Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine

Teachers are the most powerful educational tool to shape a country’s future and generations. Yeah well, it’s hard to say in today’s politically correct world. That is why, we are in need of a lesson in the form of anime. So of a teacher for commoners won’t do the trick, will royal tutors for the royal family help? The royal family isn’t instantly born with all the intellect and genius minds. Somebody needs to help groom them to become better people and leaders. And whose job it is but a royal tutor. And so in Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine, we see how a newly hired royal tutor with the physique of a child is made to turn spoilt princes into trustworthy kings. Hard to take someone who looks like a kid seriously, right? That’s where the power of an educator comes in…

Episode 1
Heine Wittgenstein receives a letter from King Viktor Von Granzreich to become the royal tutor for his sons. Although his firstborn son is talented and next in line to be the next ruler, he cannot rule out the fact that something might happen to him. He has 4 other sons whom he deems unfit for the throne. He wants Heine to give them equal attention and oversee their education. Heine is already stopped at the gates by the guards because of his small stature. Is he the royal tutor’s kid? Thankfully the queen recognizes him and takes him to see the princes. He is told previous tutors quit immediately and that her sons are good people. So when Heine first meets them, they look pretty handsome and noble. Till their characters show. Fourth prince Leonhard is rude and arrogant. Fifth prince Licht is playful and a Playboy. Third prince Bruno may sound polite but say the wrong thing and he becomes cold. Second prince Kai doesn’t talk but gives you an evil stare! Heine wants to interview them so he could plan his lessons. However Leonhard leads his brothers to try and make him quit but they ‘abandon’ him to do their own thing. And so Heine drags Leonhard to his room for his first interview. Heine tries to find out why he hates teachers but he won’t say. He might spout things he hate but it is more of a child’s level. Leonhard finally reveals why he hates teachers. They don’t pay attention to him and always too busy paying attention to father’s mood. He also hates studying and each time he runs away. Thank his athletic abilities for that. So will Leonhard take this pop quiz Heine has? There are hints he might just bolt. He does! But Heine is faster. Leonhard could have gotten away had not Heine picked up his dropped diary. He then reads some of its entries. Heck, every day is some sort of regret. He wants Leonhard to take the quiz or he will read it to everybody! Heine notices Leonhard focused on the quiz once he puts his mind to it. Then he reads an entry about Leonhard lamenting he isn’t good at socializing. He admits he tends to run away and hopes to fix that. Even a prideful guy has his own frailty and sensitive side. After Heine leaves, Leonhard wants to complain to his father but the maid gives him his favourite cake since Heine instructed her to give it to him. There is also a note thanking him for his hard work. I guess he won’t be reporting then.

Episode 2
Next up is Bruno who is supposedly a genius. Bruno immediately takes and finishes his quiz in record time. However he also wants to test him to see if he is competent. All previous tutors were less intelligent than him and Heine must leave if he is no different. So the test? Chess. Bruno lost! Not yet. There are others. Mental arithmetic? Finished faster than him. Music? Multiple instruments at the same time. Trump cards? Royal straight flush! And a stack of pyramid cards too! Heine then reads his suggestion regarding the kingdom’s construction. He praises his level headed thinking but warns certain words which makes it feel like he is blaming others. After Heine adds his own suggestions, Bruno is impressed and now… He wants to call Heine his master! Oh no. This is going to be troublesome. ‘Luckily’ Licht kidnaps Heine to his room just to introduce to his harem. When they speak alone, Licht wants to know since he looks like a kid, is his dick the small too? A kick in the face! Call that an educational measure. Licht sounds like he doesn’t want to take the quiz and giving excuses but before Heine knows it, he is done. Licht then looks serious when he asks the question of who Heine really is. Because all tutors have some sort of title or prestige but he has none. Heine leaves and notes he can’t let his guard down on his sharpness. Lastly when Heine goes to see Kai, he isn’t in his room. Trying to ask the maid about him didn’t yield anything good. She has never talked to him but yet fears him. In the garden, a dog steals his book but leads him to Kai sleeping. He almost got assaulted when he wakes up. Heine is shocked that Kai is supposed to have a notorious temper but instead is a kind soul who loves playing with Shadow the dog. He might look like he is staring at you but is looking at somewhere else. Also, his retarding speech makes others hard to understand. He likes to touch soft things like Shadow’s paws. And Heine’s hands… The king’s youngest child, Princess Adele meets Heine for the first time to get Shadow. Kai has done the quiz and hopes they get along. He likes Heine because he is the first teacher to talk to him. Heine feels embarrassed from the information he got regarding the princes and jumping to conclusions based on that. He rips the unreliable information and notes the need to learn not to judge others based on rumours and gossips. He will have to start from scratch again.

Episode 3
Heine has marked their quiz. All that is left is for them to gather for their first lesson. Bruno is praising Heine so much that it disgusts Leonhard and makes him run away. Bruno and Licht turn up but end up arguing since Licht is quite touchy with Heine. It took Kai to ‘mediate’ and break them up. As Leonhard didn’t turn up, Heine can’t start his lesson. Bruno will go find him but he is spotted eavesdropping outside the door. He is shocked everyone likes Heine so quick. Heine returns their quiz scores. Bruno gets 100. Kai gets 87. Licht gets 60. Leonhard… 1 point?! Even that is a pity mark for writing his name! Leonhard feels embarrassed and blames Heine for making him take that test. Before he could explain himself, Leonhard runs away. Bruno tells Heine why he hates tutors. Apparently his first tutor was very strict on him. As he was more difficult to teach, the tutor singled him out. Ever since, Leonhard hated studying and tutors and would run away. Don’t worry. Heine will teach him that teachers aren’t the enemy. Heine is the first tutor who actually caught up to Leonhard. Is it his manly black stallion? Heine has calculated perfectly to jump off the horse to push Leonhard off without hurting him when they fall into the bushes. Heine tells Leonhard he is very different from his previous tutors and doesn’t intend to blame him for his poor grades. His lessons will be specifically tailored to each prince to bring out the best in their talent. He knows Leonhard can grow as a person as he is aware of his own weaknesses. He asks if running away from his problems solved anything. He hopes he would stop doing so and take his hand and try harder. Well, taking a finger is a start. But since they have fled so far, they have to camp in the woods for the night. Leonhard complaining about eating berries and acorns… Luckily the guards found them and bring them back. Heine is shown his room. The bed is too big to sleep but as he rolls, he got stuck between the wall and can’t move until next morning where the maid had to pluck him out. And so rumours circulating how he got stuck… Leonhard is the first one arriving for his lesson. Heine has got work cut out for him since Leonhard is already exhausted from the few exercises done and the other brothers are quarrelling.

Episode 4
Heine will take the princes to visit the capital, Wiener. At first Leonhard didn’t want to go but after telling the story how Marie Antoinette got the guillotine by the people, he agrees to go. As Licht often sneaks out, he knows how to wear appropriate clothes so as not to let their identities exposed. He dresses up his brothers as gentlemen. Heine guides the princes through the crowded streets. Each of the princes spend some time visiting the shops. Like Bruno in a dilemma to buy all the books but has a limited budget. Leonhard has never bought things from a store before and so he is nervous but the shopkeeper was kind enough. Heine then shows them how to eat a hotdog with their hands without any utensils. When the day is almost over and they prepare to go home, they witness a thief snatching an old woman’s bag. Leonhard becomes upset and wants to go after the thief but it seems Kai has already apprehended him and handed him over to the police. The old lady rewards all of them with candy. Even if Leonhard didn’t help out, the sentiment alone made her happy. On the way back, they see the beautiful lighted up streets and buildings. When Heine asks what they have learnt so far the most important thing, their answers about shops and stuffs weren’t the answers he was looking for. He believes they have not learnt their lesson. It is the people living here and their smiles. Their father the king has worked hard to bring back those smiles so he hopes that they will continue to make the kingdom a better place. Yeah, Leonhard wants to beat up baddies… Well, technically that sounds nice. Back at the palace, Heine is suspicious when Leonhard makes him go for a stroll with him. Pacing up and down… When the princes can no longer hide whatever they are scheming, Heine is surprised that the princes have cooked for him a welcoming party. The steak looks burnt but it is delicious. They each also give him presents they brought from town. Did Kai just get a pigeon from the square? Oh, it flew away… Thanks to their heartfelt gifts, Heine is able to sleep well but he still feels he shouldn’t be here.

Episode 5
The king has returned. He requests an audience with his sons and Heine. My, he looks so young like their big brother. Well, it was narrated he became the youngest king. But does that mean he also became a young father? Viktor cries upon seeing how well his sons are. But on to serious business, he sees the quiz’s results. He is very particular about Leonhard. He throws him to ultimatum to retake this test again in 3 days and must match Licht’s score. Otherwise he will strip his right to the throne. Viktor gives Heine special permission to teach Leonhard for that period. All the brothers also want to help Leonhard to study as they cannot watch him lose heart despite being rivals for the throne. To their dismay, Leonhard doesn’t even know what 1 + 1!!! Serious!!! However when his favourite cake is involved, he can instantly do the maths no matter how hard. Heine believes his anxiety in studying sends him into panic. And so after 3 nights of intense studying, the highest he could get is 15? The test is tomorrow. Heine tells him a different way of thinking so Leonhard goes back to studying. Next day he takes the test. What’s the score? OMG! 59! Oh so close! Everyone is happy but Viktor has already laid down the rules. End of Leonhard? However Viktor points out Heine marking wrongly. Shouldn’t he give him a point for writing his name? And with that ‘loophole’, Leonhard passes! With father wanting him to pay attention and study hard, Leonhard says he still hates tutors but doesn’t hate Heine. He hopes he would keep teaching him. Viktor is happy he can trust his sons in his hands. That night, Heine goes to drink with Viktor in his chamber. It seems they knew each other from way back. There is a condition regarding Heine becoming a tutor here. Something about if his past ever being brought to life.

Episode 6
When Heine visits a café, he is shocked to see Licht working as a waiter. Or he might got it wrong. Just a commoner who looks like the prince. But actually he is indeed the prince! He is secretly working here and worries if his identity will be found out. His flirting with his fan girls almost gave him away. Then he coolly solves a pool game dispute. When Heine leaves, Licht realizes he left a message that he knows his identity! Busted. However there seems to be another person who knows about Licht here. Back at the palace, Heine realizes Licht is being brought straight to Viktor by Count Ernst Rosenberg. Licht is made to explain himself and when Viktor tells him to quit and be more aware of himself as a royalty, Licht gets upset. He never visited when he was sick and all he cares about is his reputation and lineage. Licht runs away back to the café but Heine leads Viktor there. Licht thought father is going to ask him to quit but he surprisingly asks to work here for a few hours. Hey, Licht said he didn’t understand his son, right? Only one way to find out. Licht thought father will screw up and be sent home. Too bad. Viktor is charming with the ladies, speaks foreign languages and is very knowledgeable about books. Yeah, great smile too. Girls want to marry him! Grandmas want him to their grandson! WTF?! So good Viktor is that the owner wants him to continue! As the café closes, Viktor talks to Licht. He apologizes for trying to intrude. He rephrases his earlier word that he was only worried for his safety. Whether he stays or quits is up to him. Licht also apologizes he never knew how hard his job as a king is. His duty is to his kingdom and people. Not really. It is his to his family too. Viktor did visit Licht when he was sick but when he was asleep. Licht feels he can’t work here anymore in light of this but Heine suggests he intends to visit the café every week. That way he could protect him. Licht won’t quit so as not to make his fan girls cry. Heine misjudged Licht as the most mysterious among the princes but notes he is just the most ordinary. What bothers Heine is how Rosenberg knew he was working here. Speaking of him, that guy laments his plan to make a candidate for the throne drop out didn’t go as plan. But there will be more opportunities for scandals.

Episode 7
Heine asks the princes’ opinion as a king about a construction lacking funds. It is Leonhard’s answer of pooling funds that is most impressive. Because of that Viktor mulls his idea which is similar to an insurance system and wants him to write in a report. Bruno doesn’t look pleased. Flashback shows he enjoyed seeing father at work. It was his motivation to become king. However he always hear how people praised Eins (the first prince) and that this genius will be the next king. Bruno shows Heine a speech he is supposed to give a lecture on in a week. Heine’s personal opinion is that he is just merely rehashing with no new ideas. Lots of spelling mistakes too. Clearly he can tell Bruno is troubled but won’t force him tell. His job now is to rewrite the report otherwise he will stop allowing Bruno to be his disciple. Bruno wracks his brains till he manages to write one where Heine is impressed and learnt a few things. He goes present his paper and the crowd gives him a standing ovation! Now many want him to give lectures at their school. Bruno is surprised to be approached by his admired scholar, Dr Dmtri (do mind his unpleasant assistant, Smerdyakov). Dmtri asks if he would leave Granzreich and come to Orosz to study as a scholar with him. Heine notices Bruno coming back late that night. He is approached by Rosenberg who introduces himself as Eins’ high steward. Heine learns about Dmtri’s invitation to Bruno. Bruno is in a dilemma over Dmtri’s proposal. He said his chances of becoming king is zero as long as Eins is around. So why not be a scholar even if it is a much tougher route? It’ll broaden his horizons too. Seeing Leonhard being further praised by Viktor sends him into depression. Of course Heine talks to him so he spills the beans. Heine sees no reason to stop him if he wants to be a scholar. Since he still views himself inferior to others, Heine lectures him a lesson on regrets and own resolve. Bruno goes to meet Dmtri to give his reply. He wants to come to his university in Orosz. But! As a friend in the future. His dream is to become king and if he doesn’t, he will overcome whatever awaits because he made this choice and resolve. Heine heard his heartfelt answer and is impressed. Bruno swears to be his disciple forever! When Rosenberg learns Bruno won’t back down from the throne too, it’s time to move to elimination mode. He wants a report on Heine’s origins.

Episode 8
Kai still has communication problems so he seeks Heine’s help. The palace staffs often fear him due to his intimidating looks and assume threatening things he said when in actual fact he doesn’t say a word. His brothers too would like to help him overcome this problem. At the same time, Adele wants to go to the zoo. It seems Shadow ruined her favourite painting (a hideous portrait of Adele?!) and because of that she hates the doggy and wants to go to the zoo to make new friends. Heine thinks this is also a good chance for Kai to improve his communication skills. At the petting section, he is supposed to ask the groundskeeper for more feed. He couldn’t. When a rabbit bites Adele’s finger, Kai rushes to her aid. The rabbit must be surprised as they realize Shadow has never bitten anyone before. Adele feels bad to return to Shadow. But it won’t take long for kids to reconcile with their pets again. But now they still have to help Kai’s problem. He tries to communicate with the maids. Nice weather… Soft towels… Me like… Uhm… Nothing really changes. But whenever a palace staff is in trouble, he immediately goes to help and his communication skill somewhat improves. Man, Kai has such a monstrous strength. However it is still not enough so he decides he doesn’t want to scare anymore people. Time for Heine to give him a lesson about giving up. He thinks he should start with greetings and thank yous. There are tens of thousands of people in this world who can understand him and it would be a waste to give up because of one or two people. The next time the maid comes to change his sheets, she tries to hurry so Kai thanks her for all she has done. It made her smile and talk. Kai is so happy that he goes to tell Heine this. Good job. When the butler shows Heine the framed hideous Adele picture, the princes realize he is the one who drew it! Adele must have a bad taste in art, huh? Anyway Heine realizes a burnt mark on the edge of the painting. It could be a candle and this means Adele was in danger. Shadow knocked the painting to the ground to save her.

Episode 9
Viktor summons Heine to show him a newspaper article regarding Kai’s violence at military school. He beat up a fellow student, Ralf Von Fuchs. Though Fuchs was expelled, Kai and Bruno were suspended. The article highlights the state’s abusive power to keep this dark secret. Of course we know our princes couldn’t be that violent. Kai admits he did attack Fuchs. Here is the true story. Kai notices Bruno having bruises although he only said it was accident. The more weeks passed, the more bruises he noticed. One day he caught Fuchs in the act beating up Bruno. That’s when he went berserk and started beating up Fuchs. Viktor wants to protect the kingdom’s free speech but at the same time incorrect facts must be corrected. As Viktor has already sent a protest letter to the newspaper, Kai thinks of visiting Fuchs to correct this. Also, it is wrong to jump to conclusions to think he hates them. Heine will escort him but in addition, palace guards Ludwig and Maximilian are also to accompany. Heine and Ludwig go to talk to Fuchs at his doorstep first. He seems repentant and allows Kai to come see him. When Heine goes to get Kai, Ludwig gets kidnapped. Inside, Fuchs tells how he acted out of jealousy and that instructors were afraid of the royalty and took it out on other students. About the article, last week a reporter came to interview him on this but he declined. When Kai is about to shake hands with him, Fuchs pulls a gun on him. His gang members then round them up and throw them in the wine cellar. Fuchs reveals he made up that article and his family ostracized him after he got kicked out from the military school. He plans to use them as ransom. He wants to take a picture of them but they keep making funny faces. When Fuchs threatens to harm Heine, Kai breaks out from his chains! Oh right. He is tremendously strong. He is about to punch Fuchs but remembers Heine’s words and stops. Heine also manages to unlock himself. He’s a genius, remember? After Fuchs is chained, the other gang members come in. Heine easily defeats them with his dexterity and resourcefulness. Man, this looks like an old Chinese kung fu movie. Heine even saves Fuchs from danger. Ludwig managed to free himself and called for backup. Too bad everything is solved. As Fuchs is arrested, Kai hopes he would come to the palace one day and apply to be a palace guard once he paid for his crime. He might not be forgiven but everyone deserves a chance to start things anew. The newspaper soon clears things up but Heine is now confronted with Rosenberg who wants to talk about his past.

Episode 10
Rosenberg forces Heine into his carriage. He knows a lot about Heine because Maximillian is his cousin. As he praises Heine’s efforts in teaching the princes, Heine pulls no punches as he suspects of the recent troubles befalling on the princes although Rosenberg denies he had a hand. As Heine alights back at the palace, Rosenberg says he has discovered his past. He tutored children at a church called Maria Vetsera before coming here. He is hinting he isn’t on their side. Leonhard heard this and is confused. So he acts awkwardly and haughtily towards him. Heine sees Bruno tutoring a few kids. Because they are a bit naughty, he has his hands full. Heine tells him if he cannot handle a few kids, how is he going to command an entire nation on millions? Next, he sees Kai talking well with the palace staffs. Kai is thinking of going back to military school and knows father won’t agree, that’s why he needs Heine’s help. However Heine would prefer him to persuade Viktor in his own words. Visiting Licht, he is learning a lot from the ground level at his café job. Later Leonhard tells his brothers about what he heard about Heine. It made them realize they don’t know much about him and think of finding clues in his room. Privacy intrusion? They think they should enter when he isn’t around but I guess he is right now. He invites them in and it is messy like hell! Books everywhere. Thus the princes decide to help clean up. With Bruno being the master on how to clean, looks like it is going to take a while seeing how picky he is. There is a box in which Heine doesn’t want them to touch as it is private. Of course this only piques their interests as they try to distract him to open it. Eventually they’re caught red handed and he tells them it contains letters and mementos from his previous students. Of course theirs are in there too. His students are always precious to him. All the letters thank Heine and it tells how great a man he is. This motivates them to clean up his room quickly. When the maid comes to serve tea, they accidentally bump and spill everything. The domino effect means everything is a mess again. Time to start from scratch again. At the end of the day, it is all cleaned up. They see an old news article about an enemy infiltrating the palace. They laugh it off but Heine warns them not to assume. What if the enemy was someone who is nice to the king? Someone like him…

Episode 11
Heine wants them to investigate the truth of this article. At first the princes brushes it off but he tells them to imagine themselves as king and have a successor. What if that enemy targets their successor? Can they stay calm about it? As king, a single error in judgment can make you lose the entire country. First, the princes start by talking to the person at the newspaper who wrote the article. Tough luck. Gregor Klein resigned shortly after publishing it and moved. His whereabouts unknown. As they interview the people, none know any more about him. Luckily Licht has his source of information and Gregor is spotted living in the outskirts using a fake name. So they confront him and use a little threat to make him talk. Someone approached him to in the streets write the article. He doesn’t know who as it was dark. Since he needed the money, he agreed and was paid a large sum upfront and the balance into his bank account. Of course the article is hoax. Though, he did his research and found out there was a criminal who caused an incident at the harvest festival just before Viktor ascended the throne. The princes then dig deep into the royal archives for clues. They discover Heine’s name. He was imprisoned for abducting and attempted assassination on the prince who was no other than Viktor then. When the princes go see Heine, he isn’t in his room. His room is empty. Then they go talk to their father for the truth but he will not say anyhow. Until he receives a letter that he finally decides to talk to his sons not as a king but as a father.

When Viktor was still a prince, he often snuck out of the palace to see the realities of life. Not good. A couple of kids stole his timepiece and he chased them to get it back. It was Heine who told those kids to give it back since they shouldn’t steal more than they need. Viktor then follows Heine back to his place, an underground sewer housing orphaned kids. Heine was some sort of their leader. They soon become friends and each time Viktor snuck out of palace, he would meet Heine. Viktor traded his timepiece for a fine wine in Heine’s hands so he could buy blankets and food for the orphans for the winter. During the harvest festival, Viktor snuck out as usual but is unaware the palace is looking for him as they realized he was missing. In town, the guards spotted them and they run. As Heine dropped the timepiece, the guards think he kidnapped Viktor. They continue to run so a guard fired a shot. Viktor used his body to shield Heine. Man, that’s a lot of blood for a kid. Heine becomes mad and beats up those guards! He is going to kill them until Viktor tells him not to before passing out. Heine is captured and thrown into prison. He never defended his innocence and only prayed for Viktor to recover. He was relieved when Viktor came to see him. After Viktor explained, Heine was pardoned. Soon Viktor ascended the throne and built a small church to house those orphans. Heine became a teacher for them there. Heine never knew how to read or write and for him to start teaching others shows a great effort. Viktor and Heine never intended to reveal the truth to the public due to their promise. Now that unfounded truths are surfacing and his past becomes public, he would leave the palace without a word. Oh, looks like that letter is his resignation as royal tutor.

Episode 12
Heine’s resignation is to protect their future as king candidates. Imagine having a royal tutor with a criminal record would tarnish their image. This is for the good of the kingdom. The princes are in disbelief. There is nothing they could do. Because today will be Heine’s last lesson, the princes are awfully early to go see him. Despite they are adamant he is not a criminal, he makes them think what if a royal tutor was really a criminal? As a king, what would you do? You’d kick him out. Heine proceeds to convey their good points and how these strengths will turn them into better kings. And with that, end of lesson. Enough to make all the boys cry. After Heine departs, Viktor sees his sons. He tells them they will get a new royal tutor and will be decided by the council. He can’t decide seeing he can’t think of anyone but Heine. The princes won’t take this lying down. They are going to show how well they have grown and start studying together to prove that they have grown into worthy kings. Viktor sees Heine at the church to tell him about the council’s selection. He thanks Heine because he was able to change the kingdom since meeting him. The same can be said for the princes. Before that they were spoilt brats who only thought of themselves. He also hints his sons might do something silly at the council. Heine knows what he is up to and assures he won’t come. Rosenberg nominates Dr Erwin Von Welsbach to be the next royal tutor. The council seemingly agrees. This is part of Rosenberg’s plan to put someone he knows to control the princes. Then the princes barge in to nominate their royal tutor. Viktor as king wants them to leave but Rosenberg would like to hear their thoughts (so as to shame themselves). As they nominate Heine, the council is abuzz once they hear criminal record. Because he is without any reliable pedigree, this makes it more sceptical even if it is rumours. When the princes are seemingly out of options, that is when they remember Heine’s words. They speak with confidence by borrowing those words and expand on it on what it means and how they will change the country for the better. So impressive that Heine is clapping and in tears! I knew it he would attend. The council is also impressed. In the aftermath, Viktor talks to Rosenberg but it seems Eins has returned and also observed the meeting. He is impressed his brothers have matured this much. Eins then warns Rosenberg to stay out of this. He will still become king by his own power. The princes await their new royal tutor. Guess who is back? Heine at your service! Welcome back sensei.

From Boys To Men
And so they happily teach and learn with each other ever after. Well, this is after all a ‘fairytale’. A work of fiction so we would like our handsome princes to get their way in the end too. I am very sure there are many untold stories as well as unsung heroes in real life that we will never hear that is very similar to this (although it won’t be on a royal scale). But as far as this series is concerned, it is thoughtful, valuable, entertaining and to a point educational in its own right. You don’t need to be someone of royal lineage to learn something or two from this series. Even if the plot seems rather slow because it focuses on the princes’ behaviour and how they overcome it before the final arc drama of Heine’s past coming to light, overall the series is still interesting as it takes time to flesh out the characters. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Even if this series isn’t made as an obvious educational tool, the main focus is on how Heine develops a close but constructive relationship with the princes. It is from that, that we can learn and think about a lot of life lessons that we could also apply in our own lives or imagine if we were in the shoes of the royalty. But I’m not here to bore you about what we could learn to be a better person here. All I’m saying is that if you really pay attention and want to make a difference in your life after this, you can. Making this season entertaining is how they seamlessly insert some of the jokes and light-hearted moments in between the lessons with the princes. It might look a bit out of place for Heine to suddenly become a chibi form when he is mad or sarcastic but it’s hard to not laugh whenever he is in this form. It brings some sort of comic relief to the tension. It’s a good mix and blend for the timing of the funny moments as a few chuckles in between boost your overall mood. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Therefore the blend of comedy might not be to a slapstick point and its style pretty much the same and predictable after a while but it is better than having everything so serious all the way. Yeah, why so serious?

The main characters are lovable and you will quickly grow fond and support them even if you aren’t a citizen of their fictitious kingdom. Of course, from the outside point, it looks like it is painting the royal family to be in such a goody-goody light that in a way it seems unrealistic in today’s world. In such works of fiction, either the royal family is being portrayed as corrupted and evil to the bone or one that is so pure and considerate for the people. For this series’ case, we have everyone in the royal family being so good enough that you want all of them to be kings! I can imagine their fans and supporters clashing when only one is chosen and then a war breaks out… Not in this anime!

Of course despite the royal family being shown as very good and upstanding royals, they are all without their flaws. Especially the princes whom are shown as spoilt and unworthy to be the next king. It only shows that they are just as humans as the common people but because they have a royal title in their name, their treatment and view of everything are different. This is quickly dismissed when Heine enters the seen as he works his magic to change them into better princes. This also goes to show that you need the right person for the job. It is understandable that the princes were sceptical of Heine at first because they do not know him. Their perceptions of tutors are limited and fixed so when Heine manages to get their attention and have them see things in a different light, the walls slowly start to crumble and the door to their heart opens up. As said many times, the princes despite their titles are still only human and with the correct guidance, it led them to a better path. It could have been worse had Heine not touched their lives.

I want to note something about Kai. At first he sounds like he has some sort of speech impediment and this makes him sound like a retard or an accident victim. Sorry if I sound harsh but I can understand for a person who lacks communication skills, the way he stutters is understandable. I know, I speak from experience although it is not that bad. But as the series progress, I notice that his speaking starts to improve and he doesn’t sound like a retard like he obviously was. So good job to Kai for making such a great progress. Not to say the other princes didn’t make any progress but Kai is most visible. Or rather most audible.

But Heine himself isn’t really an angel either. At first he might look like a good person but that is because there is hardly anything that we know about him. We are mostly shown about how he gives his teachings and lessons to turn about the princes. Hardly anything about his past. The fact that he has this stoic look and monotonous voice sometimes make it feel suspicious like as though he has something to hide. But each time he gives great lessons and bursts into his chibi mode sometimes distracts us from that thinking. Maybe we’re just thinking too much. Maybe Heine is just a nice guy after all. His facial expression is stunted like his growth. Whoops! If there is anything you shouldn’t say about him, it is how he looks like a kid… With his past coming to light, it is not for us to say who is right or who is wrong. Everyone has a past. A coin has 2 sides. Even if the princes personally know him and assuming they know him damn well he isn’t a bad guy, what about others who don’t? What about you and me who do not know anything and only have facts from what we hear instead of time spent on to digest who Heine is? So personally I believe what Heine did for the good for the future of the kingdom and the princes is justified. With him back as their royal tutor, as said, everyone should be given a second chance.

Just like Heine, there is nothing much known about Rosenberg except that he is shown to be the ‘antagonist’. Someone who is pandering to Eins and will stop at nothing to subtly bring down the other princes so that Eins will have a higher chance of becoming king. Could it be that he wants to manipulate Eins? Could it be that despite all the praises that he is such a great prince, could it just be misinformation like we heard for the other princes? Well, we thought that first prince will never show up and this would give me another paragraph to speculate who this guy is. Could he be an evil person or someone who is already dead because we never see him in the flesh! OMG! What am I thinking?! However, here he is, making his cameo in the final episode. Hmm… He looks scarier than Kai. Woah. Fearsome bad guy looks! Rosenberg looks like he respects his decision to further intervene but it remains to be seen if this would be the last of it because if you’re a scheming person with own personal goals, I doubt that person would stop at that even when personally ordered. But I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt since this is such a happy anime. They’re all good guys too. Just some misunderstanding.

Viktor is another great man. A great father. A great king. It is no wonder he is beloved by so many. What I like about him is how he doesn’t force you to do something. He lays down the option and then he lets you think to make your own. He is just stating the facts and the rest is up to you to decide. He is cool and calm and doesn’t rush into making haste decisions. That is why his kingdom has prosper under his rule. I keep thinking about who his wife and the queen is. Because she is never shown throughout the series. The queen I mentioned earlier was actually the princes’ grandmother. Could she be away in another country? I don’t think so. Could she be sick? If so, why hasn’t anybody mentioned about it or any of the princes show concern? In fact, none of the characters say anything about her. Because at this rate I believe the queen has died! Yikes. It cannot be long ago because the latest child is Adele who could just be like 5 years old. So who is the queen of this kingdom? Is Viktor so awesome and handsome that nobody talks about the queen?

Perhaps in fear of turning this series into some sort of yaoi fest (I assure you, there are no moments coming close to that), perhaps that is why Adele and Shadow are thrown in despite they play very minimal role in the series. All the guys are so grown up and hunks and there aren’t any ladies in the main casts unless you want to consider Licht’s fan girls as smoking hot ladies. But for lolicons, they’ll have to bear with only Adele, the cutie pie of the series. And to add to all that cuteness, we also need a furry mascot and thus Shadow’s role is born. Just kidding. I mean, Adele and Shadow are often together so it is like if we are overflowing with pretty boy effects, sometimes they’ll show up to deflate all that. I think.

It goes without saying that everyone here looks exceptionally gorgeous. Even the common people look decently good looking. As though that everyone in this kingdom has this handsome and beautiful genes! No kidding. If the younger princes don’t go on to become kings, maybe they can form an own idol group and sing their way to their citizens and fans’ hearts! No kidding. This series is animated by Bridge who did Devil Survivor 2 The Animation and Mitsudomoe.

I didn’t recognize any of the seiyuus voicing here until Eins showed up. He is played by Daisuke Ono. Saved? For the rest of the cast (whom many of the main ones are newbies), they are Keisuke Ueda as Heine (debut role), Yuuya Asato as Kai (debut role), Yuuto Adachi as Bruno (Trois in Nanbaka), Daisuke Hirose as Leonhard (Kaneda in Litchi De Hikari Club), Shouta Aoi as Licht (Ai in Uta No Prince-sama series), Toshiyuki Morikawa as Viktor (Naraku in Inu Yasha), Takuya Eguchi as Rosenberg (Julius in Re: Zero Kara Hajimaru Isekai Seikatsu), Daisuke Namikawa as Ludwig (Rock in Black Lagoon), Shinnosuke Tachibana as Maximilian (Tomoe in Kamisama Hajimemashita) and Michi Matsui as Adele. Surprisingly the opening theme, Shoppai Namida by Shougo Sakamoto is quite nice to hear. It has this funky and hip hop beat to it that makes it catchy to listen to. The ending theme isn’t too shabby either. The idol-like piece of Prince Night ~Doko Ni Ita No Sai? My Princess~ by P4 with T (basically Heine and the 4 younger princes) also makes you feel like you want to dance to this beat. There is a real life version of this ending credits animation where their seiyuus cosplay, sing and dance. Feels odd…

Once again it goes to show that knowledge is power and a double edged sword. Depending who is teaching and who is being taught, it can be dangerous or empowering. It also tells us how dangerous having little knowledge could be since we will quickly jump to assumptions based on our stereotypes and prejudices. Don’t worry, this series isn’t here to virtue signal to us to become better people for a better future. It is just showing us and giving us a choice. You are free to decide what to become and what to do although you aren’t free from its consequences. So I guess it is time for me to go back to more ecchi fanservice comedies. Looks like I didn’t learn my lesson and need more remedial classes. Sure, okay. I wouldn’t mind if it’s Heine.