Season aired: Summer 2019
Number of episodes: 12
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Thoughts: O Maidens in Your Savage Season immediately caught my interest the minute I read the anime would cover teenage girls’ interest in sex as they go through the largest hormonal stage of their life. Number one, because we always expect boys to become interested in sex when girls are just as likely to become curious. Number two, because Japan likes to keep things pure when it comes to their romance stories of teenagers, and sex is rarely covered until the end – if covered at all.
Much to my surprise, I discovered that the anime is based on an adaptation of a manga written by the esteemed Mari Okada herself. I’ve seen many of Mari Okada’s works, most of which made me bawl like a baby. However, I have yet to see her tackle a subject like sex. I became intrigued the minute the first episode aired.
The series covers five girls in a literature club: Sonezaki, the conservative bookworm who believes in traditions and the idea of sex to be forbidden; Hongo, an eccentric writer trying to break into the publishing world as she attempts to write raunchy sex scenes; Momoka, the best friend and support system to all the girls; Sugawara, the mysterious, pale beauty who makes clear in the first episode of her interest in sex; and Kazusa, the main character whose complicated relationship with her childhood friend, Izumi, would soon mess with her changing body and mind.
All five girls have their separate story arcs, though some do overlap more than others, and all five girls are given a chance to grow and change by the story’s end. That might seem like a lot of ground to cover in a twelve-episode series, but the pacing worked out, and no story was more uninteresting than the others. This was considerably impressive because the series does tie up all loose ends by the end, and I never felt like the stories were rushed.
I also admire the stance that Okada-sensei took in this work. She could’ve certainly turned this story into a lecture about staying away from sexual activities and romantic pursuits due the reckless nature of teenagers, but instead, she delivers the message that such interests and romantic pursuits are perfectly natural and should be accepted as something natural by everyone. It becomes dangerous only when the characters involved do not have a full understanding of the potential consequences behind sex, but the notion of it and the desire for it should not be punished. Sex is fascinating and exciting, yet also scary and confusing, and she took particular care in making sure she portrayed both sides of it.
Each character is equally complex, and aside from two old conservative men, I don’t think any of the characters ever truly become antagonists, which is an accurate representation of the real world. The downside comes from the fact that Okada-sensei did such a good job portraying the confusion and drama-inducing hormonal times. Some of the episodes cause a lot of sincere anxiety that might also give the audience flashbacks of their own hormonal high school days.
That bites into the enjoyment of the story, and unfortunately, I do not think that could have been avoided seeing that Okada-sensei wanted to pursue accuracy more than unrealistic storytelling. The bottom line is, puberty and high school days are about as messy as it can be.
However, within the bad high school memories this series might bring up, the audience can find magic since the story ultimately ends on an incredibly positive note. Your bodies will learn to adjust to the changes, and your minds will mature through the mistakes you make. By the end of the day, you will soon realize your growth, and perhaps those youthful days can be something to reflect and looked back upon fondly.
Okada-sensei pairs this magic with a very unique art style to the characters and the background. The first is the teenager’s character designs as they look their age in varying shapes and sizes. The color palette is also a lot brighter and almost seems color penciled in, lending an aura of sincerity to an already direct and sincere story. Then, with a perfect soundtrack accompaniment, the entire series is sealed off with an opening and ending whose lyrics contain very meaningful words to the exploration of a teenager’s changing body and mind.
With such attention to detail in all elements of an anime series, I truly think O Maidens in Your Savage Season is an incredibly successful series. There will always be things to nitpick about, and, without a doubt, certain scenes will make the audience incredibly uncomfortable and perhaps even make them question the morality of situations. However, the series rests its case in its deep exploration of fleeting youth – even something so incredibly messy such as the exploration of sex could result in beautiful art.
Rating
Plot: 7.5
Characters: 8
Voice acting: 7.5
Art/Animation: 8
Soundtrack: 8
Total: 39
Multiplier: 2
FINAL SCORE: 78
