Oresama Teacher

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Oresama Teacher to me is that one manga that you just keep checking in on and following on and off over the years until it's finished, and now that the manga has finally ended I'm glad to say that it was worth all the waiting.

Every character is loveable in their own way, everyone is absolutely ridiculous, and the plot is bonkers. I have never laughed so hard at any manga.

Like the synopsis says, Mafuyu gets sent to a really crappy high school up in the mountains because she got expelled from her old high school, and no other school will let her enroll. ... She really wants to start over where no one knows about her delinquent past but unlucky for her, her old neighbor/childhood friend Saeki Takaomi teaches at that school. He needs help cleaning up the gang activity in the school to attract more students to apply, and she basically has no choice but to get involved via the Public Morals club (that's the official English translation) that Takaomi runs.

In essence, toss an ex-delinquent mc who is trying really hard to be a shoujo manga heroine, an oblivious tough-guy sidekick, a wannabe ninja, an unhinged math teacher, and about 20 other delinquent doofuses into a pot, stir it up, and watch chaos ensue.

ALSO this is NOT a romantic comedy! Romance is not the focus. As much as Mafuyu WANTS to have a doki doki shiny high school life, she's got other priorities.

(I wanted to clarify that since there are a lot of associations between shoujo and romance. This is purely a comedic school/delinquent life story)

[Kind of spoiler:
If you're worried about the teacher/student relationship aspect of this manga having read through the end things between Takaomi and Mafuyu stay very platonic.]

I was also very satisfied with the story from beginning to end, although the ending did feel a little rushed/abrupt and there were a couple minor things I wish we'd gotten more of. Nothing that affects my score very much.

TLDR: Delinquents? check. Hijinks? check. Secret disguises? Check. Carrier pigeons? Check. Romance? Anti-check! I hope this helped anyone who is considering picking up this series!

Oresama Teacher is one of the most unshoujo shoujos out there which is not a bad thing. If you are looking for romance story or the typical shoujo stuff, this is not for you. Oresama Teacher does have romance and implications of it but it's not the focus. It's more on comedy and the power of nakama/ friendship.

Even as a unshoujo, I still adore Oresama Teacher. The cast is endearing and the humor's completely over the top. As someone who absolutely hates misunderstanding arcs, they are not obnoxious at all in Oresama. It's pretty funny and well written. You can't quite get to hate any ... of the characters with their personalities and backstories.

My only complaint is I wish there was more. The ending feels rushed. Throughout the whole manga, you get to see what Mafuyu has been up to throughout her highschool life then suddenly there are timeskips. It would have been nice if we get to see more of the characters inbetween the timeskip and also some resolutions with some of the threads.

TLDR: Really good "shoujo" manga if you want to laugh your ass off

In Short, Oresama Teacher is a good manga. The plot suffers in places and the art suffers from some common failings, but the characters are mostly original, and there is enough enjoyment gained from reading that it is a good casual manga.

STORY

Oresama Teacher's pacing is sort of the worst thing about the manga. The general plot isn't bad, and is in fact a good hook--delinquent girl must hide her unscrupulous past while fighting to save a school from closure, all while making friends (tm). It's a bit generic, especially the friendship-gathering, but the facet of hiding Mafuyu's past delinquency is interesting.

But--and that is a huge ... but--the way the mangaka paces this manga is poor. I often find myself utterly confused as to what is happening and why. The manga is released monthly (more or less), and every month, I'll have forgotten what the past chapter covered, and will then read sixty pages of confusion. I've taken to writing a small summary of where the plot is, and reading it whenever a new chapter is released.

This happens for two reasons, I believe. First, the manga doesn't really recap what happened last time very well. It feels like they are simply drawing the next page, instead of opening the next chapter. Second, the plot itself can be, at times, unclear. Why are they doing that? What are they doing it for? I don't know! This is likely a two-part issue: an average translation, stacked on top of an already-vague narration.

ART

The art is standard fare for your average manga. In general, people are drawn well--nobody suffers from stupid-face. It's very representative of the style towards which many shoujo manga have moved in recent years. However, there are two major flaws which come from this industry-wide art shift.

First, many characters resemble each other greatly. There are very few women in this manga, and tons of guys. This is a problem, because the mangaka seems to have a limited set of eyes + hair + size to work with. The art is not greatly detailed, so the characters tend to blend together.

Second, backgrounds are often just gradients, or slapshod drawings of lockers or doors. It's not very detailed, basically. This isn't as big of an issue as the last problem; in the end, this is not a manga to write home about. It's one you read because you like reading manga; it's not trying for any prizes.

CHARACTERS

The characters are surprisingly interesting. There are few trope or stock characters that truly exist. There are plenty of delinquents, and while they appear standard, they often show depth of personality (or at the least interesting traits).

Mafuyu in particular is nice to see. For whatever reason, she's absurdly strong, but her personality is not shoehorned into the Strong Female Character trap. She's dense, and plain, and dorky, but in ways which are utterly normal. She's well written, and a great female action MC

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL

Despite the faults in plot pacing and art, this manga isn't half-bad a read. As said earlier, it's nothing to write home about, and it knows it. It's not trying for anything profound, or weaving a grand tale. It's like reruns of CSI or Seinfeld--it's something that you read when nothing else is happening, and you enjoy it, and then you are done with it. For that purpose, I'd recommend the manga.