Review of School Days

after finishing this anime i knew i had to write about it because it was left me feeling conflicted and i still cant determine if thats good or not. **i just want to preface that coming into the anime i had a bias AGAINST it because i am in no way a fan of the harem genre** (read the overall section for the TL;DR) story (3/10): the story centers around our main character Makoto Itou, a high school student in the second semester of his freshmen year. on the train to school he notices a fellow classmate Kotonoha Katsura and becomes enchanted by her. He enlists thehelp of another fellow classmate and mutual friend Sekai Saionji to help out awkward Makoto be able to find love. during that time through the characters get to know each other and create new bonds results in what was a regular monogamous relationship into this sort of polyamorous affair all centered around Makoto. however, Makoto's different affairs with the other characters begin to degrade the relationships around him sending some into full blown mental breakdowns.

honestly, the plot is so hollow. theres really no depth to it for a good 3/4 of the anime. everything is predictable; there really is no need to be that tuned in. because of that i didnt find it entertaining in the slightest. there was an additional bias against the plot on my part because i just dont enjoy all of the fan service and cliches that come with the harem genre, however i could see how it would appeal to others. the one thing i will say was genuinely enthralling was the last 1/3 of the anime. it began to dabble in the seinen/dark psychological portions of the very little character development the plot set up. i throughly enjoyed the ending, but i dont know if it was worth it.

art (4/10): theres not really much i can say. it looks decent stylistically and there didnt seem to be any issues in the animation. i can also appreciate how different all of the characters were from each other

sound (4/10): again, not much i can say in this area. the voice acting was fine and i didnt notice anything weird with the other miscellaneous sound effects.

characters (3/10): like the plot, the characters were all pretty shallow, empty husks of partially developed idea mostly based off of the genre cliches. all of the secondary characters added nothing to the plot, they were just there to help move the story along without interfering with Makoto's "character development". the only evidence of some sort of development would be in the more central characters (Makoto, Kotonoha, and Sekai) however they dont really progress much. all of them are vapid and their characters in general are very linear and, when looking at Kotonoha and Sekai, only serve the purpose of being tools to further Makoto and whatever agenda the plot has for him. Makoto never really grows as a character and never really reflects on his actions aside from the more superficial observations, but he made a very good villain. Kotonoha also didnt mature, never really creating an identity of her own; she always is attached to Makoto in some way, making her so bland and boring. her character agitated me the most because it seemed like her character really embodied every female stereotype imaginable (the non-combative delicate/pure virgin with a body crafted by the male psyche who wants to badly to please). these traits make it so that she can literally do no wrong in this anime so its a great person for the audience to champion over, and im not entirely sure if thats the point. Sekai, who's character is still flat, was the most dynamic because she was the ONLY character with ulterior motives that might have not been known by the audience. Her attraction for Makoto as well as how she carried herself around the other characters was the ONLY one that was a gradual and organic shift. unlike Makoto and Kotonoha, Sekai was the only character who was a 100% different person at the end.

with that being said though the underlying psychological aspect of the plot is interesting and it actually the talking point of most of the higher reviews. i think the reason for that is two parted:
1. besides Sekai's development it is the only thing that happened organically and gradually built up and
2. was able to satisfy the audience with a "justified" ending.

without spoiling the plot, the psychological turmoil of the three central characters ends up hitting the spot and resolving a lot of the qualms the audience probably has with the characters, because i know it did for me.

overall (4/10): all in all, the anime was pretty bad. a large portion of the anime was pretty terrible. the characters were cardboard and built off of stereotypes and cliches that arent cute or creative and the anime wasnt visually and audibly outstanding. the only really thing that is commendable is the ending, which is actually pretty good considering what youre given, however im not too sure the anime is worth watching just because of the ending