I've been watching anime series to help with my Japanese study, and school themes always fascinate me. Recently I was kinda fed up with the same plot and wanted something spicy and juicy so I asked in the Rated SPG channel of Hive PH discord server of any anime suggestions that would spice up my anime life. 
School Days is an old anime, released on 2007 and I remember watching this before. I forgot about the plot so I rewatched it again and now it is stuck in my head until today. I never knew the spice I was looking for would be this insane.
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Story
Warning: Spoilers on this section
First half of the anime is a typical storyline you would see in lots of school anime series. There are 3 main characters: the shy and rich girl Kotonoha Katsura, the cheerful and bright Sekai Saionji, and the admirer Makoto Itou. You could probably guess what's the plot from here. Yes, that's right. Itou-kun, our main guy, is in love with Katsura-san who he keeps seeing in the train ride to school.
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There's a legend, rather a rumor, in school that when you set the photo of your crush as your phone's wallpaper and no one finds about it in 3 weeks, your love will be fulfilled. Of course, our guy took a photo of Katsura secretly and nosy Saionji-san, the seatmate of Itou-kun, found out about the wallpaper. Saionji-san was really interested about it and helped bring the two together despite Katsura-san being in another class. Katsura-san is the innocent and pure girl, kinda wary of boys so being around Itou-kun was fun for her but at the same time, she has limits set. Saionji-san kept pushing the two together until they became a couple. Turns out, Katsura-san also likes our boy.
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They became a couple but Itou-kun wanted more physical touch with Katsura-san. Boys boys boys. As days gone by, our boy got tired of their relationship, despite having a great crush on Katsura-san. It was only a few days (or probably weeks) but it seems his love for her got stagnant or maybe went from high to low. It's probably because he can't continue his advances to his girlfriend because of lack of experience or being careful around boys.
Enter this crazy idea by Saionji-san. She offered to become a practice partner to Itou-kun so those acts that should be done by couples, they were doing it. The practice led to cheating and later on, Itou-kun's ignoring the actual girlfriend which is Katsura-san.
After few episodes, Saionji-san became the "girlfriend" even when Itou-kun wasn't clear in breaking up with Katsura-san. And karma is real because Itou-kun wanted thrills so he slept with other girls in his class and the classmates of Katsura-san. He was known to be "the Itou-kun", girls wanted a taste of him.
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Saionji-san found out later that Itou-kun slept with another girl and confronted him about it. She brought up the "I'm pregnant" card and even shouting it in class so everyone would hear. "The Itou-kun" soon faded away because the girls didn't want to be involved in the scandal.
Katsura-san, on the other hand, became lifeless and like a zombie. She still had hopes that their relationship with Itou-kun is going steady. She never gave up being the "girlfriend". So when Itou-kun was abandoned by everyone, especially the girls who had slept with him, she was there to be with him. She stayed because she said she's a forgiving girlfriend.
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Itou-kun wanted Saionji-san to consult with the experts in the hospital introduced by Katsura-san. At first I thought this is because Itou-kun wanted her to get an abortion but maybe I interpreted it wrong and just a normal checkup if the baby is really there or not. Saionji-san didn't want to go, especially that the hospital is introduced by her friend-turned-rival.
While the first half was innocent, the 2nd half was crazy. And the ending was brutal.
Saionji-san took a kitchen knife and stabbed Itou-kun not just once but many times. After she realized what she had done, she went back home and stayed in her room, just as she always does when she's having troubles. She got a message from Itou-kun's cellphone, so she went to the rooftop where the 3 would always hang out, meeting Katsura-san there with Itou-kun's head in the bag. Katsura-san killed Saionji-san and opened her belly revealing no baby. The anime ended showing Katsura-san lying down and holding Itou-kun's head in the yacht - kinda peaceful but not really.
My Thoughts
I thought the anime would just be another typical school romance but it wasn't. Crazy stuff is going on in the 2nd half of the anime. The things that occur in the anime can be related to real life happenings.
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First, Makoto Itou is the opposite of his name. Makoto (誠) means sincerity, honesty and integrity. He was innocent when he had a crush, but when they became a couple and started wanting more, he had succumbed to the pervert route. He couldn't control his desires that he had to be physically involved with other girls. For me, he's a jerk and a pervert.
Come to think about it, boys in that age are typically thinking of erotic scenarios with their girlfriends. In that age, it's normal to be curious. What's not normal is sleeping with others while having a girlfriend. He just became a cheater at first year in high school.
In Japan though, I don't know what's up with high schoolers but I know cheating is common in adults. You would often "hear" and "see" that a married man is sleeping with other women/men, and sometimes the wife knows about it but doesn't give a damn. Boyfriends would play with other women or go to hostess clubs (キャバクラ). At some point, they wanted to release their desires and seek excitement, hence this cheating life.
If this happens to me, good bye. I'm not as forgiving as these tolerating wives. Cheating, especially sleeping with other men/women, is a no-no for me.
Second, Kotonoha Katsura should know when to move on. She should know her worth! I'm not as angry to Katsura-san as I am to Itou-kun but she should stop chasing for a fairytale love story because it doesn't happen in real life. Okay, anime life. She should look at reality and not be in bubble fantasizing the perfect romance.
So girls, don't be like Katsura-san. Know your worth. If the guy you're dating is "ghosting" you, be courageous and be ready to move on. You don't have to cling to that love and end up lifeless and hollow like what happened to Katsura-san. Don't find your identity and worth in other people.
Third, Sekai Saionji is such a bitch you should never follow what she's doing. She was the cheerful and friendly girl everybody loves but she gave in to her emotions and temptations. In the end, her true colors showed: selfish and an unfaithful friend. She took advantage of Itou-kun's relationship with Katsura-san. How can a girl be this crazy for her love? Men in a relationship are off limits, and we all know that. Why would you be intimate with him if you know he's taken by no less than your very own friend? Saoinji-san's happiness is fleeting. Karma worked its way in the end.
So yeah, karma. Because Itou-kun cheated with Saionji-san by sleeping with her, expect that Itou-kun will never be loyal again. Some boys are like this, once they go down the cheating path, they can't get out of it easily. You wouldn't expect them to be faithful in their next partners. Not all men are like this though, some learned their lesson and found the right one that they won't leave behind.
That killing scenes at the last episode of the anime was too much for me to bear. I was already kinda angry and disappointed by the characters' personalities and that last episode was the craziest. I couldn't forget how they died violently. This also happens in our society, and sometimes no one is talking about it.
The things you do for love..
Love can indeed make you feel you're in paradise but at the same time, can make you do madly insane stuff you wouldn't even think of doing.
So be very careful when you fall in love. Sometimes, you're not you when you do.
Despite all these feelings towards the characters, I think it's an anime you should watch. It's old but one of the best "romance" series out there. It got low ratings but I still think it's one of those close to reality anime series that you would really reflect after. As you may see, my reflection took 1k+ words. LOL
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！