Please Twins!

Publisher
Bandai
Director
Yasunori Ide
Production
Bandai, Dome
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes
Year
2003

Please Twins V. 3 (R1 review)

By David Rasmussen
8th Jun 05

I know, I know, it took awhile so sorry for the delay.
I now wrap up Please Twins, the series that I started reviewing awhile ago, in the next two weeks.
This week’s review ends in a cliffhanger. Next wraps it all up and brings it to a close.
And it’s good timing since we’re hitting the summer and there’s no better time to browse the romantic -- drama? Well, it has it’s moments but I think the drama and romance stands out the best.
And this is a series with two females and one of them might be a twin so… well… OK, so she’s twins to a guy and all but still, ah, let’s review.

Previously…
Let me get this straight.
We have the story of two girls, both of whom love this one guy, but aren’t exactly jumping at him all-out because one of them might be his long lost twin sister… uh-huh.
Makes me regret not reviewing Please Twins V. 1 because I have no idea how that happened, though I wish I did… really, this is yet another series you’ll need to start at ground level (DVD Vol. 1) or you’ll be a tad lost since it seems that DVD has some of the answers… anyway it’s always best to start at the beginning.

Anyway since neither of them believe in the Super Taboo Extreme style of love they’ve come up with abit of a plan. To ensure the wrong girl doesn’t nab her brother they’ve formed a strange “Love Alliance” to keep a balance between the two while keeping “outsiders“ away from him… good luck!
Yes, as with most alliances in series like this there are sure to be lots of “faux pases” here and there, especially since they have lots of girls (and even teachers, one of who happens to be the same teacher from Please Teacher) lusting for this one guy. And don’t even get me started on the stupid dumb retarded friend who tries to make it look like they guy in question (who every girl is after) is gay… or is it just for the benefit of the two girls who are the point of this series? Does he know something the two girls have yet to figure out, and his stupidity hides a deeper truth? Is he truly that intelligent?
Nah. I wouldn’t attribute that much intelligence to that character. Forget it.

But despite tht it does seem that a deeper truth might yet be hiding beneath the surface, to be revealed at the least opportune moment… like the near end of the series, which we have reached. Anyway it’s the road to finale and the truth about which sister is the true twin… unless they’re BOTH his sister which is going to be such a downer ending.

Volume 3
Episode 8 - Be Honest In Love
We have reached the halfway point of the series and it looks like the girls are still at it… and at this point it has drawn lots and lots of weird attention from everyone. Sheesh. Apparently they all know about the strange plot point of one of them being a sister and all, or they just like staring for no reason.
Meanwhile someone plots against them… but why? Does she have the hots for Maiku (big surprise) or is it something else (which would REALLY be a big surprise!)
And this plot might work seeing that she has joined forces with the Dark President of the Sith Student Council of their school… though she doesn’t wear black, doesn’t laugh to herself a lot… and seems to be the proud disciple of the David Duchovny School of Acting… eck. Uh… don’t tell that to her face though, or she’ll do something dreadful… like speak.
So this girl… the one who hired Emperor Duchovny, not the evil President with the dull voice… is supposed to have the “hots” for Maiku, but what if he’s NOT her target? What if the true target is someone else entirely? What then? Since no previous attempt to overthrow the Love Alliance has worked they shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
On the bright side nobody get hurled into a volcano, and there’ll be no “Nnnnnnnoooooooooo” scene… that’s next DVD when the truth comes out! Then there’ll be screaming and denial!

Episode 9 - Don’t Leave Me Out
Looks like yet another chance to break the Love Alliance has come once again.
On one particular afternoon it seems that each of the girls (Karen and Miina) will have a chance for a little alone time with Maiku, but what comes of it?
And it all started because of a rainy day that rained out that “fake” festival plotted last Episode just to make the girls think there’s something up with Maiku and… well, you get the point. But, you say, it’s raining! Raining! There’ll be no chance to go out ‘cause it’s… sunny. Gee, the rain sure went away as soon as it was convenient for the plot… damn!
Maybe a movie (which happens indoors) with the three will work?
A sci-fi fest? No. A lesbian love story… I’m guessing that’s it… Resident Evil III? Uh… no.
Yeah. Besides the three’s company thing not working for love (and sexual awakening), it also doesn’t work for dating… especially when the two girls in questions have completely different “Odd Couple” tastes.
The rest of the day is trying to wrest Maiku away for alone time, which means the Love Alliance might be thrown right out the window for the convenience of the moment… at least that’s what Miina thinks even though she was well on her way to breaking the Alliance all on her own. Hypocrite.

Episode 10 - I Want to Run Again
Looks like the truth is about to come out.
By chance Miina has run into an old girlfriend from middle school who, oddly enough, seems to know more about Miina’s past than Miina! At least that’s what Karen suspects as she has come to a realization that there is a few things about Miina she doesn’t know, and that worries her. What gives with that anyway!
Somebody knows something, and Miina’s acting weirder than usual, so that means the series is almost over.

Next Time…
Yeah, yeah, I know… ONE more review!
And this DVD ends in a cliffhanger.
We end the DVD with an episode where Miina was acting kind of weird… in fact she was acting VERY weird! Did her reunion with an old friend cause this? And if so what was it?
In the end Miina admits her own inner demons, and is better for it from her confession.
She reconciles with her old friend and everything is OK… except for the whole twin thing.
If you thought Miina would opt out and admit she fell in love with her old girlfriend your out of luck.
But one thing has come into Karen’s hand… a photograph… from Miina… which was supposed to have been at Maiku’s house but upon a little CSI deduction Karen comes to a revelation about their past.
Yup. From just one photograph Karen may have come onto some volatile information on the true identity of which of the two is the true twin! And it’s all from one old photograph… yeah. Ok. It’s a little bit of a stretch that somehow she managed to deduce it all from that picture but it works.

And that’s where the cliffhanger comes in. Next episode previews show that Karen is going to take her newfound knowledge and run with it like nobody’s business, admitting her feelings for Maiku at long last.
Of course we could just be reading into things here… unless she admits right off the bat (to herself at least) who the real twin is. But then again there might be a twist nobody saw coming.
That’s it. Next week I will end this and we’ll come to the dramatic finale.
Now the breakdown.

Please Twins! Breakdown the 3rd
What’s Hot?
It’s actually got merits and I kind of liked it. It’s fair on my list of likes and I think good of it’s romantic tension and it’s plot twists. I think this works better than Please Teacher since they’ve managed to (for the most part) mute out the annoying characters that seemed to plague Please Teacher and bring you a stronger cast with a better plot and a more well formed storyline than the previous Please Teacher.
If you liked Please Teacher you’ll enjoy this, if you didn’t however you might find the improvements here will make you forget the dissatisfying aftertaste of Please Teacher.
It’s a better package and it deserves some merit for consideration.

What’s Not?
Hmmm… it’s also a make or break series.
In other words once you’ve watched it you’ll either approve or disapprove, unlike me you can’t sit on the fence on this one and preach it’s merits and downfalls (of which I can’t think of any).
You’ll either be blown away by this, or you’ll pass. Either way this is something that’ll draw out a definite response from you, and you’ll either be for or against it.
But of course before you can be deciding your sides you’ll need to WATCH the show before you judge it DOR (Dead On Rental). I think there’s something to this that’ll find an audience with several different types of viewers, but in the end the choice is yours. Check it out, find out if you’ll like it or not, easy as that.

Moments to Remember?
Hmmm.. If it has Miina & Karen in it, it’s memorable.
Sadly I wish the secondary cast was more memorable, but with the exception of a few stand out personalities that really grab your attention most of the cast seems to drift into the background to be eclipsed by the main characters. So many characters, yet so few stand out personality characters.

What to Ignore?
As with Please Teacher you noticed there’s quite abit of the cheesecake moments here and there… that’s OK, but don’t be watching just for the titillation of it all, you’ll be missing the big point of the series.
Also you might have noticed by now, after watching for so long, that the teacher that looks like the one from Please Teacher REALLY IS that teacher from Please Teacher… the alien, and not a lookalike… what the hell is up with that. And why did she seem to have the hots for Maiku when she’s MARRIED!!
And yet I don‘t think too badly of the series. Except for the part where I fear the next Please series is going to have Miina & Karen from this series act partially completely out of character, missing whatever “male” companions they end up with so they can chase the next big “boy”… or seem to chase him as the teacher supposedly seemed to be doing but wasn’t… or I think she wasn’t… I’m confused.
There are worse things you could be watching. And yes, you know what I mean when I say “worse“ things.
Yes, I DO mean Princess Tutu from ADVFilms which is more suck than you can imagine.
Considering I praised the manga how the hell did I end up beholding such a complete disaster like Princess Tutu the Anime? Thankfully there are series like Please Twins to watch so you don’t have to watch Princess Tutu the Anime. So thank you, BANDAI, for Please Twins. Thank you very much.

Overall?
Well, whether you watch this series or not is up to you… but for me? Hmmm….
I’m going to sway on the side of positive and say I want you to go rent this out, and see how this goes for you. Now I have abit of a spot for this series but it didn’t blow me away… hmm… I’m mildly impressed.
And since you can do worse why not do better and watch a series that actually has merits and is worth your time to at least consider (if nothing else). There are merits here, yes, and it is fairly well done in writing (animation is solid and music is good) that it warrants a second look overall. I think this should reach out and find some definite appeal to some of you, and that is my promise to you.

If you’ve seen Please Teacher and liked it, you should return for this. However if you haven’t seen Please Teacher once again there is sufficient merit for you to check it out. In my opinion PLEASE does a better job here than in Please Teacher, and I have more love for this series than the first one.
And if you were disappointed by Please Teacher? Well believe it or not Please Twins might very well change your mind, and give you a new outlook on the series. But again that is something only you can answer on your own, so pick up DVD Volume 1 and try it for yourself.

Now I don’t know the availability of this series in R2 format, but if you think you’d like to find out whether you’ll be a fan of this series or not I suggest starting an e-mail campaign to get this series on R2.
I kind of have a little… spot… for this series, think it’s worth the effort, and say you should (if you think you’d like to try this for yourself) go and tell someone at BANDAI you want a chance to see this.
Demand your twins. Now.

-- David Rasmussen 8th Jun 05

Please Twins! Images