Review of The Fruit of Grisaia
Grisaia no Kajitsu is an anime that had plenty of potential to be something interesting, a chance to tell some compelling stories that contained their share of some emotional moments. Sadly these moments feel too far in between. Rushed narratives and developing characters but only to stop exploring them further has held back the show. I should first clarify that I had not played the visual novel before diving into the show. In fact, I only took a small glance at the synopsis and thought that I might stumble across something interesting. While the anime itself has certainly appealed enough to me to want to explorethese characters further in the VN, should I really consider that a success? A show needs to be able to stand on its own, and aside from a much more engaging final arc, I can't say I found myself drawn in many times.
The story is sadly where the show suffers the most. When people talk about shows that needed more episodes, this is going to be one that will feature very prominently. The show decides to take on many different routes and cram them into the space of 13 episodes. The result? Not great. By the end of the show I was left with plenty of questions and very few things answered.
What's annoying is that these tales revolving around the five girls are actually quite interesting. Yet by the time I was finding myself intrigued, the arc would usually be finished. The worst part is that at the conclusion of each arc - aside from some subtle differences in character behaviour and appearance - you wouldn't have even known the previous arc had taken place. None of what you have previously watched seems to have any bearing on future events. You could almost take the different stories, rearrange them in any order you would be none the wiser. If you really want to add some emotional weight behind your stories then we need to see their after effects. Naturally, with an anime being made from a visual novel with very distance branches in its routes, this flaw is bound to happen. It's just such a shame to see these stories being told only for them to seemingly have no noticeable impact or development on our characters. It's not a great way to write a show.
The show won me back a little bit with its final story. Without going into detail, the shift in tone was welcome. I found myself really curious as to what would happen next. Having extra episodes set aside for the arc certainly helped its cause.
Characters themselves are very distinctive but without being memorable.
Kazami Yuuji is certainly an interesting main character. I never found myself completely drawn to his cool, collected personality. His interactions with the girls feel emotionless and at times can shift the mood of a scene for the worse. Yet at the same time it's refreshing to have a lead who doesn't lose his head when things go against him. He's calculating, clever and goes out of his way to help and protect those around him. It would definitely have been nice to have had some more development on his back story, to help explain how he developed the personality he has, especially considering everyone else around him gets their share of development - albeit a minuscule amount.
Our five girls, Makina, Michiru, Sachi, Amane and Yumiko, all get their time in the spotlight but when they're outside of it you wouldn't even know they existed. They are all sadly victims of the writing choices of the show. When they do get they're chance to shine the results are mixed. Some stories were flat out bizarre (Yumiko) and uninteresting (Sachi) while some (Michiru and Amane) definitely felt more memorable. And of course all of them were rushed, never helping the cause.
Cheap fanservice moments involving them were also very unnecessary. I'm quite aware of what the source material is like, but when you try to pack that in during inappropriate moments then the result is, quite frankly, embarrassing.
Grisaia is a show that could have been something much more had the writers chosen to remain focused on just one route. Instead of being delivered one delicious course, we've been handed five leftovers. I haven't quite lost my appetite for more but the next dish will need to be prepared with more care.