Review of School Days
School Days, School Days, School Days…wow. It has taken me quite a few days to decide what I wanted to write for this show. However, I will try to keep it as simple as I can. While these reviews are supposed to be spoiler free good chance has it you have arrived at this show with some kind of knowledge of ‘what’ happens at the end. As such I will try to keep this as simple as I can. School Days is a perfect example of what happens when you toy with the hearts of so many people and it backfires, horribly. Even then, thisshow shows the absolute worst-case scenario of what can happen when one simply ‘snaps’. There are so many positives and negatives people outside of myself have and will continue to say about this show, but even I will admit that this show was a complete tragedy that should have and easily could have been avoided had ANYONE in this show had even a shred of common sense and self-worth. Unfortunately, what we witnessed was a complete and utter disaster with a generic MC making a complete mess of everything around him, leading to the events that (if you don’t already know) will soon come full circle to this absolute abomination of an MC. Additionally this show created, quite possible, one of the most hated characters in the history of anime. And for that, the shows creators should be commended.
As you progress through this disastrous story you realize that as bad as the MC is EVERY character in this school is, in their own way, an absolute mess. And the absolutely ridiculous character writing for some of these ‘tools’ doesn’t make things any easier to digest. There was one segment as I got closer to the end of the show that almost made me finally give up on the whole show, however I made a commitment to see this show to its proper end just so I could validate how horrible some aspects of the story writing were. That said, this is a show in which as unrealistic as certain aspects can be it is also best to really analyze certain behaviors as being similar to how many people can act in high school. Let’s be fair: MANY of us did absolutely ridiculous things as middle/high schoolers, things we have grown up to greatly regret in our adult years. Even if we ultimately didn’t get even close to doing the things that transpired at the end of this series, one cannot deny that certain elements and aspects of this show truly struck a chord with just how naïve high schoolers can be. It should be noted that I have chosen intentionally not to address the last 6-8 minutes of the final episode and 'if' i feel what occurred was validated. Watch the show to its proper conclusion and reach your own decision if the judgment handed out was warranted, as EVERY viewer of this anime will give you a different answer to that question.
One other positive aspect I must give this show was the music selections. While the OST, itself, was pretty generic, the insert/ending songs I really vibed with and did come to enjoy listening to throughout the series. Most of my positive rating for this show goes directly to the music and certain story elements that, honestly, did make sense.
In the end, School Days has cemented itself into the history books as one of the most controversial animes of all time. Whether you agree with what happened at the end of the show or if this show was any good or not, the show accomplished exactly what it set out to do. It made people uncomfortable. It terrified people. It made people think long and hard about ‘why’ these events occurred. And THAT was exactly what the writers of this bizarre and, at times, outrageous show wanted to set out to do. For that reason, I could never give this show lower than the rating I am giving it, and I believe everyone in the community (of age) is obligated to watching this show at least once. Once watched, though, this is a show that is best to be reflected on and never watched again.
I have no regrets watching School Days, but please PLEASE watch this show with an open mind and understanding that what you think this show is, isn’t.