The story is about Akihisa. Like most male anime heroes, he's rather dimwitted. So it's no shock that he is placed in the lowest ranked class of his school, where the students are hardly given ANYTHING, and are treated as trash. In the class with him, is big-boobed and big-hearted Himeji, tomboyish but sweet Minami, cold and brilliant Yuuji, perverted Kouta, and Hideyoshi, who is the most sought after girl in school despite that he isn't a girl at all.
Over the course of the show we are also introduced to the adorable but DANGEROUS Shouko, the half-crazed Miharu, the playful and teasing Aiko, the rock hard "Iron Man", and the FFF, who are basically guys who will kill you if you date someone because they are incapable of getting dates themselves.
While none of these characters sound particularly original, the show still manages to make them one of the most likable gangs of friends you will EVER see in an anime, mostly thanks to the brilliant interactions between them. Even Akihisa managed to become a really likable guy, despite that I usually hate the main characters of such comedy-shows. In fact, there isn't a single character I can say I disliked, as they all have something going for them.
Referencing countless shows and games, Baka and Test is truly on of the funniest anime's you'll find, with hardly any cheap fan service jokes (There are some, but 90% of these come from Hideyoshi, which makes it different, considering he isn't even a girl). You will find references to Metal Gear Solid, Mad Max, Code Geass, Apocalypse Now!, The Grudge, Gurren Lagann, and hundreds of other shows and games. Many of these are quite obscure and well hidden, but they're still rather funny even if you don't know the reference. In fact, I must say I was shocked to see that the humor of the show was in fact quite clever, and manages to parody anime with great effect. Both newcomers and hardcore anime enthusiasts will find plenty to laugh at here.
Despite being classified as a "harem" anime, I'll have to disagree on this. Yes, the two female leads of the show are in love with the same guy, and yes, it does seem a bit weird at times that two gorgeous women would fall for the same guy (Actually, I take that back, as it's only in Himeji's case it seems forced and unrealistic, as season two of the show makes it perfectly understandable why Minami would care so deeply for Akihisa), but by only having two girls fight for Akihisa's affections instead of twelve, it manages to give each of the girls their time in the spotlight without having it seem forced or just plain dull (Although I think the show gives a bit too much attention to Himeji, despite Minami being the more interesting of the two). Aside from Akihisa, the other characters are given love interests as well, which Yuuji being stalked by his childhood friend Shouko, and Kouta having a charming back-and-forth with Aiko.
To be honest, I felt the real meat of the show as far as romance goes never came from Akihisa and his two fair maidens, but rather from Yuuji and Shouko, as their chemistry is... Interesting, to say the least, but still quite deep in fact, with some of the cutest and saddest moments in the anime coming from these two. In fact, the only really serious scenes in the entire show is found in the episodes focusing on the relationship between these two characters.
This show really caught me by surprise. Anime focusing on humor in general isn't really my cup of tea. Having watched Heaven's Lost Property, Genshiken and Ouran High School Host Club, three of the so-called "funniest" anime shows of all time, and not really enjoying any of them, my expectations for Baka and Test weren't exactly sky high. But that's also why I was not only shocked to find myself rooting for the characters, but actually laughing out loud at several of the shows jokes. Yes, Baka and Test is funny. And not only is it funny, it's CLEVER. Boy, could the creators of Heaven's Lost Property learn a thing or two from this, as Baka and Test makes it perfectly clear that titty-jokes for 20 minutes is neither clever nor good comedy.
The show has great animation, an awesome soundtrack, superb voice acting both in japanese and english, one of the catchiest openings to any show I've ever seen, and some truly heartwarming moments at times. The adorable characters will charm your socks off, despite the fact that most of them are just stereotypes. The plot is simple, but you'll still find yourself watching episode after episode until you suddenly realize you've watched the show all the way trough. It also has loads of mini-skits which are all hilarious and well worth a watch.
If you're looking for an anime with some actually clever humor that isn't 94% titty-jokes, with charming characters, great art, and a soundtrack that is will have you humming the main theme for weeks after, then this is most definitely a show for you. By far the greatest comedy-anime I have ever seen.
