August 2022 Patron Newsletter and Staff Picks

Summer's slipping away and hopefully taking this lackluster season of anime with it. We tried out our very first "podcast poll" to try and tailor our seasonal podcast a little more toward shows y'all are interested in -- how did we do? We want to continue refining this concept, so we'd love to have feedback about what worked and what didn't.

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August Recommendations

Oresama Teacher

Format: Manga (29 volumes, complete)

Picked by: Dee

What’s it about? Rough-and-tumble Mafuyu was the head (bancho) of a gang of delinquents in junior high, but she resolves to be an “ordinary girl” in high school. One problem: her new high school is full of delinquents. Okay, two problems: she and her homeroom teacher used to be neighbors, he’s a former delinquent himself, and he knows all about her past. Now he’s roped her into joining his “Public Morals Club” to help deal with campus conflicts and improve the school’s reputation, forcing her to fight again. Except, well, third problem: Mafuyu might like fighting, actually…

Content considerations: Early shipteasing between a teacher and student that gets mostly dropped after a few volumes; arcs dealing with bullying, sexual harassment, child neglect; debatably insensitive handling of neurodivergence, depending on how you want to interpret some of the cast; a later arc involves a girl threatening to lie about a teacher having an affair with her.

Why we like it: Oresama Teacher is written by Tsubaki Izumi of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun fame, which should give you a good idea of the narrative style and sense of humor. Admittedly, the series takes a few volumes to find its footing and drop the uncomfortable teacher/student shipteasing bits (I suspect this was an editorial mandate, given how completely it vanishes after the series gets popular). Once it does, though, Oresama Teacher becomes an immensely fun high school battle-comedy about disaster kids making friends with each other.

While pretty much the entire student cast is good fun (Tsubaki excels at writing loveable goofballs), the hands-down highlight is Mafuyu, who belongs in the Shoujo Protag Hall of Fame. An energetic and empathetic goober, she uses her two brain cells for fighting, friendship, and fighting for friendship. She’s a delight to watch and easy to cheer for, whether she’s interacting with her fellow students, kicking her way through antagonists, or clumsily uncovering the school’s deeper mysteries.

Despite its intimidating length, the series remains fresh throughout thanks to its large mixed-gender cast of oddballs. The story bounces between individuals, relationships, and conflicts, smashing personalities against each other for both comedic and heartwarming beats. Cheerfully blending shoujo and shounen narrative styles to create a character-driven battle comedy more interested in friendship than romance, Oresama Teacher has broad appeal for fans across the demographic spectrum.

Girlish Number

Format: Anime

Picked by: Caitlin

What’s it about: Karasuma Chitose may only be a fledgling voice actor, but she knows she’s destined to be a star. She’s also arrogant, self-centered, and lazy, as her manager/older brother is quick to remind her. Not that she cares what he thinks or anything. When she catches a producer’s attention, they’re quick to cast her in an upcoming light novel adaptation. But can she really rise to the occasion?

Content considerations: drinking to excess, casual death threats between siblings, annoying heterosexual men

Why we like it: Girlish Number is not a popular anime. With a rating below 7 on most anime databases, it’s clear that most viewers bounced off it pretty hard. The funny thing is, when I look at the negative reviews, the things they complain about most are the things I like best about the series.

The biggest complaint I see is that Chitose sucks. This is an accurate assessment of her character; she’s simultaneously arrogant and insecure, and lazy to boot. Most series about groups of girls feature a heroine who wants to try hard and do her best, but Chitose wants to do the absolute bare minimum but reap all the benefits. She gets cast as a lead in an upcoming fantasy harem series because a producer thought she was cute, but she doesn’t care to learn about the character she’s portraying or the world she inhabits. She’s a mediocre actress in a mediocre anime and the production is falling down around her ears.

Despite being a trash goblin, Chitose also has a weird charisma that draws people to her. It’s not quite a super heartwarming series about an ensemble cast forming a found family, but they do come to support one another. She gets guidance from the more experienced members of the cast, and her older brother, Gojo, burned out years ago as a rookie himself and doesn’t want the same thing to happen to his little sister. You aren’t meant to hate these people or root for their downfall. Well, except maybe for Kuzu-P. That guy is trash.