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[series:4430#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): I remember reading that when it comes to sex, men (and women) come in two forms: those who would prefer to remain loyal to a single mate, and those who would prefer to mate with numerous different partners. Both are needed to maintain a healthy population; one group are good parents while the other maintains genetic variability. If you were a male of the latter type, this show would be a dream come true: an unlimited supply of women, who you can choose from however you please, and who only want to be penetrated and expect nothing else in exchange. The question here is which type Reito falls into. While he is definitely tempted when his 'dedicated attendant' Suou Mira attempts to seduce him, he turns her down after remembering Erisa. Chances are that I will be disappointed, but this show has such a titillating premise that I absolutely must know where the story will go from here. Considering how precious he is, the United Women government could have put some more thought into the process of trying to persuade him to become their stud; he has just learned that his father and friends are all dead, after all (his elder brother is also in Cold Sleep). I hope we won't be treated to his younger sister Mahiru propositioning him. A good deal of censorship was needed for this TV version of the series. Scientifically, if only a handful of men remain humanity's gene pool may already be too far gone to save the species, but I doubt if this show will worry about things like that. I both dread and look forward to episode two; the number of anime which feature both blatant fanservice and intelligent, thoughtful writing can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. In episode two the pressure of Reito to screw women is relaxed a little but hardly goes away. The leaders of United Women (UW) are frustrated with him and seem to be hiding something. Reito comes upon a message left by Erisa which includes a startling discovery she made regarding the MK virus (how it will make much of a difference with things as they are, I did not grasp). I was surprised to learn that there are in fact millions of men in Cold Sleep, so why would it matter if one of them will only bed one particular woman? I guess most would not be immune to MK like Reito is and therefore can't be revived until a cure is found, which Reito devotes himself to. This story remains semi-interesting but the porn is obviously the main leg it is supposed to stand on. In episode three a third male is revived from Cold Sleep and we learn his backstory. This guy, known as '#3' to the UW, is a nerdy type who was bullied a lot; his memories are disturbing, but he has the last laugh as his bullies are dead and gone while he has legions of women eager to be impregnated by him. In other words, about as deep as the series previously. I should probably quit watching this. One question that is noticeable because of it's absence: would it be all that terrible if the human race went extinct? If humans have no higher goal than to screw, as this show implies, probably not. Anyway, episode four is mostly about #3 as well. He takes his former teacher as his first lover--another teenage fantasy, I suppose. He deduces that the high school he now attends is actually designed to encourage him to screw as many girls as possible--not exactly a shocking revelation. If there were more truly good shows this season I would no doubt quit this one, but the pickings seem rather meager. While watching this show, you just know that Reito has about a snowball's chance in hell of relaxing in a hot spring by himself. Anyway, in episode five we learn some more about what's going on with Erisa, who knows that Reito has revived but for some reason is keeping her own status secret from him. The thought occurred to me that what might be really titillating would be if it were revealed that in the absence of men there had been an explosion of romance between women and this show had a girl's love angle. That might be interesting. At least not every woman would be hurling herself at one of the handful of remaining men, which makes them seem cheap and sleazy. Episode seven is about #3. If I were in his place I'd be asking a few questions to the countless girls who will gladly do whatever he wants: like, how were they chosen as students at this special school? Don't they have any aspirations in life other than to get pregnant? Back before MK, when there were plenty of boys to choose from, would they have touched me with a ten foot pole? But instead they just try to seduce him in every possible way, which sometimes makes me roll my eyes and groan. And it turns out that #3 isn't as nice a guy as he had once seemed. He enjoys taking revenge on several girls who were once cruel to him. I've got a feeling that he isn't going to experience an epiphany at some point and regret what he has done. No, he is just intended to attract viewers who were once in similar situations as he was, and to attract them by basically giving them permission to daydream about employing S&M on girls who are hot but who they don't like. It turns out that the Japanese branch of UW hasn't been completely honest with the worldwide one about the supply of healthy men it has collected, and a power struggle (of sorts) over who should control them gets underway. It wasn't particularly convincing, though; not for a moment did I think that this show could survive without the ecchi. 'Terrorists' play a part as well, but again not a very good one. Someone is doing their best to keep Reito from getting to the bottom of the origins of the MK virus. I hope it doesn't end with a revelation that some man-hating woman created it just to get rid of all men. After all the degradation and humiliation women have already experienced in this show, will they also get the blame for the virus? Alas, episode 10 seems determined to make my worst fears come true. The whole conspiracy feels feeble and more sickening than intriguing. At least some girls are fighting for the good side. Cold Sleep is put to some sort of use in episode 11, but I didn't see why it was needed or what it accomplished. It makes a guy look more mature, I guess. From the start, there has been something odd about Suou (Reito's original 'attendant'), with her glassy eyes and white eyebrows. Well, I was wondering why episode 12, the conclusion, was taking so long to be released, and I finally figured out the answer: there are only eleven episodes. There must be a second season in the works, because we have just begun to unravel the conspiracy behind MKV and Reito and Erisa have yet to compare notes. It makes sense: why wouldn't a fanservice-heavy series be stretched out to at least two seasons? You only have to write enough plot for one. I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or dismayed by the prospect of watching another three months of this stuff. I had sort of been looking forward to wrapping this show up. Last updated Thursday, March 31 2022. Created Friday, January 14 2022. | ||||||||
