Located on the outskirts of Tokyo, Hachimitsu Private Academy is a prestigious all-girls boarding school, famous for its high-quality education and disciplined students. However, this is all about to change due to the revision of the school's most iconic policy, as boys are now able to enroll as well.
At the start of the first semester under this new decree, a mere five boys have been accepted, effectively splitting the student body into a ratio of two hundred girls to one boy. Kiyoshi, Gakuto, Shingo, Andre, and Jo are quickly cast away without having a chance to make any kind of a first impression. Unable to communicate with their fellow female students, the eager boys set their sights on a far more dangerous task: peeping into the girls' bath!
It is only after their plan is thoroughly decimated by the infamous Underground Student Council that the motley crew find their freedom abruptly taken from them, as they are thrown into the school's prison with the sentence of an entire month as punishment. Thus begins the tale of the boys' harsh lives in Prison School, a righteous struggle that will ultimately test the bonds of friendship and perverted brotherhood.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
HaXXspetten
The original Prison School is probably the most impressive ecchi manga I have ever read. By impressive I don't just mean that it's enjoyable, but rather that it accomplished something that I sincerely didn't believe was possible. It manages to tell a story with hilarious comedy and incredibly lewd ecchi scenes, but at the same time also have a legitimately suspenseful and interesting plotline, *without* making those aspects feel incompatible. I don't think I have ever seen such a smooth and natural way of merging serious and non-serious elements anywhere else where it actually succeeds on both fronts. Now the anime covers the entirety of thefirst arc of the manga, which tells the story of five boys who enroll in a previously all-girls boarding school which has just become co-ed. However, many of the female students are still disgusted at the notion of having men as their fellow classmates, and a certain vigilante organization within the school called the Underground Student Council decide to take the matter into their own hands. The group consists of the manipulative president Mari, the voluptuous and sadistic vice president Meiko, and the rather violent crazy person Hana who's also got a quite peculiar fetish to say the least. They set a trap for the boys where they manage to frame them for peeping, and consequently send them all off to live inside a small prison located on the school courtyard. And thus, their new life of hell begins as they are forced into manual labor under Meiko's relentless whipping, and they constantly have to be on their guard against the USC's foul play and attempts at getting the boys expelled for good. Meanwhile, the boys try to channel their inner Andy Dufresne as they start to dream about breaking out of prison...
The first thing that needs to be said about this anime is that it doesn't hold anything back. Like not in the slightest. Among other things it features hardcore masochism, a principal obsessed with asses, misunderstandings about two of the guys supposedly being gay for each other, cross dressing, golden showers, a guy shitting himself in class, a girl who sweats about 50 liters per day, a myriad of sexual innuendos, non-stop femdom, epic speeches about the stupidest things imaginable and god knows what else. There are no breaks on this pain train and you better be prepared for what you're getting yourself into when deciding to watch Prison School, because it is rather... crude, to say the least. But crude or not, the execution is stellar, and it rarely fails to make you laugh with how blunt it is.
The characters are all highly exaggerated in their behavior, but given the crazy atmosphere of the show it fits perfectly. Our main character Kiyoshi is energetic and dedicated, Gakuto is the best bro ever, Andre is a huge masochist, Joe is infatuated with ants and Shingo is an American delinquent. And of course they're all perverts, whether they admit it or not, but at least they're perverts with class... well discounting Andre that is. Speaking of which, the ecchi elements in Prison School are not to be underestimated. It has scenes you will probably never see anywhere else other than in hentai. But it doesn't come across as needless fanservice at all; rather it either makes it humorous or just plain epic, especially anything starring Kiyoshi and Hana in the same room is a sight for sore eyes. It's something you really need to see for yourself to understand. Of course the TV-airing of Prison School is censored like almost every ecchi anime is these days, but since the sexual content is mostly there for the sake of comedy rather than arousal I don't really find it all that distracting anyway.
As far as pacing goes though, there are some issues. The anime covers 81 chapters' worth of content in just 12 episodes, which is quite a lot of story in not too much time. As a result, the transitions in-between scenes are oftentimes done extremely quickly, which means that a lot of the jokes don't really have time to sink in properly before the story moves on to the next segment. There's also the fact that many of the characters actually talk *very* fast, which might just be another way of saving time. So in that sense it is a pretty rushed adaptation, but I think it gets gradually better the longer it goes on, and honestly even despite the fast pacing it still works out fairly smoothly most of the time. A few episodes more would have done wonders though.
The manga is notorious for its unusually detailed and realistic-looking art style for an ecchi series, and the anime follows the same idea. I don't think it looks quite as crisp as the original art does, but it still gets the job done and gives you a pretty fresh outlook on the genre. The voice acting is also very on-point. Kamiya Hiroshi's performance fits Kiyoshi's character like a glove, probably because he shares a lot of traits with Araragi Koyomi from the Monogatari Series whom Hiroshi has also voiced. Seeing Hanazawa Kana of all people do the role of Hana might be a bit more unexpected though given her absolutely crazy persona, but she actually does an absolutely phenomenal job at it. I also have to give Konishi Katsuyuki a shout-out for his voicing of Gakuto's character; it was truly a special experience to listen to and a very impressive performance overall.
Prison School is an anime with a very unorthodox combination of genres and styles, and an even rarer case of one which actually does it successfully. It stands out for its hilariously exaggerated scenes, its crazy characters and its ability to do literally *anything* without holding back for even a second. Is it a show for everyone? No, but I still think it's targeting a much larger audience than first impressions may lead you to believe. It's a highly entertaining series from start to finish, and while I still prefer the manga version, it's definitely an anime worth checking out, even if only to see just what the hell is actually going on in it.
realkonnie
Prison School is by far my favorite anime this season! I'm a big fan of Great Teacher Onizuka and it's the first time in years I've had the same kind of enjoyment watching a comedy. I'm usually not a big fan of over-sexualized female characters or harem animes but prison school is an exception. Story 9/10 5 perverted teenagers end up in a school full of girls. They peak into the girls bath and get grounded into a prison set in the middle of the campus. These 5 guys are hilarious, one is fat as fuck, one is creepy as fuck, one is geeky as fuck... Thegirls in charge of them AKA the Underground School Council, bully them, torture them, insult them. This kind of treatment gives them boners lol
All the comical elements that build up in the series are pretty similar to what would happen in GTO in these kind of weird sexual moments.
Art: 10/10
The art is flawless. The action scenes are fast paced and you never get bored. Great attention to detail. Nothing bad to say about it. Character design is fine too and there's a lot of panty shots.
Sound: 10/10
eeeeh, not a fan of the opening or ending. For the sake of giving Prison School a 10/10 I'll just give the sound a 10. The voice acting is awesome though.
Character: 10/10
AMAZING. The 5 guys are funny as hell, the MC kyoshi is kinda lovable and cute while his friends are just creepy sexual weirdos. Since they're always stuck together they create great bonds and funny homoerotic quiproquos. The girls in charge of the prison are as fucked up as the guys.
AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SCHOOL DESERVES AN AWARD.
Enjoyment: 10/10
You will not get bored. I swear.
Overall: 10/10
yep
Flawfinder
First, I’m going to have to say what Prison School is about. Because I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around the concept and the hundreds of planning paper I bought at Office Depot isn’t helping. In some weird universe where parental absence is even more out-of-place than normal by anime standards, there is a private girls’ academy called Hachimitsu (not gonna dignify that name with a response) that has recently started to admit boys for no particular reason like some gender-reversed version of Zoey 101. However, Hachimitsu is an academy that’s far from being suitable for the Nick-audience viewing. It’s a harsh place wherethe most minor of infractions will cause you to get treated like a literal prisoner complete with wearing the stereotypical white and black outfits or face expulsion, which is something the five boys who transferred to the academy learn the hard way after making the stupid mistake of trying to peek into the girls’ locker room. Although why they’d want to is beyond me, considering every single girl in this show is less sexually appealing than Bayonetta in clown make-up. In fact, come to think of it, what exactly happens to these boys after they get expelled, considering they don’t exactly seem to be learning anything as is? Well, it turns out they want to stay so they can see a girls’ wet T-shirt contest that’s supposed to occur sometime in the future. Something I find very hard to believe actually exists in this academy - which is quite a feat considering everything else that goes past the headmaster’s eyes.
Prison School is an incredibly difficult show to summarize because it seems like it was based on somebody’s Madlibs and the guy who filled it out was off his meds that day. I get that it’s supposed to be combining prison exploitation films with the standard “anime harem/school” tropes, but some things just don’t combine, like the Hercules legend and Michael Bolton. Every single element of the series is so contradictory to another element that I have a hard time trying to find out what I’m supposed to be caring about and more importantly, what I’m supposed to laugh at. So the vice-president punishing the boys for being perverted shows ample amounts of cleavage in school? These girls hate the male form and yet they’re open with showing their vaginas to them and the audience at every opportunity? There’s a guy who really loves ants to the point that he’d die for them? There is a gun in my drawer with a special mechanism that only fires the trigger if I’m pointing it up my nose?
Oh sorry. My head was getting overwhelmed and I was thinking for a fast way to clear some thoughts. This whole show plays out like a South Park episode that was stretched to twelve times the length and stripped of all the life, memorable characters, great movie parodies, and subversive topical humor that still played by the rules even when it showcased a magician entertaining kids by sawing his penis off and hiding it behind a kid’s ear, causing it to fall into the same lifeless monkey cheese the shows it tries to parody fall into. Get past the presentation and all Prison School is is another goddamn story about the opposite sex trying to fit into a same-sex school and discovering what qualifies as romance in this medium whilst being about character types rather than characters. And unless you’re one of those people who really like over-the-top art styles, you’ll get tired of the presentation real fast.
The humor relies entirely on overreacting, awkward situations that the characters narrate to the point that the joke overstays its welcome (which is any length of time above zero seconds), or just being nonsensical for the sake of being nonsensical. And unusually for a Tsutomu Mizushima anime - and especially compared to JC Staff’s other perverted comedy that aired in the same season - the comedic timing is completely awful, so forget laughing. I know Funimation has never been above being a little liberal with translations, but poking the bear aside, I find it very hard to believe that video games even exist in this universe. And once that thought entered my mind, the shock chuckle I got from seeing that became like the shock chuckle of seeing a piece of wood stuck down someone’s sphincter: incapable of provoking an emotion from me other than confusion.
As far as I’m concerned, this show isn’t the least bit as edgy or gritty as it thinks it is. It’s more like a desperate dad trying to make his baby smile by stretching his face out and go “abloogeewoogeewoo”. And when that’s not working, he tells the kid about all the fucked-up things he saw in the world like a twelve-year old who doesn’t know any better. Who’s the baby at that point, huh old man?
There’s this stupid conversation between the male students and their principal in which he’ll allow them to stay a little longer if they can tell him whether or not boobs or asses are better and why that is. The punchline is supposed to be that being perverted gets you rewarded, which I think has only been used in at least ten different gross-out comedies, as well as every Kevin Smith film ever. Most of all, I don’t even care about the semantics regarding which is better. It’s a dumb conversation to have in real life and it’s dumb in fiction.
Another memorable attempt at the show’s desperation was when the closest thing to a male lead tried to sneak out of the school in order to show up for a date. Let’s be generous for now and say we give two shits for if he actually shows up or not, but the attempts at hiding his break-out are just pathetic because it’s very obvious he won’t get caught until the episode ends at the very least, and the punchline is always that he avoids getting caught due to last-minute circumstance that’s too weird to be funny. I’ll admit to smiling a bit at the defecation radio because that actually seemed possible in reality, but that’s it.
But I think the biggest thing that got to me was the finale. First off, it was incredibly obvious who was going to win in the end and the plan to achieve said end was pretty damn simplistic in of itself with virtually no twists to the formula or any attempt to make the characters less boring resulting from it. And yet the show drags the plan out for three episodes just so it can cram in a hundred more overlong “oh shit, I saw a woman’s privates” joke whenever it spots an opportunity to do so whilst tying up loose ends that quite frankly missed the mark for payoff ages ago. Yeah, South Park itself has a tendency to overreach, but not to this extent.
Second, I won’t spoil the final result, but I felt nothing for anybody after everything was wrapped up, and not just because of the rampant yet confusing sexism. Because at the end of the day, nothing’s changed aside from certain circumstances. The characters have achieved nothing, learned nothing, will never be remembered for anything, and have certainly not learned how to be funny to anyone older than twelve. All the suffering they went through? What exactly was the point of it all? Please tell me. I’m dying to know.
I’ve heard some people who acknowledge this show’s problems by saying it gets by on the tension. As we’ve covered before regarding Detroit Metal City, I find this impossible to feel when the show has an over-the-top style that is ALWAYS on. It NEVER takes a break to have the characters actually act human or feel like they’re in real danger. Imagine if the intrigue in Gurren Lagann was dealt with using the same “who the hell do you think I am/raw raw fight the powah” atmosphere as mostly everything else in that show. We’d think Imaishi wasn’t taking the audience seriously, or that Baz Luhrmann somehow broke into the industry. When they say style can be substance, they don’t mean keep the style on 24/7. Because even the most powerful religious symbolism gets old if you just hammer in the same verse over and over.
No likable characters, no funny jokes, not a lick of sense regarding anything that happens, and whatever tension that’s supposed to exist throughout the series is undermined by the fact that I’m watching a bunch of Daily Lives of Highschool Boys rejects constantly trying to perform bad stand-up comedy. Final grade? Utterly forgettable.
Polyphemus
Prison School is a good anime, although it sometimes fails to play to its strengths and descends into pointlessness. I don't look to anime for sexual gratification; so when I criticize the censorship, I'm not doing it out of blue-balled resentment. (Well, not just that anyway.) It detracts from the quality of the animation, and it's often just unnaturally forced into the scene, to cover things that don't really need to be covered. They can indirectly depict urolagnian debauchery but they draw the line at panty-shots? Prison School has nice animation, but it's difficult to appreciate this when so much of it is censored. Honestly,I kind of wish there wasn't quite so much sex-appeal. I want to be able to just watch and laugh without having to make the sign of the cross every three seconds. A lot of it was just for the purpose of humor, but when we got into territory that was more clearly aimed at arousal, it got a bit more uncomfortable. The series could have been better if it stopped trying to tickle my boner and started focusing solely on tickling my funny bone. (I can tickle my own boner, thank you very much.)
Speaking of how Prison School could have been better, the characters were something of a minefield placed over a gold mine. Characters like Hana, Vice President, the Principal guy, Kiyoshi, Joe, and Gakuto were great. But then there's characters like that one guy who had no personality, but got kind of pissy sometimes and that's all we really know about him so how can I really be expected to know his name, and Mari, who I find to be rather flat compared to characters like the Vice President. (Haha. Flat.) And then there's Andre. He is filth. He is the most disgusting character, the most repulsive thing, that I have ever seen in any anime. No, in anything. Every time he was on the screen, I felt tears welling in my eyes and beginning to drip down onto my cheeks as my body shook with dry heave after dry heave after vomiting fit. The creator of this character should be shot. Or just killed. I suppose it doesn't matter how. But he must be brutally murdered (or just murdered, I'm not picky) before he releases another Andre into the world.
But it's a testament to the strength of the best characters that the presence of Andre does not result in an automatic 1. Instead, the good, borderline non-existent, and terrible characters balance each other out. I just wish we saw some characters more often. (Like Hana. I want more.)
The plot is absurd; it barely exists, and what is there is ridiculous, but it still maintains somewhat of a sense of internal consistency, and it works. The premise is bizarre, and a lot of the plot developments just make it weirder, but it has a beautiful sense of logic to it that would make Hegel turn green with envy as he realized the insignificance of his boring collections of meaningless compound words.
But whatever. You should probably forget everything I've said up until now. And I mean everything. Forget everything I've ever said in my life. The most important thing is that Prison School is very funny. It could have been better in a lot of aspects, but it succeeds in entertaining its audience. It's unique and hilarious. You won't find anything else like it, and it's not easy to find anything funnier. If you watch it, you will laugh, unless you suck. It's a comedy; it's comedic. There you go. It's a success.
That said, the gags can get very repetitive, (Despite the changing of details and introduction of some new sexual situation, it's still the same damn joke. And somebody needs to tell the mangaka that a running gag isn't just a copy-and-paste thing; you actually have to be creative to keep it funny.) but they don't quite over-stay their welcome. A lot of the time, when Prison School seemed to get stale, it changed just enough to keep you going for another episode. But, towards the end it really isn't that funny anymore. Not laugh-out-loud funny anyway. Ramping up the vulgarity does not equate to increasing the funniness, and it's sort of a cheap tactic.
Instead of watching this anime, you should probably just read the manga. Think about it. It covers a lot more of the story, it has minimal censorship, and the panel format sometimes lends itself to better comedic timing. (Mostly just the first two.) And what did it really gain in the adaptation? The boring OP and ED? I am unimpressed. But if you absolutely refuse to read manga, then that's fine too. I would still recommend the anime, provided that you know what you're getting into.
A 7 seems about right for Prison School. It is very flawed, but the entertaining parts are entertaining enough for me to call it 'good.' It's certainly better than a lot of other anime out there.
kirinamaterasu
I really wonder how the Japanese regulatory departments allowed such an anti-masculine anime to be made. Throughout the anime, we see boys being humiliated and girls who seeking power and sadism. Boys are defined as sensual animals who only care about physical and sexual desires, and girls are creatures to be protected. The foundation of a normal school and education has been questioned and we are witnessing the promotion of a wrong kind of feminism and anti-men. And worse than that, we see boys who accept and adapt to the unreasonable tyranny of girls instead of dealing with it rationally. In no country and no school does the student councilhave the right to beat and physically deal with students, even if the student is a murderer.
I really feel sorry for the creators of such animes that promote violence against men and the wrong way of being a feminist.
This anime is nothing but entertainment for sexual perverts.
Stark700
You’re probably thinking what does “prison”and “school” have to do with each other? Isn’t prison where criminals go to and school is where people get an education? Prison School sort of works differently. When the ratio of girls to guys is around 20:1, then you know your school has something that’s worth more than just education. Of course, I’m referring to the elite boarding school known as Hachimitsu Academy. Based on the manga of the same name, the series was long sought to get an anime adaptation at some point. And when it did, there were concerns about how it should be adapted. The concerns includesthe amount of censorship or material omitted as a show like this may not be suitable to air on TV. And that’s pretty obvious to tell as well. Prison School is literally like a fan service extravaganza. No less than 30 seconds into the first episode and you’ll realize it why. However, I would also describe Prison School more as a comedy thriller, a show that satirizes fan service itself. Sounds a bit odd right? If you’re interested, keep reading on.
The story involves 5 boys. They are Kiyoshi, Gakuto, Joe, Shingo, and Andre. Kiyoshi is sort of the primary protagonist among them although all of them get spotlight in the story some way or another. Regardless, the school they are attending has over 1000 girls and they are some of the few guys. While this seems like some sort of heavenly dream coming true, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. It turns out, there’s a strong female dominance and authority at the school. This mainly composes of the Underground Student Council made of an elite group of female characters such as Mari, Hana, and Meiko. Their main intention is to get the boys expelled and throughout the show, we see how far they go. To say the least, the Underground Student Council is ridiculously powerful. They seem to have absolute rule over the school and anyone who fails to abide by their authority will pay the consequence. This is where the prison part comes in as people get locked up. For its purpose, the show often portrays the women abusing the boys while the main characters tries to make the most of their time there. Remember what I said about fan service earlier? That part easily comes to play when most of the female characters are sexualized throughout the story. Take Meiko for example. She is one of the Student Council members and often punishes the boys through extreme form of sadism such as whipping, brutalizing, and beating up the boys to get satisfaction. Andre is mostly the victim of her assaults although there’s implications that he secretly enjoys it. While all this seems a bit over-the-top notch, I dare say that its performance is more like a thriller. The comedy is the fan service while the thriller is how much the boys can take the mental and physical abuse.
As for the characters, most if not all the boys are perverts. Kiyoshi is probably the tamest of them and probably also the most normal character in the show. His crush on Hana, a secretary of the Student Council, often lands him into controversial positions. Despite this, Kiyoshi is an honest guy and stands firm as a character that most others contrast in this series. The other boys also show some delicacy when it comes to their own personalities but none of them come close to him. A good amount of emphasis is also placed on some of their interactions with female characters. While most of them are victims of the characters, there are some that achieve a bit of closure. For instance, we have Shingo’s relationship with Anzu that seems to develop into some genuine love. Kiyoshi’s relationship with Hana also has some bits of innocence although given the nature of the show, it’s mostly satirized by fan service.
As fan service dedicates the style of Prison School, the plot has less of a focus. The story is actually pretty simple and prison breaking is part of its plot element. It’s exactly as the premise implies and follows it pretty accurately. When it comes to adaptation faithfulness, there’s some obvious content that is omitted while the story itself is rushed. On the other hand, the adaptation does an explicit job with its comedy. I can’t remember how many times I laughed when watching this show. This is set by Prison School’s high standards of crafting ridiculousness. It’s as if the fan service is alive and self-aware. Cameras are deliberately focused to highlight moments when boobs are bounced or when crotch shots are shown in close view. There’s also some comedic symbolism such as with the mushroom or Medusa that really create a sensational satire. So in essence, Prison School knows its intentions and isn’t shy at all from hiding it. If you want to be serviced, this is where it’s at.
By adaptation standards, the artwork is crude but in a good way. For some reason, Madhouse decided to toughen it up a notch and make the boys look more ripped than their manga counterparts. Similarly, the female characters show all sort of juicy body parts. As the show is saturated by fan service, there’s almost endless amount of it. There’s also both a censored and uncensored version so watch at your own discretion. In the meantime, the series’ school looks normal except with the establishment of the prisons.
When it comes to soundtrack, Prison School’s success comes from the characters. It takes a strong cast to convince the audience of realism of the setting. Thankfully, the cast pulls it off. Character reactions matches in par with the voice in particular during torture scenes. Yes, torture scenes. This is when the boys get their mental and physical abuse from the Underground Student Council. The voices screams both pain and pleasure as it convinces the audience of their complication. On a lesser scale, the OST and theme songs are much more standard although I will say that some of the symbolism portrayed in the OP theme song is cleverly done. The OST also gets some thrilling moments in particularly some of the later episodes as the boys gets more desperate to fight back.
What is the endgame for a show like this? My advice is to give the first 5 minutes a try. If you can last that long, then you’ll have an easy time watching the series. Be aware that fan service is endless and you may forget at times what the story is actually about. Regardless if you’re an anime-only or manga veteran, Prison School accurately adapts its comedy with the character reactions. Unfortunately, the show is only a 1-cour so do expect content to be omitted. (there’s a “teaser” for a potential second season though) Whether these may be something appealing or a personal favorite will be left in the dust. Despite that, Prison School in the end is a fun show. It’s fun enough to not only portray fan service in an overwhelming way but one that makes you come back for more.
AndoCommando
Ecchi has garnered somewhat of a bad reputation over the years. For those unaware, the term ‘ecchi’ is used among anime fans as a way to describe shows with sexual overtones. Unlike hentai, which is explicit pornographic material, ecchi is meant to be simply erotic and is part of why the anime community views such in a negative light. Because of the nature of the anime industry, erotic content and sexual themes are more likely to be prioritized in production over the possible literary merits of a show. This line of thinking permeates across other genres, leading to an abundance of fanservice – usually unnecessarysexual content with the purpose of pleasing the audience – being inserted and used for enticing viewers to watch further. This has led many to criticize the concepts of ecchi and fanservice in general, believing its presence indicates a lack of maturity for the anime using them, as well as their intended audiences. But in response to these kinds of claims I would like to pose a question for everyone reading this:
Is ecchi/fanservice inherently bad?
Making cynical comments about a lewd act in a series may not be unfounded, but are they fair critiques on the show in question? For example, if a series implements sexuality of some sort as one of its core themes, is it then a flaw for the show to sexualise in any way? Can it even be called fanservice if it is, in fact, a necessary part of the story? If fanservice is merely a way of “giving fans what they want to see”, can it include content that isn’t erotic? To answer the original question, one would also have to account for the multiple queries I’ve brought up and more. Personally speaking, while deliberate audience arousal can easily be abused by a creative staff, if ecchi and fanservice in this context just means having characters exploited for their sex appeal, then my answer is no. Ecchi is not simply bad and to call every ecchi anime bad inherently is to dismiss specific plots and themes from the chance of ever being recognized as great pieces of art. Execution and intention are what separates pandering works from the more purposeful ecchi anime, and when it comes to purpose in ecchi, there might be none bolder than the anime known as Prison School.
Based on the popular manga written and illustrated by Akira Hiramoto, the premise follows five young boys who are the only men enrolled at Hachimitsu Academy, one of the strictest all-girls schools in Tokyo. With over 1,000 female students to only five males, the academy looks to be a paradise harem for the group. But those unhappy with the admission of boys to their prestigious school quickly make their intentions clear as the five are sentenced to a prison on the campus grounds when caught peeking in the girl’s baths. If the plot sounded preposterous just then, the magic of Prison School is already in effect.
Much of the acclaim for the manga of Prison School lied in its ability to tell an extremely entertaining story over a long period of time. As a raunchy slapstick-comedy series with enough ecchi to make one’s dick explode, the manga delivered on an enjoyable comic coupled with erotic content and comedy to match. As a manga adaptation, the anime nails on this appeal while also making excellent use of the different medium; trimming whatever fat that could be found in the source material and, as a result, leaving the show with incredibly fast pacing that manages to build on the humour throughout. It rarely lingers on any one specific joke, instead offering various quips and gags in an almost rapid-fire form, building on each scene and making the situations that much more hilarious. In doing so, the comedy hardly gets exhausting as it continuously morphs into something bigger, better, and often with a purpose that directly relates back to the plot.
Typically when referring to ecchi anime, the plot is frowned upon as in a genre laden with tropes designed to put fanservice at the forefront, storylines are more likely to be used as mere backdrops for the “real plot” to take place. This in turn can lead to all kinds of issues: stilted dialogue, contrived comedy, characters lacking verisimilitude, etc. The way Prison School avoids this is masterful – for a show with sleazy shots at every corner, it never falls victim to the numerous problems that plague other ecchi anime. The entire concept of ecchi is clearly absurd and the narrative is very aware of that fact. Rather than lazily pointing out the absurdities on screen like some of its contemporaries have, Prison School opts to revel in it, crafting an outlandish setting and hysterical characters that effectively sweeps viewers into that wacky world; where what would be mundane events are blown out of proportion to make for some genuinely intriguing and laugh-out-loud moments. The humour works because of how it merges the bizarre, visceral and unexpected nature of these situations to a degree that people can’t help but burst out laughing. There can be a sense of repetition felt in these instances, as every joke involves some element of sex humour. The series makes no apologies for its several close-up crotch shots and overall crudeness. However, the ecchi scenes never simply pander to the viewers. Instead they are worked into the series with attention to detail and constantly progress the story, with subsequent character actions and motives driving the narrative to its conclusion.
The cast of Prison School are surprisingly strong given the genres the anime belongs to. Even though the series does have a lead protagonist in the form of Kiyoshi, the show gives adequate focus on all five of the male students as they all share a similar level of importance to the plot. They all have their role to play in the grand scheme of things and overtime build distinct personalities from one another. Because the anime centres around five characters instead of one, all ecchi scenes are divided amongst them, helping to ensure none of the main characters are left out across the duration of the anime. Their female prison captors are also fleshed out as more than their exploitative camera angles and fetishized characteristics would ever imply and do receive noteworthy development, providing a separate dynamic to the five male prisoners and their numerous attempts to escape. Every character is highly exaggerated in their behaviour, yet they all ironically fit with the internal consistency and overall atmosphere of the show. It also demonstrates a unique and amusing way of pitting the men and women against one another that remains one of the most memorable instances of such happening in an anime.
While the series is primarily an ecchi comedy, underlying the veneer of crass humour and lewd anime scenes is an almost inspiring story of friendship and male bonding. As Prison School progresses, we find all five boys subjected to mental and physical abuse on multiple occasions, all in the hopes that they would break and get themselves expelled. This fear of expulsion constantly looms over the main characters, so much so that these moments genuinely carry a sense of tension to them. The way these scenes are approached gives way to just how big are the sacrifices these characters are making. Despite being titillating on the surface, Prison School quickly becomes a battle of wits between inmates and captives within the prison-break subgenre. It’s high-stakes and high-intensity. Thrilling as it is funny, possessing all the standard conventions of a prison tale whilst keeping unpredictable for the majority of its 12 episodes. By embracing the madness of a story where people deliberately shit their pants and have sticks shoved up asses, the anime manages to captivate and draw viewers in with their ridiculous premise and very real stakes. But most importantly, it makes for the audience to rally behind these main characters through all their struggles: their mistreatment, their treachery, the trickery, the forgiveness and eventually, them emerging victorious.
As a manga notorious for Hiramoto’s hyper-stylized designs and artwork, the anime captures the charm in those images without ever getting lost in motion. J.C Staff was the studio in charge of adapting the source material and they largely succeed in moving the manga’s material to the world of animation. Granted, the animation used is never the highlight of the series, only maintaining a sense of fluidity with little compromise to the general attention of detail on the visuals. But visually speaking the anime is impressive, with expressions, backgrounds and colour palette that are distinct from any other series the studio has worked on. There’s also a surprisingly good amount of cinematography and directing present that deserves recognition. The way Tsutomu Mizushima is able to ramp up the tension and hilarity with simple cuts and blocks may not be subtle but is wholly effective in making the experience that much more enjoyable. However, there is a considerably poor use of lens flare hilariously coined by fans as the “blinding white light of censorship” that covers nearly half the screen whenever a heavy dose of ecchi appears. Thankfully there is an uncensored version available for those unfazed by the show’s sexual scenes.
Not only does the art direction do the manga justice, the sound direction and voice acting truly brings the manga’s story to life. The sound effects act as a core component for most of the comedy and are utilized extremely well consistently throughout the show. They can get repetitive as they are essentially a part of every joke and jest in the anime, but if anything, they are more likely to elevate the humour as a whole. The voice acting however, I would argue never grows old as for the 12-episode series, viewers are left craving for more of these characters and their performances. All the voice acting here was tremendous and on-point, with the actors for Kiyoshi, Gakuto and Hana being the standouts. They clearly made the most of their roles and manage to fit each crazy persona like a glove. The soundtrack was composed by Kotaro Nakagawa, who has also been responsible for the music behind Planetes and Code Geass. Although the tunes here are nowhere near as memorable as the latter anime, they do capitalize on the sheer intensity of scenes whenever played. For a comedy series like this one, that is crucial in making the show such a fun time.
Rarely do we come across a show like Prison School that blends the likes of comedy and ecchi together so seamlessly. Ecchi comedy have been prevalent in anime for a long time and that is not likely to change anytime soon, but hardly any of them feel worth the time investment. More often than not, an ecchi will feature a bland, unrelatable protagonist who is either indifferent or completely avoids the harem created for him, alongside ecchi scenes that tend to come off shallow, adding nothing to the quality of the series. But Prison School is different. In a world when boys actions are often driven by sex, all five of the main characters are more than their one-dimensional counterparts and hold legitimate reason behind their actions: they have penises. Prison School is truly a man’s show, as where it succeeds outweighs all of its flaws, making for one of the best ecchi and comedy anime in recent memory. It’s hilarious, it’s absurd, and it’s brilliant.
LeaderTGW
Prison school is in fact a great example of bad show with great elements. Prison School successfully takes suspense, drama, action, and ecchi, turns them into one perfect mess. Prison School is also a great example of a "Hit or Miss" anime show. Meaning you either like it or don't like it depending or your personal tastes in anime and experience. The story is sort of plain however the elements they add like violence, sexy scenes, drama, suspense etc literally makes the a bit non existent. There are many things I like about story though, but for now the thing that stood out themost was the fact that (and stated before) the show overall was so bad it's good. The soundtrack is awesome lots of rock and metal added to make action scenes and "Uh oh i'm in trouble" scenes more suspense. The characters, will never, ever be forgettable. Prison school has one of the best cast of unforgettable characters I have seen in a while. Hana (she's first because she was my favourite) Kiyoshi, the vice president, the Chairman of the school, just about everyone is unforgettable. You, the viewer, if Prison school is up you alley and you enjoy bizarre shows this show is indeed for you. Overall I think the show was Really, really good given the elements and story the creator and directors were working with. 8/10
-Toko
Prison school is a weird one for me. That's mostly due to because I absolutely despise ecchi / harem / blah, blah generic titillating content that's incredibly common in anime. And that might be why I enjoyed the show to a certain extent. It takes the idea of fanservice and stretches to a very specific and fetishized realm that it can end up being hilarious to some people or, at least, intriguing because the absurdity of it. That said, besides a couple of moments spread out far and between I wasn't laughing or let alone chuckling as much as I heard I was going to be.Some jokes are repeated or just go for a bit too long which ends up at times being slightly annoying. The story isn't much either; Do me a small favor and read the synopsis of this show. Did it? That's the entire show but stretched to 12 episodes.
Sure, some things happen here and there, but it follows a very simple formula. People do things, people get punished for doing those things, the end. Which sure, is fine and dandy as long as the characters are interesting, but besides two out of the three crazy dominatrixes, the entire cast is pretty forgettable.
We have a perverted boy band of main characters; The first being the standard, boring anime dude, second, the nerdy guy, third, the tough guy, fourth, the fat one and last but not least, the wimpy weird one. Like I said, besides two out of the crazy trio the characters are pretty darn boring.
But I still enjoyed the show, I mean is not great, but is not bad either. Is a good time waster if you have nothing else to do and hey if you want to see an incredibly over-the-top and fetishized version of your standard ecchi wank-off fest, check it out. Worst case scenario is that you wasted your time by reading this review and hated the show thanks to my weird yes and no recommendation for the thing. What do you have to lose!?
Chetee7
This is the first anime review I've ever written, so hopefully everything will turn out ok. Any feed back would be appreciated as long as its constructive :D Story: 8/10 Prison School is all about 5 guys in a school for girls that are caught peeping in the girl's bathroom, and are sent to a prison in the middle of the school. Pretty normal, huh? You've seen nothing yet lmao. I gave the story "just" an 8 because the storyline had some ups and downs, as after episode 7, the whole plot is left a bit unconsistent, but recovering later on. Art: 10/10 What makes Prison School sucha good show is the animation. I was extraordinary suprised by how each character's face is done to emphasize how they are feeling in each moment, not to mention the smoothness throughout the whole show.
Sound: 8/10
Nothing special to say here. Music was pretty sweet, especially the opening.
Characters: 10/10
Did I say animation was what made the show good? HAH. Characters in the show are just the most hilarious thing EVER. Normally when seeing the show, I would almost laughh just by seeing their weird ass face. But what really stands out for me is the fact that you are always mind fucked by everything they do, combined with a great sense of humor (plus animation).
Enjoyment: 10/10
What can I say. I've enjoyed every single chapter in the whole show, and not only would I watch the chapter every single week but also be thinking about it for the next days.
Overall: 9.5/10
In conclusion, Prison School can be defined by one word: awesome. i didn't give it a 10 because of the post-escape storyline, but overall, I would recommend this great anime to almost everyone.
mbarseru
Watched this first alone thinking it was hentai... Really was just lying down with my tentacle in my hand thinking to myself "man, why tf is this hentai so interesting" Only to get to the rooftop scene, pull up my Grinch black and green pj's, and begun hysterically holding my laughter hoping that my parents wouldn't be able to hear me at 3 am. Later, showed the anime to a friend and turned it into a staple reference point within our conversationsLiterally re-enacted the shower scene with da bois which later cut to us chasing after our other friend like AOT titans.
good times
well anyways, GO WATCH THIS ANIME
Also
My fellow dub enjoyers, I love dub, but prison school's dub is a crime against humanity, I truly feel like they butchered it too much, as well as how the Japanese-English pronunciation just hits differently.
If you are a fellow dub enjoyed, I highly advise you watch in sub
eqazec
This series is utterly appalling. The mediocre art, accompanied by tasteless, immature humor and the tendency to over-appeal to every fetish out there, make Prison School one of the worst anime I have ever seen. The characters are not even remotely likable. The sound design is decent, but the archetypes of plot progression failed to inspire me or any of my friends in any meaningful manner. Beside the poor design and application, Prison school attempts to approach a classic anime trope and blows it way out of proportion. The hyperbolic setup for this series destroyed any semblance of hope I had in this anime.
Ochinn
Prison School is just one of those anime that you will get hooked at the first episode. The manga is excellent, but it seemed fast-paced in the anime. Honestly this anime is like the South Park characters all grown up and horny, and what makes it even more funnier is how these guys are such relentless virgins, its hilarious. Even if the show was vile and disturbing, it was entertaining to watch during my free time. I thought of the vice president as an overly sexualized character, but thats what makes it even funnier. The sexual scenes make the anime look like a hentai animehonestly. Overall, I have nothing to say about this anime other than it was one of the most hilarious anime I've ever seen.
lakers61409
Prison School took me by surprise. I have never laughed so hard at something so degenerate, stupid, yet undeniably hilarious since GTO. The humor is so amazingly well executed that the stupidest things will drive the plot, which is surprisingly well done. One of the greatest strengths of Prison School is the voice acting, as all the proper screeches and fluctuations come in fitting times to make the experience worthwhile. There isn't much significant character development, a deep plot, or any of that, but rather this anime utilizes all the ideas we find ridiculous and mashes it together, backing the viewers out into a cornerwhere they have no choice but to laugh. The directing is great, as the animation is by the same studio that responsible for "Shokugeki no Souma". The camera angles are utilized to its fullest to provide the ultimate ecchi-comedic effect. Great anime to watch in groups, if you find a few friends who can see the humor in degeneracy. Very impressive overall, but if you don't find the first episode amusing, then don't bother with the rest. If you do, you're in for a ride, as each episode tops its previous shenanigans.
XDZO
WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!!! Disgusting show (coming from an ecchi fan). This show is the only show I have ever seen that I literally cringe whenever someone brings it up. The story was pathetic. It is literally about boy slaves who have Stockholm syndrome. The art was okay. The sound sucked. The characters were the worst I have ever seen. I wanted to whoop every character in that show. I had zero percent enjoyment in this disgraceful show. There was way too many pissing scenes. Worst show I have ever scene in my life. Anybody that likes this needs to take a breath andgo outside please.
lighthalzen-kun
AS AN ANIME Prison School was without a doubt a surprise for a lot of viewers, even if I'm sure some of you fans of the manga were waiting for it (that was not my case). Produced by J.C. Staff, a studio well-known for adapting mediocre light novels and for their bad deeds against reputed visual novels, their relatively poor artistic sense in comparison with competiting studios, and their more or less tight budget (generally more than less), Prison School's adaptation was kind of disappointing even before we could watch it. I myself didn't plan to see more than the first episode, and talking with someblinded fans of the manga beforehand didn't encourage me to review my position (don't ask me why, it's not even anticonformism but more something like disgust regarding their circlejerk for which I was insensible).
Finally, the first trailer came out and, stunned by the care given to the visuals, I was very decided to watch at least the beginning. Anyway, let's talk about the anime in itself.
For those who discovered Prison School for the first time (like me), some might have been a bit perplexed at the beginning, but quickly, without even liking that much this exagerated, distasteful ecchi side, everyone seemed to go along with the entertaining plot. To the point it became hard to wait for next week's episode, the suspense being definitely present, and sometimes unbearable. If what I'm saying is giving you hope to find again a good thriller series like Death Note, it's not a coincidence, I guess.
The manga plays a lot with parody. It parodies ecchi (some think so at least) by using it in a shameless and absolutely commercial manner, until it becomes, like I already said earlier, distasteful and taxing. But the adaptation goes further, until even mimicking the sonorities of Hollywood blockbuster movies' soundtracks, which award it, as an anime, a certain singularity, a really dramatic or even epic side. It also parodies thrillers like Death Note, or maybe even Prison Break (which I didn't see, so I'm only imagining), and from this absurd blend of absurd, erotism, pinch situations and friendship in a prison-school environment (?!) is born a funny mess in where each situation — and that is less true for their solution which seemed very well-thought and logical — seems to come from another world so much improbable they are.
What is excellent in the end is definitely how the main characters succeeds to find their way out of the worst dead-ends, in a manner much more composed and believable than all the unbelievable shit that fall upon them. And it is, in a way, exhilarating, like a good Death Note, even if more original.
Honestly, I couldn't wait for the end of the broadcasting so I started reading the manga after episode 4. Which made me realize some flaws inherent to the anime, which may not be noticeable or bugging when you only experienced this one. I don't really consider them like cons, or maybe yes I do, but I think it could have been way more awesome if this part would have had a better treatment.
AS AN ADAPTATION
The problem is the pacing. A flaw that I seem to often notice in recent anime adaptations like Parasyte, Seven Deadly Sins, Magi or even Hunter x Hunter 2011, and which seems be something like a new trend or a commercial approach allowing to adapt more, while keeping a low number of episode which avoid fillers and also permit a constantly good animation quality all the way to the end without costing buckets (and all this by satsifying the general public, traumatized by Naruto fillers and One Piece's catastrophic recent episodes). I complain so much about those pacing issues these times that I feel obligated to talk about it, for once I make a review. Maybe I'll convince you, reader, and you'll finally understand why filler is, in itself, not a bad thing, and can be an intelligent way to give additional value to the adaptation, while saving money and time (for the long-running franchises at least).
It's when I read Prison School's manga that the parodying side of Death Note came to my eyes : the dark tones from some scenes, the camera angles and the internal monologues in pinch situations, the keikakus (it means plan). And it's very well done in the manga. And Death Note anime is very impressive too, because it adapts perfectly this psychological tension, while being very dynamic (it could have been slower and more boring like Monster — I like Monster), and the pacing doesn't feel too much rushed, the thought processes are well rendered and believably timed.
One of the loss which come from the very fast pacing in the anime is unfortunately the intensity of the best psychological scenes (those with Hana, mainly), it goes fast, too fast, I personally found it difficult to feel worried about Kiyoshi's recurrent incredible and desperate situations. I'm not an expert, nor a scriptwriter, but I think that some added lines of introspective monologue, or silent stills to show the awkwardness and difficulty of the moment, even filler, would have helped to add a bit of hesitating emotions, and even some intensity, to those scenes.
In fact, to put it simply, the anime's director gave us an external point of view of the scene, the one of a spectator, when the manga gave me a more "in Kiyoshi" feeling, which felt much more tense and desperate and made me worry about the next actions, "what should he do, he's risking his social life right now, poor Kiyoshi".
The "external viewer" point of view that the director put in place isn't in my opinion very appropriate because the jokes aren't so well-thought in themselves (it's just the level of absurdity that is amazing), so seen from outside it just looks like some retarded chain of quickly happening dumb actions commited by the characters, when from an internal point of view, more introspective, everything at stake seem much more important and heavy. It's too bad, in my sense.
The other flaw in this anime is also, in my opinion, directly due to the fast-pacing. And it's much more to the core of the anime, so it's plain wrong. The problem when you go so fast, it's that the gags don't have the time to take properly effect. A big part of the comedy in this anime is absurd, but really some "what the fuck did I just watch?!" kind of absurd. The thing is, as a manga, Prison School give the reader one or two gag per chapter, so you can digest them with a laugh before reading the next chapter. But in the anime, and I have to precise beforehand that it adapted more or less 80 chapters in 12 episodes (didn't count exactly), the events and unbelievably ridiculous actions come one after another in pack of ten, the viewer don't have any time to integrate the joke, so it could have sink in.
It's not a secret that for some jokes, the timing is very important. In Prison School, the joke that is supposed to make you laugh after 5 seconds, not because your brain is slow and that one is very subtle, but more because you really need 5 good seconds the realize the immensity of the ridiculousness of what just happened before your eyes, this awesome stupidity is sweeped away by the next one that comes only 3 seconds after and for which you will do your best to understand to follow the story, to finally sacrifice the comic potential of the situation. And I also think that's too bad.
In conclusion, the anime place itself in the grandstand, rather than wanting to be involved to understand what happens in the field, with the players, it's a shame but it is nevertheless a very good anime, granted with a good soundtrack and a stunning visual work, there's a lot of things that happens in the plot that will keep you from getting bored even if some joke, while staying always astounding, are less impacting than they could have been. And maybe you will succeed better than me at involving yourself in the characters through the anime, a thing I couldn't do with the pacing imposed on me by J.C. Staff.
And for those who loved the first season, you have to know that it is only the beginning and the sequel will be even better, the psycho-erotic frenzy really takes off at episodes 11-12, and a lot of the following event are equal or worth more than those, some reminding me a lot the deviant but intimate perversion of manga like Nozoki Ana.
nightglades
I came across Prison School after checking the top seasonal anime. At first glance I believed it to be nothing of interest, as I am not a fan of ecchi anime. However, after watching the first few episodes I came to understand why it was among the higher ranks of its season. Story: 7 If I had one word to describe the story of Prison School, I would call it absurd. The simple story that boys can get locked into a school prison is completely nonsensical. However, upon closer evaluation, where does something like this even show up? It is so ridiculous that it can be describedas uncommon. Therefore, it avoids the the usual tag that people like to throw onto shows. Generic. If the story is not good, it will at least be interesting.
Art: 8
The art is a eight. I usually don't bicker too much about art as long as the animation does its job. However the one downside about the graphics of the show is the abundance of censorship. While I do believe that it is probably needed, it can get a little awkward at times and for some, it is even annoying to an extent.
Sound: 8
The music for the anime is a eight. I usually have the same rule for sound as I do art. However, in this case, the sound not only functions within the anime, but it adds a little.
Characters: 10
This is where the anime shines the most. The five boys that enter the prison are already very interesting characters. However, the one thing that makes characters good is change. In prison school change becomes something very apparent. As the five boys continually face challenges, they change a lot throughout the series.
Enjoyment: 10
Are you serious? This is most definitely a ten. The anime shines the most with its sense of humor. The absurdity of the anime, the strange characters, even the music and art contribute to the overall humor of the anime. If anything, this aspect of the show will always make you want to watch the next episode!
Overall: B
Well the mean of my evaluations round up to 8.6. That is in fact a B. There are a few reasons that I feel that the show is a B and not higher. This has a lot to do with the discrepancy of character development. While three of the five boys were given a deep character, two of them didn't really get highlighted. Also the fact that the censorship was everywhere did make the show a little bit worse in presentation.
Potaato
Yours truly is here to write a review about one of your truly's favorite anime this season. When I first looked at the tags for this anime, I though it looked fairly promising, "Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, School, Seinen." Definitely a stereotypical romantic comedy, right? Oh boy was I wrong. This was nothing like the stereotypical anime that I was expecting, but I guess I'll just get into the parts of the anime right away. Story: 8 The story was good in comparison to any average anime, and very good in comparison to other romantic comedies, that are almost 100% slice of life and gag comedy. The premise is interestingin that instead of one main guy and his one dimensional buddy, we have 5 pretty unique guys. First episode features these 5 socially awkward guys in a formerly all-girls' school. Weird stuff happen and they get locked up in a prison that is on school grounds. Umm.... yeah.... Like I said the premise is pretty weird, but very unique. I haven't read the manga that the anime is based off of, but in that respect, I think the anime did a good job in adapting and definitely in making the viewers enjoy (I'll get more into this later).
Art: 6
Let me be clear. If you came here looking for ecchi, you came to the right place. The art could use some getting used to. I personally didn't hate it, but didn't like it too much either. It doesn't have the stereotypical anime girl art to say the least. The backgrounds are very nicely drawn and the character faces are just so side-splittingly hilarious, sometimes I found myself pausing the show just to laugh my head off. Sometimes, I even rewatched certain parts to get more laughs off. I personally didn't like the immense amount of ecchi, especially with certain parts blurred out and whatnot, but it was definitely bearable.
Sound: 8
Oh boy, the sounds were amazing, from the voice actors to the background noises. Especially anything involving the vice president, I pretty much always got some giggles out of that. I thoroughly enjoyed the detail in which the background noises, like how clothes sound like when you move in them, or clothes ripping, or a certain someone pooping their pants... Yeah. I said it.
Character: 7
Like I said before, there are 5 main guys all with unique personalities. Some of them are pretty nasty, I'll have to admit, but all are hilarious in their own aspect. My two favorite main guys were Kiyoshi and Gakuto just because they reached such a great dynamic with each other that whenever they came on screen together, I had to prepare myself. However, despite me singing praises, the characters are somewhat one-dimensional. Sure they do have their moments of brilliance, but overall, you can sorta predict what's going to happen, heck, even the prison guys could predict the actions of the USC members.
Enjoyment: 9
As you could probably guess from my praises on praises above, I really like the show. It truly was a fresh air to the stereotypical romantic comedies out there and ecchis out there. Everything from the art to the sound came in sync with each other to make a super fun, super funny, amazing anime. I haven't watched too many anime from this season, but I think Prison School really stands out in the ecchi and comedy departments.
Thanks for reading my review. I can't really tell how long it's going to be because I'm typing in a super small box, but if it's really long sorry teehee:P.
p.s. If you plan to start watching, look forward to episode 11. It's crazy funny.
BRIANBLESSED
What a goddamn stupid-ass, asinine show. It almost feels like one of those series that I'd be ashamed to have admitted enjoying, but there's something that turns it into an ecchi comedy romp of a very impressive caliber. What elevates it above the others in its class (and the term "class" here is used very, very loosely) is its utter sincerity in its absurdity. It takes itself as seriously as possible with its pace and its *god-tier* sound and art direction which brings about an incredible sense of urgency for what is an incredibly dumb story premise. By taking itself seriously and going so farin it comes out the other side, it invites us to laugh at it and telegraphs to us that it knows how stupid it is. Bold, striking art and a hilariously complex orchestral score underline some of the best story moments and dramatic tension, using them as a vehicle for comedy simply by manipulating the tone of the scene.
This sort of expert manipulation applies *most* of the time. Meiko's scenes are shamelessly exploitative and her design is absurd, and I'm not a huge fan of her character, especially given how down-to-earth almost every other character's design is (although she shines as a caricature whenever she's partnered with Andre for a comedic scene).
Her use in the plot is mostly justified and it's great for a laugh when her sex appeal is actually used to drive the plot somehow, but her scenes are the closest to that feeling of actual sincerity to its fanservice and I honestly don't care for that a whole lot. Characters like her and several others pale in comparison to seeing characters like Hana, ones with developing internal conflicts and real struggles (albeit hilarious ones).
As "real" as they can get within the boundaries of the high school comedy genre, anyway.
In any case, this is a lot more words than is really deserved for a show this stupid. But it is unflinching in its stupidity and dares to go beyond. It's something to be both respected and laughed at.
