Reviews for The God of High School (5.16)

So, let me get this straight:

There is an MMA tournament -where minors beat each other senseless- organized in order to find some keys (these things get lost easily, I know), while a shady religious organization wants to sabotage it, to bring the end of the world.

Riiiiight...

Of course, there is the human element in the story, explored by the reason each one fights for, like:

• -beat strong people up, to become stronger and beat stronger people up (but that's OK, he's the good guy)

• -beat people senseless, to gain money to pay the treatment of people that got beat senseless (and were uninsured, I guess)

• -beat people senseless, to gain money to pay the treatment of people that got sick without getting beat up (seriously, get insurance)

• -beat strong people up, to prove you are the strongest (not OK, bad guy)

But not all is lost, as punches create strong bonds and great friendships. I guess. I didn't really do it for me, but what do I know?

This show shouldn't work. But it works. And it works gloriously!

To salvage a fighting show, you have to show a lot of nice fighting and The God of High School has that in spades. The level of fighting choreography is unreal. All the fight scenes have fluid animation, amazing visuals, are fast, and realistically absurd. Instead of using clunky 3D models, or limited 2D stills, the animators used motion capture, and it shows. You can make up individual moves and fighting styles, while the dynamic camera angles, along with the fast, uninterrupted pacing are a revelation. That's how big budget action anime must work: don't have someone explain what we are watching. Get it actually drawn!

Yes, the story is just a way to move you from the one fight to the next, but if you can comprehend its ancillary role, you can actually appreciate its moronic simplicity. It gives meaning and motivation to the fighters, while not trying to take center stage. There are no cringey Coelhian quotes, so prevalent in the genre, no high ideals thrown around, no patriotic messages, no messiah complexes. Just morons fighting for their moron friends. And that is refreshing. And relatable, as most of our actions are dictated by the people close to us. For all its faults, by keeping the emotions and the goals of the main characters simple and humane, actually make the viewer care and empathize.

All of the above are a testament to the director's abilities. The show is well and fast paced, has a cohesive plot and while most of the money were spent in fighting animation, the show is competent in the areas of art and sound. The God of Highschool cound have been a trainwreck. Instead it is seminal in its depiction of action sequences and will prove the yardstick all action shonen will be measured against in the future.

At the end of the day, not everything needs to be a deep dive into the human psyche by Kieślowski or Lynch. Sometimes, cracking a beer open in front a big *** TV screen, watching underage Koreans rampaging are Seoul, is all you want. Glossy, well animated escapism at its finest.