Business is a ruthless mistress. One that will leave you broken if you don’t play the game right and will reward you extravagantly if you play it well. However, what if the employees are all kids?
Classroom Crisis is the story of a group of engineering students working for the Kirishina Corporation in 4th Tokyo on Mars. Their division, known as A-TEC, just finished their new rocket prototype, the X-2, a multi-billion dollar project that has promising possibilities. Unfortunately, on an emergency rescue mission to save the CEO’s youngest brother, the prototype is demolished. As a result, the company finds A-TEC to be a waste of company resources and intends to shut them down.
A Delicious Plate of Cookies
Katio Sera is a young engineer and the homeroom teacher for the A-TEC class at Kirishina Academy. Known as a genius in his high school days, he brings his prowess and ingenuity to the class. Mizuki Sera, his younger sister and gifted engineering student, wants to follow in the footsteps of their parents and become an engineer. Mizuki’s classmates include Iris Shirasaki and Nagisa Kiryu. Iris is a quiet, reserved girl recovering from amnesia. Nagisa is the youngest brother to the company’s CEO, a genius businessman, and the new Chief Director of A-TEC, the one in charge of shutting them down.
When I see characters that are high school students, I begin to be skeptical, worried that they’ll end up the same cookie-cutter characters usually seen in these types of settings. This does seem to be the case for this show at first. The main characters have more personality, as they should, leaving the more ancillary characters to remain one-dimensional. However, having simple characters develop makes this show easier to watch, unburdened by complexity and the viewer’s attempts to figure out what a character is thinking.
The Power to Change the World
Initially, the premise of Classroom Crisis comes across as stale, boring and overused. However, as the story progresses, that changes. The characters grow, the plot thickens, and secrets are revealed. Kaito Sera quickly finds out what big business is really like and discovers the hardships of having to work under pressure. The classmates of A-TEC begin to pull things together in their own way.
The dynamic between Nagisa and the rest of the characters is an animosity that drives them to forge their path ahead, but Nagisa has his own obstacles as well. His older brothers, both in higher positions than him, are roadblocks in his plan to control the company himself.
Reflection
The brutality and underhandedness of business politics are what brings intrigue to this series as we watch Kaito Sera and the rest of A-TEC struggle against all odds to stay afloat in a tank of sharks. Will they be able to come up with a strategy to keep their division afloat in time, or will they go under and be forced to disband? Watch and find out! Classroom Crisis is available to watch on Crunchyroll and Hulu in subbed format.
