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Old 2012-07-20, 10:05   Link #328
novalysis
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
I don't see that hug as narm, but yet another hint that there's something under the surface that we , the viewers are not privileged to. The sudden tonal shift at the end, from light-heartedly domestic to melancholic does not seem so much clumsy writing, but rather, a deliberate choice to flag that there's something up about their relationship, and there's backstory we'd like to know more.

It's the same with Chisato and the Chocolates. Infact, it seems that a good proportion of the food club members have interesting backstories. In part, it's because this anime makes it blatantly clear that we are dropped In Media Res, and NONE of the characters are Blank Slates with sketchy pasts, which would be what we expect to see from a.. more generic harem. In-fact, I am hesitant to call this Harem, to be honest - the MC's relations with the Food Club, with the exception of Chisato seem to be at the Platonic Level, at most.

And President Mouri.... yes. The fact that we SHOULD feel suspicious of him indeed adds to the political angle of the show. Of course, we don't have a full picture what's exactly going on behind the scenes, but the VERY opening scene of the anime again hints.

Finally, I'm glad that Chocolate chooses to focus more on politics this time round. What Chocolate needs to be more than average would be a very close focus on characterization (Sensei got quite a good deal, so did Chisato ), and above all, a focus on the political angle. If the gender balance in the Food Club was more even, I think people would be taking this anime more seriously- unfortunately, the sheer number of females throws this into the unfortunate "harem" box. The problem is, with a One Cour count, and the number of hints they are throwing, I fear Chocolate would remain just that: a mass of tantalizing hints, but no denouement.

If Chocolate was treated as a harem it'd be a rather boring one. If it was treated as Political Commentary warped around in a Significant Slice of (Unusual) Elite School Life, that's where it starts getting more interesting. I'd say the same for the other milder Harem airing, Imouto too- if one looks at both animes beyond their Harem aspects, it becomes much more enjoyable, and interesting to watch.

Rather than simply condemning certain sections as Narm, I think scenes like the Hug do happen for reasons we the viewers have not yet and may never see because of the In Media Res manner where we are dropped ontop of ongoing character development whose origins were not shown. Is it frustrating? Maybe, but what do you expect out of a One Cour anyway?

Last edited by novalysis; 2012-07-20 at 10:26.
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