Review of School Days
When an anime has a high level of drama like School Days, it is best to keep it serious. This mixture of intense drama and comedy is not compatible. The forced humor is obvious, especially in the first 2-3 episodes. It is mostly due to the sorry excuse for a harem male character. Some scenes may be so ridiculous that they're laughable anyway. Indeed, School Days delivered the brutality of high school life well, and the scenes are likely to draw anger or sympathy from the viewer. Creators had the right idea for a love triangle, but it was not executed properly. Story (5) High school involvesyour typical drama (betrayal, bullying, heartbreak, psychological trauma, etc.). School Days does a good job at focusing on these themes. It is thanks to the characters’ heartfelt emotions that is likely to spark certain reactions from the viewer. It began on a good level with the introduction of a love triangle. It was more easygoing just following the three MCs, but later came the downfalls and the quickened pace.
The first two episodes, along with the anime’s OP, spoils the anime beforehand by revealing nearly the entirety of what’s to come. Some characters’ connected pasts were not revealed, leaving only the viewer’s imagination with dialogue. Everything is rushed in the final three episodes with complex subplots that are left slightly unfinished. Well, the ending destroyed all hope of furthering those subplots anyway. The way the show ended was completely unnecessary and quickly turns away from the anime’s theme. It seems like the creators ran out of ideas and picked the most shocking, frightening way to say “The End.”
Characters (6)
Characters contributed to the dramatic theme, even if they highly lacked in character development. Mature high school harems are likely to involve a selfish playboy who cares only about fulfilling his sexual desires, but School Days has the most emasculate harem male character. From the start, Makoto was always clumsy and embarrassing himself at every turn. He is constantly indecisive with either someone always speaking for him or being hesitant and irresponsible for his actions. Therefore, none of the events resulted from his own actions, and he only changed later when he reached a dead end.
Sekai and Kotonoha both remain clueless and hopelessly in love with Makoto. They never develop on a positive note by moving on or anything comparable. Despite having feelings for Makoto, Sekai spent the beginning of the series playing Cupid and a love counselor for Makoto and Kotonoha. Then she basically spends the remainder of the series confusing Makoto’s lust for love. Kotonoha is a shy girl who sadly catches hell from nearly everyone, and it begins to take a toll on her psychologically. Her emotions triggered darkness and despair. Since the anime revolves around a love triangle, I didn't expect much from Sekai and Kotonoha.
Some of the supporting characters were there to intensify the drama, especially Kotonoha’s bullies. I disliked how those characters are given decent airtime at the last minute. The rushed ending immediately takes away all hope of learning more about them or their connections with the three MCs.
Art (7) / Sound (8)
Character design is the basic big and bright-eyed characters with slim bodies, but it draws attention to one or two characters with smaller eyes and different facial structures. Also, Makoto’s face is noticeably chubby compared to the others. The camera continually concentrated on femininity, stressing the perverted thoughts of Makoto. The colors are dark and kind of bland, giving off a depressing feeling. The backgrounds were well-designed.
The sound effects were superb, and the OP and EDs suited the anime’s atmosphere. I see the OP (“Innocent Blue” by DeviceHigh) as displaying the hopeful feelings for Sekai and Kotonoha’s chances with Makoto. Sample of the lyrics: “Even if it takes a detour, I want these feelings to go straight to you.” Because of OP’s tune, it’s easy to tell that School Days is based off a game. There are 8 EDs in all, and I didn’t like the constant changes for every episode, but they admittedly suited the mood shifts of the anime. Apart from that, the background music matched the moods perfectly within the anime. The seiyuu portrayed the voices of the characters very well, while ensuring that the display of personalities are genuine.
Enjoyment (6) / Overall (5)
School Days is definitely unforgettable, because it’s rare to see a shockingly unforeseen ending like that one. There are other drama anime like Rumbling Hearts and White Album 2 that easily surpass School Days, and I definitely don’t plan to re-watch School Days again. It’s entertaining with the drama and the characters’ genuine emotions, but Makoto can be unbearably annoying. As a result, I laughed most of the time, but I sympathized with Kotonoha the most. It’s likely that none of these characters are likeable, because there is no development. They all remain the same and became worse as the series continues. Overall, School Days had a good motive, but it was far from reaching its goal.