Project NewType #6: バカとテストと召喚獣 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
13 episodes
SILVER LINK.

[Other media]
- original novel (ongoing, never read)
- spin-off manga (ongoing, never read)
- drama CD (pre-anime with different seiyuu cast, never heard)

[Highlights]
- PV
- comical gags

If I had known what the story is about before hand, I probably wouldn't had bothered watching it. What really got me was the PV for the anime, narrated by Ootsuka Akio and scripted to be RPG-like. Well, a number of people on Niconico (where I saw the PV) warned that it was nothing like the actual thing, but it already piqued my interest.

I quickly realized, after watching, that the anime itself is no where near the atmosphere depicted in the PV. Luckily, the "baka" in the title isn't just for show, and there's a good amount of comical gags to keep me entertained. The anime parodies are always fun to watch as well.

[Notable seiyuu]
- Shimono Hiro, Mizuhashi Kaori, Suzuki Tatsuhisa, Katou Emiri, Miyata Kouki, Terashima Takuma, Okamoto Nobuhiko, Ootsuka Akio, Tsuda Kenjirou, Kakazu Yumi, Inoue Kikuko

I find myself rather foreign to most of the new female seiyuu with their moe voice, so the male seiyuu (Suzuki Tatsuhisa in particular) were the main driving force for me. What took me by surprise here is Katou Emiri, for whom my impression was perpetually stuck as Hiiragi Kagami from Lucky Star. It's my first time hearing her play a male, and she did it beautifully (in a literal sense, to be explained in the next section).

[Favourite character]
- Sakamoto Yuuji, Kinoshita Hideyoshi

I had my eyes on Yuuji from the very beginning because of his seiyuu, but I immediately thought he's bigger than what he appeared to be, which he proved throughout the anime.

I don't often pick a female character for series such as this unless she's voiced by a seiyuu I like, and I don't actually have much love for Katou Emiri 'cause I'm not particularly fond of Kagami's tsundere character. But I don't believe anyone can say no to Hideyoshi, since Hideyoshi is Hideyoshi, of the Hideyoshi gender. XD

[Couple supported]
- Sakamoto Yuuji x Kirishima Shouko

I've been rooting for this couple since before Shouko asked to be Yuuji's girlfriend. If only Shouko would be less S towards Yuuji. I might actually want to read the novel if there's a love-love chapter about the two without Yuuji getting physically abused...

[Buying guide]
- not interested

I started on the anime with absolutely no previous knowledge. After watching the first season (2nd season to air in 2011), I had no desire to read the original novel or the spin-off manga. In this sense, the anime failed in the promotional department. Though, I'll likely watch the 2nd season next year just to complete the anime series, but not enough to spur my buying urge.