|
Baka and Test:
Summon the Beasts
Anime Review
We think we can all agree that being able to summon monsters during class would make school more fun. In Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts (otherwise known as BakaTest), the students can do just that, but there's a catch; it's still school. If your grades aren't up to snuff, well, your monster isn't going to be very intimidating, now is it? This premise- where the strength of students' 'beings' (actually super-deformed, and quite adorable, versions of themselves) is directly proportionate to their grades- pulls off the neat trick of combining the character interaction of school-based anime with the charm and sheer fun-factor of Japanese strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea. And it's pretty ingenious; the only problem with it, and the main problem with BakaTest in general, is that the show doesn't use it enough.
 The story centers around the lowest-ranked class, with the weakest grades and therefore the weakest summons, trying to challenge the stronger classes for the prize of better facilities- the better classes get snacks and posh classrooms, while the "baka" (idiots) have to make do with cardboard desks. Yoshii, the school's worst student and our protagonist, has a being with a very interesting ability- to explain what it can do would be to spoil it. Adding to our poor students' chances of actually earning proper desks are Himeji, a student who should be in a better class (but doesn't mind sharing the lowest tier with Yoshii, her crush) a tomboy, a budding evil mastermind, a peeping tom, and a boy who looks so much like a girl that even the other boys want him. The rest of Class F is usually depicted as a faceless mob who are so downtrodden, they will beat up anyone lucky enough to get a date (and poor Yoshii!)
When BakaTest is firing on all cylinders, it's fast, frenetic fun, and above all, funny- in fact, BakaTest has some of the funniest jokes we've ever seen in anime, period. Characters like Yoshii manage to check off a lot of items on the typical anime character checklist, yet still feel like their own characters as opposed to archetypes. Some of the anime in-jokes- Code Geass, and Evangelion are just two of the many anime parodied- make the show a special treat for those who watch lot of anime.
 However, it often seems like there wasnít quite enough great material to fill the showís twelve episodes, leading to a lot of repetition of the jokes. At worst, it wallows in some of the tired school-anime and romantic comedy staples that itís supposed to be parodying. For example, Minami, the resident violent girl, often uses ridiculously complex and brutal wrestling moves on Yoshii. The first few times you see it, it's quite funny- by taking the "girl beats up the guy she likes" joke and taking it to such elaborate lengths, they manage to make a rather tired joke funny again. However, by the time you've seen it for the fifteenth time, it's become the same old joke that you're sick of again, because you've become immune to the audacity of it. Furthermore, a different couple takes the "girl beats up guy" joke so far that some may find it disturbing, but that's a separate issue.
Entire episodes pass that have nothing to do with the main plot, and feature the cast in typical situations where their summoning abilities are an afterthought- it comes across as obvious filler. The filler is such a problem that we found ourselves irritated with the show more than once, wishing the cast would just get on with the summon battles again. Fortunately, just when you think BakaTest has completely emptied it's bag of tricks, an episode will come along that squeezes so much animated eye candy and pure fun into twenty four minutes that you find yourself slightly in love. It's frustrating, because when it's good it's very good, but the weaker episodes can be borderline insulting to your intelligence.
Furthermore, the show's desire to skewer lots of common trends in anime can work against it. For some reason, incest has become a surprisingly common theme in anime lately, so of course, BakaTest includes it and dials it up to, if not 11, at least a solid 8. Without even getting into the fact that incest is bound to make some viewers uncomfortable, there's still the problem that the incest storyline isn't nearly as funny or interesting as anything else that's going on. Several plot points in the show seem to have been added because they represent common themes in anime lately, not because the show needs them or even has much use for them.
 Still, even if the show only lives up to its potential half of the time (and that's being generous), the great art and direction pushes it more firmly onto the side of the angels. Even the poorer episodes always have a few great sight gags, and the character art is crisp and attractive. There's a great use of screen real estate; a lot of care went into how shots are framed, and it really shows during chase scenes. Finally, If you like fantasy RPGs at all, you'll probably love the summoned beings- complete with fantasy weapons and armor- and even if you don't, they're still adorable. If Yoshii's being in particular, with his little fluffy tail, doesn't get an "awwww, cute!" response from you, we really don't know what to tell you; you might be weird.
The repetitive nature of many of the gags makes it difficult to give the show an unqualified recommendation, but the fact remains that BakaTest at its best is a force to be reckoned with. We think that for most viewers, the clever premise and inventive direction will be enough to make BakaTest a gleeful watch, but those who find themselves easily bored or annoyed with the kinds of jokes that are popular in anime these days had best look elsewhere- there are only a few episodes that focus purely on summoning, and perhaps too many focused on the whole "Baka" angle.
Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts is available streaming on Funimation.com.
Reviewed by Karen Gellender, July 2011
Below: Scenes from Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
