Ending Thoughts: Gakuen Babysitters

Synopsis

This is the story of Ryuichi Kashima and his infant brother, Kotaro. Orphaned upon losing their parents to a plane crash, the two are taken in by Yoko Morinomiya, the director of a children’s academy who lost her adult son and her daughter-in-law in the same plane crash.

There is, however, a condition to the two staying with her. In exchange of her becoming the legal guardian of the Kashima brothers until they are old enough to live on their own, Ryuichi is to work as a babysitter at the Morinomiya Academy.

General Impression

The biggest highlight of the series aside from the way that the characters were developed, and the story flowed, is the way it presented the theme of family. There is a lot of charm to be found with the series and it’s not with just the kids. More than portraying a lovely theme and charming characters however, the series also had a solid amount of comedy slipped in as well. Then there is also the art, which, doesn’t seem much overall but still has great tones and cute imagery for the characters.

On the note of the characters, there was not only some solid development on them, but also fun character exploration for not just the main characters but also the side characters as well. The only real flaw to be found with the series seeing as it’s a slice-of-life comedy is that the episodes can be rather formulaic in that it begins with something sweet, slips ins some funny moments then ends with something heartfelt. While not bad, it would have been nice to have seen some change in pace here and there.

Ending Thoughts

Towards the final half of the series, there was a segment from the manga that this writer was personally looking forward to. It was when the fathers of the children were introduced. In the manga it was revealed that Hayato and Taka’s father is in fact part of the faculty and doesn’t have much of a presence in their lives. If it was integrated into the anime, it would have presented another arc for Hayato and Taka and would have placed a lovely message in the anime. Luckily enough it didn’t really leave that much of a negative mark.

Still the Christmas episode was still a nice note to end the series on. It was simple and sweet just like the rest of the series. Honestly there is not a whole lot of issues with the series to be found. In the end the series showed how much Ryuichi grew from the start along with his brother and the way that we see all the friends and family gathered together ties everything well together.

Conclusion

As charming and sweet as the story is, the series may not appeal to everyone given how this is a simple slice-of-life involving family and humor mixed in with moments that can tug at the heart. That’s what makes it great though. Aside from the formulaic work of the episodes, there was some great character development and exploration on everyone’s parts. In the end, the series gave a work that will always leave you smiling.

Rating: 8.5/10