Well, here it is, "Baka to Test to Shokanju", the review.
The basic story behind this anime is that the "Fumizuki Academy" separates it's students by using 'placement' exams, the students being placed according to how well they do on the exam.
The students who score really well, end up in a class room with every modern convenience, while the worst have a class room with minimal equipment that has to be seen to be believed.
The good thing is that the students can exchange classes by winning 'battles' with other classes by using summoned 'beings'.
The catch is this, the 'beings' abilities are governed by how well the student that owns it does in various tests, among other things, which you will learn about in the anime.
The anime is made up of various stories, generally one or two per episode, with the thread holding them together being constant fight for supremacy and the various relationships between the students.
The anime starts with Yoshii, our hero, noticing that a girl sitting near him, Himeji, is not looking so good and going to her rescue.
As the anime progresses, we meet other Students in the school, most of them from class F, but a few from the other classes as well.
We have the usual assortment of characters.
Himeji Mizuki: Lots of long pink hair, large breasts, very smart.
Shimada Minami: Red/brown hair tied in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Not so large in the breast department. Very good with wrestling holds.
Yoshii Akihisa: Our hero! He is the 'Baka' from the title of the anime. Has a strong sense of right and wrong.
Kinoshita Hideyoshi .... A 'pretty' guy, so much so that he is often mistaken for a girl. Has a smarter twin sister, who isn't as good looking for some reason.
Kirishima Shouko: A student from one of the higher classes. She has long dark and a serious thing for Yujii.
Nishimura Souichi: The Physical Education or 'Health Studies' teacher. Known as 'Iron Man', he takes students who 'fail' in battle for further studies.
Sakamoto Yuuji: The 'cool' guy and also leader of Class F. A good strategist.
Shimizu Miharu: A girl who is a total freak for Minami. Think the same sort of thing as Shirai has for Misaka from "Rail Gun" and you'll get the idea. Has reddish hair and amber eyes.
Tsuchiya Kouta: A pervert with a camera. Also a bit of Ninja stealth wise. Seems to have at least one nose bleed per episode.
Hazuki Minami: Shimada Minami's little sister. Same color hair as her sister, but in 'twin tails'. Calls Yoshii "Mr. Stupid". "AWW CUTE" rating is +several hundred. Not one of the 'main' characters.
Akira Akihisa: Yoshii's older sister. Enjoys messing with Yoshii's head.... I think. Gets a little screen time, but I'd have liked to have seen more.
Not one of the 'main' characters.
Episode 6 is the obligatory "let's go to the pool/beach" episode, with all of the girls wearing bathers and the guys having massive nose bleeds.
The 'Summoned Beings' are copies of the students..... in chibi form, wearing armor and wielding various weapons.
Episode 8 has a surprise for the viewers..... and I'm not telling!
The OP is good, with catchy music and shows almost every character of any importance that shows up in the anime.
The major characters themselves are well drawn, but the producers of the anime have taken a few 'shortcuts' with unimportant characters, by using a 'generic' body type and have the class letter (A to F) in place of a face.
Still every character that has even the slightest part in the main story has proper features.
There is 'boing' in this anime, no pantsu though.
Good for a laugh and one episode had me LOL a number of times.
References I spotted to various other anime;
Code Geass. Watch carefully, look for the 'eye'.
Pokemon. During the 'treasure hunt', most of the 'treasure' is in small, red and white balls with a black stripe around the middle. Pokeball anyone?
This is an odd one.... not so much a reference to an anime as a reference to an old add on for the 'Nintendo Entertainment System'... episode 8, Yoshii wears what looks like a
'Power Glove' There are probably more references to other anime, but I didn't see any, but that doesn't mean they aren't there!
Which ones did YOU see?
Definitely worth the watch.
Going to watch "Chobits" next.
