Gakuen Babysitters
AKA: I think I just felt a little tug on my heartstrings

This is one of those ‘healing’ anime that helps you see the goodness in the world. It’s pure, it’s uplifting, it’s adorable. It’s not what you would call a work of art – it’s similar to watching a baby giraffe try to walk for the first time. Its clumsiness is part of what makes it so endearing.

Even people who don’t tend to like little kids much – me, for instance – will find that this show appeals on a level you wouldn’t think possible. It’s hard to describe just how many times this series made me smile, go ‘awww’ or dance around in sheer unrestrained joy at their adorableness. (In my head of course, I didn’t actually go dancing round.)

But there’s more to the anime than just kiddy antics. It’s the reason Ryuji puts up with the kids, and the reason they love him.

He sees them as people. He doesn’t like cleaning up messes, changing diapers, or trying to stop a tantrum any more than the average person. He doesn’t enjoy not being able to spend as much time with his friends as he would otherwise, and he definitely doesn’t enjoy having his stuff ruined. But he loves the kids. He sees each tot as a human being with his/her own distinct personality, struggles, and likes and dislikes. They’re almost like family to him (Kotaro is actually family of course). Just being with them, seeing how they warm to him and come to trust and love him in return is one of the most purely satisfying parts of this show, and the reason I loved it so much. Ryuji is exactly the type of person that shines best when taking care of others, because of his gentle, patient and selfless nature. It’s also the reason he’s so good at it. His only fault is that he can be a bit too soft on the kids, but Kamitani and the others are there to balance that out.

Usaida, on the other hand, has got to be one of the most irresponsible babysitters out there. Seriously, leaving a kid that small outside by themselves, what was he thinking? Sure, he didn’t realise they were gone, but that only makes it worse. It’s not like it was a one-off either. I know it’s meant to be a gag primarily used to highlight Ryuji’s heroism, but he should have been made out as a bit more responsible all the same.

He’s not the only character who’s a bit unrealistic. There’s the crybaby father, the child-loving deviant (as he’s so called in the anime), the weary older brother and the tsundere who thinks the kids hate her. Whilst none of them were integral to the story (except maybe Inomata, who got some decent development), they were rather funny to watch at times. I suppose they did provide a bit of a distraction from the kids every now and again by injecting a bit of drama, which was refreshing. The love triangle scenario was unnecessary, but that didn’t mean it was bad in this case. I did think it was rather sweet, and the innocent way it was shown was consistent with the innocence of the anime on the whole.

The real gem, though, was watching Ryuji and Kotaro’s interactions. It’s incredibly rare to see the loss of parents in anime handled so maturely, normally it’s just a ‘let’s ignore the fact that the parents are dead until it’s time for a tragic backstory arc!’. Here it was realistically done. Ryuji loved his parents very much, and truly misses them. He treasures Kotaro in their absence, and Kotaro in return thinks Ryuji exemplifies everything good in the world. Parental death in this case brought Ryuji and Kotaro all the closer as the only surviving members of the family, and the way they cherish each other is heart-wrenching. Watching Ryu try and raise his brother in place of their parents, and watching Kotaro try and help Ryu as much as his tiny little body is able, was beautiful. It’s love in its purest form, and I’m glad I got to see it.

The other members of their new family, the Chairwoman and butler Saikawa, are also great characters. The Chairwoman is a good person, even though you wouldn’t guess it at first glance. She looks like a crotchety old lady, doesn’t mince words and makes Ryuji and Kotaro earn their keep, but watch her long enough and you’ll see a little smile creep over her face as she watches them bring life back into the too empty house. She has the ability of giving over lessons that seem harsh, until you reflect on what she said and realise how much care and wisdom was behind it. Saikawa, too, has a lot more to him than meets the eye. He appears enigmatic, but is hiding a wicked sense of humour and a heart of gold. He helps them a lot more than they even realise. Both play a big part in Ryuji and Kotaro’s respective developments.

What can I say about the rest of the aspects, like the sound and art? The sound is very tender and warms your heart. The voice actors, especially those that play the kids, are brilliant and really make you believe actual tiny humans are speaking. The art is mellow and has a lot of pastel tones and soft designs. The kids are ridiculously chibi, but that’s done on purpose to make them seem cuter. It works, too.

Altogether I’m unreasonably glad I watched this. I’ll probably go to bed with a fuller heart for the next week than I have done in a while. And I think I might even like little kids more on the whole after this. If you want a pure, adorable and heart-warming slice of life about a day-care, this is the one for you. XD
Adorableness Overload: The Anime