Kuzu no honkai

I kind of suspected this would be very controversial and interesting. However, the first episode is something revelatory for someone who has seen tons of classic romantic comedy and drama anime shows. For one thing, it is seinen, aimed at young men, so it is coming from a more adult perspective. For the first time in a long time, I feel I watched an anime series that showed a normal approach to sex. Secondly, it is not a typical happy love story; this is quite depressing in places and, most importantly, quite realistically presented. It is easily believable because of the inner monologues of the main protagonists. This shows how someone could make these kinds of decisions. Furthermore, every decision is reasonable and logically suits the character and their situation. Thirdly the characters are complex, not just some "formulaic cookie-cutters". They are really believable people with their strengths and weaknesses and really very well portrayed (the best, in my opinion, is Akane's fleshed-out character). I reckon many people used to those happy-ending and fairy tale narratives, slapstick rom-com, and similar "conventional" shows will be surprised. And maybe, similarly to School Days, its realism (even if sometimes taken to extremes) is going to appall some people out there. I am not going to lie: after the first episode, I just sat and stared at what I was watching. I immediately looked for the manga and eventually read all forty-four of the published chapters, and I did not stop being amazed. On the one hand, it is really very adult, open, and psychologically very believable. On the other hand, it is sometimes over the top (a typical trope for the Japanese). At the same time, it is probably the first thing I would label "erotic" without exaggerating or overstating in any way because there is a lot of eroticisms (just no awkwardness). So the final impression for me is that this work is excellent in terms of the psychological aspect, very good in terms of eroticism, it has a decent narrative, and is very good again in terms of animation and soundtrack. This is an animated erotic drama that floats my boat, is not offensive, and I like this because it has some depth and meaning. 9/10. (2017.01.12)