Ranked #408

Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou

In a word? HILARIOUS.

Each episode is only, like, 12 minutes long... and the whole series is incredibly worth it... if you've ever seen anything that has a "delinquent" in it (i.e. anyone with a hairstyle like John Travolta in Grease ;) ) or even if you haven't... this was just so surprisingly funny that it became almost an instant favorite.

...Am I hyping it up too much?

The first episode, I kind of chuckled/smiled a few times... and then as the series goes on, I found myself just dying of laughter. It's incredibly clever and witty...

The show follows a bunch of hoodlums in their and their ...non-traditional concerns. One badass boss has severe problems with motion sickness, another is a comedy snob, and well... one's a robot. It's wacky in the best way -- a little light on plot but heavy on the funny. It kind of reminds me of The Tick (the animated series, not the live action) in the way that it's kind of campy and over the top and oh-so-original.

The show does such a good job of turning the typical delinquent devices on their heads. It starts off like something that seems familiar... something that feels normal for the genre... and all of a sudden it's like you're in bizarro-land and this hilarious joke comes out of nowhere. And it's even more surprising and even funnier because you know they knew you were expecting the generic follow-through and they gave you a spoonful of crazy instead. (Does that make sense?) ...It's like watching a pitcher in baseball go through a windup, but at the very last second, instead of pitching the ball to you, his feet turn into ducks.

It's like that... only funny. ;) Really, really funny. read more

I always find it hard to actually LIKE a comedy. Sure, it's fun and all that, but that doesn't mean it's good. So what's a good comedy like? Well, I've never been a real fan of slapstick humor because it's just too easy. When I was introduced to Cromartie High school (thumbs up for Danny), I gave it a shot right away. After several episodes, I put it away as it didn't seem interesting. When I gave it another shot weeks later, I was proven wrong.

The anime starts off with the main character's - Takashi Kamiyama - first day at the Cromartie High school for delinquents. From there on the story spirals down a maze of odd events and insane situations. Though he's the only non-delinquent person on the school, Takashi claims the title of class boss - and later the 'boss of japan' title. And that's only the beginning of the madness.

Story: Naturally, there isn't much of a story to mention. However, following a nice, intelligent person on a school filled with delinquents should be interesting enough. You get to see other schools as well. They're always planning to attack Cromartie, but never succeed. You could say this a delinquent slice of life(!), driven by activities done by the characters rather than a main storyline.

Art: Although there is remarkably little movement in this anime, the art makes up for it. The roughly sketched faces really make the characters look like badasses. And that's what's also improving the fun factor.

Sound: With great power comes great responsibility. And with little movement, comes little sound. If you catch my drift. The sound in general doesn't really stand out, except for the kickass voice acting of Mechazawa. Although the sound doesn't stand it, it's still a main part of the whole thing, and therefore gets a high score.

Character: A gorilla. A Freddie Mercury copy. A robot. And his son. A tough, strong boss with motion sickness. A silent boss with a wish to become a known comedian. A man with fake hair (No spoilers, duh). A servant without a name. The anime introduces a wide selection of characters, each with their own unique personality. Cromartie wouldn't be Cromartie without its characters.

Enjoyment: I'll admit it. Cromartie starts off a bit slow. If you survive the first five, six episodes, you will find it hard to not watch the rest right away. Every episode tells a different story, usually following one person or a group through the episode. It's impossible to forsee what's about to happen, and that's definitly a good thing in a comedy. A good example of this is when they hold a competition to decide who gets the 'Boss of Japan' title. All contestants have to answer the question: "Is it milk in yoghurt?" Hundreds of delinquents are present, but, naturally, Takashi's the ONLY ONE who gets it right. And even if you won't laugh when you watch, you'll laugh later. Sometimes it just needs to sink in.

Overall The unique thing about Cromartie is that it takes two quite different elements and put them together. In this case, that would be 'delinquents' and 'FUN'. If you're not used to seeing serious-looking gangsters in hillarious situations, it might take some time before you get used to it. All in all, Cromartie is one of the funniest and smartest comedies I've ever seen. read more