Satire is one of anime's so-so friends. Sometimes they work well with one another, whereas other times it just plain sucks. Fortunately for Setokai No Ichizon, satire is its best buddy.
Don't let the opening fool you. This is probably one of the more underrated shows of 2009. Setokai no Ichizon follows the daily routines of the student council members of Hekiyou Academy. Most of the council members are women, with the exception of Ken; who became a member after scoring the top scores in his level. The other members -- Kurimu (the very short Council President), Chizuru (the sadistic Secretary), Minatsu (the tomboyish Vice-President) and Mafuyu (the bishojou Treasurer) -- taunt him for his antics, but at the end of each show Ken shows them their faults, turning everything around them. One unique thing about this anime is that -- for the most part -- every episode takes place in one scene: the Student Council Room. Granted there are some cut-scenes here and there that take them out of the room for a few seconds, but just about everything happens in this one small room. It even shocks the cast members, who in the first couple minutes of the first episode say that animating a series like Setokai no Ichizon would be impossible and boring.
Fortunately, it's anything but.
Setokai no Ichizon is ripe with humor, and on top of that knows how to make fun of itself and just about every other anime that's come out in the last three years. Ken dreams of the other members becoming part of his harem, but instead is slapped in the face with denial (both literally and metaphorically). A swimsuit episode appears, and instead of focusing on the stereotypical fan-service one seems to see in anime the episode hilariously just shows Ken trying to get out of a locker the girls put him in (for obvious reasons). My favorite episode, though, has to be the fourth one, where the council members try to work on a fiction story to improve their image. The ideas range from light-novels to video games; but the best comes in the form of Kurimu starting a rock band. The jokes come fast-paced in this one scene, ranging from the idea of selling character albums for fast cash to just cleverly saying "FUCK YOU!" to Kyoto Animation. (Ken losing it over the lack of dynamic concert performances hit right at home for me, as that was what I thought made K-On! a shit storm of an anime.)
Of course the show does at time flub up a good opportunity to make fun of other forms of stereotypical anime. It tries to parody the concept of moé, but instead just adds fuel to that over-burning fire. Episode 8 pokes at "loli," and while the "playing doctor" and "house" gags are a riot the underlining theme and concept of it all was kind of unsettling. Despite these two flaws, though, a lot of the humor works well; and when it gets to its serious side (with a sort of "what we learned today" vibe) each episode wraps itself up with something any anime fan can enjoy.
Setokai no Ichizon earns itself a B+. It's a funny show that jabs at the obvious flaws of the current anime world, while at the same time pokes at itself for falling victim to said flaws.
Labels: Anime, Anime Calamity, comedy, King Baby Duck, Setokai No Ichizon
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