Cromartie High School

Publisher
ADV
Director
Hiroaki Sakurai
Production
Kodansha, Production IG, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2003

Cromartie High School Episode 6 Preview

By David Rasmussen
28th Apr 05

Dearest Readers…
Once again we have another Cromartie High School update… and for the second week in a row we do NOT have a Princess Tutu update… I might start reviewing Noir at this rate since there’s already Episodes 1-3 of the series up for review on Free on Demand! Have to think about it.

We continue the second month of Cromartie High School episodes (what would probably be DVD Volume 2 episodes) and once again we have a brand new episode to look at. So let’s get right to it.

Episode 6
Meet Takeshi Hokuto, he who belongs to a powerful rich family and is evil incarnate. The Anti-Chiyo.
He has come to Cromartie High School, with his flunkie, to take over the school and add it to his list of conquests… and today is his first day at school.

So what the heck was he doing in Episode 3 anyway if this is his first episode!!
Yeah. I don’t get it either, and I’ll have things to say about that in the Breakdown shortly.
Anyway he meets Freddie, meet the gorilla of nobody’s dreams, then confronts Kamiyama and the rest rolls out like the first Graphic Novel from beginning to end.
Except for the part where this is his premiere and yet he was already in the school as of a few episodes ago.
Uh… right. Voice acting is good, as usual, and that’s not my problem.
It’s just the other things that are my problem. Breakdown time… so fast.
Sorry, don’t have anything to kill time with. Hmm… well, let’s move on since I do have a few things to get out of my system in this review.

Cromartie High School Breakdown the 6th
What’s Hot?
For a series that has a solid manga series, and is supposed to be #1 in Japan in terms of comedy, why are the Anime episodes so darn hit or miss?!? Maybe it’s the way it’s dubbed, but I’m not walking away from these episodes with 100% satisfaction 100% of the time, which is something I felt I would be doing after reading the manga for the first time!

Episode 6? Hmmm… I won’t say it fell to the wayside like Episode 3, because that’s not true.
It’s not my favorite moment of the first Graphic Novel, but it’s not faulty either.
Well, if I had to put it into specific words I’d say it’s a good episode, but it just wasn’t my thing.
That, of course, don’t mean it’s bad or anything… it’s not another Episode 3... It just means it’s not for me.
Moving on now.

What’s Not?
Hmmm… nothing, really. While the episode wasn’t for me that doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.

Moments to Remember?
Hmm… that’s easy. You’ll see the memorable stuff as you watch it. Really.

What to Ignore?
Uh… this is the premiere of these two, right? So how come they appeared in the lame 3rd episode?
Color me curious buuutttt…. Shouldn’t this episode air first before the humming episode?
This is one time Cromartie High School should have been more dilligent in their “mimicry” of Azumanga Daioh. Look, in Azumanga Daioh when the 1st year stories drew from later stories (which included Kagura who doesn’t join the class until the 2nd year) they wrote Kagura out and fixed it so it fit the premise of her not being in the class yet. Cromartie High didn’t do that.
Clearly in Episode 3 they should have wrote out Hokuto and his henchman since they didn’t appear yet, so why the heck did they forget to do that?!? I don’t get it.

Also it might be the dub but somehow Hokuto’s henchman seems more… well, more assertive of himself in this anime. He seems to take charge at times (Hokuto seemingly becoming rather meek at times while the “henchman” is a more forceful character in a few moments)…. What’s up with that?

Overall? - After the less than perfect Episode 3 we’re now really clockin’ along now!
Yes, this is not one of my favorites but it’s still good nevertheless.
As long as we don’t hit another lame episode we should be doing rather well, if I do say so myself.
Next time it looks like… oh, no… not ANOTHER episode with the “King of Underground Comedy” who hails from Destrade!! Please don’t let it be another episode that is basically a one trick pony joke that is beginning to wear thin! Please please please!!
Guess only time will tell, so come back soon dearest readers and we’ll see what’s what next time.

-- David Rasmussen 28th Apr 05

Cromartie High School Images