There is no way of reviewing humour. It's always personal and at the mercy of such fickleness as "I wasn't in the mood". Enough then to say that Baka Test is my kind of humour; the kind where the jokes are obvious from the setup but the punchline is so much more over-the-top than expected. The kind where the minute-to-minute plot is irrelevant as long as the laughs keep on coming. The kind where with all the rules established, it's just a case of exploiting the environment.
laugh along at the absurdity, embrace the archetypes and accept the obvious but still giggle at the outcome
I called the first series a "thigh-slappingly hilarious comedy" and the second is no different, primarily because there is nothing new here. No great switch-ups or new characters only more of the same but tweaked and intensified. The reliance upon Hideyoshi's effeminate appearance is dialled down and tertiary characters such as Akihisa's and Minami's siblings are sidelined for a greater focus on the core love triangle. It's here it's at its weakest with a lengthy foray into Minami's move from Germany and then a confession that leads to confusion that leads to drama that eventually leads to a reset. Lacklustre and bereft of the sharp eye that makes the comedy so great, it's dead weight when compared with the homosexual overtures from Miharu and Toshimitsu that manage to be more genuine despite being played for laughs.
Like fruit, Baka to Test to Shokanju ripens with age. The running gags taste increasingly better and the variety keeps each one appetising; then the final pair of episodes roll around focusing entirely of the series' namesake and without warning there is oatmeal where fruit once was. The cross-up from raucous shenanigans to a poignant David and Goliath type story had been brewing throughout, however it isn't where the series strength lies. Quick-fire jokes, parodies and taboo-shattering characters - whether it is the aggressively homosexual Miharu, the gender bending Hideyoshi or the domineering Shoko - all blend together to create a hot-pot of outrageous hilarity and one of the most potent comedies of recent memory, regardless of its conclusion.
a vibrant and riotously enthusiastic aesthetic that never falters in delivery and encourages absolute attention
Fumizuki Academy isn't like other schools: instead of teaching all students equally, they are segregated into classes based on their skill. At the entrance exam, Mizuki Himeji is taken ill and scores zero, relegating her to the bottom of the school: Class F. Stuck with decrepit equipment, the miscreants that dwell in F class have a plan to challenge those ahead of them to assume control of their more luxurious facilities. Unique to Fumizuki however is the system which allows students to summon avatars with abilities based upon their test scores - a teacher must oversee the battle and a subject must be chosen, other than that they are a free for all. Losing an early skirmish, class F must bide their time until they can challenge another class again, that doesn't stop them from enjoying their time at school though.
