After saving the world from the terror of the Demon King, the cheerfully mysterious Blade earns the title of Great Hero. Although he personally rejects this title as he can only use a fraction of his old powers without dying. So he aims for a normal student life at Rosewood Academy, a school for heroes-in-training. There he tries to hide his famous past while getting into shenanigans with his ever-growing group of friends and overcoming each challenge with a dash of humor.
Classroom for Heroes begins by gradually introducing each of its many supporting fantasy heroes. Although the group is fleshed out and unique, the plot suffers as a result. Most of the anime ends up feeling slow paced and stuck in a constant state of exposition and set up. The wait only pays off towards the final episodes, but even then the opposing forces aren’t actual threats to Blade. There’s little tension to justify feeling anxious for the succeeding events as the conclusion is almost, if not entirely, predictable.
What the show leaves unpredictable, however, are the odd episodes dedicated to events tangential to the main plot. Side stories like virtual reality training, a birthday celebration, or an on-going joke about a fighter struggling with her weight to keep up her energy. Unfortunately this series handles most of its characters with comic relief instead of a more serious focus. Such as the no-nonsense and regal Earnest, whose image as the school Empress is contrasted highly when she becomes fixated on Blade. This leads to minor subplots like attempting to stalk him on a date which turns into a thinly veiled excuse to add more fanservice which the series already has so much of. The main exception to this absurd handling of characters is an autonomous android who learns to be compassionate and asks Blade to help keep her artificial sisters alive. That sort of seriousness is rarely seen in the rest of the show.
The academy itself segregates its students based on their skill level, granting access to advanced classes over time. But frequently the school fails to exercise this system as Blade and some of his more powerful friends completely by-passing the lower-level training. Meanwhile the headmaster of the academy fails to command any level of authority and misses the opportunity to lay out a strong foundation for Blade’s motivations and backstory. Instead the headmaster is reduced to comic relief as an incompetent warrior despite his status as King. Not to mention the creepy implication that he enjoys seeing his students in various states of undress.
In a nutshell, Classroom for Heroes leaves much to be desired. The last two episodes certainly prove that it’s capable of delivering an emotional and tight plot line with accompanying character growth. But it begs the question of why most of the series lags so far behind in comparison. So if you’re looking for a fantasy action magical school anime that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then feel free to laugh at the group’s antics and be awed by the unmatched power of Blade, the totally normal Great Hero.
Classroom for Heroes is available to watch now on Crunchyroll and the first volume of its original light novel series is available to pre-order now on Amazon.
Title: Classroom for Heroes
Media Type: Anime
Aired: Summer 2023
Studio: Actas
Director: Keiichirou Kawaguchi
Original Story: Shin Araki
Original Character Design: Haruyuki Morisawa
