Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu/Girls Beyond the Wasteland

I don't wish death upon her. I just think the series would be better if she didn't exist.

That's still pretty harsh. I've been rather disappointing with her, but still,, I got to ask what makes you feel that way.

It's not the character's fault, it's that the series forces itself to fit in the straightjacket of having the male lead having to solve each of the girl's problems (or his own), rather than actually trying to do something interesting with the process of making a visual novel itself. The repeated need for Bunta to go and fetch back yet another of the team throwing a tantrum is proof of it. Most of the promise in the first episode has been wasted, sadly.

I just skim the scenes focusing on her. They're not interesting, they take time, and I'd rather watch something else. The series has other things that's interesting, or I'd have dropped it by now. Someone who makes me want to drop a series is not good for the series.

Good point.

What I like about the series is that it actually focuses on the hurdles of making a game, instead of using the idea as an excuse for random shenanigans. Things like overworking, bad work ethic, personal conflict, writer block and deadlines are actually things game developers have to deal with. Though I have to admit the resolution can be a bit repetitive.

That's not much of a criticism Duck. I could apply it to any of the girls in this series.

I know you're not fond of the childhood friend archetypes, but in this case I don't see a better contender for stronger connection to the main character. At least their past history and interactions hint at some strong emotions in this brightly cliché yet tonally dull group. We need more like that to give meaning to the what's happening.

She's not much of a character, so I think it's appropriate.

It's not really the Childhood Friend archetype I dislike, it's the entitlement that often comes with it I don't like, especially combined with abuse like this. We don't need more of entitlement and abuse.

Their past and history is kind of badly written, since for all they're supposed to have known each other for years, there sure are a lot of gaps in their understanding and closeness of each other. As far as clichés goes, she's probably the worst of them.

I can't even buy that this guy has managed to collect people together to make a game. There's really nothing to this group at all.

I really don't know what abuse you're talking about this time though. She's barely even jealous and doesn't complain much at all.

You've not been watching the show I have.

Well, Kuroda-san is most likely right: they got positive reviews because people are more likely to forgive mistakes made to the amateurs. Still, I don't buy it that they could get even half as much praise as the reading-comments-scene implies.

And, of course, we get to see that oddball of a writer again. I can just tell that he came to that little meeting so that he can 'legitimately' avoid doing his job. And have a free meal.

Also, is it just me, or Typhoon guys have an ego the size of Fuji? Probably not entirely baselessly, but, still... On the second though, their CEO is an ass. A sexy one, but an ass nonetheless.

...And so the dark secret is exposed.

So the first impressions after demo were great, but they need to keep it up, now more than ever.

That Typhoon CEO is awful. Can't wait for her to get her just desert. Buntaro throwing water in her face even before Sayuki was great.

Is Sayuki planning to confess to Buntaro? That's how it sounded like.

I hope the revelation won't cause more drama than it logically should. It should be easy to understand why Sayuki didn't want to talk about her brother's financial situation.

Their script-writes, on the other hand, is a pretty decent fellow, even if a bit big about his ability to write likable stories. At least that's how he comes across so far.

And, yeah, that did sound like a stereotypical confession, before subversion kicked in and the topic of conversation changed towards the souvenirs.

Yeah, you can't really compare works of so different genres. And honestly, most games and stories like that are mostly just bullshit and asking a lot more pseudo-philosophical questions than you can answer. Which might not be true for that game in how it's supopsed to be, but it's probably true for how it's actually described.

I like the Eye Catch.

I'm pretty sure what she proposed is illegal. And she's making even Yuuka seem like a halfway decent human being.

This kind of reminds me of Katawa Shoujo. It's not that great of a game, but it's pretty good considering the budget and experience of the team.

It sort of sounded like that to me as well. But considering what just happened, she could also have been planning to tell him that.

edited 11th Mar '16 7:09:21 AM by AnotherDuck

It sounded like she wanted to confess, got cold feet, and changed the subject to souvenirs at the last second and decided to do it later (which seems prudent, since a phone confession sounds crass) when they meet.

Episode 11:

Wow, this episode was such a pointless drama. They find out, they get pissed off, leave, regret it and come back all in like 12 minutes. This is all this build up amounted to? It's like they needed a few minutes of drama to pad out this episode, because apparently taking on a bigger, more established studio is not interesting enough by itself.

The second half was better and should really be the whole episode. Finishing touches and the race to get it to publisher.

The next episode preview was hilarious tho.

Yeah, they overreacted for the sake of drama. I mean, sure, it's a horrible deception and she deserved to get slapped for it, but she still maintained her promise that they were going to make another game with the profits from that one. And at least two of them were worse anyway.

The worst part is probably that we get no explanation for why Kuroda decided to hide it, so it comes off looking like she decided to withhold information for no reason just so the show could have a few additional minutes of drama.

Did she hide it because she was ashamed of her brother situation? Didn't want to seem like she was guilt-tripping them into helping? Put an additional pressure on them? Was the Aesop that Kuroda should trust her friends more? Hell if I know because they tell us nothing.

Writing for the sake of drama, rather than thinking about what the characters would do and why.

That's this series biggest problem. The core idea is great, and when they focus on that it works, but the random drama for it's own sake is damaging to the series.

I find it a relatively common problem in anime. They don't believe in their own ideas and concepts, so instead they add a lot of extraneous stuff that "should" be there. It usually doesn't work.

It especially doesn't work when a series repeats the same plot three to four times: somebody runs away from the project and has to be brought back. Personally i'm glad that it only took half an episode to resolve this time.

This could've been a decent plot line had it been done more organically, because it is the sort of thing people will do, just because it's easier to not tell the whole truth at first and then you start thinking you'll tell them eventually, just not now and then something bollocks it up. But that wou;d've needed more groundwork in earlier episodes and less of the anime drama that they had instead.

Yeah, it makes total sense that she doesn't tell them from the beginning, because "hey, my brother got into debt, wanna make a game so we can pay it off?" is not exactly something you'd start with, and then it becomes a situation when it becomes harder to tell them as more time passes. it could be explored from that angle, but instead it becomes a pointless filler to pad out the penultimate episode. Probably for the better, since the finale should stand on the strength of the show core idea instead of trumped up arbitrary drama.

And in a (NOT) great surprise, it was that oddball Hosokawa who wrote the 'best' game. And, apparently, he did it at the cost of failing several more contracts, which makes him go into hiding. In MC's house

I really would've liked to see her face at that moment when they caught her.

Good class rep. I think she is, anyway.

This was a silly episode. Kinda fitting, really.

They didn't even attempted to build any sort of tension over whatever they'll win. This was an episode of triumph and good feelings, and they did it well. I got a good laugh from the fact that neither of the games was #1. What a twist.

It was a good ending for the series, with the team set on making another game. Gives the feeling that this was no be all end all of their achievements, that they are just starting.

Over all, it was a good series, albeit not without it's problems. The basic idea was great, and when it focused on actually making game it shinned. It was dragged down a bit by the drama for drama sake that popped out now and again but overall I liked it. It made me want to play the VN which is a good sign I think .