So I’m hoping this is the uncondensed version of those who give their reasons for liking Baka to Test as ‘It’s freaking hilarious’.

Gah, it’s always the dumbasses that get a woman on each side! Begone, ye brain cells! *begins to facedesk rapidly*

Perhaps the industry has grown so stale that by comparison Baka to Test would seem like a brilliant gathering of fresh ideas. I certainly hope not, but it definitely felt like a lungful of sweet air after the arguable quality of the previous few January releases I didn’t have to convince myself that I liked certain things just to present a two-sided argument – regardless of the moé-types or the slapstick humor, I found that I was simply having a good time watching it. Really.

The Klan makes it all the funnier.

Our story is naturally about a good-natured teenage boy, one Akihisa Yoshii, who is academically retarded. Unfortunately for him, his is a school with a ruthless score hierarchy; the elites are allowed fabulous classrooms and luxuries while idiots are left to rot in dumps.

The more you work, the more you get! It’s just like communism!

This exam however comes with a twist; a girl, Himeji Mizuki, writing beside him collapses and is unable to finish her test.

I fear that if this happened to me in life I would stare at the fallen girl for about ten seconds, fail to grasp the significance of it, and then continue writing my exam.

F is for FABULOUS, and I’ll impale anybody who tells me otherwise on this bushel of splendid roses. MMF!

Welcome to the room of stupid.

A Canadian friend called this ‘the ghetto room with the shrooms’. We obviously want this room the most.

Akihisa naturally lands in class F, in all its crumbling hilarity, and meets with old friends. The previous Himeji girl is in it as well, having been unable to finish her exams. Indignant at the horrible facilities and equip their class is provided, they stake out to challenge higher classes in summoners’ wars of academic excellence (test summoning wars, shiken shoukan sensou), where their summons’ strength depends on the summoner’s aptitude at a certain field of study.

… … …I’d tap tha- *gets shot*

Summoning tiny creatures to do turn-based combat…? Pokémo-

Surprisingly though, class F turns out to have some surprising aces (read: one trick ponies), a taciturn master strategist, and a superweapon – predictably, Himeji turns out to be an A-grade student, having been booted to F because she fell sick. As such we now have the premise of an underdog class capable of rivaling upper classes.

Baka to Test is rather predictable, but I won’t immediately call that a bad thing. Waiting to see if one’s predictions are correct becomes anticipation – as good a fuel to capture viewers as any.  In this case, it’s rather charming that it’s predictable; it gives us what we want. Its little quirks we can guess, but its story is innovative enough to not be easily read.

Perhaps it is the student in me that sympathizes, feeling a pang of impending doom when the series decides to start with an exam in progress. Still I believe that’s what counts for a series such as Baka to Test; it doesn’t demand some plot device be taken with a degree of solemnity, such as Sora no Oto’s Five Maiden legend (which, to digress, is a tiny bit jarring, now that I think about it). Baka to Test is 95% lighthearted, 5% reflection of the competitive Japanese education system, 100% a bid to entertain.

Guh, how can the headmaster not be a young, busty air-headed woman in her twenties?!

OMIGAWD HE’S STILL HOLDING THE TABLE I love this show.

Now one may recall another January release that at first seems to have a similar premise. Moé characters and lighthearted plot-points are the crux of Ladies versus Butlers. Yet here is where execution makes a world of difference. RediBato hammers us with stale humour and characters, whereas Baka to Test graces us with innovation.

Okay, that’s just awesome, period.

Simply, the story isn’t half as shallow; it doesn’t grind to a halt after the moé-types. Baka to Test has directive; the characters strive to rise up the ranks of the school, hopefully eventually gaining knowledge for more powerful summons.

There’s a defined power hierarchy characteristic of shonen series that is loved by many. There exist dark-horse characters such as Sakamoto Yuuji or Himeji Mizuki. Especially Yuuji. These can make a series very enjoyable for me; unknown quantities that have the potential to be very badass.

The Kongming smile. Not to be confused with the pedo-grin.

Though the die-hard comrades don’t hold the line until the bitter end for long.

We have a protagonist who could possibly grow to become great (probably with the power of friendship), we have his die-hard comrades who would hold the line until the bitter end, we have our dependable master strategist, and we have a ditzy secret weapon who is in fact ranked with the best, all the while capable of providing of providing the otaku with their daily dose of active testosterone in the form of an exaggeratedly cute voice and an endowed figure unbefitting of a middle-schooler.

Of course, I get my testosterone from Hideyoshi.

The real reason Ningyo watches this show is slightly obvious.

Good to know the guys share my sentiments.

One of my worries though is of the direction the plot will take in the future. Akihisa and co. have already nearly defeated A class, the best in the school. Wouldn’t the rest of the classes be cheesecake in comparison? As long as they keep using the trap of five of five battles and allowing them to pick the subjects, other classes would be hard pressed to beat them. What more can the series do now?

They could just do this for the rest of the series, and I wouldn’t be complaining.

What a MAN says after getting up.

GTFO Akihisa.

Of course, that’s not to condemn it. I’m sure the developers will think of something. They’ve been doing marvelously thus far.

RHO AIAS!

The verdict? Baka to Test manages to pleasingly merge these shonen and moé archetypes into a fun little whirlwind of fantasy school life and summoned creatures.

HIDEYOSHI!? YOU’RE STRAIGHT?!? NOOOOOOO! Actually, now that I think about it, that’s hot too.

And yes, it is very funny.

No self-respecting anime doesn’t have a scene like this.

I love the liberties the translation team took.

I’m not going to compare it with the immense legends of the past, but with its peers in the new season so far, Baka to Test is the shining beacon of January to look out for.

Ningyo

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1. Some Things Are Never Meant To Be Said
2. Hideyoshi’s Gender is Hideyoshi
3. The Twelve Episode Curse
4. First Two: Karate King Kamille