We Without Wings - Under the Innocent Sky, often abbreviated to Oretsuba, is not an anime that appeals to the majority of viewers. Yet, the thematic construction and unraveling of the narrative leads to one of the most unique psychological presentations I have witnessed within the medium. It is an adaptation of a visual novel of the same name by Navel and is notoriously impossible to translate due to the author’s complex and culturally unbridgeable prose, restricting the source material from those who do not speak or understand the nuances of the Japanese language.

The plot follows three men and their connection to various women, Haneda Takeshi, a feeble and chuuni high school student who escapes from bullying through the belief he is a knight from another dimension; Chitose Shuusuke, a lively and affable yet unsuccessful playboy who works multiple minimum wage jobs in order to sustain himself, and Narita Hayato, a brooding and edgy delinquent who roams the streets of Yanagihara city at night. While these men may initially seem disconnected on the surface, they share a substantial commonality connecting them intrinsically. Unfortunately, the girls lack substantial characterization and development, mostly existing to flesh out the male leads and provide often overwhelming and unnecessary fan service. That being said, each girl’s relationship with the corresponding male protagonists serves to highlight how each character’s shattered psyche indirectly affects others around them. In contrast, the male leads are fairly well-written, all representing different forms of psychological turmoil and mental illness, which leads to the construction of the unique narrative structure.

Oretsuba’s narrative and story are analogous to a disharmonious band which plays entirely out of tune, yet within the deafening cacophony, a wholly new melody can be found, one which is beautiful in its unorganized discord. Equally parts perverse and chaotic, the anime is a comedic mess that seems too disconnected to amount to anything meaningful. Yet, given the psychological state of the main characters, the randomness makes sense through the lens of mentally ill individuals who cannot perceive reality in a cohesive or neurotypical manner, and the unique comedic elements create an absurdist outlook on the world where nothing makes sense and is enveloped within a veil of neurotic confusion. However, this extreme amalgamation of comedy, psychology, and ecchi is a double-edged sword, as Oretsuba can be perceived as disgusting, unfunny, and nonsensical depending on the viewer's perspective, which is understandably what makes the anime so unappealing to wider audiences as a whole.

There isn’t much to say about Oretsuba’s music as it is unmemorable and stereotypical for a production of Oretsuba’s caliber, consisting of typical J-pop tunes which dominate so heavily within the industry. The animation is crisp and luminous but not particularly special or atmospheric; it is reasonably visually appealing but not a memorable aspect of the anime in the slightest.

Overall, We Without Wings - Under the Innocent Sky is an anime that is exceptionally unique yet difficult to recommend to others due to the confusing and perverted elements of the story, yet underneath the facade of a raunchy comedy, it creates and perpetuates an intriguingly complex perspective into the mind of disturbed and traumatized individuals who cannot view the world through the viewpoint of an average person.