Best Student Council, Volume 1 - Anime Kakumei

"fun"

When sitting down to write this review, I had two opening paragraphs in mind.

Studio: ADV Films
Genre: Comedy
Format: DVD
Length: 125 mins.
MSRP: $29.98

Features:

* English/Japanese 2.0
* Clean Opening/Closing
* Character Art Gallery

“Ah, the anime high school comedy. How I love thee. Usually with your outrageous school setting (majority of the time, all-girl schools), the ensemble cast of characters, and the usual wacky situations that arise throughout the course of the show. I tend to have a soft spot for the genre, and just can’t help picking up the next one that comes along.”

“Ah, the anime high school comedy. How I loathe thee. Usually with your stupidly tacky school setting (majority of the time, all-girl super elite schools that are so corny they make you puke), the ensemble of cliche one-dimensional cast of characters, and the predicable, wacky, mind-numbing situations that arise throughout the course of the show. I tend to have a soft spot for the genre, and just can’t help picking up the next one that comes along, so that I may have something that will help me fall asleep on those occasional sleepless nights.”

I just couldn’t decide which to use for this review of Best Student Council (Gokujo Seitokai), because both are true for the show. It is another outragiously silly take on high school life, full of the usual cliches of the genre, that can be both endearing and vapid. It’s full of the usual one-dimensional cast of characters with their one “thing” that makes them who they are that can make the viewer like them or hate them. Lastly, it does have the wacky situations that are probably taken out of the some big book of typical high school anime settings. Yet, Best Student Council does have a slight edge. 98% of that edge belongs to a puppet.

On the recommendation of her penpal, Rino Rando (along with her handpuppet pal, Pucchan) has transferred to the high profile Miyagami Academy. After arriving at the mysterious school, she is immediately voted in as Class Representative, and then quickly assigned to the post of Secretary of the illustrious Miyagami Academy Maximum Authority Weilding Best Level Student Council. “Best Student Council” for short (why does it need the “Best” in it?). Not only does this take RIno by surprise, but also all of the students of the academy with hopes of becoming a part of the Student Council as well.

The Student Council wields absolute authority over the school and all of it’s activities. Not even teachers can oppose it. It was set up this way by school founder and Student Council President, Kanade Jinguji (yes, she’s stupidly rich and the heiress to a huge corperation). She takes a special interest in Rino when she arrives at the school. The Council also houses an Assault Squad (in charge of the safety of the school) led by Nanaho Kinjo, a Covert Squad (specializes in gathering intelligence, espionage, and surveillance) led by Kuon Ginga, and a one person Vehicle Squad with Cyndi Manabe at the wheel. Each section has it’s own members with their own special skills in which they contribute to the council as a well. This cast of characters make up the majority of Best Student Council.

So far, the show revolves around Rino settling into the way school works and her new classmates. She follows Assault Squad member Kaori Izumi around the school to solve problems in one episode, there’s an inter-council cooking contest in another episode to determine who gets most of the funding that month, and a little scandal when the Council President is seen walking out of Rino’s room early in the morning with her PJs on. Scandalious! This episode was most amusing as both Kanade and Rino were being stalked by the Newspaper Club, the Photography club, and the Paparazzi Club (complete with stalker-like equipment and gear). The show does take on a tiny bit of shoujo-ai tones at times. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Don’t mind that at all!

All of the characters in the show are fairly standard, and have a skill or two that define who they are. Some examples include Nanaho who wields a Yo-Yo for a weapon and is very much Sukeban Deka-ish. Sayuri Hida is the master of sword techniques who runs around with her wooden sword. Whenever she loses her glasses though, she’s blind as a bat and usually spends the rest of her time on the ground mumbling “Glasses…glasses…” Rein Tsunomoto uses playing cards for weapons and Kaori uses hand to hand techniques. Seina Katsura is captain of the Covert Squad and is always smiling and very light-hearted (very Belldandy-ish). Cyndi Manabe drives the vehicles in the Vehicle Squad, and mostly speaks in english. There’s more, but I think I’ve covered it enough.

The “edge” I mentioned earlier is Pucchan; Rino’s puppet and best friend. He speaks through Rino (though her mouth never moves when he speaks) and is always on her hand. He is pretty much the only male presence in the show, and delivers most of the funnier lines in the show. The puppet has obviously been around. There are flashbacks that show Pucchan with Rino and her mother (on her mother’s hand), but also flashbacks where Pucchan has even travelled to India (and had a girlfriend?). Part of me can’t help but think Rino is actually insane for having this puppet on her hand 24/7, but part of me treats him like the rest of the characters do in the show; as just another person. Which is weird in and of itself. Sometimes Pucchan comes off as Rino’s inner thoughts. While Rino is usually very bubbly and simple (read: stupid), he is very frank, quick witted, and has a sharp tongue. Maybe he’s another personality that is brought out in the people who wear it? I have no idea. Maybe this will be answered later. Who knows.

I do like the look of BSC as a whole. The characters are very nicely presented with very little weirdness such as odd hair color or styles for every single girl. It’s very colorful with nice detail to the world the characters inhabit. There’s an interesting use of screen tones as well which manage to give the show a “light” feeling. Plus the animation isn’t half bad. Of course, there’s a lot of embellishment to the school (it’s one of those HUGE Academies with everything you could ever want in the world, complete with self defense, mountain top cannons), and to the situations, but that’s all part of the fun.

Best Student Council just manages to be something to keep your eye on within it’s genre. It’s filled with all the usual cliches, the hijinx, and the quirks that all of these shows are filled to the brim with. Despite that, it does have it’s own distinct charm to it. There’s something about the girls and their chemistry that is fun to watch. Pucchan is a major contributor to this charm, and is easily the star of the show. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s just an extra “something” to the show. Perhaps as the show continues, that “something” will manifest itself more and really help it to stand out of the pack.

Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 (Archive on Thursday, October 18, 2007)