Wakaranai

Usually when a bunch of disparaging comments are combined with very generic-looking character designs and a cliché premise, you can play a pretty safe bet on an anime sucking. But this wasn’t one of those times. Either I was the victim of a mass troll event or I was just unlucky enough to only see people’s complaints, but the impression I got of this series was totally wrong. Although everything points to a derivative harem series, this is actually primarily a comedy & parody show. The harem element is definitely present, but this is a rare series that can perch itself right on-top of the fourth wall – simultaneously nurturing a romantic harem and self-referentially parodying it. This results in a highly entertaining mixture – you can have you heart stolen by the profoundly cute characters one moment, and then laugh at the stupidity of the whole thing the next.

The art style in general may look unappealing from the outset, but as soon as you get a feel for the characters, the designs really work and you totally forget about the fact that the series is ostensibly fairly unattractive. The excellent voice acting and dead-on casting are what make this happen – in all cases the seiyuus manage to bring their characters to life with an energy and spirit that outgrows the stereotypical roles. Mariko Hondo in particular shines as the loli-styled student council president, Aka-chan, perfectly portraying both her ambitiousness and childishness. As far as I’m concerned, Aka-chan steals the show, but the other characters all hold their own appeal; the sporty Minatsu, the mature Chizuru, and the geeky but adorable imouto-character, Mafuyu. The sole male character in the show, Ken Sugisaki, channels the inner desires and passions of all men and boys, and is the perfect foil for all 4 girls. His self-professed love for H-games and freely-admitted wish to make the student council his own personal harem, are the basis for much of the show’s funniest content.

The humour of the show is shared between the fanboy-like commentary of Ken (and the girls’ reactions to his advances), and the innumerable parodies of other anime and clever references to the anime/manga/light novel industry. Although, given that it’s about a high school student-council, it doesn’t revolve around the industry, it does take every opportunity to slip in these references. If you’re someone who keeps up-to-date with the state of the whole gamut of sub-industries related to Otaku culture, this series will provide some good laughs, on top of the gags bought on by Ken’s failed attempts at flirtation, which anyone should be able to laugh at. In general every episode feels a lot more like a rapid sequence of jokes rather than a plot or character-driven series. As a result, it almost never gives any opportunity for boredom.

For those intimate with the otaku industry and who have a decent ‘watched’ list of anime, this series should offer heaps of fun. And for those who enjoy their moe girls, and are intruiged by the idea of a harem lead who is frank and upfront about his manly ambitions, this is also worth checking out! There’s little reason for anyone not to find this series enjoyable, unless they really can’t stand unrealistically cute girls.

The thing that really elevates this show is the fact that it’s jam-packed with references and parody scenes. If you’ve seen a good selection of even just the more popular anime of late (Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann etc), then you should enjoy a whole pile of jabs and allusions to other series, games, light novels, or manga. Some of them are sharp and subtle, others are are about as explicit as I’ve ever seen a parody anime get (as the Japanese are very conscious of property rights..). If you’ve seen screencaps for the show lying about, you’ve probably seen the Strike Witches parody, which features the the seitokai characters simply replacing the strike witches in a scene straight out of that anime. Apparently they collaborated with GONZO for that one. While it’s not the only source of humour, these parodies contribute a lot of laughs to the show, and give it the ability to occasionally be self-deprecating by breaking the fourth wall or acknowledging the cliches it panders to otaku with. I love being pandered to, but I love being pandered too ironically even more. This series works very well as a fast-firing comedy, and works even better for those in tune with the otaku culture, who can appreciate the moe assets it offers, and who can catch the references it frequently pitches.

This guy is the fucking King! He is one of the few who could wear an I AM BOSS T-shirt and get away with it. Of course, my envious assessment of him comes from the perspective of an otaku. By that I mean he garners admiration for, counter to the norm for a male harem lead, being open and honest for his fascination with H-games and the degree to which he sees life as one of them. He actively and openly seeks to turn the student council into his personal harem. His confidence in the inevitability of the girls falling for him, combined with his underlying strength of character, his fearlessness when dealing with the opposite sex, and his proud perversity, make him a hilarious and impressive character to watch. His observations about the girls are always spot on, and he has a high-level ability to tease Aka-chan (always producing amusing and moe results). I don’t think I’ve ever found a harem leader this awesome.

The shining star and beating heart of Seitokai no Ichizon, Kurimu Sakurano (Aka-chan among friends) is an energetic and ditsy loli temptress, whose moe appeal lies within her confident and perhaps even slightly abrasive attitude which occasionally gives way to the vulnerable and self-conscious young girl within. Her cliche power is: being in high school but looking (and often acting) more like an elementary student. Kodomo Janai Mon~! She has a mild case of the Moetan syndrome that has stunted her growth, in both height and chest size, and preserved her cuteness. As I said above, Aka-chan is one of the biggest pulls this series catches with me. Her seiyuu, Mariko Honda does an utterly stellar job portraying this character, capturing her adorable moe moments as well as her angry ones. I think another great thing here is that she is actually a new seiyuu on the block, with no prior major roles in anime. I think this an excellent debut for her, and the fact that she is new means that Aka-chan is blessed with a refreshingly new sound. I’m not exactly sick of hearing major players like Kugimiya Rie or Aya Hirano, but it’s always a great experience getting acquainted with a seiyuu for the first time. But both in terms of her personality and charming character design, Aka-chan gets my strong stamp of approval in the moe category. There’s just something about pink-haired girls. Her cuteness is a miracle of the universe. I love the way she’s often drawn in a chibified manner. It accentuated her childishness relative to the other characters. There are really moments when her moe power warms my heart.

Move over, Sugisaki Ken, I want Aka-chan for MY harem!

Unless it airs on an evil TV station like TV Tokyo, no anime has any excuse for letting its entertainment value slide. When you don’t have any plot handy to throw into the mix, just substitute fanservice in its place! This show doesn’t fall into the trap of playing the fanservice card to excess, but rather hits us fortunate male viewers with the occasional moment of potent sexiness. I always find fanservice, when it’s good, and used in moderation, is a crucial step to consolidating the fanboy appeal of its characters. By the time they’ve sat through all the eye-candy the swimsuit episode has to offer, no real man can say their interest hasn’t been aroused. As you can see from the pictures above, these are THE BEST SWIMSUITS EVER. Now I’m a fan of the traditional school swimsuit (sukumizu) but goddamn these designs make them obsolete. It’s like lingerie but in swimwear form. I think I may now be stuck with a permanent fetish for swimsuits and thigh-high socks. Ken’s honest imagination gives some really great fanservice moments (which are also really funny), and there are often a lot of parody-based yuri scenes thrown in too. Not to mention the standing yuri subtext between Aka-chan and Chizuru. Then allusions to their relationship can be paralleled to the seme/uke (top/bottom) featured in yaoi, with Chizuru as the dominant one, and Aka-chan as the submissor. And speaking of yaoi, there are plenty of yaoi references for female fans to enjoy, largely stemming from Mafuyu’s oft-stated passion for BL. It doesn’t go as far as the that episode of Genshiken season 2, but there’s some pretty steamy stuff going on there (purely in imagination-land though).