Baka to Test and Gungrave (Buy, Rent or Skip)

[Fullmetal23]

I'm here again to ask about these two Anime titles and see if there wroth the time.

Baka to Test looks like a good comedy that could be in the ranks of shows like Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh but I've only saw the first episode free on demand and know little about each of the main characters. Gungrave on the hand, I've only read that it has a similarity to Trigun and I'm a big Trigun fan :bigsmile:. Is it like a more darker version of Trigun because that would me awesome.

If anyone can help me, I would appreciate it a lot :bowsmiley:.

[Suwako Moriya]

I like Baka Test, but I wouldn't put it in the same league as Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh. I'd say try out a few more episodes of it if you can and see how you feel about the flow.

The series does have issues of recycling. As in you'll see some of the jokes multiple times. This is due to the character's personalities being for the most part static.

Season 2 does provide more of the same except for the fact that it has a couple of select episodes that feel out of place. Hint, they're more story focused and serious than the usual fare of the series.

[MelancholicMariya]

Baka to Test is basically a SHAFT show. It was directed by Shin Oonuma who worked on shows like Pani Poni Dash, Natsu no Arashi, two Negima! OVA's and both Ef - A Tale of Memories and Melodies. So if you're into any of those you'll probably like the craziness of Baka to Test.

For some kind of harem the male characters are very well developed characters where as the females are your same old anime tropes, and I think that's possibly a joke upon the genre, intentional, not a flaw.

Overall Baka to Test is pretty good. If you're into dubs the dub is pretty hilarious too, I'd say it may even surpass the Japanese version at points.

On whether you should buy it, that depends. If you're into SHAFT's works, sure go buy it, you'll potentially love this. If you're not familiar with that style of humour, give it a rent. If you're expecting something which has a beginning and end or an actual plot, I suggest you don't get this. It's just a straight up comedy.

[lesterf1025]

Baka to Test is a stupid comedy that has a few interesting ideas and a couple jokes which it recycles constantly. So if you like the characters, cliches and jokes and don't mind seeing them repeated in different ways then you will enjoy the show like I did, otherwise you will find it a boring waste of your time.

Gungrave is a scifi mafia crime drama based on a video game. It has a horrible mess of a first episode and then spends the next thirteen episodes on a tense well told mafia tale with a touch of scifi. The rest of the show has the feel of an action revenge movie with added depth thanks to the previous episodes before arriving at a satisfying conclusion. This show is not like Trigun. There is not a lot of comedy and no one in the story is a saint. This is a dark story of men from tough backgrounds making tough decisions and living with the consequences. Women are just decorations and motivations in the story.


I love and own both shows but they are not for everyone.

[Nork22]

Baka to Test - Simplistic stupid jokes. I enjoyed those and this show served them up in droves. There's also quite a bit of parodies as well, but essentially it's fun and stupid. A renter.

Gungrave - It's not Trigun. If anything it's closer to the Goodfellas in terms of characters and plot. It's a story about 2 young hoodlums aiming to be the top of the mafia world, both being best friends yet live off a different set of values. A keeper.

[Fullmetal23]

Thank you to those who replied :).

Reaction to Baka to Test comments: Seems like everyone said its a "stupid comedy". Those types of comedy are risky of me but if I can enjoy My Bride is a Mermaid and want to buy it then hopefully this will be the same. I'll just have watch it first just to be sure.

Reaction to Gungrave comments: Looking back, I should of said that the article I read before said the "art-style" was similar to Trigun. My bad :sd:. However I did not know it was a mafia theme Anime, that makes it that more interesting now. I might see a few episodes of it and pick it up afterwards.

[Otakufan]

Reaction to Gungrave comments: Looking back, I should of said that the article I read before said the "art-style" was similar to Trigun. My bad :sd:. However I did not know it was a mafia theme Anime, that makes it that more interesting now. I might see a few episodes of it and pick it up afterwards.

I picked up the first volume back during the Geneon clearance sales and it's definitely a very very dark and serious show just like Nork says. The only sci-fi I saw was the first episode, then it changed to something more akin to the Godfather.

It's not my cup of tea, I don't really go for these super serious angsty dark type series like say Berserk, but if you do, then Gungrave appears to be a very good example of the genre.

J. A.

[Glamrgrl104]

I've only watched Gun Grave- Watched the first disc; it almost put me to sleep sure there was some gun action, but not much else if I remember right it was a hella lot of talking.

[sickVisionz]

Haven't seen Baka to.

Gungrave is worth a rental. I enjoyed it a lot but it starts off really crappy and hokey imo. After like 3 or 4 episodes they goto a flashback arc that last a long time and the show gets insanely better once that kicks off. I don't think it's too similar to Trigun though.

Baka to Test is basically a SHAFT show. It was directed by Shin Oonuma who worked on shows like Pani Poni Dash

Hmm, I didn't know this. I don't like most Shaft shows that I've seen but PPD is like my favorite comedy series ever. I will have to check out this one.

[Buckeye]

I say rent for both of them. Baka to Test is all about the comedy. It is really funny, but then again it is just that. Gungrave is something that takes a while to get into, considering that the first episode is actually the exact same thing as another episode later in the show. But once you get to the latter part of the show, it becomes really great and highly emotional.