Prison School takes a brief break from the absurdity to raise the stakes for everyone involved. What They Say:
Five boys newly enrolled in a formerly all-girls school, already having difficulty connecting with the girl students, run afoul of the school’s “Underground Student Council” and face strict disciplinary measures.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
“The practice of placing individuals under ‘observation’ is a natural extension of a justice imbued with disciplinary methods and examination procedures. Is it surprising that the cellular prison, with its regular chronologies, forced labour, its authorities of surveillance and registration, its experts in normality, who continue and multiply the functions of the judge, should have become the modern instrument of penality? Is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?”
- Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish
Prison School takes a step back from comedy this week, which means a less manic and hilarious episode, but one which increases the investment each character has in the story. There are also not a few major twists, but these, unfortunately, work only once to surprise, and do not generate the same result on repeated viewings, unlike the series’ best gags do. So we have a necessary episode, if not a particularly inspired one.
Last week’s episode ended with Meiko kicking down the stall door, and we, much like Gakuto, expect to find an empty stall with a speaker system on top. This is not the case! Kiyoshi has returned, and after Meiko scolds him for not responding, she leaves the boys behind. Seeing Kiyoshi crying, presumably from the pain of his hemorrhoids, Shingo also leaves Kiyoshi and Gakuto alone. Gakuto worries that Kiyoshi’s early return means that he did not buy his Three Kingdoms figure as he at promised, but Kiyoshi delivers. Kiyoshi’s tears are, alas, from a broken heart.
And a few minutes later, a broken face. Although the escape seems to have come off without a hitch, an unexpected complication has arisen: Chiyo is the sister of Underground Student Council president Mari, and daughter of the Chairman. She sent a selfie of herself and Kiyoshi on their sumo date to each of them, completely exposing the escape plot. Kiyoshi takes the blame for the escape solely on his shoulders, filling Gakuto with guilt. However, even thought the USC goes with the assumption Kiyoshi did act alone, all of the boys’ sentences are still extended a month, turning them all against Kiyoshi and his seemingly selfish behavior. Shingo, who now becomes a major player in the plot, even punches Kiyoshi in the face. Heartbroken, humiliated, and alone, Kiyoshi decides he might be better off leaving Hachimitsu Academy. Lacking the official power to expel, the Underground Student Council offers Kiyoshi the opportunity to voluntarily withdraw. It’s an opportunity Kiyoshi almost takes, until Chiyo breaks in and threatens to withdraw if Kiyoshi is forced to do so.
With Chiyo’s support, Kiyoshi is now prepared to spend another month in prison, although no one else is particularly happy to see him stay. Shingo, resentful of Kiyoshi’s selfishness, gets all of the other boys to exclude him, and leaving him to the worst chores. Hana, who once again returns, threatens Kiyoshi with vengeance, doing to him what he did unto her. But most crucial to the plot, the President of the Underground Student Council finds the behavior of the boys intolerable, and decides to hatch a scheme to get all five of the boys suspended.
In Summary:
It’s not the most entertaining of Prison School episodes, but it does prepare the stage for the escalation in tension and absurdity that is yet to come. We’re also finally going to get more development of Shingo, Andre, and Joe, who have previously been relegated to the sidelines. Additionally, Funimation released the first episode of the Prison School broadcast dub, and I took the opportunity to watch it. While much of the humor of the first episode remains intact, the dub takes the wrong approach in trying to make the dialogue funny when the absurd situations of Prison School speak for themselves. My preference would have been to keep the dialogue as straight and dramatic as possible, and letting the humor come naturally from the escalation of ridiculous events. There’s still room to change, but for instance, with Andre starting out with a wacky, Gollum-esque voice, there’s nowhere for his character to go when he starts acting especially eccentric. I’ll wait and see.
Grade: B
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 20″
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