In this anime, there is no consequence to promiscuous action, which makes it so intriguing. You can explore your lusty nature with your messy emotions, especially the confusing ones. Sometimes emotions are just too hard to describe, especially if you are a teenager who is still trying to find your identity. This show successfully takes apart complex emotions and lay them out for the audience to see. It’s a pretty relaxing anime to watch, actually.
In this unrequited love story, the two protagonists Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya happened to be honor students who use each other to replace the person they cannot be with. They rationalize their sexual meetups by using sound logic. I guess they are just too smart to study so they have time for screwing around. There are other characters involved in this unrequited love mess. The biggest one that stood out like a sore thumb is the female school teacher, Akane Minagawa. She puts on a nice front, but she is actually the biggest scum of them all. She enjoys stealing the affection of men from other women because it makes her feel like she is the ultimate prize. Truth is–she is just an empty blowup doll (that’s my metaphor of the day). I don’t blame the audience for lacking sympathy for her, however, I must say it’s nice to see a woman take charge of her sexuality. In most cultures, it’s more acceptable for a man to cheat on his wife–he’s just a man, but it’s not okay for a woman. Would a man still love his wife if she has multiple affairs outside of marriage? I think that is her dilemma. She sleeps with men casually out of contempt. How could anyone possibly love her unconditionally? As for the rest of the characters, they are not as developed or interesting. They are very two-dimensional for my liking. I almost forgot they exist, but they are on the cover–the guy in the blue shirt, the blonde girl with twintails, and the redhead lesbian. I don’t even bother learning their names.
Because this anime is so scummy and alien to me, I enjoyed it. I don’t really recommend it to teenagers though–the content might be a bit too deep for a kid to grasp. An older audience may find this enjoyable and even relaxing after a long day.
Fishing for Metaphors 