The Great Anime Marathon of 2020! #6 – #10: Back to School!

That’s it, the Corona-chan lockdown has come to an end and it’s time for me to head back to work. I’ve managed to watch 120 different anime series over the last two months or so, but now it’s time for me to figure out how to be a teacher again.

With that in mind, the selection of anime in this entry is all about school! Though, maybe a little more towards the classroom than the clubs… there are a hell of a lot of anime that involve clubs which would end up being its own entry later on.

The following is a spoiler-free list of anime I’ve seen this year in no particular order:

#6: Great Teacher Onizuka

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

This anime has been on my backlog for a long time and I’ve finally gotten around to watching it two decades after it was released in Japan. GTO asks the question, “What would happen if a former biker gang punk decided to become a teacher?” The answer involves a lot of panty shots from High School girls.

It’s an older series and the humour does seem a little dated, but it’s wacky and fun with just enough ridiculously hilarious moments in there to keep you interested throughout the series. While he’s not the best teacher in terms of academic skills, Onizuka shows us that an important part of teaching is forming an understanding with your students and supporting them through their weird and wacky teenage years.

#7: Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

In contrast to Onizuka, Glenn Radars shows us the kind of teacher who is way over-qualified for his job and would rather be anywhere else than in a classroom. Not because he thinks he’s better, but because he has such contempt for magic he ends up pissing off his students who view magic as the highest form of expression. He’s a magic teacher who hates the very idea of magic and its one common use.

Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor does end up falling into a few tropes, but at its core, it shows us the kind of teacher who is against the rote learning method of memorising facts day after day, and instead, looks at the subject matter from the point of view of someone who challenges the subject as well as his students to be better.

#8: Assassination Classroom

• Seasons 1 – 2 including OVAs: Complete series to date (dub, OVAs: sub)
• Assassination Classroom the Movie: 365 Days

Now we’re getting into the long epic journey of a classroom full of students who want to assassinate their teacher… and also don’t want to assassinate their teacher. Oh, boy… does this anime get complicated in that regard.

Like many anime, this one shows us that young people can become exceptional people and overcome the things that are holding them back if they have the kind of teacher who cares enough to help them see their potential.

I really liked Assassination Classroom for its twists and turns, its ridiculous, yet fun premise and how much it played with its characters, giving us interesting scenarios throughout an entire year with Koro-sensei. It’s certainly a strange one, but it’s a good watch.

#9: Classroom of the Elite

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

From a classroom full of assassins to another classroom full of assholes. This anime shows us the darker side of school in terms of social politics, bullying and the like, but with the most exceptional kind of students imaginable.

Classroom of the Elite has an interesting premise that is set up very well. In this story, a school exists where only the top students can enter, however, this school is also its own self-sufficient town. Normal money isn’t used as currency in this town, instead a points system is used based on your performance in school. The trick is that the amount of points you get to spend per month is based on how well your entire class does each month.

The level of backstabbing and political maneuvering that happens in this anime is off the scale due to this premise, and damn, it was so compelling that my eyes were glued to the screen all the way through. The only problem is that it ends far too quickly since it’s one of those anime that is more of an advertisement for the original light novel.

In many ways, this anime shows us the kind of cutthroat nature some parts of real life can be and how jarring it is for some students once they leave the safe bubble of “school” behind. Shit gets real very quickly in this anime and it doesn’t stop, ever.

#10: School-Live!

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

This last one is a little different from the rest, in that it’s an anime that is not what you expect it to be. It’s a story about a girl named Yuki Takeya who really likes going to school despite the fact that she’s not very bright.

As mentioned above, there is a safe bubble called “school” that a lot of people don’t realise protects them from the harsh reality of the world around them. Of course, at some point, that bubble will burst and you have to find a way to come to terms with how things really are on the outside.

I’m being cryptic for a reason with this one. If you don’t know anything about this anime, I suggest you keep yourself ignorant and simply go in blind… it’s more fun that way.