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Plot Synopsis

Mizuho Kazami, a beautiful young woman, came to a high school in a mountainous area as a Japanese Language teacher; however, she is actually a representative sent by the Galaxy Association on a mission to observe the Earth. Her troubles start when Kei Kusanagiâ, one of her students, accidentally discovers her true identity. In order to keep her true identity a secret, Mizuho Kazami and Kei Kusanagi get married. Living together in secret, can they keep their relationship from Kei's classmates?

Story & Characters

I'll start off with saying that this series is hard to pin down entirely. Its a blend of high school romance, science fiction, drama, a degree of fantasy and a healthy dash of fan-service. Firstly, the fantasy bit: you are a nerdy teenage male in high school and your home room teacher is a serious babe. Next, the science fiction: the role of the teacher is only a cover for her real purpose, as an intergalactic observer of the planet. You, on the other hand, have a rare medical condition that puts you into suspended animation when you become depressed. Instead of being 15 (as you look), you are actually 18 (an adult). Then the drama: you discover the real identity of the teacher by accident and have to keep it a secret. Then, the romance: you end up marrying the teacher to keep the secret as a consequence of avoiding a rather compromising situation. Oh, and you also have a cute female classmate that has a crush on you who do you really care about (and you get horribly confused as to handling the situation). Finally, the fan-service: not only is your teacher a babe, your female classmates are also very cute, and you end up in all sorts of awkward situations.

Right, underlying that storyline are a couple of key themes that permeate the story at a number of levels and affect most of the characters:
- Being in love is not easy, at the best of times. You will be tested and your dedication to each other will determine whether you succeed or not. There will also be winners and losers in love - it happens, get over it and get on with it.
- Overcoming and handling loss (depression, etc.) is also difficult. Being able to move on from it is a major test of your own strength and character.

While the underlying themes are very serious they are handled rather well in this story, raising your awareness without overdoing the seriousness and drama. The story itself is generally light because it doesn't attempt to mire itself in or overemphasise the drama. With this in mind, one is able to easily enjoy the story and situations while thinking about some of the wider issues raised within it. That said, the story cannot be said to be perfect (I cannot believe there is a "perfect" story) as a number of situations had me scratching my head wondering what were the writers thinking. One such example was overplaying the indecisiveness of Kei. We were able to get the distinct impression he was a quiet nerdy sort of character, but not a loser. However, his ongoing indecisiveness and inability to commit to a course of action did become somewhat annoying (to this reviewer at least). While that may have been a fundamental character attribute, it did detract from the flow of the story as the direction changed several times throughout based on Kei's impulsive actions and attempts to placate everyone.

In summary: a nice, tightly written storyline with likable characters. The storyline is episodic, but does manage to flow well from one to the next; and doesn't drag. Thirteen episodes gives enough opportunities to provide a range of circumstances and address some deeper issues without deliberately overdoing the dramatics. There are times when you want to smack Kei around the head a few times and tell him to "get with the picture"; but while this was seen to be annoying after a number of situations, it is not a crucial failure to the series. Good stable fare overall, but not overly outstanding in its own right.

Rating

7 (above average)

Art

The artwork in this series is very pleasant to look at. Not only are character designs easy on the eyes, but the attention to detail in the settings and locations are extraordinary. I understand that the settings emulate real locations in Japan, and some have become tourist attractions in their own right because of their substantial role in the series.

There is plenty of fan-service in the visuals. Most of it is subtle with hints of what is available, but some bits hit you round the head with a block of wood. A number of the shots of the females are shown from the male perspective (e.g. Kei and others) often with the first shot being the chest, then heading up to the face. This is one such subtle example of fan-service where nothing obscene or naughty is intimated; but genuinely reflects in a number of cases the male perspective. How the producers regularly get away with this without making it look offensive or overdone is one of the, dare I call them, charms of the series as there are no overt overtones of naughty behaviour as the male involved is often embarrassed and apologetic as a consequence - a genuine mistake or slip of the eyes.

A couple of features to note are the opening and closing credits. The opening credits introduce the characters on location with a distinctive "home movie" feel. While you cannot hear what they are saying, you cannot help but get immersed into the environment. The closing credits comprise a simple slideshow of locations with lighting reflecting the passing of daytime and into evening. Nice three-dimensional transformations and closure provide a restful conclusion to each episode and are well done. Often the credits are an afterthought or are paid little mind. While these are quite simple, they do provide an appropriate introduction and end to each episode.

As commented above, the attention to detail for the locations is amazing yet not over-the-top. The scenery provides an addition to the storyline that is often absent from other similar anime and adds to the authenticity of the series (and the genre generally). The realistic locations manages to avoid the obvious traps of a "generic" location to the story that often plagues anime series; and, in my view, actively contributes to the ability of the story to relate to its target audience. That said, the locations are very "clean" in their appearance, no traces of dirt or pollution or other detractions. This provides an almost surrealistic locale, isolated from the rest of the world and dealing with its limited issues.

In summary: there is not the full-on visual effects or the obvious use of CGI in this series that provides a veritable visual feast. There is, however, a very nicely conveyed locale with a range of elements (shops, lake, residential areas, school, etc.) with a visually attractive cast of male and female characters. The approach taken is totally appropriate to the series and provides a nice environment to support the storyline.

Rating

8 (good)

Sound

Primary listening to this show was in the original Japanese language with the odd spot-check to the English track for some comparisons. The Region 4 release had two audio tracks provided: Dolby Dolby Digital 2.0 English and Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese. As usual, the Japanese track had, in my view, the best consistency with the dialogue and the ongoing impressions of the characters. Both DD 2.0 tracks provided good directionality for the dialogue with no issues of drop-outs or distortion.

The Japanese cast is quite well reputed, particularly Inoue Kikuko as the seiyuu for Mizuho Kazami. Kikuko is renowned for being the voice of Belldandy (from Aa! Megami-sama) and brings to this series a number of similar attributes: a gentle voice and demeanour underlaid with a determination and commitment to her partner. Soichiro Hoshi (Kei) provides a consistent voice to that expected for a teenager harbouring a secret. Soichiro has a number of characters under his belt (including Kira Yamato from Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny) and, indeed, I was able to observe some consistencies between Kei and Kira.

The music track was nicely appropriate and pleasant to listen to (and warrants hunting for the CD if you can). The opening theme (Shooting Star) is nice and perky with overtones of EuroPop or house elements in it. The closing theme (Sora no Mori De) is quiet and relaxing, and matches very nicely the flowing visuals on the closing credits. Other songs by Ive and Kotoko generally provide the EuroPop, house or quiet ballad feel; and crop up either in part or fully within different episodes. Overall, nice music that appropriately complements the situation.

The Bottom Line: The audio was appropriate for the genre and was well deployed on the review equipment (Yamaha HTR-5740 6.1 system). My usual preference is to stick with the Japanese dialogue for reasons set out above, but that preference should not detract prospective viewers from taking a look at this series. Music was also appropriate, pleasant, and if you are interested in finding the CD you will get both the vocal and off-vocal verions across two discs.

Rating

8 (good)

Presentation

The Madman release (Region 4 for Australia and New Zealand) comes out with 4 discs with a collectors box.

Each disc was a DVD-5 (single-sided single-layer) and with three episodes on each disc (four on disc one). This also provided opportunities to embed a range of extras on each disc. Usually the extras comprised a slideshow gallery of content from the disc; the textless opening and endings; character biographies (although these were repeated across the discs); promotional videos and original Japanese commercials; as well as trailers of other Madman releases. A number of music videos from the soundtrack set to stills also formed the list of extras. These were nice to watch a few times and provide a good overall introduction to the series (if you only want to dip your toe in initially).

Overall, Please Teacher provides a simple well-meaning story that explores some important issues facing society at the time (e.g. depression and anxiety) within the context of a teenage romantic comedy setting at school. The series comes with a healthy dose of fan-service that, interestingly enough, manages to not be offensive or gratuitous as it is often tied up in embarrassing situations and, dare I say, could be appropriate to the context. For the fan-service, adult themes and sexual references, the series comes with a M15+ (Mature Audiences) rating here in Australia. As suggested previously, these themes are not obscene or offensive, but parental guidance may be advisable for younger viewers. The series is recommended for those interested in a nice blend of romance, comedy, fan-service, school drama, and science fiction; and some pleasant visuals. The series can't be said to be a masterpiece of anime, but is a nice stable and enjoyable program ideal for watching on a train or aircraft when the in-flight movie isn't all that crash hot.

Rating

8 (good)

Final Verdict

7.67 (good)

Reviewed by davidh01, 44wk 3d ago