The decline of P.A. Works gives me no pleasure, believe me.  I had a connection with the studio, much more so than with KyoAni, for many years.  Their look always appealed to me, and their focus on original series was a throwback to the glory days of Gainax and Gonzo (and early Bones too, mostly).  The director of  Shiroi Suna no Aquatope, Shinohara Toshiya, did one of the PAW shows I actually liked (though few others seemed to), Red Data Girl.  And writer Kaikhara Yuuko is an industry stalwart who penned one of the best originals in years, Tsuki ga Kirei.

The truth is, though, that this studio has jumped the shark.  They’ve become a kind of ouroboros of self-plagiarism to the point of unintentional self-parody.  The same elements recycle over and over.  Cute girl leads invariably 14-17, soft-core sexualized.  A generic girl power story.  Token male supporting characters.  Magical realism.  A picturesque non-Tokyo setting, usually a small city (this time around it’s Nanjou, Okinawa).  Often marine elements.  Even the PAW color palette and art design I once admired seems tired and recycled to me now.  It’s frankly really depressing.

To thr extent that it even matters, Aquatope seems to borrow most liberally from Nagi no Askura, which Shinohara also directed though as with any Okada-written show, she’s the name people remember.  That one was pretty good for a cour before totally jumping the shark, but I see no reason to think I’ll hold out that long here.  I was thoroughly bored by the ten-minute mark and nothing that happened in the episode struck me as remotely interesting.  And I like aquariums…

The problem here, I think, is both that I’ve changed as a viewer and PAW hasn’t changed as a studio.  Their recent work (with the notable exception of the Uchouten Kazoku franchise – for obvious reasons) has almost universally had the texture and flavor of Spam anime – pressed meat stuffed into a can, popping out exactly as people expect it every time.  If Pringles is your potato chip of choice the modern P.A. Works catalog may be for you.  I’ve eaten a few in my day but my preferred chip is a lot more irregular and misshapen, with a more interesting flavor.  I don’t see much chance Shiroi Suna no Aquatope has any surprises in store, unfortunately, so I suspect this is a one-and-done for me.