Review of School Days (2007)

Review of School Days (2007)

Hello, everyone. It's time for a new review.

A few warnings for this review. 1) There are a few spoilers throughout. The more critical ones I will give a warning with SPOILER! and END SPOILER! with a strike through across the spoiled material. 2) The anime in question is intended for mature audiences (18+), some of which will be discussed in this blog.

I recently finished the nefarious, twelve episode anime School Days. I'll admit the only reason I even bothered watching is because I have seen and heard it listed as one of (if not the) worst anime ever made. I knew what was going to happen up to that infamous ending going into the first episode, but I wanted to witness for myself this show that has received so much hate.

Despite the fact that it has its reputation, I found it interesting that on IMDb, the user rating as of this day is a 6.9 (1), and on MyAnimeList it has a score of 6.38 (2).

In short, I don't think it's that bad, in fact I gave it a six on MyAnimeList. It's not the best anime by far, but I wouldn't consider it the worst; actually, I wouldn't even place it in my top thirteen worst anime list. Yes, the ending did come out of nowhere (which I will discuss in full towards the end of this review), but overall I did enjoy this series.

According to Wikipedia, School Days was originally a popular dating video game meant for an adult crowd (3). Later it was adapted into an anime, which is what I will be discussing here.

I'll begin with the opening. I thought it was clever how in the first and last episode there is no opening. There is simply the title card for School Days followed by a visual of glass shattering. It's ominous, yet intriguing. Not to mention I was impressed that there was no opening song/sequence. However, episode two includes the actual opening (which is used for episodes two through eleven). In my opinion, it is the most boring anime opening ever. The song is okay, but that's all there is to enjoy about it. There is nothing special about the visuals. It's pretty much a cliche anime opening, sometimes juxtaposing the two main girls together, other times having them do the same thing with the male lead, then quick edits of the other girls. Basically, it's nothing I haven't seen before. After the first viewing, I just skipped the opening in each episode.

The story follows a high school student named Makoto Itou, someone who is portrayed as being average for most of the series. The main character has an interest in Kotonoha Katsura, a pretty girl who rides the same train as him to school. A classmate named Sekai Saionji, who's assigned seat is next to Makoto's, takes an interest in his relationship blues, and vows to help him court Katsura. In a short amount of time Sekai falls in love with Makoto, but despite her own feelings, loves Makoto enough to aid him in getting what he wants. In short, the first third of School Days feels like a typical romance anime.

Sekai succeeds in setting up Makoto and Katsura, and the two latter start dating. Since Katsura is more reserved with the physical aspects of dating, Makoto eventually grows tired of her. Since Makoto feels more at ease with Sekai, he confesses that he would rather be with her, and has an affair with Sekai behind Katsura's back.

In the last third of the anime, Makoto is shown having intimate relationships with seven girls other than Katsura. Some of them deceive themselves into believing that Makoto actually has feelings for them, while others are merely interested in sex. Through it all, Katsura refuses to believe that Makoto would hurt her. That sets up for a good drama.

That brings me to the major subplot to this story that follows Kastura's relationship with her peers as she is trying to convince them (and herself) that Makoto is her boyfriend. Katsura's female classmates have a strong dislike for her, and are looking for reasons to torment her. The reason for their hatred is that Katsura has the largest chest in the class, and ultimately that she is pretty, which they view as a threat. While that may sound like a stupid reason to dislike someone, it's important to remember that these are high school girls. I'm not too knowledgeable about school and societal issues in other cultures, like Japan, but this is actually a pretty common thing in America. I can speak from the experience of someone who used to be a teenager, that in high school, girls tended to dislike the more beautiful and popular girls out of their own insecurities. In fact there were plenty of stupid reasons for teenage girls to hate their peers (looks, money, grades, who she had as a boyfriend, extracurricular activities, and other forms of jealousy). Like these real life situations, the girls in Katsura's class would rather humiliate and bully her than face their own issues.

The art style is standard. Most of the female characters look beautiful--I say look, because there are a few that have such nasty personalities (Otome's friends) that I find them hideous. Most of the characters have typical anime designs, a variety of hair styles and token personalities, but not much that stands out. The one exception, in my opinion, would be Setsuna. While she is small, her eyes can be intimidating, which I think is a good representation of her character. In my opinion, she has the most unique design, and also who I find to be the most interesting character.

If there is something that is a constant in most of the school genre anime it would be the school uniforms. I absolutely love the uniforms in School Days. The male uniform looks sharp and sophisticated. The female uniform is cute, I love the the ruffled blouse. Of course the color scheme of black, white, and gray, with the red ribbons for an accent color looks nice. I actually want to cosplay as Katsura, Sekai, or Setsuna just to wear the adorable uniform. Also, the maid outfits they wear in episodes eight and nine are super cute. If you have a large cosplay group that is mostly female, and you want to wear something cute, but also something that is not overdone, the uniform costumes of School Days would be a good choice.

As dramatic as this story can be, this show includes some decent humor. Episode five when they are at the pool has some funny moments, thanks to the supporting character Taisuke. Also Hikari, who is obviously in like with Taisuke, who notices everyone but her, fueling her frustration. I would watch a spin-off series that focuses on the two of them. Another good example of humor would be the episode of the school festival in which the three cafes: little sister, zombie, and maid, are battling for customers. I can't explain why it is funny, it's just something that has to be seen.

I have to say, considering the subject matter of this anime, what is shown is actually pretty tame. There is an ecchi moment here or there, but nothing explicit. Given that it has an R rating, and knowing what the story is about, I was nervous to watch, but I read that there was no graphic content of that nature on screen. I think that is a classy decision on the production company's part. In addition, holding back in that area adds more shock value to the ending.

This anime obviously has some flaws. I don't mean the ending, because depending on who you talk to, that person may love or hate it. But hang on, I'm going to save the discussion of the ending for last.

For one, I just don't see what is so special about Makoto. It's even mentioned that he's an average student, he's not a member of any clubs, he's a pervert, and there's nothing spectacular about his looks. Basically he's a less than average Joe, but for some reason every girl in the school is throwing herself at him. I can understand Katsura--who has fallen in love with him, Sekai--who has developed a crush on him due to time spent together, and even Otome--who has known and cared for him since junior high. However, I can't see the reason that all these other girls are interested, especially SPOILER! Hikari, who came as a huge shock for me. I'm assuming her frustration over Taisuke, but enough to sleep with her friend's supposed boyfriend? The same can be said for Setsuna. As much as she professes to love her best friend, and tells herself she's doing it for Sekai's benefit, it doesn't excuse the fact that she, herself was the reason Sekai was cheated on. END SPOILER!  In all I don't see what is so appealing about Makoto to cause all these girls to fall for him.

On that same note, the character of Makoto is difficult to like. I felt empathy for him in the first half of the series. Even when he was battling with himself over which girl to be with, I could understand. He's a confused teenage boy--a time in life when emotions and hormones are all over the place. However, I find it unacceptable that he leads Katsura on for a good point of time. If he was finished with her, he should have ended it like Sekai suggested in the first place. That may have even avoided the ultimate ending. Also the fact that he SPOILER! kisses Setsuna in front of Katsura, and allows her to view that he doesn't love her before he actually breaks up with her is pretty low. END SPOILER!

I also wondered throughout this anime where all the parents and teachers were. The students were having sex on school grounds, and even after it was revealed in a shocking way, there never seemed to be a staff member intervening. All I could think about while the girls were watching that tape of the rest area is how the girl showing the video would possibly be expelled, and potentially arrested, which led me to wonder why there was no teacher present during that gathering. The parents were never around, nor did they care about the activities their children were involved in. Also, there seemed to be no police activity at the end of the twelfth episode. The absence of responsible adults (even though we know they exist since Sekai mentioned to Makoto that her mom was working late in one episode) ruins the realism of the story.

Now onto the moment you've all been waiting for: the ending. Just a reminder, I knew about the ending going into this anime. I actually prefer the ending to episode eleven. It's cleaner for one, and sort of a happy ending, well, except for one character. If you want a somewhat happy ending, you can just end the series with episode eleven and go about your day. If you want something crazier, continue on to episode twelve.

Warning. If you haven't seen this anime, and don't want it ruined for you, continue on to the conclusion.

SPOILER!

Then along comes episode twelve. The best way I can explain this episode is uncomfortable. The image of Makoto and Katsura passionately kissing in front of a horrified Sekai was harder for me to watch than the graphic violence. Again, Makoto is showing just how messed up he is by not accepting responsibility for his possible child growing inside Sekai, and more so willingly taunting her. What makes it even worse is that Katsura is joining in, showing how being with Makoto has tainted this once kind girl. 

That bloody ending seemed to come out of nowhere. Then again, I haven't played the original game, so I'm not sure if that actually happens in the source material, but it felt out of place for me. It didn't seem to fit the personality of either of the girls. They are teenagers, and emotions run high for them, but I can't see that justifying murder. It's shown earlier how Makoto's absence caused Katsura to go a little insane, but not to the extent that we see in the last scene.

Since it is so dark and graphic compared to the rest of the story, it makes me wonder if this ending was done on purpose just so people would talk about it. After all, I only watched it because I heard it had an awful ending. If that is the case, then I would have to say that is a clever strategy on the creators' part.

I can't help but wonder how this could have ended differently had Makoto never sought after Katsura, and just allowed her to be a pretty face on a train. For one, two people would still be alive, but how many others would not have been affected by his insatiable lust? Sekai may have still ended up pregnant, but perhaps without other girls involved, Makoto might not have been such a jerk about it. It's just a thought I had there towards the end.

END SPOILER!

In conclusion, I found School Days to be an interesting watch. I'm glad that I have seen this anime, if just to say I've seen it. No, I don't think it deserves its horrible reputation (though I can't say the same for Makoto), but I won't deny it has its flaws, since it obviously does. I don't sympathize with the protagonist, but for the most part I like the two main females, and even they have their unlikable moments. The art is decent, and there is some good humor along with the heavy drama. I'm glad I watched it, but it's not for everyone. I would advise that no one under the age of sixteen, nor anyone with a weak stomach watch this series.

School Days: 6/10

Music: Anime openings
Beverage: Power-C Vitamin Water




1. "School Days" IMDb.com (April 19, 2015).  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068993/
2. "School Days" MyAnimeList.net (April 19, 2015). http://myanimelist.net/anime/2476/School_Days
3. "School Days (Visual Novel)" Wikipedia.org. (April 19, 2015).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Days_%28visual_novel%29