Reviews

Dec 31, 2023
Mixed Feelings
STORY: The story takes place in an elite school where students who graduate are promised being accepted in equally elite universities and a successful career. The protagonist is one such student who attends the school for the first year and is placed in class D. In the school there are classes ranging from A to D, with A being the "most successful students" and D being "the least successful students". This is in essence what sets the scene for the series - the main character is depicted with "underdog circumstances" and along with another character, they resolve to rise the ranks and seize being class D and move up in the hierarchy.

CHARACTERS: In the first episode, the protagonist wasn't portrayed as "OP", but that is evidenced later on through the anime on numerous occasions. So at first it was hard to determine what course the anime will take. But as the story went on, it was obvious that many characters are just living epitomes of tropes - (granted, I don't know the names of all the anime archetypes, so I will use some and explain others in my own words) the protagonist gives off the impression of an absent minded, nihilistic, apathetic, just doing things for the sake of it, not really putting much effort in some aspects and yet things keep happening for him, then there is this girl who is a tsundere and acts all distant, with the classic line of "It's not like I care about you, I'm just using you" or something along those lines, there is another girl who is a yandere and acts all nice with everyone, but it's just a facade, then there is one who is a dandere and is too shy to interact with anyone. The other characters are more minor, but they are all built on tropes - one is a jock who can't keep his mouth shut and gets angry really fast, a few are perverted loners, there is one bald guy who looks like the epitome of stoicism, one guy guy who I can best describe as a "dandy", one who acts like a Yakuza boss and so forth. What I dislike about this is that characters are mostly one-dimensional and don't expand beyond their archetype, which makes many things in the story too predictable and repetitive. When you've seen 10-20-30 animes like this, you just start identifying templates and it greatly diminishes the fun that can be had with it.

ENJOYMENT: While I enjoyed the premise of underdogs trying to fight against odds, the whole school or academic competition, which can literally be replaced with the Shounen tournament trope and it still fits nicely, for the most part, there have been many and often moments where things felt forced or plot armor was at play. For example, when all the odds look like the situation will end quite badly for the main characters, there is an unexpected turnaround and things end not only well, but almost perfect for them. Some of the things I did not enjoy one bit was the two-tone hair of every character and their two-tone eyes, it made them look like they are way too special, I found it to be distracting and unnecessary. Another thing I severely disliked was the obscene amount of fanservice - there were so many shots of panties, asses, tits, arms or hands pressing on tits and so forth, for me it was unnecessary and annoying, because it brings nothing to the plot.

OVERALL: For me the anime can be best described as "mainstream and generic AF". Basically, the anime tries to tick as many checkboxes for as many things as possible - romance, romantic triangles (and probably other geometric shapes), threats of blackmailing, drama, slice-of-life, combat, tournament/competition events, lying and deceiving, plotting, secret past with possible trauma. If this was my first anime or one of my first 10-20, I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more, but having seen hundreds, it felt like Deja Vu - something I've seen numerous times before. As I was watching, I found out, it has a second season and a third one on the way, so I was mentally preparing for the first season to end in some amazing, mind-wrenching cliffhanger, but it didn't, it just finished with the protagonist and his class having an epic victory when they were slated for an epic defeat. It would have been more believable if they finished second from last at least. Then the season ends with the character's monologue about how other people are just means to an end and how he was using everyone as a tool, painting him in a sociopathic light. Maybe the people who enjoy watching only mainstream things or are 15 years old will find this very cool and badass, but for me it was very anticlimactic. I admit I had some enjoyment watching this anime, but I feel zero urge to watch the subsequent seasons. So if you want to watch it, you will have more fun if you are new to animes in general, if you've seen over 100-200, chances are you will be feeling a similar Deja Vu as I did.

RATING: 6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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