Instead of being well-developed and intriguing characters, the only two female leads introduced seem to only exist to provide sexual tension and eye candy for the protagonist and the audience. The episode sacrifices a valuable first impression of our leading man for some good ol’ T&A. I will point out, however, that not a minute since being introduced to our main character, and he is almost immediately thrown into a pervy situation. I think the argument against unnecessary and distracting ecchi has been made time and time again, so I won’t go there. Our story follows Ayato Amagiri( Atsushi Tamaru), a recent prodigious transfer student who…accidently walks straight into the room of a half-naked pink-haired beauty. At least it’s not the case that every student besides the protagonist is a girl. The series doesn’t even try to do anything new with this setting-it really is just more of the same.

I don’t see the lore being built here as anything striking, intriguing, or unique. The exposition is a dilapidated and unoriginal explanation for the sort of superpowers and action battles fought between mere high school students-a setting which itself is already well-explored territory. If it sounds like you’ve heard it before, it’s because you probably have. In the meantime, students are free to organize and partake in consensual duels in order to increase their ranking and status. Fast forward to the present, and six academies-each representing a major power in the world-send their most skilled and gifted students to wage battle at “Festa,” an annual major battle tournament which takes place on the floating city of Asterisk (of which the series derives its namesake). Some of those who managed to survive were left with odd mana-infused abilities. More than a century ago, a group of meteorites dubbed “Invertia” exterminated a substantial portion of the human species. Gakusen Toshi Asterisk takes place in a world far flung into the future. It’s a regurgitation of a lot of things which conflict with my own, personal tastes. “ Battle High School” settings have never gripped me or struck me as particularly intriguing-let alone ones filled with stock side characters, an uninspired, blank-slate protagonist, and loads of gratuitous ecchi. In my opinion, Gakusen Toshi Asterisk is a somewhat forgettable and hackneyed compilation of worn out anime tropes.

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