Amnesia - 4

"IV"

As is the case with Hyouka, sometimes pretty visuals really do help a series when the plot is otherwise lacking.

Of course, I'm only about halfway through Hyouka (I know, I know, I can't believe I put it off either, and that one is so much more beautiful, being a KyoAni production and all), but from what I have seen, the visuals are largely what carries that series in the beginning, and to some extent the same can be said about Amnesia. These aren't drop dead gorgeous, but there remains a clean and stylish look about the series that really makes it pleasing to the eye, and without them I think Amnesia would be far less interesting to watch. That's not to say there's no plot here; there is, and it's definitely intriguing, but the series is sticking to its reverse harem roots strongly. The lack of an interesting protagonist, regardless of the circumstances (and Kaori Nazuka, who's doing her best with what she has), unfortunately detracts from the experience in a somewhat unpleasant way. Her bland character means that the love interests have to carry the show (especially since Orion's gone) and the guys just aren't cutting it.

That fact to me has become painfully apparent throughout Shin's arc, which ended this week. The characterization in this series hasn't been too great from the beginning, and by the end of this arc I found I didn't much like Shin at all. Pressuring a girl into sex (pressuring anyone into sex, actually) is pretty selfish regardless of where you think your relationship is at the moment, and we learn that this is exactly how Shin scared Shujinko off the cliff in this world/time's version of events. Of course, he feels remorse after she was hospitalized, but being a bishounen shouldn't let you off the hook for being that pushy, and he doesn't seem to have learned his lesson too well after that anyway. We do learn a little bit more about him and why he fell in love with Shujinko: his father was denounced as a murderer (hmm, sounds very familiar; is every anime stealing off others lately?) for manslaughter, and Shin himself was treated as an outcast. During that time, Toma and Shujinko, as his closest childhood friends, supported him and he regained his sense of self, and we find out that that memory Shujinko had really was a fragment of an event that had yet to occur. However, that's all we really learn before Shujinko hits another bad end (or should I say she was hit by it?) and the cycle starts all over again on August 1st.

It must really suck to be Shujinko; she's been killed off twice already, and each time she's been no closer to regaining her memories. On top of that, she has a different guy proclaiming to be her lover for each run-through, and they're all pretty demanding in an unpleasant way. Her only guide is gone, and there are some strong indicators that the bullying scene she "remembers" is actually on the verge of happening in Ikki's arc. It's unlikely that Ikki will be much better than Shin; Ikki's already made a sexual advance on Shujinko, and he's surrounded by girls (which is rarely a good thing in the shoujo genre, for many reasons). In any case, I think it's a shame that this series is relying on the bishounen charm to drive its characterization, because it makes for boring and stereotypical love interests on top of the already unusually bland protagonist. I wish Orion would come back.