Review of Mikagura School Suite

Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku is a 2015 anime from Doga Kobo based off of a series of light novels which were in turn inspired by Vocaloid songs. Well, this is the studio behind the first two series of Yuru Yuri and New Game, which is somewhat hopeful. But they also did that stupid Dumbbell nan kilo moteru anime so this could go either way. Story: Ichinomiya Eruna isn't exactly a normal girl. She's obsessed with cute girls, Galges and she has an idiot cousin with a romantic interest in her who hasn't quite put it together that she's very, very gay. Still, she decides to attendher dolt of a cousin's high school because they have cute uniforms and there's a girl in the brochure that she gets immediately hormonal for. At the school she learns that all the students have special super powers and engage in practice battles for club funds and status. Obviously this academy was founded by the Japanese version of Charles Xavier.

The biggest issue with the story is simply that it's kind of all over the place. The club battles and tournaments are a minor part. Eruna trying to get close to her beloved Seisa senpai is another. Eruna trying to form her own club is yet another. Her trying to find her own place amongst the other students and form bonds is yet another. Over the top comedy is yet another. And the issue with them trying to do so much is that a lot of it gets under-developed. The dynamic betwixt Seisa and Eruna can be cute at times but it never feels like it develops into a meaningful relationship. Similarly, the club battles can have some solid action sequences but they're frequently glossed over. In the final tournament we only really get to see three matches and two of them are over in roughly a minute. The comedy can also be fun even endearing but it feels like they miss a lot of opportunities for good gags and never really go all in. It ultimately feels like they needed tighter, more cohesive story-telling where they focus on one or two major elements instead of jumping around from one element to another like a hyperactive hedgehog.

With that said, none of the elements re outright bad. And, like I pointed out, most of them have some positive aspects to them. Which really accentuates the idea that this could have been an excellent anime if they'd either had a strong editor to keep the writing focused or more time to properly flesh things out.

Characters:

Most of the characters in this are fine. They aren't super deep but they have quirky enough personalities to be somewhat endearing. There are a few exceptions in a positive way and one major exception in a negative way.

Let's start with the problem character, Shigure. This dude is basically like Akane from Yuru Yuri but with a creepy obsession towards his cousin and he's open about it. The obvious joke that generally stems from this is that he takes physical damage for being a complete creep but the problem is that he's such a big character in he series and most of his scenes involve him being creepy towards his own cousin in some way. There's just far too much of him, he has no redeeming qualities and even seeing him get punched in the face just starts to get old through repetition.

The best characters in this anime are the trio of Eruna, Seisa and Fujishiro. In spite of their dynamics being under-developed, there are some really good ideas at their core and you see hints throughout the series that add some depth to their relationships with each other. Eruna and Seisa developing a bond that will help Seisa recover from her emotional wounds and enjoy life again could easily have led to a very poignant relationship based off of mutual need. Fujishiro wanting to be close to Eruna and seeing her as the only true friend she's ever had while also being jealous of Eruna's feelings towards Seisa could have also led to a really good conflict and a strong dynamic amongst the three instead of just a decent dynamic with a lot of untapped potential.

Art:

The art is a bit mixed. On one hand, this series has some good character designs, strong backgrounds and mostly nice animation. On the other hand, the action sequences during the club battles are generally pretty weak and there are some awkward moments where facial expressions get wonky for just enough frames that it's noticeable.

Sound:

The actors do a pretty good job. Kimura Juri, Oonishi Saori & Ozawa Ari in particular but the entire cast is, at least, passable. The music is solid as well. The anime actually has a lot of theme tunes given its short length but it kind of makes sense given its origins.

Ho-yay:

There's a lot of les-yay in this anime. Ad it's not limited to Eruna, Seisa and Fujishiro. There's a girl in the drama club who very blatantly has a crush on her female senpai. The calligraphy club girls are also involved in some flirtation.

Areas of Improvement:

1. If you have a very limited amount of time for your series, you can't try to do too much. It's better to do less and do it all really well than to try and do more and have it all be under-developed.

2. Shigure needs to fuck off. All his jokes are basically the same and the purpose he serves in the plot could easily be transferred to a character who isn't incestuous.

3. The character dynamics could really use more development. Now, that might mean having fewer characters but that's fine.

Final Thoughts:

Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku is okay. It's not particularly good. It tries to do too much and it results in a lot of under-developed elements but a lot of them do have potential and wind up being more enjoyable than not. So, I'll give it a 6/10. It might be worth watching if the premise sounds good to you or if you'd like a case study of why over-reaching can hamper a stories potential but, otherwise, it wouldn't be a series I'd push.