happy lesson the final – OVA

i can understand why a whole stack of people online didn’t like happy lesson final, but to be honest, i always suspected that the series would pursue the direction ‘final’ took from the very beginning of happy lesson the tv (or the OVA, whichever officially comes first… which in this case i think was the OVA). i was pleasantly surprised to find them not going there until the very last episode of the final OVA. that the creators finally pursued this direction didn’t upset me at all, rather for me fulfilled the philiosophies of the series.

happy lesson is pleasing for similar reasons to love hina. both series are simply packed with enthusiasm and optimism. while happy lesson might at times seem actually wackier than love hina (it’s possible – trust me), it also gets more serious for longer, and examines different issues perhaps a bit more than love hina does. one of the most important things to remember though, is that Chitotose Hitose is not Keitaro, nor does the fact that he (Hitose) is brusque mean that he is uncaring, or a throw-away two-dimensional character. sure, it seems at times that Hitose is unnecessarily rough and passe, but he is more the avenue by which the mamas can explore their feelings, and the creators can explore elements of love, intimacy and affection, rather than having him be the centrepiece of the show. it is cleverly deceptive that it all seems to revolve around him, when in fact the show revolves around the mamas, and indeed so too does Hitose. the same could be said about Keitaro Urashima from love hina, but much of the core of love hina is romance, whereas happy lesson leaves romance almost well and truly out of the main picture, Fumitsuki-chan’s one-sided feelings excepted.

all-in-all i loved every single character in the whole happy lesson universe, even the loud and not so clever Satsuki-sensei/mama and the cosplaying manic Uzuki-sensei/mama are great, each having their good moments as well as their hilarious ones. i must say that my subtle favourite was Yayoi-sensei, as she was a swordswoman and was generally very cool, unfortunately she doesn’t get as much time as *i* would have given her, but that’s because i’m biassed towards cool swordswomen. like Motoko from love hina…
Kanna is also an awesome character, she’s just so wacky! though being a side-character she too doesn’t get a lot of time. one thing she does have though, is the classic evil anime-chic laugh (covers one side of mouth with hand… wooooooooa hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh!!!!)

there are special places in my heart for Kisaragi and Mutsuki. Kisaragi’s scientific antics are as wacky as Kanna’s shenanigans and Uzuki’s manic rampages, but she’s softly spoken, and often does things that are very very affectionate. she also gets her special time in happy lesson advance which was totally brilliant.

as for Mutsuki well – at first it seems that the series doesn’t want to give her so much time, especially as she’s covered early in happy lesson the TV, however the first OVA (which i’ve found to be reffered to as just ‘happy lesson’) gives an interesting insight into her character, and if you pay attention, there are more and more signs of her deep and caring nature all over the series’. Mutsuki is one of my more treasured characters in anime. there’s a lot of subtlety to her, and very much more than what initially is presented.

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happy lesson (OVA)
happy lesson the TV
happy lesson advance
happy lesson the final (OVA)