I have never experienced disappointment quite like I did watching this anime unfold. Witnessing the absolute atrocity that is this show occur was valuable only in that it was an objectively fascinating life experience to undergo that I hope I'll never have to face again. Truth be told, I'm quite literally angry about what happened in this show, so I won't be pulling my punches for this review.
I'm the first person to emphasize my personal abhorrence of over-explanation in all the forms of entertainment I consume. 9/10 times I'd rather be confused than be forced to witness some kind of cheesy narrated info-dump of a sequence. God of High School, however, turned out to be the 1/10 time that I desperately craved such a sequence. My god, how hard would it have been to set aside just one scene to explain some of the rules of the world? The ridiculously misplaced cult trying to destroy the tournament? The random and inexplicably overpowered old men who kept dropping in out of nowhere to pull arrays and objects out of the sky in the most bewildering battle scenes I've ever seen? I can't believe how confusing this show's plot was - nothing was sourced or hinted at properly, there really were no attempts to actually explain anything that went on behind the scenes of the GOH tournament. I mean, what, I'm just supposed to accept all this talk about charyeok and gods and superpowers in a show that in every way presented itself as being set in ordinary, present day Seoul? I reject the plot of this show with every fiber of my being. It's a disgrace.
A previous reviewer mentioned that this show feels like mindless fighting, which is without a doubt wrong, but I'd actually rather it have been a show about a high school martial arts tournament filled to the brim with mindless fighting than the sh*t it ended up being. This is, in large part, due to the animation, which is simply exquisite. Pre the nonsensical introduction of superpowers, I enjoyed every tournament match to the extreme based on artistic integrity alone. I watched a short interview with the GOH team about their animation process recently and the lengths they went to to create such smooth and deliciously lifelike fight sequences (all hand-drawn, mind you) are clear. In terms solely of animation, GOH is a work of art, made by artists, which makes the sickeningly awful plot so much harder to bear.
The characters were another strong point in this show for me. Up to around episode 7, I was thoroughly enjoying all their backstories and watching the main trio - Mori, Daewi, and Mira - grow close with one another. I still think the first episode of GOH is one of the best first episodes of an anime I've ever watched based on the way it introduced each character and brought them together. I deeply enjoyed the side characters too, especially the commissioners. I will say, however - and perhaps this is based on my own personal bias - that Ilpyo fell entirely flat for me. I hated the role he played and he felt extraordinarily condescending and invasive. The main trio was what got me so invested in the show in the first place, but Ilpyo's involvement and the entire purpose of his character destroyed that.
The sound was fine. I loved both the OP and ending theme song (stan CIX lol) and felt they really suited this show. Otherwise, there really wasn't anything notable about the sound track or sound design.
My enjoyment of this show is a 3 purely because I really did love it for the first few episodes. I had such high hopes and expectations for the story and the characters, but at this point I hate the progression of the plot so much it's hard to look back on even those feelings with any sort of fondness. I just can't believe this script was ever allowed to leave the writing room like this - I don't know how the show compares to the webtoon, but if the webtoon progresses anywhere near as quickly and sloppily as the anime, they should have simply changed it. This lazy, slapdash rough draft should have never seen the light of day - it's just too much information all at once without any explanation of why we're receiving it in the first place.
I don't recommend this show in the slightest beyond the first episode. Literally watch anything else (maybe Tower of God, if you really want a personal recommendation) and it will make more sense and be more enjoyable than this show - that's how low the bar is.
