Onegai Teacher

Onegai Teacher (which means Please, Teacher) is only a 12 part TV series! But as a short series it excels in the romance drama department with just a hint of sci-fi. This anime is for all those people who'd like to relate to the emotional aspect of teenage life.

Kazami Mizuho literally comes to down to Earth as the beautiful new language teacher at a Japanese high school. Had she arrived unsuspected, she would have been able to begin her investigation of Earth with no trouble. However, Kei, a local student chances to witness her arrival and in a twist of almost fate, they come to live together! The story follows them and their developing relationship, as well as those of Kei's classmates, who pose the biggest threat to exposing the secrets that Kei and Mizuho share between themselves.

Kusanagi Kei - Full of 'innocence,' Kei is the main character. Circumstances mean he feels somewhat misunderstood at times but he also wants to keep moving forwards for personal reasons...

Mizuho - The stunning female character. As someone learning the art of relationships herself she endears herself to the audience throughout the series.

Herikawa Koishi - One of Kei's group of good friends, she seems the normal schoolgirl type. It soon becomes clear that she has feelings for Kei and this is explored in parallel to the relationship between Kei and Mizuho.

Visually this is a beautiful series. Character animation is central in conveying emotion to the viewer and as a result, particular attention goes towards that aspect. The eyes look very distinctive, something I noticed while watching. Colour is vibrant and helps set the scene, even if it does mean the staple sunset hues splashed everywhere for the extra-romantic moments.

Voice acting is impressive! Inoue Kikuko, better known as the voice behind Belldandy from Aah! Megami-sama voice Mizuho. Each character may be identifiable as one of several common characters in anime of this type and the voice acting fits into this idea pretty well.