Classroom Crisis

Episode 12

Things heated up in this penultimate episode of Classroom Crisis, as Yuji's crazy-eyed stabbing from last week unfolded into an absurd abduction plot. With Nagisa's power gone and Kazuhisa unwilling to do anything that might cause a scandal, Angelina turned to A-TEC to rescue their old boss. The team leapt into action, doing everything they could to save him before Kaito told them to shift gears and return to the X-3 engine in time to complete Nagisa's final plot. That left it up to Angelina to save Nagisa, who ended up finding a few last allies in a very unexpected place.

This was a propulsive but not ultimately impressive episode of Classroom Crisis. As I've said many times in the past, this show's one major strength is the understated character dynamics between its main characters, and “high-stakes abduction plot leading to action-packed space rescue” doesn't really lend itself towards that kind of stuff. But for what it was, this episode was consistently entertaining - Nagisa and Kaito's utterly mismatched journeys towards the final presentation bounced off each other well, and it was nice to see Angelina given one more strong spotlight episode before the focus inevitably turns to Kaito, Nagisa, Mizuki, and Iris.

Angelina really made the most of that spotlight, too. She shined in her scenes throughout this episode, from her bitter initial confrontation with Kazuhisa, to her sentimental conversations with A-TEC, all the way to the final battle to rescue Nagisa. The first half of Classroom Crisis really didn't do much worth speaking of with her character, but with gags about her Nagisa obsession and age no longer undercutting her scenes, she's able to stand as a dramatic but somewhat emotionally separate cornerstone of the narrative. And her final battle against Yuji's goons offered one more satisfying action highlight for the series. Classroom Crisis is far from an action show, but Angelina's randomly ninja-like abilities have always featured strong animation and fight choreography, and that remained true here. There's something very satisfying about watching A-TEC's accountant beat the snot out of evil lackeys.

On the minus side, there's really no way to describe Yuji's cohorts as anything more than goons or lackeys. Yuji is a joke of a villain - he was one-note throughout the series, and having him go unhinged from failure didn't do much to improve that issue. There was one welcome attempt to complicate his personality this episode, as he kept framing Nagisa as being emotionless and only invested in his job. That pointed to the unstated but very understandable idea that Yuji has only ever been invested in the company in order to live up to his brothers, and thus resents not just Kazuhisa but also Nagisa as ostensibly happy collaborators in a world he never had any actual interest in. But the execution of Yuji's evil plot here was far too cartoonish to lend much emotional weight to his actions, from his wild-eyed expressions to his ultimate choice to vaporize Nagisa on an improbable one-way space flight.

Still, this episode got the story where it needs to go. Nagisa has currently devalued himself and needs to be rescued in space, Iris is still too haunted by her past to regain her pilot focus, and Kaito has firmly assumed the position of a responsible and dedicated leader for his team. We're all set for the emotional dominoes to fall in next week's finale; pep talks from Mizuki and possibly Angelina will steady Iris, Iris will regain her pilot status just in time to save Nagisa, and everyone will live happily ever after. Until the next election, at least.

Rating: B

Classroom Crisis is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Viewster.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.