Awful Falafel
Banned
Long time no see Animegaf, odd to see you moving at a reasonable pace now. Also good to see xbone-tan is finally a thing, I knew getting jabs at microsoft through a cute mascot was too tempting for the internet to resist. Anyway I was in the mood for something depraved so I decided to poopsock Flowers of Evil.
Flowers of Evil 1-10
So I'm expecting a show that's different from most anime and what's the first plot point? It's freaking
That was so goddamn ridiculously anime that I couldn't help but laugh. So as silly as that premise was
every work of fiction needs a pass on that to suspend your disbelief because otherwise there would be no show. Early on it's like a shitty telltale heart and while the struggle to confess to something terrible is compelling I don't think that aspect is really this show's strong suit, especially when it's tied to something so flimsy. So as well done and supposedly shocking the
scene in episode 3 was I couldn't get much out of it because I wasn't really invested in anything so far.
Then comes the
I guess there's some fun in seeing someone so spineless being so thoroughly
Crazy things shouldn't feel so status quo, Nakamura's SA SA SA SA was pretty great though. Things did start to pick up in
Next up was the dreaded walking in episode 8, I was expecting Ingmar Bergman levels of super long static scenes but this had multiple cuts, decent framing/angles, motion, and background music! While not to this level it did remind me how much praise the "silent" portion of Wall-E was getting for being so bold when I found the hyper active pace of cuts and motion silly in how afraid it was of you getting bored. So yeah I liked the walking scene and found it struck a decent balance, sure the point could've been made in less time but this show hits you over the head with a lot of things so it seems kind of odd to single out this scene.
Episode 9 is mostly setup so let's just skip straight to 10. It's great to finally feel
I haven't seen many of the shows this season but is this one the best? Most likely but considering the general standard that's not really saying much. I'm glad I poopsocked it, not because I would've been dying to see what happens next but because I doubt I could keep my interest every week for the first half of the show. If the remaining episodes keep this up it could be the exact opposite of Chuu2 in tone and aesthetics with a shitty first half and a great second half.
So TL;DR Unsatisfying in a lot of ways but watch it anyway.
Flowers of Evil 1-10
So I'm expecting a show that's different from most anime and what's the first plot point? It's freaking
agonizing over stealing a gym uniform!
(seriously just put it back! It would've been that easy!)
library stripping and dressing in the school uniform
Then comes the
DATE-O!
blackmailed but the wearing the uniform under your clothes thing just felt like the twisted thing to do in a show about being twisted rather than anything shocking at that point.
episode 7 though. Kasuga's got full blown Stockholm syndrome at this point with his hilariously pathetic breakdown full of begging and even depending on Nakamura. The cathartic trashing of his class room had me hoping for the consequences to catch up to Kasuga and lead to a significant change in his character. This turned out to be partially true and helped accelerate the plot but the lucky ink splatter over his name was an unsatisfying aspect to an otherwise good development.
Next up was the dreaded walking in episode 8, I was expecting Ingmar Bergman levels of super long static scenes but this had multiple cuts, decent framing/angles, motion, and background music! While not to this level it did remind me how much praise the "silent" portion of Wall-E was getting for being so bold when I found the hyper active pace of cuts and motion silly in how afraid it was of you getting bored. So yeah I liked the walking scene and found it struck a decent balance, sure the point could've been made in less time but this show hits you over the head with a lot of things so it seems kind of odd to single out this scene.
Episode 9 is mostly setup so let's just skip straight to 10. It's great to finally feel
the other shoe dropping with confrontations about things that were long overdue. NO SHIT YOU DON'T KNOW FUCK ALL ABOUT BAUDELAIRE YOU PRETENTIOUS SPINELESS DICK. How Saeki can forgive him I'll never know but it gives her an air of crazy to match with the other two I suppose. It definitely shows how laughably pointless Kasuga's turmoil was though. But hey instead of resolving everything and ditching the girl who's been torturing you let's chase after her because I'm clearly a masochist with none of my own best interests in mind. Being taken by the cops could lead to interesting things but with the track record so far I have my doubts.
I haven't seen many of the shows this season but is this one the best? Most likely but considering the general standard that's not really saying much. I'm glad I poopsocked it, not because I would've been dying to see what happens next but because I doubt I could keep my interest every week for the first half of the show. If the remaining episodes keep this up it could be the exact opposite of Chuu2 in tone and aesthetics with a shitty first half and a great second half.
So TL;DR Unsatisfying in a lot of ways but watch it anyway.
