Review of After School in the Teacher's Lounge (1994)

Review of After School in the Teacher's Lounge (1994)

Hey, everyone, it's time for a new review.

I came across an anime OVA from the mid nineties called After School in the Teacher's Lounge. I looked up a synopsis to find out it's about two school teachers who fall in love. My first thoughts were: Aww, that sounds like a cute story, I want to watch it. After viewing the first half of the first episode (there are only two total) those hopes for a good love story vanished.

In short, this is one of the worst anime I have ever seen. Everything about this OVA (characters, story, music, animation, design, etc) is bad. However, it's one saving grace, and the reason I didn't give it a score of a one, is the fact that it's so awful it made me laugh.

The story follows a teacher Kawase, who is seen watching a fellow teacher Kazama in the pool one afternoon. Kazama is intrigued and develops a liking for Kawase. Kazama asks Kawase out for his birthday where he proposes that they start a relationship. Kawase agrees, but then out of fear lies to get out of a date and retreats to a family-owned inn for the break. Kazama tracks him down and shows up at the inn, where  he attempts to fix and further their relationship.

Right now you're probably thinking: This doesn't sound so bad. To be honest, this anime had the potential for a good story. However, all of that listed above happens in the first half of the first episode. One of the major problems I have with this anime is the pacing. There are five major plot points in the first episode that could have been slowed down, expanded, and turned into separate episodes: the meeting/birthday dinner; Kazama inviting Kawase away for the weekend, and Kawase lying to get out of it; Kazama at the inn and Kazuma showing up; Kazuma flirting with other guests and Kawase's brother having suspicions about Kazuma; and Kazuma finally confronting Kawase, and everything that happens in the end. Slowing this down would allow for better characterization for one, and making the relationship more believable.

There is a time skip between the two episodes. I don't recall it being specified how much, but I think that works in its favor, allowing the audience to decide how long they've been together. The second episode is less rushed in terms of its plot, mostly focusing on Kazama being set up with a friend of a friend's daughter. Of all the characters, I do think that Miho is the most likable.

On that note, I'll now discuss the two main characters. I'm not sure which character is the protagonist since both get a fair amount of screen time.

First, there is Kazama, who is ambitious and refuses to give up until he has what he wants. He can come across as kind of intimidating. For one he was able to track Kawase down that weekend he went out of town. Mind you, this was made in the days before Google. In order to find him he would have had to check perhaps a phone book, records, or maybe even ask around. Also, when Kawase suggests them breaking up, Kazama threatens to kill him. Perhaps it was meant as a joke, but he did put his hands around Kawase's neck. Even if it was meant for humor's sake, I'm wondering if Kawase would always have the feel of the hands belonging to the man who supposedly loves him around his neck in the back of his mind. I don't know if maybe I missed something along the way, but Kazama does come across as creepy.

Secondly there is Kawase. I don't even know what to think about him. In the first episode it seems like he can't make up his mind about Kazama. I do tend to think that he just doesn't like conflict, so avoids it in any way possible. Around the middle of episode one, Kazama confronts him about lying--and I will give him that--Kawase should have at least told him. He could have said something along the lines of: I'm scared that we're moving too fast, I don't want a relationship right now, until I get to know you better. I think anything would have been better than lying.

This anime is classified as a romance. However, I just don't see it as believable. Kazama claims to love Kawase. However, his love for him seemed to have come out of nowhere. Also, he never mentions what it is that he loves about Kawase. I don't see any chemistry between the two. This is the strangest love story I've ever seen.

The art is horrible. I understand this was made before the animation technology of today, therefore I don't expect it to look as good as more recent anime. However, even compared to other anime at the time (Sailor Moon, Record of Lodoss War, and Yu Yu Hakusho to name a few), it's lacking.

The characters look odd. I won't necessarily say ugly, but their bodies are strangely designed. It just looks like their bodies are out of proportion. The faces look weird, especially during closeups of the eyes and nose. The only character who looks like a normal human would be Miho. In all it just seems like a strange choice for character designs.

The animation is minimal and at times look sloppy. I will admit that there seems to be better animation in the second episode. As with the art, I don't expect an anime made at this time to be on par with more recent titles, but other anime made in the same years, or even a few before, have much better quality than this one.

The soundtrack to this anime has a kind of soft jazz feel. However, the same kind of music is used throughout the series, so it's pretty forgettable after a while. In the first episode it felt like the same song was being played on repeat for the full twenty-five or so minutes.

I will say one thing this anime has going for it is the good voice acting. Even if the dialogue may be strange at times, the voice talent still shines through.

In conclusion, I found this anime to be a waste of time. This is a unique story idea that unfortunately was too rushed. For the most part the characters were unlikable, and the art even worse. Often times I found myself laughing at just how ridiculous it is. However, I feel that if this anime was remade today with better animation and with a slower pace, allowing the characters and their romance to develop, it has potential to be a good show.

After School in the Teacher's Lounge: 2/10

Beverage: XXX Vitamin Water