Review of School Days
Still the Finest Exploration of the Highschool Genre to Date(LR) - As my somewhat pretensions title implies, nearly a decade and a half since its initial anime debut in 2007, 'School Days' the anime adaptation of a visual novel by the same name, continues to be a front runner for the most interesting and well fleshed out exploration of both the harem and highschool genres that there is. From it's Steller direction, expansive Ost and near unique deconstructive story, let's start with the usual spoiler free segment. Animation, Music and Direction - The music of school days is the one trait that I feel anyone wouldstruggle to argue with. The Ost has an unusually large number of vocal tracks putting it up their with idol shows or the likes of a vocaloid adaptation (ala Meckucity actors). Of course size doesn't always translate to quality but in the case of School Days that isn't a problem. The vocal tracks are all used sparingly, in such a fashion as to always line up with and extenuate the actions of the episode you've just watched, with clear and deliberate ties between the lyrics and the story, there's a whole miniature album's worth of great songs here. As for the non-insert songs the rest are varied in their own right, Kotonoha's multiple themes all play with the inclusion of a wonderfully up-beat violin or piano which feeds into her 'proper' upbringing, while the more light hearted everyday tracks sound like they'd easily be at home in the soundtrack of Clanned or Kanon. Of course many of the tracks are much more mellow and easily instil a sort of uneasy melancholy in the viewer, which for reasons will touch on later, is highly fitting. Finally in terms of the soundscape its wonderful. The sound design in the final episode in particular is something else and the show is without doubt one of the leading experts on how to use silence and background noise to reinforce a scene's tone, not to mention the great work of all the voice actors involved.
While on an individual level you may not be overly interested in these sorts of songs or the stylings of the vocals tracks, from an unbiased perspective you'd be hard pressed to find a better fitting soundtrack for the contents of this show and maybe the best way to experience this if your unconvinced, is to simple take the time to listen to the soundtrack out of context on YouTube(make sure to search for the anime OsT, not the Vn's).
The animation and direction of school days are similarly well suited to the product. While I could understand someone drawing issue with the artstyle, it more then functionally encapsulates the slightly dreary, almost dry tone of the series while also paying homage to the many highschool/romance shows and visual novels that it takes its ques from. Additionally the show is full of really striking compositions with some great scene lighting throughout the whole 12 ep run. The use of memorable imagery and a whole myriad of parallel shots (often making use of the character's phones or views from passing train carriages) is also brilliantly done. As for how it moves, its more then serviceable. I have a policy of judging each anime on an individual basis, instead of on some sort of ridiculous linear scale, as such I don't expect sakuga from a Moe or slice of life show, non-the-less when it wants to, school days can move really quite fluidly. For example pretty much the whole of the final episode serves as a case of it's excellent animation or, while not mind blowing, the dance scene in episode 9 looks great and is especially benefitted by the wonderful directing, speaking of-
While the animation is both fitting and overall solid, never failing to fit the situation, the direction is where the show really shines. Painstaking efforts have been taken to have a multitude of shots look slightly off, almost disconcerting in nature. Barely a few minutes will go by without the use of an ever so slightly skewed camera angel or a shot takin from an unusual position. All this coalesces to give the feeling to the audience that we as the viewer are an onlooker, a fly on the wall as it were intruding into the lives of these complicated teenagers. This is in part what gives this show its wonderful sense of tone and pacing, School Days has a real identity in this regard, as a single episode will often feel like you've watched two, without it ever being a drag. Yet in spite of this lethargic feel the show so effortlessly seems to convey, it's actual pacing is rather rapid. People recently feel head over heels to praise Horimiya for the speed at which it's main couple moves and yet no one ever gives props to school days for the fact it's primary couple form after a single episode and much more beyond that.
All this almost seems oximorical, the way the episodes feel long and yet never slow, how the plot can move fast, while still allowing for a great sense of slow contemplation. Maybe one of the best examples of this comes in the form of episode 2, before the intro song even has chance to play we get a montage of the show's first date, information is given in quick succession, yet never so fast that we get lost, it efficiently communicates that Makoto is the more sociable of the couple but clearly is just as inept at relationships as his new partner, this comes together when the montage stops and we get a quite, slow scene set with the duo in a small café. The music doesn't stop so much as it never starts, instead we get one of the show's brilliant examples of using the surroundings as it's soundtrack, we can hear the other customers of the café walking around, the shuffling of chairs and glasses, all while a muffled and muted insert track plays over the radio. For one this works as just a great way to establish this as a real location - something romcom's really aren't required to do is worldbuilding, however common scenes like this one help to tell us that the world of this anime is alive, the classrooms are full of social clicks, the streets of the town are always busy with passer's-by, this world doesn't stop when our primary cast members want to have a arkward conversation, no instead it keeps moving with pieces of the board always in action.
Aside from how the soundscape of the scene helps with worldbuilding, we also have the camera angel, we hang from one spot across from our lead couple, watching as they fidget after their somewhat botched first date. The angel feels like it could be that of a waitresses or the man behind the till, a great example of this 'fly on the wall sensation'. Coming back to the point about tone, this whole scene feels heavy and long despite actually being quite short, the characters are allowed to sit almost silently and shuffle about. It's moments like these that give School Day's it's oddly ethereal feeling, it's an almost trance like and unique experience that I've failed to find matched by many other shows and certainly a mark of just how skilful a production this really is.
Characters and Story - First lets preface this section, I'll try not lecture anyone with my full thoughts on why I think many anime fans watch shows for completely the wrong reasons but in short, if you don't like romcom anime - You wont like this. If you think all romance drama is forced and unrealistic - You won't like this. If you cant stand harem anime because of fanservice or because you believe it requires too much suspension of disbelief - then surprisingly you also won't like this. If you think slow burn anime, lacking in action, that focus on the mundanity of real life are boring - then you also probably won't like this and think it's subjectively 'boring'. And all that's ok, enjoy what you want to enjoy but you should neither watch or complain about show's that aren't bad but just not for you. Unless you have something relevant to say, life goes by way to quick to bother with pointless moaning. In short School Days is not trying to, and shouldn't try to, appeal to everyone. It excels at preforming and examining the trappings of its genre troops but if you don't like said troops in the first place, then there's no particular reason you'll like them any-more so here. Furthermore, School Days is one of the few anime I would suggest is actually deserving of the 'deconstruction' tag and as such, while you may still glean alot from it, the experience will be infinitely more valuable if you've watched at-least a few other Vn adaptions or harem romcoms and in general you have a pre-existing feel for what this genre is all about.
With all that out of the way and keeping spoiler free as possible, School Days is a highschool romcom anime that aims to push boundary's. Where other shows will spend the majority of their run establishing a main couple (Which is totally cool in its own fashion/way) this property is intent on asking some rather scathing questions. What if the protagonist of a harem wasn't such a typical 'nice guy' under the surface? What if the other girls of the harem actually expressed their emotions about the situation rather then forming an infinite stratus, highschool DxD, Sao, etc, fanclub (and again that has its own place in the medium for sure)? What if the characters acted how one would actually expect a group of confused, rapidly developing young teenaged men and women would act?
Of course non of this is to say the story is wholly realistic, some leaps are taken for dramatic effect but rightfully so and furthermore while the set up of girl's who like our Mc for shallow reasons such as; 'Childhood friend syndrome', 'We take a train together' and 'he "protected" me from some bullies', may seem understandably contrived to some, these generic set ups are integral to this being a critical look at the genre. Schools days cannot function with-out these and to mark it down because of this is to call fault towards the show's premise. One could similarly claim Madoka Magica is contrived because of it's adherence (Initially at-least) to magical girl genre conventions. Heck you could easily complain about the inciting incident of almost any anime; "Wasn't it convenient Amero was so close to the unsupervised and fully powered Gundam?", "Ain't it lucky Shingi isn't crushed by the angel in episode 1 of Eva, effectively ending the plot right there?" "Isn't it great how Fmab and HxH follow characters that just so happen to be involved in almost all of the main plot beats in one way or another?" Etc etc. The point I'm trying to make is don't go into School Day's story and allow yourself to be marred by it's very premise. If you think it's premise is unrealistic, that's because it is - by design. School Days is one of the Evangellion's of the highschool genre and that's a good thing, not a bad thing.
As for characters 'School Days' presents us with a fascinating group of - well - teenagers. There's no candy coloured hair architypes in here (though you can put the characters into categories if you so desire), instead we're given people who don't always make good decisions, who aren't always 'good' or rational. Their little more then kids at the end of the day and they act as such. It's a show where the burgeoning feelings of youth are the driving force, not agendas or clear thinking. Temptations is a prevalent theme of the story in an exceedingly fitting way and is something all the characters manage to embody. If you find it impossible to relate or empathize with any of these character, or you feel they do 'ridiculous/unrealistic' actions then I would suggest you have either been very sheltered or just had a pleasant life (In which case good for you) but in reality teenagers can most certainly act in sometimes unreasonable and downright cruel ways like seen in this show. The bullying we see exerted by Kato's social group is by no means unordinary and if you think teenagers don't part-take in sexual activities, then your sorely mistaken. Again these situations are sometimes played up in order to make a story line or scene more interesting but by no means more so then in any other harem anime and always done-so with a deliberate purpose in mind.
In Spoiler Free Conclusion - School Days is not an anime for everyone, it's characters can seem down right malicious, it's story and tone can feel suffocation and while 'dark' migth not be the correct word, it's subject matters can certainly be heavy. However all of this is clearly by design, School Day's is a show that sets out with the goal of tearing apart the genre it calls home, of talking a sort of worst possible scenario look at the visual novel world and it does this superbly. From it's no holds barred storyline plus characters, to it's stellar Ost and brilliantly suited directorial style, this is one of the most innovative and creative romcom's to come out of anime and is in a way something that is almost uniquely suited to the anime industry as a medium.
With that said, unlike other shows that I would suggest everyone should watch, if just in order to experience a certain element of the soundtrack or visuals, School Days is one of the few 10/10 shows that for me cannot be recommended to everyone. If your the type who can't stand fanservice, even when used as a part of the narrative, or if your the type who can't parse their personally feelings and knee jerk reaction away from objectivity(Which is completely fine, you enjoy anime in whatever way suits you best), then this isn't the show for you. Don't watch this if the premise and genre aren't for you, there's nothing wrong with not watching every big show, there is no crime to not enjoying every genre but if you have spent time in this particular one and would like to see something fresh and almost stylistically unique, even nearly 15 years later, then School Days migth just be for you.
Spoilers Ahoy;
With the spoilers free segment out of the way lets have some quick context. Firstly this is technically my tenth Mal review (There were some shorter ones which I hated and promptly deleted) and as such it finally seemed like the ultimate opportunity for me to re-watch School Days(That's my excuse anyway). My first experience with it was a few years ago and I loved it then just as much, I had of course already been spoiled on the ending which is a shame but almost unavoidable after any considerable time in the anime community, yet still I found it to be an amazing trip. My takes on a few shows seem to go against the grain, More recently I think Rent-a-girlfriend is mediocre and more long standing I feel Shuffle is as close to a Masterpiece as they come. I also think Zeta Gundam is quite possibly the weakest entry in the Gundam franchise that I've seen (All of which I've written reviews on if those takes catch your fancy) etc etc but maybe the most out their take is my feelings on School days. Despite knowing it's reputation and the ending, I couldn't stop myself from loving this show despite its rough community perception. It feels so much longer then 12 eps despite its blistering pace, it's dream like quality, the way watching it makes you feel a little bit wrong, like it should be taboo as twist after twist is revealed. Its such a fascinating method of doing a character study of young corruptible people, that I just couldn't help but be enraptured.
All this gushing is to say that School Days is my kind of story, it's subtle but not quite opaque, it doesn't restrain itself yet is completely considered and is exactly the sort of oddity that in large part draws me to anime in the first place. To some this migth suggest my opinions on the show are somewhat biased and no doubt there is an element of that, however like with all my reviews I aim to be as objective as is personally possible, as such let's take a look at some of what it is I think makes School Days such a strong showing in the first place outside of the already discussed production values.
The Characters Aren't Bad or Even Bad People - Indeed not even Makoto is truly a 'bad person', not initially at-least. If you've read this far I probably don't need to say this but a bad person, or even just a person that does bad things, is not the same as a bad character. For example the villain in any given story may do things that are abhorrently 'evil' however that doesn't mean you write them off as bad character, weather it's the Darth Vader's and Thanos's of the western film industry or the Char Aznable's and Quebey's of the anime sphere, these are great and intriguing characters who do bad things. That of course brings us to School Day's protagonist Itou Makoto. Itou has gone down as quite possibly one of the most loathed characters in anime, with good reason if a little misplaced. His actions leading him to being something of a shovenistic play boy are fairly compelling evidence against him however I think it's important too understanding the show, that you understand that Makoto clearly isn't meant to be just 'a bad guy' but more a vessel.
The reason School Days exists is simple, us. Have you ever been watching a harem anime and thought to yourself "Just get on with it and kiss already!" or something to that effect? Have you ever played a visual novel and wished there was a harem route? How about partaking in a meme war over best girl or writing a comprehensive light-spirited 'waifu' list ranking? If your answer to any of those is yes, then you are the reason this show exists. Its here with the blatant function to explore one premise; What if the generic harem protagonist surrounded by adoring girls, actually started going out with one. What if he actually had sex with one, or cheated on another? How would the girls in question take all this as people? How would the fragile social structure of the average harem cope under such dramatic strain?
It's those questions this show's built around and it's for that reason that Makoto is the way he is, however the show isn't quite content to stop just there. Rather then just having Makoto be a blank slate he actually has quite the detailed character, his spiral into depravity is an easy one to plot out and while a little excessive, follows a clear and logical through-line. Before we dive wholly into that, lets quickly touch on how/why the other characters aren't quite 'evil' either.
As I mentioned in the spoiler free part of this review, while it may seem incomprehensible to some, the actions most of the characters take in the show really aren't all that strange. Young men and women in the real world really do behave in these ways sometimes, more often then one migth think. From Kato's gang to Sekai's 'Practice', this is real. It's the realism that for me is one of the show's selling points. I recently complained in my review about Rent-a-Girlfriend that nothing is actually done with it's setting of mature young collage age adults, School Days on the other hand doesn't try to hide the more uncomfortable facts of what youth is for some people, for better or worse. It's worth remembering that kids this age are caught in the grip of puberty, all developing and at different speeds to one another. Forming clicks is a natural part of that system, as is finding oneself suddenly attracted to the opposite sex for oftentimes irrational or unromantic reasons.
That's not to say any of their actions are Just but that they come from the shared struggle we all have with the human condition. No one teaches us what you do in a relationship, how to break up from one is a large part of episodes 5 - 10, or arguably the whole show. I've personally seen this sort of thing where relationship can peter out and one side is simple left to get the message, as is the case here with Kotonoha. In fact it can happen even more often with friends at that tender age. For example while small children saying something like "I'm not Timmy's best friend anymore, Humph!" is played for laughs between parents in school carparks, as we grow older, develop our own personalities and quirks, it can be hard to get along with people we once liked. Maybe you mature a little faster or develop a new interest that takes up your time. Maybe your gender, background or personnel lives simple cause you to drift apart gradually. It's this adolescent angst that we all on some level know and understand, which makes School Days stand out so far ahead of it's piers. There's are so few others shows that even vaguely try to tackle such intense and complex topics, far fewer go and make it their primary note/point of discussion.
On Makoto, Kotonoha and Setsuna - It's in these three characters we can really start to understand 'School Days'. As mentioned these teenagers are naïve, all the characters involved, are to our knowledge completely unexperienced in matters of the body, often by their own admission. Their backgrounds and personalities make up the crux of the show's narrative and messaging. On the surface Makoto and Kotonoha are from two different backgrounds, a sort of Romeo and Juliet set up with Makoto being the son of what seems to be a middle class family (As evidence by his shock at the exuberance of Konoha's house and general protesting when it comes to spending money, but clearly he isn't 'poor' either), while Kotonoha seemingly comes from an exceptionally wealthy, yacht owning family. This difference in background stretches further into their personalities. Itou is a little reserved at times but generally pretty sociable, a bit of a class clown maybe. His relationship's in middle school and the presence of a younger sister mean he's plenty accustomed to having company of the opposite sex but it's clear from the get go that Kotonoha is the first girl he's really been attracted to and at first that attraction is of a fairly pure nature. It should also be mentioned that rather importantly, Itou is the sort who goes with the path of least resistances, something which Sekai, Kato, Hikari and eventually even Kotonoha would all come to reinforce in him.
Kotonoha's prim and proper upbringing has lead her to be a young lady of some refinement, she is very much so of the opinion that men and women should only be truly intimate after marriage or in some rather fantisiful circumstances. Her devotion to such fairy-tales and her life of relative isolation has all lead her to be somewhat fragile, she isn't emotionally ready for an adult relationship of the kind Itou desires but moreover she also finds herself desperately seeking his attentions in a vain effort not to be alone once more. It's this combination, along with the betrayal of Sekai (possible her only friend) that causes her mental anguish. Admittedly this type of break down is handled better in the likes of Shuffle or Evangellion however there is still more then enough character building and foreshadowing present for it here.
So then how does Setsuna fit in? While aside from being best girl (She makes an Eva reference, what more could you possibly want) and the secret 4th protagonist of the show, she acts as this story's most unsung linchpin. Her background is somewhat vague (as is the case with everyone's, its another thing I like about the show as there is never any awkwardly forced conversations about people's tragic backstory) but we do know a fair deal about her - She's a grade A student, exceptional close with Sekai, has a parent working in France and has possibly spent some considerable years being insecure or at-least bullied about her small height and relatively underdeveloped body. There's a whole lot more we could interpret then that but for now let's examine why all this preamble matters.
Itou changes significantly over the story, being quite clearly depressed at times, to actually put a specific mental condition label on him feels unhelpful (Much like the unproductive labelling of Madoka characters) but it suffices to say he's complicated. Essentially left unattended in the height of puberty, it's the girls around him that end up shaping his world view. Initially Makoto is pretty innocent, albeit with a perverted side, he pursues the fairy-tale romance with Kotonoha for a time, while being constantly offered a 'friends with benefits' alternative by Sekai. What's important here is how the women around him, threat Itou. When Makoto realizes that a relationship is a two way street, that he needs to let Katsura feel comfortable and to accommodate her needs, it's here he begins to complain about the effort involved in a relationship. This is really nothing surprising coming from a spoiled teenager but in Sekai's offers of 'practice' he is presented with a way to get far more for much less emotional effort. This is already enough for some to label him a scumbag but at this point all Makoto is really doing is acting his age. It's cruel against poor Kotonoha, definitely but not unusual. Indeed despite Sekai's enabling of this behaviour Makoto actually has some credible logic at this stage in the proceedings, he claims he can feel himself around Sekai, that he enjoys her company far more then Kotonoha's. At this point it's possible this is at-least partially true but it is also already apparent that a large part of what he sees in her is an easier option then keeping things going with Katsura. The sad truth is that what he needs at this time is for Sekai to slap him, to tell him to buck up and to be the sort of man who deserves the type of adoring girlfriend that he wants, this is something Setsuna will try to do later but the damage is already done by Sekai's earliest actions.
Sekai comes in to fault again when she like him, fails to inform Kotonoha of her and Makoto's activities. Now make no mistake, not telling her is on Itou but Sekai's actions push all the blame on to him and the more she brings up telling Kotonoha the truth, the more Makoto seems to grow distance from her. In a sense one could say there is no Adam without Eve. In comes Setsuna. Now to be clear, Setsuna too is plenty at fault, upon re-watches her stares at Makoto take on a second meaning separate of just looking out for her best friend. Furthermore in spite of her dedication to the cause she kisses Makoto at-least once, if not arguable twice for her own ends, initiating the exchange herself on both occasions. Finally her sleeping with Makoto is clearly not to protect Sekai like she claims but instead an expression of her own desire. Her tears in that scene are indictive of her regret at betraying her friend in such a manner. With all that said Setsuna is by far the closet thing to 'good' we have in the show. The majority of her actions, though double sided, are mostly with the intent of helping her best bud and for a time it actually works. Blocking Kotonoha at every turn initial seems frivolous but in the end leads to Makoto finally rejecting his former girlfriend once and for all in episode 10. Furthermore after her presence increases with-in episodes 3 - 10, it's clear that she has something of a slowing effect on the downfall of the group. Her intrusions are almost enough to lead to a positive outcome but ultimately her own downfall is no different to the rest, she is unable to separate her own personal feelings from what she needs to preform indefinitely, as best illustrated by the play scene in episode 9 ( Which is later mimicked for Sekai in episode 12. It's a nice parallel between the two and the whole scene is one I find really interesting as it's unclear if it even happened or if it was just in Setsuna's head, such as it with Sekai in the aforementioned ep 12).
So what we end up with is a series of young women who act as a terrible influence on Makoto's physki during a period of extreme formative growth. As Setsuna explains and we see visually, Sekai is internally a very emotionally fraught young person, her feelings towards Makoto overwhelm her leading to her essentially becoming an enablers for his more negative traits and tendencies, to the point the Makoto comes to believe what's going on is actually completely normal, that casually sleeping with your classmates is an acceptable activity. She actively devalues the activity of intercourse, while conversely Kotonoha pushes Itou away by being what he conceives to be unreasonably uptight. Meanwhile we have Kato who puts an additional dangerous idea into the young man's head, the idea that all women want to be seen as such. By this I mean to say that Kato explicitly states she wants nothing more then for Makoto to expressive his respect and acknowledgement towards her through physical interaction, she also expresses the idea that one should keep pushing as far as they can in order to wholly understand if someone actually likes you or not. All these ideas are exceedingly complex phycological speaking and the effects they'd have on a young man's perception of the opposite sex are well worthy of a full analysis of their own but in essence this is what Setsuna's up against.
Her self-appointed role is one of steward, in lieu of Itou's absent parents she takes on the job of trying to steer him in a more mature direction, continually trying to convince him that by being a little more loyal to Sekai, it will in the long run bring him to a happier more fulfilling relationship. Weather she does this for her own motives or not matters very little, what counts is that she is the only one trying to make him see the worth of a more stable, natural relationship. As we see in episode 11, and even the second half of episode 10, as soon as Setsuna breaks, the whole house of cards tumbles down as the web of inter-classroom teenage adolescence closes in.
The Subjectivity of Drama - Let's now talk more on that last part. Up to episode 11 we have a story roughly revolving around a central love triangle of Kotonoha, Sekai and Makoto being presumably the three mentioned in the show's tagline (Alternatively you could take it as the three primary girls of Sekai, Katsura and Setsuna or as the three initial unrequited love stories of Sekai, Kato and Setsuna, some interpretations could also focus more on Makoto and the idea he should never of gone past innocent staring but I digress), episode 11 changes this, the story which had already been growing in scope is suddenly exponentially more complicated, with the episode going as far as to start with what we think is Kato but instead is the aftermath of a new affair between Makoto and Hikari (another close friend of Sekai's).
Before we get too far into it let's discuss more on this topic's title. The adage that comedy is highly subjective is frequently thrown around but it's my personal belief that the phrase is actually far more apt when addressing drama. Some people will label borderline any characters interactions as 'forced drama' which is just plain unhelpful but for most people drama can depend on a great many things. How well you relate to the characters, your investment in the story or simple the mood your in can all determine your enjoyment of a Friday night soap-opera and weather you think it's forced or not. Somewhat paradoxically people will often get disgruntled by drama because they're sub-consciously invested in the story. For example the more you take note of a character, then the more hurt you are if something unfortunate happens to them, it's in this that you can essentially complain that a work has 'bad drama' because it was in fact so effective on you in particular.
For me in my probably fruitless pursuit of objectivity, good drama or unforced drama is that which is foreshadowed, makes use of pre-existing facts and keeps with-in the established characters we've come to know. With this in mind how does School Day's drama fair? Actually quite well regardless, of the slander many have frequently chosen to throw at it. Weather its the aforementioned love-lorn gazes of Setsuna, to Makoto's seemingly compulsive lying, from Kato's straight forward blushing or Sekai's easily broken spirit, these moments are varied, efficient and well placed. An early moment that stands out to me is Kotonoha's knitting, we see her make a small mistake and immediately proceed to unravel the whole jumper laboriously, as the camera holds on the image for an uncomfortable length of time or more opaquely is of course her frequent staring at sharp kitchen utensils. Of course maybe the biggest tell of the whole series is the earliest one, in episode one the titles appear before shattering like glass with an accompanying sound effect, we never see this again, except as a terrifyingly sudden bookend during the final episode but it acts as the earliest clue that this is by no means an ordinary romcom-love-triangle anime.
The drama flows in a way that may not be the 'logical' thing we scream at our screens but is always in keeping with the characters in question and the show's no holds bared approach means all the interaction get fully fleshed out and explored as far as is possible in such a limited time space. Their is no character who we're left wondering how they migth of reacted if such and such had happened, we get to have our cake and eat it time and time again...then comes episode 11.
For many this is the one people site as the problem child, stating it's where the show begins to take incomprehensible leaps of faith with unclear motives and all for the sake of cheap shock value but I personally believe this to be completely incorrect, rather that episode 11 is both the only possible outcome of the series events up to this point but also the most fitting direction the show could of gone in with it's tale. The issue seems to arise in how quickly the severity of things gets, Kotonoha has truly snapped, everyone is seemingly sleeping with Makoto and Sekai is pregnant but is any of this really that surprising? Not to say it's predictable or anything but this was always where we were headed. Makoto has been us aiming for a harem route since episode 2. Ep 10 removed the last of the safety nets, in that Sekai finally realized she's just another girl for Makoto to cheat on, Katsura is forced to face reality straight from the horse's mouth and Setsuna literally (and mercifully) flies away. The maelstrom that's been building since the beginning takes full swing, its an episode that makes us as a viewer feel lost, confused, disorientated and maybe even mad and surely that's the point. We're feeling just a sliver of what Itou, Kotonoha and Sekai are feeling, my early comments, about how really we don't see this show through the eyes of any of the characters but instead through the guise of a fly on the wall, comes full circle here as we're dipped in and out of the story. We can easily understand or at-least infer that something in the region of a month passes in this episode, as we're informed that Sekai has used almost all her absent days allowance.
It's this very cacophony of rapid fire events, the water on the far side of the damn breaking through as it where, that allows for the ending to hit so hard. Could this of been handled differently? Yes and no. On the one hand I can completely see why someone migth lower their score by 0.5 for this transgression in the pacing or if your scoring more subjectively, this may be enough to cause you to drop the show by a whole point or two, however to me at-least this is exactly as it should be. Had the show gone for 13/14 episodes then yes this series of events could of been paced out a little more economically but would it work? The blistering pace of the show is one of it's strengths and not only would we lose that feelings of confusion but additionally you would in essence completely derail the pacing and tone of the story. It is therefore integral that the events conspire in this very fashion and hence entirely fitting from an un-bias point of view.
Makoto can't be Simply Described as Just Evil/Bad/A Scrum-bag - Episode 11 is maybe the most fascinating of the lot, I could certainly see someone smarter then I interpreting this and by proxy the whole show, as being one about the breakdown of society when we indulge in our more carnal pleasure's as both men and women, a sort of Japanese-Highschool lord of the flies with sex edition - Yet what I find most interesting, not only about the episode but maybe the whole show, is quite near the end, as Makoto attempts to dial up each of his potential partners, the following sentences exit his mouth -
"What's up with Everyone? - How come they're not picking up. - Why is this happening to me? - Everything was going really well just a little while ago."
In this short monologue and most of his words following this and in the following episode aswell, we really can see what the point of it all was. Itou clearly doesn't get it, not a single part of him is aware of what he's done, he truly believes he's done nothing to warrant the current mass group cold shoulder he's receiving. When people say Makoto is one of the worst guys in anime (even including the few western fans of the show) they will often reference this scene as the ultimate proof but to me it's the exact opposite, in what is the best part of this whole incident. Makoto in his own mind has done nothing wrong, Makoto isn't a bad person because he quite simply isn't capable of associating himself as one, it's not quite sociopathic but it isn't far off that either. This all leads to the core goal of everything, this show's premise is a 'what if' scenario as outlined earlier in this essay but in doing so the show is also out to actively critic and deconstructive everything about the genre. Where Shuffle does this by ultimately painting the protagonist as misguided but capable of change, of bettering themselves (and therefore by proxy the audience can do the same) School Days suggests something much more bleak. It supposes that the Otaku audience who wish for such idyllic girl's, who demand their Waifu and the Mc hook up, who refuse to interact with reality - are essentially doomed. Where the likes of Evangellion, Re;zero and Shuffle are ultimately tinged with hopefulness for a change within their audience, School Days has seemingly given up on them.
In Makoto we have quite possibly the bleakest allegory for ourselves in the whole medium. He's not exactly a coward like Shinji sometimes seems, nor is he afraid of responsibly, societal pressures and the real world like Rudeous or Subaru and he certainly isn't as foolishly selfless yet selfish as Rin - no fundamentally what causes Makoto to stand heads and shoulders above the rest in terms of harshness is that he doesn't see it, he never really realizes it, even at the very end of his time, he's still ignoring Sekai and the other's feelings, his turn back to Kotonoha hints at a possible change but could just as easily be seen as him letting her fix his problems, letting her deal with Sekai's pregnancy, it's just him talking the easiest route once again, he really still hasn't gotten it, not properly. He is in a way completely blind to his own faults, their is no hope for a redemption arc with him because unlike all those others characters I listed, who realized at some/one point or another their short comings and at the very least had the potential to be something more, Itou Makoto is too far gone, he can't be 'evil' or 'good', the show is far to mature for the use of such terms. He is instead just human and a deeply flawed one at that.
What all this is to say is that School Days is not a happy ending but that's ok. Not all story's need a happy ending and before anyone says it, nether do all stories need to be fun, furthermore those who claim the first 11 episodes are boring are simple spouting opinion and even if that opinion were correct, being boring is maybe worth a single point of two and far from writes off a show in its entirety. A story or piece of art has no obligation to you to be enjoyable or even entertaining, it's only obligation (ignoring monetary constraints) is to itself, to achieve the goals it sets out to. All those others stories and characters I listed are in the end ones of a hope towards a positive outlook, its in this that School Days is at odds with them, because at it's heart the most positive way you can look at it is as a cautionary tale about the follies of young romance, of getting carried away into a slippery slope spiral of ever more complicated matters and about always respecting the people around you but at worst, as outlined it can be seen as an incredible scathing message about the otaku audience. Maybe it's no wonder so much of the community finds it to hard to shallow this pill, it at times borderline tells its own viewers that they are hopeless degenerates. Maybe non of this should be surprising considering the source material, 'School Days HQ' rocketed in popularity after people we're impressed not only by its animation but also, rather importantly, it's rather graphic endings combined with said vivid animation. One could definitely argue there is something deeply unsettling about a community that loves the 'entertainment' value of seeing their waifu's go through bad ends, so much so that a DLC pack/amended version of the game was realized with additional bad ends, in order to fill this apparent gap in the market. This may upset some who hoped for a happier outcome, offend others who ironically don't even accept why it really is their hurt and possibly disappoint more causal audiences who just wanted a chill time but in the end all that, while important, is just opinions while objectively the show achieves exactly what it sets out to in some of the most spectacular fashion any anime ever has.
'School Days' - Bringing this to an end I'd be remiss not to give some small mention to the myriad of other topics I considered talking on - From a more in-depth look at Sekai as the story's equivalent of the sympathetic Eve character, to the show's surprisingly competent ability to quietly integrate and illustrate friend groups/social clicks or it's cleverly placed and timely moments of levity. A deeper look into the themes of the story is obviously called for and the final episode of the show is so intensive that it's well deserving of an essay all to itself (The song 'Kanashimi no Mukou e' alone feels like the second coming of 'Komm Sus Todd' both audibly and narratively, not to mention the pile of comparative imagery, the fly on the wall analogue going further beyond then ever and the visceral visual massacre that are the two fight scenes, accompanied only by some of the show's finest still composition of the whole run), furthermore I have quite a bit to say about Taisuke Sawanga who in a way accompanies Setsuna in being the closest the show gets to a more positive outcome.
In actuality I could definitely see myself writing a full retrospective in the same style as my piece on Shuffle, this seems doubly appealing to me in that when writing about a show I'm naturally inclined towards, I find the more depth I can go into, the less my bias holds sway. There's also the visual novel which has been on my to do list to play for some years and as I purchased a pretty decent laptop about a year ago, It's definitely been something I've been meaning to check out, so I may add an amendment here in the future if playing that helps me to find another perspective from which to look at the property through. However with all that said I think we've covered more then enough to make an informed conclusion on this anime.
School Days is an often maligned anime, that even years on has it's reputation continue to proceed it. Still to this day you'll hear baffling opinions on it from the likes of larger anime community members, such as the 'Thrash Taste' crew and to be fair, rightfully so. Weather your like Glass Reflection's rather famous video on the topic and actually found yourself surprised or even appalled by the goings on, weather you simply had your opinions marred by the popularity bandwagon or weather you simply found yourself disgusted by the show's blatant gall, it's all highly understandable, yet if we all take a moment to step back and look at this show less reactively, what you start to realize is it's so much more then just cheap, shock value entertainment. If anything that very negative perception of the show should be seen as a mark of quality for how effectively it achieved all of it's goals. From a Score and Directing style that should unarguably garner the show a minimum of 3 or 4 points alone, to an immaculately paced and considered story, with intricate, painfully realistic characters accompanied by the magnificently unique tone and feel of the show, School Days is a near unique masterclass in how to explore the worst possible 'what if' situation, all while weaving a story that deconstructs everything we expect of the genre and acts as possibly the harshest critic of the average otaku to date. Next to 15 years on and this is still a contender for the most innovate and original entry into the harem and deconstruction genres and holds an important place in the anime Pantheon.
I hope you enjoyed. This is review number 10 for me (Hurrah!?), if you found my essay in any-way compelling or even found it in yourself to raise your score of School Days and give it a rewatch with fresh eyes, then please press the 'Helpful' button (Turn phone browsers to desktop mode) or simple shoot me a comment/message if you wanna have a chat about about any of my interpretations of it, without further ado-
-Thanks for reading.