Classroom For Heroes has two primary ways of operating: fast and loud, often concurrently. Whether introducing new characters, throwing jokes at the wall, or even transitioning between scenes, the show is always trying to grab your attention. On the one hand, that's often a boon – allowing the show to run through familiar character archetypes and basic plot points quickly enough that they never become belabored, which makes it a pretty easy sit. On the other hand, that energy can very quickly become annoying in its own right until you're just begging for an episode to take a chill pill and stop throwing jokes or fights or anime girls' naked bodies at the screen for, like, ten seconds. In a show with more of an identity, that polarizing nature might make this a “love it or hate it” title, but unfortunately, the show just doesn't have enough gumption to do that. At most, the divide is between an alright but disposable time-killer show vs. an annoying and hollow waste of your time. Simply put, Classroom of Heroes has very few ideas of its own and is content to cycle through as many character tropes and stock story beats as possible for a magic school show. After one episode, you've got the fiery redhead who becomes Blade's tsundere admirer, followed by the stoic super-soldier girl who learns to stop living her life by taking orders thanks to Blade's friendship. Then there's the dragon who can, of course, turn into a little girl and assigns herself as Blade's daughter after he defeats her. Next is the half-demon girl with a split personality who switches between meek and violent. When we reach the incongruous robot girl who learns what it means to be human thanks to Blade, even the characters start acknowledging that they're just repeating tropes to balloon the cast. Individually, these characters might be innocuous enough, but together, they paint the picture of a show that can only pile on tropes and repeat gimmicks ad nauseam.

That's a problem because those characters drive everything in this show. While there is a two-part storyline to finish the season, most of this series is episodic shenanigans meant to introduce new characters or give the existing ones something to do. If an episode isn't about introducing a new girl to crush on the ever-oblivious Blade, it's about some random side quest the students have to band together for, like protecting a magic egg or hunting down rare monsters to make a special birthday dish. This is, first and foremost, a comedy, and what few “serious” moments exist are short and simple so as not to distract from the magical slapstick and fanservice the series is more concerned with. If the characters and gags aren't working for you, there's nothing here.

The only real wrinkle to that is the show's self-aware sense of humor. The series seems aware that it is primarily a collection of tropes tossed into a bag and shaken vigorously, and often reaches for laughs by pointing out just how absurd each character is. Blade isn't just your typical oblivious male harem lead – he's so childishly innocent that he has no concept of sex at all, and soon enough, the female cast is stripping and flashing for him to demonstrate his total non-reaction. Not only is Sophie a shameless clone of Rei Ayanami, but she also gets defensive of her position as the Stoic One when the equally emotionless robot girl, Iona, arrives to obsess over Blade's attention. Sometimes, those gags are clever enough to get a chuckle, but just as often, they feel like the show excusing itself for lacking personality. Winking at the camera is all well and good, but this is closer to desperately mugging into the audience's face.

That feeling is also the best way to describe the animation and direction. While there are a few below-average episodes, most of this season is remarkably well-produced. There's a lot of lively effects and battle animation, often for short, inconsequential moments rather than being strictly limited to climactic attacks or jokes. Combined with the cleanly rendered character designs – and the camera's shameless eye for cheesecake – it stands out among its Magic School peers in a good way. What's more, a ton of creativity and energy is packed into scene transitions and one-off visual gags that contribute to the show's non-stop sprint of punchlines and special attacks. Sometimes, for no reason, we'll flip to a new scene by having a chibi version of a character smash the screen with a mace. Other times, it's pixel art of the cast running across as a screen wipe. There's no consistency to said transitions, and they can occasionally be jarring or confusing if you're not expecting them. Still, they're short and fast enough that it doesn't become a stylistic non-sequitur like it might in other circumstances.

Unfortunately, all that energy turns into an anchor around the show's neck if the characters and their shenanigans fail to charm you. What should be a raucous action-comedy can quickly become an obnoxious headache that constantly smirks at its reliance on stock tropes, and that's about where Classroom For Heroes ends up. Being fast and loud can get your attention, but if what you're shouting a mile-a-minute could be more interesting, eventually, your audience is just going to walk off. It's far from the most banal or tedious Magic School anime you can find, but this show is still a C student at best.