I spent some time this weekend catching up with Toshokan Sensou, a show I lost all enthusiasm for only a few episodes in, initial interest notwithstanding. Like a lot of people, my disappointment with the show was a direct response to its ridiculous premise. However, having given it a second try, I’ve come to the conclusion that the premise isn’t quite as ridiculous as it seems. Oppressive totalitarian regimes often do have a taste for censorship, and there have been instances in history in which armed resistances have coexisted in a persistent stalemate with the ruling party for so long that they’re eventually recognized as legitimate institutions.
Ultimately, the trouble with Toshokan Sensou is not the premise, but the execution. The politics of Seika Japan are clearly more complicated than the show lets on, and the friendly manner in which the two opposing factions do battle suggests that the author mostly wanted to write a war story without, you know, dwelling on gloomy things like death and destruction (how delightfully Japanese). It’s undercooked, to say the least. But, taken as alternate history, it’s about as believable as any light political thriller that turns reality upside down for flavor, and taken as the coming of age character drama it eventually becomes, it’s about as satisfying as any other anime series of similar form, fit, and function.
In other words, it’s turned into a perfectly enjoyable show now that I’ve stopped trying to analyze and second guess it to death.
The funny thing is, it’s my natural inclination to take anime at face value, and not to analyze it or second guess it to death. Why did I not afford Toshokan Sensou the same benefit of a doubt as I would any other anime series? Why was I so quick to judge it so harshly? I really don’t know. I’m perceptive enough to recognize that I’ve been “down” on anime these past several months, if not “down” on a lot of things in general, so it could be I was simply looking for any reason to drop the show - any show, really - from my regular viewing rotation. Or, it could be I was just horribly depressed to see Aria come to a close.
Whatever the reason, it so concerns me that I would act in such a way that’s so out of character and so antithetical to the way I typically approach anime, that I feel like I need to subject myself to repeated viewings of Saikano both as a penance and as a reminder of what disappointing anime really feels like.
Or, I could just cut the crap and catch up with some of the other shows I’ve been ignoring. Like Itazura na Kiss. And Shugo Chara. And the second season of Da Capo II.
They ain’t gonna watch themselves.
