Schoolboy has affair with teacher. And somehow this premis gets to be the establishing reason for a cartoon series aimed at older children. You can easily see why CBBC won't show this alongside Blue Peter any time soon. And the second theme of the series - that the teacher is actually an alien stranded on Earth who is trying to make sense of the morals and social values of Japan... well, only one country on Earth could do this. (And good luck on making sense of Japan. Most other people on the same planet find this baffling, and we're the same species). Somehow, this jaw-dropping premis for the show loses all the squick, and becomes somehow innocent, charming and delightful. Given all the other directions it might have gone in, this is an achievement. It's actually quite pleasing and pleasant viewing, even if there is a great big need to set logic aside and suspend disbelief.
Downside: is there a law or statute in Japan that legally requires animé productions to have all the female characters talking as if they've just ingested a mouthful of helium? All that high-pitched squeaking and chittering can get a bit trying.
Upside: this is a fantastically good introduction, a general immersion, into the world of animé for those who have never encountered it before. With good subtitles this pleasant nonsense actually loops back on itself and almost becomes a logical sensible world. for this reason alone - where do you start with animé? Start here. - I would commend it for viewing.
Weird but somehow guileless
Schoolboy has affair with teacher. And somehow this premis gets to be the establishing reason for a cartoon series aimed at older children. You can easily see why CBBC won't show this alongside Blue Peter any time soon. And the second theme of the series - that the teacher is actually an alien stranded on Earth who is trying to make sense of the morals and social values of Japan... well, only one country on Earth could do this. (And good luck on making sense of Japan. Most other people on the same planet find this baffling, and we're the same species). Somehow, this jaw-dropping premis for the show loses all the squick, and becomes somehow innocent, charming and delightful. Given all the other directions it might have gone in, this is an achievement. It's actually quite pleasing and pleasant viewing, even if there is a great big need to set logic aside and suspend disbelief. Downside: is there a law or statute in Japan that legally requires animé productions to have all the female characters talking as if they've just ingested a mouthful of helium? All that high-pitched squeaking and chittering can get a bit trying. Upside: this is a fantastically good introduction, a general immersion, into the world of animé for those who have never encountered it before. With good subtitles this pleasant nonsense actually loops back on itself and almost becomes a logical sensible world. for this reason alone - where do you start with animé? Start here. - I would commend it for viewing.