Overall Review: Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine

Note: I want to apologize for my sudden disappearance. I’ve finally graduated from university, but the last month of school was horrifyingly busy for me that I fell completely behind on all of my shows. I had to take a little hiatus for the rest of the season, as I did not have the time or energy to make double posts catching up as I was preoccupied with other things. However, I didn’t want to leave these shows undone so I opted to make Overall Reviews to make up for it. I’m sorry, but now I’m sure to be here. 🙂

I’ll make sure to put that little tidbit for my other Overall Reviews.

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine, or The Royal Tutor, was a show that surprised me. I went in thinking that this was solely going to be a simple comedy shows with bishounens, and it’d just be something that would make me smile every week. However, it proved to be more than that. While of course it had its humor with it’s deformed little chibi caricatures typical of this kind of anime, there were also moments of growth, self-reflection, and emotion. Those scenes weren’t forced and they weren’t cheesy. They were set up that you could understand the prince’s point of view, get to know what kind of person he was, and topics that could be relateable to any person such as abusive teachers/tutors, doubts about your future, or simply having trouble communicating with others. And while the show could have been episodic, it surprised me when it added actual conflict that not only affected the princes but also Heine. The characters actually became likeable and the bond between them all and Heine was believable and sweet.

Though some episodes could be a little episodic, with some episodes dedicated to one boy, there was still a plot in it. The King has hired a royal tutor for his sons so they can shape themselves to be fit for a king. Heine is that man. He’s an incredibly important character because he’s the one teaching the boys about life and the kingdom and helping them solve personal problems. It’s simple, but we had a few mysteries and revelations given to us.

The most interesting of it was Heine’s past. We know Heine to be a very intellectual man but there was always mystery to his past and how it was related to Viktor, who we found out are close friends. Heine was fine as a character, but when it came to substance there really was much because we didn’t know anything about him like we did with the princes. However, episode 11 kindly shed the light on that and revealed Heine’s past of being a homeless orphan, living among other orphan children who stole everyday to survive. I was pleasantly surprised to see Viktor not stop them, saying things like “That’s not right!” and telling them to do things differently. It was nice to see him actually help out. The events that led to Heine’s arrest were awful (that guard was literally going to shoot a child? holy shit), but it ended up having a happy ending. It says a lot about Heine that he went from a illiterate child to such an intelligent adult, teaching the children at the church and then teaching the princes. You can tell that he’s worked so hard in his life, and you can also tell, mostly from the box of little cards and gifts, that he loves teaching and helping others, and that he cherishes all of his students. He doesn’t do it for the pay, he does it because he wants to. Heine is incredibly admirable and luckily the princes were able to tell the council that before they chose another tutor for them. The ending, albeit a little predictable, was still very sweet.

In the end you can tell how much the princes have changed. Sure, Leonhard is still a bit of a baby, Bruno is still a little uptight, Licht is still a playful flirt, and Kai is still kinda quiet, they have all made progress on themselves and matured. Their maturity really shone in the last episode when they vouched for Heine at the court.

And while the plot of the show was to make the princes mature so they could be rightful candidates to the throne, the show wasn’t totally about them. As Heine made it clear in the episode where they went to the city for the first time, it was also about the kingdom in whole. While the boys had to focus on improving themselves, they also had to really think about the people in the kingdom and how they could improve the kingdom even more. The show went into some of the worldbuilding, which put this show apart from other comedies. Heine said it beautifully before his departure from the Palace that each boy could make the kingdom thrive in their own way based on their personalities like Leonhard’s imagination, Kai’s kindness, etc. We got to see the lives of the people and saw the good and bad, such as the police quickly coming to aid the woman who had her purse robbed, or the effects freedom of speech can have when it came to the tabloid paper against Kai. We also saw the lack of education, homes, and food for children when Viktor was a child and how he came to improve on that situation when he became king. It builds upon the bigger picture and how it’s not about yourself, but about everyone.

The add-in of a “villain” was also a huge plus. Eins is the obvious bad guy, I mean just look at him!

First of all, he looks nothing like his father or his brothers and sister, or grandmother. For some reason he was the only one that came out with dark hair? Everyone has light hair except for this foo’ and he looks more like a dad than his dad. We know nothing about the Queen (she’s probably dead) but I’m going to doubt that she had dark hair. Viktor, Leonhard, Licht, Adele, and the grandmother have blonde hair, Kai has white hair, and yeah Bruno has brown hair but it’s a light brown. But…this guy…who the hell is he? I literally laughed real hard when he called Viktor Father because it was so strange, and it’s still funny to me.

Anyway, we got conflict which made the show more interesting and allowed the boys to grow more while also giving us a look into Heine’s past. However, it was pretty disappointing that we didn’t get to see Eins for that much. He’s told Rosenberg to back off, but it’s obvious that Eins wants the throne for himself. This sets up a good start to a second season.

Will there be a second season? Maybe! They’re making a live action of this series so why wouldn’t they make another season? I really did enjoy this show. The plot was simple but it soon added things like conflict and worldbuilding to make it more interesting. The characters, though, drove the show and I loved them all. There were a few surprises with them and I found them all to be relateable in their own way. They all had their time to shine and grow, and it’s certain to say that the people they were at the end of the show is not who they were in the beginning. Heine, and I’ve already said this, is a wonderful character. His selflessness is envious, and he’s really just a good person at heart. I’m also surprised to say that Viktor was another wonderful addition as well as King characters are usually absent from the show for one reason or another (Akatsuki no Yona), or are just awful fathers (Arslan Senki). So, Viktor being a good King and father was refreshing. He knew when to be serious and take on his duties as king, but he also wasn’t embarrassed to show his love to his children while also pushing them to do better, but not in an abusive manner. Why couldn’t all kings be like that? His relationship with Heine was also a definite plus.

There’s definitely more story to tell, so I’ll happily just sit here and wait for a second season announcement. The Royal Tutor was a charming little show with a lot of heart. People that watch the first episode and write it off as another Ouran, which is…very VERY wrong for many reasons, are missing out on a harmless show. Also, Kai is still best boy. His episodes were adorable.

8/10, a sweet show with harmless comedy with substance, but also could be a little predictable at times.