Tuesday 12 August 2014

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - WE WITHOUT WINGS

Drama. Romance. Comedy. Or so I thought...

"It's winter in the big city of Yanagihara, and young people will meet and fall in love. Takashi is a boy who plans to escape to another world, but is held back by thoughts of his younger sister Kobato and girlfriend Asuka. Shusuke is a poor part-timer who has to work with student-author Hiyoko in spite of their initial dislike for each other. The antisocial Hayato makes his living as a handyman until he is visited by a girl named Naru."

"From left to right: Pervert, pervert, aloof character we don't care about, ditzy big breasted victim of harassment."

To tie me over till Doctor Who airs later this month, I thought I'd tune in to another odd sounding title since Problem Children and The Devil is a Part-Timer turned out so well. Bonus points for having Felecia Angelle (who plays Emi on Part-Timer) in the female leading role. But what really captured my attention was the animation style which looked really rich, so I thought I was in for a real treat.

I also tried to silence those fans who claim 'you can't judge something from just one episode'. So I tried the first TWO episodes, hoping for a nice relaxing sit down.

Unfortunately, the people who advertised this show as a drama, romance and comedy lied. Big time! Honesty, this show was about 2 degrees off from being porn. Don't ask me who the main character is because that comes down to a three-way split. Don't ask me who the other characters are as there are so many of them and they just show up, then leave that I don't even care who they are or what they're called. It's like watching an episode that involves 30 random people cameoing. Don't even get me started on the plot. I'm STILL trying to find it. Seriously, does anyone have any idea what the hell is supposed to be happening here, because I don't!

"Girl doesn't have it coming, doesn't deserve it, yet apologizes for the fact that they aren't striped. Someone missed the point of the scene."

So no plot? No interesting characters? What exactly does We Without Wings bring? Sex! Lots and lots of it. Well, not the act, but every guy is basically either talking about it, planning it or thinking about planning or talking about it. The male characters, save maybe two, are really perverted. They throw around sexual comments and innuendos like it's going out of style. As a guy, I am offended.

"It's not what you think, but I don't blame you for thinking it."

The girls are even worse! I thought the guys were stereotyped, but the females are all the same generic, cute people, either dumb or ditzy. All of them, save a loli and some other A-Cup Angst character (because there always has to be one like that) are busty. Women reading this, feel free to feel offended. 

The sexual hijinks (just the two episodes) cover hoisting up a girl's skirt, taking off her underwear in public, masturbation jokes, masturbation visuals (real or implied is sometimes left to your own imagination), groping (female on female), but the worst is probably the loli ten-year old who lifts up her skirt to reveal her mature underwear and then asks if having sex with an older kid is okay. I literally almost gagged! We Without Wings is the kind of title that gives all other anime the miss-informed reputation of being perverted and/or for little-teenaged boys. 

"Common misunderstanding: The guy is actually trying to keep her skirt down. She is actually trying to keep it up."

The people I really pity isn't the folks who actually spend money on this garbage - it's the voice actors! They are all brilliant, but really? What must be going through their minds having to bring these dull, boring, sexualized - almost-porn star characters to life? What directions did they give Lara Woodhill (the loli) when she came in to do her lines: "Um, this character is going to inspire loads of teenaged boys to grow up and become pedophiles one day - but make sure to make her sound innocent and cute. We as grown men already like that." Seriously? The girl with the boobs getting groped is one thing (still pretty cheap, dirty and not funny), but a preteen? That is disgusting!

Rating the first two episodes: 2/10. Not very dramatic. Not at all comedic. If romance is perversion and love is lust, at least then they managed that last one.

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