Short Version: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is a well executed, funny show with just enough shortcomings to keep from becoming a comedy anime classic.
Long Version: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is what happens when a group of idiots are pushed too far and, in a style reminiscent of Gurren Lagann, rise from below to topple their smarter, more able… just overall better at school than them classmates. It’s been compared with Revenge of the Nerds, if the nerds were bashed over the head enough times to elicit amnesia and the burgeoning of likeable personalities.
Yoshii Akihisa is an idiot of the highest caliber; one so stupid that even his parents have little faith in his academic abilities. One day, the school that he attends came up with the idea to separate students into classes based on their academic abilities. Predictably, though still to amusing effect, Yoshii is relegated to the lowest class for his year: Class F.
In the dilapidated class (He has to fix his own desk with glue and the floor is littered with what could generously be called a pungent fungus), he meets up with the ensemble that will make up his group of friends in subsequent episodes: The boisterous yet book dumb Yuuji, the pink haired beauty Mizuki Himeji, Tsuchiya Kouta; the voyeur known affectionately as Voyeur, the tsundere pettanko Minami Shimada, and the unbelievably androgynous Hideyoshi.
Together, this group of misfits, nobodies, and just general oddities plans to rise from their unfortunate conditions to take the opulence of Class A for themselves. “How might they have the means to do this?” you might be asking, hypothetical person who always questions when it’s most appropriate. Well, the school has a rule that’s most different from others. Rather than remain in the caste you’re designated to be in, you can move your way up through the ranks through the means of improved test scores, mixed with chibi avatar battles.
Thus, Class F does all they can to improve their test scores to move up to the extravagant conditions of Class A, often with hilarious results. Along the way, they dodge crazed stalkers, inquisitors who crucify anybody who has a girlfriend, and the answer to what Hideyoshi’s gender really is. Hint: He’s a guy, but nobody else knows that.
The story is flexible, transparent, yet omnipresent in the grand scheme of things. The characters drive it, bringing it upon themselves to advance the plot whenever the current gag has run its course. It rarely, if ever, feels like it’s drawing a joke out past the point where It stops being funny. The characters drive it, each bringing their own unique spin to whatever situation rears its head.
Oddly for a comedy series, the male lead has the most personality out of the entire cast. While I wouldn’t call Yoshii a dynamic character, he’s by far the most interesting to watch, if only for the situations that he brings upon himself. It helps that he’s likeable, but enough of a dimwitted pervert for the audience to relish whatever pain’s brought down upon him with little malice.
The side characters also get enough time in the spotlight to elicit a few laughs. The most memorable is Yuuji’s crazed stalker Shouko, who is by far the most over the top yandere character in recent memory, yet is oddly endearing considering the amount of abuse she puts the Kamina-in-training through. Electrocution and eye gouging are the norm for their hilariously lopsided relationship, and Yuuji’s futile attempts to break free make for one of the funniest episodes of the series.
There’s also the mysterious FFF, an inquisitorial squad dressed in black robes vaguely reminiscent of the Klan who constantly persecutes Yoshii for the amount of female attention lavished on him. Despite their short time in the limelight, they’re collectively one of the best parts of the entire show.
The animation and art style are bright and cheerful yet generic, occasionally descending into black and white hand drawn mode during stirring speeches. The backgrounds are sparse, punctuated by dots in a style reminiscent of manga. It can feel gratuitous at times, but it’s nothing distracting. There are even a few visual treats, such as Mizuki’s rabbit hairpin changing expression to match her own, that make the sparseness of the art style pop at times. In short, you’ll either find it kind of neat, or a little annoying.
While the music matches the art style (Bright, poppy, yet nothing special), the voicework is exceptionally well done, never feeling overwrought or bland. Nothing to rave on and on about, but still quite good overall.
Now, with all that said, here are the criticisms. There are very few, except for one glaring example: The variety of comedy used.
No matter how uproarious or timely jokes and gags are, they inevitably grow stale the more they are repeated. I’m not talking about jokes with enough variation between iterations. After all, Krauser raping a tambourine and him raping Tokyo Tower are both hilarious without feeling recycled, and they both involve excessive crotch thrusting.
If comedy is a pallet with different colors, the best kind is mixed with others and applied to the canvas to form a brilliant new component of the portrait. If you just paint in the same seven or eight colors, it’ll still look good, but not nearly as eye catching. Where Detroit Metal City, Azumanga Daioh, and Cromartie High School (My top three most hailed comedies) mix and match to form interesting and ultimately fresh styles, Baka to Test keeps everything from blending together. Each joke is repeated with little variation each time, and it really starts wearing itself thin in the second half.
After all, there are only so many times that the gag with Yoshii still lusting after Hideyoshi, blissfully unaware of his lack of uterus and vagina, is funny.
With that one fairly significant complaint aside, Baka to Test is a cleverly written series that nevertheless falls short of being an utterly memorable comedy classic. Most of the jokes struck home, hitting a broad enough range of subjects that hit more times than missed. If you have room in your anime roster for one more series to watch, I suggest picking this up. The laughs are cheap and easy, and they come in stride.
The difference between Baka Test and DMC is Krauser, haha. But either way, they’re both really great anime that leave the viewer on the floor laughing.
Nobody is funnier than Krauser. Maybe Guu, but that’s up for debate.
I loved Baka to Test, but I found myself thinking “Wait… this is the seventh time I heard this joke” at least a few times.
I loved watching Shouko torturing Yuji at every occasion. (The cinema scene was hilarious)
Hoping for some good material in the new season.
For me, it was the amusement park episode and how the odds were always hopelessly stacked against Yuuji. It was a surprisingly fun series that could use a continuation… provided it doesn’t overuse the same gags.