Completed: Flowers of evil (part 1)

Aka: Aku no hana.

so... this is part one... which i didn't know till the end.

now.... if you will indulge me... I'm gunna go grab my first impression of this show.

Flowers of evil: first rotoscoped anime AND apparently really good but really messed up.... i will try but based on art alone i probably wont watch more.
so I've tried it, wow is this show ugly, the rotoscoping is interesting in concept but it's so jittery... if i wanted to watch a show where the people looked like people.... I'd watch a live action show... 
And in the end i only make it 5 minutes in, I'm sorry but it' just too ugly and I've already been informed that it's messed up and i will more then likely hate it.
and yeah the rotoscoped girls in bloomers at ass level doesn't help... 

SO.... pretty scathing right?

how did i go from only lasting 5 mins to watching all 13 episodes.

1. People were claiming it to be the best anime this season. (which started to make me curious)
2. a good friend of mine who has similar yet  extremely different taste was surprised she was enjoying it as much as she was.

If she enjoyed something i am more willing to give it a try cause I trust her taste.

So i asked why?

i don't remember the exact answer but i think it was along the lines of "it's interesting" she showed me the ending song (which honestly the first time i listened to it without the context of the show i didn't like it) and said the same thing everyone else said. "it's good, you'll hate it"

and i do mean EVERYONE told me this.... in almost those exact words every time.

which got me curious.... why would i hate it? people are saying what a breath of fresh air it is but then saying "Kat don't bother"
my friend did explain based on the fact that i don't like certain things being used as plot elements i would hate the show cause even though no one actually has that happen to them (yet) it gets really close to it on a few occasion.

so i said, fine... i will give it another shot.... knowing i can bail at any moment and knowing that my friend would instantly warn me if the thing i hate happened.

So... did my impression change?

...
A little?

I Still do not like the rotoscoping as a whole BUT this show would not work as a traditional anime... this show HAD to be rotoscoped (or live action but i don't think it would work that way).... i just wasn't a fan of the frame rate and the lack of details at a distance... but there a slow mo crazy scene near the end of the middle bit and it looked like it was so much fun to make.... followed up by a 15 min long establishing shot in the next ep but hey... can't win em all.

actually i will be honest... i never called this flowers of evil or aku no hana.... i called it "establishing shot: the anime" cause that's what it is. not a pro or con just an observation.

i still find it a little.... uncomfortable that these are drawn based on real people because knowing that the actors had to, to a point, go through what was animated is just.... it feels almost like voyeurism and yeah... just made me uncomfortable... it's the point... i get that... but that doesn't mean i have to like it.

The characters however were interesting, possibly because of the way the art was handled they felt more real. (to a point) i felt like a teenager could possibly be going through emotions like that (to a point) and that someone with unchecked mental issues could be that obsessive (to a point)

there was a scene where the show kinda lost me.

the show is about being "perverted" (gross oversimplification but whatever)
so near the end a character claims that they are going to be the pervert the other character needs.
I.... I just have a hard time buying this.
I can't comprehend this glorification of the pervert, it didn't feel like a natural progression in their character arc. It took me completely out of the story... maybe it's resolved in part 2.... i dunno... i probably can't watch part 2... or at least not all of it.
but yeah at that moment the story stopped being "you know this isn't that far fetched" to "i don't buy it" in an instant.

Now, i will make a point that maybe i just don't get the show.
I am not the target audience.
this was not made for someone like me...

but... i still feel like i have the ability to express my opinion and explain why i feel that way.

a quick note on the music.
the intro changes every 3 episodes with one of the shows not having an intro song.
I love this... it gradually gets a little crazier with each version and it fit the mood perfectly. the artistry is simple but works in my opinion.
The ending, which again, i didn't like when one it's own
in the context of the show though... that is one of the best fitting ending songs i have ever heard... and they way it changes slightly depending on the tone of the episode... wow is that well done.
the music in the show is very cinematic and subtle to fit the rotoscoped feel. it was never distracting and is mostly discordant notes on piano to give that 'horror but not scary' vibe.

Now... i haven't talked much about the plot have i?

I'll be brief.

Kasuga, a bookworm in highschool, likes the prettiest kindest girl in class Saeki.
One day he forgets something in the class room and when he grabs it her gym uniform falls out of it's cubbyhole... in a way that seems more like a set up in my opinion then anything else.
Curiosity gets the best of him and he opens up the gym bag.
When he hears a sudden noise behind him, worried he'll be thought a pervert, he runs away with the uniform under his shirt.
Problem is the crazy girl in class, Nakamura, saw him do it... somehow and it now blackmailing the poor kid and claiming that she will remove his mask and expose him for the sicko/pervert he is.
all while being way to happy about whats going on.

normally i go into the good and bad but i think i already covered that... i am really on the fence about this show... i think it is interesting but then there's that part of me just just doesn't buy it.

So instead...
if you like things done for the sake of art and pushing boundaries, give it a try though it'll probably make you uncomfortable... that is it's goal.
if you don't like the mention of sex or being perverted probably a good idea to just avoid.
there could also be possible triggers in the show (more so in season 2 if it happens) so if you are sensitive to that... avoid... just flat out avoid.
some messed up stuff happens in this season but the next season looks a million times worse so if you can't handle it then just don't bother i guess.

Best show of the season? not in my opinion.
A good and interesting show that pushed a lot of boundaries? hell yes. I think it's wonderful that this show was made especially in a season so full of Moe.
Anime (well media as a whole) needs to realise that it can be more then just fan service... it can make us uncomfortable but still get us to come back for more. It can give us LONG shots of quiet walking with piano in the background and still tell a story with no dialogue. It can be more then impossible breasts and panty shots.

I will probably watch part 2.... whenever it is made.... though right now... at this moment.... I'm still not sure what i think about it.