{Spoilers}
As I said in the previous Anime ATM there are some differences between the OVA and the anime. The way Mato and Yomi became friends was changed because of the addition of Kagari. At the beginning Kagari scared the hell out of me. The whole thing with the dolls creeped me out and just everything about her like how she would force feed Yomi or how she frickin carved a heart on Yomi's chest?! Nothing about that was okay. Nothing. Another thing that was different was Yuu. I was expecting her to be the deranged psychopath, but obviously that role was taken by Kagari so instead she got the mystery character with an angsty past. But this series has a thing for creepy as hell characters because Saya is absolutely the least qualified person to be a counselor. She thinks by awakening the beings in the alternate world and then killing them would help more than just talking it out and giving actual guidance like a good adult? This raises so many questions and I just can't even imagine how this woman got her credentials. Also all the cups in her cabinet were creepy because she was the controller of that other world for a while, or at least I think she was because of all the red eyes, and it seemed like those cups that had individual symbols on them were her way of locking them up inside that dream in a metaphorical way. Who knows though. I can imagine there's a whole lot of intense theories and analysis out there. Also why does she keep giving middle schoolers coffee? Starting them on the drugs early? And she herself doesn't even like coffee, so does she keep drinking it because she a masochist or maybe coffee unlocks the different world in the girls' dreams easier?
Besides the fact that every single person basically was deranged to some degree, the plot was actually excellent if I do say so myself. *pushes up imaginary glasses while trying to hold an image of credibility but is honestly a noob while swirling a glass of sparkling lemon lime juice aka Sprite* The whole idea of killing the person in the alternate reality in order to release them from their greatest burden is an excellent idea in the short run at least. Until you realize that in order to grow you need to confront those problems and talk them through. Then it gets a little bit deeper as it's revealed that the only reason that Black Rock Shooter, Black Gold Saw, Strength, Chariot, and Death Master were fighting was because they loved the girls in the other world. That was really sweet. They don't have emotions or fully understand human concepts, but they loved the girls so much that they would risk their lives for them, for someone they barely knew. That kindness resonated with me, the altruistic behavior they displayed. (It took me so many random google searches to remember the world altruistic)
The fact that all of them had mental barriers to overcome made all the visual fighting scenes more dimensional because not only were they fighting each other, they were also fighting themselves and their own feelings and dealing with their own emotional turmoil.
What made all the craziness and the confusion and angst worth it was the art and the friendship they developed. It was so sweet that through all of that Yuu, Yomi, Kagari, and Mato were able to become friends. And the bond between Yuu and Saya was really cute in its own way. Sure Saya thought Yuu was lashing out and dealing with her pain by lighting her own house on fire, a false accusation, but she still stuck with Yuu and did about everything to preserve what she and Yuu had aka almost killing Mato. But in the end the 4 middle school girls were able to overcome their differences, united by the trauma they all experienced. The art was killer just like in the OVA, like those fight scenes and the epic rainbow blaster Black Rock Shooter had at the very end. Bomb. Visually the impact of the alternate battle world was a lot cooler.
I think we all have something to say about our favorite GL pairings in this series. There's an argument to be made for a lot of this, so I'll just let you figure out which is going to be your OTP. The whole friendship between Mato and Yuu really gets me though. They're such good friends, even though I know it was Strength actually because she switch places with Yuu I just see it as Mato and Yuu, best friends for life. And there's just something off-putting about Yomi's obsessive, jealous behavior, but of course that could be validated by the fact that her whole childhood was consumed with guilt over Kagari.
Overall I'd say it's a definite watch if you're not too afraid of creepy dolls and an eerie ambiance because there's a lot of that. And there's a lot of symbolism and stuff to analyze if you're into that sort of meta type situation. And it's got a whole lot of different elements going on which makes it fun to watch through. Plus it's only 8 episodes so it's a shorter watch than a regular season of anime by an hour and 20 minutes or so. And who doesn't love badass girls fighting?
They're so cool! Oh my god those character designs
Is this Kuroko no Basket? JK but Kohata was a great senpai :') and I'm still mad at the guy who humiliated her and all the people that made fun of her confession letter. They're just jealous they don't have the guts to confess to the person they like like she did.
He's such a cute little brother. He's the epitome of siblings. "If you see me don't talk to me" to her face, but actually adores her.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate this coloring and style choice?
AWHHHHH
At first I was just thought it was romantic and then I realized she didn't have a shadow and I got really freaked out thinking that Yuu was actually a ghost, but Strength actually just swapped worlds with Yuu
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