First Impressions / Grisaia no Kajitsu

OP Sequence

OP: 「楽園の翼」 (Rakuen no Tsubasa) by 黒崎真音 (Kurosaki Maon)

「スクールキラー由美子」 (Sukūru Kirā Yumiko)
“School Killer Yumiko”

In keeping with the original visual novel, this week’s episode of Grisaia no Kajitsu is devoted mostly to character development, primarily Yumiko and secondarily Makina. The other girls get some useful screen-time as well—notably Amane being a shameless flirt and Michiru being silly—but narrowing the focus onto only three characters (including Yuuji, of course) keeps us from being overloaded with too much information too quickly. We do get a new character introduction though: one Julia ‘JB’ Bardera (Narumi Erika), who’s so blonde that even her gaudy CGI car is yellow (and it’s her car that gets theme music, not her). JB offers some more hints into Yuuji’s background, which builds his image of being shadier than Mossad during an eclipse. Although that’s pretty obvious to us, it’s not to Yuuji’s classmates—Yumiko can only suspect after her own sources fail to dig up any dirt. What Yuuji actually is will probably be less interesting than the reactions of his peers if and when they find out.

On Irisu Makina

Yuuji bonds with Makina rather quickly—it’s only episode 02 and he’s already achieved ‘Onii-chan’ status. Makina was initially presented as an introvertedly shy type, but she evidently imprints quickly. So she’s childish, but I’m sure you didn’t need me to tell you that. I think Makina is used here to contrast with Yumiko—even hamster-girl Makina got used to Yuuji. Yumiko could not. That said, there’s certainly more to Makina, which we may see in the future.

With her initial development seen to, Makina moves to a comic relief role, showing no respect for the 4th wall as she does so. I do enjoy jokes like that, so I have no complaints. What I do have complaints about, though, is her apple. Will anyone ever make more than a dent into this eternally fresh apple? It’s a magic pudding. A gift that keeps on giving.

On Sakaki Yumiko

Speaking of comic relief, Yumiko also gets provide some. Well, aggravated assault, comic relief—they’re pretty much the same thing, right? You know what they say: it’s funny until somebody gets hurt—and then it’s hilarious! I was actually rooting for Yumiko to actually succeed in shanking Yuuji, even though I knew it wasn’t going to happen. It’d simply be more interesting, is all. Well, I guess Yumiko has other victories. For example, she finally gets her own panty shot! That’s everybody! Yay!

…Why, Japan, why?

In any case, Yumiko is actually surprisingly dull for a homicidal maniac. In a word, she’s insecure; she’s not a bad girl (by the way, watch them push that fruit motif), she simply has a very limited comfort zone. So I suppose being able to part ways with Yuuji and put the boxcutter away is already quite an achievement for her. Of course, a small comfort zone does not really justify being locked up in the lonesome Mihama Academy. I’m sure we’ll see more of Yumiko’s circumstances, considering her prominence in the OP.

Peeking outside the garden

Grisaia no Kajitsu has so far been rather faithful to its source, most notably in its aesthetics. It even uses the same chibi style as the original visual novel for certain comedy scenes. It’s more of a mood shift here in the anime since the VN is more visually limited, but I suppose it does mix things up a bit. Glasslip also swung into chibi-mode out of the blue now and then, and that anime ended up being a rather disjointed experience. I’ll have to see more of how Grisaia uses it to pass judgment.

While the aesthetics are sometimes eerily similar, the narrative seems to have had some changes. For examples, those scenes at the end about Yumiko, and about the other girls joining her at Mihama one by one. It’s the kind of heartwarming scene that may feel a bit early for episode 02, but it does reinforce the characters’ idiosyncrasies somewhat. I don’t remember anything exactly like it in the VN, but then again I don’t remember much of anything in general so I may need to check again. I won’t really mind either way, since adaptations should feel free to play around with its source. The best adaptations add to the experience instead of simply translating it. For example, the Grisaia anime has been able to add more detail to the Mihama grounds, and it was a lot fancier than I had given it credit for, so that’s a plus for me. A minus, however, would be distractingly voyeuristic camera. When the camera tries so hard to angle glimpses under girls’ skirts we start to think of it less as our point-of-view and more as something piloted by somebody. It draws attention to the man behind the curtain, so to speak. That breaks immersion in a bad way. It’s not a gross violation, but I do wish they’d ease it off a bit.

Otherwise, we still haven’t seen much of the adaptation strategy for Grisaia, as at episode 02 we’re still in the Common Route, and that’s mostly straightforward. The OP, though, does give some hints. Is Yumiko going to be the main girl? It wouldn’t be my choice—I don’t think Grisaia should necessarily have a main girl at this point—but it all comes down to execution in the end. We’ll probably need several more episodes until we can tell.

Full-length images: 06.

 

ED0.02 Sequence

ED: 「Eden’s Song」 by はな (Hana)

Title Card

End Card

81 Comments

      1. Not exactly relevant but on the VN the underwear they use tends to vary slightly. They do however have a stock choice of underwear for most panty shot scenes.

        Makina’s: Has one scene wearing pink.
        Amane: As far as I’m concerned she only uses black when meeting Yuuji, later on you don’t get to see her underwear. Some official art shows her sporting white lace, though.
        Michiru: I believe she uses pink panties. Can’t recall her wearing shimapan, although it fits her character so it’s a nice detail.
        Sachi: wears mature looking black underwear. Also uses white with black lace and tells Yuuji what she’s wearing on a skit (even the place where she keeps her underwear.)
        Yumiko: she wears white with pink ribbon.
        Chizuru: Her introductory CG is an upskirt shot, she’s wearing white.

        Helvetica Standard
        Reply

  2. https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    Makina -Most badass loli
    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    1.Cause sleeping in the classroom is too mainstream.
    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    2.Cause transferring to school with a car is too mainstream.

    Kirigiri
    Reply

    1. Judjing by the opening and those few ending sequences in the previous episode,it seems like it.

      But dear god Tatsuya-Stu,this better be split-cour assuming they want to go through all the routes or rushed would be putting it lightly. It’s not a problem if they want to adapt just one though,although for a popular VN,I’d assume they’d want to please the fans of each girls.

      If it’s not split-cour and 8bit is testing the waters to see if it sell’s before committing themselves to a 2nd season,then it the better option will probably be to just end in a cliffhanger – as nasty as that sound’s,it’ll be infinitely better than trying to adapt all routes in 13 eps. I mean,yea it can work but it’ll still be butchered and Grisaia will probably end up being a decent-to-good anime at best.

      MgMaster
      Reply

      1. i really hope they split cour it, I heard its been confirmed for 13 episodes right now, i hope they just do the 13 episodes with just the common cour, and then make a 2nd season with the individual girl routes, although that season would have to be longer than 13 episodes

        ashton
        Reply

  4. Best way to start off an episode is having Senjougahara someone charge at someone with a box cutter. That said, loved how they put up Apple Clash as the BGM for her car antics. They cut out the earlier usage of it, so I was hoping to get it somewhere again later.

    Overall, it’s generally as you say, quite a faithful adaptation with some liberties taken in terms of additional scenes (I don’t think the one-by-one appearance of each girl was actually shown iirc, but rather discussed… nor was the box cutter being put away) and shifted chronology of others. Latter’s definitely been done well so it’s a good sign, along with the fact they managed to carry a lot of the comedy over and mix it with the more serious moments of introspection from Yuuji.

    But yeah, ultimate question is what they’re going to do once the common route’s done, but I guess that won’t pop up for at least half or more of the first cour (assuming they’re doing more than one). There seems to be a slight emphasis on Sakaki judging from the OP and this episode, but hmm… they’re also fitting in bits and pieces from the other girls, so I don’t know whether to read into that too much.

    Zephyr
    Reply

    1. There seems to be a slight emphasis on Sakaki judging from the OP and this episode

      As I’ve said below, the emphasis on Yumiko in the anime OP is on par with the VN OP. So that doesn’t tell much. And about the emphasis in the episode: there was a lot of her in the beginning of the VN too, it’s all pretty much the same as in the VN. Granted, they’ve also added a few Yumiko’s scenes from the prologue in the Rakuen but that doesn’t mean that they’re going with her route, it’s simply a little bit of the character fluff for the anime-only viewers (and nod to the fans).

      DiabloCthulhu
      Reply

      1. I don’t remember this much of her in the Kajitsu OP. I’m not going to do a second-by-second comparison but she certainly seemed very prominent in the anime OP, and the rules of writing generally recommend conservation of detail. Considering how the anime will have less time to work with compared to the VN I won’t be surprised if they decide to narrow down their focus a bit. None of this is conclusive, of course. But I won’t be surprised.

        Passerby
        Reply

      2. I don’t remember this much of her in the Kajitsu OP

        Well, rewatch it then.

        Again, as I’ve said below, it’s most likely just the usual somethingsomethingYumikoistheMainGirlsomethingsomething. So yeah, don’t read too much into it.

        DiabloCthulhu
        Reply

      3. Watching the original OP again (because you asked so very nicely), Yumiko does not seem to have any ‘advantage’ in appearances save for having to go naked at the beginning. Comparatively, I would say she certainly gets more focus in the anime OP. That’s not really my point though. My point is that, when writing, if you draw attention to something there really should be a reason for it within the narrative. If there isn’t, then it’s simply misdirecting, which isn’t really something you want to be doing most of the time.

        Passerby
        Reply

      4. Watching the original OP again, Yumiko does not seem to have any ‘advantage’ in appearances save for having to go naked at the beginning.

        That’s not really true? She have that running up the stares moment, that shot with her with the headphones (which heavily emphasized compared to the previous shots of four other girls: instead of the full-body shot it’s the close-up shot of her face, and there’s also night sky as the background that gives the scene a more “romantic” feeling), there’s a shot with (VN spoiler) Show Spoiler ▼

        and she’s the only one who blinks at the end. And in all scenes with all five girls they somehow try to draw attention to her, be it by putting her on the foreground, making her stand right in the middle of the shot, or distinguishing her with something like that blink. So pretty much the same amount of focus, I’d say.

        (because you asked so very nicely)

        I hope that wasn’t sarcasm, because I certainly didn’t meant “well, rewatch it then” to come across as something along the lines “you’re retard and should go rewatch that OP right now so you would know what the hell you’re talking about at least a little bit”.

        That’s not really my point though. My point is that, when writing, if you draw attention to something there really should be a reason for it within the narrative. If there isn’t, then it’s simply misdirecting, which isn’t really something you want to be doing most of the time.

        Yeah, I got that that was your point. Does the “YumikoistheMainGirl” (VN spoiler) Show Spoiler ▼

        reason counts as a good “reason for it within the narrative” in your book?

        DiabloCthulhu
        Reply

      5. I would argue the differences in the anime OP compared to the original, but I suppose in the end it comes down to subjectivity. It probably won’t end up as a very profitable discussion for either of us, and it’s not really important, so let us leave it at that. The thing we seem to agree on is that the anime OP, at least, puts a lot of focus on Yumiko. If Yumiko doesn’t end up as ‘main girl’ (and I don’t really have a problem with that, in and of itself) if would make the OP rather misleading. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s only episode 02. Pretty much everything at this point is ‘wait and see’.

        Passerby
        Reply

      6. Yep, we’ll have to wait and see.

        I would argue the differences in the anime OP compared to the original, but I suppose in the end it comes down to subjectivity. It probably won’t end up as a very profitable discussion for either of us, and it’s not really important, so let us leave it at that.

        I’m actually interested to hear your arguments regarding the differences in the anime OP compared to the VN OP. Not for the purpose of arguing with you, because, as you’ve said, it all comes down to subjectivity (and there’s not much arguing I can do in the first place – all I can really say is going to be something along the lines of “well, I think this scene is important and emphasizes Yumiko”), but simply out of the curiosity to hear a different perspective. But if you don’t wanna waste your time, then, well, don’t bother writing them.

        DiabloCthulhu
        Reply

      7. Frankly, the anime OP is kind of all over the place, so I rather not get into it too much. I will say, though, that even shots that were carried over from the VN OP, like the running or the headphones, are more pronounced in the anime, in those cases by extension and isolation respectively. The running in the VN was just a pair of legs, and the shot with headphones transitioned cleanly into her character splash.

        Passerby
        Reply

  5. https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
    That face can surely kill somebody. Fortunately(or unfortunately), she was up against Yuuji so that didn’t work.

    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    Why can’t I hold all that swag.

    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
    And that’s everyone accounted for for the panty shots. Nice choice of underwear, Yumiko.

    belatkuro
    Reply

  6. For those(only for those who haven’t played the VN) whose confused about the ED:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Omega
    Reply

    1. Grisaia Prologue

      Extra story given in the 3rd Rakuen (Eden) Game showing events before Yuuji transferred over and how Yumiko and the girls bonded. Not really much of a spoiler and nice how they integrated it into the ED credits as Yumiko remembered how she met everyone. Of course while what we see in the ED heavily summarised that story, if this game finally arrives in English and those that want to find out more, do buy the games and find out. Michiru’s circumstances about her late transfer to Mihama Academy was particularly hilarious.

      I have a feeling the Anime is going to do what we never got in the 1st game but which started the ball rolling for 2nd and finally 3rd games. Yuuji claiming all 5 girls rather than 1 single route all the way.

      If the Anime is doing that, then I’m all for it.

      Even better if there is a 2nd cour covering Meikyuu, Rakuen and Epilouge after that. Grisaia deserves the full adaptation if the Animation team are doing such a fine and dedicated job already in these 2 episodes.

      JeremyTMH
      Reply

      3. Meikyuu takes place assuming a certain choice was made one year after Yuuji’s arrival at Mihama. Considering its release was also after Kajitsu, Meikyuu is actually a sequel, but I say this with the loosest connotation because it’s technically not, as Kajitsu has routes that go past the one year mark. The key is that while the end of the Kajitsu routes technically don’t happen in Meikyuu, there are important details in them.

        Something along those lines. There are after stories for Kajitsu and side stories included Meikyuu too.

        Zephyr
        Reply

    2. I’m a little confused. If I remember correctly kaijutsu already had a translation published or at least found on tlwiki. I know for a fact I played kaijutsu with a english patch.

      Syaimaral
      Reply

  8. The best adaptations add to the experience instead of simply translating it.

    This so much. Two episodes in and Grisaia is looking really good! My hopes that the anime will eliminate some of the pacing issues of the VN are still there, assuming this’ll be split-cour or have a 2nd season and not 13 eps where they try to adapt all the routes, of course. The real challenge of this adaptation has yet to come though.

    But for now,I hope we(and at the same time,Yuuji) get to see how the girls get along with each other in the upcoming episodes.

    MgMaster
    Reply

    1. Yup i wanna see more interactions between the girls and Yuuji. We gotta wait though since they gotta introduce each character first. Yumiko had this episode and i think Amane is next.

      gustave154
      Reply

      1. That artist, Akio Watanabe, is also the animation director on the show, and he’s worked on, you guessed it, Monogatari series. So if you wondered why it felt SHAFT-esque in places, that’s why.

        DiabloCthulhu
        Reply

  13. The second episode was also pretty good. Glad that they kept the chibi art style. JB is as awesome as I remember. A bit sad though that they cut out (line from the VN) Show Spoiler ▼

    But again, derpy animation in some places (several times, Yuuji’s mouth wasn’t even moving when he talked) and unnecessary pantyshots. “Why, Japan, why?” indeed. Is there some sort of pantyshot quota they need to hit each episode?

    Also, the OP is pretty interesting. There’s several scenes that at least remind me about some scenes in the openings of the sequels (you obviously shouldn’t click on the links below (and open spoilers, at least those that tagged with “VN OP spoiler”) if you want to avoid spoilers, already simply because the thumbnail for the Rakuen and Prologue openings contain spoilers). The scene where (anime OP) Show Spoiler ▼

    reminds me of this scene from the Rakuen OP, the scene with (anime OP) Show Spoiler ▼

    completely copy-pasted from the Prologue De La Grisaia OP (which is an unlockable chapter in the Rakuen), as this moment from the Rakuen OP (spoilers only in the thumbnail). The frame with Makina with (anime OP, but also the VN OP spoiler) Show Spoiler ▼

    is pretty similar to this shot in the Meikyuu OP, Sachi with (anime OP) Show Spoiler ▼

    reminds me of the (VN OP spoiler) Show Spoiler ▼

    from the Rakuen OP (though there is the promo art with Sachi holding it in the similar to the anime OP way, so that’s certainly a bit of a stretch on my part), (anime OP) Show Spoiler ▼

    is also straight out of the Prologue OP. The scenes (“kind of” VN OP Spoiler, because it’s already been shown in the episode) Show Spoiler ▼

    are also pretty much from the prologue (even the song is the same, as you can hear). Oh, and the scene (also “kind of” VN OP spoiler, for the same reason) Show Spoiler ▼

    is also from the Rakuen (from the prologue, more precisely). And on this note, I also found interesting that in the scene with Yuuji and Chizuri in the car (in the previous episode) they used the track from the Meikyuu OST. Simply fanservice for the fans or hints at something bigger?

    The OP, though, does give some hints. Is Yumiko going to be the main girl?

    Nah, I doubt it. The amount of her in the anime OP is on par with the VN OP, really. Besides, (VN spoiler) Show Spoiler ▼

    DiabloCthulhu
    Reply

  16. 1. So far, the anime is doing all the things that made the VN such a joy to read.
    2. The mystery is solved…. it really was pink….
    3. Michiru, da tsundere butt monkey of the series, never fails to play her role correctly.
    4. Look forward to it!
    5. The anime’s chibi is straight out of the VN. A pleasant surprise if i say so myself
    6. I dont know if Log Horizon started it, but Grisaia’s OP is filled with spoilers.

    Ginobi47
    Reply

  18. Geez, Amane is really agressive. And this simply because she apparently knew his sister? What does she hope to gain? Why not openly talk to him?
    Well, no need to answer, I am sure we’ll find out in due time.

    boingman
    Reply

  20. https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu/Grisaia%20no%20Kajitsu%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    I noticed the character names in the Latin alphabet for those four when I first watched the OP,but really now,
    the screencaps here just brought my attention to the one sentence descriptions…..
    I wonder what speculations anime-only watchers will come up with =3
    *VN readers would understand those descriptions instantly.

    Its a bit odd how Michiru and Yumiko don’t have their proper character highlight + character description screen though…

    In the case of Michiru:
    Her legs blocks most of her description

    In the case of Yumiko:
    Well I guess since she has a bigger presence in the OP compared to the rest they left her character profile out…
    Though if you pause at the moment all 5 girls are shown with their descriptions in their background,
    its really a simple tactic of elimination to figure her description out.
    (that screen only lingers for one second though, its the 3rd from last second of the OP.

    Techim
    Reply

      1. Hmm pretty sure they subbed it?
        Yumiko : The girl’s very birth was a mistake
        Sachi : The sins of disobedience
        Michiru : A life not so different from death
        Makina : No one will protect you
        Amane : And survival is itself a punishment

        The beginning of the 1st episode was the biggest hint so far imo

        gustave154
        Reply

  21. Eh. I vastly prefer this barrage of occasional pantyshots over the tasteless sort of humor you’d find in the visual novel, which I’m glad to find is considerably toned down here. It’s still a net positive for me.

    Kirin
    Reply

  23. Considering Yumiko was the main focus for this episode i really enjoyed this episode. Seeing Yumiko trying to kill Yuuji and failing miserably was hilarious. Pkus i liked how they included the SD for the VN into the anime so that was really cool. The seamless transition from Chibi to animation was smooth as well. Lets just hope 8-bit continues this level of quality in the animation. Even if the animation sucked they showed Yumiko’s butt so its a 10/10 anyway xD

    gustave154
    Reply

  25. I dont think its right to compare this to Glasslip. True they both occasionally switch into chibi mode, but that isnt the reason Glasslip felt disjointed. It was more a failure of story telling there just leaving the audience confused. It had nothing to do with the art style

    Juan
    Reply

    1. I think Glasslip had many problems, but I think its aesthetics did play a part in making it feel disjointed. Anime is a visual medium; the aesthetics are part of how you tell your story. I’m not saying that Grisaia is automatically going to suffer like Glasslip just because of intermittent art shifts—that would be far too hasty a conclusion—but I did want flag a possible issue. Of course, nothing could come out of it, and that would be for the best.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. fair enough 🙂 And I do agree about that. In the adaptation of Mahouka they did a terrible job with the magics, it’s like they forgot that Anime is a visual media. I’ve seen a lot of series that will transision from normal to chibi mode and it can affect the viewing at times, but it’s usually used as a kind of “break” or a “comic relief” as it was done here.

        As you said, Glasslip had many problems. I think that if ever the art style contributed to them, it was a very minor contribution. But we are all entitled to our opinions about that. The biggest problem for Glasslip is the way the story jumped without explaining things. It was a very un-PA like work.

        Juan
        Reply

  28. The thing that disappointed me most in this episode was the fact that they skipped one of his stories. People, I LIVE for his stories. VN readers would know. They are philosophy. They are a way of life. All must bow to Yuuji-sama’s awesome parables.

    DaBanzaiFish
    Reply

  29. Just went through the CG of Grisaia no Rakuen and confirmed that this episode’s ending is animated based on the Prologue of Grisaia from Grisaia no Rakuen just in case people who only played Grisaia no Kajitsu and wondered where did they pull the ending of this episode from.

    Alpha
    Reply

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