evalyn94 - 2013-08-23 23:18:14

SEITOKAI!!!!!!!!!

How can I start this?

One day I was bored with my life and decided to browse a different site in the Internet out of the usual social medias, YouTube and Korean drama sites I followed daily. As I have mentioned in my Fate/Zero review I had a lot of time in my hand after I graduated college and immersed myself in the Internet in the time being. I got back to anime after I watched Fate/Zero and that allowed me to rediscover Crunchyroll, as I knew the site before when I was watching some Japanese and Korean dramas. While in the Crunchyroll home page, I saw a newly put episode - or was it in their feature thingy that moves after a couple of seconds - of Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 in which out of boredom clicked it because there was a pink haired girl in the thumbnail. So, then I found out that this was a second season and looked for the very first episode of the first season and all things started in there.

So what is it about?

Read the synopsis.

Story

I do not want to repeat myself over and over so I'll give you my status as an anime watcher with a comparison. Imagine me being a doctor who have been out of the profession for ages and is starting to get back to his career. Yes, when I watched Seitokai no Ichizon, I was on my refresher phase and trying to soak up the years that I have missed and what have changed since my hiatus. Since, I'm trying to reboot my anime knowledge, I have to watch all the anime that came out in my dark ages and the new ones. But you would need to entertain me first or at least catch my attention on your first episode and what Seitokai no Ichizon did was at the latter, at least caught my attention. The first minute of Episode 1 introduced me to a school and if it was an experience anime watcher in their head would be like "Oh damn another high school anime.", which was also in my mind minus the "another" part. I only have a glimpse of this high school anime - anime that have a high school as its setting - when I watched a couple of episodes of Toradora in the Philippines TV airwaves. There was a reason why I only watched a couple of episodes as it was not engaging because there are no laser beams, robots, and monsters, pretty much too much dialogue and dramas. Oh yeah I did regret later when I watched Toradora later. The thing that made me watch this series until the end of Lv. 2 is their references to other animes - which most of the time I do not get, but if I do I would give it a laugh - and just as what was written in the synopsis of what is the genre of this show, it's a parody type series. Also, written in its genre is Harem which during the time I thought it was another term for Hentai - I guess I was disappointed. The main male character wanted to be a Harem king which I have no idea what he meant though I did have a green-minded thoughts because of my misconception of the word.

The story of becoming a Harem king was the first thing that popped in my mind in what the main plot will be about since he keeps on repeating it through almost each episode, which might be so bland and predictable to those who watched this particular theme of a plot before. Well since I have no idea, I ventured to find out. Pretty much it was about making all the girls in the area fall for you a.k.a a pimp/playboy. Now knowing this I thought I am watching them Korean Rom-Com dramas again but has more on the comedy. The first part of the show is episodic, only showing a day in the life of the student council and having the main boy hit on the girls. Then, my favorite type of storytelling came up. The storytelling where you tell the characters past and its connection to what is happening in the present which brings the story of the series to a new light. Seitokai no Ichizon did this with a bit more focus on one of the main characters in turn the other main characters were kinda left behind with their own back story. As for the ending, it somehow touched me a little for the main dude but when I re-watched the series I told to myself were the hell did that feeling came from and also now I am aware of how a Harem series would mostly end.

Score: 8

Animation

It was all good. It's just my type of style, hand drawn and the generic faces, eyes, nose, hairs, and etc.. for its art style. I really like Minatsu Shina's style (personal preference) even though all of them are almost alike with a couple of differences in color, sizes, and shapes. There were not much of notable animation to mention as it is just a typical one.

Score: 7

Sound

There were not much to be remembered on its OSTs and even its Opening and Ending though the first season opening was a bit memorable. Maybe the only thing I remembered was the very last scene - or was it - in the series as it was timed right with the situation that was happening - must be the reason I was touched.

Score: 6

Character

With me not knowing (at the time) what are the typical character archetypes - especially the -dere system for girls - were, I actually have no problems with it. The casual cast of characters of: the lacking in size one but makes up with her voice, the quiet one but have a hidden desire, the perfect one that also act as the mature one that will make the others envious while some leave their mouth open, and the tough, sporty one that some would adore from the distant.

As I have mentioned before, the story did a main focus to one of the main characters by showing his/her back story and show why he/she act the way he/she acts in the present. Even though it became a historical narrative by one of the main character the other main characters somehow got some development in terms of reevaluating their view. One instance that it happen can be seen in one of the scenes was when they were gathered up together with all of them waiting to do the next step and ended up blaming each other, but at least they did what they need to do.

For a favorite character, I liked Minatsu Shina with her strong personality with a hidden sweetness that only pops up when the coast are clear a.k.a Tsunderes. Since it Harem is almost the same as a Korean Rom-Com drama there are bound to have the question in my mind on "who would you prefer?" which of course I would correspond with my favorite character.

Score: 7

Enjoyment

The references on this show, I only get half of them since I have not that much of a background to the recent popular shows which aired in my hiatus years, but I still had a good laugh. The drama was decent, mixing well with the comedy aspect. Also, the getting to know why did this character do the thing he/she does. Did I enjoy it? Sure.

Score: 7

Overall

Seitokai no Ichizon was my introduction to learn the -dere system. I watched it to introduce myself to the other genres in anime. Pretty much it is now written among the other animes in my nostalgia stone.

Score: 7

nsmith - 2013-06-05 02:18:44

The first season of Seitokai no Ichizon is my favorite anime of all time. The second season is decisively not as consistently powerful as the first, but still has some great moments. It's more of the same: a surprising amount of character development, some dramatic moments, and of course, comedy.The main complaint you hear coming into this show is the change in voice actors. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me, but it is still making mountains out of molehills. Mafuyu's new voice was similar enough that I just now had to look her up to double-check that her voice actor had indeed been changed. Chizuru's new voice actor does a good job, but could not perfectly emulate Chizuru's darker moments. Was it jarring? Yes. Was it a big deal? No.As a continuation of the first season, Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 is surprisingly good at not falling into the trap of "we'll just keep doing the same stuff." This praise might be better aimed at the light novels, but I haven't read them. It maintains its prior combination of sharp, fast wit; engaging characters; and the occasional drama, but it manages to feel new at the same time.The series starts off slow (and let's be honest, disappointing). Some viewers, including myself, might be interested in exploring Ken's backstory, though I can't fault those who just want to skip to the comedy. The student council members' interactions with new characters are one of the show's highlights. Ken's two ex-girlfriends make an appearance and make waves. The return of the scheming Lilicia (OHOHOHOHOHO) and her clairvoyant, dramatic irony-filled sister Elise are as enjoyable as the first season.That isn't to say that the student council members are completely neglected, though. Their identities, personalities, and most of all, their relationships are development splendidly. Without spoiling too much, fans of certain student council members will be delighted to see a couple episodes in particular.Despite all that, Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 has a couple glaring weaknesses. It takes several episodes to return to the first season's fast-paced humor. These episodes aren't necessarily bad, but they are noticeably weaker than the rest of the series. And while not exactly a negative, the sequel does have quite a bit of serious moments. I like that the series occasionally takes a break from comedy, but I've heard complaints from others that the "drama" isn't executed very well. This sequel also has a surprisingly touching ending for a slice of life comedy.Overall, Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 is more of the same, in a good way. Didn't like the first season? Well, I don't even know why you're reading this. On the fence? I'd recommend giving the second season at least 4 or 5 episodes to get rolling before making any hasty decisions about dropping. Loved the first season? Well, what are you waiting for?