∑Xce7ion

In light of all my experiences of watching anime that revolve around academics both explicitly and implicitly, I’ve always had low expectations for these particular series when it comes to hype; that is until I’ve seen Baka To Test To Shokanjuu. In ordinary cases, school-related series tend to be a bit easy-going and in some cases listless; but this is exactly where BTTTS proves itself otherwise by taking what we people define as ’school’ and push it into new heights by introducing a RPG concept where grades and test scores lead to loots and perks.

My first impressions of BTTTS were similar to that of the time when I was playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. While the game itself was alright, the fact that this concept is the main drive of this show however is totally OUT OF THIS WORLD! Are you kidding me?! If every school were to operate like that in BTTTS, we would’ve found the equilibrium between children’s love of video games and their resentment of school. WHY DIDN”T ANYONE THINK OF THIS?!

That aside, I’m sure  most of us are already aware that the lead character is an idiot, considering how the title is BAKA To Test To Shokanjuu – that and the likelihood that the blogosphere has probably said this a billion times. But what exactly is so special about that? It’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen a retard for a protagonist before, right? Well of course not! That’s because the idiot here is nothing more than a class in which, along with the other classes (traps, voyeurs, masterminds and literal and metaphorical wizards to  name a few) comprises a typical party like that from an RPG.

Well there you go. As much as I want to include any other aspect what makes BTTTS unlike any other shows, there’s really nothing much to say other than everything I like about it is interweaved by its RPG-nature. Chibis are a major attraction (I FUCKING WANT ONE) but they exist as avatars students employ to wage inter-class Examination Summon Battles (ESBs). The EPIC supervising teachers who sentence unsuspecting students who were ‘KIA’ in an ESBs to detention are but Judge Magisters. Even the F-class’s tactic against the E-class is just another one of those classical RPG maneuvers. Finally, the manner in which a single episode presented anyone significant long enough just so that each one of them is highlighted – think of it as character page in the game manual. Everything revolves around a fucking game…and that’s what I like about this show! If my mindset is going on the right direction, I’m  guessing the first few segments of the episode that was spent to emphasize how much of an idiot the protag is as measured by mere grades is a representation of a noob with absolutely zero stats.

All in all, it is because of this that the first episode was so much fun to watch. Heck…this is most likely going to be one of the best things I’ll ever see this season; a perfect comeback from last year’s Winter season of failures.

And oh, the highlight of the episode –  girls who are good in maths. DO WANT DO WANT DO WANT!

You speak music to my ears, girl..