Grisaia no Rakuen + Meikyuu – Series Review
Does this qualify someone as best girl?
Before I actually get to the matter at hand, I have a bit of a funny story that I want to tell, but probably shouldn’t. So one night I was with my lady friend, so the conversation naturally turned to porn and hentai. She and I spent some time talking about things like Yaoi or tentacles, the usual stuff. At one point the conversation turned to Eroge, a field I was unfamiliar with at the time. So she was all like “you have to check out this one game, it lets you have sex with all these disabled girls!” That was how I encountered Katawa Shoujo, my first VN and Eroge. Later on I got to playing Grisia, and the rest is weird history…
I don’t hate you?
On a certain level any attempt to write a review for Grisaia will fail me because I really can’t put my feelings about this show into words. Let alone comprehend this nonsensical craziness that the writers try to pass off as a plot. On one hand so much of what I hate about anime is all present here, but on the other hand this show is so weird in its absurdity that it is right up my alley. Also, for as completely ridiculous as the show is, at least it doesn’t wimp out on the sex and murder like some other shows out there Triage X. Now let me see if I can map out the plot of Grisaia…
That kinda works
So after going about and adding every girl possible to his Harem at Mihama Gakuen, Yuuji has decided to go back to work as secret agent man 9029. However, the pedophile terrorist who raised Yuuji wants him back, and also wants the new super computer that more or less runs Japan as well. The super computer that is Yuuji’s SISTER, who was not eaten by her cannibal classmates because they just got over that really quickly. So now Yuuji is gonna be handed off to the terrorists, but lo and behold every women who has ever slept with Yuuji or wants to sleep with him comes to his rescue. So Makina with her weeks of sniper practice and Sachi the grenadier-combat maid take out armed terrorists, and manage to escape to the SUBMARINE that they bought after raising enough money in one week. But wait, there is a super bomb bracelet on Yuuji, so he has to go back to fight the terrorist/pedophile who raised him, and his EVIL CLONE BECAUSE CLONES EXIST, but not before the cat girl/maid who is actually a CIA agent can say “some little girl killed my dad. And that little girl was you.” (It is worth noting that she is the only girl in the entire show who does not want to sleep with Yuuji.) So after single handily eliminating the entire crew of an AIRCRAFT CARRIER, Yuuji has to fight the pedo/terrorist and his path to victory is to be STABBED through his stomach, then kill the terrorist with a pen. Not even Jotaro would let the blade go through him, he at least can do a blade grab with his pecs. Oh yeah, and Yuuji blows up an entire aircraft carrier and escapes with zero explanation. Whatever, there is no reality to this show to begin with.
I kinda would be doing the show a disservice if I didn’t actually talk about Asako, because she is truly shown to be the biggest influence on Yuuji’s life. In the first season you do get references to her from time to time, but this season and the Meikyuu prologue stuff is kinda her story as well as Yuuji’s. There were some genuinely touching moments between the two, and seeing Yuuji grow from emotionally stunted little monster to emotionally dead is an interesting development. But don’t worry, person who is afraid there would be some story elements in this show that actual make sense. Just go watch the scene about Yuuji being under “suggestion,” something you know was put in him when he was having sex with Asako. When ever Yuuji describes her as mother, master, lover and a bunch of other things; all I can say is maybe they role play?
I have never wanted a figure so badly in my entire life
I have to stop and talk about Kazuki the Klaw for a moment. We get to see Yuuji growing up in a family with parents who don’t care about him and his sister who really wants to bone him. I’m not screen capping it, but I bet if you’ve seen this show you saw that really weird shot of the siblings totally making out, complete with strand of saliva between the two. Leaving out the fact that she really wants to bang Yuuji (because who doesn’t? Don’t answer) Kazuki is also a COMPUTER. I will give the show credit for not making the dramatic reveal that Kazuki is a computer, they own up to it pretty quickly, because it couldn’t really be anything else. Create a new character with no connection to Yuuji? Are you insane?
Anyhow, not only is Kazuki capable of turning 5 girls into weapons of mass destruction, but she also can 1. Control Traffic 2. Contact illegal arms dealers to have them make anti tank rifles for what looks to be a 9 year old 3. Contact the Otaku ex military scientist and get him to contact everyone who has ever known Yuuji 4. Start walking immediately after being in a tank for years at a time 5. Rock an epic Klaw. I can’t lie, the first time I saw the Klaw I could barely stand. In a show comprised almost entirely of bullshit, this was possibly the dumbest part.
Happily ever WTF IT WASN’T A REAL KLAW!!! THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT!!
There is some neat stuff
So I recently reviewed Triage X, a forgettable show that bills itself around massive, stupidly big boobs and mediocre action. I actually do think that the fights in Grisaia are pretty well done. Look at Yuuji vs Clone Yuuji. It is a flurry of limbs as blood is spilled and Yuuji totally gets doped up. Sure, there is very little action for the show as a whole, but there is another VN adaption airing now with a few good fight scenes and not much else worth watching. And the whole scene of Makina and Sachi taking out an armored convoy was so silly I couldn’t not like it. Since the show basically stopped with any and all characterization for people who aren’t named Yuuji, I will say Yuuji does have an… interesting life. It sure is eventful, though it is total tragedy porn as well. And, like I complained about with Triage, I give credit to a show that actually has the balls to let its characters in a harem show like this actually have SEX.
Yuuji says: screw your “we live together but the most we do is hold hands”
Before I close out, I have one more note to add. To me, this is a weird, strange, crazy and definitely creepy show. But it excels in those fields, and has some genuinely good fights as well, such that I was left with a strong impression after viewing. And I rather be left with a strong impression, albeit a confused one than feeling “meh, it was alright.”
So do I actually recommend people go out and watch this show? Yes, but you have to know that there is a mountain of bullshit to get over on the path to entertainment. I like this show in large parts because I did play the VN and did care about the characters. HA HA HA WHO AM I KIDDING!?! I like this show because it is so stupid at every turn that my mouth drops whenever anything happens. Loli snipers, super computer Loli sisters (am I starting to transform into someone else?) cannibals, clones, incompetent international secret agencies, bomb maids and island harems. The sheer absurdity of everything is the only reason to truly enjoy the show, and on that point it totally succeeds. Grisaia, you are a silly nut job through and through. I really should hate you, but the commitment to being stupid is what charms me about the show. Now hurry up and make a figure of The Klaw so my mind can be blown once more.
I’m just your average super soldier living in a tropical paradise made up entirely of my harem. Everyone else can GTFO
About Samsura
As someone of questionable tastes and even more questionable ethics; if we laugh at the same things you are one of two things: A person of discerning taste or a weirdo. Guess where I fall.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I never thought much of the original. Most of the harem characters felt like an obligatory parade of color and tropes. Only I didn’t feel obligated to watch. This didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this outing however, even when the haremettes made reappearances. Tropes walking ain’t hard to get a handle on.
Meikyuu was pure despair porn. That doesn’t mean it was good or bad just for that. It was what it was. In fact, I would say it was rather well paced, if not the best written; spin the wheel to see what happens to the hapless boy next!
Luckily it had Akeno to keep a firm center and give the show a much needed gravitas. Even when she wasn’t on screen, they made damn sure her spirit was there to guide him along.
As for the main show, it was a outrageous actioner. And it did that rather well in all respects. As you say, it did a commendable job on the fights, and they all seemed to progress the characters along nicely.
But, best was LOLi CLAw. Cause everyone needs a tactician like that, right?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Yes, everyone needs a LOLi.
To me, the premise was already the equivalent of Deathmatch Hunger Games Hogwarth School of Assassins.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 105 comments
I would say Makina, Sachi, and Amane were handled well enough in the anime, but Sachi and Yumiko were just not given enough time. But I played the VN, so I did start to care about the characters. It’s just none of that actually is relevant towards enjoying this season of absurdity.
I’m betraying my ignorance, but who was Akeno again?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…Asako…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Akeno is the half human/fallen angel girl turned devil from High School DxD.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
mmm… debiru… fallen tenshi… mmm… tasty.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Never had the opportunity to encounter any of the VNs but personally, in terms of anime, the sequels were a huge improvement to which I found myself very surprised while watching. Compared to the first season that felt rushed, they felt adequately paced. In Kaijitsu, I didn’t think much of the female characters until their backstories one after the other came about so they earned a positive change of mind from me.
Who I hardly had an opinion of was the male lead Yuuji who felt devoid of life, cold, calculated and precise like a machine that it became hard to believe he wanted to live like a regular student. After seeing the hell he went through at every turn from family members to sick bastards in Meikyuu to his physical and psychological recovery and military life in Rakuen, I must say that I developed a huge amount of respect for his endurance.
It’s made everything he’s done for the girls more meaningful (Per Asako’s “order” to save 5 people before he’s allowed to die). If you thought their lives were dark, they all pale in comparison to Yuuji’s turmoil.
Among other things, what got under my skin was Yuuji’s sister, Kazuki, getting the Sibyl System treatment (Watch Psycho-Pass) as the only means of survival left to her. As if what happened during the royally screwed field trip wasn’t enough. Jeez…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Fortune favors the bold.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Yeah, this was a major step up from Kajitsu. Specially Meikyuu, watching each episode and seeing Yuuji’s life going from bad to worse was interestingly painful… I’m not an M btw. And to have a badass MC actually have a decent and well-developed backstory was really great.
Yeah, there was a lot, and I mean, A LOT of bullshit, but at some point I stopped caring about all of it. Actually, I stopped expecting anything real since Michiru’s arc in Kajitsu and what I started to expect was a lot more bullshit. And it’s not like there aren’t anime with more unbelievable stuff.
And the claw… Why so much trolling?