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Senpai wa Otokonoko - Final Episode

The story severely under delivered in the end, and not only because of the topics treated. Awful pacing, a fudged narrative, and overall bad decisions on what to develop, to include or exclude, played the key roles in destroying good potential. Absent logic in the writing department strikes again.

The anime often felt like three different seasons mixed into one, and nothing got the time it deserved. The whole "muh parents" arc and the "old friends from school appear, at the second last episode, bringing with them flashbacks, and a focus on people no one cares about" delivered the kill shot.

Let's ... be fair, no law or rule written anywhere requires that a webtoon artist should know about dramatic technique or poetics. Just the intention to create something justifies the endeavor, and nothing wrong with that.

But the moment a studio invests (big) money into its anime production you should expect at least one educated guy to take a look at it and say ce n'est pas possible. We need to cut and reorder things. But none of that happened, so we got lukewarm and underwhelming nonsense in the end - 4/10.

The Subversive Effect of Makoto Shinkai's Works

Makoto Shinkai is the antithesis of Hayao Miyazaki, and there will be no synthesis. Because any deviation from the real essence, as captured and expressed, for example, in Miyazaki's works (the original stories of Mononoke Hime and Spirited Away, specifically) leads astray and betrays the roots.

Makoto Shinkai's works are like Western devs taking over a Japanese franchise and developing it based on their understanding of the signs and symbols in that franchise, in their own limited, biased, and disconnected perspective, without profound knowledge what the original meaning and purpose of those signs and symbols were.

This to a lesser, but ... perhaps to a more damaging, degree happens in the works of Makoto Shinkai, as it requires prior knowledge in order to spot Shinkai's diluting of the spiritual inheritance and legacy of Japan, since Shinkai himself is Japanese, which can fool a superficial analysis.

Makoto Shinkai is already known as a hack when it comes to plot and structure, an amateur confused for a visionary. Analyzed from the perspective of signs and symbols, Shinkai is also exposed as a philistine imitator, not understanding what he steals, watering down and polluting the cultural trough in the process.

Makoto Shinkai is Japan without the essence of Japan. Feel-good signs abducted from the Spiritual Legacy of the country and its people, cut off from their roots.

Shinkai's works, designed and intended for a global audience, are like wandering Jews without a place to call home. And beneath the innocent visuals they carry a dehumanizing, uprooting, and alienating poison.

Instead of accusing Shinkai of malicious intent, he is, essentially, a product of his generation and environment, which sounds an alarm for the recent state of Japanese culture, proving that it is not immune to the suffocating and corrosive claws of globalism.

In the following text I will present an analysis of the masterpiece that is Hibike Euphonium, focusing on the two key conflicts, why both were psychological, and why Hibike Euphonium is not a story about competition and achievement, like conventional performance anime.


Character Arc
Uncovering of the Blind Spot, and careful Recognition of its Contents

Will Kumiko realize she has been in denial of what's truly important to her? Running away from her real values, her real identity, in order to avoid past traumatic events?
Contrary to first impression, this is not about overcoming Trauma, this is about uncovering, or having it uncovered, a Blind Spot, and dealing with ... the consequences of the Revelation.
In Hibike Euphonium, this uncovering, this Revelation, happened in multiple steps.

- First, the Revelation from Reina on the hill. That pursuing a dream, a value, who you truly are, does not have to obey the acceptance and confines of normalcy, society, or even your peers; confessing nonconformity for the sake, and in pursuit, of excellence.
- Second, the hard and unexpected practicing of Natsumi, despite her disinterested and nonchalant attitude to playing an instrument. Making Kumiko aware that even those peers who don't seem to really care about pursuing music, work really hard to qualify for the competition. A shocker to Kumiko, who, initially, only joined Band in order to make friends and build a new social circle for herself.
- Third, and finally, the rebuke from Taki sensei, who warned Kumiko that if she really wants to take part in the competition, she MUST be able to play that difficult part flawlessly.

The third and final revelation forced Kumiko to face the reality of what's really important to her. The truth she has been denying this entire time, was step by step revealed to her, revelation after revelation, until an ultimatum and dead end of her preferred path forced her to recognize that spot that used to be blind but not anymore.


Climax
Facing, Battling, and Overcoming Trauma on Stage
by Giving it All and Risking it All

Even though the Climax occurs in the context of a competition, the question does not orbit around the winning of a trophy, medal, or achieving a certain place. No, the central question orbits around the question whether the Band, and specifically Kumiko, will be able to withstand the pressure of expectations, of having to perform right after the favorite (as underdogs), whether they will be able to withstand the stress of infighting, expectations of their peers, and the pressure of hundreds if not thousands of eyes on them. Whether those ghosts from the past, who preserve the emotional memory of those bitterly hurtful events, disappointment, accusations, guilt, self-hatred, would overcome the resolve to fight for Kumiko's true values and identity, burying the resolve beneath fear and doubts.

The Climax was also a Psychological Issue

That was, in detail, the question when the Wind Instrument Band of the Kitauji High School took the stage. The question on the mind of the audience was not whether they will beat this or that rival. Or whether they will place first, second, third, or way below. It was about whether the mental resilience, faith, and psychological strength, as individuals and as a group, would endure and survive the pressures of the current moment and of past trauma during the performance.

Underlining this perspective is the fact that (almost) all dramatic tension evaporates the moment the performance is over and everyone realizes it went better than expected. Whether Kitauji places first, second, third, fourth, or lower, seems to be a happy or slightly sad side note. Because, they actually did it. They faced their inner dragons, and survived the battle. But for the sake of the continuation of the story, Kitauji qualifies. Not by winning first place, but by simply qualifying. A deserved and bittersweet, more sweet than bitter, ending to the psychological roller-coaster of the first season.

The story potential of this anime was undeniably high, capturing the imagination with its intriguing concept and world. However, as the series unfolds, it becomes clear that the execution falls short, blocking the narrative from reaching its full potential. The main issue lies in the mismanagement of subplots, side characters, and minor motifs, which are given undue screen time, overshadowing the core essence of the story. These narrative elements trample upon the very foundation of what the anime was supposed to be about, leaving the viewer feeling disconnected and frustrated.

Tone deafness is another significant problem plaguing the anime. The story often skillfully builds up a ... particular mood, immersing the viewer in its atmosphere. Only for these moments to be frequently undermined by sudden and jarring shifts in tone, or a switch of focus to side characters, introducing cacophonic downers that feel out of place within the narrative context. This inconsistency disrupts the viewers' emotional engagement and diminishes the impact of key story beats.

Pacing compounds the issues caused by the subplot and side character problem. Scenes that should carry weight and importance are rushed through at dizzying speeds, robbing them of the necessary depth and effect. On the other hand, seemingly inconsequential scenes drag on with awkward slowness, creating a sense of tedium that frustrates the overall momentum. This is made worse by frequent use of flashbacks that interrupt the action to feed us stale and expired information.

Another issue, the anime's lack of clarity regarding its central focus and overarching theme contributes to the confusion and dissatisfaction experienced by the viewer. Nine episodes into the series, the question of what (and who) the anime is actually about persists, indicating a severe identity crisis. Whether it aims to be a mystery in pursuit of justice and revenge, a high school romcom, or just a plain dumb idol show, the narrative fails to provide a clear direction, with contradicting indications that rob its last piece of credibility.

The once-promising revenge plotline involving Aqua feels cheap and forgotten, in any case, leaving the viewer longing for a more substantial and coherent narrative thread.

In summary, the series suffers from catastrophic structural and compositional flaws that prevent it from realizing its potential. While the visual designs and moment-by-moment writing may show traces of quality, they are ultimately overshadowed and undermined by the incoherent and confused execution.

Schizophrenic and impotent anime: 4/10

PS. Because some geniuses out there confuse its incoherence and confusion for thematic depth, comparing this piece of trash with Perfect Blue. To these specimen I recommend taking a seat and staying silent, lest they pollute the air with their ignorance for all of us.

This Review Contains No Spoilers

Disclaimer: The following review is my personal opinion, how I experienced and thought about the anime Uma Musume. It is not an attempt to convey objective facts, as one would find in a report, on the contrary, it is my opinion and how I think about the anime, it is purely subjective, not less and not more.

Story
The main plot is nothing completely new but the horse-girl aspect and the rivalries were entertaining, and, in their best moments, even dramatic. The humor felt sometimes off, especially when it relied on the team-members: They felt gimmicky and tacked-on until much later in the ... anime where they finally got the chance to establish a relation with the viewer, but this was too little too late. The direction and series-composition put on the shoes before the pants, in this regard. The races themselves were well-staged, created proper excitement, and were often the highlight of each episode. One aspect I could neither understand nor accept though, until the very end, was the performing-of-a-song aspect after each race: It never received proper attention to justify its existence in the story, aside from episode 2, and it also made no sense whether we compare it to reality, where such a thing doesn't exist in horse-racing, or to what we learned from the Uma Musume universe itself: The girls are professional athletes, they train running, every day, and nothing else, that's their profession, singing and dancing is not part of their training, and yet the story expects them to be able to sing and dance on a professional level. Try to make sense of that. Hint: It doesn't make any sense at all. Speaking about not making sense, it could be argued that there are no antagonists in Uma Musume, for even the leader of the rival team is begrudgingly supporting our girls and our team. Were we to judge them as actual antagonists, we would not find much antagonizing about them, which was disappointing and leads us to an overall 6.5/10.

Characters
The main character may be steeped in various cliches but has, despite that, enough individuality, visually and in terms of personality, in order to be recognizable in the vast sea of anime characters. There is also an interesting dynamic between the two main characters, which, for the most part, is carrying the main plot. Among the supporting characters, the team-members of Special Week (the name of our main character) feel flat, in their best moments, and slightly aggravating, in their worst moments. They could have added to the anime if a little bit more attention and time in the spotlight would have been dedicated to them. This actually does happen towards the end of the anime, but, as previously mentioned, it is too little too late. The rival horse-girls though are diverse, memorable, and entertaining enough to justify an overall score of 7.5/10.

Visuals
The character designs are quirky, tasteful, and covered with numerous lovely details. The attention to detail is also noticeable if we check out the backgrounds, the props (_carrots, carrots, carrots_), the outfits, and hair accessories of the girls. The designers did a great job in this regard. Some horse-girls though lack a little bit of visual individuality, and can be hard to tell apart until later on. That may also be attributed to the sheer number of girls which the viewer has to become familiar with. The visual quality is slightly above average with the odd scene and background here and there dropping in quality while the horse-girls themselves are well drawn, but not enough to warrant an overall Very Good rating: 7.5/10.

Audio
I experienced serious issues with the sound-mix where effects (steps, ringing, doors) and background noises (crowd cheering) were twice as loud as they are supposed to be, which made for a dangerous and unpleasant experience with headphones. This actually stopped being an issue from episode 9 and onward, but such a blunder can simply not be defended. The soundtrack is mostly invisible, which doesn't have to be an issue for music that is meant to stay primarily in the background, but there were, with a few exceptions, almost no noteworthy moments at all. In the end, it managed to be below average, and that is quite an achievement in itself. The opening song is unremarkable too and leaves us with a scent of no-risk, no originality, but the ending song makes up for it with a nice melody that is actually catchy and well-fitting: 5/10.

Enjoyment
Despite the flaws and letdowns with story and sound, I enjoyed most of my time with Uma Musume: The charm of the main characters, paired with the cute visuals, managed to overshadow many shortcomings: 7/10.

Summary
A weak start was followed by a surprising sprint, but Uma Musume ran out of breath and missed a spot on the podium by several horse-lengths: 6.7 - Fun, but not winning any trophies.

Afterword: My rating is not based on my own abilities and skills to produce anime, but it is relative to all the other anime I was privileged enough to watch and enjoy so far. I believe that a creator is always above the critic: It takes not only skill and dedication in order to create, but, above all, courage, whereas it takes no bravery to judge the work of someone else. In this sense, the effort it took to write this review is, despite the rating, a way of expressing my humble admiration.

PS. This review appeared first on Anilist, three years ago.