***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Prison School. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Hachimitsu Academy was once an all-girls institution with a reputation for strict discipline. Yet in a controversial decision, the school started accepting male students. As a result, a group of social outcasts managed to make their way onto the premises. One of these boys being Kiyoshi Fujino (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya).
From the moment of this group’s arrival, they devise a plan to peek into the girl’s bathroom. Their scheme is a miserable failure, but their troubles are only beginning. It turns out, discipline at Hachimitsu is no joke.
The boys are thrown into the school’s prison and are forced into hard physical labor. Their sentence may only be a month, except that month will be the definition of hell on Earth. And at every moment, the guys will be under the thumb of the terrifying Underground Student Council.
On the Council are three of Hachimitsu's cruelest. The violent secretary, Hana Midorikawa (voiced by Kana Hanazawa). The sadistic vice president, Meiko Shiraki (voiced by Shizuka Ito). And the worst of them all, diabolical president, Mari Kurihara (voiced by Sayaka Ohara). These are three women you do not disobey.
The boys' life is about to become a painful existence. One they must endure or suffer expulsion.
Series Positives
Get ready for this.
Unbelievable. I am astonished. There are a select number series that have caused me to feel this way. I could say this show was one of a special few. Too bad these special few I want nothing to do with.
I hated this. With a burning passion, Prison School was awful.
If I can say nice anything, the main character, Kiyoshi, wasn't one hundred percent terrible. He did say and do things at certain times that made him not come off as a complete pushover. Although he was right at home with his friends, he wasn't the most perverted of the group.
Therefore, he wasn't as annoying as he could have been.
On occasion, Kiyoshi thought with the head on his shoulders rather than the head between his legs. Plus, he would or at least could recognize when he made a mistake and tried to atone for it.
In addition, the group of guys, as a group, were…not the worst. As individuals, they can all rot in some hole for all I care. Together they managed to still be...not good. What allowed them to sort of work were their plans to challenge the Council. That and how they executed said plans.
That is what I can stomach. I don't have anything positive left to say about this show.
Series Negatives
I have wasted my time with series in the past. Few have ever been as painful to sit through as Prison School.
Within the first thirty seconds, and I'm not exaggerating, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy this one. I will go into more detail about why in a moment. For now, though, what I saw became the root of everything I hate about this show.
I don’t know if there has ever been an anime that has been so dead on arrival for me. And if that wasn't enough, things only got worse from there.
Way Too Long
Prison School was ten episodes too long. This show dragged on and on and on. Things kept happening that served no other purpose than to prevent the end from arriving.
There was a point when I was watching where I lost track of time. My brain had gone numb. The only thing I could think about was, “This has been going on forever. Thank God I am almost finished with this garbage”.
Thus, one can imagine my confusion when I went to go play the next episode. That was when I noticed something that made my heart sink. What I was seeing wasn't matching up with my mental map of how far along this series was.
I realized I was about to play episode five and was nowhere near the end.
This show's one mile an hour pacing wasn't a problem that had anything to do with what it could or should have taken out. The events of Prison School were completely uninteresting. They made very little sense. Things were oftentimes contradictory. And developments felt like padding for the sake of padding.
Sitting through a single episode was so dull I would have believed you if you had said an hour had passed.
The Art Style
When it comes to the art style of a series, things will usually fall into one of two categories. The first one being I love it and want nothing more than to praise it. The second is complete indifference.
For the first time in a long time, Prison School fell into the third category.
This was not a visually pleasing show. It was awkward, uncomfortable, and on more than one occasion, gross. To add to that, this series wouldn't stop shoving itself into the audience's face. There were so many close-up shots.
This was the optical equivalent of someone with rancid breath whispering into your ear. And this person would not shut up.
The designs of the characters were more on the “realistic” side. This reminded me of another series I despise, Gantz. However, in Gantz's defense, I can see how the style added to the gritty atmosphere it was attempting.
This wasn't the case for Prison School which was trying to be a comedy. Speaking of which.
Not Funny
There were two jokes that did manage to get a chuckle out of me.
One was when the guys mistook Kiyoshi for being gay.
The other was a scene between Kiyoshi and Hana that was reminiscent of the funniest scene in Shimoneta. That said, this scene in Prison School, was ten times more vulgar. Unfortunately, due to this show's tendency to drag on, this second joke did end up becoming a little much.
There was a reliance on physical "humor" in this series. Too bad this show's visuals weren’t appealing. As such most of the jokes fell flat.
The Vice President
Is it unfair to place the entire blame for Prison School's failure on a single character? Perhaps, yet Meiko Shiraki was the manifestation of everything wrong with this show. She was the reason why I knew within the first thirty seconds this series was not going to go well.
Meiko, like Prison School, was completely ridiculous. She was nothing except a very unfunny joke. We never got a single shot of her only from the neck up. Throughout the series, she was nothing more than ass and tits.
I am dead serious, if the vice president’s role was not part of this show, I think I could have enjoyed it a lot more. Every time Meiko was on screen, which was a lot, the only thing I could think of was, “what the hell are you doing?”
Final Thoughts
I don’t remember the last time a series has left me so mentally exhausted. I must have said this about other shows in the past, but it is appropriate to say it here.
Prison School is one of the worst anime I have ever seen.
I forced myself to mention a few good things about this one. Yet I have no problem saying there was nothing I like about this show.
It was long, boring, stupid, awful, discomforting, and every other negative adjective you can think of. And do you want to know the worst thing about it? Prison School had the audacity to hint at a second season.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Prison School? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.
I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
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