Back to spelldaggers's Profile spelldaggers's Profile

Aku no Hana intrigued me greatly when I saw people calling it a "masterpiece", naturally, I had to watch it.
I never thought I'd be so bothered by something to write a review. This is the first and probably last time I'll write one.

DISCLAIMER: This is written entirely by my interpretation of the story and characters.

For starters, I surprisingly don't have a problem with the animation. Indeed, the lip sync and some facial expressions sometimes do not match with the intensity of the situation but it wasn't actually terrible. I definitely enjoyed seeing a different art style for once. Really looking forward to more of ... this animation. It is quite realistic but minimalistic at the same time, which is why I thought it was stunning.

The backgrounds and scenery were amazing, I have to admit. Everything is done carefully and with much detail. The people walking around, the cars, everything included made it so calming. If we include the soundtrack to those calm moments, you have truly a beautiful thing to look at as a result.

The story. I've seen some call it "generic" but I thought it was quite original at first. That is, until it started to have a ridiculous amount of plot holes. Usually, I'd be okay with only a few but this show left so much blank spaces. I am specially bothered by the vandalism scene, as I believe anyone could have read the text in the board. Maybe it's just the way I interpret the story, but sometimes it felt forced. As if it tries so hard to grasp the viewers attention by being "frightening" but failing at the attempt. The unnecessarily long shots of the characters walking were hard to look at, it made me just want to skip them as much as I enjoy the scenery scenes.

My major problem with Aku no Hana are the characters. I don't see how they are so deep or how they had any development at all. Personally, I thought they were as deep as the background characters. Nothing at all.

Kasuga seemed interesting at first, as he seems to be carried away by what his friends or family think. He is just a normal teenager that likes dark poetry that he, himself can't even understand. Pessimistic and full of discontent with his surroundings. Socially awkward and the typical "quiet" and somewhat intellectual student.

The adorable Saeki, a girl that one day feels nothing and the other feels everything. The relationship between Kasuga and her is the definition of "rushed". There was never an explanation for her sudden feelings for our awkward protagonist. They went in a date in which they barely crossed a word, which makes everything seem even more wrong. She might be the most flat character in Aku no Hana, as there was never a reason for her to overlook how the things Kasuga did, then proceed to insist on wanting to be with him and understand him. Any other person would have either explain their reasons to act this way or run away from Kasuga immediately.

Nakamura, the classic "outcast" that believes the whole world is full of bullshit and wants to see it burn down to ashes. All she ever does is throw temper tantrums and make Kasuga miserable. The boy that wanted to be free, is now stuck with someone that orders him around and humiliates him. Apparently that's "deep". Now, as well as Saeki, her role in the plot is never given any context. There wasn't any explanation for her actions except that she is an angry teenager that wants to run away. A very poor attempt of creating a deep anti-hero.

There wasn't any depth or character development. My expectations were high for Kasuga, as I waited for him to realize how toxic his relationship with his “sidekick” was. When he realized that Saeki can live without him, I obviously hoped for him to think the same with Nakamura. If he grew as a character and became independent that would've been a shocker, but of course not. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't at least expected him to eventually snap due to all the emotional abuse he was put into and commit murder.

To finish. I was surprised by how poorly the writing in Aku no Hana is. It did had much potential. Certainly, it was a failed attempt to create an extravagant, original and full of meaning psychological drama story.
If there is ever part 2, I can only hope that the creators will do a better job with the writing and the attempts for a frightening atmosphere.

Extremely disappointing.