Name: Cute girls just trying to survive
Item: SCHOOL-LIVE!
Rating: 73
Author: AmishaelAL

Cute girls just trying to survive

I was much more impressed by this anime than I expected it to be, it was something I picked up on Crunchyroll and didn’t expect much out of. Granted, I had been spoilered for the basic premise so knew what I was getting into on that front, but regardless, thought it would be handled sloppily and immaturely (like some others I could mention).

I’m glad I was wrong. It’s really hard to say without spoiling, but I’m going to try on the off chance that you’ve read this without actually reading the synopsis on here first.

The characters were developed well, some more than others. The flashbacks in this case were very well done, they were brought in at exactly at the right time and even though the characters didn’t exactly ‘grow’ through the backstory, it certainly gave them far more depth. I will say I really didn’t like Yuki, the MC, but I could understand her. (It really didn’t feel like she was a high school student though.)

The other 3 main characters gained more depth simply as more of the surroundings were explored, and you could get a better glimpse of what they were dealing with on a daily basis. It made me appreciate and empathize with them more, and I felt it was actually handled quite realistically (not that I’ve ever experienced anything remotely like what happened in this anime, but it was consistent with other decent literature I’ve read on the subject).

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

Your perspective really changes once you realise that everything they do, all their cute antics, are just to maintain a semblance of normality that will allow them to retain their sanity. (Oops, that was kind of a spoiler, but an unavoidable one.)

Sound was good and art was good. No complaints on either of those two. Normally I’m not one for the ‘cutsey’ art style, but I can understand why it was needed here.

All in all, a pretty good attempt at its genre. Why didn’t I rate it higher? Because I didn’t think it was THAT good. It didn’t feel like a masterpiece or anything. The series was enjoyable, but it did get repetitive about halfway through. There wasn’t much to the show apart from the premise (though, in its defence, I don’t think there was meant to be). And whilst I liked the characters and thought their stories were done well, the show didn’t make me that emotionally invested in them. Yes, I could appreciate them, and empathize with them to an extent, but nothing similar to what I felt in Shinsekai Yori or Zankyou no Terror.

Still, let me reiterate, it did impress me for what it was, and I’d recommend you give it a go. XD