Review of Seitokai Yakuindomo

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS!
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So many of you who were around last spring may recall a show called Seitokai no Ichizon (Student Council Judgment). Well a new show that finished airing this past summer is known as Seitokai Yakuindomo, hereafter abbreviated as SYD. While two different casts, the setting and premise is relatively the same. The difference(s) then? For starters, the former is more of an otaku slapstick comedy while the latter is a show full of sexual references and other erotic jokes.

Summary
The show begins with Takatoshi Tsuda and his first day of high school at Ousai Academy, which recently became co-ed from an all girls high school. At the school entrance, he is stopped by second year and student council president, Shino Amakusa, for improper dress code. And then... out of the blue, he is asked to become the student council vice president and represent the school's support for co-education. Of course, it just so happens that the rest of the student council members are also female. Sound familiar? And thus the series takes off as the "normal" Takatoshi attempts cope with the "abnormal" student council, which is composed of Shino Amakusa, Aria Shichijou, and Suzu Hagimura. Shino, while seemingly intelligent, always tries to make a sexual reference out of every line possible; Aria loves female domination and yuri references; and Suzu, while intelligent, is easily mocked for her loli-like figure and behavior.

Review
Watching episodes of SYD is basically reading a 4-koma panel except animated. The end of every little scene has at least one, if not multiple sexual references. Unfortunately, as one should/would expect, if a ero-joke is being cracked at the end of every scene, it was only a matter of time before the jokes became repetitive, anticipated, or just dull. However, I must say that I will give credit for some of their unexpected jokes. Some of which I don't think is what normally one would hear or use in today's society. The final episode does, however redeem the show's value a bit with not just your regular recap but rather a complete distortion of the various events in the short 13 episode series.

Nevertheless, in comparison to Seitokai no Ichizon, SYD is more of a show that seems to be more suited for western audiences. While there may be a few Japanese cultural references in SYD it's usually kept to a minimum while Seitokai no Ichizon requires a strong background of anime and video game references to truly enjoy the comedic experience.

SYD is likely to be considered the underdog of the summer season, especially with big name shows like Highschool of the Dead, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, K-ON!!, and Rainbow airing simultaneously. While not a gem, especially considering the amount of comedy in this year alone, including Panty & Stocking, Shinryaku! Ika Musume and Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu taking the spotlights, it's definitely something worth trying. Though if you find sexual references dumb or "childish" then this show isn't for you. If you're looking for a non-moe comedy, then this may actually work. Evidently, the show, however, managed to garner enough interest for production of an original animation DVD (OAD) that is due with the 5th volume of the manga. Volume 5 is likely to be due early next year.


Likelihood of US License?
Seitokai Yakuindomo is unfortunately not available via Crunchyroll or through any US licensed streaming companies. The show is currently only available via fansubs or uploads on Youtube and the like. The chances of Seitokai Yakuindomo's license and for US DVD release is up in the air, most likely to be by Sentai Filmworks or Section 23 simply because they pick up the most random shows. Crunchyroll is possible for streaming since they recently acquired Seitokai no Ichizon, but again the chances of it ever coming to the US is slim. And don't even think about a dub. This show with an English dub would likely ruin the fun no matter how geared this show is towards a western audience.