In the plethora of extreme ecchi, filled with fanservice series that spawned during the 2010s (“Qwaser no Stigmata”, “Maken-Ki” etc) “Prison School” holds a special position, particularly due to its impressive direction and overall production value, that allow the series to elevate above its almost hentai aesthetics.
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Hachimitsu Academy, one of the strictest girls' academies in Tokyo, has decided to admit boys into their system. Kiyoshi Fujino is one of these new boys, but he discovers to his shock that he and his four friends—Takehito “Gakuto” Morokuzu, Shingo Wakamoto, Jouji “Joe” Nezu, and Reiji “Andre” Andou—are the only male students among 1,000 girls. The draconian laws that are still in place make the school even worse, which punishes even the most minor infractions with a stay in the school's prison. The five boys all commit to voyeurism in the school's bathing area with the lecherous philosophy of “all for one, one for all”. Their capture and “arrest” by the Underground Student Council causes the five boys to receive an ultimatum: either stay a month in the school's Prison Block or be expelled.
Furthermore, Mari, the president of the underground student council and daughter of the school's chairman, Kurihara, is actually eager to have the male students expelled, and is willing to implement both cunningness and extreme violence to achieve her goal. Meiko Shiraki, the vice-president of the underground council and her “pet”, is the main admonisher of violence towards the main students, but also an extremely large breasted young woman who finds herself constantly in the most awkward situations. Hana, the third member of the council, is very cunning herself, but finds herself in the worst situations when she is around Kiyoshi, who also has befriended another girl from the school, Chiyo, due to their common interest in sumo. As the pressure piles on everyone involved, the dynamics of the group changes significantly, while a final clash on various levels seems inevitable.
Evidently, moving beyond the extreme fanservice aesthetics here is probably the most difficult thing to do, particularly considering that Tsutomu Mizushima has placed these scenes all over the place. Meiko's unnaturally humongous breasts that are always on the verge of spilling out, her ridiculously short skirt and her overall characterization, which includes her sweating in the most absurd moments in the most “inappropriate” parts of her body is just the beginning, since this approach extends to the whole of the narrative. The plethora of scenes in girl's bathrooms, the sadomasochistic tendencies of most of the members of the two groups, Hana's various “punishments”, even Kurihara's knack for various aspects of pornography all move towards the same path. Furthermore, the crudity of frequently using scenes revolving around defecating, urinating and farting intensify this sense of crudity, to the point that it is very difficult to focus on anything else. Junichirou Taniguchi's character creation, particularly of the aforementioned protagonists and J.C. Staff's animation also do not help in that regard, with the overall aesthetics being as much on-the-nose as possible.
However, beneath all this crudity lie a number of very interesting narrative elements. Mari's relationship with her father is one of those, with her disillusionment about his tendencies being the driving force behind her hatred of men all over. Her relationship with Meiko, and particularly the ways she uses her as a pet, essentially exploiting her idolization is another one. The various sadomasochistic tendencies most characters exhibit are also intriguing, with the same applying to the concept of “school politics” and the various tribes (nerds, popular, wallflowers etc) that exist in such an environment. Lastly, the concept of institutionalization and its implications, and particularly the way the people that run such an establishment can manipulate the inmates, emerges as one of the most analyzed ones, essentially the basis of the narrative.
Furthermore, the art here is also unique, particularly regarding the drawing of a number of characters. Misfit Joe, with his hoodie and his perpetually hidden in the shadows face and most of all Andre, the mazochistic giant, foster a rather original design, which follows the absurdly humoristic path of the narrative. Also quite interesting is the way the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story is implemented in the narrative and the visuals, particularly through Takehito and his almost constant references.
Of course, eventually the gag humor, the despicably absurd scenes (the tongue kissing, the urination incidents, the sweating, the beating etc) eventually take over also in the visuals of the anime, but the artistry JC Staff exhibits in the coloring and the animation remains more than evident, in one of the most artful ecchi of all time.
Evidently, “Prison School” is a title exclusively directed to young adult males, particularly through all the fanservice elements. However, the viewer who can see beyond all the perversion, will be treated to a rich narrative that actually works on a number of levels.
