Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!?

Was there ever a teacher who shaped a huge part of your life? Someone you wouldn’t be yourself without? Teachers play such a critical role in our society, guiding and supporting people of all ages and backgrounds towards some kind of goal or breakthrough. From the day we are born until the day we pass away, we are constantly learning, thanks to a variety of living and nonliving teachers.

That said, our most prominent teacher-student experiences stem from school, where all manner of things can happen. There’s also a time and place for everything, right?

“Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!?” also known as “Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?” or simply "Nankoko," is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 8th of April until the 24th of June in spring 2019. Tear Studio brought it to life with a Sentai Filmworks license.

The main staff behind it included Fujii Takahiro, Sudou Koutarou, and Miyagi Souji as producers, and Kaneko Hiraku as director. Featuring the genres of comedy and ecchi alongside the school theme, it was targeted at the Seinen demographic and thus received a rating of R+ for its mild nudity. Each episode ran for only 11 minutes as well.

The anime series is based on the manga of the same name, also known as “Golden Times, Why are you here, Sensei!?” which began publication on October 10, 2015, and is still ongoing. It was serialized weekly in Young Magazine and was the work of author and artist Soborou. A side story titled “Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!?: Thirteenth Period," also known as “Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? Nande Koko ni Sensei-tachi ga!?” was released in the form of a single special episode on December 11, 2019. This is actually an unaired episode that got included with the Blu-ray box set.

The story centers around a second-year high schooler named Ichirou Satou, who is a very average student, no matter how you look at it. But his normal days come to an end after he has a number of not-so-average experiences with his teacher, Kana Kojima.

Kojima is his attractive Japanese language teacher, but she has a reputation for being ruthless at school. She has earned the moniker "The Demon," and even the delinquents bow down to her.

But one fateful day, the situation escalates to another level when our protagonist runs into her inside the restroom of all places, where one thing leads to another and they end up sharing an intimate moment together. This chance encounter makes his imagination go haywire for days afterwards, as would be expected from a boy his age. Thus, this series follows the daily lives of Satou and his Kojima as they continuously meet under similar conditions as if it were the will of the universe at play, and each encounter causes them to grow closer still.

This is not an easy anime to review because it’s one of those “It’s so shameless and inappropriate, but enjoyable” kinds of shows. So it’s neither great nor horrible, just awkwardly sitting somewhere between, similar to how you would feel watching this show. You can even call it a guilty pleasure based on how you view this genre.

It may start off as another romantic comedy with horror elements, but it bombards you with a lot of unnecessary nudity and fan service. At the same time, it talks about a forbidden kind of romantic relationship between a student and teacher. It differs from other films in that it is not afraid to display the relationship in broad daylight while also including a lot of comedy and dubious scenes that make you wonder how they even came to be.

The plot is more or less irrelevant because the show takes the format of simple short stories unfolding one after another. They feature a student and teacher finding themselves in highly erotic situations and showcase, in all its shameless glory, what occurs in highly exaggerated forms.

The setting is a school to facilitate these "relationships,” and we get a taste of what four students experience for all 12 short episodes. That’s it; that’s the plot. It uses character-based story development, where each anthology is able to stand on its own thanks to how absurd the situations are. It’s almost like they took all the good parts from other Ecchi shows and wove them together without a hitch.

What was handled well here is actually the execution. The implementation is very unique because the creators continuously cook up obscenely absurd scenarios to put their characters in, which were also weirdly entertaining. While these scenarios are not downright impossible in real life, you still wonder about all the logic that was defied to make them happen.

Using just 9 minutes of screentime per episode, they introduce and develop the scenes via weirdly reasonable explanations. There’s plenty of comedy to keep you chuckling, and not even one second is wasted in this smoothly transitioning show. There is much to enjoy in how they execute the dialogue, equipment, backgrounds, and settings, forming this perverted but neat sync of the many elements that make a show entertaining.

Moving on, the character department is decently done. I was particularly impressed by the male characters, who were pretty unique to each other and within the realm of anime as well. We honestly need more of this rare breed: they’re quick to realize their love on their own, don't need other characters to push them, and promptly convey their feelings. This is what allows the show itself to be lighthearted and fast-paced without ruining the immersion.

The best part, however, is how this cast blends perfectly with the comedic and erotic nature of the show. The female characters don’t go that far, though, because they mainly serve as fanservice and “romantic” interests for the guys. Kojima is continuously put in highly suggestive positions around Satou, letting their relationship grow thanks to the absurd scenarios.

The same can be said for the other female leads, Chizuru, Hikari, and Mayu, who all follow some generic anime tropes in terms of body and personality. It’s almost as if they were the sex education teachers at this school. Since the series follows an analogy-like style, we don’t see characters from one meeting those of another, which is a shame because there could’ve been some great interactions. There isn’t a load of character development either, just relationship development, and honestly, it isn’t necessary in a show like this.

The art and animation department is pretty good, because this is an Ecchi after all. The character designs are very simple—nothing exceptionally memorable—and pretty average at best. But this simplicity is what highlights the expertly done character expressions, which are pure gold. Just seeing their expressions is enough to make you laugh at times, and they deliver the fanservice on their own.

The art in general is nice on the eyes, simple, and fitting, while the animation flows seamlessly during the "events." This visual quality is consistent, while the backgrounds serve their purpose without any issues.

The sound and music department is satisfactory. Kana Sumire Uesaka, Yuuko Gotou, Nozomi Yamamoto, and Shizuka Ishigami, who play Kojima, Mayu, Chizuru, and Hikari, respectively, sing "Bon Kyu Bon wa Kare no Mono" as the opening theme and "Ringo-iro Memories" as the closing theme.

I didn’t expect the opening to tug at one's heartstrings, but here we are. The OSTs are nothing special; they’re just there, and you barely even notice them during the "action.” But credit must be given to the sound effects and voice acting, which were just spot-on; the audio fan service is through the roof. While the voice actors do an expert job of portraying the situations and being hilarious, the sound effects give life to every minor thing going on by being explicit and highly suggestive.

Overall, “Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!?” is a highly entertaining show for fans of the genres. This is the type of show where 23-minute episodes would’ve been too long and made it grow stale, but it also felt like 9-minute episodes were too short on occasion. They could’ve done better with more screen time, like allowing the characters from separate anthologies to meet and interact.

But it is what it is, and we can be happy that an Ecchi of this sort ended up being so enjoyable. Woven together by a weak plotline, this anime has great comedy, explicit fanservice, expressive characters, neat art, and suggestive audio to keep you engaged throughout the runtime.

There’s no guarantee you’ll get invested in these characters or feel emotional at all, but it’s still a worthwhile watch for what it has to offer. It does what it sets out to do, so you’ll enjoy it as long as you’re willing to indulge. Recommended for anyone who enjoys comedy and Ecchi!