An enigmatic professor whos often mistaken for a child is hired to tutor four problem princes whod rather do anything but study with a teacher. Ah the miracle teacher who sees through student struggles and pain to connect with them and teach them both their lessons and how to open up. I love this tropewho wouldnt want a teacher who not only knows their shit but knows how to teach said shit and also realizes the depths of your potential and helps you realize your passion and build on it? This is primarily a lighthearted humorous series. Despite the fact that the princes are being tutored because their father the king kinda thinks his adult firstborn these are princes 25 might not be fit for the throne we dont get into politics and barely get into court factions and rivalriesand even then its basically just one guy close to Prince 1 no literally his name is Prince Eins doing his best to make the younger princes less desirable by digging up scandals occasionally. Ill touch on the serious aspects a little later. At its core youve got 4 teenage princes in late1800s pseudoAustria who have chased off their previous tutors for an unspecified length of time but its been a while since they had consistent proper schooling. Their new tutor is a noname man who looks about 12 years old who has to not just teach the pampered dorks but convince them hes worth listening to. Also at its core is a show so dedicated to the joke that the tutor is an adult but small and looks like a child that hes often animated as a chibi and shown interacting with the world in a way only possible if he was actually 2 feet tall. Its a gag but you know what? It made me laugh. So: good gag. Plus at 12 episodes it doesnt really have time to get tiring. Looking at the princes youve got Kai who doesnt have Resting Bitch Face so much as Resting Murder Face a contrast to his love of all things small soft and fluffy Bruno glasseswearing nerd supreme Leonard the sweettoothed athletic airhead and Licht the irrepressible flirt. The tutor Heine has to understand what makes each one tick and help them be better people in the way that all greatteachertrope characters must. Thats not a criticism. The anime is very light. Youre not going to find out if any of the princes are chosen to be heir. Instead the episodes are filled primarily with Heine teaching them Something Useful such as this is what nonpalace city life looks like or Conversational Basics 101 and the princes yknow being dorks about it. Now its pretty clear early on that Heine has a secret. I mean look at this face. This is the I am so much more capable and dangerous than you think anime face. I wont spoil the show but we find out in the first couple episodes that a Heine knows the king on a firstname basis 2 the king and Heine are pretending they dont know each other and 3 Heine took the job with the understanding that if the truth about his past ever got out he would quit. oh ho HO that is some mysterious backstory there Now the manga is ongoing and to date Heines history is still unknown. Weve learnt about some of his talents but not how he developed them or where he met the king much less how he formed a close friendship. The anime has actually gone and given Heine a backstory to explain everything so by episode 10 of 12 we are solidly in animeonly territory. This isnt a bad thingin fact I think the decision makes the anime by itself have a pretty good story arc letting it close without a cliffhanger. A good decision for an anime that is unlikely to ever get a second season. Verdict English dub? Yes. Its solidly goodI think they sound more like college adults than teenagers but they didnt sound jarring. I loved Brunos voice. His voice actor oftennot all the time just on occasion when the emotion levels called for itshowed Brunos ridiculous emotional devotion to Heine. Heines VA also conveyed his excellent deadpan. Visuals: Shiny I mean all the time. Their hair. So shiny. Worth watching? Yes it wraps up nicely and while the final episodes get a bit more serious as they finally delve into Secrets and History that itd been hinting at forever the majority of the series is just nice stories with happy endings.
74 /100
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