Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu is a series all about finding oneself and a direction in life... no matter how far off the beaten path it might be.
Buntarou Hojo is a high school student who has a talent for writing, but no real direction in life or any plans for the future. His classmate, Sayuki Kuroda notices his talent, decides to help him find a way to use it properly by enlisting him in her bishoujo game development group.
When Buntarou is cornered in the men's bathroom at school by Sayuki, he is surprised when he is asked out on what he thinks is a date, and even further surprised when he finds out that it's not a date, but a job interview. Reluctantly agreeing, the two start recruiting other members for their team but will they learn more about game creation, or life itself along the way?
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Veronin
Please don't tell me this is any indication of Romeo Tanaka's future as a writer. It should be said that I had a lot of anticipation for Kouya when the visual novel was first announced a couple years ago. Being the first big project from Romeo in quite some time--- the man responsible for Cross Channel, arguably one of the best and most well-written visual novels-- I had expected something more than the nonsense it actually turned out to be. It seems Romeo may have gotten jealous of Maruto, a fellow, former (?) VN writer's success with Saekano, and felt the need to also get apiece of the tired 'high schoolers making eroge!!' cash-cow of a genre. Yawn.
And that normally wouldn't be such a bad thing if it was coming from someone other than Romeo, but the bigger issue is that Kouya is a hot pile of garbage even when compared to something completely run-of-the-mill like Saekano. Where to begin?
One could simply write a checklist of all the obnoxious tropes and cliches Kouya is permeated with, and you would get a pretty good idea of how brainless the show can be. For one, I am getting real sick of anime where the most beautiful girl in school is somehow, for some reason, secretly an otaku, as if only the super attractive and the super ugly can be interested in anime and eroge, while someone like Buntarou, a completely ordinary guy, is presented as the outsider for not being on one of these two extremes. Not only is this absolutely silly and insulting to anime fans, but it is a very obvious attempt to manipulate certain viewers into making them feel special and unique for identifying with Buntarou. He is just your typical high school student, after all (just like me!), and all the cute girls around him are hardcore otaku, too! Awesome! Allow me to groan.
(I also want to die every time there is an onsen scene where the female characters compare and grab each others' boobs, as if the audience is comprised solely of 11-year-old boys who just entered puberty.)
Kouya goes the extra mile in being asinine, the characters acting out eroge scenes in real life as "practice", which is probably a good indication that the they are in dire need of mental help. There is even your typical scene where the group rushes to meet the deadline for their doujin game, and succeeds with about 0.2 seconds to spare, the characters passing the game disc along like a baton and screaming at each other in encouragement ("Go, go!"). Does this stuff still appeal to people, i.e. actual human beings?
Take care to prepare for the wacky antics that ensue, as our beloved protagonist is locked in his room and forced to write an unreasonable amount of text, sleeping by accident and then being encouraged by the rest of the club, dressed in meido outfits, including Atomu who is actually a boy!! なんてこった!! Funny!! Nice joke (lol)!! I didn't laugh a single time. For a show that is primarily comedy, there being nothing that is actually funny is a bit of an issue. (I did, however, laugh at a scene later on in the episode, where Buntarou passes out in the bathtub and is later seen lying on his bed covered in bandages. What?)
None of the characters are particularly interesting or compelling, and are often defined by a single trait. Andou is a fujoshi who thinks everything in the world is gay, Atomu is a misogynist who hates the normies, Yuuka is a whiny brat, and Kuroda is your typical kuudere devoid of feeling or personality. Buntarou should, however, at least be given some credit for actually having some personality and not being just a worthless, spineless blob of nothing for viewers to self-insert into, as is the case with just about every single anime of this type. Yuuki is also an adorable little lady; it's just too bad the visual novel is planned to be all-ages, as we will not be able to see the protagonist bone her in the full game. And that may just be the greatest crime of all.
The romance-- or whatever you can call the show's half-hearted attempts at romance-- is, not surprisingly, completely juvenile. You'll regularly be witness to crap like Yuuka running away in tears, yelling "you jerk!" repeatedly, all because Buntarou had the nerve to politely respond to someone asking him a question? Or she'll run away crying like a big baby, nearly getting run-over by an oncoming train (because drama), simply due to her not being able to perfect her lines, and having to meet a time-limit just like every other damn character has, and has been struggling with, for the entire show. Someone clearly never grew up past their elementary school years.
Considering how one-dimensional most of the characters are, there is little reason to care about their struggles or the potential demise of their doujin group. It presents itself (poorly) as a comedy, and then on occasion it decides it wants to make us feel something. It doesn't quite work like that. Drama must serve some kind of purpose, and it must be built up towards gradually over the course of the story. Here it comes across as nothing but haphazard and unnecessary, and does nothing but make the anime an even bigger chore to watch. I don't give a donkey's poo-poo about some insipid melodrama, and I doubt anyone else watching this show does, either. I'll drop the words 'rival eroge group' and you can already have a good guess of where the final episodes go. And it's nowhere interesting, to be sure.
Kouya can at times feel like Romeo stroking his ego. There's a fair bit of self-referential dialogue (i.e. how becoming an eroge writer will open paths to industries such as anime and light novels), which almost felt as if he was proposing that Kouya can teach the audience how to become a Cool Successful Guy like him. Perhaps that was not his intention, but he should at least have had the hindsight to see that people familiar with his work may interpret it that way. This issue is also compounded by the lack of any of the insider knowledge and commentary you would expect from someone who has been involved in the industry for over fifteen years. Kouya is a completely banal and sometimes false interpretation of the eroge industry, and it seems Romeo is satisfied with that. This could have been the eroge equivalent of Shirobako, you know? It's been a while since I've seen such an enormous waste of potential.
The art is not quite poor enough to be firmly labelled 'bad', but it is certainly not something your eyes will take any pleasure in seeing. The whole thing feels very cheap and low-budget, lacking in any noticeable animation, and filled mostly of close-up shots of the characters making angry (:<) or sad (;_;) faces, or sitting still and talking as if they were programmed to. There were, however, some neat easter-eggs during the characters' initial trips to Akihabara, with plenty of real-life eroge (i.e. Baldr Sky Zero, Sharin no Kuni and Pretty x Cation) hiding subtly on a bookshelf. I can only wish there was more of that: something to make the whole 'otaku' thing at least feel the slightest bit authentic, and less like the sham that it actually is.
It is quite clear that Kouya's anime is little other than an advertisement for its source material, when you take into account the timing of the anime (it finishing its airing just a day before the release of the visual novel). Do you really want to watch a 12-episode long advertisement? I doubt it. Having finished reading the trial for the VN a few days ago, while I can say that the VN is a much improved experience (and with far better artwork and production values), it still wasn't anything overly-impressive. The visual novel is written and paced like it wants to be anime, and yet the actual anime-- the only exposure many people will have to this series-- is hot garbage. I really don't know what Romeo had in mind with this thing.
While it remains to be seen how much of the blame should be put on Romeo versus the anime team, the end result is still a foul, rancid mess that is just not worth anyone's time. Do yourself a favour and instead watch something like Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu-- a recent anime that doesn't completely suck. It's getting awfully hard to find ones that don't.
TheAnimeToast
Well here's a show that I think got a bit of a bad wrap for no real reason. But I do have some reasons for why people wouldn't like it so much. Firstly Saekano came before this show, and the novelty of it had already worn off for many people. Secondly people set their expectations too high for something that never really tried to be anything special to begin with. --Actual review: minor spoiler warning. -Presentation(visuals & sound) To me nothing looked visually out of place, which isn't weird considering this isn't a very action heavy show requiring lots of animation. Sound vise I like the OP and ED, I actually thinkthey were some of the better ones of the season, I like just how bombastic the singing was.
But even then none of the background tracks stood out to me.
-Story
I basically picked this show to just watch something that would be easy to get into without having to think about it much.
and good that I did because this is certainly not a masterpiece of a plot, nor is it necessarily bad, just very average.
My biggest problem with it is how the characters would occasionally get mad at each other for no real reason.
That kind of stuff basically happens whenever a writer has to work with a very limited time left in the series or the movie they're working with, so they rush it a bit.
At least the characters realize how stupid the thing is in a pretty short amount of time.
Another thing that could be considered a nitpick is how the characters seem like they've never heard of the internet and still try to get their game to the manufacturer by disc for added drama.
There were some "romantic" scenes that didn't really go anywhere at the end, not that I
expected them to.
On a few occasions this show makes a comment about the VN industry, but not often.
Compared to Saekano Shoujo-tachi focuses more on actual creative parts of making a game, it doesn't have as much humor.
Overall this show doesn't really fail with its plot because it keeps its goals fairly grounded.
-Characters
This show has very archetypal characters, and it knows it.
For example every character has a name related to one of the things that defines their archetypes, for example Kuroda's name refers to her black hair.
Also I bet all the voice actors were told to do the most typical voice for the archetype they were playing, even if it's over the top.
But not every character is completely archetypal, Buntarou actually contradicts quite a few things that make a generic harem MC, he isn't an unsociable nerd who gets uncomfortable around girls, instead he Writes plays, actually likes being helpful and is quite confident of himself.
Kuroda also subverts a typical thing for her archetype, Instead of constantly having an icy personality she is the first person to approach Buntarou about the game project.
The characters are still left mostly unexplored, though it has some decent character interaction.
-Overall
Definitely not what I would consider a terrible anime, you can't judge it by premise alone.
But it's nothing amazing either, there aren't any deep characters or unconventional and interesting plots with tons of twists, and the animation while certainly decent doesn't have any moments to show off.
The best thing about this show was probably the songs.
Rarely do I see a show that was so unsurprising to me.
If I was asked to recommend either Saekano or shoujo-tachi I would tell you to just go with whichever sounds like more fun.
I would recommend this to people who already watched Saekano and want something similar and people who just want to fill time with something easy going that some story to go with it.
-Remix-
If you were like me, you are probably thinking about watching this show because it looks like another Saekano. Surprise: it’s not! Girls Beyond the Wasteland is a series about a group of friends/schoolmates getting together to make a bishojou game. They all bring a different skillset to the table and serve in different positions: Buntarou is the script writer; Andou is the coder; Yuuki is the artist; Yuuka is the voice actress (voiced by the amazing Kana Hanazawa, mind you); Atomu, the assistant and member-at-large; and Sayuki, who basically checks over everything and takes care of everything else. Girls Beyond the Wasteland is a show thattakes a slice-of-life approach. What I mean by this is that most of it (emphasis on most) occurs on an episodic basis. Whenever you want to incorporate a slice-of-life approach, you need to balance it out with something else because you are basically forsaking a definitive story that would otherwise unite the entire plot together. Whether it’s pure humor (e.g. Hanayamata, The Daily Lives of High School Boys, etc.) or a colorful cast of characters that mesh well with each other (e.g. Love Live!, K-On!, etc.), something needs to occur to captivate the audience somehow.
And that’s the numero uno problem with this show: there is nothing captivating. At all. Nothing. There is some humor, but it is sporadically placed throughout the show in a poorly integrated fashion. As for the characters themselves, well they are mostly archetypal, one-dimensional, clichéd, and with no development. But I’ll give the show this: there definitely was some potential for development. However, it did not flesh out this opportunity well. Some characters are the stars of their own episode (e.g. Andou, Yuuka, Buntarou, Yuuki, etc.) but literally nothing happened. Awfully formulaic too, since it usually boiled down to this:
- A conflict occurs, either internally or with someone else
- Some lame resolution is reached
- Move onto the next episode and (usually) pretend like that was it and nothing happened
Fortunately, towards the end of the show, whoever wrote this show does break away from this dry formula. A slight improvement, yes, but this also presents its own set of flaws. For example, Sayuki’s brother – someone who was never mentioned in the show until two episodes before his actual appearance – is forced into the plot because, you know, the plot needs to move along somehow. Same goes for the other competitive game-making group that wants to acquire members from Buntarou’s group. It’s something that does not build off on anything in the show. Aside from that, other aspects of the plot is also pretty clichéd. Obligatory fanservice episode with no meaning? Don’t worry, it’s there alright!
If you’re worried about the pacing, it is actually alright for the most part since the story is presented episodically. The only issue with it is with the first episode, where basically getting every character to join the group is crammed into an incoherent 24 minutes. Because of this, you may end up questioning why some of them decided to join the group.
As for the art, it’s very mediocre. There are some minor shading inconsistencies and the characters themselves seem to almost never change facial expressions. Sound-wise, the voice acting was done well and the music was alright, but I didn’t find it too remarkable.
All in all, a dry cast of characters and a formulaic plot is never a good combination. There were times when the show could have built off the potential it had, but it blew every chance that it was given. I wouldn’t recommend watching this unless you were so bored that you have nothing to do. Then go ahead.
P.S. Did you pick up on the references to other shows? (cough Saekano cough)
Overall: D+
Author's Disclaimer: Please remember, this is my own personal opinion. I critique anime primarily on how the story is executed and how well-rounded the characters are. This review is not meant to target any other review but was intended to provide a more holistic analysis.
It should also be noted that this is a full-fledged review of the entire season.
Flawfinder
Oh goody. Another anime written by a visual novel writer. Or to be more accurate, it's adapted from a visual novel written by a visual novel writer (aware of the redundancy, thank you). And we all know how much I love visual novel anime, what with their cliched characters, excessive dialogue, blatant fanservice that doesn't further the story in any way, and overall bland approaches to serious subject matter. Oh, and what's this? It's another anime about a bunch of people making a visual novel? Let me guess, it's going to be completely self-aware about its cliches, do nothing interesting with said awareness, have avery imbalanced gender ratio of females to males, and have no actual stakes or motivation for the character to make the visual novel beyond "I want to do it". Boy, I'm loving this trend.
Well you'll be please to know that not only did Girls Beyond the Wasteland prove me completely right, but it's such a step down from Welcome to the NHK - the only good anime about making visual novels and NEETs and such - that it actually caused me physical pain. Want to make the characters short on cash and living in squalor as motivation/contrast to their goal of making it big with animated porn? You've got a couple of decently-off high school students who don't have parents and want to make visual novels because they can. Want to have the characters explore serious social issues through their slice-of-life interactions? You've got girls moping about how hot they are for Blandy McBlanderson whilst noting how similar it is to their visual novels. Want to see an actually experienced studio tackle your serious material so that even when the animation is bad, at least it'll be expressive? You've got Project No. 9 taking a dump on your eyeballs. If all that appeals to you...get out of here right now.
Girls Beyond the Wasteland, or Shoujo-tachi Blablabla as it's called in Japan, is an anime based on a visual novel by the godly writer himself, Romeo Tanaka. Yes, that Romeo - Jinrui - Rewrite - Cross Channel - Tanaka. A guy whose prose is about as subtle as a Jackass stunt and whose humor is about as funny as a G-rated Rodney Dangerfield. I'm not a fan personally, but then again I don't get the appeal of visual novel writing at all, and that's one of the least weird things about what they like in the East.
Seiji Kishi's adaptation of his light novel series, Humanity Has Declined aka Jinrui wa blablabla, is remembered by people as one of the best surprises in recent years. Christ knows why. It was fucking AWFUL! Set in a world where everyone reacts to everything with a deadpan expression (which wasn't funny when The Avengers did it either), the satire amounted to nothing more than a bunch of ripoff scenarios from much better post-apocalyptic products along with a bunch of anime in-jokes that made me want to vomit out the window. It depended way too much on its premise and setting and those freaky fairies without actually making things happen, taking way too long to get to the punchline and actually causing me to fall asleep watching it. Which is kind of a miracle because I stayed awake the entire time watching Girls Beyond the Wasteland and it is a million times worse than those dancing fairies could ever be. Although I've got to say, pausing the video and pacing around the room for five minutes to think about what you're doing with your life isn't exactly a better alternative. Especially when you do it three times during one episode.
Seriously, the only way Girls Beyond the Wasteland could have been worse is if the cast from Little Busters was voicing these people whilst scratching chalkboards during recording. Not only does it have the same lack of stakes that Saekano has, the main character literally asks the main female why she wants to make a visual novel in the first episode and she flat out responds that she can't tell him, but he'll do it anyways. What kind of person would possibly consider that an acceptable hook? And then there's the fact that if you didn't tell me this was originally by Tanaka, I wouldn't have made the connection at all. As boring as I find his pretentious dialogue is, at least it stands out when it appears. This show though? I could write the dialogue that showed up in the subs and every thing I've written has been so awful I never made it public. Not even on fanfiction.net.
Then there's these usual "spending your first few episodes introducing the characters and setting up the premise without making some plot happen in the process" that always comes with visual novel anime, except whilst most of these types of show get the drama kicking in around the halfway point, Girls Beyond the Wasteland waits nine fucking episodes for the characters to even push towards getting the visual novel done on time, and there's still nothing else to pay attention to other than that boring plot point around then. One episode is literally just the main character in his room struggling to get some writing done and procrastinating the entire way through whilst the girls put on maid outfits to inspire him for like two minutes before they leave. I'm sorry, but who thought this would be exciting to watch in any way? And whilst the show does try to throw a little personal drama in the mix, quite frankly it makes Full House look butch. Girls Beyond the Wasteland just doesn't make any of the personal struggles the characters go through dramatic enough, always involving little insecurities amounting to the modern equivalent of "that Shuffle episode where Sia's lucky panties couldn't help her in her date with Rin" that are solved by the end of the episode because of an inspiring speech.
It doesn't even have the decency to ramp things up appropriately for its final act. When they finally tell you what the visual novel is actually for around the closing act, it's so generic and involves a character who had no importance until said reveal that I couldn't bother spoiling it even if I wanted to. And what follows after, let alone before, barely has any relevance to the reason to begin with. It's just used to cause some drama that immediately gets resolved in like five minutes and nothing changes story-wise apart from the characters getting resolve that they've already gotten a few episodes ago. We don't even get a fucking payoff to the visual novel's creation. It gets submitted in a competition that is immediately skipped despite a good amount of buildup to it, and the results are brushed off with a few lines of dialogue and a half-assed attempt at deciding what the future is going to be like. Throw in some terrible title references, and you can tell the creators are just stuck in that terrible era of anime where visual novel adaptations were getting churned out left and right.
Not only is this a bad show. Not only is this another example of how awful visual novel anime tend to be. This is one of the worst anime I have ever seen in my life. Yes, even worse than Myself;Yourself and Plastic Memories, this is Da Capo levels of bad. I seriously can't believe how empty and unfunny this show is. The direction and energy put into this adaptation is one of the most lifeless things I've ever seen, and the story is so fundamentally flawed that it resembles a little kid crying in the corner as he lets a bunch of 80s thugs kick him to the ground. Ignoring the fact that it has no aspirations to be anything but another generic "follow your dreams and you'll succeed" anime, the characters don't have any reason to have the dreams they do, they never suffer any problems in regards to their goals other than mild inconveniences, and the humor consists of nothing higher than leaving a camera on and watching actors shoot the shit to the point that it pretty much defines how not to do comedy. I bet you anything that if you were to watch a random sitcom on CBS, it would be a million times more entertaining than this pile of garbage! Fuck. Everything. About. This. Anime. Period.
highfeel
This review is solely base on anime. So as you probably read the synopsis you start to guess whether they focus on finding oneself, developing a game or romance. But frankly speaking the pivot of this story is the game developing process which includes a lot of details, and how characters go through this. Despite that it is set at school, all the problems they have to face make you feel the serious attitude of the game creating, as if when something is missing you can't release the game and there are just two options either you give up or go till the very end bearing allthe troubles. This shows the adult world where you make decision and then live with the result of your decisions.
And this leads to the main idea of finding oneself. Through the story they show how every characters' talent is being revealed. They don't just put random people at random places, but the opposite, right people at the right places according to their talents and abilities. Working hard, making their best, because if they don't, the game can't be released, meaning failure.
Art is not really the strong part of this anime, actually the opposite it the weak part. It's done alright and you can watch it. Anyway it's not the point to focus here.
For the sound almost the same as for the art, but with one exception Hanazawa Kana compared to other voice actors is too good here and her playing stands out too much. Though it is quite understandable as she voices a girl who is a seiyuu in the story.
I really enjoyed watching this anime as I kept worrying whether they will reach success and what difficulties they have to struggle, in such a way finding themselves.
ragnarok2040
As someone who has been in the wasteland creating a fan-made game and other projects. Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu hit it out of the ballpark in its symbolic depiction of the difficulty in doing that. Making a doujin game. Gathering talent, keeping talent, and making sure all the talent works. Look at all the failed Kickstarters to get an idea at how hard that is. The main female lead speaks from a place of experience. There's a lot of real world advice compressed into the story. The characters are rather distinct from each other. A bit archetypal but fleshed out. Strong egos. Friction. Hidden motivations. Procrastination.The pressure of hitting milestones taken visual form and creating conflicts. The pressure of wanting to do their best and being self aware. Comparing themselves to others and seeing things they lack. Feelings get hurt. Well rounded and not so one-dimensional.
The romance was there but wasn't a strong focus of the plot. Feelings and relationships flowered naturally. Those were woven into the plot pretty well.
I liked the art. The character designs. The scenery. The characters had a unique place to gather aside from school and inside their homes.
The music direction was good. I liked the opening and ending. Scenes set the mood perfectly and with comedic effect sometimes.
Overall
I found it a really engaging and somewhat real depiction on creating a game based on my own relevant experiences. I was surprised at this hidden gem when I finished it.
PyraXadon
Making a game is never easy. Especially due to the fact that the market for entertainment these days is so large, getting your name out there on a game and doing well is rather difficult. So, what show tackles this wasteland of a market where only the strong will survive?! KOUYA! A show that will...ironically, end up into obscurity itself give it a couple of months... Story: Buntarou is your average high school boy. Well, not really average, but you get the idea. He likes to help people with their problems, works hard to the pint that everyone knowshim and has a good impression of him, and likes to write for the drama club to aid them in their productions. However, on one faithful day, a beautiful but cold girl by the name of Kuroda asks Bunta on a date, assessing him before finally declaring him to be the writer of a new project of hers; making a galge.
The main premise of Kouya is supposedly to 'make a visual novel game'. I use the word supposedly because in all honesty, this show makes no effort to try and make that the central focus. The general synopsis of any given episode starts with something going wrong with development and/or Kuroda having an issue with the people who are working and fulfilling her dream FOR FREE, the person she upsets and/or yells at subsequently leaves, Bunta and the rest of the cast spend most of the episode to try and get that person back, they reconcile, rinse and repeat. And this is quite honestly the entire runtime of the show. Throw in a few forced character developments, some forced story elements (like bullshit romance), and you have what is basically Kouya in a nutshell.
The story itself is very stale because the entire series is based around internal conflicts within the group that sometimes make me wonder why these people even bother banding together in the first place, since many of them say "I'm leaving and never coming back", before coming back ready to work again, before leaving again. It's repetitive and not really all that imaginative. It also bears mention that because the show is stuck in this endless loop of arguments, anything else that the show tries to do end up either being very cliche, or are so underdeveloped that it doesn't even matter. Have a problem with voice acting? Well, with a few words of encouragement, she'll 'magically' do better. Artist can't draw? Well, console her and she'll 'magically' do better. See the issue here?
The attempt at comedy that the show does also doesn't do the show really any favors as well. Most of the comedy bounces off of character retorts or over exaggerated moments that for the most part aren't really all that clever and/or imaginative. Because the show feels so forced, they end up feeling more cringeworthy than anything and I honestly couldn't even laugh most of the time because of how they were presented.
Overall, Kouya's story was full of forced character development, constant arguing, and some downright laughable attempts to make itself interesting. While the show piqued my interest at first because it reminded me of a show with a similar concept called Saekano, there was in no way in hell that I would want to compare this piece of trash to that show. Plus, the entire last episode is one big waste of time since they basically do nothing during its entire runtime.
Overview:
+ Interesting story concept
- Terrible execution
- Entire runtime was a boring and sometimes irritating rinse and repeat setup
- Lots of cliches and unndeeded story elements to move the story along
- Ending episode was a complete waste of time
Characters: Characters are also a big issue when it comes to the series as a whole due to the fact that really no one stands out as their own character.
Rokushara, the small game company that's started by Kuroda, consists of our main protagonist Buntarou, his friends Atomu and Yuuka who hates normalfags and is energetic as all hell respectively, a fujoshi named Andou who CONSTANTLY fights with Kuroda, and Yuuki (Tori-chan) who despite her small and meek nature, aspires to be a hentai artist. I grouped up the entire main cast of this series all up into one because quite honestly, that's all they really are. Since all of the character development is forced and really doesn't add much to the characters at all, this is pretty much what we're left with. All of them are just generic anime cliches that really don't have much substance to them as a whole. Tropes aren't bad, and can be done tastefully, but in this case, Kouya focused way too hard on trying to create proper drama that it forgot to make its own characters interesting and made it even harder to root for them since they all have terrible personalities.
Side characters are really nothing but plot devices in Kouya due to the fact that the show spends the majority of its time on its main characters. Any character that isn't part of the Rokuhara group is really nothing more than someone used to fill up cast space.
Overview:
- Generic, underdeveloped main character
- Plot device side characters
Art: The art for Kouya isn't anything special. The animation is standard to what we see normally today in anime, and there's really nothing special in that regard.
Sound: Similar to art, the OST for Kouya really isn't anything to write home about. The opening is a rock song that while yes, does have some aspect of memorabilia to it, it's...rather unfitting for the show despite its translation title being "Girls from the Wasteland", and the ED is rather bland and it's just this happy ditzy song that's completely skippable.
Personal Enjoyment: At first, I really thought that Kouya really had something going for it. It was a show about making visual novels and given that a similar show called Saekano has basically the same premise, and did rather well, I thought that this would be a reflection of that, or would be similar in that regard. But week after week all I got were the characters just arguing with each other, with only some snippets of progress. Hell, they even stated themselves that they were on a tight schedule, and the fact that they were spending more screentime fighting and arguing than actually making the goddamn game. Top it off with lackluster everything as we got closer and closer to the end, and we have ourselves an ironic failure.
Did I enjoy this anime?
No, no I didn't. As the weeks progressed, I honestly started hating the show more and more because of how poor the writing and the progression actually was.
What didn't I like about this anime?
Personally, while I could say I just hate everything and be done with that, I want to get into specifics here. Sayuki Kuroda is hands down one of the brutal and inhumane characters that I have ever seen in a school related anime. She is the sole reason why everyone in this goddamn anime leaves. She is a complete tyrant to the people who are trying to help her, and she put her writer on house arrest, prohibiting from allowing him to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, or spend any time on anything BUT writing just because they were behind schedule. (This was an actual episode that happened. It was the least funny thing I have ever seen in anime even though they played it off like a joke.) Like actually, HOW in ANY WAY are we supposed to feel sorry or support a character who does all of this?
Would I recommend this anime?
Girls from the wasteland Kouya is an anime that should be left in the wasteland. Any and all development from this show is forced and is only there to feign a sense of progress. The show is revolved around constant bickering, spends only a small fraction of its time on any sort of actual game making, and to top it off, has one of the worst female leads that I have ever seen in a school related anime. This is a show that deserves to be left out in the wasteland and be forgotten.
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu features a cast creating a visual novel (often denoted as “VN”). And it’s the perfect opportunity to (briefly) talk about my first (and only) VN that I have ever completed: the famous Katawa Shoujo. For those that don’t know, Katawa Shoujo is a VN created by a random yet passionate group of people from the Internet (mostly from 4Chan). It’s about a boy discovering life, learning about himself, and finding love along the way. The twist? He and the other girls have a specific handicap. Without spoiling anything, I will just saythat the whole experience is wonderful. In fact, I technically consider it the best VN I have ever played.
While Shoujo-tachi has some strengths and it’s not a VN, I cannot technically say the same about it.
STORY
Shoujo-tachi follows a bunch of high schoolers – Bunta, Kuroda, Yuuka, Yuuki, Atomu, and Ando – that have a single goal in mind: to create a VN from scratch that will successfully sell.
A daunting task. Making a VN is not as simple as one may believe. It requires a tight script with engaging dialogue and interesting descriptions. It needs beautiful art for the setting and its characters. The programming has to support the different animations, transitions, and routes. Voice acting has to have authenticity and passion. And everything needs to be overseen by a manager who organizes the separate parts and a producer who keeps the vision of the project alive.
The anime shows these different sides. Granted, it does not explore them – the anime neither explains the details behind the algorithms used nor demonstrates the intricacies involved in the design of a particular scene. But the precursory glance at least provides the audience with the understanding that, yes, creating a VN from the ground up (let alone in the side room of a high school) is no easy task.
To this end, Shoujo-tachi revolves a lot of its drama around the various conflicts that appear due to the stressful environment. People clashing because they envision one part of the VN differently. Deadlines causing mayhem. Skillsets creating obstacles rather than results.
Unfortunately, much of the drama can feel repetitive. Bunta unable to write anything for more than five episodes and Ando leaving the group on three separate occasions does not bode well for Shoujo-tachi on a dramatic level. Plus, the whole selling-competition conflict was rather anticlimactic.
To offset some of these issues, the anime includes comedy as a means to shake up the show and as a way to keep the entire experience from feeling too heavy. The comedy itself is subtle-yet-not-subtle. One moment will have Kuroda making an offhand comment about imprisonment, and the next moment will have their male teacher forcing Bunta against a wall with obvious sexual intent.
Surprisingly, the comedy works due to its snappiness. In fact, it is one of the anime’s better facets. But no matter how comedic the show tries to be, it cannot help its weakest dramatic element: a sloppy overarching conflict.
The group got together in the first place thanks to Kuroda’s enticing words. They join in to focus on the VN, believing that they are creating something not just for themselves but for the masses, too. However, a grander scheme underlies the project.
What this scheme actually entails, though, is only alluded to throughout the season. Briefly at that. For the longest time, the audience knows it has something to do with Kuroda’s brother. It is not until the second-to-last episode that the crux of the problem is revealed: The group was a front to get her brother out of his debt incurred by his own VN-making troubles.
The conflict basically coming out of nowhere is a problem, but just as problematic is that this all-important issue affects the crew for maybe half an episode. To be fair, when they return, it is not without choice words and slaps for Kuroda. Even so, when the entire conflict comes and goes as fast as text appears in a VN, it reduces the overall impact of the drama significantly.
If nothing else, this conflict demonstrates one of the major themes of the anime: seeing something through to the end.
It is almost inevitable that a project will encounter a snag or two along the way. But overcoming those snags, dismantling those obstacles, has to be done in order to reach the end. It takes determination. It takes correcting mistakes. It takes passion.
One can choose to give up. Sometimes that option cannot be avoided or may even be the best case scenario. But sometimes, choosing instead to push through can bring about a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of accomplishment unrivaled by anything else.
The narrative showcases this well enough. All of that drama and difficulty tests the characters. Whether or not they have the perseverance to make it past every hurdle thrown their way to see their creation from start to finish. They set aside differences, they camp out overnight to support (more like intimidate) their friend, and they run at full-speed to reach that last train. All instances that prove their commitment to see their VN to the end.
And when, at the end, they choose to do it all again, they demonstrate what they have gained in the process. A tighter bond between the group. A better appreciation for what they have done and want to do. A greater understanding of what perseverance brings.
Everything told, this theme is not complex, but it is nice to see the show put some care into the idea throughout the season.
One final note about the narrative. Shoujo-tachi attempts to include romance, going so far as to have a kissing scene between Bunta and Kuroda (while he sleeps). But the romance ultimately goes nowhere. It does cause a kink in the proceedings when Yuuka gets jealous of Kuroda, but Yuuka’s feelings towards Kuroda as well as her feelings towards Bunta are never explicitly made known. The same can be said of Kuroda with Bunta, and Bunta himself never appears to lean one way or the other.
ANIMATION
Unfortunately, Shoujo-tachi runs into multiple problems with its art and its animation.
The short of it all is that the art fails to impress. The long of it all is that the art contains boring backgrounds and locations visited, unimpressive lighting, and various artistic hiccups – such as disproportionate eyes and bodies – as well a distinct lack of cinematography or other challenging perspectives. The show does introduce caricatures or comedic reactions on occasion, but the other obvious holes in the art make these positives hard to spot.
One of the stranger decisions that the anime went with was refusing to showcase much of the actual VN that the team created. Some of the main character’s different poses as well as a few of the backgrounds were shown, but they were not enough to give the audience a true sense of what their game actually looked and played like after completion.
Actual animation also does not receive much attention. While the beginning episodes can have their moments, like Yuuki running away from Bunta or Bunta getting really into his writing, the later episodes see a downgrade in the amount of nicely animated sequences. Characters start to only have mouth movements, and, when they do move their bodies, the missing frames and awkward shuffling are too apparent to ignore.
Even the character designs are not without issues. Their drab, grey school outfits do not invite much in terms of style – although that may be due more to the realistic setting. Nevertheless, Bunta and Atomu are too plain. Ando’s long red hair does not mesh well with the setting. And Kuroda and Yuki are respectively beautiful and cute with their hair, stocking, and figures, but lack any impressive features.
Yuuka is the only one to have an argument. Her short, brown, and frazzled hair gives her more of a boyish look to complement her more tomboyish behavior. Still, one nice trait out of the entire cast does not make up for the other egregious errors.
CHARACTERS
Shoujo-tachi does and does not approach its cast in the same way that a VN likely would. I.e., having multiple routes that each focus on one specific character (in this case, one of the girls).
This common choice happens for both Ando and Yuuka.
Ando is a gifted programmer and a known boys-love enthusiast. She is also surprisingly not confrontational; she opts to leave a situation rather than pursue further arguments. In the beginning, Ando is reluctant to join the group mostly because she butts heads with Kuroda. Indeed, her natural instinct is to ditch the issue – which she does on more than one occasion.
The first time she leaves comes from Kuroda not understanding that fun is an integral part to any work (let alone VN) project. The third time comes from Kuroda’s lie. The second time, however, is all Ando. Essentially, she took charge by altering parts of the script and the art without letting anybody else know. And in order to make these unfair changes, she sacrificed doing the work that she needed to do. When confronted, she does not view her selfish behavior as a problem. Since the rest of the group does, she chooses not to fight and instead quits.
Bunta takes it upon himself to get her back (again). He enlists on her family’s boat to get near her (since she kept running away) and to demonstrate what camaraderie can do (which is to say a lot). Their tiny conversation afterwards signifies her purpose: Small spats are natural in any working environment. It’s how one handles the situation that matters. Granted, she leaves for that third time later on, but, for the most part, she learns this lesson well.
Yuuka is the other VN route-related character. In short, Yuuka bounces off the walls. She runs around, she yells a lot, and she is usually as peppy as can be. Her contributions to the team in the beginning are minimal as she waits for the other members to finish their portions – her acting skills are top-notch – but, while she waits, she makes sure to keep the environment lighthearted and the audience laughing.
Her character encounters two conflicts: jealousy and low self-esteem. As she watches Kuroda getting closer to Bunta, she lashes out to an extent, creating a rift between her and her childhood friend. It is not until a date between the two allows them to mend the small tear in their relationship. From their fun and talking, she realizes that it is her, not Bunta, that is making her feel this way.
Her most important conflict, however, comes slightly later. When everything but the voice acting is complete, Yuuka finally finds her chance to shine. But when she hears the professional, she gets flustered, performing subpar when she would normally nail the rendition and hence demanding do-overs that ultimately hurt the final product.
Her reasoning for wanting perfection makes sense. While her backstory is given as a way-too-quick flashback, it showcases how, from a very early age, Bunta and Atomu believed in her acting abilities. That is, she did not want to let the group down after all that they had done. It takes more encouragement from Bunta and reaffirmation from Kuroda, but Yuuka begins to believe in herself again.
Kuroda, Yuuki, and Atomu unfortunately do not receive as much attention. In other words, they do not get the VN treatment. Instead, they are mostly relegated to certain tasks.
Kuroda gives wisdom for the whole crew in order to help guide them along.
Yuuki does have her small aside where she overworks herself, but it is her overcoming her overbearing shyness through working together with the others that matters most. That, and she acts as the cute character to follow – much like the art she draws.
As for Atomu, he is almost exclusively a comedic relief character. His nice guy persona juxtaposed with his vengeful “normie” vision achieves this handily.
Bunta, though, brings it back around. He starts the anime not knowing exactly what he wants to do. So, as he somewhat phrases it, he flits back-and-forth between jobs and prospects without ever really putting his heart into any of them.
Que Kuroda. She entices him to conquer the “wasteland” that is bishoujo-game making. He accepts (perhaps partly due to the allure and partly due to his current listless behavior), joining the team as a writer. Something that he has never seriously done before.
And it shows. He struggles immensely with creating a plot, strong characters, and pivotal scenes. Yet he does not give up. Rather he gets help from those around him. Blooter, the eccentric VN writer, provides simple advice amidst his craziness. Kuroda, Atomu, and the others support him in whatever way they can. And the rival VN script writer demonstrates that Bunta still has a long way to go.
In the end, Bunta realizes that, for the first time, he has found something that he is truly passionate about. He focused on this talent, the group, and, perhaps most importantly, himself. His final employment plans – “I’m still looking for one” – indicate that he is exactly where he wants to be: as a writer with Rokuhara.
And it is Bunta’s newfound outlook that highlights the major theme that runs through the cast: Everyone has a role.
As their VN, 24 Hours with Asamori-san, comes together, each group member realizes that they are important to the team. What is vital to their success, to their eventual development, is understanding that the team would not, could not be the same without their individual and personal contributions.
Atomu kept the group on track as best as he could. Nobody else but Yuuka could voice the main heroine. Yuuki’s art perfectly captured the feel of their characters. Ando’s expertise made the art and the writing seamlessly flow as one. Bunta’s writing nailed the down-to-Earth, high-school setting. And Kuroda was the magnet that brought them all together when nobody else could.
To be fair, the development of the cast and their underlying theme are not exactly deep. Even so, the wasteland became the playground in which they all expressed themselves. In which they all found themselves. And in which they all made something that brought pride to themselves.
To put it differently, their VN was both a financial and personal success.
SOUND
Two notable issues with the sound pop up throughout Shoujo-tachi’s run: gross reuse and lame sound-effects.
As far as the anime is concerned, it only has one track in its original soundtrack rather than the many it contains. The piece gets used constantly. For sad times, for happy times. It doesn’t matter. The anime reuses the track to the point of insanity. It would have been acceptable if the track itself was stellar, but, because it is only passable, it gets tiring to hear again and again and again.
The other grievance, the lame sound-effects, happens during a few scenes. More specifically, whenever the cast attempt to have fun, it feels more like they were instructed to act in a jovial manner rather than let their natural happiness take over. It is jarring to say the least.
Thankfully, the voice acting performances help to (slightly) alleviate some of these issues. Haruka Chisuga as Kuroda almost never raises her tone above a stern whisper. Satomi Sato as Yuuki delivers cuteness with her extremely shy way of speaking. And Kana Hanazawa as Yuuka gives the girl a rambunctious attitude, continuing to prove why she is a veteran of the voice-acting business.
What remains are the opening track and the ending track.
The OP is surprisingly lofty given the direction that Shoujo-tachi takes. Not that the OP refusing to go melancholic or comedic is a negative. After all, creating a VN is as fast-paced and cool as the piece itself. As for the actual song, the vocalist does the majority of the work – contrary to the group mentality that the show pushes. Regardless, it still stands as a nice track to listen to.
The ED, by comparison (and using some VN lingo), goes down a completely different route. Multiple singers and a more relaxed beat make the piece a fun way to exit each episode. The song somewhat ends abruptly, and it is a bit forgettable, but a couple of catchy lyrics at the beginning and in the middle keep the track, well, on track.
ENJOYMENT
While not a deep, personal relationship, I do have a close connection to this one. More specifically, I can relate to Bunta and his struggles.
As a writer myself, I empathize with Bunta’s difficulties completely. Writing is way more difficult than some people may realize. Like Bunta, I’ve had my slumps. I’ve had my procrastination. I’ve had my troubles in getting a certain paragraph to sound right. So when he was experiencing those same issues, I found myself nodding my head since I have been there before (and will inevitably return to in the future).
Blooter gave Bunta some really solid advice, though. Advice that I was lucky to get as well along the way: just keep writing. Whether that one sentence is an absolute stinker or one literally cannot think of something to put down on paper, push through and write. It seems simple in hindsight, but knowing that some writing is better than no writing at all makes a big difference in the long run. I appreciate the anime echoing this sentiment.
Besides connecting with Bunta, I also found myself laughing at many different scenes thanks to the fun characters. Atomu “spiking” the volleyball because his “normie” detectors went off. Yuuki saying to Kuroda, “I’m sorry, but please apologize!” Yuuka acting babyish when Bunta didn’t accept her compliment right away. Kuroda wanting to play “ha ha, tee hee” at the beach. And Ando treading into pornographic territory in the bathroom stall. They each had their moments that made the season a lot of fun to watch.
My biggest complaint (and it is a sizable one) is the romance. I would have liked to have seen Bunta pursue either Kuroda or Yuuka, and, in turn, I would have liked to have seen either one of them be more open about their feelings towards the boy. And just because they slightly hinted at the possibility, an Atomu and Yuuki pairing would have been swell. Truth be told, the VN had higher importance, but that does nothing to quench my thirst for more romantic material.
Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu may have tons of trouble when it comes to its art and animation. Not to mention the lackluster drama, the inability to give all of its cast adequate attention, and some glaring sound problems. Nevertheless, the thematic presence with both the story and the characters, as well as the nice comedy, give the show at least some clout. But certainly not as much as a random Internet VN that came before it.
SUMMARY
Story: Fine, a precursory look into VN creation makes for poorly handled drama, nice comedy, and a theme on seeing a project through to the end no matter the odds
Animation: Terrible, bad artistic direction, multiple errors, below-average actual animation, and lame character designs
Characters: Fine, Kuroda, Yuuki, and Atomu are weak, Ando, Yuuka, and Bunta are fine, and their theme on having a role threads through them all
Sound: Bad, some notable and negative design choices, okay OP, okay ED, and slightly above average VA performances
Enjoyment: Good, Bunta’s struggles were relatable, the comedy and the cast were fun, but the unpursued romance was sad to see
Final Score: 4/10
HidamariSeashore
Well, I guess you should aim for the wasteland when you're creating a big project, like a bishoujo game? I'm sorry.... I just can't come up with a good way to start off this review. After all, this anime is just NOT GOOD. I only picked this up because I wanted to watch a visual novel-based anime this season, and when I read the description, I was expecting another Saekano. Well, what I got was Saekano if Saekano was less interesting. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of "Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu", known in English as "Girls Beyond the Wasteland". Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasufollows Buntarou Hojo, a.k.a. Bunta, who has no idea what he wants to do in the future. One day, he writes a script for the drama club and ends up being approached by a girl named Sayuki Kuroda. Sayuki is aiming to create a bishoujo game, and she wants Bunta to write the story for it. They also recruit other students at their school, like Atomu, Yuuka (Bunta's friends with the latter being talented at acting), Yuuki (an extremely shy girl who is a talented artist), and Andou (an otaku who really wanted to create a yaoi game), and they form the group "Rokuhara". Together, Rokuhara works on the game "24 Hours with Asamori-san" and aims for the wasteland! ....Apparently.
Now, the story for this anime is dull and cliched. Believe it or not, I don't mind cliches too much, but this anime couldn't help but bug me about it; the story was just so predictable thanks to the cluster of cliches. I honestly don't have a lot to say about the characters, either. All of the characters are either uninteresting or annoying, and I really didn't care about what happened to any of them. If there was one interesting character in this anime, I'd say it's Atomu, but that's only because I found his "dark side" just slightly amusing. Other than that one quality, he's just as boring as everyone else.
Well, the story and characters may be forgettable, but surely, the animation, voice acting, and opening and ending songs can't be as bad, right? In all seriousness, they aren't as bad, but the animation almost was. It was kind of easy to see that the studio behind this anime, Project No.9, put little thought into the animation. The opening and ending themes, which are respectively "Wasterlanders" by Sayaka Sasaki and "Sekai wa Kyou mo Atarashii" by Haruka Chisuga, Kana Hanazawa, Satomi Sato, and Satomi Akesaka, aren't the best songs ever, but they're doable. The voice acting isn't bad either, considering Kana Hanazawa is voicing one of the main characters (Yuuka), but.... is it just me, or does it sound like they're not having a lot of fun with this one? (That's reasonable, though, considering how this anime turned out.)
With all of that being said, Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu was a below average experience and an overall disappointment. Are you looking for an anime where the main characters are creating a game? I'd prefer that you watch "Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata" instead, because at least that one has better animation and characters that are actually better to follow. If you insist on watching Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu, please don't compare it to Saekano, because you'll find that it's a waste of time in comparison.
LegendAqua
A rushed version of trying to do ''SHIROBAKO'' with the visual novels instead of anime but just without the passion and dealings with the visual novel industry....ohhhh dear. Yeah...remember what LA said at the start of this review...ohh yes it happens, not only is this anime for almost 8 episodes is unfocused, rushed through fluffing around, thin character developments through the industry hardships, without any passion and showing us the visual novel industry and it's baffling that there is already an example of doing this correctly, it's makes it even worse when this anime is pretty much an advertisement for the actual visual novel that's connectedto this anime and will be released soon...as LA said again...ohhh dear.
LA will note it does get better by episode 8 but seriously by then you can already see the filler trainwreck, however at least by episode 8 they get their focus back by giving us some character development from the lingering love triangle of Sayuki, Buntarou and one of Buntarou's childhood friends Yuka Kobayakawa voiced by ''Kana Hanazawa'', Yuka's character development as a seiyuu gets a focused screentime and heck they even start to look at the visual novel industry from picture to computer to disc...8 episodes too late.
LA knows LA is being rather harsh to this anime and that is merely because LA was rather anticipating this anime and was immediately regretted it as it just fluffed around and characters just arguing instead of looking at how the visual novel industry works. LA's favourite character throughout the series was Teruha Andou voiced by ''Satomi Akesaka'', the well-rounded, sound yet rebellious character who butted heads with the producer of the visual novel Sayuki consistently throughout first 8 episodes leading to petty melodrama and guess what LA sided with Teruha for the most part as she did at the very least has some semblance of sense (LA won't say she has the highest moral high ground and sometimes she was wrong but leading her to be the "villain" even though she had the best of intentions and just leaving the situation to the silent treatment by Sayuki and saying it was ENTIRELY Teruha's fault is just stupid and ripe for petty melodrama).
The animation done by Barnum Studio and Project No.9 has A LOT of derpy animation and lower texture quality throughout the series and that seeped it into it's character designs and even backgrounds, let's just say that on almost all FRONTS, the animation was lackluster and this was coming from TWO animation studios...seriously what the hell?.
The ending by all means did get better by the end of it and to be perfectly honest, Sayuki's proposal by the final episode would be something LA would have rather watched than the resulting outcome of this anime, nonetheless the ending was good, you just need to slog through the first 8 episodes just to get to it.
Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu for what it could have been, a look into the visual novel industry and how it works, instead we have characters arguing, needless fanservice, petty melodrama, low tier animation, rushed pacing due to many episodes where the characters fluff around and paper thin character development that might...might have had huge amount of potential to be in the ranks of ''SHIROBAKO'', ''Sora ga Seiyuu'' and LA will even say this... ''SaeKano''. Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu is not the worst anime of Winter 2016...but it's probably one of the quickest and surprisingly disappointing anime this season for LA at least.
PetchyJ
Short review: Who would I actually recommend Shoujo-tachi to? If I had to say, then I might go with someone that is really into visual novels, but honestly, I’d be hard pressed to actually want to recommend this show just because it does so many things wrong in my opinion. In a little nutshell, this thing is just outright boring, and with that I’ll go into my longer review. Long review: (Contains light spoilers) I went into Shoujo-tachi like with most of my series not knowing anything (I didn’t even bother to read the plot synopsis with it just because others were getting more hype), but the firstepisode gave me quite a bit of hope. The characters appeared pretty interesting and quirky, most of the jokes paid off and it even seemed like there was going to be a nice disjointed romance thrown into the mix for good measure. It wasn’t a masterpiece of a first episode but it kept me very interested… until the end of the first episode when the actual plot was revealed to be about game development. It didn’t affect me too much though to be honest – as I said, the first episode was pretty good and I was more than willing to watch another episode, especially because I enjoyed Saekano whose overall plot was about games as well… but then it just kind of went wrong from there.
The main problem I found with this whole series was that by the third or fourth episode, you tend to realise that this stuff gets extremely repetitive. Those fun little quirks that endeared you to a particular character early on quickly become their sole defining characteristic which either serves to remind you that they still exist in this world or to forcibly cause a drama in order to make you feel like there might be some progress coming along. If it hadn’t been so obvious then I wouldn’t have really minded, but it is pretty clear what is happening.
This brings me onto my next point. There’s just no tension to the anime for nearly all the episodes. This is partly because it is quite a predictable series the more you progress so you can tell what is going to happen, but perhaps what is even worse than this is that there seems to be no attempt to even pretend that there’s a serious emotional conflict going on – they are pretty much all resolved within an episode (or 2 at the most), and there’s no real intensity for the most part to any of them. It just means that after watching this happen once or twice, you just don’t care because it’s clear what’s going to happen anyway. In addition to this, there’s no real sense of hardships that these characters have to go through to make their game – it’s all just done conveniently because the plot said it could. This just means that there’s no sense that anything is really being ‘done’, rather than things just conveniently happening for the characters.
So ok, clearly it has it’s downfalls at being a serious dramatic type anime, but maybe its comedy moments make up for it right? No they really don’t seem to. Pretty much all of the jokes that seem to be in the anime revolve around the idea that since the characters in bishoujo games do things (such as going to the beach or having training camps etc.) the characters in this anime also have to do this because it’s for ‘research’ on these games. It just ends up being that the anime becomes what it is making fun out of. Apart from that, the other comedy focus just seems to be the characters performing the trope they have been assigned, which gets dull fast.
To be fair to the series, the art style is different if that matters and there are 3 (yes I went back and counted) episodes I found alright and 1 which was really relatable and funny. The series could have been pretty decent really, it just seems to cut down most of its ideas before they really do anything. Yuuka was a pretty enjoyable character but between all the drama her character feels kind of restrained. The development between the writers of different companies and the fun that they poke at each other is a pretty nice idea but it’s thrown in a bit too late and only really is used when the plot is forced to progress. Even the core idea of the game being produced by a group of friends could have been heartwarming, but it never really builds up those bonds between the characters beyond them commenting one by one in turn on certain things (this really began to annoy me) and them exclaiming later on in the series a sort of ‘look how far we’ve come’ type thing. These would have all been really good, had I actually believed any of it, which just makes me kind of disappointed with the few moments of flair it shows.
To sum this series up, I’ll say this – I’m sure that if you’re fine with clichés in anime, you’ll probably find this more enjoyable than me, especially if you’re invested in the whole game making concept. However, for me I’ve just found this to be one of the more uninspired and more importantly, one of the most actively boring animes that I’ve watched. It wasn’t awful enough that I could even find some real fun it what it did wrong, because for me it’s just been a collection of already overdone things rarely intertwined with some pretty decent stuff which makes you annoyed at the rest of the series even more. I watched this series in the hope that it could at least evoke something like the charm it had in its first episode or two, and instead I’ve just been left disappointed and bored.
IKnowBestu
So on last nights episode of Keeping Up With the Winter Season: Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu. Short review: Have you watched Saekano? If no you can watch this. It makes it look better. If yes skip this. It's worse than Saekano. Even shorter review: It's not as good as Saekano. You may have noticed I just compared the show to Saekano. Which I did. Story: A group of highschool kids want to develop a visual novel. Saekano also did that. This time around the character that wants to develop the game is a girl that is also a closet otaku. Convenient. As you know she recruits others andthey begin to work on the game. The huge problem will this story is it's forced drama. What causes this forced drama? Well.
Characters: I love red heads, which large breats, and glasses. I can't like this one. She is just far to generic. Much like the rest of the generics. The stereotypes include the: loli; large breasted female; attractive female otaku; childhood friend and the harem leader. The characters are boring compared to those in Saekano. They are irritating in short. The large breasted female and childhood friend put their own selfish needs before the group and delay the project. They aren't completely terrible, just boring really.
Art and sound: I enjoyed the Op, it was nice. I did like the Ed. Art is average and expected. I haven't watched any of the studios other works so I can't compare. Sometimes it's bad and sometimes it can be gorgeous (That stop light though, damn.)
The voice acting was actually very good. I've been told the voice actress have wasted their talent on this project though.
Enjoyment: Although I have to agree the show is no Evangelion, I still enjoyed it. I'm that type of guy that pisses reddit off by saying I enjoyed a show they think is the tool of Satan.
Overall: It really comes down to if you've watched Saekano. It's more of the same, but worse. The show isn't terrible but you can still find enjoyment.
roquepo
Well, first of all this is not exactly a review. Here you are not going to find the good of the bad points of the show. Now I'll try to explain why I don't like this show and the trend it represent. The point is: Has this show something in its story that wasn't in previous animes? The answer is no. Almost everything you are going to see here was copied from another anime, manga or novel. It haves a similar plot to Shirobako, but poorly written;the main character is indistinguishable of over a myriad of other generic MC; the side characters are also copies ormixures of other popular characters, you have from Yukino going by Rias Gremory mixed with a fujoshi and finishing with a member of the FFF inquisition; the dialogues about visual novels or anime-related terms are a shame, You get the idea?
And the worst about this is that this one is not the only one. Lot of anime season by season do the same. Writters are becoming lazy and I don't like it. No one should like it.
I'm not saying this is the worst anime of the season, I managed to finish it, and watching it is not a pain, but I had to say something against this trend of treating us, the consumers, as idiots who can't remember that everything he is seeing in their show is not of their own.
Aklama
12 series of stupidity, bad writing, no, horrible. I'll try to describe how bad it was. General ratings: Story - 1 "Pathetic." Art - 6 "Fair." (But story's so bad it kinda makes you want to score it lower. Story's so bad it influences other things too look bad.) Sound - 6 "Fair." (Same with art, the rest of the stuff is so bad you wouldn't even notice if sound or art was done badly.) Characters - 1, but I wish I could score lower. Like, -1? Too bad I can't. Enjoyment - 2. Most enjoyable part: thinking about what I'd write on MAL review when thiswas over.
Overall - 3/10.
I only watched this to the end so I could write a full review, truly seeing how bad this is, I can recommend you: do not waste a single minutes on this crap. It will leave you wonder why the fuck are you wasting your life.
I'd talk how bad characters were at first, but you need to have them in the first place. "bland" or "uninspiring" don't cover how weird they felt. Sometimes some of them had something similar to characteristics and personality, but in the end most of them were forced, there was even a weird romance setting which disappeared. Yea, literally, I wondered if I missed anything in last ep. But no, this girl showed love for another guy and after that not even a trace of the feeling xD at some point she was even having internal turmoil and I was expecting some kind of conflict between characters, an opportunity for development, but nope, it just "puffed" out of the story ;d
And story was even worse, group of kids gather to make a game? Fine, I like those kind of animes. I recently watched Shirobako, and I'm excited to see young people trying to create some kind of work. Well, too bad they had to put any kind of cliche'd "slice-of-life" stuff, totally unrelated to actually making game. None of the episodes contributed to anything relevant to story, characters, or even humour. Forced competition was stupid as well, I bet they were like, "hm I think our show's ratings are bad 'cause we lack competition. Let's just jam some in it." And they failed at that too. Ending, the shining point of all shows, the best part as it should have been, was no different either. I want to get into more details as why I think writing was pathetic, why characters were 1 dimensional, but I'd rather avoid spoilers, even if I hope you never have to go through pain of watching this.
AllenHavens92
Girls Beyond the Wasteland could have been something, but ended up being a dull time. The plot where high school kids develop a game is actually something that has been done before. Last year, there was Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, which had the exact same premise. Because of that, many will wind up comparing both of them. If I may be honest, Saekano had a better execution. Comparisons aside, I did like the first episode. I felt the establishment of the characters was great, and it was funny. However, as the series went on, it started to get a little boring. There is alsosomething about the heme (being the world is a "wasteland") that's bothering me. I'm finding it difficult to write anything about it as it's not utilized that well, despite it's occasional mentioning.
Continuing with what I was saying with episode one, it introduced most of out characters in a very natural way. This is in regards to three friends; I was able to tell right away the kind of relationship they were in. Characters introduced later on just felt like add-ons that are interesting.
The animation looked a bit weird; not really in terms of movement, but the character designs. There was also consistent flaws in addition to the poor story.
It's really a shame the series ended up like it did; I really wanted it to be good after enjoying the first episode. Obviously, I can't recommend it, and since it's much better than this, I'd rather say go watch Saekano.
Jebus_Kreist
I started well-knowing that it was the quintessential cliche harem anime, but was blown back by just how bad it actually was. Story 2/10: Quite possibly the most contrived part of the anime is the story. Plenty of animes can get away with copypasta characters, but stories not so much. This basically just went straight-forward with a downright silly, improbable path despite trying to be more or less a slice-of-life. Let's just say you can tell it's based off a Visual Novel, because of all the "romance" options in the harem, it decides to go nowhere for any of them specifically for the sake of flaunting itto try and get you to buy into it. And by the way, that's all there really is to it. There's a subplot about the MC deciding what to do with his life after school, but you could guess where that leads the moment he haphazardly joins the "club".
Sound 3/10: The most Jarring aspect of the show by far. It starts off alright, but then takes a steep nosedive. I'd have rated it higher because for the most part it's passable, but one of the more influential characters in the story sounds like they went to her house and pulled the audio off a portable recorder in contrast to everyone else.
This is exceptionally alarming because not only does she frequently give the MC verbal hints with very clear double meanings, but she is the voice actor of the group and you will hear her voice ALOT and hangs around the MC ALOT(for obvious reasons).
Characters 3/10: By far the most cookie-cut characters you may ever actually see in any anime... The only interesting interaction between characters was the MC Buntarou and his childhood friend Yuuka, because the hints are dropped fast in the start that she wants to be more than friends but isn't sure how to do so. Other than that it's just really bad cliches and characters done for the sake of appealing to fans basically forcing themselves onto the MC.
Enjoyment 2/10: After the first episode I legitimately started "skimming" episodes, skipping small parts a few minutes at a time and only going back if it seemed like I missed anything important. I didn't miss anything important. There is nothing important. It goes close to nowhere and very slowly specifically because the player isn't controlling the main character's actions. Therefore he is effectively neutral to everything and just coasts through. Watching this show feels like a long, dragged out filler arc.
Overall 3/10: Would not recommend this to anyone, regardless of the circumstances or how well I get along with them. I'd have rated it higher, but for lack of better explanation it simply wasted my time and somewhat limited internet usage.
Zaku88
While traveling through Japan this April, I noticed a lot of manga and game shops featuring this work (either in VN or manga form). Thus, I held perhaps a tad too much expectation for this work from Minato Soft (whose prior works include Majikoi and Kimi ga Aruji). Shokomeza is about a group of high schoolers coming together to create a bishoujo game, not terribly differentiated from another show with the same theme a few seasons back- Saekano. Again, we start with a protagonist with a seemingly hopeless future, who through meeting a girl decides to do his best to make a game. In thiscase, Bunta is not a fluffy stuffed animal but rather a writer who makes scripts for the drama club. Will he and the rest of his soon-formed club successfully "master up?"
Don't be led astray by the Minato Soft tag, this show focuses much more on the game creation process than any deep character relationships; you won't find a harem here. The show comes across as a marginally interesting slice of life, which starts very slow (like bedtime story slow) but then eventually starts clicking once deadlines start approaching. If you're looking for a relatively light show where, honestly, not much happens until the end, this is for you. If you're looking for deep relationships or insights as to how to really make a gal game, you're not going to find much here. If you're just looking for a random show to pick up, chances are you'll have better luck elsewhere.
Animation:
The animation is pretty good, which is to say it's up to current standards. The show uses a moderately saturated color palette, though the overall feel is a bit dull due to the gray uniforms and plain school walls. The backgrounds are slightly above average with nice attention to details, like rust on desks or swings; with a few add moments of artistic brilliance, such as a panning shot of mugs and plates. The characters are decently drawn but nothing in particular stands out from other shows. Redhead Andou is really the only spice in terms of color you get in addition to a few nice, sunset-hued skies. Emotions are fair but nothing special as well, in fact it is a tad annoying that Kuroda is a kuudere (with an overwhelming focus on the kuu) given the amount of screen time she hogs.
This is neither an action nor an ecchi show. There are a few bit of ecchi such as a few BL references, a self-proclaimed "fan service" episode where everyone goes to the beach, and a maid scene- but really, compared to recent harems this is comparatively nothing.
Sound:
I find it funny that the show chose a song that started with "despair", though I guess it fits with the lightly utilized "wasteland" theme. The opening is a fast-paced, action-oriented song, which isn't a particularly great melody and furthermore doesn't seem to fit with the mostly-calm nature of the show. The show's ED features the girls of the show and has a fair melody. The BGM is standard-fare filler pieces that are lightly mixed in- be warned that this will put you to sleep if you're not on guard. There's a central, four note melody that is featured throughout the show.
The characters in this show weren't particularly engaging, and I'm not sure of the casting choices as well. Using a relative newcomer, Haruka Chisuga, as the kuudere female lead was risky and didn't work too well for me. Kanahana is at her best voicing relatively shy girls, which is exactly not the drama club star Yuuka. Though it was a good effort overall, it just came across lackluster.
Story:
Alright, I admit it; I have absolutely no idea what the intended story of this show is. At points, it tries to tell of the brutal, fast-paced, and deadline oriented gaming industry. At other points, it tries to lighten the mood with the playful essence of youth, adding in trips to the beach and the local yakiniku shop. Additionally, at other points, it tells of the dramas the club faces with sickness, slumps, and outright desertions. With all of these, you end up with a weird balancing act of a story that goes in multiple directions and yet ends up not moving very far from where it started. Somehow, it manages all this while the main plot remains utterly predictable. Perhaps the intent was to focus more on the characters, but more on that in the next section.
In addition to the odd execution, I felt that the pacing was also jarring. The first few episodes were so plain that I felt it was already in the drop-worthy category. There aren't a lot of plot twists and the overall tension of the story hovers at a mediocre level until the final few episodes, where all of a sudden everyone is energized by the impending deadline; in fact, the show ought to just be renamed "The Procrastinator's Guide to Game Making."
That brings me to my final complaint, which is that the show keeps you at distance from the actual game making logistics and product- you barely get even a few glimpses of what they're actually making. Furthermore, somehow, being the younger sister of a game designer is apparently enough to know everything about the industry- and so Kuroda magically solves how to procure background art, BGM, and how and who to communicate with throughout the entire process. Oh, and somehow everyone still goes to school though they never show how the students balance everything.
It's one of those shows where at the very end you question why you even bothered picking it up in the first place.
Character:
The show has a good variety of character archetypes in the club but fails to really make them engaging. All the characters are pretty static and, other than the protagonist, really don't get much of an exposition. There's only a slight hint of any character relationships and, well, as with the school uniform colors, everything just feels kind of dull. There weren't too many supporting characters, which is even more reason why I would have expected a deeper, more engaging main cast.
In any case, you get a pretty cookie-cutter set of girls with the outgoing VA Yuuka, bad-girl programmer Andou, know-it-all kuudere Kuroda, and shy artist Yuuki. Our protagonist writer doesn't know what to do with his life, moving between random jobs and finally finds something he likes doing with the group Rokuhara. And finally, he brings along his "nice guy" childhood friend who hates couples after getting dumped. The group interactions are fair overall but nothing I'd consider particularly special.
Value:
This is not a harem and it is not really a drama. It's perhaps just a slice of life loosely wrapped around the theme of making a game. If you have hours of time to waste on a show, spare yourself and choose something else. In this show about how it is difficult to make a game, we end up seeing how it is difficult to make a good anime.
0Unknown0
I'll keep this review as short as possible. I recommend this to those who are curious or bored. This is a straightforward story with simple characters and some character development. A bit of romance for those who are wondering. Everything about this anime is just simple. So, don't expect something from this anime, for example, a bright and cool MC. No such thing. MC is just your ordinary high student that got dragged into otaku stuff. There is no "cool" scene. Just simple and easy to enjoy. Don't overthink. Just enjoy and keep the question hidden. Overall, it just a bit average.
DJNOSTYLE
Any time a visual novel gets turned into an animated series, I tend to sign up for it. I mean, not only do I thoroughly enjoy the medium, but it intrigues me to see how a director and studio can condense a good thirty hours of material into like...four. Sometimes the outcome is great. However, sometimes it gets a little messy. But that's fine. It's cool. I can look past messy to a certain degree. I mean, all anime has its flaws. Well, okay, not all anime -- but you get the point. Girls Beyond The Wasteland, if you couldn't guess by now, is based onMinato Soft's visual novel of the same title. The impressive part of this lies in the fact that the game came out several months into 2015 (March, to be exact) and was animated less than a year later, premiering in January of 2016. Woah, that fast? It's got to be good then, right? Meeeeeehh, we'll see. This all-ages anime series comes to us from the director, Takuya Sato, who is also behind titles like "Say I Love You" and even one of my all time favorites, "Steins;Gate". Now, this series is literally nothing like either of those two. Instead of witnessing things like forced, incompatible romance or time traveling bananas, we instead get to follow the life of Buntarou Houjou as he is roped into writing a visual novel of his own by some pretty girl (Sayuki Kuroda) who looks like Kuroyukihime from Accel World.
So right from the start, we already have an interesting plot in terms of the whole visual novel thing. The amount of VN related material in anime is lacking when you consider just how close the two things really are to one another. It's like how that one family member never shows up at family reunions and so people never even really mention him apart from, "Oh, where's Dan?" You know what I'm saying? Anyway, it's clear that Buntarou is a dependable guy right out of the gate. The dude has a job, he's a leader when it comes to group activities, and he even rescued a cat from a tree (I think. I might be just making that up in my mind based on his personality). The one thing to note about Buntarou, however, is that he isn't really sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life. Up until now, he's just kind of...existed.
Being incapable of making a game amongst just two people, Kuroda tasks Buntarou with scouting out the remaining members of their game development team. Bunta, never having even played a VN before, is kind of confused by this idea and winds up just finding a bunch of weird looking dudes that, in no way, are we ever going to see again. After an episode or two of searching for more members, Buntarou and Kuroda finally manage to tack on the rest of the squad -- even if several of them are just Bunta's friends. But that's okay! Because one of his friends is voiced Kana Hanazawa and, get this, she plays an actress! Now that's typecasting at it's finest. In all honesty, though, her character (Yuuka Kobayakawa) was easily the best part of the series.
From this point on, things proceed exactly the way you'd expect them to. The rookie game developers struggle with completing their tasks in an orderly fashion, overcome their problems through hard work and friendship, and then more problems of similar nature arise. But when it is revealed that Kuroda has had an ulterior motive this entire time (No, I won't tell you what it is), the team disassembles and must figure out a new way to move forward in life. That is until Buntarou kicks it into superhero gear and gets the band back together. If this school had a football team, I would bet you money that Buntarou would be the quarterback. This dude is literally too dependable. I hate him. Also, the two cutest girls in the series have a crush on him and I just want to punch him in his stupid, dependable mouth. Ugh.
So, we have all these building blocks that should -- if executed correctly, lay out the foundation for what could be an excellent series. We have lovable characters, an interesting story, various plot checkpoints in terms of drama, Kana Hanazawa, etc. However, something was still missing. I was literally NEVER excited to watch this show. I never in the past three months thought, "Wow! I Can't wait to see what happens next in Girls Beyond The Wasteland!" Instead, each episode would end I would just think, "Okay, that's fine" and then forget about it. Plus, the fact that the series streamed exclusively on Hulu made it seem like more of a chore than anything. But why? There were so many things that could have made this show the next Saekano (One of my favorites from 2015 -- similar story, just much better) but none of them were able to come together and actually make something. Maybe it was just the elitist in me subconsciously telling myself that if a show's artwork isn't great, the show itself can't be great. Which is untrue -- I mean, look at Lain. But maybe, it was more of a culmination of so many things just being "Okay".
Character development was just okay -- Buntarou was incredibly static and any development his character was actually supposed to have just seemed unnecessary and forced. The comedy was very hit or miss most of the time, usually ending on "miss". The artwork, as I mentioned before, was rather undetailed and just flat out boring. Even the characters themselves, apart from Yuuka, were boring and unoriginal. In fact, everything was just so okay that I tried to justify telling myself that I really liked the series because, in all honesty, any problems it had could be overlooked when I diverted my attention to other departments. But, here's the thing, when you wind up having to persuade yourself that you like a show, something is clearly going wrong. I was able to figure that halfway through the series before finally coming to terms with how I didn't really love it and that it was just normal. There's really nothing about this series that something else hasn't already done better.
Oh and don't even get me started on the whole Bunta x Yuuka thing because that's an entirely different issue.
In Summary:
Girls Beyond The Wasteland has many of the pieces that could normally shape an interesting, exciting series but fails to put them together in a timely manner. In fact, it fails to put them together at all. If you're looking for a school-life comedy with a lovable cast and an enjoyable story, there are literally hundreds of other shows out there that do it better than this one. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it (Despite all of my complaints). It's just so average that it's really hard to try and get people hyped up for it. I will say, though, for fans of visual novels and bishoujo-game culture, you can definitely get something out of this. Just...don't try and force yourself.
