Gakusen Toshi Asterisk

In the previous century, an unprecedented disaster known as the Invertia drastically reformed the world. The powers of existing nations declined significantly, paving the way for a conglomerate called the Integrated Empire Foundation to assume control. But more importantly, the Invertia led to the emergence of a new species of humans who are born with phenomenal physical capabilities—the Genestella. Its elite are hand-picked across the globe to attend the top six schools, and they duel amongst themselves in entertainment battles called Festas.

Ayato Amagiri is a scholarship transfer student at the prestigious Seidoukan Academy, which has recently been suffering from declining performances. Through a series of events, he accidentally sees the popular Witch of Resplendent Flames, Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, half-dressed! Enraged, Julis challenges him to a duel for intruding on her privacy. After said duel is voided by the student council president, Ayato reveals that he has no interest in Festas. Instead, he has enrolled in the academy to investigate the whereabouts of his missing elder sister. But when a more devious plot unravels, Ayato sets out to achieve victory, while being surrounded by some of the most talented Genestella on the planet.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Toudou, Kirin Main

Ozawa, Ari Japanese

von Riessfeld, Julis-Alexia Main

Kakuma, Ai Japanese

Sasamiya, Saya Main

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Amagiri, Ayato Main

Tamaru, Atsushi Japanese

Enfield, Claudia Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Lyyneheym, Sylvia Supporting

Chisuga, Haruka Japanese

Kühne, Ernesta Supporting

Akasaki, Chinatsu Japanese

Urzaiz, Irene Supporting

Uchiyama, Yumi Japanese

Yabuki, Eishirou Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Amagiri, Haruka Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Itou, Shousei Producer

Nishide, Masayuki Producer

Hayashi, Youhei Producer

Umemoto, Souichirou Producer

Reviews

Jan 31, 2026

bam541

Recommended

This is actually better than I expected. I was expecting some super trashy harem power fantasy that would be a total "shut your brain off and just enjoy it" thingy. But it got me legitimately invested with many decently fleshed-out and memorable characters, well-directed and animated action scenes and a good level of restrain in its presentation. It doesn't go overboard with trying to be ironic, and takes itself seriously enough to supply its most important story moments with emotional weight, which is more than enough to make me actually care about these characters. I particularly liked how Ayato and Riessfield's dynamic grows stronger as ... they start to trust each other earnestly, and also seeing Saya's past history with Ayato. Those three are probably the most well-executed characters here, but the other folks got their own fun moments too, and I wouldn't say that I disliked any of their presence, other than Kirin's annoyingly high-pitched voice. She also has the least interesting writing to me, but I guess it's kinda cute seeing Ayato treating her like the little kid that she is.

Anyways, i also liked that this anime didn't go too technical and wordy on its worldbuilding. There's a lot of exposition but I wouldn't say that it gets distracting or overwhelming. It's a decent balance of being a plot and character driven story.

I wouldn't say that this anime is high art or anything like that, but as far as anime of this particular niche, it's definitely one of the more engrossing ones I've watched. Also, I did binge the second season as well, and it delivers more of the best aspects of the show (particularly action scenes) while toning down the trashy stuff just enough to make the stakes feel more real, without losing too much of the lightheartedness.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Oct 13, 2024

amf85

Mixed Feelings

The art is OK. The characters are OK. Saya stands out as having a combination of toneless speech that somehow nevertheless conveys emotion in a way that is kind of hilarious. Unfortunately, the MC has the least entertaining character in the show, with abilities that really come down to 1) hit people with his sword and 2) hit people with his sword + some sparkles. Almost every supporting character has much cooler abilities. The worldbuilding and story are completely half-assed and inconsistent.

And yet, I ended up watching all of both seasons without forcing myself, which means I pretty much have ... to give it a 6 instead of the 5 that my brain thinks it deserves, even though the primary plot device of the entire show, the powers/weapons the MCs use, don't seem to have any internal consistency or ever get explained properly. So if you're hoping to eventually figure out why sometimes Luxes seem to give power and sometimes they seem to take power...no answer. If you're wondering why Ogre Luxes even exist or how they apparently have their own consciousnesses? No answer. Why do Ogre Luxes require compatibility with users but robots can use them? No answer. Why do some characters have awesome powers while some just hit things with their Luxes as if they're regular weapons? What do the MC's stances even do? As far as I can tell: nothing, everything looks the same, he just wins after saying their name for some reason. (though I find it hilarious that we find out in a flashback that he just says their names out loud because Saya told him it sounds cool) Why have one faction created AI and robots but only uses them for what effectively UFC tournaments? Why is it considered fair for giant super-powered 20 foot tall super robots with impenetrable shields and laser cannons to fight 13 year old children? No answer. In what possible universe could taking away the MC's powers and inflicting multiple days of crippling injuring on him if he tries to defend himself be considered "protecting" him? No answer. Why does their entire society appear to revolve around this one fighting tournament? No answer. Why do all of the female voice actors huff helium before saying their lines? No answer. Why is the male robot a mini-gundam while the female robot is just a girl with cosplay gloves and boots? Because boobs, obviously.

But if you turn off your brain, you can find you've watched the entire thing pretty easily.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 20, 2022

DreamTraveller

Not Recommended

Who could believe I gave Asterisk War an 8 six years ago? That's character development for you, I guess.

I didn't exactly expect this anime to be any good. There are many red flags before getting into this, and the first episode alone is a good indicator of what's about to come: nice guy transfer student, tsundere second lead, obligatory ecchi scene, 99% female cast, A-1 studios... yep, they're all there. Asterisk War can force a light smile here and there, but otherwise, it's such a smudge. Painful to watch at times. This review takes into consideration the second season too, I watched a couple ... of its episodes. It's basically the same show.

Asterisk War generally suffers from bad writing, but the one factor really standing out is our MC, Kazuto Kirig- I mean, Amagiri Ayato. This man is so empty that dirt and gravel would shine with more personality in his place than he does. In fact, I believe most of the main cast has more to offer than this guy. Even by the end of this show, the only goal in Ayato's life is literally being a simp, and not a good one at that. Whoever wrote this, though, believed it'd be pretty cool for him to be the most overpowered bozo on the planet, reaching rank #1 in his academy only after two or three duels. This anime doesn't even hide the silliness of trying to present his strength as something genuine, so it can be unintentionally funny watching him at times...

The rest of the characters are fine at best. Saya is best girl. I also kind of liked Julis in that, in spite of being leagues inferior to Mr. MC, she was nonetheless a fighter, had a purpose unlike him, made crucial contributions to their fights, and really took it like a champ at times. Basically what SAO Asuna ever wanted to be. But well, she isn't acknowledged at all, because despite being the poster girl, the spotlight shines solely for Ayato. It's criminal having the two of them come out of a hard duel, where they both gave their absolute best, only for Ayato to receive all the praise and pussy. In fact, Julis too is obligated by her writing to ignore this, unconditionally fall in love with him, and say "baka" every three minutes. It is what it is, lol.

As for the ecchi scenes in Asterisk War: they render this anime unwatchable. Horribly forced and cringe-worthy. And when I mean cringe-worthy, I mean putting away your headphones and running outside your room screaming in horror levels of cringe. Moreover unnecessary; nothing changes without them. They stick out so much in their idiocy that it becomes obvious: they're aggressively lodged inside character interactions to appease the fourteen year-olds, there just to be there, to fill the screen with boobs, red faces, and childish comedy - it's free fan service, so why not take it? Oh, and yes, one of them is a thirteen year-old. Enjoy yourself.

Considering that the entire plot of Asterisk War is the Phoenix Festa (2vs2 arena duels), and its world is... well, shaped with that and that alone in mind, it would be wiser to watch this show just for the action and the fillers that predominate it. Question being, are they worthwhile? Not really. Action in Asterisk War is uninspiring and emanating with boredom. There are some exceptions, but action choreography, especially for Ayato, is just... plain nothingness. Supposedly powerful attacks never happen on screen. One frame is Ayato charging, with the next one screaming "quickly! Everyone fall to the ground or get chopped in half!" Julis casting flame spells is seriously more satisfying than watching Ayato. His action scenes are ridiculous.

I could go on ranting about how flawed dialogue, characters, and the world are in Asterisk War, but honestly, who cares. All in all, it's a mediocre anime with poor presentation. There is some tiny value to it, some effort to adhere to logic in story decisions, some "meh, that's awfully nice" moments, in light of how underwhelming everything else is. For a newcomer in anime or media in general, this could even be enjoyable. Still, the matter of the fact is, there are better shows out there. Asterisk War is twenty four episodes long, and believe me, it is not worth that much of your time.

In conclusion: Asterisk War might be watchable without sound. Rejoice, oh deaf ones!

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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