The setting is truly ridiculous. Each school district is a gang turf. You've got students that attend these schools, but there are no teachers to be found or classes being held. It's basically one giant hangout for gangsters. You got these massive street brawls involving dozens of people, but cops are non-existent. In fact, the townspeople rely on the gangs themselves for protection. Gratefully so. The members of these gangs are also incredible fighters. I'm talking pro level MMA, veteran kickboxing, highly-trained combatants. Throw in over-the-top drama along with some superficially deep philosophy on having "conversations with your fists", or what it takes to get to the top and you've got a pretty good idea on what this show is all about.
And yet despite all that, it's entertaining. If you can accept the absurdity for what it is and don't think too hard about it there's a decent show here. The animation alone is worth your time. It's utterly superb. A lot of animators take shortcuts when it comes to action scenes because it's easier to draw. As long as the audience gets the basic gist, that's good enough. Well, not in this series. They really went the extra mile for these fights. More than that, each major character has a unique fighting style, and they go through the trouble of showing that in great detail. Besides being visually stunning, it gives these people an extra layer of substance that elevates what would otherwise be something closer to generic or two-dimensional. I mean, they're still pretty generic, but since combat is a major feature of the show fighting style becomes a part of their personality. It definitely helps.
There's nothing novel about this series. They use familiar tropes you'll recognize immediately. The story is also nothing to write home about. However, they put these elements together so well that you won't really mind. This is a fun, easily digestible show. It doesn't need to be any more than that.
