Please Teacher!

Type: Someone’s fantasy, I’m sure

Synopsis: A boy gets marries his hot teacher. Gross right? Except that the boys is totally 18 you guys. For serious. Just ignore the height difference and all the times he calls her “ma’am.”

Pros: Please Teacher! is actually the parent series of Please Twins! That’s a little factoid for ya. The series leans towards the soap opera side of drama, which love triangles and mysterious diseases and what not. But that’s kinda what makes it enjoyable. It hits that sweet spot of melodramatic enough to be engaging, but not melodramatic enough to bum you out. The main conflict stems from the main character Kei having to marry his new teacher/straight up alien Mizuho. I liked that the show depicted the more realistic consequences so such a decision. In fact, the only reason they got married was because Mizuho and Kei were found in a compromising position and Mizuho would have lost her job (cause she’s a teacher, and he’s a student). They can get married because Kei is technically 18 (more on that later), and they begin to live together. From their, we see the growing pains that most couples go through, from dealing with different schedules to feeling of jealousy. Added problems are introduced because of the couple’s age difference and having to keep their marriage a secret. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I really liked the exploration of a couple living their day to day lives.

Cons: Please Teacher! has the problem of having too many plot points. It has a secret marriage, a couple still learning about each other, a love triangle, a second couple, a mysterious disease, a second person with a mysterious disease, an aunt and uncle who can’t stop boning. Oh yeah, and the fact that Mizuho is an ALIEN FROM OUTER SPACE. And weirdly, the show choose to focus on the teacher angle over the alien angle. So it was a little uncomfortable whenever the show reminds us that this student is married to his teacher. When its revealed that Mizuho was an alien, I was expecting a comedy along the lines of Tenchi Muyo. And while there is humor here, it’s more of a subtle humor. Watch the show’s OVA to see what I was initially expecting. But Mizuho being an alien isn’t all that crucial to the plot, it felt superflous. I know it’s used to set up her marriage with Kei, but you could easily rewrite those series of events without the alien gimmick. She was already Kei’s neighbor, and his “stand still” disease could have made her an old friend if you wanted something more exotic. On that front, the show doesn’t do a good job at explaining “stand stills.” All we know is that it’s a condition that causes people to go into temporary comas. Kei was stuck in one for 3 years, hence why he’s 18. But it also appears to stunt your growth? Or is Kei just short? But what about Ichigo? She’s 21, but looks 12. And while we’re on the topic of ages, man Kei, you gatta stop calling your wife “ma’am” and “Ms.Mizuho.” It’s a little weird.

Watch it?: Not a priority 1, but a nifty watch (3/5)

MVP: Mizuho Kazami and Kei Kusanagi

Once they say “I love you” their marriage becomes kinda cute

Best Episode: OVA “Secret Couple” (Kei, cherry boy no more)