Anime Fans have a New Meaning for "Nice Boat" after School Days Series Ends
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Don't let that picture of cute innocent looking girls fool you for this is not your common harem Anime show like Love Hina. Although I haven't been watching "School Days", it's managed to stir up a lot of attention over the past few days.
Based on an adult visual novel game of the same name which is infamous for its "bad endings", the story tells of Makoto who is a shy high school student with a crush on a girl named Katsura. He doesn't have the courage to ask her out and ends up getting help from Katsura's friend Sekai. A love triangle then takes place as the two girls fight for Makoto and episode 12 was the final conclusion to this drama.
However, the final episode which was due over a week ago, was postponed until this Thursday due to a violent murder that took place, when a 16 year old girl axed her own father to death while everyone was asleep. Due to the violent content of School Days' conclusion, the TV stations all decided to delay the broadcasting. It was probably to avoid being linked to the incident by the media for possible influences. Instead they showed this half an hour's worth of scenery of which included a nice looking boat, with classical music playing in the background.
So what does "nice boat" have to with the last episode of the show and why did they have to postpone it? Well, besides the spoilers there's some ugly (and possibly disturbing) details in this. If you're used to Japanese horror then it should be nothing new to you.
The questionable scenes begin after Makoto and Katsura makes out in front of Sekai. After that event, Sekai invites him over to her house and when Makoto least expected it, she violently stabs him to death because of the way she's been treated. A large quantity of blood covers the floor as Sekai realises what she has done and runs out the room.
Katsura soon finds her lover's dead corpse and decides to remove Makoto's head off and put it in a bag. She takes it with her as she confronts Sekai for an explanation, accusing her of lying at school about being pregnant as an excuse to keep Makoto.
Sekai is pointed to the bag with the head before Katsura slits her neck with a hacksaw and cuts her open to check if she really has a baby.
After finding no signs of one, the story ends with Katsura lying on a "nice boat" holding Makoto's severed head, happy they can be alone together at last.
So, now "nice boat" refers to this incident when episode 12 of School Days was replaced by a scenic video, both of which features a boat. I'm sure Anime fans won't be forgetting about it in a hurry. Forums and blogs alike are pretty heated up, debating whether it was a good ending or not, most thinking it was because of how unfaithful Makoto was, going to bed with every girl he could.
These scenes actually reminds me of the movie Battle Royale where one of the participants head was cut off and thrown into a room with a grenade stuck in the mouth. But, at least it was supposed to be about a crazy "game". This show just looked like your average high school romance Anime show although you would know better if you already knew about the game.
So should I watch this show anyway? There's a lot of Anime I haven't watched really and this wasn't on my priority list in the first place... But now I know what all this "nice boat" talk in the forums is all about.
Nabe