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April is a month full of sadness for me. Although "Your Lie in April" has been many years ago, whenever I see the word "April," it still triggers my PTSD immediately, especially since I just finished reading a dystopian novel called "From the New World" today. Various thoughts mixed together, making me unable to help but recall those "heavyweight" dystopian anime that made me heartbroken.
DARLING in the FRANXX#
"If we compare anime to football, this anime is probably the Japanese national team. Even people who don't watch football would look forward to the performance of the Japanese team and discuss football. So I hope my anime can be treated like this. Not only fans of Atsushi Nishio, fans of TRIGGER, fans of A-1, these audiences who usually watch anime, but also audiences who don't usually watch anime can enjoy this work." - Hiroaki Hane
The producer's words are not an exaggeration at all. The production team of this anime is extremely luxurious, bringing together industry giants and top voice actors. Therefore, it was highly anticipated by everyone before it was even aired, to the point where it was already hailed as a masterpiece before it was even released.
However, the road to becoming a masterpiece was not smooth. From the power struggle between iQiyi and Bilibili, to the feminist controversy sparked by the piloting posture, and finally reaching its climax in the verbal battle between the Bilibili UP host Lexburner and the malicious reports from the masses, it was a chaotic situation.
Looking back now, these historical backgrounds are actually not worth mentioning. They only serve to illustrate the popularity and controversy at the time. After all, in the end, it's the work that speaks for itself, and this work is simply to my taste. The dystopian background, the lively and cute 02 breaking the norm, the perfect blend of romance, sci-fi, ghosts, and mystery...
At that time, I couldn't think of anything else, and I gradually lost myself in the sound of "Darling Darling." I lived for Darling every week. I changed the theme of my blog to Darling's color scheme and images, and even changed my profile picture and name to Darling. I bought all the merchandise I could buy, such as figures and art books. I even learned to draw specifically to imitate 02. I would praise it to everyone I met. As long as they watched Darling, we would be good friends.
But then it ended in a horribly disappointing way, just as it started with such fanfare. It ended so completely and without any room for redemption. But maybe it's the brain's self-protection against intense stimulation, I can't remember the specific details of that time now, I only remember a huge nightmare of a wedding...
This work, created by such a luxurious production team, turned out to be so disappointing. I still can't understand it to this day.
The Promised Neverland#
A year later, I discovered another amazing dystopian anime.
When I praised the first season of "The Promised Neverland," someone reminded me: "Darling hasn't even cooled down yet, how dare you." But I didn't care, I thought it was just a coincidence. After all, "The Promised Neverland" is based on a highly acclaimed manga with a solid plot foundation, which is completely incomparable to the original anime "Darling." I even felt proud after the first season aired: See, nothing happened this time.
However, two years later, the second season premiered.
I still remember vividly sitting in front of the computer, excitedly watching it for the first time. However, the more I watched, the more something felt off. By the fourth episode, the plot was beyond redemption. Later, I reluctantly watched a few more episodes, but I found that my willpower was not enough to sustain me.
In theory, the manga was already successful, and the plot was not a problem; the first season of the anime also received praise and had a wide fan base. As long as the second season was produced step by step, it would definitely become another masterpiece. However, the anime cut out many original plot points and replaced them with illogical storylines woven by the screenwriter. It is difficult to imagine what happened during the production process.
Fortunately, "Attack on Titan" was airing at the same time and was stable, so I didn't feel too sad.
Attack on Titan#
This is a work that I have been praising from 2013 to 2022.
As an anime that has been airing since 2013, "Attack on Titan" has always held a high position among all anime and can be considered an elder. Many people started watching anime with this work, it is a "enlightenment" work for many people, and it was the first anime that I strongly recommended to my childhood friend to watch. This anime is also based on a manga, but unlike "The Promised Neverland," its plot, setting, richness, and popularity are several levels higher. What's more, MAPPA, the company that took over the production of the final season, is absolutely reliable in terms of quality and reputation, so there won't be any problems like "The Promised Neverland." Its plot has been serialized for such a long time, enduring the test of time, and it won't end up like Darling. So I have always had full confidence in praising it.
However, as many people know, an unprecedentedly terrible event happened in the history of anime. This is not a joke, not a prank, and not a bad ending. It is a deliberate and premeditated extreme malicious harm by a mentally deranged author who harbors hatred towards the mainstream human values of love, justice, and peace, and towards the audience who loves him and his work. Disgusting!
Although it has been a long time, I still can't calm down. I hate it, not just heartbroken, but a tooth-gritting hatred.
Others#
Of course, these are just jokes.
Finally, I sincerely wish the new anime in April a good start and smooth sailing!