Gakkou remained a consistently good watch throughout it’s run and it is a series which would benefit greatly from a second season. The ending is another issue as it does make use of far fetched plot contrivances to provide an ending which could leave viewers cheated or disappointed. But alas they were not made use of and I blame the largely unnecessary pool episode for that. Ultimately I wish there was more darkness in this show and the manga does have scenes which could have remedied that problem. But when the plot takes a dark turn it’s often very effective with some excellent scenes that make use of music and camera shots to the best effect.

There are a two or three episodes dedicated to random hijinks that act more to delay the plot. There are flaws with this odd combination of genres of course and Gakkou still makes use of a lot of the fluff present in moe slice of life, even if it has a purpose now. Art and animation are adequate with the real effect of scenes being mostly on the presentation of certain scenes. Music can provide the necessary mood though for the large part it’s fairly unnoticeable. Some of the plot developments are foreshadowed too heavily leaving little surprise when they are finally revealed, though the reveal is often great to see for execution alone. But Madoka managed to keep the plot in center focus and didn’t wander between it’s two moods. In a twelve episode series building deep characterization is a challenge that even the often praised Madoka didn’t manage.

The characters are likable though not particularly deep and I fear that shallowness might be a turnoff for some. Be it in the slight changes in the opening from episode to episode or the minor details hidden in the background. The direction is simply marvellous with little details hidden throughout to reward those who pay close attention.

With visual subtext and better presentation this adaptation took something that could have ended up a mere gimmick of a show and made it so much more. Gakkou is one of those rare examples of an adaption which improves its source material by making use of the animated medium. I was one who wasn’t fooled by the cute cuddly exterior but I was truly surprised with just how good this anime ended up being. Gakkou is one with a good facade as promotional material would have you believe it was some dime a dozen moe slice of life.

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