Review of The Fruit of Grisaia

Keep in mind episodes 10& a half through 12 3/4 are not covered in the main part of the review, scroll down for them. What first got my attention was obviously the art. I didn't even need to look at the production studio to know that this was made by the guys that animated monogatari. Naturally that means that the art is incredibly detailed & a incredibly beautiful to watch. The story centers around Yuuji, a japanese student (a tiny bit older than he should be) who attends a highschool ran strictly to accomodate a select few (that are all rich beyond their wildest dreams). Sototal we have Yuuji + 5 chicks, each with her own backstory and reason for wanting to be sceduled by the rest of society. As each independadly develop a crash for the (rediculously skilled in everything) Yuuji, and he in turn explores their tragic backgrounds.

One thing that will immediatly get your attention is the setting. Apart from a school with 6 student total being awesome, the whole place seems to be a holiday resort, with the time stuck in almost constant sunset throughout the entire series. This, accompanied by the very detailed high-resolution animation gives of a very nice feeling that the viewer quickly learns to appreciate.

Not all is merry&rosy however. For one thing, the viewer quickly loses interest after tha first three to four episodes due to Yuuji simply being too op at everything. He's flawless, which ultimately makes him as uninteresting as it goes. So the focus is on the girls. While they each have a unique personality, none of them manage to make the viewer actually care. In fact when for the first time the viewer develops sympathy for one of them (the little one that calls Yuuji papa) that little s£$t acts in the stupidest way possible, making me instantly hate her.

Lets be honest though, it's tollerable. The art is good enough to support the anime on its own, despite the characters being relatively weak. In fact it is that god damned amazing Monogatari art that makes this show worth watching... Unless of course we're talking about 3 very specific episodes...

Regarding episodes 10-12: None of the above actually reflect them. Through these episodes, the viewers see the backstory of a redhead that belongs to Yuuji's harem. Also let us be clear that while the rest of the anime is action-romance packed, these 3 episodes are pure, hardcore horror. The bus Amane (the redhead) was in, crashed in the middle of nowhere, leaving 12 girls + the driver trapped in the wilderness. None of them has any idea how to get back and food supplies will only last so long. Among those girls is Yuuji's older sister, Kazuki, a completely unsociable brilliant girl. I don't want to spoil anything, but lets just say that lack of food and proper medical care makes for some pretty fun situations. (keep in mind, the pacing in those episodes is unbelievably slow, unlike the rest of the anime that has a relatively fast setting, and this is done on purpose). Seriously, those episodes practically standalone, so go watch them, now.