To someone on the outside looking in, the anime medium, or what it has become now, comprises of some incredibly good seasonal shows that never become truly great; behind these, we have a slew of solid ones followed by a sea of mediocrity. And all this covers a fifty feet deep pile of crap that everyone should best avoid as anything constituting it is severely injurious to health. That, is the general perspective of your average semi-aware anime viewer. While it is fairly adequate and won’t hinder their anime experience to a major degree, it would also mean that they fail to unearth the true gems of the medium which sometimes don’t get discovered because they aren’t immediately marketable or popcorn-media. And O Maidens in Your Savage Season is one of these gems.
We start off right up after the premiere and see that Kazusa is still troubled by her lack of understanding and bubbling curiosity around the whole act of sex. So much so, that she sees it all around her. Even in the weirdest of places. Like the ‘coming soon’ sign of a library. Which I feel isn’t the best place for sexual discoveries, but then, what do I know? She rushes out of the library, trying to clear her head and sees Sugawara-san, the group’s beauty, being pestered by a pervert on the sidewalk. She gestures Kazusa to try and help her get out of this pinch and they fake having STDs to get out of it (take notes, young girls). She then reveals to Kazusa what she meant by having little time left. She feels that women and their personalities are determined by the perception of their physical appearances. People see a young girl and they think she’s petite and innocent. A woman in her thirties wearing no makeup is deemed undesirable, and older women wearing the slightest hint of it, thought of as trying too hard to please. Sugawara-san heads home saying that she is still coming to terms with the fact that soon she won’t be a young desirable girl and a new label will be lapped on to her. And she won’t get any say in it. None of us do anyway.
The next day, the Literature club is at their goofy best again as Sonezaki-san tasks them to find 10 alternate words each for ‘Sex’ as it is too crude and vulgar to be said out loud. She then goes about her regular PT class but has a minor accident. One of the girls says that she should check whether she broke her hymen. Now, I want you to let this sink in. We have an anime, unafraid to openly talk about teenage girls accidentally breaking their hymen and none of it is played for laughs. There is hope for the medium after all.
She goes out to wash her face and runs into Amagi, the only boy in class who said she was kinda cute when everyone else was making fun of her. He catches Sonezaki-san off guard by saying that she actually is pretty and looks like an actress and deservingly get sprayed on by a water hose for saying so because how dare he? She runs off in a mess of tears and blushes. All this while, Kazusa herself is dealing with coming to terms with how she feels about Izumi thinking about having sex with girls. Or well, other girls. One of his prospective future mates (according to Kazusa) plans to confess to him. So, Sugawara-san decides to make it into a documentary. Because, why not? The confession happens and Kazusa has front-step seats to it all. Izumi tells her that he has no feelings for her but doesn’t turn her down as he has no feelings for anyone. That may seem like a douche move on the surface, but is it really? I mean, how many of us end up being in relationships when we say the words ‘I Love You’ even though we aren’t completely sure that we do? Yes, that is unfair to the person you say that to. Yes, they deserve better and maybe you deserve better yourself. But you can either compromise or you can be alone. What would you choose?
Izumi catches Sugawara-san filming and that’s when Kazusa decides to step up and confronts Izumi whether he wants to wants to have ‘Ess Eee Eckss’ with this girl. But she is herself too embarrassed for her show of courage and runs off. The next day, after countless rejections, the Literature Club unanimously decides to use that instead of Sex. But unfortunately, their celebrations are cut-off by the arrival of the principal who says that the club will be dissolved if they are unable to find an advisor. The episode ends with a beautifully poignant moment as Kazusa finally sheds her inhibitions and accepts her feelings for Izumi by admitting that he is the one person she would want to have sex with.
All in all, this was a stellar follow-up to the best premiere of the season, and even though I called it then itself, it’s so satisfying to see the show build upon its premise, further flesh out its characters and dare to go to places that are starting to transcend the medium itself. All that in one episode. And I can’t wait for the next one!
I can relate to Izumi to some degree, I would have acted the same way. I was always lucky that everybody seemed to know I wasn’t the love type though so the few people with a crush on me never said it into my face IIRC.
I am always surprised anew about how varied Okada’s shows are. It’s like each of them was written by someone else and the only common thing is that they always have some sort of drama and are usually nuanced. This here is surely a serise among my top 3 of this season, even though the only puberty trait I personaly ever lived through was the edgy-loner-gamer syndrome.
Yes, I could relate to him as well. It’s incredibly hard to turn down someone who has built up the courage to confess their feelings to you. It is doubly difficult for a guy if a girl confesses because societal norms dictate that it should be other way round. So, I feel that unless someone is completely cold-hearted, they would have done the same.
And I am personally a fan of Mari Okada’s works. Anohana is in my top ten of all time. It made me cry like a little girl (which I actually was, at that time :sweat_smile: ). But it seems like with Maidens, she is in complete control of her craft and the results are quite a treat to watch.
Ah, that bit about perception does stand out the most for me, I admit I do feel that bit guilty noticing an appearance and physical attraction initially =<
=< And given my age I can also relate to the getting older thing and being seen as not being as interesting because I'm not young anymore.