Sometimes an episode feels like a whole lot of random stuff just happened and you have to accept it.
What They Say:
Taketo Akutagawa is a high schooler who’s also a genius erotic writer whose work is serialized in the newspaper. He goes to a school where only people with a unique talent (Geniuses) are allowed, Inspiration Academy! A genius clarinet player, a genus mathmatician, a genius hacker and a genius idol, he gets in all kinds of sexy trouble this these crazy people. His fantasies never stop! And what about the love that’s starting to grow there? A taboo crazy academic life is about to start!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Taketo had his issues in the previous episode, but the show for the most part felt like it was restrained a bit compared to the first couple, but still managed to work well. Admittedly, the whole erotic author thing is something that can be overused and devalued along the way, but it is a good part of the draw as well. Which is why I liked this one as it plays up the whole concept of the beauty and appeal of panties. There’s certainly a lot to admire here and Taketo regales us with how they’re a garden of variety to be had even though girls typically don’t want them to be seen, at least until they do and under the circumstances they desire. Which is why his getting assigned finding a girl with panties that has a bear on them is definitely amusing.
He gets plenty of grief as he just walks around looking, though he has to be careful with what he does. Naturally, he’s accused easily of flipping skirts and unnatural winds that blow through and there’s even a moment where Ritsu’s pants get torn away and he gets all embarrassed about it, thinking Taketo might think of him that way. The most amusing in the first half has the teacher calling him out on it only to trip herself, which is totally not his fault, and he gets completely excited by seeing her “adult black” panties. Which makes his situation even worse with her since she wants to hide what happened. And later, when he does discover a pair that are simply laying on the ground, his mind goes into overdrive imagining the situation that these panties may have been involved in.
The bulk of the episode doesn’t focus so much on story but on character interactions and it goes in some strange moments, such as when Raika is ready to strip for him for a proper photo and they’re caught out by Utae and her friends. Raika’s smart enough to not get caught but it is amusing to see Utae still believe in Taketo overall, thinking anything he must be doing in the girls bathroom is for research. It’s an amusing trap that unfolds from there, but Taketo’s reputation is fun to watch because of how others take advantage of it or crucify him for it. Most of the student body still avoids him, but some have an unusual relationship with him like Raika. With the focus turning more to her as the episode progresses, it really does move in a less than clear way as she looks for the right shot and will go the distance to get it.
In Summary:
R-15 has a bit of an unusual episode here that while it does get to one of the core issues of one of the characters, is most about the disjointed adventures of Taketo. His nature is fun to watch since he does have his shy moments which gets messed over by his imagination at the wrong times, but it’s fun to watch. The character material here is pretty awkward for a lot of it but when it deals with Raika’s issue, in a decidedly haphazard way, it moves things to a whole other area. The aggressive nature isn’t a surprise but it does feel somewhat out of place in a way. Taketo’s reactions are spot on, and we learn a bit about Raika, but it mostly just made me want to see Takeo spend more time with Utae, or just exploring his own writing. I’m still not sure what to really expect with this show and this episode didn’t help cement what it wants to do besides pervy fun.
Grade: C
Simulcast By: Nico Nico
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
