Beatless was the breaking point for this studio as that show was horrendously written that was filled with awful pacing and cringe-inducing production scheduling where every 4-5 episodes that would be pointless recap episodes that barely did anything. That show was so terrible it couldn’t finish it’s 24 episodes run correctly as the final 4 of that shit show had to be done in September…
Because of that I literally gave up on Studio Diomedea by avoiding all of the past and future works. This was until I was introduced to a little slice of life comedy series Chio’ School Road from my friends however due to my hatred with Studio Diomeda for they epic failure that was Beatless into Chio’s School Road with low expectations where I know the show is going to be another third-rate anime.
I actually thought this anime was going to suck.
>>> 12 episodes later with the English Dub version
>>> Looks at the computer black screen smiling.
Wow, They have finally done it. They finally made an anime that didn’t suck
Chio’s School Road is easily one of the best comedy series I have even. While it’s not on the same level as Hina Festival it still was a fantastically made series that remained funny from start to finish.
Chio Miyamo is a self-proclaimed “below average” girl who likes playing shoot-em-ups and Western games. For all, she says she’s “below average”, though, she’s anything but that, given her overactive imagination and her willingness to pull dangerous and impractical stunts. Her most exciting part of the day just so happens to be her commute to school, and it’s not at all hard to see why from delinquent gangs to parkour, kabaddi to competitions with friends, there’s no way that the journey to school could ever be a boring one.
Despite the show being plotless in nature I actually enjoyed the story. The premise itself may be bland at first, however, took that bland and actually made it hilariously entertaining that has a lot of charm and heart.
The characters interactions are very well handled and hilarious to watch as the way the characters react to certain situations and is nothing but comedy gold where we the viewer would laugh for days thanks to the show amazing comedy structure.
The comedy structure in Chio’s School Road is brilliant as not only the comedy/gags are well timed but they also lead a worthwhile impact to the viewer.
Not to mention this is one of the few comedy series that completely avoids the repetitive comedy syndrome where a series would abuse it’s comedy to a point where the comedy and series itself start to it’s losing its charm.
If you a fan of video games than you will absolutely have a blast with Chio’s School Road as it loves to reference very notable video games such as Assassin’s Creed, Payday, Uncharted, etc. I also really loved how the show was able to blend in its game references with its brilliant comedy structure and as a result, we get a bunch of hilarious scenes that were not only funny but very reliable to the eye especially for Chio’s character.
Now like with Hina Festival the series has intriguing social commentary for example in one of the episodes we learned that Chio’s is specifically into Western games however due to living in Japan she doesn’t get much chance to play them mainly because they are either overpriced or never got a release at all. Her reaction to towards this is very relatable because that’s how gamers feel in real life where they cannot get the game that wants due to a big paywall that the Japan gamers have to pay. This doesn’t end Chio’s gives a brutal commentary on Japan’s taste in gaming where she talks why little boys in JRPG games carry a big heavy sword as well a big guy not wearing battle appropriate gear as he’s just shirtless showing his manly body holding a sword.
If had any nitpicks with Chio’s School Road is the kabaddi comedy at times. While it wasn’t bad by any means but it wasn’t my thing at all especially when it’s used from some of the more lewd scenes in this show. Yes, this series has fan-service, but we will talk about that in a bit.
Overall I enjoyed the story of Chio’s School Road. Yes, the story may be plotless however the comedy, character interactions and gaming references really made the show shine in a brilliant and funny way.
The characters in Chio’s School Road were all funny and enjoyable in they own rights.
My favourite character in the show is Chio herself. She was an absolute adore to watch. I really adored her interactions towards her daily life from Chio hanging around to her closest friend Manana, Chio’s buying a BL magazine from a store to Chio simply playing these western games. Her reactions towards her daily were amazing as it relatable to the eye.
Next, we have Manana and like with Chio she was a character that I really liked. While she didn’t develop as much as a character compared to Hina Festival’s Hitomi and Anzu but she still a great and hilarious character that I adored. Also, god bless Funimation dub actor Mikaela Krantz for doing a fantastic performance as Chio.
Next, we have Manana and like with Chio she was a character that I really liked. She is an interesting individual who often gets drags into Chio’s shenanigans where she reacts towards Chio’s shenanigans in the funniest ways showcasing that she, not just your typical boring best friend character that we all seen before.
Chio and Manana have a love/hate relationship with each other were despite them growing up they are still close friends even though they argue with each other every now and then. For example, in episode 6 Chio attempts to scare Manana by Chio popping up from the bridge fence, however, thanks to Chio’s lack of grip energy she gives up the prank by calling her. Then Manana comments on Chio’s behaviour in the most hilarious and factual way possible where it made Chio cry for forgiveness. After Manana forgives her the two aim to get themselves out of the bridge fence as they communicate with each other like actual best friends about the getting off the bridge fence even if they failed in the progress where they both ended up getting stuck in a more worse scenario where it causes them to argue with other. Despite these arguments, they are still best friends and I adore those interactions that these two characters. They are easily the best part about this well-crafted slice of life comedy series.
The other characters in Chio’s are also pretty cool and hilarious.
We got the biker gang named Andou who completely change his whole life after thanks to Chio and now seen trying to live a normal life by being a decent human being.
There’s also Yuki the energetic sexy girl who is not aware of her sexiness.
The final character that I want to quickly mention is Madoka. She basically this kabaddi expert who has of obsession touching girls asses. While I kinda enjoyed Madoka’s kabaddi antics I thought it was too over the top and creepy for my tastes but what can you do.
For a studio that has made nothing but low budget works in the past Chio’s School Road stands out for being the best-looking anime from Diomedea. I am honestly shocked of how Studio Diomedea was able to make Chio’s School Road look while Beatless looked like a dumpster fire. It’s honestly quite sad when you think about it. Besides the point, the visuals in Chio’s School ranges from good to pretty great.
The characters designs were pretty good as every single character.
The one thing that I was impressed by is how the show changed its art style. In one episode the series looks like your typical slice of life anime while in the other episode the series looks like an anime that has come straight out of J.C Staff with the number of facials and hair detail.
The only issues that I had with the visuals were the fan-service. As much as I enjoy starting at Chio’s panties and ass I will admit the show can be a slightly degrading at times plus if your not a fan lewd comedy than this anime won’t be for you.
The soundtrack of Chio’s School Road is nothing to write home about it as it just a pretty generic slice of life/comedy piece that only serves as background music for the anime.
The opening theme Danger in my Tsuugakuro sung by Chio, Manana and Yuki Seiyuus is a pretty catchy song that captures the goofy comedy of the series.
The ending theme Nanairoad sung by Chio and Manana Seiyuus is a great ending theme that perfectly closes the episode of Chio’s School Road.
Now, this is one of the two shows from the summer 18 anime season that I decided to watch fully in dubbed and am going to be real honest the dub is actually pretty amazing. The sub from what I heard was alright but the dub version completely surpassed the sub because not only the voice acting is superior but the dub really fits the tone and comedy narrative of the series better.
Chio’s School Road is an fantastic comedy series. While it may not be in the same as Hina Festival, it’s still a well-crafted comedy that I adored.
The comedy is hilarious, the characters are likeable and extremely funny. The visuals for a slice of life comedy were pretty impressive, and the dub was awesome. I can easily forgive the not memorable soundtrack as the series is a hilarious fun ride that I loved from start to finish.
It’s honestly shocking of how Studio Diomedea completely redeemed themselves after the embarrassingly directed mess that was Beatless. I am glad that Studio Diomedea had a new leaf after all.
Well done Diomedea well done.
