School Days
I’ve watched a lot of “harem” anime in the past and they all follow a common theme in the beginning and usually ends predictably. The three basic elements of these anime consist of: 1) An average protagonist male 2) Girls… falling in love with the average male for the most pathetic of reasons and 3) Circular plot so the protagonist male go back and forth between all the girls. Harem anime came from what is known as “Dating Simulation” ~ if you’re old school enough, imagine Leisure Suit Larry on crack. If you think about it, these games want you to imagine you’re the protagonist, and to be honest, 99% of us are average Joes who can’t amount to anything. We’re generally nice, and if many girls were to pounce on us at once, we’d have a hard time choosing!
In these dating simulation games, you basically go through the game and get to know all the girls presented. Then, you try your best at “courting” one of the girl you like the best. Usually, these dating sims are X rated, and before long, you get a happy ending with the courted girl.
The YouTube video above is one of the most recent of these dating sim games. Instead of just clicking through story, you actually move about in a FPS manner. Still, the concept is the same – “court a girl, get a happy ending.”
Now, we all know relationships don’t always end happily. So… the concept of “Bad End” was developed. Basically, if you were too greedy in these dating sim games and try to impress two or more girls all at once… you will end up with no one! Bad end usually just means game over, no one likes you. Oh well ~ life goes on! However, the stories become more intricate and realistic over time ~ relationships are tough … hardship!
School Days was a pioneer in the field of dating simu where instead of still shots of girls, we have a fully animated story following the choices you made as the protagonist. Now, what was special about School Days, and what got a lot of people crazy – was how bad the bad ends were. Here’s a section from wiki, describing one of the bad ends:
“The Bloody Conclusion” (「鮮血の結末」, Senketsu no Ketsumatsu?)
Sekai and Makoto are in love. Kotonoha overhears Makoto and Sekai loudly making love to each other, which in turn emotionally destroys her. The next day as they leave the train station where the three always take, they meet Kotonoha on an overpass beside the station. There is an awkward moment as Sekai lets go of Makoto’s arm, greeting her. Kotonoha says a few words, before revealing the saw hidden behind her school bag and swipes it beside Sekai’s neck. After a few seconds of realizing what had just happened, Sekai suddenly bleeds like a spray and collapses in a pool of blood, with Kotonoha laughing hysterically, her eyes revealing that she has completely broken down.
So, when the anime was announced for School Days, those who played the games were giddy with excitement at the possible outcomes ! It does have quite a few endings, and the director must choose one! Will it end with Makoto being a super pimp daddy, ruling over both of his bitches and making babies left and right?! Or will it end with both of them dumping him? Or will it end *BADLY*?? The anime community sat through each of the 12 episodes waiting for what’s to come!
Of course, all 11 previous episodes made us find Makoto a disgusting pig who sought only pleasure *FOR HIMSELF* – everything was for him, and if it’s too much trouble, he just abandons it. This meant, changing girlfriends, sleeping with whoever presented themselves, abandoning and ignoring girls phone calls — whatever. I don’t think anyone watching could find Makoto redeemable. I mean, if you are looking at him for a pimping standpoint, he is a crazy playa, no doubt ~ but he was setting himself up for BAD END ~ and we prayed for it. We wanted Makoto to die horribly.
Well, prior to airing the last episode, there was a terrible murder that happened in Japan. A 16 year old girl axed her father (a police officer) to death. Higurashi Kai and School Days were both delayed as a result. In any case – let’s just say, School Days ending was epic and unprecedented! So if you’re an anime fan, do watch School Days =)