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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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 Stretch
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[series:3316#628] | ||||||
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(Six episodes watched): The character designs and premise of this show reminded me of an anime that I watched long ago, Amagami SS, and I wondered if it might have been written by the same person. This felt like a very slice-of-life show, with nothing remarkable or unlikely happening, just small talk between teenagers. The fact that the character designs aren't all that distinctive (and that I have a poor memory for names) was a modest problem for me as I watched this. But it was kind of fun and amusing and I was initially curious where it would go. Perhaps that's because the characters get into fairly plausible situations where hot girls are within reach for one reason or another, rather than the usual 'Oops, I tripped and fell with my hand clenching your breast' crapola. Is this girl just toying with Shoichi, or are they liable to get intimate? What should he do in response--to not waste an opportunity but not go too far either, and scare her away? You don't know, but want to. This seemed like it might be based on a video game dating sim, in which I'm guessing that all the options which the player could have chosen to pursue different girls will be played out one after another, perhaps in alternate realities. Episode three had one LOL joke regarding how to get out of trouble when you are caught by a teacher in a bath with a girl after hours. I didn't see it coming and it was genuinely funny. There are lots of closeups of girl's skirtlines and mildly suggestive stuff like that is included, but not much more. It appears that Seiren consists of six different girls each getting Shoichi's attention for four episodes each--again, perhaps six different ways a dating sim video game might wind up. The first arc ends pretty inconclusively--would all (except perhaps the final one) end this way? Perhaps this show is basically what would happen if you were playing the game and managed to just barely lose each of the first five optional girlfriends before winning the final one. I was left somewhat disappointed, but hoped that maybe the second girl, and what happens as Shoichi pursues her, would be interesting in some way. The second arc seems to involve a girl who is into video games (although the games they play are so primitive that you would think that this story is taking place twenty years or so ago). This interest of hers obviously offers Shoichi an opening to get to know her. She's so good at winning that her skill threatens to turn off teenage boys who are thinking about something else, apparently. But I found my own interest to be flagging, and decided to quit Seiren halfway through the second arc. The feeling that most of these potential romances would ultimately come to nothing made me feel that I had better things to do. Last updated Sunday, January 16 2022. Created Saturday, January 28 2017. | ||||||||
