Battle Royal High School

Pain has been given a name; and it’s Battle Royal High School. Granted I wasn’t going into my experience of this anime with high expectations of quality, but for God's sake is it too much to ask for a story that makes even the most teensy-weensy bit of sense?

I usually begin my reviews with an analysis of the story. Unfortunately after watching it I just don’t get it. Now perhaps if I did something crazy like subject myself to a second viewing I might find an unexpected bonus of plot, sort of like the toy surprise at the bottom of a box ... of cereal, but who am I kidding? I love myself far too much to do that.

However what I did manage to piece together is that Hyoudo is in high school and he’s really good at karate. I will let it pass that despite being in high school he looks like he’s in his 30s and is built like an East German bodybuilder. Hey Hyoudo, save some steroids for the rest of the world would ya? Anyway Hyoudo has the very shounen goal of being the world’s strongest fighter and after kicking the crap out of his own schools karate club so he could quit and then fight other schools club members, Hyoudo gets his wish. (Just close your eyes and count to three, this isn’t supposed to make sense I guess) Conveniently there is a resident tsundere who despite being one fifth his size can kick his ass and keep him in check. This is when things take a turn for the bizarre. Suddenly a demon lord from another dimension enters the story and joins bodies with Hyoudo so he can do battle with other strange inter-dimensional beings, monsters, and future spacemen. Thus Battle Royal High School is able to combine the holy trinity of shounen action of GAR hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, and power suits with monsters, gore, and plenty of underage T&A.

As far as pure action goes, this anime isn’t all that bad. The fights are fairly entertaining if not amusing for their downright ridiculousness. The gore is over the top and the blood is spilled by the liter. These are all pretty much staples of the genre, and this show does nothing new to set it apart. The story fails completely though as mentioned. Really nothing is really explained, the ending is barely adequate.

It’s a bit redundant to call the characters in Battle Royal High School clichéd. That much is obvious, however one of the most unbelievable things to accept about the show was just how the characters looked. In particular some of the male characters that in some cases looked like old men who have no business being high school students. It’s difficult to talk about any of them because there is little time spent developing them. The action just moves from fight to fight and about the only thing we learn about any of them is the meek girl Megumi, who secretly pines for the meat headed Hyoudo.

For a 80s era show the art isn’t bad at all. The action is drawn and animated pretty well, as is the blood and gore. Typical of this era the gore is drawn with a healthy portion of bubbly intestines and spewing blood. It’s a bit silly looking but I kind of like the style. The characters are pretty silly looking, with the men all being typical muscle bound shounen beefcakes and the girls looking suitable demure and feminine.

About the nicest thing I can say about the musical performances is that they are...dated. Its typical Engrish mid 80s rock music, and the ending song in particular is a perfect example of the kind of bands that have been left to the dustbin of history. I would say the acting is as equally horrible but given how shitty the music is that’s probably not very fair.

In conclusion, all but the most diehard shounen and martial arts action fans should stay clear of this anime turd. There might be some nostalgia in it for some older fans and maybe some lulz for others. This is a public service I provide for you, I watch bad anime so you don’t have too.

To put it as succinctly as possible; This OVA is f**king insane. The plot is unintelligible, the dialogue is out of wack, the characters are barely likeable, and the pacing is enough to out stutter a heart arrhythmia. There's no clue in the 50-ish minute run time, but no clue is needed. This is chaotic, outrageous, anarchic 80s fun that clearly throws caution, logic, and copious gibs to the wind. If you hate fun and love taking yourself too seriously, steer clear, but if you don't mind hitting the off switch on your brain and diving into discord, do not avoid!!!

This is not to be confused with the manga series "Battle Royale". Battle Royal High School is a short OVA with a plot that's not very well paced, but offers insane action & well drawn animation. It's not one of those series where you can expect life philosophies such as "Fullmetal Alchemist"; it instead offers action for the sake of action. If you're looking for some violent fights then keep reading, if not then steer clear from this title.

I'm certain most people who seen this obscure OVA would wonder why I would give this a 6 or others possibly thought of this feature as ... a piece of crap. Much of the highlight is due to the rule of cool & certain homages found throughout it, but before I get into that here's a better explanation of the plot.

As it turns out this OVA is a heavily condensed version of a 4 volume manga series. According to the website of anime licensing company AnimEigo, Battle Royal High School is based on a shonen manga roughly titled as shin majinden batoru royaru haisukûru which was published in Monthly Shonen Captain in 1986. Because of this compact version of the story, most people are left in confusion. While I don't know the intended plot of the original source material here's a rough summary of the premise.

Basically, there's 3-4 plots interwoven within an hour time frame with each conflict could've been its own OVA episode. First there's Rikki Hyoutou whose a great fighter & has a competitive nature who challenges several students from the martial arts club. These scenes pay a homage either to the 70's series Tiger Mask or the novels of Guin Saga, as Rikki wears a leopard mask when fighting. The story kicks in when Rikki is attacked by this powerful being known as Lord Byudo whose come from another dimension. With further explanation, Lord Byudo is a parallel counterpart to Rikki who then merge together sharing Rikki's body as a host. (Think Birdy the Mighty & Yu-Gi-Oh!) Lord Byudo then claims that this a trap by his subordinate the Fairy Master who then seeks to kill Byudo in his weakened state. To further add to the concept of travelling through dimensions, there's a certain space police organization whose purpose is to keep an eye on the space time continuum & ensure the future is unaltered. This is where the character Zankan is introduced who later transforms into this robot armor in a super sentai fashion. The last plot is more focused on the attacks of the Fairy Master as she's sending various creatures to attack humanity & infect them, thus changing them into demons. Our last character to be introduced is Yukki Toshimitsu who is a demon slayer who then partners up with Rikki in eliminating the demons from the Fairy Master.

Essentially, these three characters collaborate with each other for the safety of mankind. While the story is hard to follow it does make up with very detailed animation along with creative combat. It's a real shame that the manga is nowhere to be found online as the manga should have a better pacing to the story. One of the concepts I enjoyed from Battle Royal High School as it might have influenced certain authors. For example the idea of demonic fairies would later be found in the series "Berserk". Another interesting detail is the character Priscilla from "Claymore" whose design might be based on The Fairy Master as both are winged, blue-skinned women with a long horn on their forehead.

As said before, this OVA is meant for those who crave quick violent action with interesting concepts & cool characters. Don't expect much going into this, however do expect gore, nudity, super powers, demons, & some very bizarre moments. In other words, this is an example on how entertaining 80's OVA's can be.

Read some bad reviews on this, but honestly this is one of my all-time favorites. Not having a huge selection in the 90s at the rental store, as a young adult I didn't have much to compare this to.

It's extremely bizarre, and action-packed from start to finish. Definitely reminds me of Bio Hunter and other oddities that came out around the same time

I really do like the art considering the time it came out. It must have been a lot of work drawing so many frames of blood and guts flying everywhere.

I rewatched this a few days ago, excited to have a breath of fresh ... air after watching so many popular cookie cutter shows out right now.

Does it have a ridiculous story? Why, sure does! Don't spend too much of your brain juice trying to logically following along with the plot. Because you'll only get frustrated.

Instead, just check your brain at the door and drink in all the action. Because there's plenty of it crammed into this short movie. And it wouldn't be an eighties OVA if they didn't throw in some ridiculously gory carnage to go along with it.

And unlike many of its contemporary counterparts, the quality of the artwork is actually pretty ... good, and the animation is decent, too. What I like the most, however, are the character designs by the inestimable Nobuteru Yuki. (And also interesting to see Hideaki Anno playing third-fiddle in the rear end of the production credits. I guess the anime greats had to get their start somewhere, right?)

An uneven, and imperfect show, but to my surprise it does have a leg-up on many of the other power-up-and-fight OVAs that were a-dime-a-dozen during this time. And it gets better as it goes along too (I guess they were just starting to get into the groove just as it was winding to a close).

Rate of 6 (fair)
seen via english dubbed
genre:action(1),comedy(2), horror(3)

Note: i am trying out a new feature with numbers on anime with multiple genres. For i am sure there are others like me that want to watch shows because they are in certain moods therefore genre is important. In terms of my numbers the lower the number the more of an impact there was. For example if there was hentai (which there really isn't i might give it a 4 or higher depending if i want to list other genres. On to the actual review.

Ego, we all have one. Some hide it better than others. While others ... make it known. One of the two is the main character. Sadly, want he ends up wanting is a play off the old saying 'be careful what you wish for'. As time goes by some not a lot plot elements become confusing this was intended. Either during or after creation. For you will hear the main character make a joke about it. In honesty that was the funniest part for me for the other comical moments were to played out. Ever see a slip and fall? most often you did but unless it happens to a personal friend and you are most likely there while it happened you will find then and mostly then can you laugh. For your body like drugs has built up an immunity. Don't believe me? How about those bet you won't laugh video or better yet your sex drive.

Short hand to what would be a lengthy review

Good
-plot: prepare for the unexpected. What you think will get challenged in more ways then 1. So, be prepared to hit the pause button.

-art no complains. The art is good enough to be able too see yourself in the character's shoes.

audio: there was no static or unwanted feedback.

Conclusion remark: To whom should see this? I would say like the characters in the show would say people who are 'cocky' and those whom are W.W.E. fans per-say.

This is WAY underrated and I'm quite shocked of the current low rate.
If you love 80's anime and Z rated movies , this is like a concentrated juice of everything. It never disappoint. You got demons, fights, violence, tentacles, college romance, spaceship, 3meters teddy bear fighting, metal armor tokusatsu and so on. It never stops. And animation production is excellent. Really talented animators worked hard on this i can't believe it is 1987 ova.

Do not expect any deepness to it this is pure raw anime enjoyment.

I enoyed a huge lot discovering it. You must be born before 1990 to truly enjoy it still.

Another Wacky Violence OVA from 80s!! Goofy Story, Adequate Violence, no sex (sorry), and Endless Metamorphosis!

This OVA stands out for its easy going not-so-serious narrative coupled with Mediocre-Violence Gore and some mild nudity in the form of a couple of bare female nipples (meh!, right?).

If the subtitles I watched this with are not wacked as much as this anime, at one point the main protagonist makes a reference to the actual narrator of the anime, who is supposed to narrate the story only to the viewer. This detail alone indicates the goofiness of the story. But again who watches 80s/90s OVAs for their story, ... right?

The action is spectacular though. The final fight scene in the school really delivers. It is exaggerated as fuck. Everything the heroes touch explodes, including some innocent cupboards.

There is endless metamorphosis of the antagonists. I think this OVA teases this kind of trend in the animes, because some shape changes were really ridiculous like the one where cat changes to a blue rhinosaur.

Approx 1 minute 55 seconds into the movie, the karate dude who got beat up didn't have his shadows animated for a couple frames, and when he walks off screen he disappears before he reaches the edge of the frame 😭. However, I will give credit where it's due; the animation style is actually quite interesting, I haven't seen anything quite like it. It's also one of the first old OVAs that animates blinking, but it's not consistent.

In terms of adult content, I'm glad it's not overly sexual, just violence and action.

Confusing as the story may be, it sure is a fun watch. ... I also noticed the blue haired lady looked a lot like angel cop lol. As with all anime of the era, you gotta have some key elements: tentacle demons, some beautiful man with long hair, cheesy soundtrack, and a healthy amount of blood and gore. Sometimes the dialogue feels a little awkward, but overall I'd say the dub isn't too awful. There's always gonna be a couple actors who just aren't that good, but it's ok cause it's not the kind of movie where it matters.

I'd say to watch it just cause of the fantastical plot. It's a wild ride for sure, and the blood summoning thing is so weird lmao what a good waste of an hour

Story 1/10
*facepalms* I don't get it....

Art 7/10
It's your average animation from the 80s

Sound 7/10
For an anime that is so bad, I'm surprised they had a good soundtrack.

Character 2/10
... You have a wimpy protagonist who wears a tiger mask kicking ass that is just plain ridiculous. That is literally the only possible good character you get. E-Everything is just so awful.

Enjoyment 2/10
I absolutely hated watching this. To me, this is one of the worst animes I've ever seen (Superkids is still the #1 worst anime I have ever seen!)

Overall 3/10
Don't waste your time with this. Just...don't....

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts on this review and any feedback you may have for me. Until next time!

I fully think this OVA is criminally underrated and wouldn't bother writing a review otherwise. This feels like it's made for a very specific audience, probably the same people that can enjoy "bad" movies and especially horror comedies like The Toxic Avenger. If you can enjoy the absolutely insane nonsensical plot for the absurdity of it you might love it like I did. The animation was all actually super solid and there's tons of gore just thrown in here for the hell of it (you already know who you are if that's your thing). The audio quality is understandably old but that might have some ... charm to it. Overall judging from the rating I'd guess you have to be the kind of person to "get it" for it to be worth your time, but if you're one of those people it's a totally solid experience and I loved just about every minute with it.

Battle Royal High School what a fucking trip this hour-long anime is. If you like very mindless, over-the-top, and violent anime, this should be on your list. This is what happens if you mix in everything and the kitchen sink to shock and confuse the viewer. There are hints of Fist of The North Star and horror movies like The Thing, hell even The Toxic Avenger. What gives this anime only an 8 is that it's way too short and the endings very abrupt, if 20 or 30 more minutes was added in it would be a 9.5 or a 10. If you're a fan ... of over-the-top OVA cheesiness with gore, then this is the anime for you my friend.

I swear my brain fried itself halfway into this anime.
On one hand it kinda have experimental feels to it. Like someone who were really into several cool stuffs on Japanese TV or cinema tried to pack all of those stuffs into one OVA. So you have superpower martial arts, demons, dark fantasy, sci-fi, dimension traveling beings, Tiger Mask, even SPACE SHERIFF FOR CRYING OUT LOUD going crazy and doing their stuffs in one hour movie like some kind of 80's Japanese Avengers.

It's as chaotic as it sounds. Plot was as light as balloon that you don't know if things you see in the movie ... make sense or not. You might not like it if you want anime with strong story to follow. I certainly not a big fan of it. I also can't deny that the chaotic mess that it is has some charm to it like some B action movies.

Also, animation in this OVA is GOD-MADE. Fight scenes were fluid and beautifully animated and gore were so well animated they were both disgusting and breathtaking at the same time. Especially the scene which a girl got reconstructed from bones to flesh. Peak animation quality there.

Before Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball Z, and Pokemon, leading the anime fever among kids in the West, it was actually Akira that opened the doors and made people see that the cartoons coming from Japan were not what we were used to see. A flood of weird VHS tapes with crazy plots and full of blood and nudity came, and boy, you couldn’t expect less from them.

Battle Royal High School is a product of those glorious times and has everything you should expect. Of course the plot is a chaotic hot mess; karate, demons and a metal hero space time continuum police officer. Of course ... the fights are super violent and monsters transformations go full body horror, The Thing-style. And of course there are going to be naked girls!

For a long time I dismissed it, thinking it was going to be just another high school delinquent story with ecchi-let-me-see-your-panties kinda humor. Boy, was I wrong? This is pure 80’s OVA greatness! It doesn’t make any sense, but the animation is great and it has this dark and absurd underlying tone that let you know you are not watching a regular cartoon, no, you just picked the weirdest stuff out of the video store and it's time for you to call your friends to see this bizarreness.

If any of the previously mentioned things are your thing, you should watch Battle Royal High School. If you are more of an ecchi-let-me-see-your-panties fan, then move along.