Poor Doki Doki School Hours. If there was ever a Japanese series that got hit hard by the "Seinfeld Is Unfunny"-syndrome, this is the one. The manga the show is based on actually was one of the pioneers of the "hijinks in high school" format, heavily used by later mangas such as Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star, up to and including the "childish teacher" bit. The problem is that the anime got produced after Azumanga Daioh came out, which made people believe Doki Doki School Hours stole ideas from that show, when in fact it's more likely to be the other way around.
But aside from that, how does it stand on its own? Well, the parody episodes are woefully out of place and I am still not sure what to think of Mika herself; she sure is likable, but she is just not that believable as a teacher. The makers of the anime also could have tried to ditch the episodic format and go for story arcs, since the characters themselves are good enough base material. I like how they actually put the gay characters in a rather positive light, although Kitagawa is at times somewhat over the top; her feelings for Mika could have gotten more depth, for instance. They try to flesh that part out in the end, but by then it's already too late.
Still, I don't get the bile this show tends to attract. It's not a masterpiece and the animation is at times clunky, but it has its heart in the right place.
No masterpiece, but not that bad either.
Poor Doki Doki School Hours. If there was ever a Japanese series that got hit hard by the "Seinfeld Is Unfunny"-syndrome, this is the one. The manga the show is based on actually was one of the pioneers of the "hijinks in high school" format, heavily used by later mangas such as Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star, up to and including the "childish teacher" bit. The problem is that the anime got produced after Azumanga Daioh came out, which made people believe Doki Doki School Hours stole ideas from that show, when in fact it's more likely to be the other way around.
But aside from that, how does it stand on its own? Well, the parody episodes are woefully out of place and I am still not sure what to think of Mika herself; she sure is likable, but she is just not that believable as a teacher. The makers of the anime also could have tried to ditch the episodic format and go for story arcs, since the characters themselves are good enough base material. I like how they actually put the gay characters in a rather positive light, although Kitagawa is at times somewhat over the top; her feelings for Mika could have gotten more depth, for instance. They try to flesh that part out in the end, but by then it's already too late.
Still, I don't get the bile this show tends to attract. It's not a masterpiece and the animation is at times clunky, but it has its heart in the right place.