Jun 25, 2018
First review here. I'll try to keep it concise. There will be spoilers up ahead.
I've watched a lot of anime, and I tend to give them pretty high scores, mostly because I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to thing I enjoy. But this anime is easily the least enjoyable thing I've had the displeasure of watching in a very long time.
For starters, if you're unfamiliar with the story, it's about Medaka Kurokami, a perfect and amazing girl with massive... charisma, and her objective is to solve the problems of the students of her academy with the help of the Student Council members, which she recruits
...
as the series goes on.
In theory, the character of Medaka is meant to be a parody of Shonen heroes, being overpowered and having all sorts of nonsensical abilities (most of which aren't showcased in this season, but if you've seen the later parts of the manga, you'd know how absurdly broken Medaka gets). However, the problem with being a parody is that you can't just expect people to laugh about the concept of a joke character, when the "joke" is played completely straight.
I hate comparisons like these, but I feel that it would make my point easier to understand. Take a look at Saitama from One Punch Man. Saitama takes the concept of an overpowered character in a universe full of characters below his league, and it uses that to show how dull and depressing it really is to be better than everyone.
On the other hand, Medaka does the absolute opposite of this. Medaka and everyone else in the show knows about how wonderful and perfect she is, with only a few unfortunate fools having the guts to defy her. Needless to say, those foes tend to get instantly humiliated. There is one occasion in which Medaka is the one to lose, but it's played so poorly that even a kid would be able to predict it, and it does not even have negative repercussions for Medaka in the long run.
And when you take a look at the supporting cast, they're not any better at all. You have your underdog companion that's totally not head over heels for Miss Perfect; the "funny" loli that's always eating stuff or messing with underdog-kun; the other boy who is in love with Medaka, but doesn't actually bother hiding it; and the female character who starts off as a rival but then joins the team after getting kissed by Medaka (yes, it's as stupid as it sounds). Oh, and let's not forget the myriad of one-off characters that don't actually have any contribution to the plot other than to add filler!
Lastly, the main villain (whose name I didn't even bother to remember), is supposed to be menacing and strong enough to put an end to Medaka's reign, gets utterly humiliated after explaining his extremely boring and unmemorable motive. The worst part is that even after the overly-long speech about Medaka's "ideals", and the buildup for the villain's defeat, Medaka instantly forgives him and tells him to join the student council. I get that this is supposed to be "funny", but it just isn't. At all. It turns a somewhat valid antagonist into a zero.
After the final battle is done, the last episode of the season is... a filler one about shogi (Japanese chess). And it was just as boring as it sounds.
And even when considering all my gripes with the writing, I still can't find a reason to like this series.
The designs were decent and flowed well in motion, but in comparison to other Gainax works, it feels cheap and mediocre. It looks more like something you'd expect out of A-1 Pictures.
None of the designs really stood out, and some of them are so similar to each other that you can easily confuse the characters.
The sound design was not bad per se, but there's absolutely nothing memorable in it. The opening and endings were pretty generic and there's not even a sound effect that stuck with me.
But on the bright side, the show is pretty short, and the abundant fanservice is at least pleasant to the eye, as excessive as it may be at times.
So overall, I cannot recommend this series. It tries too hard to be a parody without actually being funny, and it lacks the self-awareness that could've saved that concept.
Please do yourself a favor and avoid watching this series at all costs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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