Classroom for Heroes – Episode 1

Content Warning: Fanservice

What’s it about? Rosewood Academy is known for training future heroes in order to protect the world from the forces of evil.  Earnest Flaming is known for being at the top of her class, but her position is soon threatened by a mysterious transfer student named Blade who’s looking to make new friends rather than becoming a hero.  

I want season 2 of Skip and Loafer so badly! I just need something to look forward to since there aren’t that many good shows to watch this summer.  To be fair, this series is basically competent. The concept of heroes going to school isn’t anything new, but there isn’t anything noteworthy to say about Blade since he’s mostly just a good-natured teenager with a mysterious past.  He’s definitely connected to powerful people since the king himself is personally invested in seeing Blade regain his powers.  We’re meant to ask questions about Blade’s identity, but all of that is overshadowed by the narrative’s treatment of Earnest’s body.  

While it’s true that Earnest didn’t need to be aggressive towards Blade since she barely knows him, it’s frustrating how the story belittles her academic and fighting achievements in favor of Blade’s existence.  Earnest also works hard to ensure the demon within her sword doesn’t consume her consciousness, and yet the camera angles insist on zooming in on her breasts and butt.  It happens so frequently that it’s difficult to focus on the plot because it’s so distracting.  Even during Earnest’s private moments, the camera continues to linger on her body and doesn’t allow us to concentrate on her happiness about making her first friend.  There’s so much unnecessary fanservice that I’m inclined to believe the production staff didn’t have any faith this series would succeed, so they decided to throw in anything that’ll garner attention.  

It doesn’t help that Earnest’s feelings for Blade change so quickly that it’s almost baffling; she initially resents him, and then she trusts him with her life by the end of the episode.  There’s no build up to their comradery, and she’s mostly set up to be the main love interest whose entire identity surrounds the male protagonist journey.  Thankfully, Blade isn’t a bad character and genuinely wants to become friends with her, even though the framing around her characterization is blatantly misogynist.  The climactic battle between her and the demon in the sword should’ve been her moment to shine, but instead she and the demon are completely naked and proceed to fight in the nude.  There’s absolutely no reason for this and what’s worse is the implication that regardless of her strength, she can’t do anything without Blade’s help.  

Blade’s so confident in his own skills that it doesn’t take long for him to convince Earnest that even if she loses in her fight, he’ll defeat the demon.  That contrived logic ruins any tension in Earnest’s battle and she basically doesn’t have any agency by the end of the episode.  I’ll be frank, this was an annoying and underwhelming premiere.  It’s so obvious the plot doesn’t treat its women characters with any respect that I find it difficult to see how anyone can engage with this show any further. Classroom for Heroes doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and the plot is surprisingly unfocused for a work with an established series of light novels to draw from. 

There isn’t anything special here to keep anime fans interested since there’s already so many generic shows being pumped out each season.  Life is short, and I’d rather start reviewing my backlog than spend my time watching bad anime.