Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya o Mezasu is brilliant you fools!
Every so often, an artist will inevitably rise to the challenge of creating a genre defining meta-work that provides commentary on the medium it itself resides in. These metanarrative-rich stories will inevitably be a difficult topic to approach since it requires a deeper understanding of the inner-workings of the medium and the work that goes into it. As such, these are primarily created by veterans that want to give some insight to the medium they work within. Each is emotionally charged due to their own involvement within it. However, these meta-series rarely lean too heavily into cynicism, nor do they paint it beautiful with a naive outlook. I find these series to be especially fascinating since they can provide some interesting insight to the industries that I enjoy, in this case, anime and manga.
To name a few of these meta anime series, we have Shirobako, Bakuman, Comic Girls, Sore ga Seiyuu, Girlish Number, Comic Party, Doujin Work, Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata and Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu. However, the latter two are not like the others. The other series focus on industries closely related to anime and manga, while the latter two are more specifically about developing galge. While the bishoujo game/galge/eroge industry is intrinsically tied to and almost entirely reliant on the larger anime and manga industries, it's a bit more different. Right off the bat we see "game" in the title, and while it can be debated whether or not these are truly "games'', they are certainly something one can "play" as much as they "read." These games are inherently more niche due to the format of game and the time commitment required. This ends up leading to some interesting results since these games will oftentimes pander to certain fetishes more so than anime. Bishoujo games are not for the faint of heart! The scope of the projects is only really limited by the imagination of the creators and their commitment to seeing their vision through. As such, this industry involves much more collaborative effort to see a project through than the somewhat isolated tasks of being a mangaka or seiyuu. The scope of series like Sore ga Seiyuu highlights one aspect of anime creation, while Shirobako attempts to showcase the industry with all its moving parts. In that sense, Saekano and Shokomeza are more in-line with Shirobako than the others. However, Shirobako doesn't emphasize teamwork as much as it emphasizes executive decisions by management. The staff can disagree with one another all they want, but at the end of the day will have to come to terms with the fact that the people in the tall office buildings are the ones not only making decisions, but writing their checks. Conversely, a series like Bakuman explores how creative freedom allowed to a small team can strain both professional and personal relations.
I initially was interested in Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu simply due to its surface-level similarities with the previously enumerated list of "meta" anime. Though I mostly wanted some fun otaku meta-humor and perhaps some self-degrading humor if I was lucky. After a bit of Wikipedia deep-diving I discovered that this inconspicuous little one-cour seasonal anime with a 6-point-something rating on MyAnimeList was actually a multimedia franchise that never reached the heights it aspired to. Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu, often shortened to Shokomeza, is a mixed-media project initially proposed as an all-ages PC game, developed by Minato Soft and released on March 25, 2016. The project was spearheaded by Takahiro and written by Tanaka Romeo, known for his work on other visual novels like Cross+Channel. A demo for the game was released on October 23, 2015, and a TV anime was announced the same day. The anime premiered on January 7, 2016 and was produced by Project No. 9, which ran for 12 episodes. A special "anime version" of the game was released later on which was bundled with a Blu-ray disc including a special OVA for the series. In addition to the anime adaptation, beginning on February 29, 2016, a manga began serialization in Denkegi G's magazine done by mangaka Kazuchi.
I find this timeline to be quite interesting given how the announcements and release days differ from what I usually expect, and it seems like we have a chicken or the egg situation here. Assuming that the anime is a direct adaptation of the game, which is the source material, it should have been in development first since it was announced first and would serve as a base for the anime to adapt. Common logic suggests that the game was in development before the anime, but I am led to believe that the anime was proposed first. This would be possible if there was an outline done by Tanaka Romeo beforehand. He was not a stranger to the anime industry, who began branching out to writing within other mediums beginning in 2007, having penned the source material for Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita which got an anime adaptation in the summer of 2012. In addition, it's important to note that visual novel releases started to decline moving deeper into the 2000's and the 2010's. Romeo was likely looking to make an impression within the anime industry as the industry he found himself in was beginning to grow increasingly niche in the face of a booming anime market. Other scenario writers such as Urobuchi Gen found great success in the early 2010's with the landmark hit, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and later, the Fate/Zero anime. It's safe to assume that Romeo wanted to at least try his hand at writing for anime. Knowing this, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that he wanted to work on a multimedia project to get himself familiarized with the industry. Or at the very least, work on a more ambitious project.
Returning to my conspiracy crafting, let's look at why I think the anime was in development first. The deadringer is the cast of seiyuu. The opening for the game, "Master UP" was performed by the seiyuu of the game; Chisuga Haruka, Hanazawa Kana, Satō Satomi, and Akesaka Satomi. The anime's ending song, "世界は今日もあたらしい" was also performed by the same cast of seiyuu. By 2015, Hanazawa Kana was already a high-profile seiyuu that would have cost a substantial amount of money to bring on-board an anime project, let alone a bishoujo game. She had already achieved great success with her work on Steins;Gate, Psycho-Pass, Oreimo, Nisekoi and the Monogatari at this point. Looking at her previous roles, she doesn't often appear in visual novels aside from those directly linked with anime, primarily tie-in games for various anime such as Aria: The Origination, To Love-ru, Nogizaka Haruka and Oreimo. However, she did work on Steins;Gate before it received an anime, though it was released in 2009 just as she was gaining recognition within the industry. Though I want to focus on two other bishoujo game projects that did not necessarily guarantee an anime adaptation: 2009's Tokimeki Memorial 4, and 2011's Rewrite. It is important to note that both games are all-ages, as it appears that Hanazawa-san does not wish to voice characters in 18+ games judging from her seiyuu credits. This can be assumed since both Tokimemo 4 and Rewrite are both all-ages games despite being commercial bishoujo games, since it’s atypical for bishoujo games to release without H-material, especially with a PC game as the case with Rewrite. This is likely not influenced by Hanazawa Kana being on the project, in so much as it is her being open to working on it because there is no erotic content. For the 2011 PC release of KEY's Rewrite, she voiced the character Kagari. Looking back at the credits, we can also see our friend Tanaka Romeo credited as co-authorship and scenario framework on Rewrite as well. It is very likely the two formed some sort of business relationship here, since they would later work on Shokomeza later on in a similar fashion. All that said, it's unlikely the seiyuu had much to do regarding influencing the project, but more so a personal preference on the part of Takahiro and Romeo and name recognition. Regardless, I salute their taste in seiyuu.
The reason I mention the seiyuu at such length is because they are oftentimes given roles with the knowledge that future projects can or will be greenlit. It is common for new seiyuu to take on projects by up-and-coming light novel or manga series and work on Drama CD's since it's very common for the cast to return for an eventual anime adaptation. Rookies will try their luck here since Drama CD roles are less competitive when compared to anime and movie dubbing roles. It isn't uncommon for the cast to change to match the preferences of the anime staff and fan opinions, though it usually stays the same since hardcore fans will have already gotten used to the voices from the Drama CD etc. Knowing this, the cast of Chisuga Haruka, Hanazawa Kana, Satō Satomi, and Akesaka Satomi were most likely cast with the intention of bringing them back for an anime. These are by no means small-time seiyuu. Most of the time, seiyuu make their start taking on roles in bishoujo games and generally don't return once they've found success within the anime industry. I would imagine it's due to the workload differences and visibility (or lack therefore of) when comparing both industries. Bishoujo games are a niche genre of games almost exclusively made for hardcore otaku. Not many people play these games in the first place. Furthermore, the amount of lines that a seiyuu needs to read is significantly more than a typical 12-cour or even 24-cour anime. But above all else, these are not as high-profile roles. There are not as many people playing these games and the marketing is less pronounced. Consequently, the amount of recognition they will receive will be minimal when compared to even the least-viewed anime of the season. However, the fans will remember the names of the people who voice their character due to the databasing nature of these hardcore otaku.
It's easy to draw parallels between Shokomeza and Saekano; the two are often compared to one another due to these aforementioned similarities. On the surface-level we have two anime series that casually showcase the bishoujo game industry, incorporating otaku-pandering elements and meta-humor to create a fun experience. However, I personally feel like comparing the two is doing a disservice to both anime since beyond the surface-level similarities, they are almost nothing alike. The most I can say is that neither of these series attempt to make an educational how-to video about how to become an eroge developer. Saekano is more concerned with the interpersonal drama between high school students. It uses this platform to provide commentary about modern otaku culture by means of parodying itself through the self-aware comedy- derived from the very bishoujo games the characters are making. It's quite absurd, really. On the other hand, Shokomeza presents a light-hearted comedy story about personal growth and learning to work with your peers. It concerns itself more so with the teamwork aspect of game development that is often neglected from other similar meta-series. To a certain extent I saw this in Shirobako, but that was more to do with management decisions due to bureaucratic structure rather than internal disagreements. Shokomeza instead focuses on the conflicts that will inevitably arise in small inexperienced teams where there are critical creative decisions. Some staff might add unapproved features or overstep their bounds and mess with someone else's work, unintentionally or not. Their club tries to play like a professional studio due to their lofty aspirations, but instead falls into the same pitfalls many amateur devs likely find themselves facing.
Both series' use the backdrop of amateur bishoujo game development to add a dimension of depth to the commentary. But the truth is, neither anime really is about bishoujo game development. Shokomeza is less Bakuman and more Comic Girls; the former being a drama with a secondary focus on educating the viewer about the specifics of the manga industry. The latter being a comedy that just-so-happens to maybe teach you a few things about making manga. Whereas Saekano is less Oregairu and more Oreimo; the former being a complex character study of high school students who are a bit too self-aware, while the latter is a meta-comedy that commentates to equal-parts advance and regress the contemporary otaku community. I don't necessarily think Saekano necessarily seeks to "regress" modern anime, but it does miss the forest for the trees. The point of the show is to see Kato Megumi as the only "real" heroine and the punch-line is that she'd be the most uninteresting character in the bishoujo game that otaku like. There’s something here about real girls being less absurd than eroge waifus I think? However, the further the series goes on, Sawamura Spencer Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha organically evolve past the bindings of "twintail tsundere osananajimi" and "dark-haired cold mistress" respectively. I guess like the mark was missed, but it still gets the "point" across. It's still up for debate whether the act of basing one's writing upon such archetypes is progressive in "muh fight for smart anime" or if it's only furthering the sunk-cost fallacy, if high school light novel authors will inevitably fall on their laurels. One step forward, two steps back. It's similar to how Neon Genesis Evangelion's character goods out-paced the show's disc sales. Does this indicate that characters really are not greater than the sum of their parts? If the archetypical bindings unintentionally define them more so than the liberation provided by a forward-thinking writer, does the character reconstruct or reinforce the anime meta-game? Asuka is remembered as "that one tsundere from Eva'' rather than the basket-case she really is, which in turn influences her separation anxiety and/or Histrionic personality disorder[a]. Assuming we are basing my gauge of the otaku community's collective intelligence level on PVC figure sales, am I allowed to assume that otaku care more for the shadow a character castsb on the cave walls over what the character actually stands for. In short: tsundere lovers will almost certainly like pettan characters voiced by Kugimiya Rie.
Databasing-types tend to rely heavily on pre-established knowledge of certain top-level categories and subsequently further granular subcategories, as additives to their enjoyment process; the whole is bolstered by the sum of its parts. Archetypes exist to help in the writing process by saving ink where the audience can already fill in the gaps themselves. Everyone knows that the chihuahua has more bark than bite, as this is based on internal stereotyping your brain already knows to be true. It catalogs every instance of events where you have seen a chihuahua, compares the encounter's lowest common denominator, then draws a conclusion. This is reflective of the human desire to find patterns and derive meaning from observations, but to the fault of finding patterns in meaningless data. Such perceptions can be seen as delusional and are indicative of apophenia[b]- described by Klaus Conrad as "unmotivated seeing of connections accompanied by a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness." Like the title of William Gibson's 2003 novel indicates, it's pattern recognition. Or more appropriate for the context of this post, I will call it "pettan recognition." Recontextualized, consider the phrase: "I love loli, bring on the flat chest!" Shokomeza includes many of the same archetypes to a similar effect, though I'd argue it's less to do with the meta-commentary mental gymnastics and more to do with gaming the 2010's anime playbook. If I love loli, I will indulge this desire with 20 tabs open of Tanabe Kyou doujinshi. Shokomeza is junk food for the hardcore otaku who takes handful-after-handful of cheesy Imouto Crisps and still takes a second to lick his fingers after every bite.[c]
So my closing thoughts, or rather, the punchline: Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu and the handful of series that came before it are all examples of the interesting trajectory of the anime meta during the 2010’s. Within any medium, there will always be a work that attempts to say something about itself- be it directly or indirectly. Anime has been self-aware of its otaku following and trading blows with the very audience that revered the medium so much. Daicon IV was a celebration of otaku culture, sci-fi and fantasy, but still concluded that we were “so glad to be unable to go beyond.” Otaku no Video provided commentary on some of the most extreme antisocial tendencies of otaku, but obfuscated them behind layers of self-parody. Genshiken was an invitation to indulge within nostalgia for a brief moment and remember the lackadaisical days of the final days of youth, and used meta-humor to invite us into its warm hazy atmosphere. Shokomeza recognizes the inherent appeal to otaku and revels within the meta. Anime no longer rely solely on the novelty of meta-humor to sell a joke. We saw a lot of shows that aired within the 2010’s use the parody as a tool for meta-commentary on the medium and perhaps the audience watching the show- you get to decide how offensive that is. An argument can be had that otaku are masochistic, or not self-aware enough to get a kick out of their portrayal within the anime they enjoy so much. However, I think it’s a matter of the general self-deprecatory attitude and destructive tendencies ingrained within the dark side to otaku culture. Those self-aware enough to lament the plight of their brethren attempt to make light of their own past kuro rekishi in a feeble attempt to laugh it all off in one glasses-adjusting motion. And those that do not yet recognize their faults are left to live in fleeting bliss.
The anime was in all likelihood simply created for laughs for the staff. It’s a story about making a bishoujo game and that was exactly what they were doing. The jokes retroactively created a pseudo-commentary on the medium in which the story inhabits. To say that this was the true intention for the game or anime is not entirely accurate, however. I would even go as far to say it was incorrect. The entirety of this blog could be retitled simply to “Overthinking Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu!” due to the absurd level of lines I was reading between. That said, I think this analysis is not necessarily of the anime itself, rather, of the environment that allowed such commentary to exist. The current anime industry is continuing to grow increasingly reliant on its own acknowledgement of the tangled metanarrative-web, and I just like to connect the dots. Ever since the dawn of Gainax, anime has been made by people who presumably were fans of anime. Those people enjoy these types of stories and seek to create their own art based on the things they enjoy. Consuming as much anime as I can allows me to get an even greater perspective, And the picture I draw at the end gives reason to the madness.
All that is to say- "Shokomeza is brilliant you fools!"
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
[a]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histrionic_personality_disorder
[b]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
[c]and i just cant have enough!