Author: Gabriel Persechino-Forest Published: May 20th, 2018
Episodes: 12 | Type: TV Series | Language: Japanese & English
There are many school comedies out there and it can sometimes be difficult to know which ones are worth watching. Often, it’ll come down to a matter of personal preference between slice of life, fanservice or comedy. Fortunately, this series delivers on all three fronts.
Story
The story revolves around a commoner being transferred to a school attended only by elite young girls and from the premise, you probably already get that this is a harem series; fortunately, this is one of those that is actually more or less realistic. Since the main character is the only game in town, it makes sense he gets all the action. As with most of these types of series though, the story isn’t really that important outside of establishing the basic setup of the show. Although the story does develop later on, it never takes itself too seriously and that, in my opinion, is a blessing. Without going into spoiler territory, I’ll say that it was refreshing to see a series that isn’t afraid to make a finale that is less serious than you’d expect instead of dropping their comedic elements and doing an anti-climatic drama like so many other series of the genre.
Characters
The characters are most important in this type of show since the comedy depends entirely on them. Kimito is your average harem lead: Perverted, shy and a nice guy; although, not as pronounced as in most series of the genre. But since the lead in harem series is often just there to make the chemistry between the various female members of the cast work, I don’t think a bland lead is an issue or at least, it wasn’t for me. The meat of the cast, the harem, consists of Reiko, the nice, sweet and well endowed girl. Karen, the violent and hyper-tsundere type. Aika, the female lead who is slightly tsundere but overall the “friend” type. And finally Hakua, for those who like them young but don’t want to feel like pigs (The story is she’s older than she looks). This covers the basic types of characters you’re getting but they are more nuanced than that of course. This series actually created genuinely fun and interesting characters each with their own quirks and personality and of course the characters themselves are a different version of the tropes we know; for example: Aika is the friend type but the main character isn’t actually her childhood friend, Reiko is the nice girl but with an aristocratic twist, Karen is the violent tsundere but also a swords master whose character laughs at shonen tropes… Overall, if you like these types of characters then this series will not disappoint you.
Themes
The series has a fairly even mix of fanservice (Never getting too extreme), comedy and slice of life pretty much ensuring that even if you don’t like one of these this show still has something to offer. The series revolves heavily on themes of social acceptance in a manner similar to Haganai, although less extreme. The characters have different forms of social issues, aside for the lead, that are explored throughout the series and you’ll actually see character progression as well. Character progression is refreshing because usually in most sitcom-style series the characters always stay the same. Of course, due to the social theme at play the characters’ relationships and, as a result, their friendship is also central.
Animation & Voice Work
The animation is what you’d expect of a modern series in both terms of quality and style and whether or not that’s a good thing is for you to decide. I personally like it although, even for a fanservice series, a skirt with booty bite was ridiculous. I can honestly recommend both dub and sub as a matter of personal preference to the viewer as well; the original Japanese does a fine job while Funimation seems to have put genuine effort into this dub.
Quality
Rank: 8
Genuinely fun and energetic with just enough fanservice to go around. It gets thematically relevant without shoving it down the viewer’s throat and has a varied and interesting cast of characters. I recommend it as a solid example of its genre and how it should be done.
In Conclusion
Basically, a more tame fanservice comedy that also offers, and pulls off, more serious stories along the way without ever forgetting it is a comedy. If you’re looking for a straight up slice of life or for a heavy fanservice series, this show is not for you. If you’re looking for a fun romantic comedy, I can happily recommend it.
Source: Article Image: Shomin Sample Funimation DVD/BD cover
- Original Title: ?????????????????????????? (Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets?Sareta Ken)
- Director: Masato Jinbo
- Series Composition: Kento Shimoyama
- Release Date: 2015
- License: Funimation