Life's lessons from DCSS

And so it is finished. While I have to admit that the final 3 eps were a lot more enjoyable than most of the series, DCSS remains largely an unsatisfying experience. Nevertheless, I managed to glean some lessons and in this season's spirit of sharing (and post xmas sales), here's my meagre contribution to the collective human experience.

(For actual episode summaries, pls check out Omni's complete review)

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Lesson 1: It's all about managing expectations

My HR (human resource) lecturer (back then) once mentioned, "It's all about managing expectations at the workplace." Since then, I have expanded its importance to all of life itself. Personally, I felt that DCSS's main failure was such a mismanagement. Being a follow-up to Da Capo, many of us were looking forward to more heart-wrenching drama and more Kotori since she was sidelined in season 1. However such expectations were not fulfilled. To be fair, DCSS just took a different track, focusing on Aisia and, as RelentlessFlame mentioned, chock full of intense internal struggles that rage beneath the characters' seemingly passive exteriors. Objectively speaking, DCSS is not a bad series per se, just a poor sequel. Unfortunately one cannot assess DCSS apart from Da Capo since it carries over established characters/relationships and the viewers' precepts. Having the attributes of a poor sequel simply damns the series.

Lesson 2: It's not all about looks

This coming from me must truly be ironical since many of my friends believe I have an unhealthy fixation with beauty. (Well, don't we all, especially lovers of anime ) While DCSS may not have top notched animation, it has, in my opinion, the best character designs (artwork). Kotori, Nemu, Aisia, Alice and Tamaki are some of the most beautiful anime girls to come onscreen this year. The SHUFFLE girls pale in comparison to the DC girls in terms of 'looks'. But surprisingly, the SHUFFLE girls engage so much more of my heart than the DCSS girls. (ok Kotori/Nemu are a self-induced exceptions). A good example would be DCSS's trio lolitas (Aishia/Sakura/Alice). Even their combined loli-pedo-charm cannot compete against the knee-buckling loliciousness of Primula (and nope it's not because we have seen Primula naked or in a meido-nekonomimi get-up, at least not for this viewer.) Truly the soul is greater than the body.

Lesson 3: Yukorin was right, it's all about timing

For those of you who have always wondered why your 400 pound neighbour managed such a knockout of a wife or how that beauty can be walking down the street with a beast (yeah I see that look a lot when I walk down Orchard Road with my fiancee ), it's not just love, it's timing. Yukorin (Ogura Yuko) put it so succinctly in School Rumble's ED "Onna_no_ko otoko_no_ko", "the most important thing.... is timing." Even though timing is a big concept in love, it is also crucial in storytelling. DCSS taught me that when Nemu appeared in ep 6 and essentially ruined the entire series. Don't get me wrong, I love Nemu (no not siscon) but for the greater good of the plot, more angst and opportunity for Kotori, Nemu should be painfully held back to the latter segment of the story. Why? Because we know the lovely lovely Kotori is not gonna to do a Yoshino Sakura or a Fuyou Kaede. We also know that Nemu = Kira Yamato in Strike Freedom with Neo-Genesis capability => no competition. And there is nothing worse than a dearth of competition in a romance/harem series.

Lesson 4: Bigamy, the answer to all harem dilemmas

If bigamy was allowed, I daresay we would immediately reduce the no. of daily heartbreaks by half. Nope, not my idea, no siree. Heard it elsewhere.... reproduced here for completeness sake.

Lesson 5: Don't count on sequels

This is a gross generalisation but it does apply to more than half of the sequels out there. Personally, I have been so SCARRED by Mahoromatic 2 that I should almost always condemn sequels (does nothing to the maid fetish though) But there are noteworthy sequels too. For example...

hmmm....

err... ok I'll get back to you on this.

Lesson 6: It's ok to marry your sister

No it's not. Unless your sister is as cute as Nemu, then it's still wrong but we forgive you.

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Thanks to DCSS I have once again leveled up in life. Now on to watching Mai Otome for life lessons of which I already have the first;

Lesson 1: If you can't have her, snag her daughter.......

Disappointment with DCSS

*Warning: Heavy spoilers for DCS1 and DCSS

The latest addition to my anime stash includes Da Capo R3 DVDs bought on the last day of my Taipei trip which I lovingly re-watched immediately upon reaching home. Despite my nth viewing, I was still touched by the numerous emotional scenes and the fiery intensity of Nemu/Sakura’s love, re-affirming DCS1's top spot on my H-game-turned-anime charts. (Of course SHUFFLE might end its reign if it remains on-track.)

However, the immensely enjoyable review of DCS1 was marred by my nagging disappointment with its sequel. As I sat through the emotional rooftop confrontation of Sakura/Nemu (ep 20), Nemu’s open declaration of love to Junichi (ep 18) and Yoriko’s beautiful departure (ep 22), I began to see how empty and juvenile DCSS is compared to its predecessor.

As of DCSS ep 23, there are only 2 episodes that I truly enjoyed and they were the Kotori-centric ep 14 and 15. It was in these 2 eps that my heart ached for the ONLY person I now cared for in DCSS. (Do note that I am STILL a Nemu fan, the Nemu of DCS1 that is.) As far as I’m concerned, Kotori is DCSS’s only hope since she ALONE has the potential to challenge Nemu and inject emotional highs in the series. Unfortunately, DCSS writers have squandered her tremendous potential and instead gave us a generic “We-all-love-Junchi-even-he-has-Nemu” harem scenario. As a result, we have no noteworthy drama after ep 9 (aside from some self-induced emotional moments from Kotori fans) and virtually zero character development for most of the cast. (Admittedly there is some marginal development for Kotori and a little more for Aisia.) Personally I find this “I-will-love-Junichi-even-if-he-loves-Nemu” concept incredible. As much as Aisia is an air-head, she was RIGHT to question the girls’ absurd acceptance of status-quo. It is NOT ok to like Junichi if he’s with Nemu because we all know it hurts. One either fights to lose that feeling or fights for Junichi. Kotori chose the former (which I personally found sufficient justification for though that does not bode well for DCSS) while Aisia (in her own way) chose the latter. The rest of the harem just resignedly carry their little torches for Junichi and still claim to be happy. I guess the series attempts to make angels out of these harem girls. Unfortunately, for this viewer, inhuman perfection is a HUGE technical flaw and utterly undermines a character’s credibility.

Honestly, DCSS needs a Kaede (ala SHUFFLE); someone human with real fears/wants to rock the boat…. no, to do a Titanic on Junichi and his homunculous harem. Alas, it’s too late with 3 eps remaining. Even with the awakening of the sakura tree, there remains little basis for competition and the illusionary state of Nemu/Junichi as limbo-lovers only robs our top contender, Kotori, of an opportunity to have a REAL confrontation (if it will ever come to that although I sincerely doubt it.).

Well, FEEL does have 3 eps to change my mind about the series but I get the strong feeling I wouldn’t be owning DCSS DVDs.

*screenies from DCSS 14 & 15

DCSS 07

It's heartbreaking to see the withered state of Nemu/Junichi's relationship having rooted for their hard-fought love in DCS1. Much as I have strong words for Junchi's poor faith in Nemu, I too understand that 2 years apart is a long testing time for the young lovers and the erosion of trust is hardly unexpected. Moreover, Nemu's departure is likely to have seeded distrust that might have festered over the 2 years into the open mistrust shown in this ep. However, although seemingly legitimate, these reasons hardly migitate Junichi's callousness for making the very lovely Nemu cry and not going after her even when he realised he had screwed up royally.

I was surprised that FEEL hit us with such high drama this early in the series since it's going to be tricky maneuvering the series with a strong Nemu presence. FEEL could either quickly resolve the issues and make Nemu/Junichi all lovey dovey again (which would kill Kotori's chances and in turn stifle the series' harem premise) or sustain the wedge for Kotori to enter Junichi's heart via the rift and have Nemu re-join the fray when Kotori's position is suitably strengthened. Of course we could have a 3rd path where Nemu/Junichi goes through a series of cyclic misunderstanding/reconciliation while Kotori chips helplessly away at the peripheral of Junichi's affections. I hope we wouldn't go that way since the audience would be worn out way before Kotori's longsuffering patience.

I still maintain that Nemu has to leave (for a while that is) if the series is to regain its balance. I just cannot imagine fully enjoying Alice/Tamaki-centric eps or DC-style hijinks (involving Miharu or Aishia) with the heavy Nemu/Junichi issues smoldering in the background. To be honest, I have no idea how it's all gonna play out but the uncertainties only serve to heighten the anticipation of every weekly dose of DCSS. Man, can't wait for Kotori's response come ep 8.

DCSS 06

I'm know I'm doing an injustice to DCSS 05 by not blogging. After all it was the most enjoyable Aishia-centric ep by far and an important development for her character. "Junichi" is a HUGE improvement over "goshujin-sama" and I'm already partially to Aishia because of the loli-sweetness that accompanied her "Junichi". I do however have one petty gripe which was that empty-can-hit-wasp-nest scene; a scene that probably caused Sir Issac Newton to turn 30 times in his grave and invoked a public outcry against the animators' physics teachers. As usual, I digress. I'm skipping ep 05 because 06 COMPELS me to blog.

*Spoilers....