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「写真を見たら色々あったからです」 ( Shashin o Mitara Iroiro Atta kara Desu )
“A Lot Happened After I Saw That Photo”
I think everything about my experience of watching Sono Bisque Doll has to be filtered through the lens of not being the target audience for it. Not by a long shot. And that applies to my commentary on it, too. Especially when an episode bores me (as this one did). I’m probably the worst judge of whether this was any good, because even if it achieved everything it set out to do it wouldn’t have made much impact on me. So I can’t really say how successful it was as an artistic enterprise.
I can say this – the fanservice aspect of this show continues to be frankly a little creepy. One can say what they will about Marin being showcased the way she is, but at the very least she’s in high school. Shinjuu is a middle schooler and thus what we see with her is more problematic on an absolute level. We often see female characters who look like lolis but are (improbably) much older used as a means to appeal to that demographic without crossing any invisible lines. Shinjuu is kind of a twist on that – a grossly underaged girl who’s portrayed as looking like an adult so it will feel less skeevy showing her off.
I’m finding everything with the Inui sisters to be fairly lackluster in terms of entertainment value, but Shinjuu is especially problematic not just because of the above but because of the seiyuu performance. Again – not the target audience, but that breathy-cutesy thing grates on me in a big way. There are some decent themes at work here, like cosplay giving people a chance to express their individuality and explore their fantasies at the same time. But as drama, the whole Shinjuu thing comes off pretty heavy-handed.
So, not caring that much about cosplay and not caring that much for the characters in focus, there’s not a lot for me to hang my hat on this week. Marin’s teasing of Gojou is getting old too (at least it was limited to the pre-open here). And again, we see Gojou reduced to the level of an accessory for enabling the female cast to live out their dreams. People keep telling me his passion for Hina dolls is treated respectfully by the writing but I guess that must come later, because at this point it – and he – just don’t seem very important.
That part is a real problem for another reason. To wit, Marin is shown to be madly in love with him, and that side of the series is probably the most endearing. But why? There’s some lip-service giving to his idealism about beauty, yada yada. But in truth, Sono Bisque Doll hasn’t done nearly enough to individualize Gojou to make a convincing case why a gorgeous and popular teen like Marin would fall for him. As a result it kind of seems like it’s either because he basically acts as her unpaid servant of because it’s a juvenile crush. If this series is going to have any real traction as a romance, I’m going to need to see a lot more about why Gojou even matters. But then – I’m not the target audience.
Full-length images: 11, 13, 30.
Preview
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https://randomc.net/image/Sono%20Bisque%20Doll%20wa%20Koi%20wo%20Suru/Sono%20Bisque%20Doll%20wa%20Koi%20wo%20Suru%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2030.jpg
RELEASE THE KRAKENS!
(Sorry, couldn’t resist that)
Middle schooler. Not creepy at all…
Well, at least it’s sort of plot-relevant. Whereas even I’d admit that the shot in episode 6 looking up between Juju’s legs when she was lying on her bed really was creepy.
I am more worried about future health issue this Middle Schooler could endure. The weight of Shinju’s chest could cause back aches, possibly breast cancer.
…put her back.
If watching this show bores you, then why not just drop it? Because it has been non-stop whining from you for a few weeks straight, and if you hate it so much, you should have dropped it after episode three and hand the rewiew duty to someone more suited for it.
If you’re looking for an echo chamber of hearing only what you want to than yeah, these posts are probably not the best fit for you. That’s not what RC is though, so hard luck.
And you look you are trying to pass open disgust as an unbiased opinion, which is also not the case.
Of all the unapolegetic fanservice shows that exist you precisely came to pick the one that at least tries to do something else apart of the oopsie I tripped and I fell into the butt of the haremettes, but you don’t care about the theme nor the setup nor the story. So, what’s the deal here?
I truly believe action speaks louder than words.
Previous RC bloggers/reviewers would drop a series if the series turns bad. We already finished episode 9 and GE has dutifully spent hours covering this anime for us. When reading the coverage, just reverse all the negatives into positives to get GE’s true feelings. =P
Heh. I drop shows all the time, as anyone who follows LiA would tell you. I wouldn’t say it’s a case of “reversi” here -more that this is a series that’s a vexing combination of stuff I really like and stuff that really annoys me (or flat-out creeps me out). And I think I’ve been pretty open about that from the beginning,
I have to admit that I do agree with GE on this episode. I honestly find Shinju boring to the max, too. Gojo in panic-due-to-ecchi-exposure mode is already close to what I can take without wincing, but Shinju on top of it is simply too much for me. I’m fine with JuJu, who has something of a personality. On the plus side, I know what’s coming from now on, and it will be much easier on me.
PS: Marin in intentional tease mode is fun 🙂
I’ll take that last pre P.S. sentence as a hopeful sign.
> I think everything about my experience of watching Sono Bisque Doll has to be filtered
> through the lens of not being the target audience for it.
I get what you are saying. Typically these Anime/Manga where you see a character(s) with a singular focus, 90% of the material is about what the MC is focused on. Instead this Anime, (just the Anime not the Manga.) is a cocktail of romcom, hanging with peers who like to Cosplay, and cosplaying.
I was hoping for a Runway de Warette or a Chihayafuru out of Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru but maybe some other Anime. Would be more serious.
I’m usually a passive reader on this site, but seeing all the comments of “why is GE writing about this series if he isn’t really enjoying it” makes me just want to say I love Enzo’s perspective on this show! I’m (surprisingly) enjoying this series, and I don’t consider myself the target audience too; but while watching it, I wasn’t sure why I was so bothered by some parts. Reading reviews like these help a lot (and validate my thoughts LOL)!
Thank you very much indeed – that’s kind of you to say. I’m just trying to be as honest as possible with these posts – I don’t think criticism should be limited to cheerleading. As I’ve noted ad nauseam if there weren’t elements of this series I really enjoyed,, I would have dropped it.