Search - Happy Lesson - Mom-ageddon (Vol. 1) on DVD

The Mothers of Invention

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 01/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As can happen in Japan, when a young boy is orphaned, he can return to his house when he reaches his teens - just at the point where he can manage for himself. Chistose Hitotose is one such adapting to the conflicts of life alone and the pressures of school. When he shares his story with teacher Mutsuki Ichimonji, Chitose gets an unexpected result. Before he knows it not only Mutsuki, but for other beautiful teachers have moved into his house to act as his surrogate mothers.For a fourteen-year-old boy with dreams of independence this is a nightmare come true. Soon his whole life is being run by a group of crazy women who, as he complains, have "adopted me as a pet." In the initial competition for who would be is 'official' mother, the five frantically compete for his affections. Chitose finds himself reeling from vitamin injections to having his teeth brushed until he has a typical teenage crisis.When everything gets sorted out we get a vision of a lonely boy who needs affection just as much as he needs to get his own way. In the dust from the 'mama Olympics' Chitose manages to forge the basis for a crazy but supportive family setting that is bound to provide countless episodes of laughter and enjoyment.While the comedy isn't lacking in the innuendo one would expect from Chitose's surroundings, the dialog manages to stay just on this side of appropriate, which is refreshing in any genre. Expect the laughs to be more heartwarming than burlesque, with thoughtful moments in between the multi-tier mix of dialog and sight gags that is used to keep things jumping."

Deeply flawed but often quite funny

Steven Myers | SF Bay Area | 03/30/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Happy Lesson is hard to pin down--one moment it's laugh-out-loud funny, the next, it makes you groan. First, the good: Happy Lesson's chief sources of humor are clever sight gags and the continual physical abuse of the main character, Chitose. In that way, the show can be quite similar to Love Hina, which had a similar dynamic. In another similarity to Love Hina, Happy Lesson does not stick to reality--much of the abuse heaped on poor Chitose comes from impossible and non-sensical inventions and gadgets or the over-the-top abilities of his five teachers/mothers. The show also boasts some attractive character designs, nice bright colors, and oddly appealing opening and closing credits.But then there's the bad. First, the basic premise just doesn't work--five young high school teachers move in with lonely bad-boy orphan Chitose to be his mothers. The premise is so much more absurd than anything else in the show that you just start out on the wrong foot. (Note that the show wisely avoids even the suggestion of anything romantic between Chitose and his new mothers--everything is just embarrassment and awkwardness.) Second, Happy Lesson has a strong tendency to get cloying, with horribly sappy moments that simply fail to tug at any heartstrings. Third, a nearly disastrous decision was made for the English dub: Chitose's name is incorrectly pronounced as something frighteningly similar to "Cheetos." In the first episode particularly, it's quite jarring.It's hard to sum up this show--it's like there are two different shows merged together: a funny harem show (ala Love Hina and many others) and a failed melodrama (for which I can't come up with a similar show). If you like physical humor, you may want to wade through the failed elements of this show to find the funny and enjoyable parts. Otherwise, you may just want skip Happy Lesson entirely."

Five moms, sisters, a class president and lots of craziness

Sahvin Panichpong | Kansas City, MO / Fairfax, VA USA | 04/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"People have mentioned to me that if you liked Love Hina, definitely give this series a try. Chitose Hitotose was looking forward to moving back into his house which was left to him by his parents. But he never expected to be living with five women who happen to be his teachers and want to be his moms. Although this would be many guys' dream to be living with five beautiful women, it's actually Chitose's worst nightmare, as he becomes a victim of their over the top motherly care a la Love Hina with science experiments, spiritual cleansing, physical training, and almost any situations where the moms are involved. Add a lovestruck class president and Chitose's sisters to the craziness, and you have a popular comedy anime originating from Dengeki G's magazine in Japan with two TV series, an OVA, and just recently announced, another OVA to complete the series called Happy Lesson: The Final.This series has quickly become another favorite of mine with the cute character designs, a good dose of comedy, and the array of personalities that the characters in this series have. There is also a manga version of Happy Lesson that ADV's manga division is releasing as well. A highly recommended series for those looking for something with a good amount of fun factor and lots of cute girls."

Chitose now has five moms...

Michael Valdivielso | Alexandria, VA | 02/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"and all five of them also happen to be his teachers. After coming home, to an empty house, after moving out of the orphanage, Chitose is not doing so well at school. His grades suck and he gets into fights. Five of the teachers, all female, decide they need to be his 'mom' to help him out and give him the support (and love) a boy needs to become a man.
This anime tries to be everything. It tries to be funny, it tries to be touching and serious, and it tries to give the viewer some fan service. But it ends up being a Jack of all trades, Master of none. YET, after the first two episodes, where we jump right into the story, things start to become interesting. Sometimes it IS funny and sometimes it IS touching. Like a broken clock the anime does seem to really work once and a while, as they start to develop the story, the relationships and the characters. The artwork is OK and the music is nice but the English voices selected were PERFECT (and really help me tell between some of the characters - two of the teachers look very much alike, but for their hair, and without the different voices, and outfits, I would of been totally confused).
The DVD has a few extras, the normal clean opening and closing animations, character sketches and trailers. It also has a cool fold-out, where on one side they have detailed information on three of the main characters (in this case the mom-teachers) and the three female voice actors who play them while on the other side is a tiny poster of all the main characters.
For 15 and up. I would suggest maybe renting this DVD, or getting it used, and then deciding if you want to get into the series or not."