Just so that we're clear, this show is about you, the protagonist, "living out" the story as it unfolds. This is a very creative concept, and I feel that it could have worked under the right circumstances. However, so far in the series, things do not look promising. Problems with the main character, storyline, and medium all contribute to why I
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Just so that we're clear, this show is about you, the protagonist, "living out" the story as it unfolds. This is a very creative concept, and I feel that it could have worked under the right circumstances. However, so far in the series, things do not look promising. Problems with the main character, storyline, and medium all contribute to why I believe that this series is a wasted opportunity.
First of all, you (the protagonist) were given a couple of anime male stereotypical attributes. For example, you have a fixation on the female body, and you have pornographic magazines lying randomly around your home. These characteristics may be common in anime (and might be in Japanese culture, I'm not sure), but in a life-simulating environment, they seem odd. It's one thing to see a character in anime get flustered about getting caught staring, or having someone else find their magazines for "research purposes only", but when it's meant to be you, it seems very surreal, and not in a good way.
Next, contrary to the concept, the story line isn't very unique. I was able to gather exactly how the story was going to progress by the end of the first episode. I understand that this is supposed to be a simulation of common concepts in anime. But it could have been done in a way that added something new to their show instead of doing it completely by the book. If you're looking for a show like that, then here you go, but I don't think I'm in the minority here when I ask for the content in this highly saturated medium to be a little more creative.
Speaking of the medium, I believe that they made a mistake with this show. The relationship between a series and a viewer is very one sided. The series holds all the power, as the viewer is simply to sit back and watch as it progresses. In the most common setting, the viewer needs no power, as the main character and the viewer are separate. Sure there are some things that you wish the main character did differently, but ultimately its their "life", and they as an entity can make their own decisions, placing no necessity for you to do anything but watch. But with new innovations comes new problems. When you are given power as the main character of the story, you tend to want to act a certain way according to your personality. When that option is taken away and the decision is made for you, it creates a disconnect in a personalized setting. This might be the reason why no one has attempted this before, because it works better as a video game than it does with a series, because you as a character can affect the outcome of a situation, however minor it is.
However, with the development and growing popularity in Virtual Reality technology, I believe that stories like this have potential. If I, as a character, were able to look around as a story progressed, it would change the whole dynamic of the relationship. This, and a whole slew of other things could make this concept much, much better. It's just painful to see how such a good idea has gone to waste when there were so many more mediums available to work with.
As such, I gave the series a 2/5 for its lackluster story and setting. The only reason it didn't receive a 1/5 is because the animation is good, other than that, there is no reason for you not to watch other shows coming out in this current anime season.
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