| Doki Doki School Hours #2 |
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| Wednesday, 06 December 2006 | |
 The diminutive Mika-sensei and her class of strange students return for another volume of comedy hijinks. Will Kudo ever get some recognition from Suetake? Will Mika ever reach her chocolate-eating limit? Will Tominaga give in to the evil inside? And will Watabe ever find a manga club recruit with talent? No prizes for guessing the answers...5 - Summer Ends and Artistic Autumn Arrives it's back to school for Mika-sensei and her students - which means a chance for the class to compare suntans (or white bits) with each other before the serious business of learning gets underway again. For Mika, it's time to try and collect the summer assignments, but somehow every time she tries to ask for them, someone manages to distract her. Later, Mika tries to convince the class that reading is a good thing, while the art field trip is yet another recipe for class chaos...   6 - The Culture Festival is the Festival of Culture Autumn is cultural festival time, and along with the usual class activities, Watabe wants his Manga Club to put on a book stall to help recruit new members. No problem persuading the club members, since he's the only one - but while he doesn't have much luck on the day, he's just gained a new fan in the form of junior student Chinatsu Nakayama. Meanwhile, Mika tries to get her class to agree on what they want to do, but with everyone having a different (and equally daft) idea, getting agreement isn't easy...   7 - Santa Girl and New Years' Fun Watabe's dream of having new members for his manga club is turning into a nightmare, thanks to Nakayama's complete lack of talent and common sense - although that didn't stop her from selling more books than he did at the last manga fair. Being completely moe has its advantages. Meanwhile, Christmas approaches - the most romantic time of year in Japan, and some people's thoughts are turning to their own lack of romantic involvement. How to beat the blues? A Christmas party, perhaps...   8 - Winter Has Come and Spring is Around the Corner The winter snows have arrived, and with her father's car in for repairs poor Mika has to walk to school - a recipe for disaster if ever there was one. Although that does give the class an excuse to have a snowball fight, and for Mika to show off her dodging talents. Later, it's Valentine's Day, and everyone's minds turn to how much chocolate they're going to get - and not everyone's looking forward to it...   Doki Doki School Hours does so love to use the same gags over and over again - be it Mika's weight or love for chocolates, or Seki turning up at school in another girls' outfit. I know for some people that's as infuriating as anything, and for some it's a real killer to the show's appeal - but somehow, I don't really seem to mind. Go figure. As with most high-school comedies, we get the usual territory covered - the culture festival (where Kudo scores by being Snow White to Suetake's prince), Christmas, New Year and Valentine's stories, and a few other fun stories besides. Nakayama is the latest character to join the cast, and she's a little sweetie, even if she doesn't have a jot of artistic talent about her. Under normal circumstances you'd wonder why Watabe puts up with her, but you get the distinct impression that it must be love. Speaking of love, keep an eye on how Tominaga and Seki get on - I wonder... There's nothing here that really stands out at exceptional - even the characters themselves are cookie-cutter one-gag stereotypes - so I can see why some people have written the series off as not worth the effort. There's a chemistry between the characters, though, and a feel-good factor to the humour, that for me just kept me watching. Unoriginal, sure, but it's also good, simple fun - and for me that makes it worthwhile. Your mileage may vary, but for me Doki Doki School Hours is a winner.  |
