Two months ago, I was done of reading the manga version of School days in www.onemanga.com, the story runs unexpectedly ended with a dreaded conclusion as well as in the anime version in www.crunchyroll.com. But there is a lot of diffrence in the story in the two but the characters are the same.
When I finish reading as well as viewing the story in anime, I come to realized in the end that what could be the author or artist was thinking? It seems that it kind of the story that young students in high school could kill each other because of love? Hence, showing some sex scene and the killing was disturbing for young audience that could result of doing it in the reality.
I know its cute and fancy but the thing is that there is NO MORAL lesson that we could learned from that anime, perhaps demoralizing the viewers. Sorry for I was a such judgemental person but i could’nt stand watching that kind of anime. May I suggest that they should edit the anime because its a lot of different from the manga or maybe just doing the same in the manga.
Joyce said,
October 16, 2008 @ 8:42 p10
I absolutely think that we can all learn something from School Days…
There might be some violent and explicit scenes there but if we at least try to focus on the story itself, it actually tells something!
Just take Makoto Itou as an example. At first he was already satisfied by just looking at Satsura, yet he desired more. And eventually, he became addicted to sex and played with a girl’s heart. Just look what happend to him?
This tells us that we should not play with people’s feelings, that we should not cheat or betray them… or else one day it will all come back to us.
alvin said,
October 19, 2008 @ 8:42 p10
What you say is true.
The beginning was Ok, but it just downhill after that. The ending was really…horrible and sick.
J Harris said,
December 2, 2008 @ 8:42 p12
OK, extreme I agree with. It was certainly very violent at the end. But I disagree with the suggestion that nothing was learned from it. Actually it had a very clear picture of what empty teen sexuality, blatant disregard for another person’s feelings and lying to yourself as well as others will get you. At best nothing, at worst, well…your head in a bag.
An no, of course this is not meant for a young audience. It is a mistake to believe simply because something is animated that automatically means that kids should see it. Its clearly an “R” level feature.
And of course it must be said that this is not made for a Western audience, but for a Japanese one. And if you’ve seen a lot of anime you’ll know that many of them do not have “happy” endings, or in fact have quite sad ones. So whenever you watch anime you have to do with the idea that it (in most cases) wasn’t made for you to see.
And ultimately, if you don’t like violent anime then don’t see it. Frankly I read so many warnings about this anime that I had a good idea of what would happen at the end before I even saw it. I’m sure its possible to “research” most features before seeing them.
I have to say, I enjoyed watching it.
Vongjan said,
December 25, 2008 @ 8:42 p12
I too finished this anime a moment ago. I like this anime alot. It’s so downright tragic. I’ve read a lot of commets on this anime, most of them just sound like “this is sick, crazy, creepy”. I enjoyed it because it’s more realistic in a sadistic way. I also like how the plot is so messed up but its acted out with cute drawing, i think thats what gave the anime an impact too. For most people i guess okay, its bloody and twisted when it gets toward the end, to me it was a surprise but it didn’t phase me too much. It’s not because I’v watched many grotesque videos and animes but it’s because mentally I cringed more from how Kotonoha was being treated thru out the whole thing. and how degrading and thoughtless the teenage society can be.Thats what hurt me the most. I recommend this anime to anyone, it will give them a different perspective though I had a rough time receiving it. It fits perfectly in the psychological genre.
Shinji Boy said,
January 23, 2009 @ 8:42 p01
I agree with the last statement that J Harris said.
Firstly, Anime has many genres and caters to all age groups; kids, teens, young adults, and mature views. And just because something is animated automatically it is something jsut for kids. That is a western misconception on Japanese animation. Given the current TV/Movie Industry in Japan it is more commercially-and productionwise- viable to make animated tv shoes and movies than make live movies.
And they do have a film/tv regulatory board for this… and yes ‘School Days’ is Rated R (18+… not for kids).
And the anime is based on an adult visual novel which is again, for Adults Only.
As for not learning anything… again, and I agree with J Harris, anime shows the danger of blatant promiscuity, as well as a lack of proper sex education, respect for other’s rights. Also it shows a reality in Japan about ‘mob mentality’ that is frequent in Japanses senior high schools, that anyone that is different/unique/or excels too well in either matter is loved/envied/hated/bullied/or osttracized. As well as a satire on the whole date sim romance *slash* harem romance comedies, which is the stereotype for this genre.
‘School Days’ is a first attempt to show a picture in Japanese high schools that is never portrayed, but is part of reality. An ugly facet in Japanese High school which is up til now still an issue.
Sum1 said,
February 9, 2009 @ 8:42 p02
I actually felt kind of depressed after it.
I just Don’t understand why someone would kill someone over love and
why someone would love a person so much that he/she would hold on to the head
of the loved one just so they would “be together”.
cenore said,
March 3, 2009 @ 8:42 p03
But wait… since when has there been a moral in any anime….I mean other then really cheesy crap this is repeated over and over? Hm… I always thought anime was just for entertainment and was never really meant to be taken seriously…. It’s not some Pixar movie. And I think that when you try to search for meaning in everything you’ve become a true no life weirdo who has to have some meaning behind everything. But me saying this had probably offend you and a few people, but being offend just means you have an opinion. So anyway…no it’s not for kids…and any kid who watches it is probably not properly being taken care of….or something like that. Oh and as a final sentence of sorts, why did you watch it? I mean if you didn’t like it, why not stop before wasting time on it? Oh wait that’s not one sentence….
I hate meaningful crap….. I find it meaningless really and you usually disregard the moral in the next minute or some. Maybe I’m just a bad person that way.
Haru said,
March 3, 2009 @ 8:42 p03
to clear things up with u u said
“I just Don’t understand why someone would kill someone over love”
well if u watched closely u would be able to realize that it was just over love but it was also over the fact that this person Makoto Itou was emotionaly torturing these girls and that he had no right to do that. and yes at first he was kind and he was just satisfied with looking, but that changed into a monster once he got a taste for it. i think that in the end it was a little “surprizing” but i really actually think that Makoto Itou deserved what he got, because what he was doing to those girls was compleatly wrong, and unfaithful. so i think that he deserved every little bit of what he got, plus u have to put into consideration that he got one of his friends killed when she did absolutly nothing, and because of everything he did wrong and that he did without hesitation he got one of his best friends and girlfriends killed. it get me really angery considering that she did nothing wrong, and that all she did was stay faithful to him. and to answer your other question….
“why someone would love a person so much that he/she would hold on to the head”
well the reason she did that was because Makoto Itouemotionaly crippled her and he tortured her emotionaly to the point where she couldn’t handle it and she kind of snapped…
also i think that was another reason that his good friend (sorry i can’t remember her name) killed him, because she was so faithfull to him and she had always been their for him, except that he had been emotionaly torturing her to the point where she snapped and she couldn’t take it anymore, then she ended up killing him, which i think that he deserved. the saddest thing though is that his good friend got killed for what he did when she did absolutly nothing wrong…… except being faithfull to the wrong person….
and i dissagree this anime has tought me alot and it has opened my eyes, all i can say is that i will never be like Makoto Itou. and lets just say that i better not find anyone like him eather or i will set them strieght.
and i think that it was a really good anime… and it really touched me…. not in a depressing kill yourself way, but more of a sad way that opens your eyes to reality…
The Digital Insomniac said,
March 18, 2009 @ 8:42 p03
i just finished watching it and i wanna cry , for Kotonoha mostly, she did not deserve all that.. i just wanted her to be alright… although it traumatized me, it is still a masterpiece, its a very extreme soap opera… just its a cute animation. im actually depressed…… im afraid to ever see it again… i might not watch any anime for a while, this really hit me really hard….. If you are gonna watch this, prepare yourself for an extreme ride through confusion.. this is definately a psychological anime.
Still traumatized, but eventually i’ll get over it and ill love it.
carl said,
May 22, 2009 @ 8:42 p05
I liked it a lot. It’s the first romance series I’ve seen. If you cant handle a little bit of violence… I cant help you. It was a great story. The female characters had believable personalities. I don’t remember seeing a sex scene. Regardless, it’s far from hentai. There WAS a moral lesson in the story. You’re pretty ignorant if you think that all Japanese anime is for children. This is a high school romance series. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t have some sex in it. Anyways… I liked it. Like most anime, it doesn’t really follow the manga much. I’ve read that the video game was even more graphicly sexual and violent. It’s a pity the game’s not in english.
Dude said,
June 22, 2009 @ 8:42 p06
i saw this board while googling School Days after I had finished viewing it to give some backround I’m 14 and not messed up In your face Cenore -anyway I do believe that there was some lesson in it about how love is about two people caring for each other and putting their needs above their own and that sex is something that only should be between two people who feel this way and do it for each other not themselves because in all insight its when you aim to fufill your own desires that you hurt yourself and those around you; and although I’ll admit yes, it may have been a little bloody towards the end but, I believe that the violence helped me to see what meaningless selfish sex can do to people thought this was a very extreme case
Love it and Learn from it
Makoto wtfbbq pwnd said,
July 4, 2009 @ 8:42 p07
This story could have had a great ending, shame japanese insanity had to take over and turn the love story into a bloodbath ending with a cute girl holding a dead guy’s head in her arms on a boat somewhere in the pasific ocean. =)
Adam UnderstewxD said,
July 22, 2009 @ 8:42 p07
Just like it did to The Digital Insomniac, it hit me hard aswell, i got so depressed about it i was about one week in my room sitting and.. thinking? It was kinda hard to get over it but i’m fine now, since it’s already been like.. 8 months? But yeah, just like The Digital Insomniac, i don’t want to see school days either, and i really mean NEVER.
Brian said,
August 15, 2009 @ 8:42 p08
I just finished watching the anime myself and, to avoid redundancy, I won’t repeat all the cliches, themes, and psychological pitfalls that appear in ‘School Days.’ I will, however, corroborate most everyone’s assertion that Makoto Ikou was representative of a hard, often overlooked vice of young adulthood. In the end I suppose one could say that he fell victim to overindulgence and, as a result, because a promiscuous male prostitute with a nonexistent regard for the feelings of the girls with whom he so readily fornicated. In short, he became a lustful sex addict and his sexual drives proved much stronger than his moral fiber. I suppose that ‘School Days’ somewhat elucidates the ramifications of the young-adult sexual repression that is all too ubiquitous in Japanese society. In essence, the more stringent society is with regard to the inhibition of natural sexual drives, the more the qualities that began to characterize Makoto in the latter episodes bubble to the surface. Indeed, once the “taboo-barrier” is broken and the taste of sex stains a youthful, unprepared mind, stimulation of a commensurate intensity will inevitably continue to be sought, often to a radical extent. Given the circumstances played out in “School Days,” I believe that Makoto was definitely in the wrong, as he was the undeniable catalyst for the whole plot downturn; still, it is important to note that the tragic ending would never have transpired had it not been for the blatant weakness of the girls, particularly Katsura and Sekai. In hindsight, it seems like the base points (Katsura/Sekai) of the “love triangle” in the end buckled under the weight of the irrepressible sex-drive of the top vertice (Makoto) That is how I saw it at any rate.
In retrospect, all critical analysis aside, I suppose the central moral of the unequivocally didactic anime, ‘School Days.” is…
“Do not be a freaking man-whore or you WILL end up a severed, wide-eyed head in some emotionally destabilized — no, dismembered girl’s tote bag. =__=”
All in all, I must say that ‘School Days’ was one of the best, emotionally stimulating animes I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. It was truly an emotional roller coaster deserving of its categorization as being of the “psychological genre.”
-Brian *Grossly disturbed, but so damn glad he watched it anyway…* ^_^
AnimePuma said,
August 25, 2009 @ 8:42 p08
I just finished this today, while i was scrolling down the list of animes to watch this was there, so i clicked on it expecting it to be a comedy. However it was quite the opposite this anime was a depressing anime. What i got out of it was that makato wasn’t content with what he was given, he wanted more and began to disregard the feelings of others as long as he received personal gain. In other words he disgusted me. Coming from a guys perspective i thought that he was just toying with peoples feelings, and that’s not right, alot of the girls in this anime were fragile, and he disregarded this time and time again. Personally when the anime ended i wanted to forget about it and move onto something that could cheer me up, like Zombie Loan or Gurren Lagaan. But after watching that pile of crap i feel so depressed. This is the most depressing anime i have ever seen, and i’m glad that a pig like makato died, along with saijo or w/e her name is. I’ve seen better Psychological anime (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Elfen Lied) and comparing those to this, it plain just sucked. The main character was a lustful pig, and the girls in that anime, the majority of them were sluts who were also interested in their own personal gain where it may be pleasure, company, etc. If there is a moral to this anime it would be (in my opinion) be content with what you are given for if you seek more you will only find despair.
Asareon said,
August 30, 2009 @ 8:42 p08
Just finished watching it 30 mins ago, I must say, that to me, this is one of the most screwed up animes ive seen, in my opinion. By screwed up, I actually mean, f’d up, though. As alot of people have said, it has some sort of moral behind it, and i totally get that, but to me i find it all completely illogical. Why wouldnt Kotonoha just go slap him one then dump him? Sure she’s fragile and all, but i dont think anybody would try to stay with someone who’s cheating on you when you know it.
Sekai did the same thing, knowing that he went and cheated on her more than once.
Then he goes and starts doing other girls that are around him just because he can. I’m glad he died, and i enjoy the fact that he did in my own sadistic way. But I’m agreeing with what Haru said, why did Sekai have to die? She’d probably be up there with Haruhi, Nagi (Kannagi), Hinagiku etc. if she was in a better storyline. that pisses me off, i really liked her. She reminds me a bit of Asa (shuffle!) as well.
I see some people were going on about the whole ‘why kill a loved one over love?’ or something like that. If you want a damn good reason, go watch Ga-Rei: Zero. Totally awesome.
Also, why do people feel traumatized/stunned over this? It’s a story. I know this could probably be based off a true story from somewhere, but hey, I’ve never really understood the whole human emotion thing.
Well, I think thats enough typing. Off to watch Full Metal Panic!