What They Say:
A young man walks a distance of 175km and moves to Mishima Cape with a single backpack on him: Yuuji Kazami. The wish of this man so free from worldiness was thus: “I want to enter an ordinary school and lead the life of an ordinary student.”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With any number of eroge adaptations existing seemingly to undress their gaggles of fetish slates and maybe throw in some violent imagery to appear edgy, I wouldn’t normally have my eye set on one without much in the way of notable companies or staff involved. But one by the name of Grisaia no Kajitsu, Le Fruit de la Grisaia, or The Fruit of Grisaia happens to be one of the most highly regarded out there, so I was more curious to learn what the anime adaptation might have to offer than most of its kind.
Although most of the main companies and staff I look at haven’t filled the same positions in any of my favorites, at least Akio Watanabe served as both character designer and animation director for the entirety of the Monogatari Series, and as the original character designer of the visual novel behind this series, he fortunately comes back to the anime adaptation to serve the same roles. Obviously the most striking visual elements of the Monogatari Series are due to the Shaft/Shinbo style, but Watanabe’s contributions cannot be understated, as can be easily seen in the similarities between that series and this, and his style is a fun one that fits the characterizations introduced in this episode perfectly.
From the beginning, it’s clear that this story is more than the simple slice of life its deadpan mystery of a protagonist Yuuji likes to call it as long as he can find any excuse to. The constant u of letterboxing is more than enough to indicate that. If nothing else, Yuuji is far from the bland, milquetoast chick magnet that often fills his position, and is in fact about as far from that paradigm as possible: the admittedly not much more original concept of a high school student who has worked for some government-related organization, seemingly dispatched as an assassin or something similar. Between that and the more humanizing background of having lost his sister in an accident, he may even be one of those whose emotions have largely exited his personality, a somewhat questionable premise for a protagonist who will be forming romantic connections with the female cast surrounding him. One thing is for sure, though: even before he really has to break his relatively peaceful routine to take care of business, Yuuji is a pretty fun character largely for his deadpan answer to all of the cliché situations that try to draw him in and break him for the typical comedic payoff similar properties often attempt.
After dealing with some old guys trying to detain him for having no proper evidence of citizenship and then releasing him with deep regret after learning of his government connections, Yuuji is the only male to even be mentioned to exist. This isn’t quite the full “one guy in an all-girls’ school” plot, as the school only even has five students before his arrival (gee, that sure isn’t a typical harem size or anything, is it?), all of them of course female, along with the principal who may be the sole faculty member as well. The principal fits right in with her female students, and is even more of a mess than most of them, requiring Yuuji to grab the wheel just in time to avoid being killed in traffic several times.
Then there’s the harem. Amane is totally cool with getting naked right in front of Yuuji’s eyes (a somewhat refreshing scene to see with neither party remotely embarrassed), and apparently even went out of her way to do so. Yumiko recalls another bit of Bakemonogatari as she introduces herself to Yuuji with a box cutter to the face, and appears to be the primary, or at least most mysterious, of the girls, despite having very little screen time in this first episode. Michiru is absolutely dedicated to her role as the tsundere of the series, even accepting the “curses” that she feels are inherently tied to that role. Sachi was told that she fits the role of a maid and decides to dress and act as one constantly. There’s little communication with Makina, as she appears to be fairly incapable of intelligent communication from what we see. In contrast to these stereotypical depictions, the end of the episode confirms that each of them has a darker side, potentially on the same level as (and seemingly at direct odds with) Yuuji himself, setting up for the plot surrounding the true purpose of this school. Yumiko may seem like the strangest of the bunch from their introductions, but this indicates that she’s simply the one not putting on a façade. And somewhere along the line, love is sure to blossom, somehow.
While there are strong visual gags that play out throughout the episode thanks in large part to Yuuji being way too cool for the wackiness thrown at him, and while Watanabe’s characters are no doubt very attractive, some of the fanservice does have me rolling my eyes a little. I know, an eroge adaptation with sexually provocation imagery – crazy, right? And given that, it could certainly be a lot worse. Most of it is in the form of panty shots that seem determined to show each girl’s panties at least once, with the somewhat bizarre and amusing aspect of Yuuji staring directly at the ones that are actually in front of his face as much as ours with no reaction and without letting on. For that aspect I can almost appreciate the usage, but other times it’s just pointless, distracting camera focus. At least they’ve mostly been used at moments being silly with the girls anyway, so they don’t necessarily detract greatly. That trait of Amane I mentioned before means there’s more than that, though, and so we get the only thing that annoys me more than whatever might be censored: the censorship itself. It’s not a surprise, although the scene does scream “buy the Blu-rays for boobs” (or maybe get AT-X, if it’s uncensored on there) more than really adding what a more modest depiction of the situation could’ve accomplished. I guess I can give it credit for being equal-opportunity, though, as Yuuji has to sleep in the nude and shows off all but naughty bits (with the more plot-related point being the scars we see, and perhaps just how ridiculously ripped he is) after getting out of bed.
In Summary:
We’ve certainly got an eroge adaptation on her hands, but for what it is, it seems to have potential to be one of the more interesting examples of its kind. The harem is there, so full of stereotypical elements that they acknowledge some of them and may be deliberate caricatures to clash with the darker underpinnings of the story and their role in it. The setting and premise are still largely shrouded in mystery as the setup only hints to the truth at the end, but some guesses can be made toward its true nature. The protagonist isn’t a terribly original example yet either, but he’s a lot more likable than many who could fill his position, and makes for a lot of fun resulting from the dynamics as we understand them thus far. There’s a lot to roll one’s eyes at, but hopefully it will prove to have intended for that reaction as the real story comes to light.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
HP Envy 14.
