School's Out Forever

For all the degenerate, sickening, and just-shy-of-illegal 2D entertainment Japan produces, I don’t think I’ve ever been this repulsed as after finishing the anime adaptation of School Days.

Funny things is, I never actually intended to watch this show, but it’s reputation, especially after the Nice Boat incident, made me feel almost obligated to partake of the experience. I don’t regret the decision, mind you; I’m just surprised at being bothered and angered by such a tediously puerile work.

What I believe I find so disturbing is that—unlike actual pornography which even at its most perverse is ultimately meaningful as the buttons on a dress shirt and lasting as the time it takes to slake one’s carnal desires—School Days is completely removed from the inherently exploitive nature of adult entertainment. In the absence of hollow sex acts, all that’s left is a trite narrative full of repugnant characters that don’t even began to resemble humans. Dramatic needs are one thing, but the rather large cast of School Days behave in gruesome ways that simply defy logic, even for horny teenage standards.

And in case anyone’s wondering, the above statement is in no way a reaction to the events featured in the last episode—it’s the totality of circumstances precipitating those final moments that are really bugging the shit out of me.

Considering how late I am to the School Days party, I don’t intend for this to be a long post, particularly since I’d rather not dwell on the series. I merely hope no US anime distributor even attempts to license this trash. Besides not being deserving of peoples’ money, I believe it has the huge potential to end up an amazing financial bust for any company deciding to take the risk.

That said, I think I’ll go watch some Hayate no Gotoku…or maybe even one of the Taimanin Asagi episodes to help cleanse my palate.