The Best God Of High School Season 1 Episode According To Fans
If you crave top-notch art in your anime, then Crunchyroll's original series "The God of High School" is a must-see. Based on a Korean Webtoon series of the same name by Yongje Park, the series was released as an anime in 2020. The following year, it was nominated for Best Animation in the 2021 Crunchyroll Anime Awards (via IMDb).
In the vein of the wildly popular Netflix sensation "Demon Slayer," "The God of High School" is a thrilling action-adventure anime that brings both elements of fantasy and gorgeously choreographed fight scenes to the table. The series revolves around a group of high school students — including Mori Jin, Daewi Han, and Mira Yoo — who compete in a martial arts tournament in Seoul, South Korea, for the ultimate prize: their deepest wish fulfilled.
The competitors' wishes couldn't be more different. Mori wants to be reunited with his grandfather, Daewi wants to cure his best friend's terminal illness, and Mira wants to find a man to carry on the legacy of her family's martial arts dojo. All of them invoke borrowed power from the gods called "charyeok" to assist them with their fighting skills. As the series progresses, the competitors get more than they bargained for when they learn about the existence of a mysterious cult called Nox, which has stakes in the tournament that transcend the earthly realm.
Though the series as a whole has been widely praised for its visual splendor, there is one episode of "The God of High School" in particular that stands out to fans, specifically in the area of fight scene animation.
God of High School fans can't get enough of Episode 10
The top-rated episode of "The God of High School" on a Reddit thread posted one year ago to a r/anime subreddit is Episode 10, "oath/meaning." In this jam-packed episode, viewers see the backstory of Mori's rival Ilpyo Park, who is competing to rehabilitate his friend after her leg is viciously crushed by the opponent Jegal Taek during a fight, effectively ending her martial arts career. The Nox cult plot is also further developed, as we discover that they are invested in destroying the power of all other gods — and anyone who invokes charyeok — in service of the one god they worship. The episode also reveals the identity of the Key, a being with the ability to unlock the power of humanity to challenge the gods.
Despite these competing storylines, the episode is anchored by the stunning animation of its action scenes. In this episode, the stakes are even higher for the martial arts fights as Mori, Daewi, and Mira are promised more information on the Nox cult on one condition — that they win the "God of High School" tournament. "It was truly a visual treat, especially with the motion capture. Oh man, that rotoscope battle... Beautiful," gushed one Reddit user, u/MrSeaSalt, in another r/anime Reddit thread, referring to an animation technique in which live-action footage is traced over frame by frame, rather than animators using CGI to accomplish the same effect.
Reddit user u/cppn02 called the fight scenes in the tournament arena "disgustingly well animated," adding that "This is some of the best hand to hand combat I have ever seen in animation, Mappa really put their heart and soul into this one."
A 2nd season for "The God of High School" has not yet been confirmed.