Review of School Days

I do not normally write reviews but I personally felt a need to talk about it. Do not worry as it'll be very minimal in analysis, I mainly would just like to convey what I think it's message is and how that has earned it it's score. I'll be very brief. School Days has been out for just about a decade and a half but even today manages to convey the ugliness of human nature almost perfectly. I'll say for one yes that is this a very mature anime, it is not for the faint-hearted. There are many things that happen in the anime thatare unpleasant to watch and at times distressing. Similarly I myself do not condone any of the actions or attitudes that many of the characters have. I'm not alone in these feelings I know but I'm not going to be one to say that it's terrible simply because I hate the characters. A lot of the characters are in fact very unlikable but this doesn't mean they are poorly written or completely unworthy of acknowledgement. Just as we would not condemn an actor for their role we shouldn't declare this anime a lost cause for its characters.

School Days is a messy masterpiece. It focuses on the actions, attitudes, and effects of love and relationships within a group of high school teenagers. As previously mentioned; a character's actions don't necessarily mean they are poorly written. School Days earns my respect in not sugar-coating just how complicated and convoluted relationships happen, these things do indeed happen in real life and sadly more often than we think. Are these characters unbelievable? Some may say so but not at all completely. Admittedly at times it can be sensational but it is nothing to complain and scoff at. I see it as a somewhat satirical commentary on the genre of slice of life and harems.

Why do we hate School Days so much then? It makes us uncomfortable because it shows us parts of ourselves (man) that we are afraid of. Parts of ourselves that in some way or another can represent either hidden desires or attitudes or more popularly with its viewers, the things we fear. We fear messing up, being with someone we don't want to be. We fear being cheated on, of being replaced. We fear not getting the respect we deserve, of being mistreated or being seen in a way that we think isn't who we truly are. We are ultimately scared of being imperfect and incomplete.

I won't go into characters' motives or try to explain how I see them and their connections and relationships with each other. I'll leave that up to anyone who decides to watch it.

Ultimately I'd give it a higher score. There are only a few points of contention I have but they aren't too terrible to ruin its message.

I hate School Days. Why? Because school days is merely a mirror, an avenue that reflects reality.

(To make matters short, it is a very emotionally disturbing anime but I myself give it props for conveying and portraying it's artistic vision.)