So we received
a comment on our latest news post that got me to thinking a bit- What is so
wrong with SLH? Reb and I sat down and tried to peg the things that irritate us the most about this series.
1. Starting with a technicality, fandom as a whole knows the events that transpire throughout the entire series. It's difficult to motivate yourself when people comment with things like, "Thanks for this chapter, but I can't wait until chapter x!"
2. The pacing is painful; throw-away events like Mayfest take four or more chapters to slog through, but no actual development takes place. Meanwhile, the main goal of "finding out who did that thing" take a backseat to shenanigans.
3. The love interest with his horrible personality is constantly crammed down our throats. If a chapter doesn't involve him, he generally
has to make an appearance regardless of relevance.
4. Hiyoki is just so insufferably stupid and serves as a wonderful pedestal for the author to talk down to the reader through use of repetitious monologues which often repeat dialogue from just a couple pages earlier- or, in many cases, repeat dialogue from
the exact same page.
5. Hiyoki's infatuation with said love interest borders on unhealthy. He gives her a bracelet but instead it's a collar- "an embodiment of our contract", he says. Instead of being a real relationship, their interactions are based exclusively on blackmail- whether it be saving the S-Hall from demolition or Cain using Hiyoki for his own goals, there's no actual affection taking place. Even the inevitable kiss feels like Cain marking his territory.
6. The cast is an amalgamation of stereotypes. Sure, the same could be said of Barajou, but in this case the cast isn't given really any chance to shine, as it's disposed in favor of Hiyoki (which is ironic as the series is classified as a reverse harem). The only two with any significant chance to develop are Cain and Ren- the other cast members are often treated as disposable. In an effort to curtail this, they're often allowed one-liners throughout the script, but there's not much interaction in the form of conversation aside from gags.
Any rebuttals/additions?
