Please Teacher!

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Please Teacher!

おねがい☆ティーチャー (Onegai Teacher)
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Romance, Science Fiction, Seinen
TV anime
Directed by	Yasunori Ide
Studio	Bandai Visual, Doumu, Studio Orphee
Network	Animax, WOWOW, Bandai Channel Animax
Original run	January 10, 2002 – March 28, 2002
No. of episodes	12
OVA
Directed by	Yasunori Ide
Studio	Bandai Visual, Doumu, Studio Orphee
No. of episodes	1
Released	October 25, 2002
Runtime	21 minutes
Manga
Authored by	Shizuru Hayashiya
Publisher	Media Works ComicsOne Editora JBC
Serialized in	Dengeki Daioh
Original run	January 2002 – February 2003
No. of volumes	2
Light novel: Onegai Teacher: Mizuho and Kei's Milky Diary
Authored by	Gō Zappa
Artist	Taraku Uon, Hiroaki Gōda
Publisher	Media Works ComicsOne
Publish date	March 2003 – March 2003
No. of volumes	1
Sequel
Please Twins!

Please Teacher! (おねがい☆ティーチャー, Onegai Tīchā^?, Onegai Teacher), is a Japanese anime series, authored and scripted by Yousuke Kuroda, and produced by Bandai Visual, which was adapted into a manga and light novel, centering around 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, 2002 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 Media Works's seinen 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 onto a sequel,^[1]^[2] Please Twins!, which premiered on WOWOW between July 15, 2003 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.^[3] The novel does say 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-shi, about an hour south of Lake Kizaki on the JR Ooito Line. The tower of which we see Kaede and Hyouske standing upon can be found in Joyama Kouen on the northwest part of the city.

1 Plot
2 Characters
3 Media
4 See also
5 Notes and references
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 old, 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 (it is equipped with cloaking technology, rendering it invisible to EM spectrum detection equipment), approached Honshu Island and landed surreptitiously in Lake Kizaki. (Aside from physical travel of the spacecraft via its own engines, travel back and forth across intermediate and long distances - including other star systems and/or dimensions - is accomplished using Star Trek-like 'transporter' technology.) The story begins with Kei, after suffering a minor 'standstill' while in the vicinity of the lake, witnesses several unexplainable phenomena happening there, and then watches as a beautiful half-human alien named Mizuho Kazami materializes beside the shore.

Kazami was sent to observe planet Earth by a seemingly benevolent Galactic Federation in order to prevent Terrans from making developmental mistakes. (Later, it is revealed that she had personal reasons; she wanted to see the home planet of her father, who had died when she was a child.) Kei, upon observing the materialization, attempts to escape the pursuing Kazami, (who he does not get a clear look at, as she appears surrounded by bright white light). Kazami is under strict orders to prevent her true identity and mission from being discovered (the penalty for which can include capital punishment). During his attempt to escape, Kei falls into the lake, seeming to drown as a result of another stress-induced 'standstill'. In fact, Kazami rescued Kei, and using information from his identification, was able to return him home after examining him for injuries.

The next day begins fairly normally, as Kei awakens at his uncle's home, in his room, under the impression that the previous evening was the product of a dream. Upon arriving at the school, Kei's peers are discussing the fact that the previous homeroom teacher has mysteriously quit his position, and that the beautiful Ms. Kazami has become his new homeroom teacher. Later that day, Kei is further astounded that she is now a next-door neighbor.

During assisting her in moving in, he suffers another standstill, and while in a weakened state explains his predicament to the compassionate Mizuho, who cared for him without alerting the authorities, and thus kept his condition a private secret. During his recovery, he recalls the events of the previous evening, realizing that it was not a dream, and that she was the person he saw by the lakeside. Mizuho's inherently honest nature causes her to admit her origins and purpose on Earth. A near tragic comedy of errors ensues, as a frightened Kei attempts to escape her embrace. An accidental activation of the 'transporter' technology almost costs Kei and Mizuho their lives as she rescues him once again. A rapprochement is achieved, as it becomes evident that neither Mizuho nor the Galactic Federation she serves is hostile, and Kei promises not to reveal her identity as Mizuho makes a similar promise about Kei's medical condition. This is the beginning of a friendship that rapidly becomes more intimate.

After being discovered in what on the surface would appear to be a compromising situation (Mizuho had wanted to speak with Kei privately and had him transported to a physical education sports equipment locker), Kei protects Mizuho from charges of an inappropriate relationship between student and teacher by supporting the idea impulsively given by his uncle to the school's Headmaster that they are married, resulting in an actual civil marriage that later blossoms into genuine affection for each other. Kei's true calendar age becomes evident during the Headmaster's phone call to City Hall to verify their married status, and the Headmaster relents, partly because he, too, had married someone younger than himself and could 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 is romantically interested in Kei and another who he later learns 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 Federation space; 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..

[edit] Characters

Kei Kusanagi (草薙桂, Kusanagi Kei^?): Kei is an 18 year old who retains a 15 year old body after a three year long "standstill", which is a coma-like state that occurs during a time of extreme emotional distress. Standstills are derived from an unknown - possibly psychological - disease that Kei and his friend Ichigo Morino have. He tends to be a very frail, shy boy, never often wanting to assert himself when need be.

After observing the landing of a UFO while on the bank of a lake and subsequently observing the alien on the lake shore, odd things begin happening to Kei in connection with this alien. The next day, Kei is surprised to find like everyone else that one of their teachers quit and a quick replacement was found which just happened to turn out to be the alien - Mizuho Kazami. After a few more encounters with each other, Kei is taken to her spaceship where the whole situation goes from bad to worse. Upon striking Marie, a tiny computer helper of Mizuho's, it effectively is unable to perform as well as it seemed to work, which often puts the characters in strange situations if they can't rely on the help of Marie.

Eventually, after Kei and Mizuho are found in a locked storage room by Kei's uncle and the principal of the school, his uncle impulsively tells the principal that Kei and Mizuho are in fact married. Later, Kei and Mizuho do actually get married, though only the paperwork is done while there was no official ceremony. This whole situation was, of course, kept secret from Kei's friends as Ichigo Morino constantly tries to pair Kei up with a friend of hers, Koishi, while all the while Kei and Mizuho's relationship and attraction for each other only grows.

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg (English)

Mizuho Kazami (風見みずほ, Kazami Mizuho^?): A 23 year old half alien, half human, Planet Inspector from the Galactic Federation, sent to Earth to observe and study humans. Mizuho came to Earth to monitor the planet though inadvertently was seen by Kei as she was just landing on Earth. Although she did not trust him at first, she started to become attracted to Kei after they exchanged secrets about their past.

One of the main conflicts in the story involves Mizuho and how she tends to have great jealousy and misjudgment. She even went to great lengths as to spy on Kei while he was hanging out with a friend from school, Koishi Herikawa, in a set up date, and when Mizuho's mother held Kei hostage in a hotel.

She loves to eat pochy, a Japanese snack food that consists of a biscuit stick covered with chocolate. She eats Pochy because it reminds her of her dead father; it's all Mizuho, her mother and sister are seen eating. Pochy is a fictional version of an actual snack known as pocky.

Her catch phrase is "Saiyu sen jiko yo!" ("This is top priority!").

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese), Bridget Hoffman (English)

Koishi Herikawa (縁川小石, Herikawa Koishi^?): She is one of Kei's close friends who also pursues a romantic relationship with Kei, but towards the end of the series discovers her affection for one of her teachers, Yamada. This inappropriate relationship is only ever hinted at, but it's more than obvious that something is going on between them when Yamada is confronted by the principal about him seeing Yamada and a girl from their school walking together. Her parents own a grocery store and she often has to go to deliver food that people ordered.

Koishi has a happy-disposition to her personality and is only ever seen crying when it comes to matters that involve Kei. One of the things Ichigo would get irritated at was that Koishi would never act on her urges and in effect she waits too long, and by the time she does tell Kei her true feelings, he's already hopelessly in love with Mizuho.

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Ichigo Morino (森野苺, Morino Ichigo^?): An evidently shrewd young woman who is seemingly wise beyond her (apparent) years, and who associates with very few friends. Her physical development was stunted due to her "standstills", in the same way that they affect Kei. Ichigo's loss of time and her sense of life cruelly having passed her by due to the illness (she wistfully reveals to Kei that she has a younger sister who is now married and expecting a child), tends to cause her to have a much more cynical and serious demeanor than is normal for someone of her seeming age, which is sometimes commented upon by her (much younger) friends.

In order to prevent the triggering of 'standstills', her emotional expression is very subdued and phlegmatic. But for all her apparent depressive state, she is in fact very caring, attempting to assist both Koishi and Kei by acting as a 'matchmaker' for the two, because her own losses have been felt so keenly, and because she doesn't want her friends to experience the kind of heartache she has felt by wasting opportunities for closeness that she has been forced to endure for medical reasons. Surprisingly, even though she resembles a diminutive 15 year old or perhaps younger, her real age is 21.

She is quietly but fiercely independent, currently living alone in an apartment, partly on her own initiative so that her (well-to-do) family wouldn't be burdened by her malady. Her illness was always triggered when she sees her friends get hurt, especially Koishi.

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Julie Anne Taylor (English)

Kaede Misumi (水澄楓, Misumi Kaede^?): Also one of Kei's friends, Kaede tends to be a rather shy girl most of the time. Her physical characteristics include that she is one quarter Irish, tall and with red hair and freckles. Despite her shyness, during an accidental visit to her hotel room by a sleep-deprived Hyosuke, in which he mistakenly climbed into her bed, she awoke and claimed that he had appeared to her in a dream which now seems to have come true. She then sweetly confesses her love for him and proceeds to seduce him. The two become inseparable and are seen together throughout the series.

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Melissa Fahn (English)

Hyosuke Magumo (間雲漂介, Magumo Hyōsuke^?): A brash student with blonde hair, Hyosuke aspires to attend college at Tokyo University and become a professional statesman, much like his brother. Hyousuke's demanor is initially that of a shallow attention-seeker, but after he becomes romantically involved with Kaede, a deeper and much more sensitive and reflective side is revealed. Of Kei's group of friends, he tends to be the most hyperactive of them all and often does the strangest things too.

Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

Matagu Shido (四道跨, Shidō Matagu^?): A rather serious student who is also into astronomy, Matagu seems to be the most hopeless of the cast, never even getting to the point to gain a girlfriend by the end of the series.

Voiced by: Hiroaki Miura (Japanese), Tony Schnur (English)

Minoru Edajima (江田島みのる, Edajima Minoru^?): Kei's uncle and doctor of the local clinic. Minoru is something of a lecherous rogue, continually making wolfish comments regarding the attractiveness of passing women, even in the hearing of his wife, who often retaliates with a measured degree of force. He is openly quite jealous of Kei's relationship with Mizuho; he is more than a little perverted (in the Japanese sense of the word), but often covers for and helps Kei and Mizuho out (such as moving Kei's goods into the married couple's new quarters, purchasing a proper wedding ring for their private ceremony, and paying for an expensive hotel in Okinawa for their honeymoon).

Voiced by: Naoya Uchida (Japanese), Michael McConnohie (English)

Konoha Edajima (江田島このは, Edajima Konoha^?): Kei's aunt and nurse of the local clinic. A kind-hearted and quite attractive woman who puts up with her husband's behaviour only so much before she starts to get really angry at him. It is evident that she is the more mature member of their pair, and is quite able to curb Minoru's wayward eye and lecherous comments with a significant look or gesture. She is not above using a small degree of force to cause her husband to 'heel' if his behavior gets too outrageous.

Voiced by: Rei Sakuma (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

Marie (まりえ, Marie^?): A quasi-organic master control program for Mizuho's ship. Totally self-repairing and maintenance free. Hovers around in an innertube and on occasion plays a miniature guitar. Due to Kei fearfully striking 'him' duing an initial escape attempt when Mizuho revealed her true identity, Marieh's programming became scrambled, endangering both Kei and Mizuho. Communicating partly through indistinct sounds and through gestures, Marieh is essentially a portable link to the ship's operating system. But 'he' is also capable of emotion, as witnessed by the romantic relationship formed between 'himself' and Miruru and his sorrow at their parting.

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Sandy Fox (English)

Masami Yamada (山田正臣, Yamada Masami^?): A quiet and shaggy male teacher whose hobby is creating human-powered planes. At first he appears to be something of a physically-developed nerd, obsessed with his hobby. Koishi delivers him meals from her parents' grocery store. He later becomes something of a confidant, attempting to help Koishi by providing a sympathetic ear after a breakup with Kei and her subsequent depression but does not take advantage of her vulnerable situation. At the end of the series, it is implied that their relationship gets much closer than that of teacher and student.

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English)

Maho Kazami (風見まほ, Kazami Maho^?): Mizuho's little sister, who disapproves of Kei but eventually comes to accept him. Initially, she is incensed that a member of the powerful Galactic Federation's elite Observers (which it is revealed that Mizuho has the honor of being its' youngest member) would stoop to marry such an evident primitive (conveniently overlooking the fact that she is the product of just such a union) and even attempts to use Miruru to hurt Kei. During the process, she learns just how deeply Kei loves Mizuho, and she begins to relent, but still possesses a devious nature and is not above blackmailing Kei to get what she wants. While she disapproved of him, she continued to stalk him attempting to understand why her sister would chose him to fall in love with. Maho tends to be very outspoken and judgmental, and complains about various things involving Kei and Mizuho.

Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi (Japanese), Sandy Fox (English)

Hatsuho Kazami (風見はつほ, Kazami Hatsuho^?): Mizuho's mother, who is very fond of Kei, whom she claims resembles her late husband. She is a very sensual, self-assured, bold but subtly assertive woman. She is not above playfully teasing her oldest daughter and son-in-law, demanding to know intimate details regarding their relationship. In one episode, to 'spice up' her daughter's love-life, she half-seriously shanghai's Kei to an adult hotel to engage in mock bondage with him, with Mizuho in hot pursuit. She then departed, having gotten them both in a situation where they had no choice but to enjoy themselves. She greatly resembles Mizuho, with the exception of having purple hair instead of red, and a small beauty mark on her chin.

Voiced by: Yumi Takada (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)

Shirou Kazami (風見士郎, Kazami Shirō^?): Mizuho's father whose 2009 Mars expedition ship was lost in space and he was rescued by a Federation spacecraft. One of the crew of that spacecraft was Hatsuho, which is how they came to meet and be married. Unable (or unwilling) to return to Earth (possibly due to the Federation's strict laws governing contact with non-incorporated races) he remained in Federation space and raised a family there. The assumption is that he had attained citizenship, either through marriage or through naturalization, and at that point may have been abjured from returning. Eventually, he went on to develop a planetary contact program for Earth for the Galactic Federation. He died when Mizuho was still a child. The only thing of Earth that he had left behind had been an empty box of Pochy, which Mizuho had treasured.

Miruru (みるる, Miruru^?): Another computer intelligence hologram, dressed in female-like clothing, responsible for the ship of Hatsuho and Maho. Seems also to be romantically involved with Marie.

Kozue Kusanagi (草薙こずえ, Kusanagi Kozue^?): Kei Kusanagi's sister. Kozue was older than Kei, and loved him so much. She took new heights to obtaining happiness, or at least to cease the sadness, thus resulting in Kei's condition.

Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese), Julie Anne Taylor (English)

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Media

[edit] Anime

The Please Teacher! anime series, authored and scripted by Yousuke Kuroda, directed by Yasunori Ide, and produced by Bandai Visual, Studio Orphee and Doumu, originally premiered in Japan on the satellite television network WOWOW, between January 10, 2002 and March 28, 2002, spanning a total of 13 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 Please Teacher! anime series was soon continued onto a sequel, Please Twins!, which premiered on WOWOW between July 15, 2003 and October 14, 2003, featuring many of the characters featured in the series.

[edit] Episodes

Title	Original airdate	#

"Tell Me, Teacher" "Oshiete tīchā" (教えてティーチャー)	January 10, 2002	01

"I Can't Get Married Anymore" "Mou Omuko ni ikemasen" (もう、お婿にいけません)	January 17, 2002	02

"This Isn't Right, Teacher" "Mazuiyo sensei" (まずいよ★先生)	January 24, 2002	03

"Actually, I Think I Love You" "Yappari sukikamo" (やっぱり好きかも)	January 31, 2002	04

"For That, Teacher, I..." "Sonna sensei ni boku wa" (そんな先生に、ぼくは)	February 7, 2002	05

"Let's Begin After We Start" "Hajimatte kara hajime you" (始まってから始めよう)	February 14, 2002	06

"Don't Cry, Teacher" "Nakanaide sensei" (泣かないで先生)	February 21, 2002	07

"Long Night" "Nagai yoru" (長い夜)	February 28, 2002	08

"Let's End It Now" "Mou owari ni shiyo" (もう、おわりにしよう)	March 7, 2002	09

"But" "Demo" (でも)	March 14, 2002	10

"Teacher" "Sensei" (せんせい)	March 21, 2002	11

"One More Time, Teacher" "Mouichido tīchā" (もう一度ティーチャー)	March 28, 2002	12

"Secret Couple" "Himitsu na Futari" (ヒミツなふたり)	October 25, 2002	13

[edit] Music

Opening theme: Shooting Star by KOTOKO
Ending themes:
1. Sora no Mori de by Kawada Mami
2. LOVE A RIDDLE by KOTOKO in episode 12.

[edit] Manga

Please Teacher! was adapted into a manga series, authored by Japanese author Shizuru Hayashiya, which was serialized in Media Works's manga magazine, Dengeki Daioh, in January 2002, its run consisting of two-tankōbon volume compilations.

The manga has since been licensed for North American distribution by ComicsOne and in Brazil by Editora JBC.

[edit] Light novel

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 Media Works in March 2003 and was only one volume in length.