Gakko no Kaidan

Once again we are in a school where bullying is rampant. This time, however, change comes from below, as well as from without. From below in the form of Haruna Tsubame, who is the typical female lead of such shows – clueless, annoying you at how long it takes her to make up her mind or speak/act. But we get her in the form of the lovely Hirose Suzu, so it's not too bad, although I did find myself rolling my eyes. Of course, from the outside comes Kei, played by Kamiki Ryūnosuke, and that's exactly the element that saves the series at the beginning, only to be aided in the rescue by Platinum – a group of the richest bastards with consciences and their own aches and pains (Mamiya Shōtarō, Sugisaki Hana, to name a few). It's exactly what it promises – we climb the school stairs to solve someone's problem on each one and conquer the entire staircase. Basically, no one here is explicitly a villain, but at the same time, no one here is explicitly a saint (unless you count Haruna as the classic stereotypical heroine). In the end, it's a nice series (slightly above average as far as school settings go). But if you watch this one before the others with similar themes, I wouldn't be surprised if you fall in love with it. Kamiki's character is a big plus and asset, not to mention the fact that he's constantly making fun of the main character, pretending to keep his distance but at the same time enjoying it all – and Kamiki just plays it well. It wouldn't have worked without him. Despite some cliched, almost embarrassing scenes, a better 3 stars. (15.03.2015)