, also known as ''Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts'', is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by Kenji Inoue with illustrations by

Yui Haga is a Japanese light novel, manga, and anime artist. Her most famous work is '' Baka and Test'', which inspired a two series anime and a video game for the PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console dev ...

. The series revolves around Akihisa Yoshii, the titular

baka Baka, baká or BAKA may refer to: Ethnicities and languages * Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), an African ethnic group * Baka people (Congo and South Sudan), an African ethnic group * Baka language, a dialect cluster of Cameroon and Gabon * Baka ...

(idiot) and his friends at Fumizuki Academy, a school where students are sorted into classes based on their entrance exam test grades. The top classes receive better classroom equipment and benefits, while the bottom classes receive very little. Class F, the lowest class in the school, are angered by this injustice and vow to fight the higher-level classes for better equipment and respect. ''Baka and Test'' was published by

Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on 30 January 1987 as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy ...

, with a total of 18 novels published from January 2007 to March 2015 under its Famitsu Bunko

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

. A 13-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series was produced by

Silver Link is a Japanese animation studio. It was founded by ex-Frontline animation producer Hayato Kaneko in December 2007 and is based in Tokyo. History After the company's establishment in 2007, Shin Oonuma, who was previously a director alongside ...

, broadcasting from January to March 2010. This was quickly followed by a two-episode

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA ...

series in February 2011 titled ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū: Matsuri,'' and a second 13-episode anime television series titled ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū: Ni!'' broadcasting from July to September 2011. ''Baka and Test'' additionally received three

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

adaptations published by Enterbrain in ''Famitsu Comic Clear'' and

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

in '' Shōnen Ace,'' and a

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 200 ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

in December 2012.

Synopsis

Setting

''Baka and Test'' takes place at a fictitious preparatory school called Fumizuki Academy in Japan, said to implement "the finest and most unique systems." Its students are rigidly divided into classes based on their results in an entrance exam. Class A contains the highest scoring students, while Class F contains the lowest scoring students. In addition to this, the classes are given different perks and equipment based on this division. The higher the class, the better the benefits; Class A is filled with prestigious items like air conditioners, fancy seats, laptops, a free snack bar, etc. Meanwhile, Class F is forced to work in a dusty, broken classroom with mats and low wooden tables. Additionally, Fumizuki Academy has a special system whereby all students are able to call forth Summoned Beings (Shōkanjū, or "Avatars" in the official English translation.) These Beings are able to fight when a teacher gives their approval - their strength depends on their most recent test scores in the approving teacher's subject (i.e. Math, History, etc.) The Being will lose points when struck by an opponent, and should their score reach zero, they are disqualified and must take remedial classes with the strict Soichi Nishimura, (nicknamed "Iron Man") which the students dread. If a student is able to leave the battle without their points reaching zero, they can take a supplemental exam to replenish their score, and return to battle. The primary function of these battles is the "Summoner Test War," where two classes fight with their Beings. The war ends when one class's Representative, the highest scoring student in the class, is defeated in a battle. If a lower ranked class is able to defeat a higher ranked class, they have the option to switch classroom facilities, giving the lower ranked classes a chance to prove themselves and earn better equipment.

Plot

On the day of the placement test, Mizuki Himeji suffers from a fever and cannot complete it, and is thus given a score of zero, despite her intelligence. She is put into Class F, alongside the rest of the main characters - Akihisa Yoshii (the titular baka), Yuuji Sakamoto (the class representative), Hideyoshi Kinoshita (the

bishōnen (; also transliterated ) is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man of androgynous beauty. This word originated from the Tang dyna ...

actor), Kouta Tsuchiya (the

perverted Perversion is a form of human behavior which deviates from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although the term ''perversion'' can refer to a variety of forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are c ...

photographer, sometimes known as Silent Ninja Pervert, Muttsurīni) and Minami Shimada (a transfer student from Germany who cannot read

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

.) Akihisa is frustrated by the school's decision to place Himeji in Class F, believing she should've been given another chance at the placement test. He speaks to Yuuji, who also feels unfairly treated by the school's rigid system. They vow to prove to everyone that there's more to life than just test scores by taking down Class A and taking their classroom for themselves. This results in several Summoner Test Wars against higher-ranked classes. The show also loosely follows the love triangle consisting of Minami, Himeji and Akihisa, their crush. Meanwhile, Yuuji is targeted by Shouko Kirishima, a

Yandere The following is a glossary of terms that are specific to anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes graphic novels, drawings and related artwork. ''Note: Japanese words that are used in general ( ...

Class A student who fell in love with Yuuji when they were children.

Media

Light novels

''Baka and Test'' began as a

series written by Kenji Inoue, with illustrations by Yui Haga.

published 18 volumes from January 29, 2007 to March 30, 2015 under its Famitsu Bunko

; 12 comprise the main story, while the other six are side story collections.

Manga

adaptation titled , illustrated by both Mosuke Mattaku and Yumeuta, began serialization in

's '' Shōnen Ace'' with the June 2009 issue sold on April 25, 2009 and ended in the September 2016 issue sold on July 26, 2016. Kadokawa Shoten published 15 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' volumes from December 19, 2009 to November 26, 2016. The English version of the manga adaptation is available on

BookWalker , stylized as Book☆Walker, is a Japanese e-book store that sells manga, light novels, and magazines from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in Chiyoda, Tokyo and was created by Kadokawa Corporation. The c ...

. Another manga adaptation, titled and illustrated by Koizumi, was serialized between the February 2010 and January 2014 issues of ''Shōnen Ace''. Kadokawa Shoten published four volumes between August 26, 2010 and January 25, 2014. A third manga adaptation, titled and illustrated by Namo, was serialized in Enterbrain's online magazine ''Famitsu Comic Clear'' between October 30, 2009 and August 12, 2012. Enterbrain published six volumes between May 27, 2010 and June 22, 2012.

Anime series

A 13-episode

television series adaptation produced by the animation studio

, written by Katsuhiko Takayama, and directed by

Shin Oonuma is a Japanese anime director, animator, and storyboard artist. Oonuma's first employer in the anime industry was Office AO, but he is best known for his contributions to studios Shaft and Silver Link. Career Oonuma's first appearance in anime w ...

aired in Japan between January 7 and March 31, 2010. A two-episode

(OVA) series titled ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū: Matsuri'' were released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and DVD from February 23, 2011 to March 30, 2011. A second anime television series titled ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū: Ni!'' aired in Japan between July 8 and September 30, 2011.

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

licensed both seasons and the OVAs for distribution in North America. Both seasons have appeared on the

Funimation Channel Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specialize ...

. The first anime season's opening theme is "Perfect-area Complete!" by

Natsuko Aso is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Natsuko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *夏子, "summer, child" *懐子, "reminiscence, yearn, child" *捺子, "press, print, affix a seal, stamp, child" *奈津 ...

, composed by Kenichi Maeyamada. The first ending theme is "Baka Go Home" by Milktub and BakaTest All Stars and the second ending theme is "Hare Tokidoki Egao" by

Hitomi Harada is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Ube, Yamaguchi. Career She was scouted as a singer and began singing in the TWOFIVE production company. After that, she joined the talent agency Production Baobab to work as a voice actress. After ...

Kaori Mizuhashi is a Japanese voice actress who is employed by Arts Vision. Her major voice roles include Mami Tomoe in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Kuki Shinobu in ''Genshin Impact'', Lava and May in ''Arknights'', Vivio Takamachi in ''Magical Girl Lyrica ...

Emiri Katou Emiri (written: 笑里, 英美里, 絵美里 or えみり in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese violinist *, Japanese model Fict ...

and Tomomi Isomura. For the ''Matsuri'' OVAs, the opening theme is by Aso, and the ending theme is by Milktub. For the second anime season, the opening theme is by

Larval Stage Planning is a Japanese J-pop group formed in 2010 and is signed to Lantis. The group is also a member of the Sapporo-based music production group I've Sound. History Members The group was formed by veteran singer and then-I've Sound vocalist Eiko Shi ...

, and the ending theme is by Aso.

Video game

video game titled ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū Portable'' was released on December 13, 2012 in a regular edition and a limited edition box set, both in Japan only. The game is styled like a board game. There are nine characters to choose from—Akihisa, Mizuki, Minami, Yuuji, Hideyoshi, Kouta, Shouko, Yuuko and Miharu—with individual storylines of their own. In the beginning, only Akihisa, Yuuji, Hideyoshi and Kouta can be chosen by default. To unlock the other five characters, the other four characters must first be played in story mode. In ''Baka to Test to Shōkanjū Portable,'' the principal of Fumizuki Academy, Tōdo Kaworu, has implemented a new summoning system in which students put their luck and skills to the test. If one student can win three stages in a row, they may choose a prize of their choice.

Reception

The ''Baka and Test'' anime television series has received positive reviews, from fans and critics. Writing for

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ...

, Carl Kimlinger gave both seasons of the anime a B−, praising the series' sharp comedy and style, while criticizing the writing of its female characters.

References

External links

Official website

Video game official website

Official website
at

* {{Silver Link 2007 Japanese novels 2010 anime television series debuts 2011 anime OVAs 2011 anime television series debuts 2012 video games Anime and manga based on light novels Bandai Namco franchises Cross-dressing in anime and manga Enterbrain manga Famitsu Bunko Fantasy anime and manga Funimation Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Dwango franchises Kadokawa Shoten manga Light novels Madman Entertainment anime PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Portable-only games Romantic comedy anime and manga School life in anime and manga Shōnen manga Silver Link Television shows based on light novels TV Tokyo original programming Video games developed in Japan Yen Press titles