My Fave Is Problematic: Scum’s Wish
CONTENT WARNING for discussions of sexual assault and unhealthy relationships. SPOILERS for the entirety of the Scum’s Wish anime.
There’s a scene towards the end of the first episode of Scum’s Wish that perfectly encapsulates what makes this show unique among its contemporaries. The female lead, Hanabi, and an unnamed boy stand against the wall of the school building, low and to the side of a shot that is dominated by the fresh-grown leaves of spring, in a framing that feels familiar.
This is a love story. We understand this.
Hanabi rejects him, polite and distant, and this too, we understand. By eighteen minutes into the first episode, we already know the two men in Hanabi’s life who might capture her romantic attention, and so the inclusion of this new boy never carries a threat of disrupting the show’s central romances. Rather, this scene exists to position Hanabi as popular in her social circle, desirable to men, and graceful in her rejection of them. We see this scene, and we see Hanabi as a Beautiful Girl, but also as a Good Girl, and a Nice Girl, and a Thoughtful Girl. She’s a girl we can support.
At least, that’s the expectation.
The boy grabs her arm and pulls her around to face him once more. He’s waited a week for her answer, he protests. With an expression that can be read as confused, disappointed, and disdainful all in one, he tells Hanabi that she “built up [his] expectations,” as if that will change her mind. As his arm drops to his side, Hanabi turns to face him and pauses for a moment, before delivering a line that contextualizes all of what Scum’s Wish does well.
Read it at Anime Feminist!
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Anime watcher ace culture is watching Scum's Wish and feeling a strong range of emotions.
(Started out with me watching it to make sure it was safe enough to bond over with my younger sibling and ended with me wondering if it was even safe enough for me 😔)
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I don't care what people say about the series itself but scum's wish has one of the best soundtracks ever. Hands down. Literally every track is filled with so much subtlety and emotion and it is BEAUTIFUL
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