Delinquent strife strikes the school festival!
Creative Staff
Story: Izumi Tsubaki
Art: Izumi Tsubaki
Translation/Adaptation: JN Productions
What They Say
The yearly culture festival is coming up fast, and it’s a great chance for Midorigaoka Academy to shine. But disappearing students and rising tensions between the academy and nearby Kiyama High could turn the festival into a full-on disaster! Can a pack of delinquents save the day and the school?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers
Volume 8 left readers hanging with bits of intrigue: the mysterious circumstances surrounding the last school festival, the restless rumblings of Midorigaoka’s delinquents, the evening disappearances at school. In Volume 9, Tsubaki-sensei connects the seemingly unrelated events, bringing to light the Student Council’s plot to destroy the school. Interestingly enough, even though Takaomi is the one to initiate the return of the school festival, he doesn’t play much of a role in Volume 9. The male character with the lion’s share of action in this installment is Okegawa bancho.
The former bancho displays a wide range of emotion in this arc. He’s sort of shy/sensitive with Mafuyu; exhibits cool leadership skills when Kiyama thugs infiltrate the festival; goes wild taking down his former henchmen; and proves he’s not completely brainless when he explains his reasons for helping the Public Morals Club. If you consider Oresama Teacher a reverse harem manga, then Okegawa’s definitely this volume’s featured male as he plays the unlikely hero, bailing Mafuyu out of trouble, not once but twice.
Mafuyu, for her part, definitely recognizes her shortcomings as Okegawa takes the lead on crushing the Midorigaoka crisis. Still, she’s not a complete damsel in distress and devises a clever way of eliminating Kiyama troublemakers without driving festival-goers into a panic. In the end, Okegawa retakes his bancho position, but even though Mafuyu is clearly no longer “just another girl” to him, it appears his feelings will remain at that frustrating position of attracted-but-not-going-to-act-on-it.
While this arc is rife with conniving, brawling, and backstabbing, Tsubaki-sensei does keep things light with festival-related humor, mostly in the form of the manly maid café. When Class 1 and 2 had their café theme argument in Volume 8, I thought it was just a one-shot laugh. As it turns out, it figures largely in the “evening disappearances” resolution and plays a key role on festival day. Class 2’s guys-who-want-to-wear-skirts come across as more weird than funny, but their ridiculousness does fit the overall feel of this series.
By the way, the final chapter is a kind of lighthearted postscript to the festival, which also reveals the connection between Kosaka and Hanabusa. It’s hardly serious, just a lot of elementary school level humor with a Student Council member who takes things far too seriously.
In Summary
Fans of Okegawa bancho will get their fill, both in lovey-doveyish moments and more serious scenes. There are also back-to-back gang conflicts in this installment for those who enjoy delinquent brawls. But even with all the hard-nosed action going on, Tsubaki-sensei keeps up the humor — though most of it comes in the form of the manly maid café.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: C+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
MSRP: $9.99
1 thought on “Oresama Teacher Vol. #09 Manga Review”