Did this scene really go too far?

Yeah,

Coming from a 16 year old point of view, it doesn't bother me much, some popular animes do have those kind of unexpected anime ecchi scenes. But other than that, given the situation, I get that it was overwhelming for Lemon and MC having to be immersed in that heat for a long duration, and that showed a bit of Lemon's silly character, but to such ecchi extent was unnecessary. Overall, I don't think it went over the line, the quality of the anime is still maintained in a controlled manner, but that ecchi scene was surely unexpected from this anime series.

@Lucizkun I wasn't surprised that this show already had its "it's popular, so it sucks" haters. But I was surprised that even they overly focused on this scene, trying to justify with it why this show is "another stupid harem".

@RobertBobert True, that may look like that case to some people, but that scene was just a matter of overwhelmingness only, nothing more than that. And watching this anime, it does give a bit of harem vibes, since the MC is literally surrounded by female anime characters almost all the time, and is indeed some insane coincidence that would be typical in harem genre animes. But the context is different in this anime, as the MC is stuck in being involved with anime girl's problems, nothing more than that.

i have no idea why people have a problem with fanservice or ecchi scenes as long as it doesnt impact the quality of the story
imo it kinda felt out of place cause the rest of the show doesnt seem to go into a direction where this kinda stuff happens more often but judging a whole anime just from one scene is just stupid

i have no idea why people have a problem with fanservice or ecchi scenes as long as it doesnt impact the quality of the story
imo it kinda felt out of place cause the rest of the show doesnt seem to go into a direction where this kinda stuff happens more often but judging a whole anime just from one scene is just stupid

its funny that they make the athletic one lose control to the heat like im sorry is she must be used to that shit

its not even a harem tho is it? i dont know about the LN but the anime is just the mc trying to help out his friends
im sure some of the girls will fall for the mc eventually but people are just too quick to jump to conclusions
and even if turns into a harem someday whats the harm? those kinda anime are fun as well if you dont take them too seriously

so its a win-win situation, people should stop whining

Though, nothing is changed from the characters' personalities and mind, and that is fine, no harem in that. The scene is just unique for revealing such ecchi.

It's not about going too far. I didn't like this scene because it completely undermines the novelty aspect of Makeine, I mean not being your typical trashy harem romcom: it only pretends to be different with the whole "befriending the girls instead of them falling in love with the mc", but the substance is the same. Removing that scene wouldn't change things much though, it would have just taken a bit more time to reach the same conclusion.

It's not something bad in itself, it just means it loses any advantage given by the uniqueness of the premise: I might as well have a proper trashy harem romcom but with better comedy or better characters, or a better love polygon if you care about love drama. Imagine putting Nukumizu in an average harem romcom: he'd be frowned upon and considered one of the worst self insert mcs ever seen in the history of anime.

It's not like it upset me or dragged down the show, but I didn't like it either. A good fanservice scene should introduce or increase sexual tension between the characters. As Lemon had basically just been introduced and was clearly not the kind of girl Nukumizu would interested in, it basically just gave Lemon the characterization of being extremely easy, which she really didn't need. She ended being quite well written in later episodes, so I really have no idea what this scene was doing there.

A scene to emphasize the tension between her and Ayano would have probably been better, as it would have reinforced the sad situation of them not getting into a relationship just because of poor timing, rather than any incompatibility between them. This probably wouldn't end up being very fanservicey though, since it doesn't involve the MC.

In the end, I don't think it's anything to get salty or write home about, though. It's just a relatively weak scene in an overall strong show.

@Nirinbo How does one fanservice scene as such contradict the premise that this is not a harem? Only harem shows have fanservice? Or did the show initially promise you a complete lack of fan service? This is the only such scene up to this point. To the point where she more than stands out from the rest of the show. This reminds me of the first season of Strike Witches, when people unironically expected the all-female yuri bait show to turn into "another shitty harem" just because the MC had a male fan. This is really starting to resemble a moral panic.

@RobertBobert Nothing wrong from a moral standpoint, it's just a silly scene typical of trashy (and usually harem) romcoms. Nothing inherently wrong with trashy harem romcoms either, it's just that I'm not going to give Makeine bonus points for its unique premise after seeing how said premise is being executed; that scene is just an early sign, but removing it wouldn't change my overall opinion of the show (which I dislike because I dislike every character).

@Nirinbo Um, excuse me, do you know the meaning of the term "moral panic"? This does not mean simple criticism from a moral standpoint. This means when people exaggerate things and become very paranoid due to objectively exaggerated fears of maintaining some moral dogmas. Like the famous satanic panic.

In this case, the problem is not with the scene itself, as I implied above, I have no problem criticizing it. It amazes me how people make very loud conclusions based on it about the entire show as a whole. Even though any conversation about it will admit that there is only one scene and it stands out very much from the rest of the anime. For example, as far as I understand, you are already assuming based on this that the show is going to abandon its premise in favor of “trashy harem romcom”.

@RobertBobert I'm not judging the whole show based on this scene, I said that it was an early sign. After watching more episodes my expectations could have been subverted, but instead I got confirmation that Makeine isn't so much different from the countless light novels about a harem male mc solving the problems of the many girls surrounding him.

@Nirinbo Okay, let's say that these shows have a monopoly on fan service and the very fact of such a scene, even if it stands out and has no analogues in the rest of the show, automatically means that the show is like that. Doesn't that automatically mean that you're making a judgment about the entire show based on one scene, which is also far from defining its character? And isn't this a case of blaming the show for your own high expectations if Makeine never set out to be a completely unique title in the first place? Not to mention, I personally don't see anything wrong with a male MC solving the problems of the girls around him. This is a high school rom-com LN.

@RobertBobert I didn't decide that Makeine had to be unique, I'm just seeing many people praising it for its uniqueness because the girls aren't instantly falling in love with the mc. Even calling it "refreshing", when the "male mc befriends many girls and solves their problems" is far from unique for a light novel.

Opinion respected but disagreed. Internet arguments never go anywhere so Im just leaving my opinion and stopping right there and then.

Makeine, as per your descripiton, has the novelty of "befriending heroine instead of them falling in love with the protagonist". I do not see how a fan service scene will immediately lead to Lemon falling in love with Nukumizu like other harem anime. If that actually did happen instead, then it'd have truely undermined novelty that makes Makeine special. To think Makeine's premise is ruined by a fan service scene and make the conclusion that Makeine is harem in disguise based on that would just be unreasonable

Kaju literally cooked red bean rice to celebrate his brother for finally making "a" (emphasis on singular) friend in school 😭😭😭

@Nirinbo So, you blame the show for other people's high expectations? To the point of giving the title the lowest possible hater rating? Well, it's even weirder than if it were your own. But anyway, I understand that we live in an age where even the slightest meta tropes can lead to superficial accusations of cliché, I don't think that refreshing character and uniqueness necessarily imply that a show should be as unique and different as possible for other titles. For example, Gurenn Lagann is definitely a unique and unusual mecha. Does this mean that this show has nothing of the mecha formula and has nothing in common with other mecha shows?

@RobertBobert I'm giving it the lowest score because I'm enjoying it less than anything I rated higher, and that's because I dislike every character as I said before. Nukumizu would be hated for being a blank self insert if he were the protagonist of a traditional harem anime; you can argue that girls befriending him is better writing than them falling in love with him for no reason, but in this case I'd blame the girls themselves for being poorly written, he'd be the very same character. Just treated differently by the audience because the frame is different.

People hyping it up didn't impact my enjoyment, but it's the reason I didn't drop it after 2-3 episodes like several other forgettable seasonals.

Opinion respected but disagreed. Internet arguments never go anywhere so Im just leaving my opinion and stopping right there and then.

Makeine, as per your descripiton, has the novelty of "befriending heroine instead of them falling in love with the protagonist". I do not see how a fan service scene will immediately lead to Lemon falling in love with Nukumizu like other harem anime. If that actually did happen instead, then it'd have truely undermined novelty that makes Makeine special. To think Makeine's premise is ruined by a fan service scene and make the conclusion that Makeine is harem in disguise based on that would just be unreasonable

My point is that this is a huge difference in theory (befriending and falling in love are different things), but a very small difference in practice (most harems are already about the mc befriending several girls and not doing anything more with them than just being friends, except at the very end when the final choice will be made).

@Nirinbo But didn't you actually directly state earlier that your criticism of the show was based on other people's high expectations and the positive reception of the show as a whole? But okay, I'm not going to argue about tastes here, my topic is somewhat different.

@RobertBobert It irks me a bit that Makeine is being praised for its novelty when the novelty is only on a surface level, then my low enjoyment when I'm watching it is a different matter. I won't rule out the possibility that my enjoyment is unintentionally affected in a negative way by the aforementioned external factors, who knows.


No because Jujutsu Kaisen is a different genre, friends in a battle shounen and friends in a high school romcom end up dealing with different stuff. Nukumizu and his friends are doing high school things like in most romcoms or harems.

@Nirinbo For example? Name any objectively romantic (harem) things that Nukumizu does with his female friends outside of that scene and Anna, who is clearly his main love interest? I'm still confused by your hyperfixation on the relationship end, but I'm glad you've at least been able to recognize that friendship in non-romantic shows and friendship in romantic ones are conceptually different. Although you probably didn’t fully understand it yet.

Well, it's completely normal to question opinions that you find dubious and argue with them. But I think it is important to feel a certain boundary in this, because such disputes very easily turn into a dispute for the sake of a dispute on principle, when both sides refuse to accept any “buts”, considering any departure from the original position as a “loss”.

Barging into the classroom while Lemon is getting undressed, the beach episode or the preparations for the school festival aren't romantic things themselves, but you can find them in many other romcoms/harems.

Makeine does have its own little twist to the formula, but in the end the dealbreaker will always be the characters (I don't like them but I know that everyone's taste is different) rather than the twist that is supposed to set it apart from any other cookie-cutter light novel set in a high school.