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School Judgment #3
School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 3
At this school, there’s only one way to settle a dispute—in a court of law!
At Tenbin Elementary, there is only one way to settle a dispute—in a court of law! All quarrels bypass the teachers and are settled by some of the best lawyers in the country…who also happen to be elementary school students.
Tento once again finds himself in a tight spot when he’s accused of trying to murder the school’s Madonna, Reiko Shiratori, and locking her unconscious body in a shed. Can Abaku ronpa his friend to freedom? Meanwhile, the Red Ogre sends out a warning to Abaku, Sarutobi and discover his identity before graduation or he will murder all of their classmates again! Can Abaku solve this final mystery in time?
At Tenbin Elementary, there is only one way to settle a dispute—in a court of law! All quarrels bypass the teachers and are settled by some of the best lawyers in the country…who also happen to be elementary school students.
Tento once again finds himself in a tight spot when he’s accused of trying to murder the school’s Madonna, Reiko Shiratori, and locking her unconscious body in a shed. Can Abaku ronpa his friend to freedom? Meanwhile, the Red Ogre sends out a warning to Abaku, Sarutobi and discover his identity before graduation or he will murder all of their classmates again! Can Abaku solve this final mystery in time?
208 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 20, 2017
My feelings are a bit mixed on this volume. The first part, the actual ending to the story, was pretty good. The "bonus chapters" at the end, the original "one shot" version, was not all that great.
I'll start on the actual story-related chapters.
So, the story itself was good. A girl is seemingly attacked, and Tento once again is the accused. A new prosecutor is introduced as well, the twelve-year-old bondage chick with short shorts that seem to be falling off her body. Bondage chick is into torture, as elementary students usually are (that was sarcasm, if it wasn't clear), and is probably breaking some laws in interrogating Tento. Then we get into the arbitration session, so I won't say much more about the plot. Let's leave it at "we finally learn the truth about the Bloody Session", which is not a spoiler since this is last volume and we all knew they'd be getting to that eventually. The ending doesn't feel rushed or truncated at all, even with the alternate path this could have taken that was suggested by the ending. I'm glad they didn't go through the alternate path, too.
But for Miss Mini Bondage, the artwork is great, and there's one scene in particular that I think was extremely well done. Pine and Inugami talk before the arbitration session, and the panel layout, the emotion, everything was spot on.
That's about all I can say about that without getting further into spoiler territory, so moving on to the second part, the "one shot" that's in two parts.
So the one shot is a rehash of the first chapter we saw in book one. Well, I guess the first chapter was a more polished version of this one. The reason for the session is different this time around, the teacher is different, and the artwork looks like a cross between Yu-Gi-Oh and DBZ, but it shares a lot of the same beats of the first one. Also, they set up for an obvious clue that doesn't get used (clay is wet, wet clay squishes, while dry clay doesn't). If I'm being honest, I don't think it's really worth reading, since it really is a lot like the original chapter.
So in short, 4 stars for the finale, 2 stars for the one shot version, averaging out to 3 stars total.
I'll start on the actual story-related chapters.
So, the story itself was good. A girl is seemingly attacked, and Tento once again is the accused. A new prosecutor is introduced as well, the twelve-year-old bondage chick with short shorts that seem to be falling off her body. Bondage chick is into torture, as elementary students usually are (that was sarcasm, if it wasn't clear), and is probably breaking some laws in interrogating Tento. Then we get into the arbitration session, so I won't say much more about the plot. Let's leave it at "we finally learn the truth about the Bloody Session", which is not a spoiler since this is last volume and we all knew they'd be getting to that eventually. The ending doesn't feel rushed or truncated at all, even with the alternate path this could have taken that was suggested by the ending. I'm glad they didn't go through the alternate path, too.
But for Miss Mini Bondage, the artwork is great, and there's one scene in particular that I think was extremely well done. Pine and Inugami talk before the arbitration session, and the panel layout, the emotion, everything was spot on.
That's about all I can say about that without getting further into spoiler territory, so moving on to the second part, the "one shot" that's in two parts.
So the one shot is a rehash of the first chapter we saw in book one. Well, I guess the first chapter was a more polished version of this one. The reason for the session is different this time around, the teacher is different, and the artwork looks like a cross between Yu-Gi-Oh and DBZ, but it shares a lot of the same beats of the first one. Also, they set up for an obvious clue that doesn't get used (clay is wet, wet clay squishes, while dry clay doesn't). If I'm being honest, I don't think it's really worth reading, since it really is a lot like the original chapter.
So in short, 4 stars for the finale, 2 stars for the one shot version, averaging out to 3 stars total.
March 21, 2024
I decided that even though I had a few misgivings, I would push on. I felt that the previous two volumes had some inappropriate panels involving 12-13 year old children. With that, I thought long and hard whether or not to read volume 3 in order to finish the series. Since I also review works to inform parents and guardians about the age appropriateness of comics and graphic novels, along with journaling about my reads, I decided that I needed to complete School Judgment in order to determine if things continue to skirt the edge of decency or not.
So does volume 3 over-sexualize middle school children, especially girls? Oh yeah, it does.
This final volume introduces readers to the third survivor of the classroom massacre, The Bloody Session, that inspired Abaku Inugami to become a lawyer. Named Yui Kijima, she's a ruthless attorney who has never lost a case. And she dresses as a dominatrix which reflects her vindictive and heartless nature. Kijima has arrived because sweet little Tento Nanahoshi is in serious trouble once again! School Madonna, Reiko Shiratori has been attacked, falling into a deep coma and Tento is the prime suspect!
It will be Yui vs Abaku for the fate of Tento Nanahoshi. Should Abaku lose this case, Tento will be sent to Onigashima Elementary, the harshest school penitentiary in all of Japan!
Then fans finally learn the identity of Red Orge, the savage killer of Abaku, Yui and ninja lawyer Kotaro Sarutobi's classmates. It's a resolution that will stun readers. But it will also answer some lingering questions for fans because the final two chapters were never published in print until now! So unless you subscribed to Weekly Shonen Jump's online app Shonen Jump+, first run readers of School Judgment were left in the dark as to the identity of Red Orge!
Also appearing in print for the very first time is the 2-part prototype of Nobuaki Enoki's vision for School Judgment. Featuring very primitive art from Enoki, there's some elements of the Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment story but overall, it's a new case, with some new characters, between attorneys Pine Hanzuki and Abaku Inugami.
Here we are with a storyline that involves a history of a bunch of first graders being slaughtered, a youth bent on murderous revenge for their killing, and all kinds of fights, assaults and drug use and here I am freaking out over the sultry parts of this book. I don't know why. Maybe it crosses a line for me. As a high school teacher, I witness fights and assaults all day. There's been a couple of incidents of drug use, but it's mostly cigs and vaping that get my students into trouble. Thankfully, nobody has died. But we've had so many freakin' lock-downs that we've all become desensitized to them due to overuse. But when it comes to portraying youths as sexual creatures, as realistic as premarital sex and teen pregnancy is at my school, it's a huge line in the sand that I don't want to be anywhere near.
I know that there's a ton of Manga out there that are a lot more adult than this book. The same goes for American comics and graphic novels. But the fact that the sensuality and T&A that appears in this book involved elementary students was something that gave me a lot of pause. And to have adult men crafting these stories just doesn't seem appropriate to me. If it doesn't seem appropriate for your family, then consider this review my advisory. But will I demand it be censored or banned? As a supporter of the CBLDF, absolutely not. I just hope parents, guardians and adults who might not be in the know are made aware should they deem such work as School Judgment as not right for their families or themselves.
So does volume 3 over-sexualize middle school children, especially girls? Oh yeah, it does.
This final volume introduces readers to the third survivor of the classroom massacre, The Bloody Session, that inspired Abaku Inugami to become a lawyer. Named Yui Kijima, she's a ruthless attorney who has never lost a case. And she dresses as a dominatrix which reflects her vindictive and heartless nature. Kijima has arrived because sweet little Tento Nanahoshi is in serious trouble once again! School Madonna, Reiko Shiratori has been attacked, falling into a deep coma and Tento is the prime suspect!
It will be Yui vs Abaku for the fate of Tento Nanahoshi. Should Abaku lose this case, Tento will be sent to Onigashima Elementary, the harshest school penitentiary in all of Japan!
Then fans finally learn the identity of Red Orge, the savage killer of Abaku, Yui and ninja lawyer Kotaro Sarutobi's classmates. It's a resolution that will stun readers. But it will also answer some lingering questions for fans because the final two chapters were never published in print until now! So unless you subscribed to Weekly Shonen Jump's online app Shonen Jump+, first run readers of School Judgment were left in the dark as to the identity of Red Orge!
Also appearing in print for the very first time is the 2-part prototype of Nobuaki Enoki's vision for School Judgment. Featuring very primitive art from Enoki, there's some elements of the Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment story but overall, it's a new case, with some new characters, between attorneys Pine Hanzuki and Abaku Inugami.
Here we are with a storyline that involves a history of a bunch of first graders being slaughtered, a youth bent on murderous revenge for their killing, and all kinds of fights, assaults and drug use and here I am freaking out over the sultry parts of this book. I don't know why. Maybe it crosses a line for me. As a high school teacher, I witness fights and assaults all day. There's been a couple of incidents of drug use, but it's mostly cigs and vaping that get my students into trouble. Thankfully, nobody has died. But we've had so many freakin' lock-downs that we've all become desensitized to them due to overuse. But when it comes to portraying youths as sexual creatures, as realistic as premarital sex and teen pregnancy is at my school, it's a huge line in the sand that I don't want to be anywhere near.
I know that there's a ton of Manga out there that are a lot more adult than this book. The same goes for American comics and graphic novels. But the fact that the sensuality and T&A that appears in this book involved elementary students was something that gave me a lot of pause. And to have adult men crafting these stories just doesn't seem appropriate to me. If it doesn't seem appropriate for your family, then consider this review my advisory. But will I demand it be censored or banned? As a supporter of the CBLDF, absolutely not. I just hope parents, guardians and adults who might not be in the know are made aware should they deem such work as School Judgment as not right for their families or themselves.
Read
June 13, 2021The ending wasn't the strongest, but it didn't suck. There were a lot of caveats and explanations necessary to make it work at all, but this whole thing kind of tests suspension of disbelief. I wish the ending had more to do with Pine-chan, or that the last female prosecutor had more time/was more likeable. It was odd to hear so much about bonds and friendship when one of the characters was brand new and, on top of that, prickly.
Mostly, I'm disappointed at the handling of female characters, especially the at-length discussion of the boobs of these elementary school girls. They're shown in swim suits at the pool, and there's the standard boys-leering moment, except... this isn't a highschool anime, where people are starting to explore their sexuality. I think it's a little disrespectful/sexualizing towards young boys as well, since elementary school kids don't usually have these kinds of feelings, so it's like the author is putting this adult feeling onto these boys... I don't know. Whatever. It felt gross.
Mostly, I'm disappointed at the handling of female characters, especially the at-length discussion of the boobs of these elementary school girls. They're shown in swim suits at the pool, and there's the standard boys-leering moment, except... this isn't a highschool anime, where people are starting to explore their sexuality. I think it's a little disrespectful/sexualizing towards young boys as well, since elementary school kids don't usually have these kinds of feelings, so it's like the author is putting this adult feeling onto these boys... I don't know. Whatever. It felt gross.
September 6, 2023
Je ne peux décemment pas mettre plus de 2/5 à un manga qui sexualise des enfants. On a passé un nouveau palier avec l'apparition de Kijima, clairement représentée (alors qu'elle doit avoir 12 ans, comme les autres) comme une dominatrice SM. Il y a de l'abus.
Au delà de ça, l'intrigue principale, celle du procès du sang, tient en haleine, et c'est ce qui m'a permis de m'accrocher malgré les reproches moraux qu'on peut formuler. On a envie de savoir, de comprendre. Les procès sont presques secondaires. J'ai l'impression que le manga s'est amélioré au fil des trois épisodes. Mais j'ai quand même noté des problèmes de cohérence, avec Tento qui est censé connaître les 3 avocats depuis toujours bien qu'il semble les découvrir au fil des tomes.
L'histoire bonus, initiale, montre qu'une version moins sexualisée et avec des enfants qui paraissent plus enfantins était largement possible (on n'en doutait pas) et ça aurait largement revalorisé ce manga.
Au delà de ça, l'intrigue principale, celle du procès du sang, tient en haleine, et c'est ce qui m'a permis de m'accrocher malgré les reproches moraux qu'on peut formuler. On a envie de savoir, de comprendre. Les procès sont presques secondaires. J'ai l'impression que le manga s'est amélioré au fil des trois épisodes. Mais j'ai quand même noté des problèmes de cohérence, avec Tento qui est censé connaître les 3 avocats depuis toujours bien qu'il semble les découvrir au fil des tomes.
L'histoire bonus, initiale, montre qu'une version moins sexualisée et avec des enfants qui paraissent plus enfantins était largement possible (on n'en doutait pas) et ça aurait largement revalorisé ce manga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2024
This was all over so quickly.
While the idea here was quite interesting, the execution throughout the 3 volumes wasn't fantastic, and the sexualizeation of primary school girls felt like it got worse as things went on.
Story wise, the this volume's focus on a single case helped add a little depth, but the resolution really stretched my suspension of disbelief which unfortunately has been a bit of a hall mark of these cases.
While the idea here was quite interesting, the execution throughout the 3 volumes wasn't fantastic, and the sexualizeation of primary school girls felt like it got worse as things went on.
Story wise, the this volume's focus on a single case helped add a little depth, but the resolution really stretched my suspension of disbelief which unfortunately has been a bit of a hall mark of these cases.
June 7, 2021
A pretty good ending to this series, and I can't believe they did not put the last chapter in the magazine! So glad it IS on the Shonen Jump app! This one was a lot more serious than the other two, and I do like how the characters have grown. Overall, it's pretty good, but not perfect.
February 27, 2019
I love the character designs in this series! Everything wraps up neatly, if unexpectedly. It's a lot of fun!
Read
October 29, 2019Wish goodreads had a sliding color star option for ratings. Because this was over the place.
Over all. odd read. And I'm going to think about the final volume for a while now.
Over all. odd read. And I'm going to think about the final volume for a while now.
January 16, 2020
Didn’t really like how the book ended but it was still a great read
March 11, 2025
This volume had two stories of roughly equal size. The first was probably thee best so far. The second was so lame, it more than offset the first. No more books in this series.
June 8, 2016
Excellent finale to this 3-volume series. The book starts off with one last case involving a locked room (almost) murder. This was my favourite case of the whole series! Then the plot finally settles on solving the "Bloody Classroom Session" which has been the overall story arc since the first volume. I found the wrap up quite intense and satisfying even though it seemed to be a more culturally Japanese solution rather than one would find in an American mystery. Even though it's only three volumes I really enjoyed the characters and thought they had real development over the entire series. I really enjoyed the legal aspect of the story and will have to look for more manga in this genre.
June 12, 2016
Certainly not the strongest series I've read, but volume 3 outdid 1 and 2 quite a bit. Genuinely surprising and a lot of fun, it was worth reading. My one real regret is how easily Pine was relegated to side character.
September 2, 2016
A solid 3.5 story
The ending was out there, but the reasoning behind it sweet. And I liked the one shot included in this volume.
The ending was out there, but the reasoning behind it sweet. And I liked the one shot included in this volume.
April 2, 2017
This is volume was more enjoyable than the other two. If this series wasn't a three volume series I would have dropped this series after the second volume. The premise is pretty original but the ages of the characters aged 12-14 if I'm not mistaken, is what brings this series down. Especially since in one of the notes at the end of a chapter the author said he wanted a female character to have larger breasts (Shiratori might have been the one he was referring to). The series would have been better if the characters were high school or college-aged so the cases covered wouldn't have to be so tame.
April 13, 2017
This was far too rushed as an end and the new prosecutor needed fixing.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews