite my rating, the characters aren't actually badly designed or fleshed out. Quite the contrary. I can even empathize with many decisions the characters make (yes, even Makoto). But I have to be fair to my own opinion, being that I found them very distasteful individuals whose actions almost directly conflict with my own persona. It says a lot that my favorite character was Taisuke, whose role is one that is overused, and disliked by me. (Lead male's best male friend who seems hopped up on hormones half the time)

This makes for a potentially off-putting series with hardly lovable characters. In fact, all this series needs are full-blown H-scenes to reach close to the level of Kite. (If for some reason I was watching versions with such scenes removed, I'd prefer to stay ignorant, thankyouverymuch) Morale lessons and musings can be derived, but it's not so easy for everyone to see through to them. To me, the worst is that I know this show mirrors some not-altogether-uncommon RL situations. Less the ending, of course. The popular take is that it serves as a dark, cautious reminder of what we are capable of when we indulge in our personal emotions and desires, and steep ourselves in apathy (which many of us do).

I for one, very much liked what the show says about our present day social norms, and what several media outlets we view often potray. But I didn't enjoy much of the actual viewing since much of the pivotal aspects are from genres and settings I have a large distaste for (evidence being that I hate kimi ga nozomu eien and the like). I found Shigurui more pleasant to view, and that's really something. I would've liked to put this all in a proper review, but it would've meant a proper 2nd viewing.

If there's anything to praise about School Days, it would be that the series offers a lot to be discussed by simply lifting the veil on some very real human behaviour and themes which have become popular in our media and society. We may choose to face these issues head-on, or remain blissfully ignorant. If you pick up School Days, I guess you'll have made your choice.