Shuffle, Part Two

I went to Wikipedia for the main character’s name in Shuffle, and so much was explained. The author has listed it as “your typical harem romance.” I had no idea that such a thing existed, but sign me up. Just make sure I’m the harem master, not just a member. I also discovered that it is based on a Japanese “dating simulator.” This makes sense. The whole plot of the show is him being pursued by women, being the passive party while they take him underwear shopping, pick out special underwear to wear on dates, parade around in swimsuits, and get naked whenever possible.

For those of you who haven’t played such a simulator, it is just that. With the major exception that you play the role of the boy, and you are actively seeking some love (if you know what I mean). There is usually a cast of women for your choosing: a teacher, an innocent, a tease, a bookworm, sporty spice, someone with cat ears. There are several women for your choosing, some more difficult to “date” and others that are easy (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). There are obstacles to your wooing—so many hours in a day, a limit to the number of days, you have to keep your grades up. But your main goal is to get laid. I mean, “date.” As you successfully woo your lady friends, you are rewarded with manga style drawings of what base you made it to, leading up to the moment when you actually get a girl into bed, when you get a drawing of what that looks like. Kind of like Leisure Suit Larry, but you have to study.

So it’s an anime based on a computer “dating simulator” in which the horny teen has been recast as the virtuous prince. He just can’t help it if the women follow him around. By the way, if you’re interested in playing a simulator, there are some free “dating simulators” available for download, and some of the translations into English are intentionally hilarious. Bonus entertainment value.

Shuffle!

I can’t help but to join in on conversations with geeks at night school about anime. They get very excited about their anime, and compare which anime you watch to what they are watching. The men usually throw out the same names: Naruto, Dragonball Z, and Inuyasha. I’ve not really gotten into those. I’ve gotten into in-depth discussions regarding the different series that we usually share (Death Note, Bleach) and been given more spoilers than I care to think about.

But one guy, who was a little bit special, gave me a recommendation for one I’d never even heard of. Shuffle. It’s on Hulu, so I thought I’d check it out. I put it on my listing of tv shows, and the kids fired it up one weekend. There was the warning that it was for mature audiences only, but I don’t generally worry too much about that, because I figured there were a few bad words or one of those weird moments like when Sailor Moon transforms, and everyone feels a little uncomfortable.

Turns out it’s for a little more. Here’s the premise of the anime. Young man (Rin Tsuchimi) is an orphan, he lives with a young woman who lost her family in the same accident. She lives to serve him. One day at school, two new students come in. They are both beautiful girls; one is the princess of the gods, the other is the princess of the demons. They are best friends, and somehow came to know the young man from when they were kids, and they want to marry him. With their dads in tow, they are wooing him. He also has a best friend who is in love with him, but she keeps it secret, despite her blatant overtures.

Whether it’s because I’m western, or because I’m a woman, I find the whole thing rather disgusting. He shows very little interest in any of these women, and while he’s a thoughtful person, respecting their feelings and treating them as human beings, the fact that the whole story revolves around all these girls with a slightly different look and slightly different personality going to the mats for this guy is too much for me. There are other fish in the sea, ladies.

Eventually we got bored with the whole enterprise, and gave up around episode seven.