Monday, August 09, 2004

Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy - episodes 1 to 4

Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy is probably the weirdest thing ever made, based on a decidedly amoral idea.
Techno, a boy who lives in a nuclear bunker, one day spies a young maiden on his lawn. The images relayed by his camera system raise his adrenaline levels and tell him that he is experiencing love for the first time. After three months practise with a robot, he goes to school, christens the girl 'Daisy' despite her name being Hitomi, and declares that she belongs to him.

It's not just the idea that a woman can belong to a man. That's outmoded as it is, but it's not as blatantly wrong as:

  • Techno trying to coat Hitomi in formaldehyde to preserve her from the dangers of the world - coincidentally killing her (first episode).
  • Techno threatening to drop Hitomi from one hundred feet if she refuses to eat lunch with him (second episode).

  • On these two episodes alone, it's a wonder that Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy had an audience left to watch it.
    Fortunately, after these outings, Techno softens just a little bit, making vague attempts to understand Daisy, and Hitomi making valiant efforts not to get herself killed.
    Come episode four the viewer, if not Hitomi, can start to see something in Techno that made him what he is. He has no parents, and believes in 'just the two of us': firstly his grandfather, and then himself and Daisy. His grandfather wants to integrate him into society, while having raised the young boy to anticipate the apocalypse. It explains where Techno's coming from, but it doesn't excuse what he does. However, something breaks inside of Hitomi and the audience when they come to understand the desperate feelings of loneliness.

    Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy isn't really offensive so much as it is just wrong, but there's some aspects about it that allow one to watch without turning off in complete disgust. Firstly, it doesn't play stalking too much for laughs, as the producers probably realise that one of society's worst nightmares is being captured by their stalker - so it has other things to lighten the mood. Miss Rarako, the swimsuit donning teacher who panics about appropriateness, is generally hilarious and the one source of fan service.
    The actual comedy comes from Yamakawa X, the self proclaimed outcast of Japanese society (who is actually much more popular than he realises). He's so down that he even lets Techno pick on him. His rebel without a cause routine is funny by itself, but is boosted by his family. His mother and brother are ashamed of him, because he used to be such a good boy. When Yamakawa runs off after being trapped in a monster suit, his mother cries "I just hope he doesn't go crazy and destroys Tokyo Tower!" His brother's response is gold, and worthy of meriting a bracketed exclamation mark, like so - (!).

    Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy is a late night production from the team behind Haunted Junction, and they have that nice late night feel to them (although most modern licenced anime is broadcast late at night), but this is significantly different. With the addition of a couple of surprisingly high profile names amongst the general assortment of first timers, it's okay to listen to, and the OP is genuinely creative. It might be difficult to to get past the definitely disturbing subject matter, but despite itself it can boast a certain charm.
    Still, one suspects that these DVDs are out of print for a reason.
    It might be wrong on a base level, but at least it doesn't make stalking seem too acceptable a pastime.

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