Four idiots in a maximum-security prison become the only thing keeping the place from falling apart. The show trades plot coherence for pure comedic momentum, which means you're laughing at a joke about inmate uniforms one second and watching someone actually save a life the next. The special exists because fans demanded more of these characters, and that's the real tell, Nanbaka doesn't try to be important, it just makes you care about four numbskulls who shouldn't matter to you at all. By the end you're rooting for prisoners like they're your actual friends. The tonal whiplash from joke to genuine moment lands every single time.

Nanbaka: Idiots with Student Numbers! gets a single-episode special in 2017, a companion to the Nanbaka television anime. The TV series' official website announced that this never-before-released episode would be shown at the Nanfes event in April. Its genres mix action, comedy and drama.