Original text at the nekoheadz.org forum

I would say sorry for the long wait between this review and my last one, but ah ha, you guys get a bonus review, a really really long bonus review. While reviewing Air (which you should read as it’ll help with the context for this one), I couldn’t help but think of another series I’d like to review that had a bit of the loli-con theme, largely due to the fact that I couldn’t say anything really mean about Air and really needed to pound a series that deserved it. Well, that series is This Ugly Yet Beautiful World. Now, it’s been several months since I’ve seen this series, but trust me, the foul taste it left in my mouth is still vivid enough for this review to work. As usual, I will try not to spoil this series for you, but to fully bash on this series I will need some plot details (namely the ending) and really, there’s not much to spoil for a series this poorly done. Actually, strike that, you’re getting a full run down, so don’t come crying to me if I spoiled anything because this is me, warning you.

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World comes from Gainax, mixed bag studio that it is with the occasional lack of funding, and really promises a lot with that title. I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to telling you how spectacularly Gainax failed with this series, namely because I was so utterly disappointed with it. This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (from here on referred to as TUYBW) has the kind of name that implies a deep, philosophical story that subtly or overtly changes our understanding of the world around us. If you disagree, I wonder what kind of expectations you’d have for something that says the world is ugly and beautiful at the same time: Perhaps you’re the kind of person that expects a superficial, predictable story about naked underage girls. In which case, you’re looking in the right place. Also, shame on you, you pervert. For the rest of you, you’re going to be sorely disappointed with Gainax. How can the people that brought us such wonderful anime like FLCL, Gurren Lagann, His and Her Circumstances, and the Wings of Honneamise have possibly wasted so much money and time on something some would consider kiddie porn? Hey, I’m all for artistic uses of nudity (I still insist that the only sexy moments in Elfen Lied occur when the characters are fully clothed; the nudity in that series works for artistic and dramatic effect), but TUYBW made me feel dirty with all its naked little girls that wanted the main protagonists and therefore the audience to love them. Getting creeped out just thinking about it. Anyway, loli-tastic nudity aside, there are so many other things to pound on this series for.

I suppose I will try to follow the format from the last review, so here’s a brief summary of the series so you can have a reference point other than Anime Encyclopedia (after that we’ll get animation, music, story, then the conclusion where I deliver the finishing blow). So there’s this mystical being that flies around the cosmos visiting planets and rolling things up into balls called katamaris; there’s another entity that flies around and ends all life on said planets (well, it had some kind of judgment thing going, but this is Earth we’re talking about; we’re screwed). Remember that demon in the first Ghostbusters movie that turned into whatever you were thinking of? Gozer the Destroyer or whatever he was until he turned into the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man. Well, this planet killing entity does the same thing, but this time it flies through the head of a teenage boy and, surprise surprise, turns into a naked teenage girl. Actually, it splits in two and the other part flies through the boy’s best friend and turns into a naked little girl (he was thinking of his little sister, supposedly). The boys also have some friends/sibling that also get naked at times; it’s a bit of a harem. Enter some convoluted bit about super evolution in the face of the world killing naked girls and voila, both boys get super powers. But instead of using them to defend the earth, they save the girls from the other super evolved creatures (some extinct) while showing the girls all the wonders of life on earth like ice cream and school and friendship and love. Ultimately, the girls (having found some clothes) choose to leave the earth rather than stay and complete their world ending program thing. After a weak closing narrative about destiny and loneliness and connected hearts the end credits roll and we can all go on with our lives. Okay, there’s your summary, you don’t even have to see the series now. Sorry, but I need you to understand what this story is when I come back to hit it with a hammer later in the review. Before I get to that, let’s get all the little gripes like animation and music and such out of the way.

So TUYBW is a fitting title for the animation. TUYBW has a lot of pretty visuals and you can tell all the people involved put a lot of work into polishing it up and really making it shine. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything to make it stand out. The animation style, the character design, the action sequences; they all look exactly the same as everything else that’s out there. On its own, TUYBW is generic; it’s beautiful in the way all of the other mainstream anime series are and, ultimately, comes across as ugly to the eyes for it. So many of the other Gainax productions always had something new to bring to the table or something special to make them stand out when it in the visual department; I’d list some examples, but I’m going to assume you’ve seen bits of at least three Gainax productions and can think of some examples on your own. The visuals in TUYBW remind me of so many of the other generic series that we’ve been plagued with over the last few years, lots of flashy cg with a lack of definitive style or substance. So, generic is my judgment for the looks. If you disagree, just wait until the end because I’m going to tie this up in a cute little bow.

The background music in TUYBW is exactly that: music that stays in the background. The themes are forgettable, but the music does manage to serve its purpose in accentuating the important bits of story. They (being the creators) harp on a bit with the music and it gets tiresome as they try to smash more deep and profound emotion into the ending with the same themes we listened to throughout the entire series. In my last review you wouldn’t catch me listening to any of the music from Air on my Ipod, well, the music for TUYBW won’t even make it to my computer. The music just doesn’t have the grip it needs for a serious story. Good lesson for all of you would-be anime makers out there: music is not an afterthought and it’s not something you can half-ass; it’s every bit as important in driving the story as the character design and settings. If you’re going to go the cheap route and use one or two themes as the basis for all of the music in your series, make damn sure the themes are good. Not just good, but kick you in the face and leave you asking for more fantastic. His and Her Circumstances had two themes, but they were so good and fit the story so well they never got old. TUYBW music didn’t even stand out enough to get old.

Okay, now for the part I was really looking forward to: the story. As you can see from my summary above, there was actually a fair amount going on in TUYBW. Admittedly, I oversimplified it, but just barely. I can imagine you’re all out there thinking “but Whim, that story actually sounds pretty interesting. What could be so bad about it?” Well, since you hypothetically asked, I will give you an answer based partly on what TUYBW could have hypothetically been. Now, imagine a series with all of the wonderfully convoluted metaphysical nonsense from Evangelion, the multi-level symbolism of FLCL, the sheer kick-ass character development from Gurren Lagann, set it to a deep, moving soundtrack, and make the subject matter how wonderful the world is despite all of the horrors of existence (which will be graphically depicted for all of us to recoil at); then give it an ending that would be somewhat vague but reaffirming as it shows us a new way to see the world. Okay, I can’t quite picture it, either, but I think you can see what I’m getting at. Now, take that awesome series, strip out the deep philosophical implications, take away any attempt at symbolism or subtlety, break the characters down into the most basic anime stereotypes, play some boring music, and end it with a generic “yes the world is good but it’s sad at the same time” and presto! you’ve just made This Ugly Yet Beautiful World now on DVD from ADV Films. I suppose I should explain my harsh judgment a little better for those of you that didn’t quite get what a wondrous anime I just described. See, TUYBW is just like every other anime: The characters are taken straight out of the top 10 anime stereotypes. The story doesn’t take any chances or really force new points of view on us; it just gets a bit lost with the romance between the main character and the first naked alien girl and the parallel bonding-and-implied-incestuous-desires of his best friend and the really young naked alien girl. Also, the whole point of showing the girls how great yet terrible life is kind of fails as it’s never successfully driven across to the viewer. The ending is the same kind of ‘this ending isn’t happy because the world isn’t perfect’ tripe that we get in everything that’s supposed to be contemporary or “edgy.” In a world ruled by political correctness and tolerance, such an ending is to be expected; the truly revolutionary ending will be one that makes a moral assertion or casts judgment on society and thereby expands our own understanding of the world, and it will be considered great for having done it. Obviously, I don’t think TUYBW was great. The story was competent, but generic to a fault. The execution was unimaginative with the only risk taken being that everyone was naked, underage, and in love with one another in more than just the puppy love way; and that ending where the best friend wanted to kiss the really young naked alien girl was really creepy.

In conclusion, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World could have been great, but a lack of innovation kept it from realizing its potential. The animation was generic, the music was generic, and the plot was worse than generic: it was a total failure. Now remember when I said I was going to wrap this up in a tight little bow, well here goes: TUYBW is a prime example of all of the things that are wrong with so many of the anime productions that have come out lately: un-ambitious works that reek of targeted marketing committees and fan-pandering. So much anime lately has come out that only gets luke-warm responses from all of us “anime can be high art” freaks, and this is the reason: You take a good concept for a series, dumb it down, use one of the common anime styles, follow a set plot formula, throw in some fan-service and CG, and then call it a day. Fan-service can count as anything from the usual jiggling or panty shots to using the same old gundam designs and plot points with minor graphical updates (Gundam SeeD is completely without shame when it comes to this); if a story has reached a logical finish don’t make a sequel just because people liked it (*coughFullMetalAlchemistcough*). Sequels are not remakes: there’s a difference between giving a nod to the fans while pursuing new things and leading us down the same path while throwing us the occasional bone. While we have been lucky enough to receive some fresh series (Nodame Cantabile, Gurren Lagann, and some others I have yet to finish but will review once I have), they are getting fewer and farther between. Personally, I feel that there is an unfortunate trend in anime to further adhere to the various genres rather than turn them on their heads. Production companies are bowing to fan expectations and delivering more of the same. Ultimately, the entire industry will suffer when all of our anime has sickeningly generic storylines and productions values, both dressed up with naked underage girls.

Still wound up from this review,
~Whim

PS – I watched this series subtitled on the officially released DVDs.
PS2 – I’m not thick enough to ignore the fact that I am pointedly staying oblivious to the fact that this series could have been a very sophisticated stab at our social norms regarding underage girls, but frankly, I’m not willing to give Gainax that kind of credit and given what the series could have been it seems like a real waste to have all that potential squandered in an attempt to justify pedofiles.