Sekirei: Pure Engagement

I watched this 2nd installment of Sekirei is to see if it improved anything over the first one. Unfortunately, it didn't. In fact, it got worse. The great potential that is there is still unrealized in the author's attempt to hammer out a speedy sequel. It is truly hard to understand, and the series never elucidates, why the characters would be stupid enough to participate in this crazy death experience. Clearly the creators had some sense of the tragic nature of losing someone to this battle, since some of their characters are profoundly disturbed by it and others are even sorry they took the life of one of the Sekireis - but that is never fully explored nor given enough credibility in the storyline. There is much potential there, but it is not developed. The plot should never be for Sekireis to kill other Sekireis, but to kill the game-master.

What is offered in this bevy of buxom babes is a bunch of random situations with the women sort of fighting, sometimes, but not really, and what is there is weak and kind of moronic. We are lacking a good, solid reason for the conflict and killing, more than "it's fun!" which some think, or "I have to." The whole "Game" concept is dumb to the point of irritating! Playing chess is a game, this is simply killing. The fact that it is run by a completely insane individual, who is also supposed to be a brilliant genius, is once more insultingly stupid. And there are other technical problems. To create drama, the author lets his villains not play by the rules that he invented for the series, while the good guys have to. When you watch this, you will easily see what I mean. Like many anime, the villains are superior in many ways to the heroes, who are constrained for the theoretical purpose of plot and drama, and have to work twice as hard by exotic (sometimes Deus ex machina) means to win; and sometimes they don't. There are better ways to accomplish this so that you don't destroy the integrity of the story. The creators appear to love their villains, and that's all I can say about that without spoiling anything.

There are battles that don't quite resolve anything, relationships that are never fully developed, despite the fact that the women are ready to die for their masters. The house lady doesn't want any "illicit" behavior in her boarding house, where 6 Sekireis and their master live - God only knows why - but the women can go out and battle and die for their men. Silly. The storyline is never truly wrapped up, I suppose because the author was going to try to make another one of these, but so far, hasn't. And, again, you have decent graphics with fair animation. There could have been much more, but there wasn't, and all the potential this series had is left in the pen of the author.

Now, after watching both seasons of Sekirei, the one thing I can say is that this is, in a way, your standard Harem Anime. Lots of Ecchi scenes, lots of big breasted women and lots of Nudity. But this in no way means that the plot is weak.

Minato Sahashi is our physically weak and confident-lacking protagonist. By no means is he one of those characters with some hidden power. He's just an average human being with nothing that makes him special, per se. He's intelligent but lacks confidence in himself and does not deal well under pressure, which is why he has failed the University Entrance Exams two years running now. One day after making his way home from the University, he suddenly encounters Musubi, Sekirei #88. Dropping in on him from the Sky. He protects her from her pursuers, twin Sekirei, who attack all Sekirei that have yet to Emerge. The pact between a Sekirei and their Ashikabi is made through a kiss.

Sekirei are mystical beings who were found by two people on an island that had mysteriously emerged from the Sea. They were found by Minaka Hiroto and a lady named Takami. There are 108 Sekirei, the single digit Sekirei being significantly stronger than the double-digit and triple-digit Sekirei. Minaka Hiroto has set up a game which most Ashikabi are dragged into unwillingly. According to him, the self-proclaimed Game Master, Sekirei exist only to fight and kill each other. So he decides to hold what is known as The Sekirei plan. In this deadly game of life or death, there are several stages and each Sekirei must compete to survive and find their chosen Ashikabi.

Sekirei can kind of be summed up with "Highlander with Fan Service". However, that really wouldn't do it justice, since it's so much more than a typical harem or another "There Can Be Only One" story. It centers around Minato Sahashi who, after having a beautiful girl LITERALLY fall into his life, discover that he is an Ashikabi, the destined partner of this girl and others like her known as Sekirei.

Minato himself is the best male lead for a harem anime you could ask for. While being physically weak and having a tendency to crumple under pressure, he is very likable and doesn't fall to the harem trope of being a lecherous pervert or a namby pamby with a deus ex machina on stand by. He does eventually become an selfless hero who puts his girls first and himself second (yeah, I know, that's a tired harem cliché of the weak male protagonist archtype), however this change is only introduced during the second season. And, believe me, it's given a very legitimate reason for happening.

The harem girls have diverse characters that allow for a balanced mix of comedy and drama, and they're really what makes the show work as well as it does. The writers seem to know just which dramatic moments between them to kill with comedy and which ones to let play out, resulting in a tone reminiscent of Glen Murakami's Teen Titans cartoon. Each member of the harem has a different kind of relationship with the hero and with each other, so they all feel like real people. These are not things you say about a dumb fan-service show, this was clearly something that someone put a lot of thought and care into crafting.

What sets Sekirei above most other harem anime is how it goes out of its way to trample nearly every harem cliché that people like me are sick of. There's an actual villain this time around who by all means I should hate but for some reason can't stay mad at whenever he's on screen. There's no perverted male lead to facilitate fan service, nor any contrived high school scenario. In fact, they kick THAT cliché in the happy sack from the get-go. None of the Sekirei are one-note nor are any of the other characters, with the exception of some of the lesser mentioned.

The other thing that separates Sekirei from other harem anime is its maturity. The show always find diegetic reasons for fan service and never has the main character cop a feel for no reason. The fan service is never the focus of a scene, the focus is always on fun character interaction or moving the story forward. And the one time Minato DOES accidentally cop a feel, the show uses it as a rather unique plot point dealing with a character's dual-identity. "Grabbing a woman's breast leads to a revelation about their identity and the psychological crisis they are currently having." How many shows can you say THAT about? It sounds so stupid on paper, and yet in execution it's not. That's this show in a nutshell, come to think of it.

On that note, I'm sure you've probably started asking questions about the credibility of the show's "destined romantic partner" thing. That idea that these girls are bound to whomever wins a genetic lottery regardless of character or moral fiber. Well, the show addresses that. Yeah, in Season 2 there's an episode that points out just how f**ked up an Ashikabi can be and what a sickening relationship it leads to. How many other shows do you know of that do that? How often has a show deconstructed its own premise like that? I certainly can't think of any that do. And said confrontation ends not with any kind of moral analysis or deep philosophical comment on the matter, it ends with a simple statement of, "This is why Minato is our main man: because he's a big damn hero with a big damn heart who always tries to do the right thing no matter what." It's just so refreshing to see that kind of attitude in a meek and vulnerable character like Minato instead of a powerhouse like Goku or Superman.

Don't be fooled by this show's appearances on the surface. This is one the smartest, best-paced, best-written shows I've ever seen, harem or action or animated or otherwise. It directs all of its elements and resources towards engaging and entertaining the audience, and it never resorts to cheap anime gimmicks to do so. While the show isn't flawless as there are one or two scenes that I feel go on a bit too long for where they take the story, I still have no qualms about calling this my all-time favorite anime, beating out such acclaimed series like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Why? Because I am a huge sucker for shows featuring multiple kick- ass lady protagonists living under one roof, which this show is entirely responsible for doing to me. I've watched it four times already and am not even close to getting sick of it. Just for context, I watch most anime once and then never go back to them, even those other three I mentioned, far more than any of the bad harem shows I've seen. I think that says something about the appeal of Sekirei. Watch it, analyze it, love it. It's THAT awesome.

I'm sure Sekirei had a coherent plot to it, but it's a bit difficult to find when you're honestly just watching the show because there's boobs. If you really enjoy less-than-exciting fight scenes laced with nudity, this is the anime for you. If you're a horny teenager and your parents monitor your internet, here you go. If you're a creepy middle-aged weaboo, you'll be right at home. Otherwise, go look up porn somewhere other than Netflix and move on with your miserable life. There are plenty of shows with interesting, intriguing, and enticing story lines and endearing, inviting, and intricate characterization. This is not one of those. Whatever your preferred qualities are for a show, something else does it better.

What we have here is a somewhat ecchi presentation of females running about trying to make a story out of the various elements the author brings into the movie. The rampant nudity, huge boobs of nearly all the female characters, and routine fan-service - which I'm certainly not against - don't come close to saving this haphazard & amateurish attempt at telling a tale, particularly the last episode, which is pointlessly stupid beyond belief. In fact, all that pizzaz is distracting & even irritating when you don't have an intelligent plot- line to give it all purpose. Scantily clad and nude sexy young women scampering about destroying each other for no intelligent reason, and no definable goal ("you'll get something good at the end if you're the last one standing"), led by a psychotic "game-master" who achieves that position by who knows what means, is a thin storyline at best. As an author myself who enjoys anime, I know it could easily have been made better! Laziness and lack of imagination caused it not to be. A solid, heartfelt story never quite materializes. What IS there is overly sketchy & under-developed, & isn't concluded in any sensible or satisfying way. The author is overly consumed with keeping his psychopathic villains and not much concerned with the status and well- being of his heroes and heroines, who suffer mightily at the hands of their foes, sometimes ridiculously & inordinately so.

The magic employed by the characters is weak and nonsensical, while the characters themselves are mostly stupid - you'd HAVE to be to play this deadly "game," because the only true villain here is the game- master and his cronies, the destruction of whom should be the real plot of the story. Characters are also uni-dimensional and even pathetic, occasionally foolishly falling victim to their foes and then suffering for it, something employed to create drama, which it actually doesn't, because it is so dumb. As for the animation, it's only fair, while the graphics are pretty decent, which makes it visually pleasing to watch. This is a series that had a good idea, and could have offered up a great story, with powerful relationships and heartfelt drama, but it did what was easy and quick and so failed to do that - a shame, really. What you're left with is sexy, overly busty animated women, occasionally delightfully nude, dancing about trying to kill each other because some psychotic says they should so he can get his jollies from he fray, unconcerned about the human carnage. As for a deeper story and adventure, you really need to find that elsewhere.