Spy Kyoushitsu

[neflight86]

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"* Based on a spy fantasy light novel series written by Takemachi and illustrated by Tomari.

Following a devastating military conflict, countries fight their wars in the shadows. One unusual spy, Klaus, has never failed on the job despite his quirks, and he is building a team to take on an Impossible Mission—one with over a 90 percent chance of failure. However, his chosen members are all washouts with no practical experience. They’ll have to use every trick in the book (and some that aren't) to prove they're up to the task!

Source: Yen Press"

Genre(s): Espionage, Comedy, Action, Drama

https://subsplease.org/shows/spy-kyoushitsu/

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1-2

Cross Grisaia with Assassination Classroom and you're getting warm. Clumsy waifu... spyfus are tasked with receiving the tutelage from a super spy for a <10% projected survival suicide mission as a means to get rid of them, I suppose. Turns out he can't teach spycraft as it is completely intuitive for himself, so his solution becomes to offer himself up as bait for the girls to polish their skills by defeating him (or at least by trying). It hits the cute and the sassy notes easily and is a fun watch.

The surprise is that they are beginning the suicide operation as early as the end of episode 2 (3 is available as of this writing) after some clumsy exposition about how sensei's last team all died attempting this mission before (without him participating, of course). I expected that to be the the end arc of the season, so there must be more, and more potential for trickery, so I'm optimistically hopeful. Its more lighthearted than I typically prefer my espionage stories, but the cuteness and good chemistry between the girls makes up for it. Give it a try.

[neflight86]

3

*slow clap* Not bad. The girls got to show off their skills all while masking a solid misdirect.

Klaus didn't get some silly power up either; he needed their help to win and his teacher even got a tiny bit of redemption by saving him from the sniper at the end. This 'intro' arc is functionally a self contained move and is a satisfying watch by itself. Give it a try and even if you don't continue, what is here is solid and recommendable.

Also, I need to make special mention to how much I like the diverse outfits - hats especially - that the girls wear. Very cute.

[neflight86]

4-11

In a rare feat, Spy Classroom managed to loose all of its steam after the first honeytrap of an arc, and somehow rebuild that engagement three episodes later in another really entertaining arc I didn't expect. My fear was we would get nothing but 'slice of life' flashbacks to the nebulous month of training to give each waifu/spaifu a chance to develop in the most formulaic way possible. Strangely, what we got were only a few episodes of that and then a much better formal arc pairing the cast down to a meaningful unit and engaging in more espionage- what I'm here for in the first place. Great turn around, team. You almost lost me.

[neflight86]

13-15

Back and just as entertaining as ever. Love the lengths Spy Classroom goes to keep any storyline from being cut and dry. There's usually more than meets the eye, and I couldn't ask for more from my espionage entertainment.

This season starts by giving the other half of the last mission from last season and then the follow up arc that separates Klaus from group A to give them an opportunity to navigate another trial, this time involving the mysterious past of the bomb operative. The clash of personalities between silver and seductress are stealing the show right now. Too bad they betrayed the evil intend of fake-momma at the end of 15. Still a strong recommend if spies are your thing.

[neflight86]

16-18

After the end of the amnesia arc, we get two one off stories about two of the girls little explored before now: The prodigy and the animal trainer. Both work well enough now that I'm invested in the characters, and there are a few good tricks, but some missteps as well (lol at wire spy, and I could have sworn teach capped her last season) but ultimately I'm ready for another proper arc. Prodigy still doesn't have a compelling reason to be so standoffish, and as soon as that is revealed, she softens up- cart before the horse? I like Thea's observation that the harem being exclusively for Klaus is strange, and that the girls are at least cognizant of the concept of romance even if only 2 or 3 have an attraction thus far. The ebb and flow (arc into character building) is similar to the first season's, and that's not as much of a problem as I expected it would be.

[neflight86]

19-22

So far, the not America arc is really fun and entertaining. Few shows in recent memory have pulled off consecutive major arcs with a satisfying rising tension. Fewer still can spin so many character development stories and intrigues deftly at the same time.

Purple Ant is a great villain, and his power is a worthy escalation, though jobbing most of the other spies off-screen is slightly disappointing, but Spy Classroom excels in tacking on that one more little twist, so maybe they're not all lost. Suicide bombers numbering in the hundreds is devilish.

Thea's arc of overcoming her inferiority complex just because her skills are very specialized is now the longest running, beating out Greta's by an episode, I think, and I don't count Annett's development, as she is more revealed to us than changing her phycho self. It's great and the implications lend themselves well to the nuanced storytelling I've come to expect. I'm looking forward to how her growth pertains to the leadership role she's being groomed for, but I have more than a little faith that will connect.