DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyOushitsu Kyoushi Haine
MOVIE ComedyOushitsu Kyoushi Heine Movie

REVIEWS

• 

  AdmiralNyan

  60/100
  Fun Characters & a Mysterious Tutor Fall Victim to a Thoroughly Lacking Plot

  When I was scoping out the Spring 2017 Anime line-up, The Royal Tutor didn’t really hit my radar. From the synopsis and the preview graphics that had been released, I honestly thought it was going to be a very cheesy show with some strong boy-love vibes. As a person who doesn’t usually go for the boy-love genre, I wasn’t interested in it at all. But something about it, and I have no fricking clue what, told me to at least watch the first episode so I could confirm my feelings. I’m really glad that I listened to that tiny, not-so-weird-at-all-little-voice-in-my-head because this series ended up being surprisingly decent.

  When I began it I got a very strong Ouran High School Host Club aura from it. You’ve got four boys who very quickly get unique names via our Heine-sensei, and they each have a relatively tropey persona. Initially, this made me very hesitant in watching the second episode. No offence towards Ouran, but this trope is so fucking overdone that I didn’t want to deal with another show that revolved around it. Luckily, my fascination with the mysterious tutor outweighed my frustration and I continued onwards.

  My expectations for the show started to grow, but didn’t really turn into anything fantastic as I watched. Mid-way through the season when we still hadn’t learned anything about the Royal Tutor’s past, I began to feel highly sceptical about the writing. I knew that we were running out of episodes and time for a good, fluid explanation of how a teacher could also be so skilled in combat as to equal a highly-seasoned warrior. There were some very vague hints, but not much else to go on. I also found there to be a slight imbalance on the attention given to each of the four boys, where a couple of them received a lot more screen time than the others. These two aspects actually filled me with a bit of anxiously negative anticipation. I’ve seen it many times before. A show starts off wonderfully, but then it overreaches and falls terribly short in its execution. Luckily, that didn’t really happen with The Royal Tutor.

  While it’s far from being a glorious masterpiece, it has a decent number of facets that make it quite an enjoyable anime series. The first are the characters themselves. We get to learn about each one of the boys and why they are so vehemently against tutors and education. The reasons aren’t superficial. They are laced with insecurities and bad experiences. Occasionally a reason for one son will seem minor in comparison to another, but it just adds an empathetic dimension to their personas that makes you want to root for their success. I like that these boys aren’t perfect. Their flaws make them that much more engaging.

  The tutor himself is someone who reminded me of Onizuka from the anime series GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. He is a man who took the time to understand the underlying issues that kids have in order to better tackle them with a fitting solution. Heine and Onizuka knew that kids aren’t going to respond to a one-size-fits-all solution. Each kid is different with unique issues and problems. To help said kids, you really have to be willing to get to know them and distinguish them as individuals in a way most people don’t want to deal with.

  Remember how I mentioned earlier I was worried about the imbalance of screen-time for the boys? It turns out that some of the boys needed the extra attention because their problems needed that extra support. It also played very well towards plot progression because the imbalance was created to fit the unique issues and insecurities that each of the sons were going through. For example, one of the kids is a very shy and timid person with a fearsome outwardly appearance. He wasn’t shown nearly as much as I had hoped (he became my favourite character because I could relate to him like you wouldn’t believe) because of this demeanour. It wouldn’t have made sense for him to be sprouting up all over the place, unlike the youngest brother who’s a social whore.

  The themes in the show were also a bit comforting. Most of it had to deal with accepting yourself for who you are, even if other’s can’t accept you. It was dealt with in a positive way that doesn’t negatively portray awkward social skills, or fetishise issues involving a lower intelligence, etc. etc. I like that the changes that the boys make are gradual instead of just being an instant fix as soon as they comprehend the lessons they’re learning. There’s also a bit of focus on not judging anyone by their appearance or initial mannerisms because there’s a huge chance that you will be wrong about them, friendships come in all shapes and sizes, and soft things will always be cute.

  All of these elements made for a pleasant watching experience, however, it does have its faults. The humour, while being kooky and a light-hearted means at softening tough topics, is really predictable at times and felt cheesy and out-dated. The story in its entirety is of average quality and can make you feel pretty indifferent about whether you’re having a good time or not. Although I do like the characters, nothing within the The Royal Tutor truly made me anticipate the next episode with impatient, passionate glee. I felt so apathetic about having to wait a week for new content, or when the content finally did arrive I’d watch everything else before really getting to this. The only thing that I was super fricking curious about was Heine’s past, which was a small bit of a let-down because the morsels of clues left in the wake of one episode to the next made it sound like Heine would have a really badass history. Instead the truth was disappointing and anticlimactic.

  The animation itself is pretty much typical; nothing extraordinary or breath-taking. It’s clean and seemingly well-developed. I found the outdoors scenery to be more pleasant than the interiors. There are a lot more details that go into creating the environment and atmospheres amidst nature than within buildings. We see this with the mansion, or palace, as it just felt like an atypical reproduction of a European mansion that seems quite standard in anime with such structures. Within a local café in town, we get a similar situation. The café does look to be quite large and it is nicely presented, but it doesn’t encapsulate the same sort of attention to details that the natural atmospheres do.

  Mid-way through the series, we do get a whisper of a small plot that’s being hatched to affect who will inherit the throne if and when the king passes on. This is something that felt extremely out of place to me for multiple reasons. Firstly, it randomly just pops up at the finale of an episode or two and then isn’t brought up again until a few episodes later. Secondly, when it is brought up, it’s only for a couple of minutes; not nearly enough to make any sort of impact. It makes one last appearance during the final episodes, and it honestly felt like the only reason it was tossed into the series to begin with was to add some tension and intrigue to the plot.

  Overall, The Royal Tutor is a good, fun average anime to check out. The cast is engaging and you can’t help but feel for them in certain situations. The story is very chill and simple, as is the animation and music. But if you’re in the mood for something that’s going to blow your mind, or totally make your jaw drop, then this anime is not for you.

  6 tortes outta 10!

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• 

  Kalladry

  74/100
  Primarily a comedic gag show, but hey: at 12 episodes, it doesn't really have time to get stale

  _An enigmatic professor who’s often mistaken for a child is hired to tutor four problem princes who’d rather do anything but study with a teacher._

  Ah, the miracle teacher who sees through student struggles and pain to connect with them and teach them both their lessons, and how to open up. I love this trope–who wouldn’t want a teacher who not only knows their shit, but knows how to teach said shit, and also realizes the depths of your potential and helps you realize your passion and build on it?

  This is primarily a lighthearted, humorous series. Despite the fact that the princes are being tutored because their father the king kinda thinks his adult firstborn (these are princes #2-5) might not be fit for the throne, we don’t get into politics, and barely get into court factions and rivalries–and even then, it’s basically just one guy close to Prince #1 (no, literally his name is Prince Eins) doing his best to make the younger princes less desirable by digging up scandals occasionally. I’ll touch on the serious aspects a little later.

  

  At its core, you’ve got 4 teenage princes in late-1800s pseudo-Austria who have chased off their previous tutors for an unspecified length of time, but it’s been a while since they had consistent, proper schooling. Their new tutor is a no-name man who looks about 12 years old, who has to not just teach the pampered dorks, but convince them he’s worth listening to. Also at its core is a show so dedicated to the joke that the tutor is an adult! but small and looks like a child!!! that he’s often animated as a chibi and shown interacting with the world in a way only possible if he was actually 2 feet tall.

  

  It’s a gag but you know what? It made me laugh. So: good gag. (Plus, at 12 episodes, it doesn’t really have time to get tiring.)

  Looking at the princes, you’ve got Kai, who doesn’t have Resting Bitch Face so much as Resting Murder Face, a contrast to his love of all things small, soft and fluffy; Bruno, glasses-wearing nerd supreme; Leonard, the sweet-toothed, athletic airhead; and Licht, the irrepressible flirt. The tutor, Heine, has to understand what makes each one tick and help them be better people in the way that all great-teacher-trope characters must. That’s not a criticism.

  The anime is very light. You’re not going to find out if any of the princes are chosen to be heir. Instead, the episodes are filled primarily with Heine teaching them Something Useful (such as “this is what non-palace city life looks like” or Conversational Basics 101), and the princes, y’know, being dorks about it.

  

  Now, it’s pretty clear early on that Heine has a secret. I mean, look at this face. This is the I am so much more capable and dangerous than you think anime face.

  

  I won’t spoil the show, but we find out in the first couple episodes that a) Heine knows the king on a first-name basis, 2) the king and Heine are pretending they don’t know each other, and 3) Heine took the job with the understanding that if the truth about his past ever got out, he would quit.

  

  oh ho HO that is some mysterious backstory there! Now, the manga is ongoing and to date Heine’s history is still unknown. We’ve learnt about some of his talents, but not how he developed them or where he met the king, much less how he formed a close friendship.

  The anime has actually gone and given Heine a backstory to explain everything, so by episode 10 (of 12) we are solidly in anime-only territory. This isn’t a bad thing–in fact, I think the decision makes the anime by itself have a pretty good story arc, letting it close without a cliffhanger. A good decision for an anime that is unlikely to ever get a second season.

  Verdict

  English dub? Yes. It’s solidly good–I think they sound more like college adults than teenagers, but they didn’t sound jarring. I loved Bruno’s voice. His voice actor often–not all the time, just on occasion when the emotion levels called for it–showed Bruno’s ridiculous emotional devotion to Heine. Heine’s VA also conveyed his excellent deadpan.

  Visuals: Shiny! I mean, all the time. Their hair. So shiny.

  Worth watching? Yes, it wraps up nicely, and while the final episodes get a bit more serious (as they finally delve into Secrets and History that it’d been hinting at forever), the majority of the series is just nice stories with happy endings.

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• 

  Unwelcome

  90/100
  Oushitsu Kyoushi is one of those animes that are well made, although it doesn't show anything extraordinary.

  ※ : THINGS TO CONSIDER:

  ・ English is my second language, there may be errors in my grammar..
  ・I try to make a spoiler-free review, however, in the section opinion if something important happens I mention it.
  ・General experience ≠ Final score. My personal score is based in 5 star system, so I tried to put an accurate number here, but isn't always the case.
  ・Locate (Brief) Conclusion + Recommendation section where the main points are summarized.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━

  Experience with Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Iɴᴛʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ**

  In Grannzreich Kingdom, King Viktor decided for the well-being of his four younger sons hired a Royal Tutor, having in mind that one of them will be the future king of this nation, despite his first elder son proclaims that the crown belongs to him, the King wants to give to them the opportunity to grow up properly. Forthwith, every teacher found themselves in big problems due to the different complex of the four princes. Under those circumstances, a mysterious teacher with a childlike appearance will try to approach them, creating different bonds of trust because the duty of a teacher is to manage to teach his students despite their difficulties.

  The four princes are in the process to open their worlds to others, with the help of Heine them try to aim for the right to the throne, nevertheless the basic fundaments are the first step to become a king as their father.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Oᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ**

  Heine has a goal and through teaching expect to nurture the princes with different values, for the future king to make a kingdom’s history worthy of shining. The teacher’s task in his words it to not wound student’s heart, instead, to nurture hope, he will provide that teachers are not the enemy. The main conflict of the story appears with the Count, who is in favor of the eldest son, generating different problems toward the candidates of the throne, ruining Heine effort.

  In the first instance the story explores the different personalities of the princes, adding comedy and with a passing of slice of life the anime result entertaining and pleasant to watch. The designs are pretty and the same way the background look well done giving a truly royal vibe, in contrast, leaving the standard the chibis designs work with comedy lightening the moments.

  Now focusing on the music, the soundtrack of the series leaves a strong impression on me, highlighting the noble environment and the blooming atmosphere in front every prince. Together with the opening which gives sentiment of motivation and reminiscence, above all, I found interesting the participation of the voice actors in the ending and their performance in a particular episode-ending.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **(ʙʀɪᴇғ) Cᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ + Rᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ**

  Oushitsu Kyoushi works in the exploration of its world and characters being them charismatic and unique in different forms; Heine as a teacher achieve show them the reality of the kingdom and become aware about their abilities and power, giving a sense of accomplishment at the end of this series, neverthless, the price to pay is an interesting development to see.

  Altogether, having a strong identity as a series due to its catchy opening and ending, furthermore because their composition you will soon feel familiar with the environment. If you want to have an enjoyable moment, but also something meaningful I recommend this anime to you.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━
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