Prison School
Episode 11

by Amy McNulty, Sep 19th 2015

How would you rate episode 11 of
Prison School ?

With only one day to obtain proof of the Underground Student Council's entrapment before their expulsion, the boys plan to distract the hyper-competitive Meiko with a butt-wrestling contest while someone unlocks the back door to the prison so Chiyo can slip inside. Unfortunately, Mari anticipated something like this might happen and appoints the secretary Hana, who has zero interest in a wrestling match, as interim warden. In fact, the mere invitation to step into the ring spurs her to throw Gakuto into a brick wall. All hope seems lost, but Kiyoshi knows one way he can distract her: let her have the one-on-one time she desperately craves to enact her revenge on him. With everything riding on Kiyoshi's unlikely success, his efforts to set the boys' plan in motion call to mind a suspense-laden heist film.

Whenever Hana's on screen—especially when she's alone with Kiyoshi—I can't help but cringe. She's easily Prison School's most effective antagonist because she elicits a genuine sense of fear. (And not just because of the "Medusa" beneath her skirt.) Her actions and overall demeanor are sadistic to the nth degree, even if her scheming is largely a reaction to her embarrassment, which I suppose is intended to be endearing. Her sexual assault of Kiyoshi is framed as titillating and humorous, but putting a man in the victim role and portraying a woman as the aggressor doesn't make the bit more palatable. (Nor does it make sense that a woman's "honor" would be at stake because she's solely responsible for every embarrassment she's suffered.) It's all part of an absurdist show, and anyone who's gotten this far is unlikely to take much issue with Hana's indiscretions. However, holding Kiyoshi down and repeatedly kissing him goes further than anything Mari or Meiko have done thus far.

Prison School's prevalent sense of faux-seriousness continues to be its core strength. While carrying out their plan, the boys act like their lives are on the line, and that almost makes sense with someone as violent as Hana around. (Although in true cartoon fashion, a perfectly executed round-house kick barely fazes Gakuto.) There's one sticking point from last week that could have made these final two episodes superfluous: Why didn't the chairman escort the boys to the corrections office and allow them to retrieve the evidence right in front of him? Despite granting the boys a short stay of execution, his hands seem to be tied when it comes to the Underground Student Council's criminal actions. It'd be interesting to see what, if anything, his eldest daughter holds over him, since he makes little effort to hide his perversions from her. Perhaps it's just a matter of a father not wanting to lose his child's affection, but since his other daughter clearly isn't okay with the boys being locked up, there's probably more to the situation.

This week's Prison School doesn't skimp on the tension, but Hana's climactic scene is unnerving to sit through. There's also a little more fanservice than usual, courtesy of Mari wiping Meiko's sweaty breasts and Meiko scrubbing Mari's feet in the nude. Nevertheless, all the pieces are in place for a climax that's sure to excite.

Rating: B+

Prison School is currently streaming on Funimation.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for two decades.


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