Ranked #1510

Gokujou Seitokai

Gokujou Seitokai is a lovely, rather under-appreciated series. Certainly if it were defined by its genre (a school comedy), it would not stand out from the million other school comedies, all with more cute, young characters filled to the brim with moeness (and who induce purely visceral "kyaaa!", squeals, or nosebleed reactions).

Gokujou Seitokai follows the formulaic school comedy idea fairly closely, and boasts a rather, if you will, cliché student council centric cast. But this is also where this series shines. I left something out when I said this series fell into the school comedy genre because technically speaking, this is a satirical school comedy.

We need not go far to find evidence of this; just the title of this series alone has satirical elements to it. "Seitokai", as you might already know, means "student council". "Gokujou", then, is actually an abbreviation-- the full title of this series should actually be Miyagami Gakuen Gokudai Kengen Hoyuu Saijoukyuu Seitokai (Miyagami Academy Maximum Authority Holders Ultimate Level Student Council). I hardly need to point out it pokes fun at ridiculously long titles and names for things to make them sound impressive (think "ultimate attacks" in fighting anime series). Because of this satirical take, the series is not hindered but actually made better by its simple and rather predictable storyline.

Art-wise, it's fair enough to not really bother you either way. The animation is less than stellar, and sometimes you're left wondering where the heck the characters are looking at since they usually seem to have far-off gazes to their eyes. It shouldn't bug the average anime viewer very much, though. I didn't even notice it when I watched it the first time around. Colour-wise, this series goes with softer pastel colours, and it really goes well with the vibrant cheeriness that Gokujou Seitokai exudes.

The OP and ED are very good, in my opinion. Before I really get into the songs, I must say, it's particularly surprising that Gokujou Seitokai isn't more popular. It has an astounding seiyuu cast, with most (I'm talking 75% and above) being veterans and solidly A-list seiyuu. I won't elaborate too much on this since not everyone is into seiyuu (or even original Japanese audio), but if you are interested in seiyuu, I urge you to take a look at the cast. And although it has an impressive seiyuu cast, I can't give higher than 8/10 because there weren't any gut-wrenchingly mind-blowing scenes for the seiyuu to perform at their full capacity.

Now, the songs. Tamura Yukari sings the upbeat, cheery OP. It works, to say the least, since Tamura has one of the most moe voices I know. Oh, and this might be a concern for less serious anime goers. You may find the protagonist (voiced by Tamura) to be a little too high-pitched. I remember it getting on my nerves before I got my bearings and got used to the relatively high-pitched voices for girls in anime. The ED is very good too, and it's sung by several veteran seiyuu.

So... to put it shortly, I think this is a series I'd recommend to anyone who likes school comedies. It's suitable for all levels of viewers. Less serious anime viewers will like it for the hilarity, and people who've watched a gazillion school comedies will probably like it for the satirical elements. It also has vague (but very there) f/f vibes. It's played up for comedic value, but yuri fans will probably like it as well. (Anti-yuri people probably won't mind it, since as I said, it's played for comedy.) One thing to note, however, is that this does not have seinen-esque fanservice in the manner of cleavage shots or I-see-your-panties-and-get-massive-nosebleed gags despite the entirely female cast. Comedy and satire carry this series through. read more

Gokujou Seitokai or Best Student Council as it has been dubbed is a crazy little anime about the all-powerful student coucil (seitokai) of a private all-girls' academy.

The premise is a little out there: the school is run by the student council. It's much like Mai-HiME or a billion other school-based anime where the student council has more power than the principal or superintendent, even. But the thing about Gokujou Seitokai is that it is a comedy with satirical elements. It understands how silly the idea of a school run by the seitokai is and plays with it, creating many a gag with it and using it as the basic plot point.

The art isn't the best. It isn't exceptionally good, either. It's passable, at best. The character design is fun, but a little sloppy and not a lot attention was given to surrounding backgrounds or the settings.

The sound mostly comprises of energetic or emotional synths where necessary. If you're someone who likes BGM (background music) then this isn't the anime you're looking for. The OP and ED theme songs are fun and reflect what you're going to see and have seen once the episode is over: a whole lot of silliness.

Gokujou Seitokai has a large cast. It mainly focuses on the the girls of the student council. I will say that these characters are definitely one of the drawing aspects of the anime. There's definitely at least one girl in the lot you're going to like; I know I have about three or four to whom I am partial. Each character has a special trait and their personalities even become part of the jokes, such as Sayuri's consequent blindness when losing her glasses or Rino's utter doltishness.

I thought this was a fun anime series. It's 26 episodes long, but it doesn't feel like it drags on for too long. It's not the best material out there, but it does give you a laugh or two whether you're into slapstick or verbal humour. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and when it does, it turns that into another gag point. A comedy that understands that it's a comedy is a rare thing to come across. I don't think I wasted a minute while watching this series--I know I laughed at least three times for each episode.

If you like wide, assorted casts, silliness, satire, slapstick and student councils, then this is definitely an anime you need to look at. If you're not really into those things but want a laugh anyway, then give it a shot. read more