Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu

Command, control, and communication: the three pillars to successfully execute missions in modern military combat. They are also the source of inspiration behind Stella Women's Academy airsoft club, aptly named the C3 Club. Due to the club's nature, the members have trouble finding newcomers, but, as the school year starts, they hope to find their next sharpshooter among a new crop of students.

Yura Yamato is a freshman at Stella; she sports an unassertive personality that makes it difficult to make friends. She soon discovers her absent roommate owns a massive collection of military memorabilia and movies, including a replica Desert Eagle. When one of the C3 Club's members catches Yura re-enacting an action movie, she drags her into the Club's airsoft practice match. Despite being on the losing side, Yura is unexpectedly drawn to the excitement of the game.

Upon her return, Yura's roommate—Sonora Kashima—reveals herself to be the C3 Club's president and invites her to join. Now with Sonora by her side, one more exhilarating match convinces Yura to sign up. Thanks to her new teammates, Yura discovers a hidden side to herself and an unexpected love for airsoft. However, as her dedication to the game slowly takes over her life, Yura finds herself on the path of great change and success—one that may easily lead to self-destruction.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu was released on Blu-ray and DVD from September 18, 2013 to March 19, 2014. It was licensed by Sentai Filmworks and released on home video as Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C3 on September 2, 2014.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:

Tokurei Sochi Dantai Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kirishima, Rento

Main

Nishizaki, Rima
Japanese

Yamato, Yura

Main

Makino, Yui
Japanese

Kashima, Sonora

Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki
Japanese

Hatsuse, Karila

Main

Kayano, Ai
Japanese

Hinata, Yachiyo

Main

Yonezawa, Madoka
Japanese

Mutsu, Honoka

Main

Saitou, Chiwa
Japanese

Haruna, Rin

Supporting

Seto, Asami
Japanese

Hatsuse, Aira

Supporting

Kayano, Ai
Japanese

Seto, Midori

Supporting

Hasumi, Erina
Japanese

Choujirou

Supporting

Hatano, Wataru
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Hayashi, Youhei

Producer

Takatori, Masashi

Producer

Yoshikawa, Atsushi

Producer

Kawajiri, Masanao

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Shape My Story" by Anna Yano

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Ending Theme

"Hajikero! C3! (弾けろ！しーきゅーぶ！)" by Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu (Yui Makino, Miyuki Sawashiro, Ai Kayano, Chiwa Saito, Rima Nishizaki, Madoka Yonezawa)

Reviews

May 2, 2016

TheBrainintheJar

Recommended

It’s so easy to write this off based on appearance. Then again, a lot of people are fooled by realistic design that an anime is deep. Stella’s Women Academy is simple and doesn’t aspire to much, but hits every target it aims for.

In truth, it’s not just an anime about cute girls who play with guns. The cuteness factor is there (since we in the West are still impressed by macho bullshit, it’s a plus). What drives the series, though, are the characters.

The story is simple because it’s a very humane one. It puts a bunch of personalities and examine them, using the theme of ... competition. What dominates is the characters’ reaction to every situation. Although external events pop once in a while like competitions, it’s not noticeable. They only happen to develop the characters. Feeling like you’re not enough or being narrow-minded or being laid-back are more crucial to the story’s progress.

It draws comparison to Ping Pong. There are even pseudo-artistic moments where the anime tries hard to be taken seriously. Thankfully they vanish quickly. Moments of confrontation, where we see the relationships change are more meaningful and profound than any weird-psychedelic-vision-thing.

The anime is full of such moments. Every episode is a clear progression of Yura’s personality. It is such tight pacing. Even the best anime don’t have pacing that is this focused. The series catches you off-guard when it moves from the cuteness of the first episode to the serious conflicts. It does it only in 6 episodes.

The tonal shift isn’t jarring. It adds depth. Life isn’t monotonous except in some circumstances. It’s mostly ups and downs. These tonal shift add realism to an anime that at first seemed only comic. It makes all the drama later believable and engrossing.

It’s an impressive feat. The characters shouldn’t work. They’re neither psychological portraits nor exaggerated oddballs. They still manage to feel real. This thanks to the work of the voice-actors. Most of the attributes – Ren’s gentleness, Honoko’s mother-figure, Karila’s toughness is expressed by these voices. Even when the characters all react positively to something, the voice-actors add their little touch to create distinction.

Yura is the highlight of the series though, and part of what prevents it from being brilliant. Going back to the comparison with Ping Pong, that anime explored every character it had. It wasn’t satisfied with just giving them distinct personalities. They each had their own journey.

Stella’s Women Academy is more narrow. Yura is the only one who goes through a major change. She’s a more believable and realistic character than Ping Pong‘s Tsukimoto, even if she’s less psychological. The changes in her are more apparent and clearer. The anime doesn’t rely on inner-monologues or visions (Okay, there are a few of them but not too many) to show us who Yura is. It’s the constant interaction with the cast.

Why make the decision to have such a narrow focus? Knowing your limitations is important, but great characters were the strength of the show. Everyone was flawed in a way and could be improve. The writers know how to develop a simple character, and using their talent only for one character is a waste.

Since there are guns in the anime, there are also action scenes. They’re the least flashiest action you will see, but somehow they work. Again, the simple and low-key approach is an advantage. The scenes are clear and easy to follow. They’re made of set-pieces which progress to a conclusion. Some tactics and strategy are involved, but they’re complex enough to be interesting and simple enough not to drag the anime down.

The overall message of ‘real winning is having fun’ may seem simplistic, but it actually goes deeper than that. It doesn’t pretend the world doesn’t have conflict. The message is that we need to understand when we’re in a serious conflict where we must win, and when we’re in a fun activity.

That’s the fault of both Rin and Sonora. Sonora just wants to have fun, so she doesn’t fight when she has to. She lets people leave freely even though it harms both the club and themselves. Rin sees everything in terms of conflict. For all her victories, her existence is joyless. She can win all she wants but what does she has in the end?

is not a huge anime. It’s a simple story about a person with no confidence getting drunk with power and then waking up. It works. Its focus may be narrow but nothing is missed, no idea is undeveloped and no moment is wasted. The only thing that prevents it from being a classic is that it never tried to be. Still, even the greatest of anime don’t hit their target dead-center like this one does.

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Mar 9, 2017

haihaig

Mixed Feelings

Story:

The story progresses with each episode, and every episode is connected with each other. On the other hand, there are too many confusing elements in the story that doesn't make any logical sense. This story supposedly takes place in a real-life situation, yet all of a sudden, the MC has a supernatural ability? That ability is never touched upon again after a few episodes.

Characters:
I think they did a good job with the characters, all except for the MC. The MC was the driving force that almost made me drop the series altogether. Yes, her character did undergo progress. But it's always to the ...

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Feb 19, 2015

Fear_the_Reefer

Not Recommended

Yura Yamato is on cloud nine, seeing the campus of her high school for the first time. She’s been admitted into Stella Women's Academy, a prestigious all girls school populated by students with families far more affluent than hers. When she checks into her dorm, she finds out that her roommate is away, visiting some of her family in America... But that doesn’t stop her from rolling around in her dorm mate’s bed, where she happens upon a curious item hidden under her pillow. It’s not a diary... It’s not a photo of a boy... It’s a very ...

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