Life in Quadrant 4

I guess from the onset, this was meant to be a parody / gag anime, judging from the source material. From the very start of the episode, they already break the fourth wall and make no qualms as to how the mood of the series will be – lighthearted and fun. Quite a number of references and jokes are made, many of which are at a certain animation studio’s expense, and they naturally don’t stop there, poking fun Higurashi/Umineko (both productions by the same studio), name-dropping Kuroshitsuji, making fun of DBZ and Evolution, and ultimately at itself.

Given its clear-cut distinction about its target audience (that is to say, people who understand these jokes – otaku being a large percentage of this), the number of people who could possibly enjoy this show is marginally low (in comparison to other shows that have more mass appeal). I guess you could equate it to masturbation (in a figurative sense, of course) – no meaning, no hidden intention. Just mindless fun and pleasuring oneself. I mean, it’s a show about nothing but jokes on otaku-related works and terms. It’s as meta as an anime could be, really. Whoever said Bakemonogatari was a circle-jerk of a show made for otaku can eat their words – SeiZon is miles ahead in terms of this distinction. This sort of show was made for otaku, period.

However, those people who do fall within its target market may quite enjoy it – as I have. This may sound awfully elitist, but the way the show works, it’s almost like it panders to the people knowledgable about its jokes and references – namely, us. It’s just like going to an IRC channel and watching the people randomly talk about anime; you laugh at some of the jabs and some others just fly right by you. Since the show is essentially a mini-dump of jokes, gags, and references on current shows and other media, I doubt it’s one of those things that people who don’t already know what the show’s talking about will enjoy it.

I hesitate to get pretentious and call it a brilliant social commentary on the current state of otaku media affairs; it could be, but I can’t quite find the words to fully describe how exactly it could. What I can say about it is that for those who like a little bit of pandering for their otaku selves, it won’t fail to satisfy. And I’m quite satisfied, even for just a little while.

Side Note: I was supposed to toss in a nice header image, but fail uni internet won’t let me upload anything. orz