hontou ni Stripey Insists Sisters Cry Oniichan Now

Life's lessons from DCSS

And so it is finished. While I have to admit that the final 3 eps were a lot more enjoyable than most of the series, DCSS remains largely an unsatisfying experience. Nevertheless, I managed to glean some lessons and in this season's spirit of sharing (and post xmas sales), here's my meagre contribution to the collective human experience.

(For actual episode summaries, pls check out Omni's complete review)

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Lesson 1: It's all about managing expectations

My HR (human resource) lecturer (back then) once mentioned, "It's all about managing expectations at the workplace." Since then, I have expanded its importance to all of life itself. Personally, I felt that DCSS's main failure was such a mismanagement. Being a follow-up to Da Capo, many of us were looking forward to more heart-wrenching drama and more Kotori since she was sidelined in season 1. However such expectations were not fulfilled. To be fair, DCSS just took a different track, focusing on Aisia and, as RelentlessFlame mentioned, chock full of intense internal struggles that rage beneath the characters' seemingly passive exteriors. Objectively speaking, DCSS is not a bad series per se, just a poor sequel. Unfortunately one cannot assess DCSS apart from Da Capo since it carries over established characters/relationships and the viewers' precepts. Having the attributes of a poor sequel simply damns the series.

Lesson 2: It's not all about looks

This coming from me must truly be ironical since many of my friends believe I have an unhealthy fixation with beauty. (Well, don't we all, especially lovers of anime ) While DCSS may not have top notched animation, it has, in my opinion, the best character designs (artwork). Kotori, Nemu, Aisia, Alice and Tamaki are some of the most beautiful anime girls to come onscreen this year. The SHUFFLE girls pale in comparison to the DC girls in terms of 'looks'. But surprisingly, the SHUFFLE girls engage so much more of my heart than the DCSS girls. (ok Kotori/Nemu are a self-induced exceptions). A good example would be DCSS's trio lolitas (Aishia/Sakura/Alice). Even their combined loli-pedo-charm cannot compete against the knee-buckling loliciousness of Primula (and nope it's not because we have seen Primula naked or in a meido-nekonomimi get-up, at least not for this viewer.) Truly the soul is greater than the body.

Lesson 3: Yukorin was right, it's all about timing

For those of you who have always wondered why your 400 pound neighbour managed such a knockout of a wife or how that beauty can be walking down the street with a beast (yeah I see that look a lot when I walk down Orchard Road with my fiancee ), it's not just love, it's timing. Yukorin (Ogura Yuko) put it so succinctly in School Rumble's ED "Onna_no_ko otoko_no_ko", "the most important thing.... is timing." Even though timing is a big concept in love, it is also crucial in storytelling. DCSS taught me that when Nemu appeared in ep 6 and essentially ruined the entire series. Don't get me wrong, I love Nemu (no not siscon) but for the greater good of the plot, more angst and opportunity for Kotori, Nemu should be painfully held back to the latter segment of the story. Why? Because we know the lovely lovely Kotori is not gonna to do a Yoshino Sakura or a Fuyou Kaede. We also know that Nemu = Kira Yamato in Strike Freedom with Neo-Genesis capability => no competition. And there is nothing worse than a dearth of competition in a romance/harem series.

Lesson 4: Bigamy, the answer to all harem dilemmas

If bigamy was allowed, I daresay we would immediately reduce the no. of daily heartbreaks by half. Nope, not my idea, no siree. Heard it elsewhere.... reproduced here for completeness sake.

Lesson 5: Don't count on sequels

This is a gross generalisation but it does apply to more than half of the sequels out there. Personally, I have been so SCARRED by Mahoromatic 2 that I should almost always condemn sequels (does nothing to the maid fetish though) But there are noteworthy sequels too. For example...

hmmm....

err... ok I'll get back to you on this.

Lesson 6: It's ok to marry your sister

No it's not. Unless your sister is as cute as Nemu, then it's still wrong but we forgive you.

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Thanks to DCSS I have once again leveled up in life. Now on to watching Mai Otome for life lessons of which I already have the first;

Lesson 1: If you can't have her, snag her daughter.......

Related posts:

1. Disappointment with DCSS
2. DCSS 01
3. DCSS 07