Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu – Episode 13

Last week on Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Classes F and A fought for supremacy.  In the end, Yuuko administered the finishing blow amidst the distracting destruction of the school.  Class F has scraped all the way through the bottom of the barrel, but one character just won’t stand for that ending.  Thus, the 13^th and final episode of BakaTest season one begins.

Go ChibiYuuko! Use Bad End!

Class F gets downgraded from crates to simple art boards for their study materials.  Again, Yoshii hates the state of the classroom and wants Himeji to have better.  Upon returning home, his sister assures him he did the best he could, and now he must set his sights on further goals.  He decides to come to the principal with a rematch proposal, and with Shouko and Yuuko’s consent, she approves.  Yoshii and Shouko face off in a series of sudden death questions, where the first wrong answer loses.  She ends up throwing the competition on question 32, the same question she missed in episode 2.  In return for victory, he asks that Himeji have another chance at the placement exam.  She takes it and gets every question right, but decides to erase her name to fail the exam.  Yoshii storms into the principal’s office and berates her for allowing the exam to fail.  Everyone appears to reinforce that despite everything, he just doesn’t understand things and he’s still an idiot.

Obviously, this is what happens when you scrape straight through the bottom of the barrel.

That's an... interesting problem to have. Or not have, in Minami's case.

Wow Yoshii, even continuity manages to bite you in the rear.

I'm... pretty sure that's not the new goal he had in mind. Creeeeepy.

Oh please, everyone in the cast wants you to get together anyway.

Well, it was nice knowing you Yoshii. I'll say a few nice words about you at the funeral.

BAM! Continuity!

As this episode makes blatant, the overarching premise of this series, and the battle system, is the importance of teamwork.  One person alone might not amount too much, but a group working together can accomplish so much more.  This first becomes evident in episode 7, where everyone works together to push Yuuji and Shouko together.  They then apply it to the school setting with episode 8, and push it into the battle strategies of episodes 11 and 12.  The battle doesn’t rely so much on brute force as it does the overall strategy.  A well-orchestrated team effort can trump a seemingly overwhelming opposition.  Of course, teammates look out for each other, as Yoshii does by constantly pushing for Himeji’s acceptance into class A.  The mark of a genuinely kind person is one who puts others ahead of himself.  On the other hand, success means nothing if you cannot share it with anyone.  When faced with the opportunity to make it into the class where she “belongs”, she decides her friends are more important and that they should succeed together.

For clarity, she forgot to NOT put her name on the exam. Strange girl, that Himeji.

Overall, I thought BakaTest was a decent entry in the winter season.  I’m not a massive fan of it like many viewers are, but enjoyed much of the ride.  I think my biggest problem is the lack of clear direction for about half the series.  It felt like the premise ping-ponged around too much.  It had high and low points in the comedy department, though in many ways this is as much about my personal preference for humor as it is the constant recycling of jokes that chip away at the series.  In the end though, it pulled together, went back to its roots, and delivered a conclusion that makes way for a second season.  I also liked how it pulled the chief aspect of the previous episodes together to form the finale.  I give it a 7/10 and remain cautiously optimistic about season two.

But you're our Baka! Until we meet again, Class F.