First Impression – Masamune-kun no Revenge

You gonna get ripped…

I’ll just get this out of the way first. The two main characters in this show are pretty rotten and not-at-all-nice…that sort of thing. Some of their supporting cast fall under the same shadow, and others are there to bask in the light. On balance, that blend is what makes it more interesting than other romantic fare, and a unique story to follow…

The Crossroads of Narcissism and Cruelty

..like garlic to vampires, snack chips are to Maa-kun

So, right up Narcissism street (just before the turn off) we have our male lead with a tragic* past, Masamune Makabe – he of the titular revenge. He is of the very stuck-up (a term I haven’t used since my own high school days, so it seems right to brush it off and bring it back for a spell) notion that incredibly handsome men like himself have privileges that the merely average cannot even begin to have, only comprehend enough to be jealous of. As it stands, he is a good-looking dude, but the way anime designs things even the average looking people are pretty darn nice looking; Pudding Prince is kinda cute all things considered. He balances this “burden” out, I think, by maintaining a strict diet of liquid nutrition and avoidance of as many calories as possible; even it makes his kitchen-toiling loli-mother upset by his refusal even when she spent so much time making a freaking awesome breakfast for her long separated, but neglectful, son.

*YMMV

You can just hear the haughty “tsk“, can’t you?

We don’t have to go too far away from Narcissism  before we turn down Cruelty avenue and run right into our female lead, Aki Adagaki. She is the fairly insufferable spoiled princess with her gaggle of peer-admirers and her own personal put upon servant. She’s from a wealthy background, as is Masamune it seems, so this lends her a shade of oujo-sama syndrome – only without the trademark Oh-ho-ho laugh – that manifests itself in her own trademark of doling out horrible nicknames; both horrible in that they’re thoughtless and meaningless, and horrible in how she reveals a series of supposed character flaws in the process, that might even end up buying the nickname-ee some sympathy. She and our male lead share a past in which both of them supposedly suffered some sort of terrible childhood tragedy that set them on opposite streets and their current habits. Aki even eats like a horse and keeps her girlish figure despite that; which seems purpose built by a writer just to rub salt in some of Masamune’s eyes.

How much credit can you give a backstory…?

I have to admit, that for all their faults, I really dig these characters now and ever since I started reading the manga a month or so before this adaptation was announced. It’s pretty easy to fall in step with very nice people with understandable flaws as they navigate their way through the ups and downs of life, problems, relationships, responsibilities, etcetera. In just using Chuu2Koi as an example; both characters lead average lives that they jazzed up by being as chuunibyou as possible, but they didn’t really cause direct harm, and they were generally very nice and understandable young people. Our leads in the show are not that at all, at least not yet. There were two scenes, one for each character that did show some depth, but don’t fall for the narrative tricks just yet; either the ones for or against them. Both of these kids do have some depths and doubts that make them more relatable; Aki feels she doesn’t have much to offer to anyone beyond being from a wealthy family or simply being around, but is still kind all the same – she feels without an identity, so taking on the Cruelty Princess “job” is something she relishes somewhat. Masamune seems to be able to make friends that don’t really care what he looks like, just that he is nice to them. But do either one of them appreciate what they have?

The fools who follow them….

Dude, that is no way to treat your mother…

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This is it, Silver Link. This is what I wanted from you. This is a good combination of storytelling, characters, and good animation with a very nice color pallette. This pops in all the ways I’ve grown to love the studio for over the years. In a field of landmines and lemonade stands they’ve had on offer over the past few years, this one is a refreshing time on a bright sunny day with not a technical explosion in sight. My only real concern is that the creative front bench of direction and scripting are relative newbies. But the manga is a solid read, the story is one of  pure character, and they drive all the aspects of the plot, so if they follow those beats and bring them to the screen with alacrity and aplomb, it should be a feather in their caps soon enough. As it stands I’m loving the VA’s. Both Saori Hiyama as the Trap, and Inori Minase as Yoshino are quite welcome.

I will say exaggeration later…

But holy crap, what a plot development! Seriously, how does anyone really want to follow that? It’s like seeing a slow motion disaster. You have to either be a wicked man or a dangerous fool to concoct a romance strictly on the basis of revenge. Even if we take the typical exaggerated levels of both storytelling and character action that anime always bring with it into account, this is beyond the pale. But that’s what makes the story so interesting and followable to me. Now it would be one thing if the show was only about these two, but as it progresses we will get into the supporting characters and all their complexities; both Yoshino and Neko are favorites of mine, but then there’s the ever patient Kujuurou. The is as story where the support has truly done just that, fill in the spots that the leads don’t in the story needs; at least in the manga, I’m looking forward to seeing how well they adapt it – if this episode is any indication they’re doing a great job so far. See you next time.

Well, that’s one way to pickle his disposition…