So, last September I took a swing at the “Battle School” genre, which I feel like needs more acknowledgment as being its own thing with its own conventions, the same way as Isekai gets (though probably with similar tones of criticism). These shows have tight formulas and a lot of genre expectations. One of those expectations is that Battle School shows are, almost without exception, Harem shows. They follow a male lead with some unique circumstances, and he inevitably attracts several interesting women who become the main components of his social circle and ultimately develop feelings for him. And, in proper Harem fashion, the lead guy will, even if he has some preference, pretty much never settle on or pick one of the girls to form a relationship with.
Viewer expectations are an interesting
beast. It can be good to subvert them at times, but you have to take
care in how you do it, because there’s also an unspoken contract with
viewers that if you present a certain way, you provide certain
elements, and refusing to honor the implicit contract can generate
backlash, even against material that’s actually good.
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