Prison School is (as of this post) a currently airing anime from the summer 2015 season produced by J.C. Staff and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima (where's my
Shirobako season two, ya hack?)
The plot follows five misfit boys at a previously all-girls school after they’re put in the “school prison” for peeping by the “Official Underground Student Council” (which is it then?). If they can behave for a month, they’re all out, but if anyone attempts to escape or pulls some other bullshit, their sentences will be lengthened. In the meantime, they’ll attend classes through a monitor and be subjected to hard labor. Refusal is met with torturous consequences.
Which might’ve worked…if the guys didn’t
like being beat up by the girls. But most of them do, and that’s the first of many twists and turns this wonderfully stupid series will throw your way. And I have to emphasize its stupidity and highly sexual nature. If you’re like, a child, don’t watch this. At least 50% or so of every episode is NSFW. And I’m not talking the silly Food Wars foodporn or counter-intuitive censorship-laden Shimoneta here. No, J.C. Staff really goes all out with this one.
But at the same time, Prison School exceeds my expectations by somehow being genuinely fun, if not downright funny. The male quintet has a ridiculous mishmash of characters with personalities that bounce beautifully off each other and the ladies. The Underground Student Council is rigid and menacing, which often makes their overboard attempts at subduing the guys’ craziness backfire in the most hilarious of ways. The visual style and direction are surprisingly some of the best this season, with dark, moody, and detailed backgrounds and over-the-top facial expressions. The character dynamics find a way to work and the visuals don’t just support the half-comedic, half-action thriller nature of the show, but they enhance it. I hesitate to compliment anything more than the bare essentials because of spoilers (believe it or not), but as far as crude anime goes, this show is at the top of the heap with consistent laughs and a strong grip on its tone.
I was originally only planning to watch Prison School’s pilot to have the ability to justly say how much I hated it, but I actually grew pretty fond of the show and all its idiocy. The manga is very well received, this adaption seems faithful, and there’s even a Funimation broadcast dub started if you dislike subbed shows (though I still highly recommend the sub). Who knows, maybe
you might be swept in by the
ai no prizoon.
