Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

So I found someone streaming episodes 1-8 of this anime on Justin.tv, and I watched through all of them and suddenly added it as one of my new anime favorites.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (translated to "Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Beasts" or I suppose it could just be called Baka Test for short), is not just another "average high school anime."

It is a comedy/fantasy/romance genre, but I admit with all the crazy things that go on in that anime, it is REALLY good.

The anime just started airing in Japan, so this is really new. It was based off a light novel by Kenji Inoue.

So far there are only 13 episodes, but I REALLY recommend this anime because it is just so cute and hilarious, and lots of stuff is always going on. There really is something for everyone, as there are some yaoi/yuri moments, and there is one obvious gay dude and another obvious lesbian girl though some things can get a bit ecchi (lewd, perverted). XD

Here is the link to that Justin.tv channel, hopefully if the broadcaster will be playing the series again, otherwise you can always try Youtube.

http://www.justin.tv/animoogle#r=K1Ao1oQ~

From here on I will explain the plot a little, so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't continue reading. <.<
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It kinda centers around a sophomore student, Akihisa Yoshii, who is the "baka" of the title. He attends Fumizuki Academy, where the students are divided based on the results of the tests they take. These classes are ranked A-F, with A being the most luxurious, as the students have reclining seats and their own laptops on their study desks, and of course F being the most horrid, having a run-down classroom with round tables that are falling apart and worn out cushions.

Yoshii fails the placement exam, and thus is put into F class, but he is surprised to find that some of his classmates are friends that he remembered from his previous year. One new addition also is Mizuki Himeji, a very intelligent A-class level student who got a zero on the placement exam because she had a fever that day and couldn't take the test at all.

It all seems pretty normal until you realize what Fumizuki Academy is all about. Their school uses the latest in study and educational technology, and the entire school grounds allows for students to summon "Beings" which are actually chibi-sized, animal-like versions of themselves all with different powers and traits depending on their test results.

The students can only summon these Beings to "battle" other students but must first ask permission from a teacher, who sets up a special summoning field.

What is special about Yoshii and his Being, is that he is a "Punishment Inspector" where he basically does all the hard work around school for the teachers, such as retrieving things, cleaning or taking down/carrying large objects. Yoshii's Being has exceptional strength compared to the other students' Beings, but the only downfall(?) is that he feels the same pain that his Being feels.

The action begins when Sakamoto Yuuji, who was Yoshii's good friend in the previous year, proposes that they declare war on the E class, and thus begins the rise of the F class.

I gotta say that I love ALL the characters in this anime so far. There is something to like about each of them, and all their interactions with each other is just hilarious. Like some other anime comedies, they reference out other animes, some that you may recognize.


Here's a briefing on the main cast.

Yoshii Akihisa - F class, aka the "Baka", Punishment Inspector. He has his perverted moments, and even though he tries to save his allowance for food, he wastes it buying pictures of Hideyoshi from Kouta. He doesn't know that besides 2 other girls in his class, a male student from the A class known as Kubo has a crush on him also.

Yuuji Sakamoto - F class, the class representative, and leader of the group. He is Yoshii's best friend, the most "masculine" of all the boys. He later is constantly being stalked/forced to go out against his will with Shouko Kirishima, the valedictorian of A class, and was Yuuji's childhood friend. She calls him her husband, and vows to marry him one day.

Himeji Mizuki - F class, the smartest, has the most powerful Being in the class. She likes staying in F class because she has a crush on Yoshii, who doesn't really have a clue. Like most pink-haired anime girls, she sweet and adorable, and has large breasts. She seems good at almost everything, except cooking. What she makes looks delicious but is death in disguise. She never tastes her own cooking, so whenever she makes something for the others, they fear death, and usually the boys have silly battles against each other to see who will be the one to stomach Himeji's cooking.

Minami Shimada - F class, good at math, uses pro wrestling moves on Yoshii. She has a bit of a crush on Yoshii. She gets hit on by another girl from class D named Miharu, who calls her "onee-sama" and constantly tries to do ecchi things to her.

She has a younger sister named Hazuki.

Hideyoshi Kinoshita - F class, androgynous looking but is male, has a "gender" all his own...Yoshii says he has a "legendary beauty" and there is running joke that anyone can be gay for Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi is always mistaken as a girl even though he keeps telling everyone he is a guy. There are several situations where he ends up in girl's clothes, but looks spectacular in them. There are some ecchi situations that happen where his clothes may get torn or whatever and his body is revealed and he covers himself as if he were a girl.

Kouta Tsuchiya - F class, aka "Voyeur" (as noted in the subtitles), always has a camera, excels in Health Education, very ecchi as he always tries to see up girl's skirts but no one else seems to mind the things he does.

He is constantly breaking out in nosebleeds whenever it comes to seeing something ecchi. He's actually one of my favorites because he's so hilarious. XD