So, I'm writing this without reading a single comment made by anyone else or any reviews so far (might update it later to sort of 'reply' to statements that I think might need to be 'replied' to in the actual review, but for now...) - I do this since I realize that due to a variety of factors including, perhaps, bad moods, people's comments can truly ruin enjoyment for others (for some reason discovered this in sports anime, wonder if that reason has anything to do with a certain hormone...) - but, inevitably, I did notice the score, which I now resolve to somehow block for all other series, at least until I finish them; reading comments and reviews could still be useful, but only after IMO so as to not mar one's raw perception of a series. So, let's begin...
No, I've literally no idea why it's rated so low (and this, remember, even lower than that gore personified 'Corpse Party' (literally in the title), sure, not 7, but not as low as this either, and that hasn't 1/10 of the narrative), let's get this out in the open... then again, no idea why Another, its popular comparison, is rated so high either...
So, I was wondering throughout, maybe the twitchy characters annoyed some people? (Other series have them, personalities are best diversified.) The bus driver 'tsking' perhaps?! (Hey, it did annoy one character from the anime)... the songs? But I thought it was cute-creepy at best, and the latter at least is the point of the 'horror' genre (also, the combination can be done excellently as shown in Paranoia Agent).
It's not like I think this is the best series ever, or even the best horror (apparently Parasyte impressed me quite a bit years ago, I think for reasons similar to Shiki, but kind of forgotten now, and more recently the latter was a marvel of moral subtlety), I'm not sure I ever felt compelled to review anything I gave a 7 to, but I can't fathom (until I read and reply to others anyway, but for now it's raw perception evaluation time)... why, I wonder yet again? Oh, a more likely candidate perhaps, since people tend to be finicky when it comes to CGI even in other series... so maybe they didn't like the bus? Well, no, perhaps more likely the designs of the 'monsters'...
But... it was entirely the point. And here's where it might get into spoiler territory, so don't read this paragraph perhaps if you haven't finished... it was entirely appropriate that the 'monsters' (the ' is relevant considering their ethereal status) were designed like hellish aberrations... they were, almost literally, nightmares from people's minds. What do you see when you have a nightmare? Or any dream at all... amalgamations of whatever... right? And so it was in this anime. Why, how is it irrelevant that the prof's Nanaki had papers overflowing above it? (Haven't read any comment saying this so far but lately I try to imagine what's highly 'upvoted' among comments based on previous ones I read, and hey, if people highly upvote something on Kuroko's 'expressing' a desire for a 100% win rate (due to, of all things in context, misogyny), people agreeing that "papers have nothing to do with researchers!" would probably still make sense in their minds.) It's entirely the point! Colleagues made fun of his research and so externalized his own fear... now, sure, that one specifically wasn't designed to be aesthetically as perhaps 'unpleasant' as the others, but it only appeared for a few seconds, and barely moved its limbs, whereas Hayato's granny had quite a chase (and a horrid past to reflect the monstrous outer manifestation)... you also saw how the protagonist at first had an ugly, deformed penguin that had half its face as if blown off... but at the end it became more the size of the original toy, and then some fuzzball reflecting the person's feelings towards the female protagonist... it's the point, and not bad CGI at all. If they all looked cute from the beginning would this series have a higher rating?
But... it did also, admittedly, not explore its full potential, but that is natural when one has this number of episodes. What it did explore, though, primarily sociology and psychology, I thought it did well... it was almost as sociologically 'advanced' as Shiki (with the amount of characters and their group's dynamics)... their fast back-and-forth exchanges were quite entertaining, the first episode particularly highlighting their personalities. With regards to psychology, for someone with an active interest in the subject, I thought it animated various concepts well, and while other series also address such topics often while not even mentioning the overall area of study, in this case it made sense to be explicit due to the narrative. Also, why would anyone dislike a song about hippopotamii?!
Well, ultimately, art is subjective, and scores come after the series is completed, so in the future people can still watch it... ideally by not knowing any average indexes, but at least I haven't personally read reviews for a long time before ending something, since there is no point in someone else describing it for someone who hasn't watched it (even my review is clearly more suited to those who completed it, but apart from one paragraph I'm trying to argue, still, that this series is more than worth watching even for someone undecided) and if all they go on is a number then, I guess, this anime is never seen by those except for people who do not care for mere numbers, words, or even hide everything until the end.
Ultimately... I've certainly enjoyed this way, far more than the 'other' series it's compared to mostly... and 'Mayo' not only has better escapist fantasies, but they make sense too as opposed to 'uh, just happens'... but, oh, it might have been too complex perhaps for the 'average' viewer? Not absolutely perfect even narratively, once again, but certainly better than some Final Destination clone...
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