It's like someone asked ChatGPT to turn the book into a dumb anglo sitcom.
-Every character is emotionally immature, spiteful, and sassy. None of the 'friends' act like friends. None of the characters talk like real people. They're constantly insulting or hitting each other. It's just embarrassing. The actors have nothing to work with.
-All the major twists/reveals are shown in the first two episodes. No suspense, no build-up, no pay-off. Rushed is an understatement.
-Single characters from the book have been unnecessarily split into multiple new characters adding nothing to the story.
-The story is a cosmic horror but comedy and romance have been forced in for no reason whatsoever except as filler, which is even more mind-boggling because they've essentially rushed all of the good stuff in the book to make room for unfunny jokes.
-Apparently they could barely afford any sets and extras, so scenes and locations that are supposed to be bristling with sights and people just feel oddly empty. Even the special effects feel muted. The budget is just weirdly limited, and the show looks much cheaper than the Tencent series.
-Almost all of the science (which is the interesting stuff) has been gutted from this science fiction.
I hate anglo slop. Where is the kino. Tencent pls adapt The Dark Forest.
It probably helps that almost the entire generation that committed or suffered under these atrocities has been dead for a while
Living memory is so much more potent than history
Right? Everyone who did it has been dead for a long time and the geopolitical situation is radically different. What would be the value or purpose in hating a person because people three generations ago did something horrible?
Fighting to neutralize the state? Opposing still existing aspects of the culture that lead to the violence in the first place? Hunting down survive criminals? Sure, all that makes sense.
But regarding Ouran Host Club or Pikachu or whatever with hatred and disdain because of Imperial Japanese violence in the 20th century is a little unhinged.