Just like with my top lists, these are all purely my personal opinions. I'm not going to ask anyone to side with me. All you need to do is read these. Whether you want to post up any of your own thoughts or opinions is up to you in the end. I wouldn't be against it by any means. But keep it to constructive criticism. I will not accept trolling or flaming by any means.
And before I forget, this will likely include more than just fandoms. I may include manga, movies, video games, other forms of media. Unfortunately, I can't promise it'll go in any particular order except ideas that immediately come to my mind or I'm inspired to write about. So it'll probably seem out of place at times. But hopefully it'll be somehow intriguing.
Final warning, most of these reviews will probably be spoilers. So if you haven't seen and/or read any of these but don't want to have any surprises for you ruined, don't read these.
Without anymore ado, let's begin shall we?
To help properly grade all of these, I'm going to separate them into several parts. And yes, these will also probably be applied to all the reviews. Do note that I will only list the most important main and side characters in all of my reviews, not every single individual:
Plot
Main Characters
Side Characters
Music
Overall grade
Onegai Sensei (Anime)
Plot:
It started out relatively simple enough. Guy meets woman - although an alien one - and becomes infatuated and slightly afraid of her. However, he thinks it to be a dream and goes to sleep. The next day, the same woman becomes his teacher, hence the 'sensei' part of the title. They start talking with one another, with the teacher admitting and revealing that she was indeed the same figure the boy had seen last night. The term 'alien' really does seem to be used in a context which is defined as 'foreign' because she never once changes her shape or looks like the typical non-humanoid that one would probably expect. I'll admit, I was thinking she would alter herself at some point in time and was thus pleasantly surprised when she didn't.
While the focus does stay mostly on the two protagonists, it does occasionally shift to the side characters. And for the most part, it gets really rocky when it does. In fact, I can fairly say that the first five episodes were some of the better ones. By the 6th - 10th, too many emotional roller coasters were added in. And what perhaps made it worse was it was all unnecessary. The anime did, thankfully, redeem itself in the last several episodes.
But by then, I was so infuriated at all the curve balls they did toss that I wasn't 100% sure whether I found myself loving or hating the show more.
Total Plot Score: 7/10
This had a great start at first. It would no doubt be higher if it had kept on a more steady path. While admittedly, the romance was incredibly rushed, it was at least genuine. Things got truly annoying when the side characters came in. Most were redeemable in some form or fashion. Others, however, I just couldn't overlook. But I'll further elaborate on them in the more appropriate section. I don't mind multiple characters liking the same one. It does add an interesting source of conflict. But when it isn't handled well ... that's when it becomes annoying for me. That being said, if a guy says they like someone else, don't be so damn pushy or make him go into a guilt trip to like a girl he doesn't want to be with. And that was a good portion of what made me grade the plot lower than it could have been. There was potential to make it an 8, probably 9 even. But the annoying and wrath-incurring love triangles made me give it a lower score.
Main Characters:
Kei Kusanagi: Much like the plot, he started out as a damn likeable character. But during the middle of the story, he became way too fickle and allowed too many petty things like peer pressure to nearly make him give up on his true love. He does - thank gods - make up for his changes of heart and remain with his true love in the end. But ... in between those periods where he was trying to figure what to do or not do, urgh! I wanted to punch him for all he said and did.
What had made him the most unique, however, was his illness. That being said, I was infuriated when they gave another character the same condition. It should have stayed so only he had his standstills. That really, really would have made quite a bit much better; if it had remained that way.
All in all, however, he was more decent than irritating. I can definitely say I liked him better than others.
Mizuho Kazami: The 'teacher' and alien woman that Kei falls in love with. She was by far my favorite character. And no, not because of her role as one of the protagonists. Despite being an alien, she felt more human. She had emotions, a damn soul! Mizuho felt far more real than most of the rest of the cast; to me, at least. And even after all the ups and downs she went through with Kei, her loyalty to him never dwindled. The plot gave her tons of opportunities to leave Kei. But did she ever take any of them? No. Mizuho remained with him until the very end, even during their worst times together. That was by far more beautiful than the actual plot, her devotion to Kei.
While the wiki describes her as being easy to distinguish from other humans, I personally disagree. She's not the first woman in an anime I've seen with exotic hair color such as purple. That could be considered normal enough, or at the very minimum believable. After all, dye does exist in such colors so she could have used that lie if she so desired.
I think my main flaw with Mizuho was it took till near the very end for her to put her foot down and tell Kei enough was enough. Hearts shouldn't ever be tampered with and I cried for her throughout the entire series when something went amiss. Most of the time it was mainly against both her and Kei, yes. But she never went through her own wishy-washy periods like Kei did. That being said, I found it much easier to sympathize with Kazami.
Total Main Characters Score: 9/10
It would have no doubt been a perfect 10/10 .. if they hadn't forced Kei to have no backbone for so damn long. In fact, that was often what he lacked; the ability to stand up for himself. And he does acquire it, yes. But I hate that it took for the series to be nearly over for this to show up! He started loving her near the beginning. It didn't have to be delayed that long.
Side Characters:
Koishi Herikawa: Don't even get me started with this girl. I wanted to punch her much more than Kei! She reminded me way too much of Haru from Katekyo Hitman Reborn!; being the same clingy girl. And even if not right away, Kei makes it obvious and confesses he doesn't love her! Dear gods ... I just ... urgh! I hated this side character the most by far, hands down. She had nothing good to ever say, she was selfish, she never once attempted to redeem herself just ... nothing! There was not a damn thing decent about her. The series would have definitely been better without her.
Ichigo Morino: The second worst side character of the series. She's a good part of the reason Kei got so fickle in the first damn place. Little brat .. sending him on a guilt trip. More than that, they wound up giving her the same illness that Kei was diagnosed. No! Just .. no! It was better when only he had it. I instantly pressed the 'bullshit' button upon finding out this girl had it also. Why? Because it's used in a manner which the audience is meant to pity her and agree that Kei did need to be with Koishi instead of Mizuho. No! No, no, no, no! That pissed me off of every end of this earth. Gods did it ever.
Minoru & Konoha Edajima: Kei's aunt and uncle, whom he lives with. These were by far my favorite side characters. While Minoru does sometimes try to tease and flirt about other women and how lovely they are, it's at least done in a mostly innocent nature. He follows the 'look but don't touch' policy so it's not as annoying as it could have been portrayed. Konoha keeps him in line ... and that's good! Not many women in anime hint to their lovers when they do such actions that it isn't appreciated. More should, though.
Total Side Characters Score: 5/10
The only things keeping it from being lower are Minoru and Konoha. They literally saved what side cast characters were used in this anime. Otherwise, I didn't like them. There may have been one or two others I felt were somewhat decent. But I can't say they played a vital enough role for me to list them here.
Music:
The first song that got my attention to this series was "Snow Angel", which I play a lot on Stepmania. It was what actually made me look up the anime, see it was only 13 episodes, and decided to give it a glance. So when they failed to include it in their ending or beginning, you bet I was disappointed. However, for what they did have, it wasn't too horrible. I do wish there would have been a bit more in terms of variety. But I suppose with the series having been as short .. fair enough. There wouldn't have been room for much more aside from what they did have.
That being said, here's my top 3 list of the songs they had and used:
"Shooting Star" by Kotoko
"Love a Riddle" by Kotoko
"Sora no Mori de" by Mami Kawada
They're probably easy enough to search for on Youtube or some other search engine. And because of that alone, I'll leave it up to anyone who wishes to look them up and hear [see if you can find a version with subtitles] why I listed them in the order I chose. I find it easier for music to speak for itself, per se, than me clarifying why I like or dislike a song.
Total Music Score: 9/10
Like I said, I still wish there had been a bit more variety. But for what did get included, it was pretty damn good. Usually, I tend to like the endings more than the beginnings. This was one of the times I went backwards and liked the starting themes much better.
Overall Grade: 8/10
As much as I loved Kei and Mizuho, most of the side characters and the rough bumps in the plot will most likely keep me from re-watching this. There were a fair shares of pros and cons, yes. But when the latter appeared, it made itself painfully obvious of it's existence, adding a massive sense of frustration and irritation toward the series. Still, for what they gave in the 13 episodes, it wasn't godawful either. In fact, it was pretty damn good for the most part. It would have been perfect if the love triangles were better dealt with and the side characters I listed were either altered in their personalities or removed altogether.
While this isn't one of the fandoms I would recommend watching over and over again, I can say it's worth checking out for sure, especially if you're a fan of vanilla romances.
And there you have it. My review of "Onegai Sensei", the anime. If you wanna give your input on this, feel free to read/view, comment, follow or even send an e-mail my way at: virgobushin0915@yahoo.com
Until next time,
LadyYunaFFX2
