I picked up the complete set on the cheap from Rightstuf.com's clearance sale. Total for the six disks + art box was about 40 bucks.
Okay... the basics of the story is that Rebecca Miyamoto, half japanese, half american, second child to a family, grew up in the US and graduated MIT at age 10. She decides (for some reason) to become a teacher at a school in Japan.
The classes at the school are filled with the stereotypical types of students, including the bookworm, the mean girl, the creepy class-rep, the overly excited one(maho!), the one that like animals, the so-boring-she's-invisible one, etc..
The teachers aren't much better. One's just called "Old Guy", one's a drunk,Becky (of course), and the fourth is the PE teacher. All commanded by the never-seen and mysterious principal.
If I had to place this on the wacky anime chart, it would fall somewhere between Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy, I guess. The humor is not so dark as it is blunt, and the wackiness is under actual control. After settling in, Becky takes to calling the students by their primary qualities (The excitable one is called Cowlick because of the tuft of hair that's always sticking up, the incessant studier is called Bookworm, etc...)
In one episode, the class enters a dark room of the school. Bookworm (gifted with a high forehead that reflects light) turns around and the glare from a light blinds everyone. Becky takes off her sunglasses to reveal the associated sunburn-raccoon mask. Again, not dark humor, just blunt (and freaking funny in context).
Another episode starts with Becky writing on the chalkboard saying "this is your assignment for today." With the subs on you can read the board which has "you kill each other off", a homage to Battle Royale, no doubt. The entire show, every scene, has little things crammed into the background for you to notice. Oh, and it has AD-Vid notes as well, something I learned to appreciate in Excel Saga.
I'm only a part way through watching, but I am really enjoying it. I laugh hard almost every episode. It's definitely worth a watch.
-Maverick
