Hmm. Pretty decent grasp on its comedic writing, the animation's execution can't quite live up to the show's stylistic aspirations, oh, and, what the holy heck yo? That's a pretty significant swing from the three episodes of Aikatsu! I watched before checking out one of the last new shows of the season. Sheesh. Prison School is very aggressive at being a particular sort of thing and rather successful at it, which makes it a bit of an all-or-nothing sort of deal. If you're not explicitly into its central conceit, Prison School is going to very much not be for you. Like, to a radically offputting degree. Exploitation films are an important and relevant part of the historical film and cultural canon, but they're understandably not mainstream. They're generally not made with finesse, and revel in sleaze and raw ugliness. Crass sexuality, wildly simplistic and insensitive racial depictions, giddy xenophobia, exaggeration, pomp, visceral reactions, exploiting whatever they might to appeal directly to the lizard brain.

And Prison School, as a clear sexploitation work, does not betray that lineage of intentional ugliness. Part of the charm is meant to be that very ugliness, to see something which goes beyond the pale and feels scandalous. You may well get turned on while watching a sexploitation work, given the subject matter, but like its cousins the Mondo film and the so-called "blaxpoitation film," that's not quite the core intent (although it's also not a result they'd likely object to). It's an extreme expression of taboo and repressed, darker corners of the human mind. It's a shout, a scream, a bit of graffiti scrawled on the social contract. While Prison School and its ilk certainly won't look down on you for getting aroused, if the show's true and ultimate goal was only titillation, it's going about that pretty poorly. That ugliness, that grossness extends to the show's visual stylings and its cruel, sadistic thematics. What it's reveling in is not merely pleasurable lascivious displays, but in extremity. Pejoratively labeled "torture porn" films are a more obvious and extreme example. They're frequently dismissed as ugly, crass and cynical and they'd agree with those adjectives but not their implication.

Exploitation cinema is a heavily maligned body of work, but no true film historian worth their salt would dismiss them. The infamous (and fake) footage of a father being eaten alive by lions at a safari while his family helplessly watches on, beyond being a dumb bit of shlocky voyeurism, is also worth some degree of academic meditation. Exploitation cinema, in what it says about the culture that leads to its production, the culture that leads to its consumption and what its contents reveal about that culture, is an interesting thing.

But its siren song of "Hey, dont'cha wanna see some real trashy stuff?" isn't always an entertaining thing to many. Its very raison d'etre means it axiomatically can't have mainstream appeal. For if it did, it would no longer be exploitation cinema. At least not in its truest essence. So I can respect what Prison School is, academically. But do I want to watch it? Maybe. If exploitation cinema isn't a barrier for you (and certainly none would reasonably blame you if it were), it does have its charms as an entry into the (sub)genre. And I'm curious to see where it goes with its efforts. Oh, heck, I might regret this, but I guess I'm watching Prison School. And writing this out let me better solidify and come to grips with what to make of that first episode, so that's neat.
***

Predictably, Theron Martin hated this and didn't get it at all. That's the Theron Martin, ladies and gents. Which continues to confirm what most already knew about Mr. Martin, and is another sign about what sort of show Prison School is. (I get why ANN feels they need someone like Theron Martin but man.)
***

I'm curious to hear how the broadcast dub of this turns out, for various reasons. Based on some of the past Funi dubs I've seen ("heard?") for raunchier shows, they ought to have fun dubbing this one, at least. I'm curious how they'll approach the script and, more generally, what the quality of their broadcast dubs is like.

Also this show is easily the most intense thing I'm watching this season. Each episode somehow feels like it both goes by in a flash yet also lasts an eternity. The blend of hideousness and absurdity is almost hypnotic. I actually need time after an episode just to come down from that madness. I... I think I might like Prison School? Is... is this actually the thing I'm currently most looking forward to each week? That can't be. This season has the pretty and charming if somewhat rote Snow White with the Red Hair. It has the kinda average action show with a fun reluctant comrades angle in Ushio and Tora. It has a second season of Non Non Biyori and Gatchaman Crowds! So how could it be that the thing I'm most... interested in? excited by? curious about? is, of all things, Prison School?

I think part of it is the novelty. Both in that I can't think of many other anime in the exploitation genre and that anime with a strong focus on sexuality generally tends to be low-effort tripe that's a short remove from softcore porn, to the point that hentai's existence almost makes it feel redundant. Which brings in the other part of the matter: That this doesn't describe Prison School is a refreshing change, but in a more general sense, Prison School's actual execution is sharp, regardless of genre. It's not the only show this season that's successful, but as aforementioned, it's also novel, which I think is what gives it the edge in terms of making me want to see more of where it's going.

I mean it's only been two episodes so I shouldn't get too ahead of myself, but it is a rather bemusing entity so far.
***

A. First this made me giggle, then it bummed me out because it reminded me that Gamergate is still somehow a thing that some people are actively invested in. Then I saw someone who apparently paid for the dub membership without being aware that sometimes Funimation dubs, or dubs from most providers, really, deviate a bit from the original Japanese script and giggled again. I should probably stop reading the Funimation forums, but rubbernecking at this sort of stuff is a difficult hobby to quit.

Maybe I should check out the Prison School dub. It's upsetting the right people, so it seems like it'll be fun.

B. I think I've gotten more used to this show rather than it having toned itself down or anything. But while it doesn't quite take me by surprise to the same degree (But oh does it still manage that at times!), I don't think my appreciation for it has lessened any because of that. Prison School is certainly more than just shock value. Or fanservice, for that matter. I'd seen the manga recommended a number of times before there was ever an anime, but it was always pitched by fans as something just to get off to. I don't know if they were just bad at selling it, or if for some, that's really the primary thing they get out of Prison School. I'd like to believe it's the former. They're missing out on so much of this show(/manga?) if it's the latter.

I still don't know if this would be my personal top pick for this season, but it's certainly up there. Maybe the second season of Prison School can earn that title when it airs. There will be a second season, right? There's not a lot like this in anime and I really want more like this.
***

Oh wait, I guess you can't read that link if you're not a Funimation subscriber, huh. Well, I guess that's okay. You probably shouldn't follow my mistake. But I do hope that dub is even half the dub Panty and Stocking's was. This show gives them ample opportunity to really go places with the dub script and enjoy themselves.
***

I don't generally look at Twitter, so I didn't realize just how much some people were truly furious over one little throwaway line in an anime dub. It's so silly, you could almost forget this same "movement" counts issuing threats of rape and violence as one of their pet hobbies. Oh. I made myself a little sad.

Now I'm sure I'm totally watching the dub of this at some point. Mission accomplished?
***

Oh gosh you can't just end the series teasing a new story arc without also promising us a second season I need it
***

"I-it's not this particular line that bothers us! It's that you changed the script! Just like in many other dubs we've never complained about and also we're only going to keep bringing up this one line. Also many of us don't realize that dubs frequently have different lines because we don't watch dubs, just like we never watched this one we're very upset about. This is actually important, darn it!"

Cool, I think I can go back to maintaining my stance of not reading things on Twitter. Seems like a really tiresome place.
***

So the Panty and Stocking dub is pretty great. It's also pretty different from the original script. It contains a number of lines that might potentially offend people. Rather than generating a mass of complaints, it was celebrated. The key difference here, as any honest party can see, is the subject of the changed line. Suddenly the joke was about them and now it was very much not okay. Not that most of them were watching this dub. Or any dub, for that matter. The cries of concerns for dub quality ring false, and even if they actually were true this would be an absurd overreaction to thinking one line in a dub wasn't that great.

And to a degree you can ignore dumb people being dumb about dumb things. Until Funimation suggests those people have their ear. I don't care much about this particular line, but I do care about the potential chilling effect if they bend to this manufactured backlash. I care about never seeing another Panty and Stocking level dub because Funi fears the repercussions. I care about their artistic liberty being reigned in by people who aren't even their actual customers. A dub's agenda is not to coddle Gamergate's agenda. There's something the people who regularly watch dubs come to them for, and Funimation not standing behind them when under pressure is the wrong move.

I don't want dub scriptwriters to have less artistic freedom than the people who made Prison School.
***

And, of course, the notion that all the commotion is over the line being "topical" also rings false. Where was this furor when the Korezom dub referenced that "Winning!" meme? Oh, you didn't know that it did? Of course you didn't, because nobody cared just like that's not why people are actually pretending to be very upset now.
***

"What many may not know, however, is that FUNimation already mocked Social Justice Warriors earlier in an episode of Ultimate Otaku Teacher."

Huh, wonder why that didn't generate the same level of totally not disingenuous outrage!