Review of D-Frag!

D-Frag is the sort of show that comes to mind when I think of simple, dumb, fun humor. There really isn't a lot to this series... A 'delinquent' (whose gang is actually going around trying to keep the peace around the school) gets... blackmailed, basically into joining the Game Creation Club... where each member is their own brand of eccentric, very few games actually get created, and the least responsible member is actually the teacher advisor. Things are complicated ever so slightly when he learns there's a second game creation club in the school, in a rivalry of sorts with this one, trying to getKazama's new club shut down.

Thus leads to day after day of one nonsensical competition after another, where nothing is ever really accomplished, but each little adventure allows Kazama to get a little closer to his clubmates. It was a lot of fun, made me laugh a lot, and could be a little sweet at times.

D-Frag just makes no effort to try and go above and beyond... in any aspect. The characters were likable enough, but no one was terribly deep. I liked the little moments Roka got where she talked about feeling a responsibility to her club, wanting to do right by them. She's never really fit in anywhere before, so that was a little moving. I really liked Chitose's loyalty to her best friend. And some of the other characters made me laugh just about every time they were on screen. So make no mistake: D-Frag was a good time.

But there are just so many places they COULD have taken this story, so it frustrates me that there was no attempt at a bigger plotline. There are so many things that could have been done with this club setting... The kids seem to care more about the fact that there are two game creation clubs than the teachers do. There was a little pressure in the beginning, as Kazama's group needed him as their last member or else they were going to be shut down... But once that requirement was fulfilled, nothing else was really asked of them. (And the love story doesn't really go anywhere.) Some sort of club challenge aside, they could have gone the friendship route. It's clear that what Takao really misses is Roka's friendship, not real club dominance. But nothing is really resolved between Takao and Roka either.
So yes, D-Frag was fun... but felt a little half-baked. It really wouldn't have been that hard to make it into something more.