Sensei no Ojikan ep.1-2

April 30, 2004 | 2 Comments

Well, I'm glad that I didn't watch the first episode on its own because I may not be as interested in this series if that had been the case. The first episode of this series reminds me a lot of Azumanga Daioh in the sense that they are compilation of short comedy scenes. Even though I don't mind this kind of format, I still prefer to watch a series with some kind of a theme within each episode. Thankfully the second episode of Sensei no Ojikan contains two overarching themes and each theme is longer in its execution. I also prefer the characters in this series a bit more to Azumanga Daioh. I think the characters in Sensei no Ojikan are funnier despite the fact that they are more stereotypical than the ones featured in Azumanga.

Anyway, the first episode is basically an introduction for the characters of this series. And what an interesting bunch they turned out to be. I think they manage to cover everything from a guy who acts like an old man, a class rep who's obsessed with a pop band, a dumb jock, an otaku, a narcissist, and a teacher who is so short that she looks like she's a 10 year old. Now, as much as I want to do so, I really don't know how I am going to summarise the first episode due to the fact that the stories are so short. Therefore, I'm just going to describe the characters one by one since this is what episode one is all about: introduction of the main characters.

Akane Kobayashi: She's easily flattered, likes brand name, and is obsessed with her appearances.

Konta Suetake: The dumb jock. He's very good at sport but not in other areas of his life.

Gen Nakamura: Acts like an Oyaji (old man) and has a hair fetish.

Yuuichi Kudo: The gay character. He likes Suetake a lot. Often gets carried away with his imagination (most of which involves Suetake). Prone to nosebleed.

Shizuka/Iincho: She is the class rep. But she only does it because she once heard a singer from a popular boy band saying that he thinks class rep girls are cool.

Minako Tominaga: The girl with the attitude. She likes telling people off and criticising them. Her hobby is cooking and watching horror film.

Jyouji Seki: The narcissist one in the group. Thinks he's prettier than anyone in his class. He's a Playboy but also likes to cross-dress and wear make up.

Rio Kitagawa: The girl with the big breast. She likes other girls, especially the cute ones like Mika-Sensei.

Takumi Watabe: The token Otaku guy. I think he's probably the most boring one of the bunch. Good at drawing.

Mika Sensei: The class teacher. But you wouldn't have guessed that the first time you see her since she's really short and small. Often wakes up late. Pampered by her father.

Linda Matsumoto: I am not sure if she actually teaches anything. I get the impression that she's simply the nurse/doctor in the school.

The second episode has two short storylines. The first one is about the physical examination that is about to happen to all students in the class. Kobayashi is stressed out because she feels that she's too fat. As a result, she decides to undertake a one-day starvation diet in the hope that it'll reduce her weight. Kobayashi, however, is not the only one who is not looking forward to the physical examination. The teacher also has to undergo the examination and Mika-Sensei is less than thrilled about it. She always ends up with a low self-esteem after the examination due to her short weight. Some of the highlights from this part of the episode includes: Seki making an obnoxious comment about how his beautiful look is immeasurable, Kitagawa getting excited about the physical exam because the girls have to take their top off, and Kobayashi trying to hold her breath so her breast look bigger. Yeah, they're all juvenile comedies but I love them.

The other storyline in episode two is about the school sports competition. Everyone seems to be excited about it especially Kudo because it means he gets to spend a large portion of his time managing Suetake. Kudo then daydreams that he and Suetake have a 'close' sport star/manager relationship. Suetake turns out to be quite good in all kind of sports. It's unfortunate that he's not blessed with a good brain to go with the sport prowess. Meanwhile, Mika-Sensei is horrified when she finds out that the jury for the sport competition got sick on the competition day and that she needs to replace him. There are some funny scenes included in this part such as Kitagawa intense cheering for Mika-Sensei, as well as Seki's appearance in Tutu and later on, cheerleading outfit.

All in all, the first two episodes were more than enough to convince me about the characters that I don't mind that there aren�t much of story to be found within each episode. As long as they keep up the characters' over the top antics, that's enough incentive for me to keep watching. I think scenes involving Mika-Sensei, Kobayashi, Kudo, Suetake, Tominaga, Seki, and Tokigawa are the ones that make me laugh the most. So far I don't find Oyaji or Iincho to be that entertaining and I am disappointed to see the Otaku character to be kind of bland. The character and background design are overly simple and I think they reuse some of the background scenes in some cases. Having said that, given the fact that the series doesn't take itself seriously, I think the design works quite well with the overall feel of the series.

© memento 2003