Too many anime fall under the genre of high school mellow drama, which is really too bad. I’d rather not watch young people taking their lives too seriously, when they’re far from their most interesting years (one would hope). I recently talked to someone at the end of his high school days, looking back bitterly at the unrequited love and meanness that came with young adulthood. And he remembers what his parents told him at the start of high school – “high school will be the best days of your life. “Well I fucking hope not,” he told me. I never thought for a second that those teen years would be my glory days, but no nerd ever does. If you reach your “final form” by the age of seventeen, then what do you have to look forward to?
And therein lies my issue with young adult melodrama – petty romances and feuds are given the spotlight, in a world where seventeen is the finish line. But what saves Kiznaiver from being like other melodramas is the pure weirdness. The experience of watching Kiznaiver is hard to describe, but it speaks to one of the greatest strengths of anime. It can tell an interesting and authentic story about being young. The show does not glorify youth, but it also manages to sympathize with the issues of young adults. By the end of this episode of Kiznaiver, I’m rooting for our heroes, but I also recognize how petty they are. Everything was a house of cards from the beginning.
The most powerful moment is at the climax, when everyone’s inner voice is audible. We can hear “hold me,” over and over, along with a static crackle. But as soon as this wish is granted, we hear new words – “you’re so cruel.” The issue is that no one can be satisfied, because no one can act rationally. Kiznaiver is a very typical melodrama, with plenty of shoddy writing and sappy emotions, but infused with the zany personality of studio Trigger. The show features the strange combination of a writer who tends to take things too seriously, and a director who takes almost nothing seriously. And this paradox feels perfect for a story about young adulthood.
Kizaiver reaches a balance between taking its characters seriously, and not at all. And as someone with a brother in high school, I understand the importance of separating angst from real issues all too well. High schoolers are needlessly complicated. Kiznaiver embodies that complexity, but in strange ways. The show is almost off – I can’t explain it fully, but there’s something bizarre about the whole experience. The plot moves slowly, and the conversations and tone are all over the place. The show manages to feel well-crafted and sloppy at the same time. But I see Kiznaiver being a classic one day, simply by virtue of being so distinct.
Just looking at this episode, there are moments of over the top presentation, as a young Sonozaki again descends into an abyss, as Kacchon holds her present self and cries. There are also less effective moments of emotional striving, like when Kacchon remarks that the rain will end, a bad metaphor for good times to come. And then the animators add some truly demented scenes, as those amorphous mascots chase our heroes around the school. Though not intentional, it almost feels like Kiznaiver is written by a teenager. Usually that is a bad sign. But here the pretentious writing works, next to the goofy work of the animators, and the general strangeness of the show.
Episode Nine score: 8.6
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