History YMMV / PrisonSchool

* WinBackTheCrowd: Alongside ''Manga/FoodWars'' and ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'' which aired during the same season, this show helped give Creator/JCStaff a second wind among the anime fandom. Before this show J.C. Staff had received a lot of ridicule from anime fans for their low animation quality, the SeasonalRot of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', and producing many widely ridiculed light novel adaptations like ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo''. However this show and the two other examples listed above reminded fans that J.C. Staff can still work on unique and interesting new shows.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Good luck finding someone who doesn't know anything else about the English dub other than the contentious anti-Gamergate remark that appears in the dubbed version of episode 7. It remains even though the line was removed on DVD.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Alongside ''Manga/FoodWars'' and ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'' which aired during the same season, this show helped give Creator/JCStaff a second wind among the anime fandom. Before this show J.C. Staff had received a lot of ridicule from anime fans for their low animation quality, the SeasonalRot of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' as well as actively killing the ShanaClone trope, and producing many widely ridiculed light novel adaptations like ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo''. However this show and the two other examples listed above reminded fans that J.C. Staff can still work on unique and interesting new shows.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Fan reaction to [[CuteClumsyGirl Mitsuko]] was split due to her pretty much coming out of nowhere and becoming close to Gakuto, unlike the already well-established and liked Anzu (and the [[TheScrappy hated]] Chiyo). Either she's the perfect partner for a character who deserves happiness, or completely generic. However, after she was given a bigger role in the overarching story by being revealed as the TokenGoodTeammate for the Aboveground Student Council and the relationship aspects between her and Gakuto were severely downplayed, most of the hatred she garnered has been sent back to [[TheScrappy Chiyo]].

** Hana is far and away the most popular character within the western fandom. Despite firmly being a supporting character throughout the first three story arcs and being far less prominent than both Mari and Meiko, she has topped every western popularity poll by a sizable margin. Her massive popularity was mostly due to her comedic entanglements with the main character Kiyoshi and to some extent her popular Anime VA Kana Hanazawa.
*** The character's popularity along with her character development was such that she got upgraded to the main antagonist in the final story arc.

** To a lesser extent, Chiyo seemingly gets flak for being a generic NiceGirl with little characterization who stood out among the entire larger-than-life cast like a sore thumb, but in reality the fandom merely finds her boring instead of actually disliking the character.

* DieForOurShip: Chiyo in canon is primarily a NiceGirl. But because a good chunk of the fandom ships Kiyoshi with Hana instead, Chiyo is frequently demonized by those same fans into a “slut” and even go so far as to say she deserved [[spoiler:having her heart broken by Hana’s manipulations in the final arc]], despite this clearly being portrayed as a bad thing.

** The final chapter. While a return to the crazier sides of the series, fans all over have different opinions on how it and the series as a whole were handled. Some do like that Kiyoshi's lies finally caught up to him and felt his humiliation was thematically appropriate. Some [[AudienceAlienatingEnding hate the ending]], given that almost the entire focus of the final arc went to Kiyoshi/Hana/Chiyo and only a handful of characters got a positive resolution while [[ShaggyDogStory basically all the struggles of the main characters were rendered pointless]] in a bleak SuddenDownerEnding. Some hate the rushed feel of the last arc in general, and some preferred to wait for the epilogue to see a proper end.

* FanPreferredCouple: Kiyoshi has made it clear on multiple occasions that his feelings are for Chiyo. Despite this a lot of fans would rather see him end up with Hana instead. This is mainly due to Chiyo coming across as a generic NiceGirl to a lot of readers, her and Kiyoshi's relationship not being fleshed out until well into the series and some of the most memorable and hilarious scenes in the series occurring whenever Kiyoshi and Hana are alone.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Hana Midorikawa... VERY much so. She is violent to the main characters, her interactions with Kiyoshi made her look insane in a childish way, and takes an antagonistic role in both the first and last story arcs. Yet it is exactly because of her interactions with Kiyoshi that the fandom found her to be the most entertaining character in the series and most of them shipped the two. Many even believed that Hana's eventual crush on Kiyoshi was "authentic love", disregarding the many times Hana has clearly and selfishly disregarded Kiyoshi's feelings and thoughts throughout the entire series.

** The final chapter. While a return to the crazier sides of the series, fans all over have different opinions on how it and the series as a whole were handled. Some do like that Kiyoshi's lies finally caught up to him and felt his humiliation was thematically appropriate. Some hate the ending, given that almost the entire focus of the final arc went to Kiyoshi/Hana/Chiyo and only a handful of characters got a positive resolution. Some hate the rushed feel of the last arc in general, and some preferred to wait for the epilogue to see a proper end.

* MemeticMutation: In the end, [[SeriousBusiness boobs are nothing more than fake asses!]] [[labelnote:explanation]]Kiyoshi's appeal to prove to the Chairman that he is a trustworthy individual is to delivery a soliloquy on why asses are better than boobs. The absurdness of the whole rant has led to [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dmr7jzXW4AAA-ht.jpg the panel become a popular copypasta]].[[/labelnote]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Controversial as the ending may be, its message that relationships need to be built on mutual trust and honesty to work is a genuine one. Whether it was an appropriate and ironic note for the series to go out on or a needlessly cruel instance of MoodWhiplash at the end of what was otherwise a lighthearted sex comedy is another story.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While the Official Student Council are seen as the "villains" of the second arc due to their harsh treatment of the Underground Student Council, Kate does point that their treatment of the USC members is honestly NotSoDifferent from how the USC members punished the boys. Both groups are abusive to their prisoners to the point of Human Rights Violations (the Stanford Prison Experiment even being referenced) and aren't above using blackmail. Even Kate tricking Meiko into thinking she'd burned alive a nest of Mari's baby crows is almost identical to the time Mari made it look like her crows were eating Joe's ants in order to provoke a violent reaction from him. In both cases, the animals turned out to be perfectly safe. After everything the USC did to the boys, it [[LaserGuidedKarma only seem fair that their punishment should be the same]]. However, this does end when they [[KickTheDog imprison the clearly innocent Kiyoshi and Chiyo]], and when Kate admits that the whole punishment is not out of justice or feminist ideology but only [[{{Revenge}} her personal plan to get back at Mari for dethroning her as the best]].

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The second story arc (USC's imprisonment) often garners this for some readers, especially in the beginning stages. On the USC's side it's karma for what they had earlier done to the boys, but on the ASC's side it's clear that Kate's no angel and her mistreatment of the USC is largely out of revenge and her own selfish motives. The boys' main motivation for subsequently teaming up with the USC against the ASC doesn't make them worth rooting for either.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Fan reaction to [[CuteClumsyGirl Mitsuko]] was split due to her pretty much coming out of nowhere and becoming close to Gakuto, unlike the already well-established and liked Anzu (and the [[TheScrappy hated]] Chiyo). Either she's the perfect partner for a character who deserves happiness, or a completely generic RelationshipSue. However, after she was given a bigger role in the overarching story by being revealed as the TokenGoodTeammate for the Aboveground Student Council and the relationship aspects between her and Gakuto were severely downplayed, most of the hatred she garnered has been sent back to [[TheScrappy Chiyo]].

* StrawmanHasAPoint:
** While the Official Student Council are seen as the "villains" of the second arc due to their harsh treatment of the Underground Student Council, Kate does point that their treatment of the USC members is honestly NotSoDifferent from how the USC members punished the boys. Both groups are abusive to their prisoners to the point of Human Rights Violations (the Stanford Prison Experiment even being referenced) and aren't above using blackmail. Even Kate tricking Meiko into thinking she'd burned alive a nest of Mari's baby crows is almost identical to the time Mari made it look like her crows were eating Joe's ants in order to provoke a violent reaction from him. In both cases, the animals turned out to be perfectly safe. After everything the USC did to the boys, it [[LaserGuidedKarma only seem fair that their punishment should be the same]]. However, this does end when they [[KickTheDog imprison the clearly innocent Kiyoshi and Chiyo]], and when Kate admits that the whole punishment is not out of justice or feminist ideology but only [[{{Revenge}} her personal plan to get back at Mari for dethroning her as the best]].

* {{Wangst}}: Hana's whining during her turn as a prisoner. Played for laughs ("That's karma bitch") as well as part of Mari's plan to make Hana TheMole.

* CatharsisFactor: The imprisonment and harsh treatment of Underground Student Council is seen as the most satisfying event in the manga. Especially when Mari attempts to gain the higher moral ground by remarking that she expects Kate to try and provoke her and her underlings to extend their sentences, and the [[http://www.funmanga.com/uploads/chapters/5810/88/p_00014.png look on her face]] when she is reminded that she did the same thing to the boys.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Good luck finding someone who doesn't know anything else about the English dub other than the contentious anti-Gamergate remark that appears in the dubbed version of episode 7.

* {{Wangst}}: Hana's whining during her turn as a prisoner. Played for laughs ("That's karma bitch") as well as part of Mari's plan to make Hana the ReverseMole.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Alongside ''Manga/FoodWars'' and ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'' which aired during the same season, this show helped give Creator/JCStaff a second wind among the anime fandom. Before this show J.C. Staff had received a lot of ridicule from anime fans for their low animation quality, the SeasonalRot of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' as well as actively killing the ShanaClone trope, and producing many widely ridiculed light novel adaptations such as ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'', and ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon''. However this show and the two other examples listed above reminded fans that J.C. Staff can still work on unique and interesting new shows.

** Shingo is the most hated of the five boys among the Prison School fandom due to his hypocritical and selfish behavior. His status as this was lessened considerably following his transition into TheAtoner, though many still find him to be obnoxious.
** Early on, Mari is perhaps the most hated female character among the Prison School fandom, especially during her turn as the main antagonist in the first story arc. She had redeemed herself in much of the fandom's eyes after going through some character development in the 2nd story arc though.
** To a lesser extent, Chiyo seemingly gets flak for being a generic NiceGirl with little characterization who stood out among the entire larger-than-life cast like a sore thumb, but in reality the fandom merely finds her boring instead of actual dislike of the character.

* TrappedByMountainLions: The Chairman's subplot regarding his amnesia. After aiding a hitchhiker, he saves a little boy's dog from drowning, then falls off a waterfall and loses his memory (well, everything except his love of '''ass'''). His adventures only get wackier from there, and unlike most examples of this trope the fandom loves it more than the main plot.

** Kate, Mari's arch-nemesis for the position of Student Council President and eventually becomes her chief torturer. While Kate is the main antagonist of the second arc, and shows tendencies of being an AlphaBitch, it is also equally arguable that her actions are justified and Mari and the Underground Student Council really did deserve all the crap she imposes onto them because of their numerous human rights violations e.g. illegal imprisonment, torture, forced labour, etc. just for peeping, while Kate never acted all that viciously to anybody else who committed minor felonies, even to the boys, unless they help Mari in some way. Besides, the only reason the [[EnemyMine boys decided to forge an alliance with Mari]] in the first place was because Kate's administration [[SillyReasonForWar replaced the USC's previous Wet T-shirt contest with a clamming event.]]
** For Chiyo-Kiyoshi and Hana-Kiyoshi shippers: There is room for interpretation for Hana's actions during and right after the Sports Festival arc, where she played a part in ruining Kiyoshi's social life at school, requests for Chiyo not to socialize with Kiyoshi, and tore up the memo that Chiyo sent to Kiyoshi. Did Hana ruin Kiyoshi's reputation for the greater goal of ensuring the USC's survival, or did she do that so that no other girl would get close to him? By asking Chiyo to ignore Kiyoshi, was she really concerned for Chiyo's reputation or she doesn't want the two to be together? Was the tearing up of the memo an accident or intentional sabotage?
** Mari's inner monologue in the final story arc claimed that she is [[spoiler:atoning for [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom all the mess]] she had caused in the previous story arcs, by leaving for an exchange program. The questionable part was whether was she really atoning, or was that her own way of [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running away from the problems she had caused]]? This alternative interpretation of her character holds especially strong given that her misandry was clearly still evident by the end of the series]].

** The Horseback challenge between the two Student Councils ended up suffering from this due to the large amount of focus being placed on the characters doing crazy antics to one another rather than actually competing to complete the Horseback game. Hell, even '''Mayumi''' of all characters (Chiyo's friend) got a chapter focused on her. Chairman Kurihara's wilderness side-adventure that's been going on at the same time as the Horseback challenge hasn't helped either. The arc proved to be so divisive because of its plot and length that readership for the series took a severe nosedive by the time it ended.
** The events surrounding Chiyo's birthday has also reached a breaking point amongst readers due to the slow pacing of having four stories going on at the same time. These four stories being: '''A)''' Kiyoshi trying to confess to Chiyo at the birthday location while Hana tries to reveal her own feelings for Kiyoshi, '''B)''' Meiko and Kate trying to reach the airport to stop Mari from leaving, '''C)''' Andre and Risa becoming an OfficialCouple, and '''D)''' The rest of the core supporting characters going down river on the bottle raft to reach the birthday location, but end up getting themselves lost. With the exception of the Andre and Risa plotline, the rest have basically been dragged out with many back-to-back chapters of everyone simply trying to reach their final destination. Kiyoshi keeps getting roadblocked on the way to the birthday location, Meiko and Kate have a rough time getting to the airport, and the Gakuto, Shingo, Joe, Anzu, Satou, Mayumi group remain lost drifting further down the river on the bottle raft away from the birthday location.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The second story arc (USC's imprisonment) can be this for some readers, especially in the beginning stages. On the USC's side it was karma for what they had earlier done to the boys, but on the ASC's side it was clear that Kate's no angel and her mistreatment of the USC was largely out of revenge and her own selfish motives. The boys' main motivation for subsequently teaming up with the USC against the ASC didn't make them worth rooting for either.

* DesignatedVillain: Kate of the ASC in the second and third story arc (USC's imprisonment and the sports festival, respectively). Although [[{{Revenge}} her motivation]] was wrong, her actions weren't really any worse off than what Mari did during the boys' imprisonment -- it's karma for the USC. Hence she was the main antagonist only because she happened to be in a personal feud with Mari AND happened to [[SillyReasonForWar replace the USC's previous Wet T-shirt contest with a clamming event.]]
** Kate loses the "Designated" part of the DesignatedVillain when she began getting innocent characters into trouble/prison in her quest for revenge.
* DracoInLeatherPants: Hana Midorikawa... VERY much so. She is violent to the main characters, her interactions with Kiyoshi made her look insane in a childish way, and takes an antagonistic role in both the first and last story arcs. Yet it is exactly because of her interactions with Kiyoshi that the fandom found her to be the most entertaining character in the series and most of them shipped the two. Many had even believed that Hana's eventual crush on Kiyoshi was "authentic love", disregarding the many times Hana had clearly and selfishly disregarded Kiyoshi's feelings and thoughts throughout the entire series.

* MemeticBadass: The Chairman gets this reputation after enduring a devastating car crash without injury. Combined with his reveal of surprisingly good wilderness survival skills, jokes quickly sprang up in the fandom about him having learned them from battling through the South American jungle in his search for the perfect ass.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Hana Midorikawa... VERY much so. She is violent to the main characters, her interactions with Kiyoshi made her look insane in a childish way, and takes an antagonistic role in both the first and last story arcs. Yet it is exactly her interactions with Kiyoshi that the fandom found her to be the most entertaining character in the series and most of them shipped her with Kiyoshi. Many had even believed that Hana's eventual crush on Kiyoshi was "authentic love", disregarding the many times Hana had clearly and selfishly disregarded Kiyoshi's feelings and thoughts throughout the entire series.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Alongside ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma'' and ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'' which aired during the same season, this show helped give Creator/JCStaff a second wind among the anime fandom. Before this show J.C. Staff had received a lot of ridicule from anime fans for their low animation quality, the SeasonalRot of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' as well as actively killing the ShanaClone trope, and producing many widely ridiculed light novel adaptations such as ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'', and ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon''. However this show and the two other examples listed above reminded fans that J.C. Staff can still work on unique and interesting new shows.

* InternetBackdraft: There had been some backlash towards the writer of the English dub when he inserted a bit of AuthorTract, and his reaction towards criticism was to make inflammatory comments on Twitter. Funimation's non-commited response to the controversy didn't exactly help either. However, the backlash was enough for Funimation to change the dialogue in question for the DVD release.