Anime: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu 1e572r

A show about idiots?!

Wait, that sounds stupid enough to work. And it does.

Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts is a show that lives and dies by its stupidity. Sometimes its dies, but mostly it lives.

At Fumizuki Academy, students with the highest test scores are placed in the air-conditioned, recliner seated room of Class A. Too bad for Akihisa, his grades have scored him a worn out straw mat seat in Class F. But, thanks to the Summoner Test Wars, students can summon their avatars—chibi versions of themselves—and challenge other classes avatar VS avatar. A lower class (F) can exchange their equipment with a higher class (E) if the former wins. Or a lower class (C) can have their equipment downgraded if they lose to a higher class (A).

Fed up with their decrepit wooden tables, Class F—Akihisa, Yuji, Mizuki, Minami, Hideyoshi, and Kouta—decide to partake in the Summoner Test Wars in hopes of improving their time at Fumizuki Academy. Except for the fact the strength of their avatars is based on their test scores, meaning a lower class shouldn’t be able to beat a higher class. And since avatar strength is based on test scores, the Summoner Test Wars are impractical compared to taking a normal test. And they live on their own, so they knew what they were g up for when they decided to enroll at the school.

Already the Summoner Test Wars are roundabout and frivolous. It gets even dumber when the strength system played straight during one fight is subverted by tactics in another fight. The fights themselves can only happen at Fumizuki, as only a teacher can create the fighting field for the avatars. Capping the fights is a teacher nicknamed ‘Iron Man,’ who drags the owners of knocked out avatars to remedial classes. It doesn’t matter if their avatars are knocked out in the bathhouse or from a life-threatening emergency at Fumizuki, he WILL appear anywhere.

With pointless battles and the most adamant referees ever, the story cares nothing for following its own rules. Urgency? Continuity? Coherent battles? Fairness? None of that is a top priority when this show just doesn’t care. But there’s more to the show than the Summoner Test Wars, as they’re only one part of the story. It’s the wrapping for the cream of the crepe, the water that boils the noodles, or the clothes that sell Hideyoshi as a girl.

Unfortunately, I can’t describe Hideyoshi beyond being the guy who looks like a girl, nor do the other characters warrant much discourse. Akihisa is the title idiot, Yuji the cool best friend, Mizuki the cute genius, Minami the spunky hothead, and Kouta the perverted photographer. Some of them get a spotlight episode, but it’s usually just a more serious take on their already existing antics. Unfortunately, a few serious moments don’t mesh with an otherwise silly show. While this doesn’t ruin the characters, they stay wholly unremarkable.

But where the characters fall short by themselves, they stand out as a class, their antics showing in unflattering fashion. Hideyoshi is often the victim of his own appearance, by jokes from boys and girls alike, while Minami is the butt of gags noting her lack of femininity. The latter often vents her anger with wrestling moves on Akihisa. And every time Minami grapples Akihisa, her skirt rides up but she’s too angry to notice Kouta trying to peek at her panties. And Kouta apparently runs a service where he sells photos of cute girls. And Hideyoshi.

Adding to the antics is Mizuki, who’s actually a genius but in Class F by mistake. Her intellect is an ace for her class, but countless friends have also fallen victim to her poor cooking. Then there’s Yuji, the representative for Class F, whose high confidence mismatches his low test results. Yuji barely leads his class as is, and is instead handcuffed against his will by the disturbingly devoted Shouko from Class A. While not a standout either, a few scenes and dialog are hints for why Shouko’s so eccentric; she and Yuji are the only ones with any hint of background.

And just when the show couldn’t get dumber, it does. When one group of characters is trying to bring two other characters together, absolutely everything makes it worse for only one of the two. There are times when they conspire right in front of each other. There are times where ruses are plainly exposed only for the supposed geniuses not to notice. And there are times when the show becomes dramatic—dramatic, not serious—for the dumbest reasons. This show is impossible to take seriously, but stumbles when it’s SUPPOSED to be taken seriously.

The main issue with the show trying to be serious, is the mismatch in sincerity between a few scenes and episodes compared with the rest of the show. A serious moment where one character stops what she’s about to do, or another character expressing a surprising amount of insight, doesn’t mesh with how they behave otherwise. Maybe some viewers will find the emotional contrast to anchor the show for them, but for others, a show that appeals with stupidity loses its luster trying to haphazardly have a heart. A comedy especially needs to bring in ‘heart’ slowly, and this show doesn’t.

Thankfully, the show brings in strong aesthetics. In addition to colors brighter than geniuses and expressions livelier than the antics, the character designs are easy on the eyes. Mostly the girls. Mizuki’s long, pink, and fluffy hair is only matched by her three sizes. But size isn’t everything, as the slender and short haired Minami will prove during a few scenes. Playing opposite to them is Shouko, whose elegant form belies her sadism. And rounding off the cast of girls is Hideyoshi, whose appearance alone will fool people into thinking he’s a girl.

Hideyoshi’s feminine appearance is further pushed by his designs. Quite oddly, most of the skinservice is from him crossdressing, from nurse outfits to swimsuits. And speaking of swimsuits, the show’s skinservice episode about its girls doubles for a pool episode and bathhouse episode. So outside of the gender benderific antics, the show is devoid of fanservice in an overt sense. The girls often opt for stronger blushing than normal, suggestive words, or the scene itself to play up their appearance. It goes for something subtle instead of panty shots or what have you.

But what’s often not so subtle is the soundtrack. As expected for a show about idiots, the music is bombastic. Everyday scenes are with silly tracks, the fights scenes have playfully dramatic pieces, and the sappy scenes are filled with over the top, melodramatic ambience. I’d say the music is better if the opening and closing songs, ‘Perfect-Area Complete!’ and ‘Baka Go Home,’ were part of each episode during an opening or closing scene, but they’re not.

I say the music is ‘often not so subtle’ since there are scenes where it displays a strong grasp on the art of silence. Some scenes in the spotlight episodes especially do a fine job at wrenching a sense of rejection, uplifting the spirits through cheesy but heartwarming moments, and establishing a meaning behind a relationship. With the way these scenes sound, it’s like the show has deeper character progress.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The characters are standard fare throughout the show, and the story is brought down more than it should be. That doesn’t mean it’s bad though, because Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts mostly succeeds at being entertaining through sheer stupidity. It’s not the smartest show in the class, but I wasn’t expecting clever humor about idiots.

If you were to take anime as art reflecting the real world you would figure Japanese high schools to be places full of huge breasted girls, oblivious guys who don’t realize that six girls want to pork him, and you’d probably get the idea that Japanese high school kids get nosebleeds upon seeing the cleavage of a woman. These are not actually true as Japanese high schools are not much better than any other high schools and the only reason anime treats high school as a place of fun, violence, tits, and more tits is because it makes high school a much more exciting place than it actually is.

Baka and Test reflects the real world almost as well as the Jersey Shore. It is in fact so opposite of the real world it is probably a mirror dimension. The high school is a place of tests, tests, and more tests. Upon entrance, you take a test that decides what class you will be in, A through F. F is of course the idiots and A is the nerds. F students have to deal with crappy wooden tables and pillows while A gets personal desks, lounge chairs, tables, a refreshment bar, and a giant ass wall of television screens. Our hero is Yoshi, a complete idiot who has a friend in Himeji, a very smart girl who wound up in the F class for getting sick and leaving during the placement test, thus giving her a zero. Together with their friends in the class they battle their way to the top through the use of avatars. Everyone in the school has one that has stats dependent on how well they do on tests in various subjects. Thus, the higher the grade, the harder their avatars hit. It’s pretty much a school version of a JRPG where instead of health potions, students run to take recovery tests during battles to regain lost hit points. It’s a rather smart idea I must say and actually works out kind of well. I don’t think watching people compare test scores and take tests has been this exciting.

This plot of the underdogs taking on the big guys is of course a cliché but works perfectly well here due to the peppering of strange and eclectic characters that ultimately lends this series the comedy aspect it should be known for. The plot is both downright ridiculous and hilarious and while there is not a lot of plot to go around, there is enough to add some semi-serious bits in throughout.

There are a couple of problems with the plot. There is a lot of romance being thrown around and it doesn’t really go anywhere. A love letter by a certain character is never given to another certain character despite this love letter being a main point of the plot. Another thing I found was I don’t understand the science behind an avatar being hurt and Yoshi feeling it. Nobody else can feel their avatar’s being hurt, only Yoshi can because of his terrible scores, but it still seems nonsensical. But that’s just a tiny complaint that shouldn’t even matter considering I’m watching a show to laugh, not get a deep, engaging, realistic plot.

And I did laugh, and so will you. This show is replete with sexual humor that may turn some people away but when an anime uses Apocalypse Now Redux in a joke, I think it deserves a cookie. On top of that was a random cameo by Miku Hatsune (whose back is turned in Class B) and it also references other anime. Yes, it does have lots of tits. And as I’ve previously stated, tits do not a good joke make. This anime somehow made me laugh at tits. That’s right. I laughed at boob jokes. I didn’t laugh at the constant use of Himeji’s breasts and Yoshi’s sister’s breasts as some form of fan service I guess, but I did laugh at Shimada’s constantly comparing her breasts to Himeji’s and being jealous. The overabundance of boobies also spills over into how characters act, which creates a particularly silly character but we’ll talk about him in a moment.

The animation is nothing fantastic. It has this look as if it were a colored-in manga but it’s not a style I found particularly appealing. The dots everywhere and the sometimes rather dull colors made it seem like an older anime, maybe 2005-ish. The animation also seemed rather lackluster in the fight scenes where a lot of the time we see an overhead view with little circles representing the characters instead of watching the characters actually fight. While this is not a huge issue, I feel as if the animators were lazy when producing these segments.

Sound quality is actually good. I committed high treason and watched the dub which turned out to be rather pleasant. None of the voices were grating and I felt that it actually kept the integrity of the original script without taking away any of the funny bits. Now the opening and closing on the other hand are another matter altogether. The opening is lame and basic and could have been tacked onto anything. The ending is meh, not bad but not particularly good.

The characters are what make this show what it is. Yoshi is the oblivious idiot, a character archetypical of the genre but hilarious nonetheless. Himeji has big boobs and about as little personality as one would expect from the love interest. Shimada is the hot-headed and overly violent girl who does not like her tiny boobs being made fun of. She likes Yoshi, as does Himeji though they never fight over him. They seem to be a unified effort all the time. The problem with Shimada is the fact that another girl is in love with her and is stalking the crap out of her. The same can actually be said of Yoshi who is being teased by a gay guy from Class A a lot of times.

Class representative of class F, Sakamoto is in a contract with the representative of A, Kirishima. Kirishima wants to marry him and does everything she can to be with him while Sakamoto wants nothing to do with it leading to some hilarious moments.

Hideyoshi is quite possibly one of the most interesting and hilarious characters of the show. A guy who looks like a girl but constantly dresses like a girl for whatever reason. The girls are jealous of how hot he is as a girl and the guys all seem to find him attractive as well. This leads to utter confusion half the time and while Hideyoshi’s character is never explained (why does he dress like a girl if he wants to be treated as a guy?) he still provides enough hilarious moments to make that question void.

Finally, Kouta is a hentai who takes pictures of everyone’s boobs and panties and is constantly dying of nosebleeds. He has started a book on the boobs of all the girls in the school. He is utterly hilarious.

And we can’t forget Iron Man, the remedial class teacher. When a student dies during a battle with their avatars Iron Man swoops in like a superhero and takes them to remedial classes. This guy is freaking great.

There’s also Yoshi’s sister who seems to want to have sex with him. I won’t explain any further because the anime doesn’t either.

What else is there to say about this show? It made me laugh every episode and while it may feel a little inconsistent at times (the semi-serious episodes and the flat out comedy episodes aren’t mixed together proportionally) it still is one of the most entertaining comedy anime I’ve seen. Sure it doesn’t wrap up tightly, sure it doesn’t have an amazing story, but who cares? It’s freaking hilarious. The characters are not all original but all together make a memorable group of idiots. The action isn’t real well done but is negated by the absolutely laugh out loud writing. There are lots of jiggly boobies for all the fan boys but also a lot of jokes concerning both American and Japanese culture.

It’s a fun ride that a fan of comedy anime may want to take if he or she hasn’t already. I found it to be more entertaining then it should be, but loved it all the more for that.

Critic's Log - Earthdate: April 5, 2013. Review #43: Baka and Test: Summon The Beasts

To those that love movies, we have lost a particular voice on April 4, 2013. We still have our thumbs to decide if a movie is good or bad but this man was known for being part of that. We have lost an influential film critic known as Roger Ebert. Yeah, the guy that was with Gene Siskel before Siskel died from complications of surgery. Roger Ebert was dealing with a health issue and I think everyone knows the story here. He had thyroid cancer, had to have part of of his jaw removed, the cancer came back and then he suddenly ed away. I can honestly say that Siskel and Ebert was kind of a big deal when it came to movies because they both shared their opinions on specific movies and that might seem a little boring to some but when these guys have differences in opinion, that does tend to be more fun to watch and it's fascinating that these guys are arguing through opinions...over A MOVIE! Yeah, I know movies are supposed to bring escape from reality but these guys take it very seriously. It is a bit silly to take a movie way too seriously but that's what Siskel and Ebert were good at. They both had a ion for the movies. Hell, even Roger Ebert had Gene Siskel over the phone while Siskel was in the hospital and they were reviewing a film, call that a bit strange. Even though he has seen and reviewed animated flicks, He even saw and reviewed some anime films as well such as anime films like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke. One of his headlines back in 1999 said "Japanese animation unleashes the mind" and he did once say that he likes the fact that Japanese animation isn't all limited to kids. I actually did agree on that. He is positive towards anime but he only reserves this towards movies. This is perfectly obvious because he was a film critic. Roger Ebert is considered to be an advocate for anime even if that does sound a bit sketchy. Even in his final years when Roger Ebert couldn't speak anymore, he still wrote his film reviews and kept doing so without giving up. I think he was more than just a critic, he was a voice for the moviegoer, he was like a friend to us even if one of us never met him face to face or even if some of us have a difference in opinion with him. But most importantly, he is like everyone else that loves to watch movies. He was a moviegoer, just like us. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert may have not been a major influence or inspiration as to why I do anime reviews but I will say that their ion for movies really left an impression on me. I am also ionate about anime which is exactly why I review animes in the first place. I may be a self-proclaimed Anime critic but I do want to lend out my voice through my reviews and I want to be like a friend even if you don't agree with me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I am like everyone else that has a ion for anime. Now that Roger Ebert has left this world, all we can him by is that his career, ion, life, and legacy deserves a "Two Thumbs Up". Roger Ebert is probably re-united with Gene Siskel up in the balcony. They'll see you at the movies in spirit and in memory.



Roger Ebert

1942-2013







Now with that said, I actually do have a review under way. As a self-proclaimed anime critic, can you please remain seated while I give you a lecture on how I do my anime reviews? If the answer is yes, then let me teach you how it's done. This will be a lengthy lesson that does involve questions. So, please remain seated while class is in session because here is Baka and Test: Summon The Beasts!





Question #1: Should I mention the sypnosis of the show while reviewing it?



You should just in case...



Being into a school of higher grade proof-reading is decided by the results of the Promotion Test strictly for certain class types. Ranging from A class with the best facilities anyone can offer all the way down to F Class which is composed of low dining tables, rotten tatami mats and other worn out facilities. Students can change classes by competing using the Examination Summons Battle system or ESB for short. Students summon virtual avatars with their equivalent test mark scores and use them to compete with other classes.

Question #2: What should I mention regarding the animation?

I simply mention that the show is done by the studio that made it and then explain the animation a little further.

To be technical, This is a Silver Link production.

I said "Silver Link", not Dark Link! Anyway, Baka and Test does look pretty good for the most part, but there are some shortcuts that are a bit noticeable. Does this really hamper with enjoying the animation and artwork? No. The animation is quite possibly the strongest attribute to Baka and Test.

Question #3: Should I mention the composer of the soundtrack to the specific anime you're reviewing?

Please do, it is part of the show after all.

The music is by Nijine, and that's all I'm gonna point out because the soundtrack is a bit forgettable in this show. I will it the opening is catchy and some of the closings are good too, but that's pretty much it.

Question #4: Should I mention the voice acting? Should I mention the "Dub" too?

Yes, mention the voice actors that are part of the show, unless there's not much to say about it, that all depends. As far as the Dub, I only discuss the Original Japanese Cast and the English Dub cast since I reside in the U.S. Discussing the English Dub is purely optional. Just don't write the entire cast down. List down who you thought stood out in their roles. I also mention the ADR director of the dub because the ADR director is essentially "The Director" of the English Dub.

When it comes to voice acting, The original Japanese cast is pretty good... for playing the generic character types. Hiro Shimono is alright as Yoshii and everyone else is alright too, this particular cast really isn't all too special and I don't know what else to say. I could say the same for the English dub. Josh Grelle is okay as Yoshii, and Brina Palencia does pull off a convincing voice for Hideyoshi. That's pretty much all I can explain about the dub. This show doesn't really rely on voices all too much, it's just generic character casting for the seiyus/Voice Actors and Voice actresses. Terri Doty did alright as ADR director I guess.

Question #5: Should I mention the characters?

Absolutely, the characters are an important factor to a fictional story, they are possible reflections to certain people and that's why some people feel that they could relate to the character.

I have to it, the characters are poorly developed for the most part. But what does make this show work is the humor. Some of the events that take place are somewhat hilarious. It was a little interesting that a certian 1979 Vietnam War movie was actually referenced in an anime especially on Baka and Test. You'll have to see it yourself because I won't give it away. I did give out a few chuckles over that scene though since I have seen that "1979 war movie". I can imagine "the horror" that Yuuji had to go through while being in that situation. Great, I kinda hinted what the movie referenced was. Oh well, just watch the damn show and you probably will get it. If you already seen it, then good for you. There are some slightly overdone jokes that can be a little old but I guess it wouldn't hurt if it was overdone but not excessive. Kouta on the otherhand was funny at first but his perverted nature was joked around a little too much. It doesn't bother me too much but I can see that the jokes revolving this is a little excessive. Even if the characters are a bit poorly developed, some of the jokes are great but that's pretty much it. Also, If you are not into the Yaoi/Yuri stuff or if you're not into Gay and Lesbian topics, I have something to tell you about Hideyoshi...

Hideyoshi doesn't bother me for a second, In fact. I actually like his character.

Question #6: Should I mention more of the story even though a sypnosis would already explain that?

Why yes, The sypnosis should (or can) be the starting point of a review. Going more in-depth of the story does help too. After all, like the characters... The story is important too.

When it comes to the story, Baka and Test does feel a bit episodic and the plot does feel a bit aimless because of this. I will give this show a because Baka and Test is a comedy and comedies are not story-driven. Comedies are laughter-driven. However... The humor is slightly overdone and I only found myself laughing at 35% of the show. The show was a bit boring at times and I am glad that this particular season was short, because I wasn't sure if I could take 12 or 13 more episodes of the show and then see a second season of it of the same length if that really did happen. Besides that, I was patient enough to see the first season all the way through and I will look into the continuations of this show.

Question #7: Should I mention the writer and director of the anime that is specifically being reviewed?

That's up to you, I usually do this just for those that want to be technical.

It's also interesting to point out that the writer for the show is Katsuhiko Takayama and the director for this show is Shin Oonuma. The reason I pointed this out is because they also worked on the anime Ef: A Tale of Memories and its sequel Ef: A Tale of Melodies. I have reviewed those shows in the past. I did comment on my Ef anime reviews that there was a visual gimmick that was present throughout the entire series and I have been seeing this on Baka and Test and I'm starting to notice that this might just be Oonuma-san's style. Except with Baka and Test, it's done with humor.

Question #8: Should I mention the availability of this show as well as mentioning supplemental material?

I do this just to inform if the show is currently available through the licensor or if it is out of print. I also mention the supplemental stuff to mention what else is made outside of the anime. You mentioning stuff like this is totally up to you.

Baka and Test is available from Funimation. An OVA of the series is also available by Funimation, The second season to Baka and Test is also available by Funimation. The only things that have not made it stateside are the light novels, a couple mangas, and a video game.

Question #9: Should I make a closing statement?

It does help to make a closing statement before you're finished reviewing an anime. This is optional I guess.

With all that said, Baka and Test is a 13-episode comedy that may give you some laughs but you're gonna have to stay patient in the long run because some jokes are a bit overdone. It may not have good character development, and it might not have a good sountrack. What it does have is some funny character moments.

After grading everything that this anime has given me. I give Baka and Test: Summon The Beasts a 6.2 out of 10, it is DECENT!

Question #10: THERE IS NO TENTH QUESTION! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?

You do realize that this whole "Question" thing was just a little inside pun for this anime, am I right?

Feel free to comment below, and if you have read all this. You have ed the test.

Baka to Test is about a baka class in a very strange school. In this special school, all students are given some sort of miniaturized version of themselves (think avatars) whose "fighting powers" are relative to how well a student performs academically. Furthermore, the top class (A) is treated like royalty (think of accommodations like in Special A) where as our class F has cardboard boxes for desks. However, classes can engage in "battles" with their avatars (powered up by extra exams) to try to steal each other's class rooms. Obviously class F has no chance, but wait, an overly cheerful pink-haired girl (who is class A quality but happened to not do well on the entrance exam) s the class and suddenly they apparently have a fighting chance.

While this produces a very unique twist to the slice-of-life school series, it's overly light-hearted for my taste, with too much focus on trivial comedy, trading off character development and plot line progression. With the mini-battles, it almost feels like a strange incarnation of Pokemon in a school, you even get squeaky voices with the avatars.

If you're looking for yet another light series with low-level comedy and a lot of random ecchi scenes or a series about underdogs trying to work their way up, this is your series.

Animation:
This show is fairly average in of drawing style. You get lots of vivid colors and quite a bit of CG. You also get a lot of battle scenes where each mini-character has a hit point counter (think Pokemon, the games not the show), and a lot of Who Wants to be a Millionaire as there is a lot of trivia. The actual characters are fairly average, if a bit simplistic. The backgrounds are also not as vivid as I'd like but I guess it fits the light-hearted mood of the series. Be warned that this is ecchi, one of the class males is always armed with a camera, trying to sneak pictures at certain "angles".

Sound:
The OP is a bit technoish, which fits with the "electronic" battles, and is light, which fits in with the tone of the series. It isn't particularly good though (contrast with ED of Ladies vs Butlers). ED is a guy song, which means insta-avoid for me. The VAs are very vibrant in this series, especially the male leads in the class, and they are pretty much all that keeps the series moving along through antics and over-dramatizing circumstances.

Story:
Well I pretty much summed it up in the intro. A flunking class tries to out-play less-flunking classes through using a very smart pink-haired girl (who also happens to cook death). The plot is pretty linear but doesn't draw too much drama (focusing on light-heartedness) so even when the climax is reached the viewer is just like meh. There are some comedic moments but the majority are actually from Akihisa being taken advantage of (due to his unbelievable stupidity).

Character:
The point of the series is really that guts and willpower can be an equal match for just pure brain power. Behind this premise, you have a really dim-witted main character who happens to have the hearts of two girls in the class. Unfortunately, due to the light-hearted nature of the series, they don't really make use of this tension, instead forcing the girls into "accidental" ecchi situations resulting typically with Akihisa getting beaten up.

Value:
Overall, Baka to Test brings along one or two good chuckles and showing the spirit of an underdog. Perhaps this is enough for people as they're working on a second series. If you can't yet tell from this review, that is one series that I will not be reporting on, as one season was already one too many. The ratio of ecchi + pointless comedy to plot progression and character development was just too unbalanced.

Baka to Test is a random gag and slapstick comedy about idiots in a school that separates classes based on virtual battles of monsters who empower with test results. And as cool as that sounds, in practice it is nothing but random comedy skits.

The story is, as usually goes with comedies, nothing but a poor excuse to put the characters in a situation where the method used has nothing to do with the solution. It could be anything about anything leading to anything and you wouldn’t tell the difference. Supposed, each class has virtual battles to improve their studying facilities. For all intents and purposes, there is an objective here; to get better scores and transfer to better classes or improve their own. All of which can fit in two episodes tops. Having virtual worlds where mascot monsters fight is completely useless since all battles are arranged by your exam scores. Showing your answer sheet is the same as having a weird Pokemon thing attacking another Pokemon thing with a huge sword. Plus, there is no strategy at all; they are just randomly stating a lesson and the better score wins without even a battle. That alone shows how a show titled “Summon the Beasts” doesn’t even need the basic elements of its title, much less a story to back it all up. Oh, and the conclusion literally doesn’t solve anything. And don’t go yapping about a comedy not needing a story because there are lots of them with something interesting going on. This doesn’t even bother to have one, and doesn’t make use of its won setting.

The cast of Idiots and Tests excels only at having really quirky personalities. They are neurotic and extreme enough to be funny but otherwise they are nothing memorable or special. Their looks are generic, their personalities are harem/ecchi stereotypes, they lack any form of backdrop, development or catharsis to flesh them out and make them more than just funny looking cardboards. They are all practically repeating the same jokes again and again without changing their methods, which eventually becomes tiresome. How many times can you see the pervert ninja trying to photograph underwear or that feminine boy acting like a girl and still be funny? There is no variety and no plot to keep you interested for more than a couple of episodes. And their fabled summoned beasts hardly count as characters; they are completely useless to the story besides being cute mascots.

The artstyle of series goes for a manga aesthetic where most backgrounds are full of dots and raster. It makes it stand out from most other shows, and it’s also a cheap way to save money in detailed furniture and buildings. Another distinctive feature is the virtual reality battles with the cute critters that resemble a videogame. Too bad they are completely useless to the plot as your scores are all that matter. This show also ranks among the top anime with the largest amounts of blood ever hosed out of noses because of sexual stimulation. It is quite funny to see entire pools of them only because of some underwear flashing out of screen. These guys would turn to mummies if they ever see an adult video. It is funny but also lame since IT IS JUST A PANTSU FOR PETE’S SAKE. On the negative side, the characters have really generic looks and are hardly memorable. The overuse of super deformity, monochrome faceless crowds and jerky movements prove how lazily and cheap the overall production is.

It is by no means a great show or even one worth ing in the long run. The humor may work for the least demanding audience but the lack of any sort of overall plot or character development and their completely generic looks and archetypes turn this show into a mediocre time waster. Proof of which is how the only thing that people about it are the queer Hideyoshi jokes.

Baka to Test is one of the more enjoyable series I've seen. The show is a straight-up comedy, with other considerations like plot being secondary. It makes no attempt to explain or justify its ridiculous premise (students are treated according to their test results, but the classes can work their way up or down by fighting battles with summoned creatures). Rather, it piles further inconsistencies on top - the main character, Akihisa's summoning is even more magical than everyone else's.

The primary plot is, in the best "shonen" tradition, simply a succession of battles, with the protagonists' originally bottom-ranked class working their way up the ladder. It's perfectly serviceable, but uninteresting, and exists primarily as a backdrop for the comedy. This is probably the correct approach; by making humour the primary focus, Baka to Test is able to stay consistently funny throughout. But there's an element of cowardice in it too; had the show dared to devote time to a more fleshed-out storyline, at the cost of some of the comedy, it might have ed the ranks of the truly great. Or failed entirely.

As it stands, this is a high-quality show that seems to be on the very edge of brilliance. Nowhere is this more apparent than the animation. It's generally good looking, with neat visual effects, and interesting if exaggerated character designs. ittedly the backgrounds could be more detailed, but it never distracts from the action. The opening is pretty and fitting, with a catchy theme to boot, while the brilliant ending uses some shifting check pattens for a wonderfully strange look. Most interesting is the shift in style for dramatic moments: many of the most serious (or "serious") moments are shown in reduced detail or even black and white. This could be seen as a cheap cost-cutting measure, but to my mind it worked very well on the occasions it was used; I was reminded of Minami-ke's 3D-shaded closeups, but the transition here is much less jarring. But again, this is used inconsistently, and one senses a timidity behind it; this is a show that could easily have gone for a quirky animation style throughout, à la SHAFT, but instead chose to play it safe.

On that note, I should mention the fanservice, of which there is plenty. Much of it is exaggerated for comic effect (e.g. the enormous boobs of the main love interest), but nevertheless, it was on the edge of what I found comfortable to watch in mixed company. (Conversely, it's a nice bonus for those who like that sort of thing).

I never know what to say about sound; aside from the aforementioned catchy opening theme, nothing made a strong impression on me. All voices were clear and distinct, which is an achievement given the surprisingly large cast. While there could be said to be only two or three leads, at least seven characters get substantial amounts of screentime and development; high for a thirteen-episode series, but it counterbalances the shortage of plot. Mostly we have a fairly standard cast - a generic lead, two primary love interests (the gentle and the tsundere), a hotheaded guy, the gender-ambiguous comic relief, the precocious little sister.... The characters are treated with more respect than the plot; they retain consistent personalities which are rarely compromised for the sake of comedy, and while they do fit neatly into standard archetypes, they have enough quirks of their own to be interesting. The friendships that emerge between them are the biggest actual development that goes on in the show, and it's all nicely executed; but at the same time, it's all things we've seen before.

More interesting, and in my view the high point of the series, are the later episodes where we see Akihisa interacting with his older sister. As well as revealing real tenderness, they have some genuinely thought-provoking discussions on the nature of achievement. We see a well-thought-out, touching plotline - but one that is sadly entirely divorced from the rest of the show.

This, more than anything else, is what makes Baka to Test the very good show it is, rather than the great show it might have been. It's clearly a well thought out show; the restraint with which it resists wasting time explaining its premises is irable, as is the singleminded devotion to humour. I can't another series as consistently funny as this, and I'm impressed that even with jokes in every minute of every epsiode, the series ends before any of it can become stale. At the same time, the single jarringly brilliant serious plot arc speaks volumes on what could have been, had the humour taken a back seat to the show's dramatic side. In the end, Baka to Test's greatest strength - its comic purity - is also its greatest weakness.