 | "Onegai Teacher" by Konstantin
(2006-02-28) |
Been down with the flu for most of the week, so I haven't been up to much lately. Luckily, even a feverish brain can parse subs, so I've been making further advances against the To Watch pile. This time I've gone through my
Onegai Teacher DVDs, which have been gathering dust on the Wall o' Anime for gods know how long. OT is one of those shows I never got around to catching on fansub but bought on the strength of people's recommendations. Having finished it, I do not regret having spent the money in the least, though there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about it either.
The two words that describe Onegai Teacher the best for me are polished and derivative. The production values on the show are pretty spectacular with clean lines, bright colors and (mostly) smooth animation throughout. What really makes the show stand out, though, is the sound. This was I've Sound's debut in anime, and they've done an excellent job both with the songs and the BGMs. About the only regret I have in that regard is that Love a Riddle, one of my favorite KOTOKO songs, plays only once, at the end of episode 12, while the regular ending is a much weaker, though still decent, song from Mami Kawada. Voice-wise, the show's also loaded with top-rank talent, Inoue Kikuko, Kawasumi Ayako, and Tamura Yukari being just the ones I recognized.
In spite of all this polish, though, the show seems to be a very straightforward entry in the magical girlfriend genre. It's one thing when you can name the shows that influence a particular anime, it's another when you can name the exact episode particular scenes came from, though. Maybe I just watch too much anime. ^^; Another issue for me is that the Inoue Kikuko mother-type just isn't my moe, so Mizuho left me pretty indifferent, character popularity polls notwithstanding. This was fully compensated by Ichigo, though, since the Cynical Rori archetype is very close to the top of my moe meter. Give her cat ears, and she'd be perfect! Anyway, the show does manage to come up with an interesting and likable cast, administers cluebats when necessary, and sends the relevant pairs to an actual love hotel in the end, so it wasn't a total snooze plot-wise and all that polish didn't go to waste.
All things considered, Onegai Teacher was a pleasant way to spend a couple of sick days, and I'm looking forward to watching through my Onegai Twins box set. And not just because I hear Ichigo makes a return. Honest.
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