What can be said about a anime series that although based off a manga / light novels where most of the creative-work was already done, managed to capture the necessary-conflict between prim-prunes, and irreverent-hentai, that both Japan, and the WORLD, needs to see?
Inevitable everywhere,
but again, not everyone chooses to lead in this regard, and there is something to be said here for reform and it's opposites as the latter of the two struggle in our accelerating technological revolution & societal adjustments to it,
that said, some of the references unique or more familiar to Japanese audiences might go over many's heads, but i didn't have a problem with that,
this series can be watched in a take-it-lightly way, without needing to google every word and reference you don't understand,
mainly because of it's well set-up character-conflict dynamics - the monster that is Anna, and the resolute Ayame, with poor old Okuma inbetween like a slice of meat in a sandwich, both bizzarely parallel forces in the school, one two-faced and insane, the other conflicted but committed to their choice,
this series actually portrays a 'necessary-evil', VERY well, in that regard, while the hypocrisy, molestations, sexual-assaults, and outright attempted-rape BY Anna, are in constant contrast to the good chosen-level of reversal of policy aimed for by SOX, a misunderstood protest-group, really.
Called terrorists though, they struggle under the scapegoating oppression of TOO-civil society, and encounter a few further manifesations of the same pressure-creating-monsters rather than a more reasonable balance preventing them,.. along the way - my favourite, gathered fabric, with it's defiant suave? There's another word for it.. .consumate? Leader white peak, who i was surprised when i first watched it, could not be tolerated by the low-bets overly careful but-tactful Ayame.
Her wisdom prevails in the end, in better-understanding the context they're in, in not pushing things too far else risk the falling into the traps of the machievellian emotional-blackmail & similar machinations of the morality-pushers behind the oppressive system, preferring instead for GRADUAL reversal to balance,
but i could not help but agree and sympathise with White Peak, in his point about the world being insane, and "needing to be destroyed",
and the same with Kosuri's line that "thee people are no better than my decrepid father", and another about pandering at one point ;
There is a lesson to be learnt there, about irreverence, and who historically has backed it while being at the same time, pressured by especially religion.
It's a lesson already taught & remembered though, so it doesn't need to become overly-political, the constant refusal to stop doing her wordplay puns and double-entedres constantly frustrating Okuma, still brings a smile to my face most scenes when i watch it again.
Probably not suited for too-young an audience,
it definately has a, well, several points to make, and does so while also have a laugh all-throughout,
but does still succeed in making a few tender moments when the generation we're following, find the efforts of their immediate past generations, which RE-FRAMES the questions the series raises, into more than just the immediate questions posed by the pushers of the control systems - their focus is narrow, but even just these handful of kids, can realise and discover that it's a much longer conflict with more depth than at-first might not appear, that especially the information suppression, is to be despised and defied, even if differences between groups mean that different groups have to part ways on some issues - more of that in more episodes with gathered fabric, could've portrayed that too, with some successes in cooperations painting more of a optimistic potential from the multiple groups (mostly)common ground,
but as i understand it, the series wound up doing less than perhaps it could've.
A second series then!
A wider picture/setting, and Q.s moreso public-indecency than personal-liberty?
SOX's timid limits of their ambitions,
did limit how much the series could take on.
BUT, to be fair, it was consistent both in terms of what the group DID, and what they SAID,
they were about,
so it was a integral struggle, in terms of their manifesto matching their deeds. Gathered fabric or similar groups would have to admit that, i think.
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This world, IS insane, though, he's right.
It DOES, still, need to be destroyed,
Groups like SOX have their limits.
So do YOU,.. if you keep society's ball & chain dragging you back, like Ayame did.
