Seitokai no Ichizon review

How do you write a review about a 12-episode anime that’s literally about nothing?

Although Seitokai no Ichizon is along the same genre as shows like Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh, it’s even more about nothing than these because the characters spend 90% of the show idly chatting amongst themselves inside a single room. That’s basically what this series is about – the student council members of Hekiyou Academy, four girls and one guy, having meetings in the student council room, sometimes talking about school matters, but usually they get off topic and their eccentric personalities create a myriad of humorous conversations. A few supporting characters such as a teacher and the Journalism Club president appear to make things happen, but nothing major of course.

The show is fraught with jokes and parodies only otaku would get, like Haruhi, Death Note, and other anime references. In fact, much of the humor is derived from Ken, the single male member of the student council, who’s into galgames and thinks of his four fellow female council members as his “harem” in which he wants to have a “harem” ending (meaning, he doesn’t end up in a romantic relationship with one of them but instead he loves all of them equally, thus everyone is happy). Besides the anime and other otaku parodies and gags, the humor in Seitokai no Ichizon comes from the girls teasing the hapless Ken about his perverted harem thoughts. Other common humor points are Mafuyu’s obsession with BL (Boys Love/yaoi) and Kurimu’s childishness and her love-hate feelings for Ken. The humor isn’t too hyperbolic or obnoxious – it’s either an otaku reference or poking fun at a quirk in one of the characters.

While the show is mostly otaku-aimed or character-driven humor, it does try to be touching once in a while. Some episodes, particularly the last one, focus on the relationships between the characters, particularly Ken and each of the girls. It’s hard to feel extremely attached to such static characters, but over the course of the series, little perks in their personalities are revealed, which make them slightly more appealing. Keeping with the very light feel of the show, the emotional moments aren’t sad or dramatic but simply uplifting and touching.

Having no ongoing plot, Seitokai no Ichizon is the kind of show in which you can tell just by the first or second episode whether it’s something you would like. For me, the humor was consistently funny enough, and I got a little attached to the characters, so I kept watching. It was never downright hilarious nor downright lame – it simply gave me enough chuckles to feel like it was worth my while. But Seitokai no Ichizon has limited appeal, even more than Lucky Star, Hayate no Gotoku!, and similar anime. You either like this kind of show or you despise it, it’s usually one or the other.