Monochrome Factor Episode 2 - Scarred Shadow

Preface - this show is bad. Really, really bad. I know. You don’t have to tell me, I know.

With that aside, Akira wakes up with Shirogane, who tells him that Akira can’t re-materialise in the mortal world without Shirogane hanging on to him and becoming his shadow. Hijinks of the most predictable kind therefore occur in class until another shadow monster thing appears (I can’t remember what they’re called) - the fight is a very close call, with both Shirogane and Akira being wounded. Shirogane takes Akira to a bartender called Master (I’m sorry, the one in Witch Hunter Robin is five million times cooler than this guy) who can also heal spirit/shadow people - a whole load of innuendo then follows as Shirogane moans in pain while Akira pulls a giant tooth or two out of his shoulder, and then it transpires that Akira doesn’t need Shirogane at all to change back, he can just stamp on a weird looking dolly instead.

To re-iterate - Monochrome Factor Is Bad. I think it may have gone all the way out the other side of bad, past really good and just settled somewhere in the realms of slightly naff. The writing and characterisation is painfully predictable, the animation merely average, and the acting several shades of annoying.

The reason I’m still watching? The hilariously shoe-horned in BL. The director obviously looked at the source material, realised that it was a generic action adventure with half-decent artwork, and thought “right! How are we going to make our show stand out from the crowd!”. The whole thing is so obviously a cynical piss take, with the silhouetted shots of Akira appearing to be grunting away on top of Shirogane and general ridiculous nature of their relationship, that it just makes me laugh in a manner most unbecoming. It’s much better than most proper BL shows with all their blushing and overwrought seductions, and certainly more enjoyable than the hackneyed lustful breast fondling that seems to characterise most attempts at lesbianism in anime these days. Let’s face it - with a few notable exceptions the portrayal of same-sex relationships in anime and manga falls into the patterns that have been established for years. What’s the harm in having a little fun at their expense occasionally?

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!