In media, romance is depicted as sort of an uphill slope, and at the top of this slope is usually getting together with someone the character loves. Along the way, there’s the occasional rival love interest, a few misunderstandings, quarrels, and other typical roadblocks. Watching the climb to attain someone’s love is enjoyable, at least when that climb is executed right.
When it comes to anime, this formula is pretty prevalent, and it’s especially used in shoujo-esque shows. Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji is yet another shoujo that’s a prime example of this climb, yet the rocky road that’s portrayed in this anime is rather
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different than most shows. In fact, it’s what makes this show just a little bit more unique than the standard romance fare.
Story: 6/10
The premise of the show is simple. Our female protagonist, Erika Shinohara, is a high school student who doesn’t feel as if she has many friends in her class. In order to make some, she pretends to have a boyfriend, and ends up befriending two conceited girls in her class, both who have boyfriends of their own. However, once Erika realizes that this ‘boyfriend’ that she made up goes to her own school, she convinces him to be her fake boyfriend so she can keep her friends. The catch? Her new fake boyfriend, Kyoya Sata, is a sadist who pretty much turns Erika into his servant. Hilarity ensues...but not really.
The basis of this show is actually as vain as some of the characters themselves. The fact that our female protagonist puts up with abuse just so she could keep a couple of friends is cringe-worthy, and having to watch how Kyoya treats her is painful in itself. Along with this, the show has a system of individually introducing us to a certain character each episode, with the subplot of the episode adding a little bit of substance to the main plot, and Erika and Kyoya’s relationship as a whole.
The redeeming factor of the story, nonetheless, is how the main plot (which is basically Erika and Kyoya’s relationship) develops. In the latter half of the show, our two leads begin to open up to each other gradually, and what spawns from this is a somewhat believable relationship. You can’t exactly ignore the abuse in the beginning, though, and that’s what puts a big damper on the show.
Art/Animation: 4/10
The animation in this show is...well, how do I put this lightly? It’s not too bad, but it’s far from great, either. It feels sloppily done, almost as if the animators were rushing to get everything finished. Movements look rather stiff, and in some cases where characters are talking, it looks as if their lips aren’t exactly moving. However, it gets the job done, and it doesn’t deter too much from the show.
The art style, on the other hand, has a lot of problems that definitely need to be addressed. First of all, the colors that are used within the show are dull and lacking a lot of vibrance. That isn’t too much of a problem, considering that a lot of viewers don’t care for flashy visuals and a broad use of colors. But when you have a show where some characters may have oddly colored hair or eyes (take Kyoya and his red eyes, or Ayumi and her pinkish hair), dull colors feel out of place. Ookami Shoujo also has a bit of a love affair with weird, grotesque-looking faces, probably due to a limited budget. In some instances, someone’s eyes may larger than usual, or someone’s lips may look oddly long from a profile view. It’s visually unappealing, and easily noticeable. I’m usually not that picky when it comes to art, but Ookami Shoujo particularly irked me, and most likely annoyed plenty of other viewers.
Sound: 8/10
The show’s OST was nothing special, but it served as another redeeming factor in an anime that has numerous faults. It blended in nicely with the background and atmosphere, especially when it was used during tense or sad moments. Some tracks were repetitive, and there’s a certain soundtrack piece that was practically used almost every episode, slightly taking away from its likeability each time it was played.
The opening and ending themes deserve special mention. The show’s opening, ‘LOVE GOOD TIME’, is reminiscent of 2000’s pop punk, and was a refreshing throwback to some of the music I used to listen to when I was younger. The ending theme, ‘Ookami Heart’, is one of my favorite endings from the Fall 2014 season. The electropop-esque beat, along with nice vocals, easily makes it very enjoyable and fun to listen to.
The voice-acting was solid, to say the least, and easy on the ears. Kyoya’s seiyuu, Sakurai Takahiro, did a fantastic job at portraying Kyoya’s sadistic side, as well as his fake-nice side. Besides this, most of the voice acting was good, but nothing noteworthy.
Characters: 5/10
The characters in Ookami Shoujo are quite possibly one of the show’s biggest faults. We have our female lead, Erika, who comes off as desperate, annoying, and overbearing, at least when she’s around Kyoya or her friends, Marin and Aki. It’s hard to feel the slightest bit of empathy for her when she doesn’t even try to stand up for herself against Kyoya, or anyone else for that matter. As the show progresses, she becomes more and more tolerable, and this shows through interactions with various other characters. Albeit, she whines more than necessary, and she tends to put the needs of Kyoya before anyone else’s (including herself!), but her development overshadows these negatives.
Next, we have our male lead, Kyoya, who’s about as loving as a rock. Watching him mercilessly abuse Erika almost made me want to murder him through my computer screen, but in the beginning of the series, he has a few moments where he lets his guard down and becomes just a little kinder; those little moments almost made me forget that he was an awful human being. Along with Erika, he receives development in the form of becoming nicer to those around him, without having to pretend. At the end of the series, he’s still sort of a douchebag, but at least he made an effort to change.
Our supporting characters are pretty weak and barely make any appearances. Like I mentioned before, we’re introduced to these characters episodically, and their only purpose is to strengthen the main relationship, with the exception of Ayumi, Marin, and Aki. There’s a few characters who only appear for an episode, then disappear for the rest of the series, and some come back into the show to give advice to Kyoya and Erika. The worst part about tossing aside these characters is that they’re actually miles more interesting than our two leads, and at least were more entertaining in the long run.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I’d be lying if I said that I wholeheartedly did not enjoy this show. It has it merits, like its relaxing soundtrack, the wonderful opening and ending, and a few genuinely funny moments. However, a lot of the negative things I discussed earlier outweigh a lot of the pros of this show, and a few episodes left me relieved due to the fact that it was finally over.
Overall: 6/10
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji is not for everyone. It romanticizes abusive relationships, and basically screams, “PUT UP WITH ABUSE AND YOU’LL PROBABLY GET A BOYFRIEND OUT OF IT!”. The lackluster animation and art, the uninspired plot, and the unbearable main characters are enough to drive anyone away after the first episode. Nevertheless, for those who stick around, you’ll get to witness decent development that can make up for the rocky start in the beginning, depending on how you look at it. Ookami Shoujo is far from the best shoujo in recent years, but if you’re willing to look beyond its plentiful faults, give this show a shot.
(This is my first review, so constructive criticism is absolutely welcome!)
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Dec 21, 2014
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji
(Anime)
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In media, romance is depicted as sort of an uphill slope, and at the top of this slope is usually getting together with someone the character loves. Along the way, there’s the occasional rival love interest, a few misunderstandings, quarrels, and other typical roadblocks. Watching the climb to attain someone’s love is enjoyable, at least when that climb is executed right.
When it comes to anime, this formula is pretty prevalent, and it’s especially used in shoujo-esque shows. Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji is yet another shoujo that’s a prime example of this climb, yet the rocky road that’s portrayed in this anime is rather ... |
