Review of The Fruit of Grisaia

Yuji Kazami is not an ordinary teenager; he is a hit-man! However he wants to be ordinary so transfers to Mihama Academy; a school with a small and previously girl-only student body. The girls seem normal enough but each of them has a backstory and one in particular seems to have it in for him; Yumiko Sakaki attacks him with a box-cutter; although they soon become friends. Over the course of the series we learn more about the students; sometimes in multi-episode stories that take us away from the school and the rest of the main cast. Most notable being the tale of how Amane was the sole survivor of a crash which left her class lost in remote woodland with limited supplies. We also see Yuji putting his skills to use.

This is a decent enough series; initially I found it a bit confusing as we saw different character's stories but as it progressed I found it more gripping. The characters are fairly interesting and became more so as we learnt about them. Being based on a light novel it isn't surprising that there is fan-service although not enough to detract from the story. It is dark in tone at times; this is especially true in Amane's story as her class die one by one and there are hints that some have resorted to cannibalism.

Those who enjoyed this series will be pleased to know that the final episode promises further series titled 'Le Labyrinth de la Grisaia' and 'Le Eden de la Grisaia'.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.