Masamune-kun no Revenge is a bit of a tough series to figure out in terms of blogging. You guys seem to be reading my posts, but no one is talking about the series – so what does that mean exactly? If I didn’t take the approach that I blog based on what I want to write about I’d have gone stale and bailed years ago, but the interests of the readers obviously have to play a part in the decision-making too. And there’s no help to be had in my own feelings about the show, which are squarely in the bubble zone at the moment.
Is Masamune-kun a good series? Well, it’s certainly a competent one – the production is solid and the narrative flow is smooth and easy to follow. And it has an interestingly offbeat sensibility that shines through every once in a while (like in the dinner scene this week, where Makabe and Fujinomiya were indulging their obsessions rather than simply enjoying a meal). But I can’t shake the feeling that it’s ultimately too conventional to be really compelling, and as it progresses we’re seeing more and more of that side and less and less of the offbeat one.
I will allow this – it was nice to have a break from Aki for a week. I didn’t like her when she was an unvarnished horror and I like her no better as a character now that the series is trying to make her sympathetic. I’m not too keen on Fujinomiya either, but she’s at least civil and less a composite of anime tropes than Aki. I still don’t know what she’s really doing here – though the fact that Masamune-kun’s loli mom knows her is surely relevant – and I’m not sure what she adds to the equation story-wise.
While there’s definitely the nut of an interesting story here, about people so caught up in their own narcissistic obsessions that they pass op opportunities at happiness practically slapping them in the face, the germ is more conventional anime romcom. And that’s the problem – right now Masamune-kun no Revenge is neither especially romantic nor especially funny. It can only thrive if it indulges its dark side, and often – but I see no evidence that’s the sort of series it intends to be. The safe course is the wrong one for this show, but it seems likely to be the one it follows.
sonicsenryaku
February 9, 2017 at 9:34 pmI read all your post; but that’s just cuz i appreciate good writing. Ill tell you what i dont appreciate: this show. Well i dont hate it, I just find it boring; it’s pretty clear that any interesting subtext this show had the potential to explore is being thrown over to the side for this generic shit. This show is more vanilla than vanilla; i just get bored watching it. Well, at least john wick is out so that’s something to look forward to. From silly romantic comedies to talking about gun-touting badasses; I AM TRULY THE MASTER OF SEGUES
Nadavu
February 10, 2017 at 6:21 amWhat do you mean by “you guys seem to be reading my posts, but no one is talking about the series”?
Are you referring to something like number of visits / number of comments?
Guardian Enzo
February 10, 2017 at 7:29 amBasically.
Faolin Eye
February 10, 2017 at 1:18 pmWell, the reason for the lack of comments is maybe because this show is pretty generic so it speaks for itself. So while I enjoy it for the bright colour palette and some of the comedy tidbits are above average, overall the characters except Masamune are pretty bland, so ther’s not much to add to the conversation. After the first two episodes I hoped it would turn out to be something like Toradora, where despite the fact that two of the five main characters were quite obnoxious the remaining cast was kind and sympathetic enough that that show managed to tell a heartwarming story during its run (though it did help that Toradora was an adaptation of 10 LN volumes, so it was packed enough to never seem boring). In case of Masamune-kun no Revenge, I feel that our protagonist has to carry the show on his shoulders and his cynical approach doesn’t make the viewers feel compassion or any other positive emotion, just mild curiosity or amusement at best.
And my biggest gripe is not even with the main heroines, since I find the supporting cast even more irrtating and I think the problem lies mainly in the skewed male/female ratio. If the mangaka had replaced the annoying little sister with an older brother with an actual personality or made Kojuuro more important (because now his whole role is being the ‘trap’), this show would have been a hundred times better. While in my opinion it is still better and more interisting than the presumptuous Kuzu no Honkai or the dull Seiren (though I dropped the latter after the first ep and I think I also won’t finish Kuzu so my knowledge mainly comes from this blog), I’ve seen comments on reddit that it will be even more generic in the upcoming episodes, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t see a post about Masamune in the next week.
Nadavu
February 11, 2017 at 2:39 pmhah – I’ve been on the verge of commenting on this show for the previous two posts, even got as far as writing something in the comment box before scrapping it. When it comes down to it, there’s not much to say other than “what seemed like a dark, interesting premise turns out to be more and more standard, and not in a good way”, and that’s basically what you’ve written in your coverage anyways.
Miyu Fan
February 11, 2017 at 9:55 pmI read the manga so I know the series becomes more “bubbly” and generic as it goes on – honestly just like you said the dark side of the revenge was the best part and a different twist of “taking revenge against the person who bullied you but instead fall in love” which was commonly (or all) carried out by female characters. Sadly the author didn’t focus so much on this and the series suffered because of this.
Honestly I thought you will drop this earlier so I always read your post to know why you keep watching this lol. Maybe you can just continue to watch it but can drop it from your posts, it is quite an entertaining series to watch regardless of its flaw.