Anime is full of grand adventures epic tales and profound stories. It has the ability to take you to a completely different world. Yet sometimes I just cant be bothered with that. Sometimes all I want is to turn my brain off and laugh at some goofy people goofing off and being stupid. Seitokai no Ichizon is the perfect anime to lay back relax and chill out toits cosy silly and lighthearted and honestly I just cant get enough of it. In the very first scene of the first episode Understanding the differences in media is written on the whiteboard. The characters joke about how they can make the anime more appealing than the light novel with some selfdeprecating jokes along with it. Out of curiosity I decided to actually investigate the differences in media by reading the first volume of the light novel. While the light novel definitely has its appealone thats slightly different from the animeI think the animes funnier. The difference in media I observed was the sheer power of visual comedy voice acting and comedic timing. The anime breathes life into the interactions by adding so much energy and liveliness thats only really possible in an audiovisual medium. On top of that I noticed how the plot was shifted around a bit. Rather than adapting the story onetoone they took bits and pieces and mixed them with others with different contexts to make it flow a little better. So I have to say the anime and light novel did help me understand the differences in media. Thanks for bringing it up President One of the big reasons I decided to watch this was that its a 2000s anime. I realised that I hadnt watched many older anime and wanted to broaden my horizons by branching in that direction. Now its very clear from the artstyle that its an older anime but I dont mean that in a bad way. Older anime have a certain appeal to them thats hard to describe. Although Id say animation quality has improved over the yearsespecially in action scenesI might prefer the character designs and style of 2000s anime. For the record thats not nostalgia speaking. I was a little poopy baby boy when the anime came out so I cant say those were the good ol days. Well peeing all around the house probably was the good old days but thats not the point. Despite not having experienced anime in the 2000s theres a particular charm to them similar to that of a childhood summer. With the artstyle and general vibes the anime radiates that feeling and makes it so incredibly endearing. The anime revolves around the main character Sugisaki and four other girls that he wants in his harem. Every episode consists of them sitting in the student council room talking chatting goofing off wasting time erm thats about it? Its as close to a sitcom youll get in anime I think? Ive never actually watched a sitcom. Slice of Life is one of my favourite genres so I love this kind of dynamic but Id imagine a lot of people would be put off by this. Moreover there really isnt much conflict at all. Stories normally centre around conflict so without it youd think it would just be boring. But slice of life seems to be the exception for some reason. This anime is stressfree and never takes itself seriously which is nice every now and then. One of the funniest things about it is how selfconscious it is. It might even be the most selfconscious anime Ive ever watched. I mean even in the very first scene that I mentioned before one of the characters read a review that says the storys the same and nothing goes on taking a dig at itself. Not only that but its pretty much a parody of harems. It realises how silly the idea of a harem is so it doesnt take it seriously at all. Its so goofy and ridiculous that it sometimes feels like a parody of anime itself. It knows exactly what it is and doesnt try to be anything it isnt. Something I noticed around halfway through was that they change the lyrics to the ending each time. And each time its complete gibberish. Utterly random and super silly. In episode 11 the ending is the President mouthing off about how great she is and how you must vote for her for the whole ending. Sometimes the ending has the voice actors laughing at themselves forgetting the lyrics or singing out of sync and they kept all of that in. Now I dont know about you but I think the voice actors had a lot of fun with this anime. Something that stands out is the references. I know Gintama is supposed to have a bunch but I havent seen it yet so this anime probably has the most Ive seen in an anime. It mentions Naruto Gurren Lagann even kind of spoils it Haruhi Index Fullmetal Alchemist and even freaking Metal Gear Solid. I cant remember if it was in the anime or light novel but one of the lines is Dont speak until Hunter x Hunter is finished. If Sugisaki took a vow of silence and became a monk to obey that he still wouldnt be able to speak please finish HxH Togashi Im begging. Also they reference the light novels publishing company a bunch. They go so off the rails with the references that they often have to censor themselves to avoid copyright which in itself is pretty funny. Whats more the anime breaks the 4th wall more than any anime Ive seen too. The first scene I described is one example of that. But throughout they constantly say how Mafuyus characterization is being ruined by her BL love or how Minatsu being good at math doesnt fit her character or how having a meeting about what to do with student absences is too basic and wouldnt be fun for the viewers to watch. It takes all the rules about immersion and throws them out the window for the hell of it. Now in terms of the actual comedy it is hilarious. The skits and gags are utterly absurd and it never takes itself seriously. Its fastpaced with ridiculous situations great oneliners and goofy slapstick. Its not necessarily adult comedy but definitely not pee poo childish humour either. The lack of emphasis on immersion and realism allows them to do the most nonsensical and stupid things. The bread and butter of the comedy is the straight man funny man act where one character will say something stupid and the other will retort addressing how little sense it made. But the characters arent type casted into either roleit usually changes to fit the situation. Anime usually has a comfy type of comedy as opposed to other media for me at least. Though Seitokai no Ichizon made me laugh out loud time and time again. The characters themselves are quirky and hilarious. Each with their own unique qualities and flaws such that you can simply put them in a room together and itll be hilarious no matter what they do. Despite lightly fitting into certain character archetypes they each have plenty of aspects that distinguish themselves from that and make them lovable by their own merit. The anime drops us in with them already being friends so theyre close to each other from the beginning. This lends to the comedy involving each character teasing or making fun of the others a lot of the time which is possible because of how quirky and goofy they inherently are. It reminds me of a bunch of teenagers messing around and mouthing off to each other which is what they actually are. But it really does capture that youthful dynamic of being so rude and horrible to each other in a loving way. They can only do that because of how close they are. Despite how much they tease and poke fun at each other the anime makes it clear how much they genuinely value their friendship. They truly cherish the time they have together and the safe space theyve created in the student council. And whenever necessary they stand up for each other and have each others backs. As cheesy as it is thats a true friendship being portrayed. Comedy is such a powerful tool especially with how it can contrast seriousness. Dont get me wrong its mostly jokesthe author even said its 90 jokes and less than 10 seriousbut there are a few moments where it strips back the goofiness and has some thoughtprovoking scenes. Theres a scene where theyre in Tokyo and watch the sunset silently together and somehow its really beautiful. A few scenes like that are scattered here and there and although theyre not what stands out in the show theyre rather impactful because of how rare they are. Its hard to really criticise a show that doesnt take itself too seriously. I wouldve said that the interaction between the girls was lacking but then there was an episode when Sugisaki got sick and it was just them and they held out together great without him. I suppose it could be lacking some climactic and memorable moments but Im not too hung up on that. Overall its so lovable silly hilarious and has some great moments shining through. Im looking forward to season 2 of this which is hopefully just as good. 9/10.