School days

School Days is an anime series that got me as only a few things have, I guess. It starts with a story about an interesting and believable relationship that is easy to watch and has a pleasant pace that takes you nicely to the fifth episode. It starts off very interesting: a shy boy called Makoto falls in love with a girl and has trouble getting close to her; luckily, he has a good friend, and she is happy and willing to help him with his problems because she likes him. Even the denouement, when Makoto realizes that his feelings are much more complicated and he makes his decision is perfectly fine in my opinion (SPOILER ALERT I was rooting for Sekai). If it had ended with episode five, I would say I would award this show a casual three stars without hesitation. However, what follows episode five is incredible, and you start hating the main protagonist Makato with a passion. You cannot help but swear at the guy and curse the damn jerk (and I am restraining myself). I even cursed at all the other characters at times, and the sad thing is that it still feels quite believable. I also knew guys like Makoto and saw the havoc they wreaked, and even though I was always so pissed off at them, another little voice whispered to me anyway, damn, he is very cool. I have seen plenty of naive, stupid girls and monsters going about their business too, and even those other types have been around at some point. It is just as if the cast suddenly went crazy, let their instincts take over, and all the blood from their brains piled into their genitals, or rather a probe of what the world would be like if people could not fully control themselves. There came a moment when I wished it would end exactly the way it does, and even though the conclusion is far-fetched, it gave me such a nice feeling of catharsis. I have to award this show five stars because it managed to stir up such strong emotions in me. (2015.03.08)