Summary: >

Kei Kasanagi has a problem. It's a rare disease which causes him to go into a hibernating state, which he calls "stopping". The only people who know his secret are his aunt and uncle who he lives with. While he looks 15, he's actually 18 as time form him "stopped" 18 but was "stopped" for 3 years. It's been a secret from his friends and classmates, but that secret was nothing compared to the ones about to complicate his life.

One night Kei spots a UFO and is chased by a mysterious being. The next morning he wakes up, but isn't sure what happened or how he got home. Later that day He learns that the class has a new homeroom teacher: Mizuho Kanzaki, who also happens to be moving in next door. While helping her unload her stuff, he finds out that SHE was the alien who had chased him. Kei agrees to keep the secret, but the two keep getting caught in circumstances making it appear they're lovers. Once the principal finds out, Kei argues that it's fine since he and Mizuho are already married. Which they aren't, but they quickly get hitched so the pricipal doesn't know. Yet another secret to keep. Things like "I married my teacher", or "I'm actually 18 because I was in a coma" or "My wife is an alien" aren't topics that pop out in casual conversation, but then again these things always end up being harder ought to be.

Kei is however determined to move forward and keep moving. He needs to accelerate; to make up for lost time. Together with his teacher, he plans on doing just that.

Thoughts: >

This is a title that has some quirks to overcome. When you get down to it there's the fact that you have a kid marrying his teacher That's a bit over the top. Some would say marrying an alien is over the top, but that's a bit more normal for anime. There is also the notion of how much fan service this series will immerse itself in. It's a formula for disaster that so many anime do the wrong way that it looks really perilous for this title. And yet, it manages to pull it off without a hitch - but it's all in the approach. Kei is 15, but really 18 and acts a bit more mature than his years (usually). Mizuho (and her entire family for that matter) tends to end up acting a bit more immature which makes her pairing with Kei much more plausible. The all around direction of the anime is more adult oriented - ie mature, as opposed to the fan service carnival you would expect. It manages for a nice mix of perverseness in a fun way, but not a cheap gimmick which the plot revolves around.

The added bit of depth in the relationships that helps keep things more focused. Characters are all dealing with the happiness, anger, sadness and confusion of relationships in a realistic way. Aside from that, the over all plots with Kei overcoming his illness, and general 'alien issues' works pretty well. Each episode works well to advance it's own story. Episodes 11 and 12 weren't your typical "big problem" scenarios you have in 12 part series, but instead took a really interesting storyline.

Onegai Sensei is a title that I can say is a pretty safe bet. Fun and fan service, with a good story, and likable characters. If only we could all marry our uber-babe alien teachers!