Onegai Teacher
Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I’m hot for teacher
Review by: Craig "Tired Right Hand" Norris
Length: 12 episodes
Genre: Romance, drama
Watched: 1-12, subbed
I have become jaded by romance animes over the years. The more of them I watch, the more I realize that they’re playing off the same old formulas with the same old characters. So, Onegai Teacher, despite the good things I’d heard about it, had me prepared for the same old disappointment. Fortunately, this short series turned out to offer some things that made it a breath of fresh air that has rejuvenated my interest in the genre. Not the least of which is a sexy leading lady.
Plot synopsis: High school student Kei Kusanagi was lounging by the lake near his home when he sees a strange light, and a woman materialize out of nowhere. The next day he goes to school and hears that the class will be getting a new teacher. When the new teacher arrives, Kei instantly recognizes her as the woman by the lake. It does not take long before Kei discovers that his teacher Mizuho is an alien, and there is only one thing he can do to keep her secret: marry her.
Artwork: Good enough. The character designs are fairly generic, but they look good nonetheless. The detail on some of the backgrounds is impressive in spots, and can sometimes stand out more than the cel animation. The flow is smooth and there is a good use of colors to keep things looking bright. If you’ve seen typical anime style before, there’s nothing you’ll have to get used to here.
Music: Well, the opening theme is j-pop with a catchy beat, which is a safe choice for a romance series, and on its own the song is decent. The in-episode music does not measure up, though. Often, it’s simply a remix or variation of the theme, and doesn’t impress anyone who has discerning taste. But that’s okay; the soundtrack can afford to be an afterthought, as the characters themselves do enough of a job setting the mood.
Characters: What impressed me the most about this series is that the characters all seem so real. Well, other than the fact that there’s an alien thrown into the mix. Mizuho has been sent to earth for observation and data collection. And what better way to do that than to become a teacher? She’s friendly and approachable, and often expresses personal interest in the lives of her students. Kei tries to avoid deep emotional attachment because he has a rare illness that causes him to spontaneously pass out for indeterminate lengths of time. His worst such attack caused him to be asleep for three years, and the experience has left him rather sealed off from creating personal relationships. Despite this, he still has several classmates he socializes 
with regularly. Matagu is sort of a scatterbrain and often seems given to implausible goals. Hyousuke can be loud-mouthed at times, but underneath that obnoxious exterior he seems to have problems coping with adolescence. Koishi is a perky girl who begins to realize that her feelings for Kei may be going beyond friendship. Kaede is a flighty redhead who has a thing for Hyousuke. Morino is a short, unemotional girl who seems more concerned with the relationships of people around her than with any of her own. All of the characters express emotions and angst that jump off the screen and round them out into three-dimensional entities that seem more developed than most other characters in most other animes.
Plot: Blah blah blah dorky student, blah blah blah blah hot chick, blah blah blah sweet lovin’, blah blah blah. This setup has been done before, of course, but it is the emotion within these seemingly ordinary events that really moves this series along. Despite the fact that an alien race is involved, all the situations are grounded in reality, and can even be considered things that many teenagers and adults go through in life. The series should be watched in order to fully appreciate the developments in the relationships of the characters. The plot itself could be considered a typical romance setup, but this series does much more with it than any other series I have yet seen.
CHICKS!: Okay, time to crack my knuckles and see if I can do Mizuho justice. She is hot like lap-blistering McDonalds coffee. She is I-know-it’s-impolite-to-stare-but-I-can’t-stop-leering-at-her hot. When I saw her in a bikini, I was so deeply moved that I sat under a mighty pine tree and cried. Even her modest and professional teaching outfit can’t hide her heaven-sent curves, which threaten to explode from her clothes at any moment. Guys, get your drool buckets ready. In fact, buy a couple more. Or have a pool put in. And drink lots of water; wouldn’t want you to get dehydrated. In the brief slivers of time when you’ll be able to rip your eyes away from Mizuho long enough to be cognizant of your own existence, you may notice a few other chicks as well. Koishi is the kind of schoolgirl that everyone seems ready to fall for, except for Kei, of course. No offense, Koishi, but given the choice between you and Mizuho, well... you lose. But she would be a nice consolation prize for anyone who didn’t feel like waiting in line for a glimpse of Mizuho’s proud bosom. Kaede seems a slight bit ditzy, but she’s a nice girl with a typical budding schoolgirl figure. Morino is very short and kind of plain. At least she seems so because she hardly ever smiles. Aside from being very serious, she’s kind of cute. But who cares about all of that? We all want to see Mizuho, don’t we? Because she’s the impossible ideal that makes us all realize that our dream girls are just that: dreams. I’m going to go sit under the pine tree and cry some more.
Overall: A successful anime is filled with characters that are easy to relate to, and Onegai Teacher offers them up in spades. Mixing very real and human drama with a smattering of light whimsy, this turns out to be one of the most successful romance animes ever. And twelve episodes turned out to be just long enough to tell this story, so for once I’m not begging for more or lamenting the filler. All in all this series accurately portrays angst and uncertainty in love, and is a perfect choice for anyone who is looking to be mildly depressed and uplifted at the same time.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Very real characters
+ Consistent mood
+ Mizuho is SO FREAKIN’ HOT!
- Blasé soundtrack
- Formulaic plot
Rating: 8.5/10
Return to main. Don't touch my Mizuho.