Name(s): Cromartie High School / Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou / 魁!! クロマティ高校
Format: TV series (26 11-minute episodes)
Studio(s): Production I.G

It’s not an uncommon opinion of westerners that Japanese comedy falls flat. This is often written off as a cultural or language difference, while some insist that it’s just the standards of the lowest common denominator in the country. Technically, your average western comedy isn’t very funny either. That’s what it means to be “average,” after all. I’m not here to argue these points today, but I believe if nothing else that Cromartie High School demonstrates that Japan is perfectly capable of delivering hysterical comedy palatable to western sensibilities.

Granted, some of that may be because of ADV’s dub, which is genuinely one of the best dubs I’ve ever seen. The effort expended in the voice direction and delivery is impeccable. The show is overall funny as hell, but sadly significantly less so around the second half of episodes. Since the original manga is vignettes, it’s possible that the anime lead with highlights. Still, since this is so short, you might as well watch it. I’d love to see a reboot made someday, and I might read the manga eventually.