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School Days is considered to be one of the most talked about anime of all time with its “interesting” twist on the harem anime genre. People either love School Days because of it grounds itself on how friendships and relationships can change because of one ( or several in the case of School Days) despicable act, while others despise it because of the lustful main protagonist and total disrespect to the romance genre. While I won’t say that School Days is amazing, it does provide a story that you can’t help to see unfold.

The first three episodes of School Days start off as ... the usual romance harem anime. Makoto meets a beautiful high school girl name Kotonoha on his way to school. To remember this beauty, he takes a picture of her on his cell phone. This little action catches the attention of his classmate Sekai as she later friends Kotonoha in an attempt to get Makoto and Kotonoha together. However, it is later revealed that Sekai has a crush on Makoto but wants to help him in the spirit of “true love.” After the first three episodes, it turns into no longer sticks to the romance anime mold. Makoto becomes lustful, and commits some pretty indecent acts. This ultimately results in the famous “nice boat” ending. Although I did not expect the ending to School Days to be so graphic and filled so much sadness and violence, I did find it acceptable due to the Makoto’s actions throughout the episodes.

Characters could be classified as either insecure, or just immodest. Makoto has to be one of the worst male main protagonists in a harem anime. Instead of a having a protagonist who has some redeeming qualities, Makoto features an absence of these qualities. In retrospect, subtle clues were placed in the first episode to let you know that Makoto does not have appreciation for the people who cares about him and he only cares about his self satisfaction. Sekai on the other hand I considered her to be a hypocrite. Not only does she “steal” Makoto from Kotonoha, but she gets angry if not jealous when he sleeps with other people as well. All of the other female characters share the same trait except Kotonoha. Although she starts off shy, she really develops a love for Makoto and gets driven to the point of insanity later on in the episodes. If I could feel sorry for any of characters in this anime, then it would be Kotonoha.

The only thing I hated about School Days is the very slow pacing in the first three episodes. I understand that they attempted to introduce the characters and to show the love triangle between Makoto, Sekai and Kotonoha, but there could have been other ways to accomplish this. Everything except the story is average. The way the characters look is nothing really special and the backgrounds are unspectacular. While I did not like the opening and closing songs in School Days, I did enjoy the music that was played during crucial moments. While I have some complaints about School Days, I do have some compliments about it. Makoto is a perfect template for how not to act towards people you love, School Days does provide moments of enjoyment here and there, and the story is a like a roller coaster ride featuring twists and turns at every corner.

Despite the captivating story, and horrible pacing in the first three episodes, I consider School Days slightly above average.If I could recommend this anime to the following people then I would recommend it for people who played the School Days adult visual novel and for people who are just bored and want to keep themselves occupied for a day. Also, if you cannot handle serious drama, then watch the first three episodes and call it a day. But, if you have the stomach for it, then skip the first three episodes and go from there.