We return to the 80s with this next review.
Kawa Yui has just started a new school but she doesn't show any interest in anything normal, luckily her new friend Uru Chie tells her about one of the many male gangs in the school the Kimengumi which translates to Funny Face Gang, led by the child like Ichido Rei. Throughout the series other male gangs such as the pretty boys, the sportsman, the delinquents (both genders) and the study freaks are introduced as a typical episode involves the Kimengumi interacting with everyday school situations.
This series is heavily reliant on pun style humour along with over the top reactions as the basis for it's comedy, anyone with a basic grasp of Japanese words could probably work out the puns, the easiest being Kawa Yui just being another way of saying Kawaii, however I mentioned in my HaruChika review that having to translate something that makes more sense in Japanese isn't going to work well with western audiences and this is especially important with comedy, so when you take the Kimengumi on face value (pun intended) you are left with two ways of viewing them, you either play along with their antics or they are just a bunch of retards, a term I don't use lightly.
I'm still on the fence with how to really view this, I get Rei's philosophy on how he portrays himself and it gives a good message of personality shining through despite what others think helped by some good voice acting but I doubt I could stand anymore episodes especially if they followed the same pattern each time offering no character development, so my conclusion is simply can you handle watching five ADHD kids for 86 episodes?
No dub, it's too old but I wouldn't ask for one.
Final Verdict: This is a challenge to watch, it's like being around an ADHD kid who's just snorted Red Bull. Good Voice acting does help make it more tolerable.
High School Kimengumi Review
End