Classroom Crisis Final Thoughts--Not Your Typical Corporate Vs. Underdog

While trying to save their rocket science program from getting cut, a class of kids end up in the middle of corporate politics and a plan for revenge that’s taken a lifetime to prepare.

Also, they fly spaceships on Mars.

(A/N: Subplot spoilers are hinted at in this post.)

This was my personal dark horse surprise of the season, and one of the best anime original shows I’ve seen in a while. The story starts off looking like it will be a “talented underdogs vs. Evil corporation” kind of story, but it’s not as black and white as it first appears. The students and their teacher learn a lot about not wasting resources and what it really means to make the most of what they have, while their opposition learns from them to not view people solely in terms of cost and benefit to the corporation.

I also really enjoyed Kaito’s character, although I admit that I’m biased since I’m a teacher. Despite the situations he was thrown into where he was out of his depth—like getting drawn into politics—he was able to maintain his enthusiasm throughout the show, and used what he’d learned to protect what was important to him—continuing the rocket science program for his students.

I also felt that the romance subplot was very well done. I’m frequently frustrated by the fact that anime and manga rarely make clear statements about character relationships, let along have onscreen kissing, so this felt like a breath of fresh air. It also acted the way a good romance subplot should, by adding another layer of characterization instead of derailing the entire plot into a love triangle.

Although hints of that are still there if that's your thing

There are tons of little details in this show that I loved, from a ninja accountant to the way the last episode mirrored the first but with higher stakes. Yet the main complaint that I have about this show is that it doesn’t feel like it used everything that made it great effectively. For instance, the show has a huge cast with the majority coming from the A-TEC group. But despite the plot focusing around A-TEC’s continued existence, the show barely uses the characters from there. While there’s hint of this distinct personalities at the beginning alongside their great character designs, by the end they’ve been demoted to a background cheering squad despite plot events going on that directly affect them.

Part of this is due to the fact that the middle of the show is dedicated to a politics subplot that is great at first but drags on for far too long. Only a few of the details brought up during this subplot are relevant to the show’s finale, so it feels like a lot of time was wasted on talking suits when the show could’ve followed how the kids built their rocketship on a slashed budget instead.

There’s also a major plot twist reveal that didn’t make complete sense in light of previous character interactions and what the show had hinted at before. It felt like the writers changed their mind on the details halfway through. While it did renew my interest in the show, I wish those small hints had been consistent throughout its run.

However, Classroom Crisis still won me over with its excellent character writing and new spin on the “take down the evil company” plot. I wish that there had been more rockets and less politics, but I can also make that complaint about life in general. There was also a second season tease at the very end, and while I would love to see more of this story, if that doesn’t happen this season had a great stopping point. In the meantime, I can just rewatch the kiss scene over and over again.

Saving anime with on-screen romance

Images from Crunchyroll.com. Please support the official simulcast.

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