Avid fans have ardently followed GOD OF HIGHSCHOOL, a
South Korean webtoon written and illustrated by Yongje Park since April 8th,
2010. On July 6th, a much-awaited anime adaption series made a grand debut
through MAPPA. The seemingly popular webtoon had hoarded quite a lot of
expectations by the viewers for the recent anime adaption. The webtoon itself
was fun and engaging, although many would argue and say otherwise for its
anime-compeer.
During the olden times, Gods, Demons, and Humans lived
together. Demons were a threat to humans, so the Gods decided to lend their
powers to humans creating the "borrow power" system. However, a time
soon came when the Gods split the world into three different realms, the Demon,
Human, and God realm. Since then, humans have been able to use these borrowed
powers, but can never at any cost attack the Gods with it.
God of Highschool is your average action-shounen anime
set in the usual and pervasive supernatural world.
Is the plot any different, though? Let's have a look.
PLOT
The plot centers around a 17-year-old high
school student, with a very predictable motive, background, and story.
"The God of Highschool" is a martial arts tournament arranged by a
dubious organization suspected of evil intentions. They plan to bring high
school students from across the country and make them fight each other to see
who's the strongest. The winner as a prize gets to have a wish fulfilled by the
hosting group, no matter what.
Mori, our protagonist, gets highly
intrigued by the competition and, of course, decides to take part in it. There
he comes across various fighters with unique styles of fighting. Participants
not only use their skills at martial arts but also battle using their
"borrowed powers." Lucky for Mori, he gets to be in a team with a
bunch of incredibly powerful characters with whom he intends to taste victory.
The plot is pretty decent, although exceptionally
slow-paced, predictable, and annoyingly repetitive. Many readers of the
original webtoon also complain that several scenes were missed in the anime
series, and it wasn't delivered well enough.
Nothing exciting here. Let us see what the anime's
animation has to offer.
ANIMATION
Combined with an exquisite art style and fluid animation,
God of high school successfully redeems itself in this department. Overall, the
animation and the fight scenes are pretty generic; however, they are equally
entertaining and occupying to watch as any other famous and typical shounen
fights you'd find in the anime sphere. The creators made sure to stay loyal to
the original webtoon art style, which served as a plus point. The direction
also has been brilliantly done.
SOUNDTRACKS
Soundtracks might not be as crucial for an anime as other
elements, but it definitely adds a little razzle-dazzle and amplifies the
anime's greatness if it's good enough. God of high school's opening theme is a
certified banger, created by a talented artist called Ksuke. The song was made
for this anime, and its amazingness confirms that. Its unquestionably one of
the best parts of the whole series.
CHARACTERS
With a limited list of a pretty nonexclusive bunch of
characters, God of high school does not bring anything new to the table.
However, each character having individual and impressive combat skills is a
refreshing factor in this typical shounen trope. It's also hard to notice that
every character has an individual motive behind why they want to win the
tournament. It gives a little more background to them and helps us understand
the character's nature. Here I will discuss only a few of the main characters.
Mori, the protagonist, was raised by his grandfather, who
also played a massive role in training Mori to become the undefeatable fighter
that he is today. Eating, sleeping, and fighting are the only things he's good
at. Besides that, his character reminds me of a walnut. His sole purpose in
life is to be at a top. Mori is, as you can assume, already pretty dull and
uninspiring for a shounen protagonist. Although he has a dorky personality, the
major components of his character are pretty mainstream.
Han Daewi is a fellow ex-combatant of a legendary duo
called "MAD COWS" that had once complete control over the entire
Gangnam area. He joined the GOH competition intending to save his ill friend,
who he worked several part-time jobs for, to pay the medical bills before
entering the competition. Daewi is known for his impressive fighting skills and
incredible strength. His story shows that not only is he astonishingly very
hardworking, but has a heart of gold as well.
Yuu Mira is a compelling character who pretends to be
fragile but is secretly a badass. She had been training since childhood and is
an excellent, skilled sword fighter. She deems strong, powerful men to be her
type. Ever since she was a little girl, the fact that she needs to marry a
strong man to resurrect the family's sword style was drilled into her mind. To
look for the man of her dreams and to save the family's name, she enters GOH.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The artwork and the soundtracks are unmistakably among
some of the most enjoyable parts of the series. The sporadic yet fluid fight
scenes absolutely keep your eyes glued to the screen. The plot is very generic
but still pretty entertaining. It has the inevitable element of generating
curiosity and the eagerness to witness the mystery of "what's going to
happen next?" unfold as each episode progresses, and that is sufficient
enough for an anime to be included in your to-watch list. After going through
each element of God of Highschool anime one by one, it is safe to give it an
overall rating.
I am now coming to the most awaited part of the review.
THE FINAL RATING
The God of Highschool gets a rating of 7.5/10!
Even though a few factors were beyond constructive
critique's reach, some flaws are still hard to not notice. Considering all the
right things and the wrong things, this will be my rating. If you made it this
far, I would like to add, give the series a try, and see if you think
the same!
P.S Check out the podcast Amerime Junkies
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