I Say, "-uusei"

So here is Kakyuusei (1995), a four episode h-anime OVA. It should not be confused with Elf Ban Kakyuusei (1998), a four episode non-h OVA, or Kakyuusei (1999), a fourteen episode non-h TV series, all of which, like Doukyuusei and Doukyuusei 2, stem from Japanese "visual novels" or erotic games with high school settings. The Kakyuusei shows focus on relationships between a male upperclassman and multiple female students, typically first-years.

Kakyuusei (1995) has the dubious distinction of being the only one of all the "-uusei" shows never released on DVD. It also has a strange English (sub)title: My Petty Class Student. At first, I thought this was a misprint for "pretty," because "petty" usually means "trivial" or "unimportant." However, Zalis believes it to be an overly literal translation, using the second definition of "petty" as "of secondary or lower importance, rank, or scale; e.g., a petty officer."

The show is technically an orphan. The first two episodes were released in the US on VHS and ripped by Anime-Hentai. The last two episodes never appeared in English. For this release, Zalis translation-checked the first two episodes and both translated and timed the last two. convexity did additional translation checking and translated the extensive signs. I edited and typeset, as usual, and CP and konnakude checked the results. Because the series was never released on DVD, the only available raws are terrible LaserDisc rips, at 384p resolution.They're filled with deinterlacing problems and blended frames, but they're the only game in town.

Kakyuusei (1995) follows the usual format for the "-uusei" shows. The protagonist, Nanahoshi Kakeru, is high-school senior hoping to "make happy memories" (i.e., get lucky) in his last year in school. He meets and beds a virginal young woman, Urara, to whom he declares his undying love. However, when she is conveniently sent abroad, he pursues and beds a different first-year girl in each of the succeeding episodes, only returning to Urara when she even more conveniently returns at the end of the series. The cast is fleshed out (so to speak) with the usual tropes, including Kakeru's younger sister, Mika, his hapless best friend, Minamino Takeshi, and the sneering, wealth playboy, Douda Shuichiro. The h-scenes are mild by modern standards, but there is a tiny bit of censoring in one spot. In addition, there's a dream sequence involving a St. Bernard that makes the horny mutt in Kennel Tokorozawa look like a model of deportment.

Of all the "-uusei" h-animes, only Tenkousei (1997) remains unsubbed; in the PG category, Kakyuusei (1999) is still unfinished (C1 is slowly working its way through that series). Viewed as a collection, they seem remarkably repetitious, and yet the same basic plot continues to be used in visual novels and anime series to this day. I guess harem shows never go out of favor.

I'm hoping that better raws for Kakyuusei (1995) will surface someday, but with LaserDiscs the only digital source at the moment, I'm not holding my breath. If a reader does find a better set of raws, let me know, and Orphan will redo the subs. In the meantime, this is the best that can be done for this otherwise forgotten series.

P.S. A big shout-out to Zalis for taking on the translation. I don't think this would have gotten done without him.