Test Time

Synopsis

With midterms approaching, Koro gives out high speed one to one tuition to the entire class at the same time.

Koro has a meetup with the chairman, and he explains his ideals of achieving a 5/95 split of lazy and perfect people. And because of his ideals he wants to keep class E ‘in check’. He recalls the incident when Nagisa glared at the other two students last episode and they actually complained to their teacher, he tells Koro to keep his students in line.

Koro is pissed off by this and makes extra effort to teach his class. But when his class starts spouting that trying to assassinate Koro for the ten billion is much easier than studying, he gets more annoyed more and drags everyone outside.

He makes them understand that you always need a second option so when the first fails you have a fall back. They can’t rely on the assassination to get them through. Their second option is their education, and Koro has set an aim for all of them to get into the top 50 scores in the midterm tests. If that happens they can apply to get out of class E.

But thanks to the chairman’s interference of changing the exam on the last day and only giving the main campus an update, class E didn’t score as well as they wanted.

Koro is very depressed but Karma manages to cheer him up with his outstanding grades regardless of the last minute changes.

Thoughts

Well, I think we’ve just seen some Karma character development, he’s changed a lot since his disbelief in his teachers to now actually cheering Koro up.

Koro’s had it easy so far with these kids and the government, but it seems he’s finally met a worthy adversary in Gakuho. He pulled a fast one on him, but hey, I was hoping that this chairman vs teacher showdown to be the main battle for at least an arc and what’s a battle without wins and losses from both sides.

Though the sad thing is, I still do believe that Gakuho is making a lot of sense. It’s hard to argue with what he is saying as even in modern day it happens. Not to the degree of the anime of course, but things like detentions and ‘sets’ in subjects where the high achievers are in a higher ‘set’ and the struggling are altogether in another ‘set’ do something similar. Not the same mind as they’re not ostracised, it is for a better purpose of teaching everyone at a similar level is easier, but I do feel that they create a similar effect, just on a much minor scale. Of course though, as logical as the system is, the way he executes such a system is clearly against morality. Though if you think about society overall and say if Gakuho’s numbers are correct, it would be much better for the world overall to have a 95/5 split rather than 20/60/20.

The other thing is, Gakuho also makes a good point about Koro, saving these class E children just to destroy the world later. Tis a sad life he lives, but I guess with creation there is always destruction.

Still, Koro shouldn’t be that depressed, most of class E scored well by the sounds of it. If you were in the other classes that were beaten by the worst of the worst, you’ve gotta been feeling pretty bad and very ashamed of yourself. That is easily the downside of this structure.

Let’s say class E succeeded in beating the system, the self esteem of all the other classes are sure to be shot down which could harm them rather than spur them on. Bottom line is, you’re going to look like an idiot if you lose to those your discriminate. And when their esteem goes down, the last thing you need is to add more stress to these children with the prospect of a trip to this ‘hell’ created in this system that is class E.

Also, to nitpick a little, how’s it that they still a year to kill Koro? They’ve had half a term and a school year isn’t a full year anyway. Though I guess people say next year or in a year’s time when it’s technically not a year… but I felt I had to make a comment on this… then again I do watch pokemon, where Ash has obviously not aged and we have no idea how time works in that place.

Last thing, so class D students complained because someone glared at them, I wonder who the weak actually are?