Boxset Review: Ultimate Otaku Teacher, Part 2
By Rae
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If you’re here, you probably have either watched Part 1 of the Ultimate Otaku Teacher series, or at least read my review on that part.But for those of you who aren’t familiar with the general story behind this odd little series… Junichiro is an honest-to-goodness otaku. Claiming to have YD – a condition that keeps him from doing anything he doesn’t genuinely want to do (ie. work) – he sits at home in his bedroom, surrounded by games, figures, and manga. His current claim to fame is an active blog, but once upon a time he was a brilliant student. When his little sister gets tired of dealing with his unemployed antics, she goes ahead and gets him a job as a highschool teacher. What happens next is a pretty good mixture of shenanigans and “after school special” feel-good moments, mixed in with an array of geek pop culture.
I gave the first part a pretty decent review – it was fun, fresh, and interesting. The technical quality of the artwork was a bit rough, but overall part 1 was a lot of fun and really enjoyable.However, I noticed something when I went to write this review – I couldn’t really remember a detailed plot description for part 2 of Ultimate Otaku Teacher. I watched it in full, and remember bits and pieces – a library ghost, forced proposal attempts, so on and so forth. But I don’t remember it in anywhere near as clearly as I remember there first.
I considered going back to brush up again, but really it made me realize what I didn’t like about this follow-up to part 1… it’s rather forgettable.Part 1 of Ultimate Otaku Teacher was quite a ride, with hapless Junichiro ending up in all sort of crazy situations. Still, no matter how unprepared he was for the event, he was able to bring a great message to the table about individuality, perseverance, and doing the right thing. Junichiro definitely wasn’t perfect, but he did what he could with what he had, and to those around him, it was a life-changing influence.
Part 2 loses this feeling, as Junichiro suddenly seems to be Mary Sue Supreme. He’s got the perfect answer to everything, no matter how difficult, and seems five steps ahead of anyone and everyone at all times. Part of Junichiro’s charm before was that he was a little ridiculous and a little flawed, but that he was able to find his strengths and pass them on to others.Animation- and music-wise, everything was about on par with Ultimate Otaku Teacher, Part 1. There are several moments where everything looks a little wonky and the quality is low, but the series as a whole isn’t badly-drawn. You’re just definitely going to need to look for story more than artwork, because it’s nothing that will blow anyone away.
Extras include the usual – trailers, textless endings and openings, and commentary. About what I expect now from Funimation releases. I’m really torn one whether or not I like the series’ bright red colour scheme (it really fits in nowhere on my growing boxset shelf).At the end of the day, I recommend at least watching the first half of Ultimate Otaku Teacher. It’s fun, a little crazy, and has just enough ridiculousness to keep you interested without going too far. Even better, it’s loaded with great little references that gamers and anime fans are bound to recognize and appreciate. But having come to a finish, I’m not sure I’m that floored by it – in fact, I feel a little let down.It’s got some great reviews and ratings online though, so if you’re even thinking it might sound interesting to you, it’s probably worth a try.Check it out on Funimation.com or buy the Ultimate Otaku Teacher, Part 2 boxset here!
