(Good) Nanbaka

Note: I watched this series in English.

Series in one sentence:
Gorgeous feminine men with the mentality of preteens stuck in sparkly jail.

Series in more sentences:
4 notorious jailbreakers are moved to Japan's most secure prison; not so much for their crimes, but for the fact they keep escaping.

While their days are filled with comedic fun and their lives became better after meeting each other, specifically the one-trick-pony 15, they get involved with his dark history and that of the prison itself.

What a mesmerizingly ridiculous show, nothing close to my expectations when I saw the ominous cover.

Anything goes in this, whether it's story or character design, which makes for a messy whole. Nanbaka somehow managed to own it, I think thanks to the humor.
I mean, look at these stupid-ass characters in the image above. What the Hell is that. This is how prisoners are allowed to dress? Is neon-green a natural hair colour in this reality? Nice eyelashes on this boy as well, in any realistic prison he'd be the top attraction.

It becomes clear fast that this highly secured island prison with intensive medical care and fantastic food isn't housing serial rapists and deranged killers, for the most part, it even welcomes idiots who trespass by accident. This allows for the viewers to comfortably laugh at the cutesy residents, who are like slightly rebellious high school students opposed to hardened criminals worthy of being imprisoned in a building that calls itself a bigger deal than Alcatraz.
You can argue that 3 of the 4 main characters are capable of being a lethal danger, but only one of them is actually in jail for getting in a street brawl. These kids are a waste of valuable space.

The quality of most episodes were average and at the end I wasn't as entertained anymore. I liked the show better when the plot was knowingly stupid and unfocused, because the "serious" storylines felt shoehorned in. The main plot concerning nr. 15 was pretty much abandoned in season 2 for something completely different. This season dragged on, 15 was an idiot in it, and the main gang hardly seen together.

Nevertheless, I'd love to see more. The last episode was open-ended, but it's been 2 years, I'm inclined to believe there won't be more.