Deathly Dalliances

Date A Live is a romantic comedy that finds humor in two contrasting elements, a high school student and mysterious beings not of this world. The latter, known as “Spirits”, are of the hyper-advanced, dangerous sci-fi variety, a threat to destroy the planet at any given moment lest they are dealt with via violent or more peaceful, ‘affectionate’ means. Of course, the teenage male protagonist lacks the requisite charisma to woo the Spirits (I’d like to think my writing process wasn’t pulling from personal experience…), and he consequently relies on secret orders from an extra-terrestrial command station to determine his next awkward flirtations.

Such a quirky plot made for quite the writing transitions; one scene might begin with a high-stakes battle sequence, only to switch gears into a bloodless albeit cringeworthy stalemate.

Date A Live does happen to be responsible for one of the high points of my localization career. One night, I found myself spending an excessive amount of time figuring out how to add a touch of comedy to an otherwise normal line. Fast forward to a theatrical screening of the episode months later, and the entire audience was in an uproar over the joke I came up with that sleepless evening. Behold, the sweet taste of validation!