Maji de Koukaishitemasu (2017)

brevity may be its best quality

I picked this up because it was short, included Dori Sakurada and seemed like a fun premise with an unusual setting. All three of those details remained true from the beginning to the end. Unfortunately that didn't really make the series better. Why?

*characters - filled with flat, stereotyped characters that were acted as written with a couple minor glimpses of depth...on the bright side, no one was completely evil and devious and scheming for the lead(s) to fail; they didn't need assistance to create their own problems

*plot - predictable: how many times can a crew be punished with extra cleaning? apparently almost every episode.

*morals - though heavy-handed, I appreciated the emphasis on
1 - collective responsibility and the importance of teamwork and camaraderie, of valuing each individual and working together.
2 - hard work that allowed them to complete their training and continue their career paths
3 - trauma that shouldn't be ignored but faced
4 - idea that regardless of motivation for doing something, honoring commitments well is important

I imagine within its context, the directorial choices make sense. Another review said this story reflects previous anime in a similar vein. I don't have that exposure so I cannot be sure. All in all, this was disappointing--from really bad effects for storms to the random details [like presumed lesbians and the intervening navigator] left unexplored. But I can't say I hated it.

BTW: I don't really pay attention to the music, but it didn't stand out as terrible so it must have been ok

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