Baka Test has certainly evolved into something quite different from the first season (which I loved) and most of the second season (which I didn’t).  So I guess I have to look at that as a mixed bag.

I’ll give B-T credit for this much – the continuity this season has been consistent.  The blockbuster kiss at the end of episode 8 7 wasn’t forgotten about but rather instigated the key events of this episode, starting with Akihisa’s arrest and trial.  When serious stuff happens on this show it sort of forces you to reflect on the fact that Aki isn’t just an idiot for show, like so many male leads – he really is a baka.  But a kind-hearted one to be sure, and deserving of far better treatment than he gets from the women in his life.  That said, the depth of his idiocy really comes through in the way he bungles the love triangle that’s been erected around him.

The topic of an ESB actually gets a mention this week, but alas, there’s no actual battles – it just acts as the driver for the real focus of the episode.  With Miharu crazed with jealousy over the kiss between Minami and Aki, Class D is about to challenge Class F to an ESB – a real problem given their currently depleted status due to the peeping suspensions.  Aki and Minami’s “breakup” avoids that issue, but the real fireworks come in when Class F needs to piss her off again to avoid an even more disastrous challenge from Class B.  The most memorable scene of the episode?  Easily Hideyoshi’s “confession” to Aki, demonstrating to the girls how to play out the farce they’ve written to fool Miharu into thinking Aki and Minami are really dating.  As Aki said, there are some dreams you just don’t want to end…

But that’s a dream – the painful reality is that it’s Minami and Himeji after him, even if Aki is too much the idiot to notice.  And even when their play gains a life of its own, no amount of prodding on the part of the two psychopaths can prompt a clue from Aki about which way he’d decide.  The fact is, if I were Aki the best decision I could make would be “neither” since both girls are nut jobs, but it is refreshing to see the both of them be so bold and open in declaring their interest.  I can’t recall the last love triangle when I was so heavily rooting against rivals, but sooner or later Aki is going to have to choose – one or the other, or neither.  Even the baka act can only protect him for so long.