MILGЯAM

So, after 14 eps:
1 - "This is Milgram" (kind of prologue)
2 - "Character Voice Trailer" (Presenting all the characters)
3 - "Es - Undercover" (Music from the Judge/Warden)
4 - "The Song Of Prisioners" (Sample of all the prisioners first musics)
5 - 14 - Full MVs from the prisioners except for the 13th which is a cover of the 4th prisioner music by the Judge/Warden

What I have to say is, this is an amazing project, with amazing music and excellent short stories, but better than that, is the interactivity it has with the viewers, in which, "us", the viewer, work has the Judge/Warden, and can vote in ... the official website if we think the character is guilty or innocent.

Even though my ratings are high, I´m giving an overall of 7, since this is an anime review, and as an anime, it lacks the same kind of dialogue seen in episode 1, hope that gets adressed later when all the first trials are done with some kind of dialogue between the Judge/Warden and each of the prisioners before their next song.

In case someone is curious, my ratings are:
Story - 10
Art - 9
Sound - 10
Character - 8
Enjoyment - 10 (Enjoyed it so much and loved the concept just as much to the point that this is my first review ever in more than 800 watched animes)
Overall - 7

Milgram's songs are SO good.
Let's talk about the characters first. There are prisoners 1-10, all of them are likeable in some way. They all have different personalities and the character design is so basic yet so unique. An angry little dog character? You got it. A wholesome, 'lighthearted' character? We got it. There's something about the characters that makes you attached to them.

Next, the music. the music in Milgram NEVER misses. Each song has a unique beat that's catchy, whether you like it or not! It's hard to have one favorite song when all of them sound so good.

Third, the lore. The prisoners are all ... there for being murderers -- indirect on direct doesn't matter. A guard with no memories and a talking rabbit? MILGRAM uses songs and music videos to find out what the prisoner's crime was. The lore in the prisoners' music video is very indirect most of the time. Like in Umbilical, I had to rewatch it to understand, but once you notice it, it all makes sense. It's like a little game of theorizing!! Plus, you being able to choose the prisoner's fate is really creative. Interactive content is so fun, it feels like you really are part of MILGRAM.

TLDR; Milgram has basic but unique characters, and the music is always fire no matter which one you listen to. The lore is not given to you directly but if you notice certain details, it will all start to click.

I love Milgram and 03+09 so much (waiting on trial 3) You should give it a try even if you don't think you would like it!!

**WARNING: THIS IS VERY LONG**

I’m done with MILGRAM.

One of the main reasons I was drawn to MILGRAM is that I really liked the music videos conceptually. I think that portraying character’s mental states in abstract ways with subtle symbolism is very fun and cool. I like playing the “nuance detective”, and I think MILGRAM can raise some interesting subjects and discussions about morality. However, while I’ve enjoyed MILGRAM for the lesser part of a year, I can’t enjoy it anymore.

After watching the “second trial report” video, I’ve realized something– MILGRAM is the pinnacle of an audience giving too much credit to the writers, and I’m ... now going to explain why. I plan to discuss every single character, as well as my problems with how each one is written.

If you aren’t caught up on MILGRAM as of 7/22/2024, this is going to be incomprehensible. It’s for MILGRAM fans, by an ex-MILGRAM fan.


Firstly, let’s start with Haruka. Haruka is an annoying character, in how he’s written and presented. He has a non-specific mental illness, and because of that, he tries to kill animals for his parents' attention. Additionally, Haruka certainly sees himself as unstable and child-like.
Let me give you a catalog of quotes from Haruka’s trial 1 and trial 2 songs!:
“You praised me by saying ‘You’re crazy.’/Thank you, I’ll do my best”, “Why was I born like this? Why does it hurt so much?”, “just want to be your good boy/I will keep on killing to be a good boy/I can’t stop, I can’t stop/Am I still INNOCENT?/Mommy, look, I’ve done great/’There there, my good boy!’”.

The way Haruka talks about himself, the word choice and implications, is very bad language to talk about mental illness. It’s stigmatizing, infantilizing, and straight up incorrect. However, while Haruka is wrong about this, that’s not an inherently bad thing to write about. The problem comes when Haruka’s perspective is unchallenged and implicitly accepted. It’s not challenged and now millions of people are hearing Haruka’s VA spew stigmatizing, catchy lyrics, about how he’s #mentallyUnstable and CrAzY.

The credit I gave to MILGRAM wasn’t warranted. The stigma in Haruka’s lyrics is not meant to represent internalized stigma, as the stigma is seen as reality and meant to be the complexity. This shit is infuriating and makes me want to strangle someone. No, I am not crazy and so inept at social situations that I’ll kill someone to get my abusive parents attention. Mentally ill people are more often the victims of crime than the perpetrators. That’s just statistics. By spreading these negative stereotypes and stigma, MILGRAM isn’t just hurtful, but wrong. The retelling of Haruka’s story is part of the reason that mentally ill people might get harmed more in real life.


Second, Yuno. Yuno’s character is annoying because her “murder” is abortion. I like Yuno, I like how she calls out people for possibly infantilizing her, however, there’s a large issue with Yuno’s character. The story that MILGRAM’s writers wrote for Yuno reveals how disconnected they are with reality. MILGRAM is desperately attempting to make Yuno’s story complex, presenting it as a true moral conundrum, using every talking point in the book, but as it turns out, abortion just isn’t that complicated of an issue. No, MILGRAM, I don’t think this is something we should be polling people’s opinions on, this isn’t a complex moral issue, but the existence of Yuno’s character validates this inane discourse. I won’t stand for it. Yuno did nothing wrong. The only people that could write something so idiotic are people thoroughly disconnected from reality.


Third, Futa. Uh… Y’know, actually, relative to MILGRAM’s other characters, I like Futa a lot. From a writing standpoint, Futa doesn’t do much wrong, but it’s… Okay, no, I’m gonna say it. Futa got on a teacher who was sexually harassing someone, and I assumed that the girl who committed suicide was harassed because she the victim in the photo. We live in a society and have a horrible culture of victim blaming people, and that could definitely happen. However, instead, once again, I gave MILGRAM too much credit. Instead, this was merely to show how Futa got a big ego, and how he felt he saved someone. I’ll say it’s quite infuriating that the girl in the sexual harassment plot of Futa’s story’s only purpose is for Futa’s ego, and not their own damn assault, but I digress.

The girl that died was another random person that Futa, apparently, started a hate campaign on, and ruined her life. Why? Good question! We don’t know. People form big hate mobs against people who have a presence. A youtuber, an influencer, a celebrity, or an actor. All the vitriol people hurl starts with people needing to feel parasocially close with them. Sure, there’s more bog standard bullying, but Futa is more directly about cancel culture on twitter, which is a platform that, when people get canceled on it, it’s usually big names that have a substantial following. I just don’t quite see the logic behind the writing here. This plotline misunderstands the reason people form massive hate campaigns against people and how much people don’t like committing suicide. It turns what could be broader social commentary on how people form hate mobs into interpersonal trauma and angst fuel.



Fourthly, we have Mu. Mu’s character is very funny. Not good, just funny. I think it’s very funny and MILGRAM pulled the “the bullied was an even bigger bully, actually”, just because it’s such an easy and simple plot-twist that it’s laughable. Mu’s plotline is so funny that I could never take it seriously. Something weird about Mu’s plotline is the strange gay romance subplot in it, where someone, somewhere, was being homophobic. Who, I can’t tell. That’s all we got for it. A funny character, but she’s so damn stupid. It’s a laughable twist for a reason.

Mu has rich parents that travel a lot, so I foolishly thought that MILGRAM was trying to make a comment about how people that are somewhat neglected by their parents might bully others to make themselves feel better, but given the lack of this ever coming up again, I fear my theory is simply giving MILGRAM too much credit. Mu is meant to be a cartoony evil twist character that’s made for cheap shock value.


Fifth, Shidou’s character is, again, one that’s flawed from the conception. Shidou is a sad boy that has self-hate issues. He’s a doctor that feels bad for doing his job. Er, he had to euthanize people, and felt bad for them and when he had to tell their family. It’s understandable guilt, and internally he feels like a monster… However, I have a question. Why is he here? The conceit of MILGRAM is that all these people are murderers, but Shidou is straight up not a murderer. Sure, he feels guilty, but why is he here? I genuinely don’t understand what Shidou adds to the story other than a medical professional, which is important for “plot land” so that he can fix the characters up when they get hurt. Although, I suppose the whole shtick with Shidou is that he asked to be voted “not forgiven”, but as it turns out, his pretty sad boy energy was too strong for people to do that.


Sixthly, Mahiru. Mahiru could, again, be a more interesting broad discussion. I assumed that what Mahiru’s plotline was going for was that since she went to an all girls school, she had overly high expectations for her boyfriend. All the stress he felt to be a certain way, as well as Mahiru pressuring him in addition to that, is what drove him to commit suicide. However, it’s simply a coincidental observation, or at the very least, not one MILGRAM cares to explore. The only real take away from Mahiru’s character is how the general MILGRAM fan’s perception of her shifted on a dime from “crazy stalker girl” to “soft uwu girl that deserves nothing but sunshine”. From a meta angle, it’s such a beautiful depiction of misogyny, I almost want to wrap it up and put a bow on it! But that isn’t part of MILGRAM, that’s a level of complexity that I added and observed from how real people reacted to Mahiru. Not the story itself, which, for some reason, is asking people to judge Mahiru when she’s currently dealing with the trauma of seeing her boyfriend's dangling corpse. Excuse me?


Seventh, there’s Kazui, a character I cannot forgive being in MILGRAM. He’s gay, and his wife killed herself upon learning it. I’m aware that Kazui never told her, but he just received the worst coming out reaction ever, and now you want me to judge him? He’s more so a victim of societal pressures than a murderer, full stop. Kazui’s character does present an interesting examination of societal pressures, however, the cartoony way Kazui is shown to be gay is genuinely too laughable to be true. The name of his second song, “Cat”, in Japanese, is slang for bottom, and in the end of “Cat”, Kazui eats a bird (cock).

Ignoring that, it’s an interesting story. Kazui, pressured by society, ignores his gay feelings and marries a woman in hopes that he’ll find his heterosexuality somewhere there. MILGRAM, however, doesn’t have many interesting things to say on the societal pressures Kazui faces to conform as heterosexual. “Can you forgive him for doing it?” Of course I can, because the world isn’t just about billions of interpersonal relationships. It has systems that affect people and people who never have a chance to learn other ways of life. In my eyes, Kazui’s “crime” is completely the fault of heteronormativity, and on a personal level, I forgive Kazui for it. But MILGRAM has no interest in discussing heteronormativity any further than as Kazui’s motive, and not Kazui as a case study of heteronormativity. It places the fatalities of society's pressure onto the individual, and with its voting system, it invites the audience to do the same.


Eightly, there’s Amane. MILGRAM’s narrative is limited by how the audience can interact with it, and the only way the audience can input is through “Forgiven? (Y/N)”. Amane’s story isn’t about forgiveness or not, and in fact, trying to change her through it helps no one. Whether Amane is told she’s forgiven or not, it will reinforce her beliefs. While this does show how Amane can twist anything to fit in her narrative, it’s infuriating, and is a major issue I have with MILGRAM. I don’t want to judge these characters, and I hate that MILGRAM hinges on real people in real life getting to get on their moral high horse and deciding if they think people should be forgiven or not. I don’t care about judging these characters, I want to help them. What’s the point of slapping “Good”, “Bad”, black/white labels on these characters? Looking at how nothing can sway Amane is much more interesting, but ultimately, MILGRAM tells its audience to put their effort on deciding that verdict. Amane doesn’t need punishment, and Amane doesn’t need a verdict. She needs a cup of hot cocoa and a non-abusive family. She’s a victim of a cult and has done nothing wrong, she fought back in self-defense, and she needs therapy.


Nine in line, I’m gonna talk about Kotoko. I know, I know, Mikoto is next, but I’m saving Mikoto for the end. Kotoko didn’t annoy me until the second trial report. I liked how she followed her beliefs and beat up characters people liked, showing them directly how her type of self-righteousness is, well, it’s self-righteousness. It’s focused on making herself feel like the hero instead of helping those in trouble. But after this report, I’ve once again learned that I gave MILGRAM too much credit. I thought this was simple, I didn’t think is was possible to mess up, but in this second trial report, Jackolope repeatedly makes the case that the only reason Futa, Mahiru, and Mikoto got to be voted innocent this time is because Kotoko beat them up, and, in fact, Kotoko’s actions may have helped them change. This upsets me to no end. Kotoko perfectly represents justice as retribution– If someone hurts you, hurt them back. Eye for an eye, and now we’re all blind, aren’t we?

Somehow, MILGRAM touts Kotoko as “correct :3”. To that, I say “fuck off”! People don’t learn from getting electric shocks, there’s a reason corporeal punishment is seen as torture. ABA is bullshit and I really didn’t expect to be able to bring that up today. If you want people to improve, hitting them ‘til they get better doesn’t work. Kotoko is all about payback and retribution, and the fact that Jackolope explicitly congratulates her for a job well done is upsettingly stupid. Kotoko is a loose cannon that will help nothing. If she wants to help little girls not be abused like she was, there’s so many better and less destructive ways than stabbing the abusers with knives, not limited actual activism and advocating for better laws. Systemic reform will save countless kids in the future if you fight the cause of these problems in the first place. And if you really want interpersonal solutions, volunteer to help at abuse shelters, be a therapist, just anything that’s not being a vigilante that’s also gonna get you in jail because, as it turns out, murder is illegal, Kotoko.


Tenth, we have Mikoto. I’ve been waiting for this damn moment. My GODDAMN time has finally come. In the second trial report, Jackolope comments on how Mikoto has, apparently, killed a lotta people… Ahem… While Mikoto is shown to be a mass murderer in his music videos, I simply didn’t buy it.
I’m now going to quote myself, “I understand people getting mad at people seeming to undermine and ignore the “Bro but he’s a serial killer >:(” part conceptually, but in practice it’s just so unrealistic that I’m not buying it. It feels insulting that you expect me to treat this theory with even a modicum of respect. Look, even if the creators of MILGRAM themselves, after MILGRAM is over, in an interview or some shit, explain that Mikoto is actually a mass murderer, I would be just as annoying about it. It did not happen. Officially confirmed? Well I guess the writers are stupid”

Well, it turns out the writers are stupid.

The reason I was so sure of myself is that, realistically, Mikoto’s character cannot be a mass murderer. It doesn’t make sense in any way, it’s not realistic, it’s not reasonable, and it’s not a complex moral question, which MILGRAM does “attempt” to be. I don’t care to rant about how stupid this is on a realism check as it tires me, but tl;dr I expected too much. Mikoto’s character is one that I’ve given far too much respect and leeway on, despite the fact that he’s written like UTTER ASS.

I’ve been willing to give MILGRAM a chance, which is why I haven’t shared all of what I’m about to, but I’m done. It’s over and MILGRAM has confirmed to me that it’s written by actual real life troglodytes. To start, MILGRAM screwed up some basic facts about DID, which Mikoto is “supposed” to have. One, it uses “Multiple Personality Disorder”, a highly stigmatizing and outdated term for the condition. Next, Jackolope keeps mentioning how they’ve never had a prisoner with DID before, but DID isn’t actually all that uncommon, and it’s very likely heavily under-diagnosed.

Additionally, the whole premise of Mikoto’s supposed moral conundrum is “Can you blame Mikoto for the crimes of his alter”? Fun fact, this is ruled on! The answer is “yes”, an entire system can be held responsible for one alters actions. It’s not actually some wild legal gray area, because, as it turns out, people with DID do exist IRL and have been in court before. Yes, yes, believe it or not, people with DID are not merely a base for you to shittily dive off of to create pseudoscientific character complexities, asshole! They’re a real group of people that have to deal with the bullshit stigma that they’re full-on fucking psycho serial killers. Thank you for your contribution to the problem! Also people have more than one alter. The fact that Mikoto only has John should be enough to get the writer written up and thrown in “no more writing” jail. Stop cooking, it smells like mold.

Moving on from the basics that MILGRAM screwed up, Mikoto is literally THE stereotype. As someone who did some actual research into DID, I watched a podcast from a therapist that has multiple patients with DID, and they said something along the lines of this: “The person with a hyper violent alter could theoretically exist, but I’ve yet to meet them”. The reason for this actually makes sense if you think about it for more than five seconds. DID is a condition where a person’s perceptions of reality are split between different “parts” of themselves, usually referred to as “alters”. Some alters are more violent, but it’s first and foremost a defense mechanism. It’s no different than other trauma mechanisms in that respect. People with heavy trauma can hurt others if they don’t deal with it, the “victim -> abuser” pipeline is a very real thing, but these people are extremely traumatized. They aren’t mass murderers, people with DID may even have child-like alters that are literally in the mental state of the child that is stuck from the traumatized point in their life. You think a person like this is a mass murderer?!

As I said earlier, mentally ill people are more often victims of crimes than perpetrators of them. As for serial killers IRL, they are very much troubled individuals and have trauma, but it’s not as severe as the kind that gets you DID. They’re troubled in the sense that they have the mental brain virus that makes them think “yo if I stabbed this person that’d be funny”, but, from what I can tell, mass murderers are people that usually are very much disconnected from reality, privileged, and rich. Even if a poor person tried to be a mass murderer they’d probably get caught. Wealthier people just have enough privilege and influence to get away with it, and the dissatisfaction and disconnect comes with the isolation rich people are sometimes subject to.
Mikoto is set up as the overworked and sleepy “mass murderer of the people”. It just doesn’t work…

Having mental illness makes life extremely difficult, there’s a reason people seek help for it. Like, look, I don’t think someone who constantly struggles with having flashbacks to their abusive parents can plan out and get away with multiple murders. They’re too busy crying in bed to even buy the damn knife for it. This isn’t to infantilize mentally ill people, this is to point out that untreated mentally ill people get help for a reason. When very mentally ill people plan out big murder plots, they roll up to Walmart with an AR-15 and knowing they’ll die. It’s ill thought out and pointlessly destructive. It’s sad and bad, yes, but it’s very distinct from the planning needed to be a repeat serial killer. Either way, this is not Mikoto, who’s your dissatisfied coworker at your local McDonalds.

The only way Mikoto fits into being a “mass murderer serial killer” realistically is that teens keep thirst posting for him online. MILGRAM did get that right… And, look, I’ll be honest, the main reason I’m probably defending this guy so much and standing up for how he’s been done dirty is because I, too, am a creature of instinct that thinks Mikoto is hot. Unfortunately, his good looks are simply mathematical. But, I digress, that’s the only way he fits the mold. He isn’t cunning or intelligent, he’s not especially malicious or misogynistic, he’s a high masking autistic and mentally ill dingus that cries when he calls his mother because he’s suffering from overwork at his job alongside the rest of us in the working class proletariat.

Confirming that Mikoto is, in fact, supposed to be a mass murderer, has shattered my ability to ever be charitable to MILGRAM again. I kept holding out hope and I kept trying to give MILGRAM credit, but all I have learned is that I keep coming up with better stories than the actual writers did.



I gave so much credit to MILGRAM because it still had a chance, it had so many chances to be written correctly, and I held out hope. The cards weren’t on the table yet, I said “maybe”, “surely this time”, but now that I’ve seen their hand, I’ve realized I fell for their poker face. I lost the bet and, as it turns out, gambling fails yet again. Now I’m broke.
MILGRAM has had a plethora of opportunities for interesting social commentary and proper systemic analysis, but everytime it falls back into stupidity, shock value, and upping the angsty boy trauma hours.


In conclusion, I’ve been disappointed in MILGRAM for the last time. It’s a narrative riddled with holes and problems. I wanted to give the story credit, but it’s too stupid to properly follow up on the complexities already in it. MILGRAM could’ve been better, but it wasn’t, and I’m disappointed. I won’t let myself be content with this nonsensical garbage. I deserve better and there is better for me. I’m tired and I’m done. That’s why I’m done with MILGRAM.