I hated this TV series, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I'm not criticising the writing, acting, etc. It's sincere and dark. It's an unblinking study of unsympathetic characters (plus their victim, who's lovely for 99% of her screen time and in the remainder made me cheer). Importantly, it's an adaptation of a manga from Masahiro Itosugi, the author of the infamous incest series Aki Sora. Both series are pretty filthy and examining relationships that shouldn't happen, but ironically Aki Sora is lighter and happier. This, on the other hand, is playing its content for deconstruction and tragedy (and the manga's comparable in this with the definitive harem horror, School Days).

Even the character names are alarming for manga/anime fans. The main characters are Yukiteru Tamaki and Yuno Kirishima, which might have been a deliberate echo of Future Diary's Yukiteru and Yuno.

This Yukiteru (Tomoyuki Ishida) burned down his house when he was young (eh?), so ever since he's been living with Yuno (Yurina Yanagi) and her grumpy sister. Yukiteru once promised to marry Yuno when they grew up. She's charming, sweet, devoted to him and possibly an idiot. She's an anime girlfriend stereotype, i.e. devoted to the bland protagonist for no clear reason and with nothing in her head except desire to be with him. She's actually interested in sex and invites him to a love hotel in ep.1 (he declines), then repeats the offer later and says she might attack him one day (not joking).

Incidentally, Yuno's actress is the only person who turned her role here into a career. Nao Eguchi had been acting for a decade, but disappeared soon after this. Tomoyuki Ishida, Momo Kido, Miyu Kotohara and Nami Motoyama vanished without trace. Yurina Yanagi, on the other hand, made her debut here and has gone on to a very successful career, including a recurring Kamen Rider role. She's also the prettiest girl in the cast, which always helps in the acting business.

Yuno I liked. She's lovely. Yukiteru is indecisive garbage who refuses to have sex with his adorable, devoted girlfriend and instead starts shagging other girls behind her back. They're colder and have worse personalities. They're less attractive. Presumably, he's turned on by bad girls. Later, though, when Cheater #2 arranges a game for everyone with sexual forfeits, Yukiteru leaps up and yells STOP STOP to veto something only mildly naughty between another boy and Yuno. You could write a disturbing book about his sense of ownership there.

In episodes 1-3, I merely disliked Yukiteru. In episode 4, I wanted him to sod off. In episode 5, I graduated to "I HATE HIM", "THEY SHOULD STOP DOING THIS" and "They can all piss off and die. Seriously. HATE HATE HATE." I stopped using his name and called him "Shithead" in my notes... and even after that my opinion of him managed to decline further. I ended up welcoming a yandere knife climax as a happy ending and the rational response to our hero's behaviour, with the only disappointment being that he survives. (The manga's ending is better. A girl leaks videos of club orgies and then commits suicide, after which Yukiteru is murdered by the boyfriend of one of his multiple girls.)

Frankly, I wouldn't even call this film's finale yandere. Yukiteru got off lightly. Try doing all that in real life and see what happens.

Throughout, the tone is dark and unsettling. Naughty swimming pool scenes are shot to be blue, dark and sinister. It looks like a horror movie where aliens eat people. The show's opening scene involves outdoors sex, under a railway bridge... and someone might be considering murder. Also, one woman isn't interested in sex unless someone's getting hurt. When her married lover admits everything to his wife and separates from her, she immediately dumps him.

The TV show isn't dodging the nudity. Boobs are shown, but in uncomfortable contexts that'll make you wish they weren't.

There's definitely strong stuff here, though. The most explosive material is in episodes 5-6, when Cheater #2 gets everyone together for a sleepover and talks them into playing dodgy games. I hated those with a passion, but they're undeniably powerful stuff. "First, confession tiiiiiiiiiiiiime!" She also gets everyone playing the King Game (you give orders that must be obeyed without knowing who'll be obeying them) and explicitly permits sexual content. Yuno's interesting here. She admits to masturbating after she offered sex to Yukiteru, wants to watch heavy petting and orders another girl to go topless. (That was surprisingly mean. That other girl dislikes this game and isn't allowed a veto, although she secretly later admits to having been turned on by it.) These games also dissect (to the point of shredding) Yukiteru's motivations.

Incidentally, Cheater #2 runs an SF club. We eventually learn that "SF" means "sex friends".

The internet thinks there's an Uwakoi 2, but I think that's wrong. Anyway, this is an interesting series. There's something odd and spiky in everyone's characterisation, even the apparently innocent Yuno. She has that sexual curiosity, that willingness to be pushed into inappropriate challenges ("we trust each other"), the psychological places she goes to and of course the knives. Is this what happens when a good person comes to realise that they love someone's not worth scraping off their boot?

This series is uncomfortable and I respect it, but I hated Yukiteru too much to be able to embrace it.