When crafting a story in any medium, there are many aspects that must be addressed in order for that story to be successful. Plot, characters, dialogue, and depending on the medium, animation, design, music score, etc. There are plenty of good stories that satisfy--at least to a basic degree--most of these requirements. Coming up a bit short on a few of them doesn't always ruin a story. A good story can still have problems.
There are instances, however, when one aspect of a story can be so poorly done that it can change the image of the entire tale and completely ruin it.
A recent anime I checked out, Occult Academy, is the victim of such folly.
On the surface, I thought I would enjoy Occult Academy. The art style is clean and detailed; it is well-animated, has a pleasant enough score, and its characters are initially compelling and enjoyable.
Halfway through the episodes, however, my opinion had completely changed, and I believe I can chalk it up to one sole reason (a reason you may have gathered from the fancy alternative title to this review).
Check out the rest of the review after the break!
Stop being so gorgeous, Occult Academy, you haven't earned the right!
I must admit up front that I did not finish all thirteen episodes of Occult Academy. When you are a little over halfway through thirteen episodes and feel no compelling reason to finish (I even stopped watching in the middle of an episode), there is clearly something wrong.
Occult Academy, directed by Tomohiko Ito and produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex, is the story of Maya, a 17-year-old who returns to visit her father after years of being apart from him (due to divorce) only to attend his funeral. She then inherits his legacy, the Waldstein Academy, a large school that focuses on the supernatural. Believing that the occult leads only to madness and sorrow, Maya makes it her mission to close the school for good. Before she can get started, however, a young man called Fumiaki Uchida is sent from the future to the school in order to find Nostradamus's Key, an object that will apparently bring the end of the world in only a few months' time. The two join up to find the Key and unlock the academy's secrets.
The summary of OC is, honestly, a fantastic one. It sounds interesting and compelling, with plenty of room for both serious and comedic themes portrayed by a colorful cast.
In the end, however, OC fails to deliver on that front.
Quite simply, all that is wrong with Occult Academy can be summed up in two words: Bad pacing. (And by "bad," I mean terrifically horrendous.)
All problems in Occult Academy stem from its poor pacing. With only thirteen episodes and the whole "end of the world" plot, one would think that the show would kick off quickly and make every scene and dialogue moment count. Somehow, however, OC finds itself floundering instead, and it is only in the last three episodes that the actual plot of the show makes any real progress at all.
Poor pacing ceases all character development, not allowing potentially fantastic people to grow beyond their little quirks. It ruins the tone and makes humorous moments appear inappropriate and annoying instead of balanced against the drama. It makes the end of the world seem somehow forgettable and unimportant, and thus, makes me as a watcher cease to care at all.
Smile and JK: two potentially awesome characters who, unfortunately, fail to have any real character at all. What you see is what you get, folks!
In many ways, OC reminds me of Angel Beats! (an anime that I personally love and have previously reviewed here). Angel Beats! also suffered from poor pacing (or more accurately, plot-condensing) when it was cut from twenty-some episodes to thirteen (odd coincidence). The difference between Angel Beats! and Occult Academy, however, is that Angel Beats! still manages to tell an excellent story and get its audience invested in its characters, even the ones that are forced to not be as developed.
I believe this is because Angel Beats! never forgot its real purpose, plot, and characters. Even some of the stranger episodes were still focused on important characters and their relation to the overall plot and tone of the story. Occult Academy, however, seems to disregard its own plot altogether far too often. No one seems particularly worried about the end of the world. While one would think that the search for Nostradamus's Key to take priority for Maya and Fumiaki, leading to active searches and discoveries, the two go about their daily lives as normal, waiting for strange situations to happen to them. This is utterly baffling. If the two main characters (especially the headstrong and badass Maya) care so little about the end of the world, why should I care?
The most frustrating part of all is that the potential is all there. Each standalone episode is entertaining and well-written. The situations are fascinating and the way the characters deal with them fun to watch. Put into an overall arc, however, they fail miserably.
Let's compare this with another review I did awhile back of the anime Ghost Hunt, another favorite of mine. Ghost Hunt worked because it focused on its individual cases with little overarching plot. If Occult Academy had followed in the footsteps of Ghost Hunt, I believe it would have been a much more enjoyable show. Its poor pacing and confused tone, however, make it unable to form a coherent narrative with the episodes it presents.
And it's a real shame.
You might be able to beat Fumiaki into submission, Maya, but I will not be so easily quelled!
That's basically all that needs to be said. For all its potential, Occult Academy allowed one small thing--poor pacing--to escalate into a problem that basically makes the whole show painful to watch, ruining character development, tone, and whole episode plots. Am I being too harsh? Perhaps. Occult Academy and its related anime do have supportive audiences and followers. And that's fine. Like I said, each standalone episode is fairly entertaining and the show is beautiful to look at.
So no, Occult Academy is not without merit. Certainly there are far, far worse shows out there. But for one that had such potential, it is a disappointment to see it all go to waste.
I would personally only recommend it to people who generally enjoy anime, but if you're interested, check it out--you've got little to lose but some time, and you might enjoy it!
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