Don’t watch this episode. It will cause one’s
intestines to burst, one’s spleen to rupture. Why, friends? Because it is goddamned
hilarious. The story is weird without being confusing, and the throwaway gags are
simply terrific. While summoning the school spirits, Haruto finds himself growing more and
more fatigued with every “welcome!” he overhears the chairman discussing with
the spirits about how they’re worried that something “won’t make it to
graduation.” Thus Haruto has a dilemma: Does he defend the school he hates at the
cost of his own life?
All of Haruto’s courage is put to the test when a spirit-manga
artist’s world comes to life, attacking the school with hackneyed anime and mange
cliches.
Everything about this episode hits right on target. All of the jokes hit home, and all the
characters are spot-on (though Kazumi seems to have taken a bit of a backseat) and
well-utilized. The manga artist Ichiro is interesting, and I like how starry-eyed he got
seeing all of his creations come to life.
The manga creations are hilarious in their own right, particularly since
not a single one of them approaches anything that looks like originality. His hard-sf world
is filled with mobile tanks and giant robots (of course, Ichiro knows the exact model
numbers and which designs are newer and more efficient) while his shouju creations, the
Sailors XO, kick ass and look cute at the same time. There are some friendly potshots at
manga artists in general (Ichiro died because he spent all of his time drawing his comics
in a small dark room, forgetting to eat, drink, or sleep).
This sort of show makes Haunted Junction a real pleasure to watch. The use
of the spirits is hilarious (especially Haruo Sato and Bones), the story is fun, and at the end the
overturning of Haruto’s concerns forms a perfect punchline. Hentai
president, indeed.
Rating :A