NOTE: This review covers both the first season and the second season.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!SYNOPSIS: The traditionally all-girl Ousai Private Academy has opened for boys as well, and Takatoshi Tsuda decides to attend solely because of it's proximity to his home. On the first day, however, he's drafted into the Student Council, the girls of which desire a male perspective for their vice president. These girls slowly begin to shape Tsuda's life...and his sense of decency!SUMMARY: Takatoshi Tsuda is entering his first year of high school. The nearby girl's academy, Ousai, has recently been opened to boys as well, due to declining birth rates. Unlike many of his male peers—who think this is a grand opportunity to pick up girls—Tsuda instead chooses Ousai because it is close to his home. On his first day, he meets the student council president, third-year Shino Amakusa, who promptly drafts him unwillingly into the student council as vice president. There he meets third-year Aria Shichijō (Secretary) and fellow first-year Suzu Hagimura (Treasurer). Tsuda becomes friends with the three girls fairly quickly, though he is continually embarrassed and at times angry with the elder girls' constant sexual jokes and demeanor. He proves his worth to the council when he and Suzu take care of the council's business while the third-years go on an extended field trip. He also makes quick friends with another of his classmates, Mutsumi Mitsuba, whom he helps found a judo club with.In his second year, Tsuda's sister, Kotomi, enrolls in the academy as well, and her rambunctious nature makes her fit right in with the elder girls of the council. While she never actually joins, she often finds herself helping out, especially when doing so allows her to join them on trips to the beach or to an amusement park.The student council eventually meets with and befriends the council president of the nearby Eiryō High School, Uomi. She and Shino are alike in personality and thought, and are instant friends. However, after Uomi begins to show signs of feelings for Tsuda late in his second year, Shino is forced to accept her own feelings for the vice president, which she had kept repressed from embarrassment and responsibility to the school. This climaxes in the second to last episode, though it is left far from resolved.The final episode features the school's 48th graduation ceremony. Set up to be a farewell to Shino and Aria (fourth years during season two), a sight gag reveals this to be the ceremony from last year.STORY: 5/10As a slice-of-life style show based on a four-panel comic strip, Seitokai Yakuindomo has the elements of story, but none in any real magnitude. The show meanders from topic to topic, with only a vague sense of progression between each of the scenes within an "arc", while each episode's three arcs generally do the same. Events are almost entirely school-related, with the exception of a few arcs which take place on a personal vacation held by the council members. Even the "necessary" beach/hot springs/pool episodes are tenaciously linked with school activities. The only real progression seen are hose of the seasons, and the slight changes between Tsuda's first year and second year. This is not necessarily bad in and of itself, but it makes any given episode not very relevant story-wise.The vast majority of the development we see is character-driven, with the first season developing friendships and the second season developing romance. The last few minutes of the final episode, when combined with almost he entirety of the previous episode, remove any potential for actual plot resolution, however. None of the four girls with detectable feelings for Tsuda (Shino, Suzu, Uomi, and Mitsuba) commit to their feelings, nor does Tsuda show any signs of recognizing that, nor do we get the resolution of "school friendships and time spent together" common in school-based slice-of-lifes, as the second year never ends on-screen.ART & ANIMATION: 7/10The art direction in the show is clever and well-done. Special effects break the fourth wall constantly, such as showing Suzu/s position within the group via the words "Suzu's head" or "Suzu is [somewhere] over here." While many shows that lean on the fourth wall become distracting, it never felt out of place or intrusive. The second season was especially pretty, as both backgrounds and character models got a quality bump. Animation stayed relatively the same throughout, and was decently fluid.MUSIC & SOUND: 6/10Sound effects were fairly standard for a show of this nature. Two things deserve special mention, however. Most of the fourth-wall breaking special effects (such as the aforementioned marker showing Suzu's position) have special effects that draw attention to what they're showing off, which—while a bit loud—were useful and not terribly intrusive. Second, a not insignificant amount of the show's dialogue is censored, as per its nature as a sex comedy. Rather than going with the standard "bleep," however, we get a wide variety of fun sounds which often enhance the comedy of the censored content. I found myself enjoying the effect that the special censor sounds gave to some of the more raunchy bits of dialogue.Music in-show was a bit disappointing. There were only a few tracks present, and most of them were overused to the point of annoyance. The intro and outtro music was better, though inconsistent. The first season's opening track, "Yamato Nadeshiko Education" by Triple Booking—secretly the VAs for Shino, Aria, and Suzu—is a fun Dancemania-style Eurodance song. The closing track, "Aoi Haru" by angela, is a pop song with an insanely fast spoken bridge; I like it less than any other track listed here, but it's not too bad. The second season's opener, "Hana Saku☆Saikyou Legend Days" by Triple Booking, is a fast-paced light rock song with an odd spoken bit at the beginning and end which honestly could have been left out without damaging the track, but is entertaining nonetheless. It's closing theme is "Mirai Night" by Satomi Satou, a dancepop track with a pleasant melody and overall sound.CHARACTERS: 8/10Tsuda is an everyday "Only Sane Man" when compared to the majority of primary and secondary characters in the show. He's decidedly average in academics, but carries himself well. He plays tsukkomi to Shino, Aria, and many other characters' boke. Suzu joins him in this regard. The incredibly short but incredibly smart first-year is overly sensitive of her height and the misconceptions it gives those who do not know her. She and Tsuda develop a sibling-like relationship over the series, but by the end it is hinted at that she may have feelings for him. Shino plays the serious student council president when she needs to, and backs this up with top-notch grades, but can—and often does—become a dirty teenager at the drop of a hat. Aria, an airheaded rich girl who is nonetheless skilled at both school and home ec is even worse; while the former makes dirty jokes with ease, the latter has zero shame, fully admitting to things even Shino wouldn't touch. The two form the boke pair of the main characters, and many jokes are founded upon a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts.Kotomi is an incorrigible sex fiend...or at least likes to see herself as one. She is enthusiastic about anything and everything sex-related, even breaching her brother's privacy for knowledge. She fits right in with Shino and Aria's...peculiar personality. Ranko Hata, the second/third-year president of the newspaper, has an undying thirst for the perfect scoop, and will often twist the words of those she interviews for her own purposes. She's not outright malevolent, however; merely, she is as perverted as the girls around her, and finds that those perversions (or at least insinuations of them) sell the most papers. Dejima, Aria's maid, while skilled at everything a modern maid should be, is a terrifying fetishist, and often targets Aria with these fetishes. It's hinted that she used to be an adult film star before learning to be a maid. Naruko Yokoshima is an English teacher and the supervisor and consultant for the student council...and also one of the most perverted characters in the show. The phrase "anything that moves" sums her desires up nicely. The character is actually somewhat pitiable, despite her rather disturbing tastes; it's implied she has some self-image issues due to her being unmarried in her late twenties.Finally, two characters round out the primary and secondary character dossier. Kaede Igarashi is the resident disciplinary committee lead, and has a severe fear of men...troublesome for her since Ousai was made co-ed the year she enrolled. She slowly comes out of her shell with the help of the student council, to the point where Tsuda is the only male student she can interact with at an almost reasonable level. She is not perverted in nature, though she recognizes the tendency in her peers, as she overreacts to the statements and actions of those around her. Lastly, Mitsuba is a straight-laced, focused girl of average academic standing but great athletic prowess. She is a curious character, as she is the only one who is "innocent" of the perversion around her. Often times these jokes and statements go right over her head, making her a second type of comedic foil to the sex-boke routines of most of the other notable characters.
The vast majority of this show is driven by character development, and forms one of the two enjoyable parts of this show. The second season especially seems to be focused on the relationships developing between Tsuda and the girls around him. While there's nothing amazing or groundbreaking between the relationships presented, they are enjoyable as anything "average" can be.
PERSONAL CHOICE: 8/10
Alongside the characters, the most enjoyable part of the show is the comedy writing. Call me as childish as the high schoolers represented, but the constant sex and toilet humor had me laughing out loud more often than many other comedy anime seen recently. The constant boke/tsukkomi relationship dynamic present among the main characters and most secondary characters was thoroughly enjoyable, and refreshing at times.TOTAL: 34/50 (68%)GRADE: C+FINAL THOUGHTS: This isn't a show you come to for story, setting, or even for experiencing anime as an art; if you delude yourself in this manner, you'll leave angry and disappointed. No, there is one reason to watch this: you happen to enjoy some of the better sex comedy to come out of Japan's animation industry in the last few years. I enjoyed it immensely, and while it's likely to get buried among the large amount of "average" out there, it is great fun while it lasts.
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