Best Student Council

I was on a high school student council once, but I must not have been on the best student council. We never used a network of spies to get involved in our members’ love lives. We never had to imprison a talking puppet, or deal with its inevitable curse afterwards. We never had a cookoff to determine how our budget would be spent. We never fired a giant cannon at our enemies, although you might get a different impression from the school’s pep rallies. We never prevented one of our own from cheating on exams using occult objects (we looked the other way). Yup, if it were possible, I’d rather have been a member of the Best Student Council.

Best Student Council follows the adventures of Reno Rando, who we first meet on a train to Miyagami Private Academy. Reno has the unusual property of constantly carrying around a hand puppet, Pucchan, that she has conversations with. We learn that her mother has died, and her pen pal, the enigmatic and unseen Mr. Poppit, has paid for her to attend the academy. Unfortunately, when she arrives, she finds her apartment burnt to ground. When she arrives at the school, she quickly makes a friend in Aya, who suggests running for class representative, so that she can meet the best student council president, and try to become the new secretary of the student council. Aya explains that council members stay in a luxury dorm, and get a tuition waiver — exactly what the broke, homeless, and obstinately deranged Reno needs. This unlikely plan works perfectly, if not smoothly, for reasons that become obvious as the series progresses.

Reno is by far the strangest member of the student council, but each member is at least a bit quirky. Divided in the covert squad, assault squad, officers, and single-member vehicle squad, best student council members are the targets of bizarre relatives, unworthy suitors, corporate spies, and paparazzi.

The animation of Best Student Council is decent, with a perfect setting throughout. The soundtrack lacks punch, but doesn’t get in the way of the zany antics. The plot gradually includes more and more serious intrigue. Best Student Council? The best student council in anime, at least.