I don't really have anything against the romantic comedy genre of anime. In fact I probably prefer it to mecha and one or two others. It just isn't a personal favourite. Nevertheless, so many anime fans spoke so glowingly of 'Please Teacher' and/or called it their favourite series, that I figured it must be worth getting.

Well, it is worth getting, if you're into this genre, but what struck me was how average it seemed, overall. It didn't seem an awful lot different to me, to series which people universally thumb their noses at. But anyway, I watched the whole thing, even though I got fairly bored with it towards the middle. At least it's fairly short.

Let me run this by you first though, because I think it's rich.

A schoolboy appears to be 15, and so far as everyone knows, he is. Except he was in some sort of coma for 3 years, where his body didn't grow, so actually he's technically and legally 18. This is important, because if he weren't, there would probably be legal problems involved when he is forced into marrying his beautiful alien teacher.

I'm sorry if this sounds like 15 year-old schoolboy sexual wish-fulfillment, but frankly, that's pretty much what it is. What really confuses me though is, I'm pretty sure that if this were made in Australia it would be banned, or never made in the first place, but because it's anime it gets through the censors with an M rating (the highest rating without restrictions. i.e. 'recommended' for mature audiences, but you can watch it if you're 6 if you like."

Not that I'm saying it would do any harm if a 6 year-old did watch it. Sometimes what I like about such rather arresting concepts in anime is their truthfulness. 15 year old schoolboys do fantasise about their female teachers - especially if they're straight out of college - and it's sort of refreshing for a cartoon just to treat it as a fact rather than be judgemental about it. After all there is no nudity that I can remember, just the odd bit of hesitant kissing. OTOH I can imagine some people being completely freaked out by the precept of this series, and God help us if the student were female and the teacher male.

Anyway, never mind. Let's assume you're not one of those people. Why should you watch or not watch 'Please Teacher'?

Well the animation is pretty good. The backgrounds are colourful and pleasing. It has a rather laid-back and easy-going, 'holiday' feel (at least compared with some romantic comedies I've seen), and.. well, if you like this genre, you're probably going to like this a lot. It has the usual cadre of girls who seem to hate the geeky central character but who secretly care about him. It hs the usual blonde, annoying jock (to give him credit, here he has a little more emotional depth than is usual).

It's a decent series, but not as special as I'd been led to believe. Gets my 2.5 rating, which roughly equates to 'ok, I guess'. Add half a star if you're an anime fan. Add a whole star if you a romantic comedy anime fan.