Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts
2010
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- comedy
- sci-fi & fantasy
The story
Advanced placement into a school of higher grade proof-reading is determined by the results of the Promotion Test strictly for class type. Ranging from A class with the best facilities anyone can offer all the way down to F Class which is composed of low dining tables, rotten tatami mats and other worn out facilities. Students can change classes by competing using the Examination Summons Battle system or ESB. Students summon characters with their equivalent test mark scores and use them to compete with other classes.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated cel animation with loud primary colours, sunlit school corridors, and a shabby classroom where the tatami mats are visibly worn, so the mood swings between cheerful and scruffy. Its sound is busy and exaggerated: rapid-fire voice performances, bouncing comedic music, and sudden flourishes of orchestral swordplay whenever the magical duels begin. The pacing is fast and gag-driven, with scenes cutting quickly between punchlines, flashy summoned-spirit battles, and quieter moments of awkward crush and friendship. Violence is cartoonish, mostly slapstick and mock combat with glowing effects rather than real harm, though there is suggestive humour, some revealing costumes, and teasing fan-service. The register is silly, warm and lightly romantic, with underdog characters who are less clever than they think and gradually become more sincere. It suits a comfort rewatch, background viewing while doing chores, or a lazy weekend with friends. It is for people who want energetic, goofy, low-stakes comedy with a playful fantasy edge, and who don't mind a bit of cheeky, adolescent teasing.
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