What Makes a Show Stumble: School Babysitters

Need a show that provides "awws" rather than uncontrollable sobs? School Babysitters may be the slice-of-life comedy that you need! After seeing that favorite character die or realizing that cliffhanger won't be satisfied, this show could be the wholesome content you need to lift yourself out of that funk and prepare you for future shows!

However, I'll say this out the gate: this show isn't for everyone. I know there are plenty of people who aren't a fan of children who act like kids in anime (yelling, crying, and a gross-out factor with snot and more), which can be a deal breaker for you. If that's the case for you, feel free to go for something else. If you're okay with those things, then let's get into this proper!

The story itself is a loose, overarching one as we move from season to season in this realistic slice-of-life show. The listing gives a good summation of what you need to know for the start, but more characters are added as time goes on as Ryuuichi and Kotarou meet and befriend more people at their school. Much of the cast I fell in love with and wanted to see them grow from their shenanigans with the two brothers (and the rest of the children too). However, my favorite side characters have to be Saikawa and the Chairwoman. His surprise appearances and her deepening backstory gave a sense of comedic and serious that were a nice blend when the two are on screen.

But, let's get into the elephant in the room. There's one character that's infamous in this show and pops up from time to time that I couldn't ignore. If you don't want to be spoiled by the character, feel free to skip this next bit.

Spoiler, click to view

Tomoya Yagi was given the WORSE possible trait in this show, being someone who loves children to the point of nosebleeds. However, the community associates nosebleeds with something more sexual, leading to his character being seen as a pervert. The manga clarifies that he isn't, he just thinks kids are cute...but why then make this his dominant trait when around them? And the anime doesn't outright tell you not to worry about him, so anytime he was on screen I felt uncomfortable. For this adaptation, I feel the production team should've either forgone the nosebleeds, make the clarification early on, or removed his character as he's only truly important for one interaction late in the show.

In short, if this character wasn't in the show, I'd rate this one much better, but their presence significantly reduced my enjoyment and thus brought down my rating of the show.

Overall, the smooth animation, wholesome stories, and the growing bond between brothers were things I wholeheartedly enjoyed in this show. However, one character made me incredibly uncomfortable rating this show higher than a 70. If you're good with seeing realistic kids in an anime and want something cheerful between bouts of despairing shows, check this one out and see what you think!