Please Teacher!

Please Teacher! (Japanese: おねがい☆ティーチャー, Hepburn: Onegai Tīchā, Onegai ☆ Teacher) is a 2002 science fiction and romantic comedy anime television series directed by Yasunori Ide, written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and produced by Bandai Visual. It was later adapted into a manga and light novel and centers on a group of friends and the odd things that happen to them after they get a new teacher.
The Please Teacher! anime series premiered in Japan on the WOWOW satellite television network between January 10 and March 28, 2002, spanning a total of 13 episodes, including twelve originally premiering on television plus an OVA episode released on DVD on October 25, 2002. It was adapted very soon into a manga, serialized in MediaWorks's shōnen manga magazine, Dengeki Daioh, in January 2002, and was also later adapted into a light novel, entitled Onegai Teacher: Mizuho and Kei's Milky Diary, published in March 2003.
The Please Teacher! anime series was soon continued with a spin-off sequel, Please Twins!, which premiered on WOWOW between July 15 and October 14, 2003.
The setting of the series, though left unsaid in either anime or manga, is Lake Kizaki, located in Nagano, Japan, and the region and its surrounding locations are featured prominently and accurately across the series. The novel states that the school the characters attend is the Nagano Prefectural Kizaki High School. This school is based upon the Old Matsumoto High School located in Agatanomori Park of Matsumoto, about an hour south of Lake Kizaki on the JR Ōito Line. The tower on which Kaede and Hyosuke stand upon can be found in Joyama Park on the northwest part of the city.
Please Teacher! is a story mainly revolving around a tight-knit group of friends in high school and how they cope with several life-changing events that are never too far off from intimate relationships. The main character is a boy named Kei Kusanagi who suffers from a very rare disease which causes a comatose state referred to as a "standstill" whenever he is under severe emotional distress.
Before the beginning of the story, Kei, at 15 years of age, had fallen into a "standstill" lasting three years after witnessing the suicide of his elder sister. After recovering, he quietly moved away from home in order to avoid social difficulty due to his long absence, and began living with his uncle, a medical doctor, and aunt. Due to the strange nature of how he came to live there, Kei wanted to keep the situation a secret from his new friends for fear of being ostracized as being too old to associate with them. After Kei had established himself in his new surroundings and had entered into a close group of mutually supportive friends, a Galactic Federation starship had entered Earth's atmosphere stealthily, approached Honshū Island and landed surreptitiously in Lake Kizaki.
The story begins with Kei suffering a minor 'standstill' while in the vicinity of the lake, witnessing several unexplainable phenomena happening there, and then watching as a beautiful half-human alien named Mizuho Kazami materialize beside the shore. Kazami was sent to observe planet Earth by a seemingly benevolent Galactic Federation in order to prevent humans from making developmental mistakes. Kei, upon observing the materialization, attempts to escape the pursuing Kazami. Kazami is under strict orders to prevent her true identity and mission from being discovered. During his attempt to escape, Kei falls into the lake. Kazami rescues Kei and, using information from his identification, is able to return him home in secret. The next day, Kazami has become Kei's new homeroom teacher and next-door neighbor.
During assisting her in moving in, Kei suffers another standstill, and while in a weakened state explains his predicament to the compassionate Mizuho, who ends up revealing her own origins and purpose on Earth. Several accidental activations of Mizuho's teleport technology (which were inadvertently caused by Kei) eventually place Kei and Mizuho in a couple of compromising situations in front of his uncle and aunt and his school's headmaster, but Kei protects Mizuho from charges for an inappropriate relationship between student and teacher by impulsively stating that they are married, resulting in an actual civil marriage that later blossoms into genuine affection for each other. The headmaster relents, partly because he, too, had married a former student younger than himself and can understand their situation personally. Both are allowed to stay so long as they do not reveal their status to the other students, and do not engage in any public displays of affection.
The remainder of the series concerns the budding intimate relationships between the close friends, one of whom (Koishi Herikawa) is romantically interested in Kei, and another (Ichigo Morino) who has suffered even greater loss of time from the same disease as he has; the problems of having to maintain the secrecy of the marriage; an interfering parent and sibling visiting from the Galaxy Federation; and Kei learning to overcome the ever-present threat of another lengthy 'standstill' stealing more of his life, particularly as he has fallen deeply in love with Mizuho and desperately wants to remain with her.
Eventually Kei falls into another major "standstill" and in order to bring him out of it, Mizuho has to use her technology which is against the law. As a result, her status on Earth is revoked, she is banned from the planet and all memory of her is erased from everyone's, including Kei's, minds. With the help of her mother and sister she sneaks back and is devastated to learn that Kei, who she is deeply in love with, has no memory of her. While helping her move back in, Kei reveals that his memory has returned and the two express their love for each other and get married again.
The Please Teacher! anime series, authored and scripted by Yōsuke Kuroda, directed by Yasunori Ide, and produced by Bandai Visual, Studio Orphee and Daume, originally premiered in Japan on the satellite television network WOWOW, between January 10 and March 28, 2002, spanning a total of thirteen episodes, including twelve originally premiering on television plus an OVA episode concluding the series, released on DVD on October 25, 2002.
It has also been broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network, Animax, who have aired the series across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Latin America, and as well as its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. The series has been licensed for North American distribution by Bandai's distributive unit across the region, Bandai Entertainment, who have released the series via a four-volume DVD release, and whose English dub has also been broadcast by Animax across its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. The series is now licensed by Right Stuf under their Nozomi Entertainment label.
The Please Teacher! anime series was soon continued with a spinoff, Please Twins!, which premiered on WOWOW between July 15 and October 14, 2003, featuring many of the characters featured in the series, as the series' story happens after Please Teacher!.
The series' opening theme is "Shooting Star" by Kotoko, and the ending theme is "Sora no Mori de" (空の森で, In the Forest of the Sky) by Mami Kawada. The song "Sora wa Kataranai" (そらは語らない) by Kikuko Inoue is used as an insert song in episode 11, and the song "Love a Riddle" by Kotoko is used as the ending theme in episode 12.
An official AMV of the series was released as "Snow Angel", the music is from the entry #6 of Kotoko's album "Stokesia".
Please Teacher! was adapted into a manga series, authored by Japanese manga artist Shizuru Hayashiya, which was serialized in MediaWorks's manga magazine, Dengeki Daioh, in January 2002, its run consisting of two-bound volume compilations. The manga has since been licensed for North American distribution by ComicsOne and in Brazil by Editora JBC, under the title Onegai Teacher.
The story maintains the basic plot, but adds comic humor that suits the manga format well, taking full advantage of still frames. However, there are quite a few minor details that have been omitted from the anime or were completely changed: the relationship between Hyosuke and Kaede is deflected, with Hyosuke ending up with Ichigo; Yamada is never introduced; Minoru is much more overt with his lecherousness, but is a great deal of help in Kei and Mizuho's relationship; Koishi's role is diminished somewhat; Hatsuho is only shown in only two frames, as a transmission call to the couple warning them of Maho's wrath and in the other world when Kei has a standstill; and finally, the Okinawan honeymoon is never shown or mentioned.
The light novel version entitled Onegai Teacher: Mizuho and Kei's Milky Diary was written by Gō Zappa and illustrated by Taraku Uon and Hiroaki Gōda. It was published in Japan by MediaWorks in March 2003 and was only one volume in length. The English edition was released by Comics One in October 2003.
Critical reception of Please Teacher! has been generally positive.
Carlos Ross and Lauren Smoller of THEM Anime Reviews praised the series, giving the TV series 4 out of 5 stars, and 3 out of 5 stars for the OVA. Ross praised the animation, cast of characters, character designs and development, the opening track, the chemistry between Kei and Mizuho, but handed out criticism regarding the plot. He states that "the plot does rely on a whole lot of circumstances and cliches that do get grating as the series goes on. While the accessory characters are often just as well characterized as the leads, you do get really sick of them popping up to interfere with the main relationship." Overall, Ross concludes that "there are moments in this show that are pure magic. While its flaws prevent it from being the best of the best, this anime is very well worth watching and picking up the moment you see it on the shelf." Smoller handed out mild praise for the OVA's animation, and the chemistry between the two main leads, but handed out criticism for the lack of a coherent plot, the jokes, and the supporting cast. She also notes that the OVA's main target audience is for adults, stating that it is "basically soft-core hentai."
Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave the series a B− rating, praising the soundtrack, animation, character designs and development, as well as the chemistry between Kei and Mizuho, but criticized the plot for being too cliched. He handed out mild praise for the English dub, stating that it sticks very closely to the original Japanese, and handed out good marks for Sandy Fox's performance as Maho Kazami. Martin ultimately concludes that "it is a mildly entertaining series with occasional strong points and some storytelling aspects which offer a different feel than most current romantic fare."