Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai (also known as Anti-Magic Academy 35th Test Platoon) is a light novel adaptation that has over 10 volumes and currently publishing. Common logic dictates that such an adaptation could only be tolerable if adapted into at least a 2-cour show. What do we get instead? A chunk of mess and missed potentials that gets buried by Silver Link and the director’s incompetence. Don’t get me wrong though, the show has an interesting premise. Unlike many normal schools, the 35th Test Platoon of Anti-magic Academy is part of a group that is designed to hunt down witches, beings branded with dangerous magical abilities. It’s easy to theorize what they learn is more than the usual textbook stuff like math or literature. While this stands out as somewhat unique, the show is unable to carry itself with its oddball set of characters and messy storytelling.
The series follows the bizarre adventures of the “Small Fry Platoon”. Like some light novel adaptations, its story structure is formatted in arcs although it interconnects and has direct relations with the overall premise. In hopes for a faithful adaptation, director Kawamura Tomoyuki instead delivers a disappointing story that fails to capture the magic, emotions, and powers with its characters. It’s pretty much a washed out action flick and nothing more as each episode dashes hopes for what fans will have expectations for this series. And it all begins from the very first few episodes.
There’s no official written rule but I think it’s common that most people judge if they drop or keep a show of interest with a span of three episodes. This show will likely take just one. The pilot episode establishes the main premise while also introducing some of the main characters. Because the main cast is composed of female characters, expect some generic impressions like the ‘main guy walking in on girl half-naked’ type of situation. It actually crosses that line not once but sort of twice too when Takeru Kusanagi, the leader of the 35th Test Platoon sees two of his teammates in a lewd fashion. The rest of his squad members are also all girls and throughout the show, their relationship with him ventures into the harem-esque territory. We got Ouka Ootori, a girl with a hate for witches and cold personality. As time goes on, she develops unrecognized feelings for Takeru that is acted out in a slightly tsundere fashion. Her rivalry with Mari Nikadou, a witch formerly affiliated with Valhalla, also gets personal and irritating to watch as time drags on. Then, there’s Usagi Saionji, a shy yet emotional girl with some lack of common sense and desire to marry Takeru. Her background story isn’t pretty despite her high class family status. Ikaruga Suginami, the genius and professional hacker of the group is also well known for making suggestive and often sexual jokes towards her teammates. Oh and finally, the show has to include a girl with a “lack of emotions” so Lapis, a relic eater is added to fill in the void.
As the storytelling is handled by arcs, each of these arcs consists of a set of episodes that focuses on a problem and specifically about a girl. Takeru and the rest of his squad always somehow gets involved in these affairs. It’s as predictable as any generic writing when Takeru attempts to save them from whatever problem they have. While it initially handles the buildup and emotional appeals well, it quickly dies out as an arc is wrapped up with the rushing. As a 1-cour adaptation, it fails with minimal plot development and feels more like just a group of ideas thrown altogether in one piece to entertain the audience. I will admit that the action flows pretty well on par with acceptable production values but everything in the end seems to lack charisma. The comical jokes gets old fast and the fan service seems to be forced into the viewers’ minds every time it tries something funny. There’s even some major filler content for this adaptation despite being already rushed. And that’s really tragic considering how much the series dropped the ball with its ridiculous directing. Don’t expect strong characterization but do be prepared for a lack of originality. There may be times that a few of the characters can be quite fun to watch though as their personalities adds some excitement to the messy story. But in retrospect, it’s still not far from disappointment.
Silver Links adapts this series and given the production quality, they seem to have taken their sweet time with it. It’s tolerable in terms of action packed choreography especially in the more intense fighting angles. But when it comes to characters, it’s lacking in their expressions. Most of the characters seems to have the same face most of the time. While the character designs holds uniqueness to some degree, it’s hard to make it up when over-saturated fan service is mixed in with it. On the other hand, I am impressed by some of the combat gear the show produces. These include a wide range of guns, vehicles, and magical spells. The technological aspect of the setting also looks solid despite the shallow backgrounds.
If there’s one thing to write home about, it would be the music and soundtrack. For a sci-fi military flick with its production values, the soundtrack is surprisingly well crafted. With the stereo beat and fast paced cinematics, it correlates effectively with the action. Character theme songs are also designed with a decent amount of effort as well. While the OP and ED theme songs aren’t stellar, the overall coordination of the soundtrack deserves some praise. Character voice mannerism is another story though. While they have credibility with their personalities, there’s nothing impressive about them.
It’s like the group of producers for this show gathered together and thought, “let’s make this show with some pretty action and everyone will have something to talk about!” But really, besides the action and soundtrack, this show is more like an advertisement for the light novel. If you are interested more in the story, then do feel free to give it a read although by this point, it might feel like a waste of time. And time really is something they messed up for this adaptation. With its heavy rushing and lack of characterization, there’s hardly any time to craft a consistent story. In the end, it’s a waste potential.
