When I was scoping out the Spring 2017 Anime lineup The Royal Tutor didnt really hit my radar. From the synopsis and the preview graphics that had been released I honestly thought it was going to be a very cheesy show with some strong boylove vibes. As a person who doesnt usually go for the boylove genre I wasnt interested in it at all. But something about it and I have no fricking clue what told me to at least watch the first episode so I could confirm my feelings. Im really glad that I listened to that tiny notsoweirdatalllittlevoiceinmyhead because this series ended up being surprisingly decent. When I began it I got a very strong Ouran High School Host Club aura from it. Youve got four boys who very quickly get unique names via our Heinesensei and they each have a relatively tropey persona. Initially this made me very hesitant in watching the second episode. No offence towards Ouran but this trope is so fucking overdone that I didnt want to deal with another show that revolved around it. Luckily my fascination with the mysterious tutor outweighed my frustration and I continued onwards. My expectations for the show started to grow but didnt really turn into anything fantastic as I watched. Midway through the season when we still hadnt learned anything about the Royal Tutors past I began to feel highly sceptical about the writing. I knew that we were running out of episodes and time for a good fluid explanation of how a teacher could also be so skilled in combat as to equal a highlyseasoned warrior. There were some very vague hints but not much else to go on. I also found there to be a slight imbalance on the attention given to each of the four boys where a couple of them received a lot more screen time than the others. These two aspects actually filled me with a bit of anxiously negative anticipation. Ive seen it many times before. A show starts off wonderfully but then it overreaches and falls terribly short in its execution. Luckily that didnt really happen with The Royal Tutor. While its far from being a glorious masterpiece it has a decent number of facets that make it quite an enjoyable anime series. The first are the characters themselves. We get to learn about each one of the boys and why they are so vehemently against tutors and education. The reasons arent superficial. They are laced with insecurities and bad experiences. Occasionally a reason for one son will seem minor in comparison to another but it just adds an empathetic dimension to their personas that makes you want to root for their success. I like that these boys arent perfect. Their flaws make them that much more engaging. The tutor himself is someone who reminded me of Onizuka from the anime series GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. He is a man who took the time to understand the underlying issues that kids have in order to better tackle them with a fitting solution. Heine and Onizuka knew that kids arent going to respond to a onesizefitsall solution. Each kid is different with unique issues and problems. To help said kids you really have to be willing to get to know them and distinguish them as individuals in a way most people dont want to deal with. Remember how I mentioned earlier I was worried about the imbalance of screentime for the boys? It turns out that some of the boys needed the extra attention because their problems needed that extra support. It also played very well towards plot progression because the imbalance was created to fit the unique issues and insecurities that each of the sons were going through. For example one of the kids is a very shy and timid person with a fearsome outwardly appearance. He wasnt shown nearly as much as I had hoped he became my favourite character because I could relate to him like you wouldnt believe because of this demeanour. It wouldnt have made sense for him to be sprouting up all over the place unlike the youngest brother whos a social whore. The themes in the show were also a bit comforting. Most of it had to deal with accepting yourself for who you are even if others cant accept you. It was dealt with in a positive way that doesnt negatively portray awkward social skills or fetishise issues involving a lower intelligence etc. etc. I like that the changes that the boys make are gradual instead of just being an instant fix as soon as they comprehend the lessons theyre learning. Theres also a bit of focus on not judging anyone by their appearance or initial mannerisms because theres a huge chance that you will be wrong about them friendships come in all shapes and sizes and soft things will always be cute. All of these elements made for a pleasant watching experience however it does have its faults. The humour while being kooky and a lighthearted means at softening tough topics is really predictable at times and felt cheesy and outdated. The story in its entirety is of average quality and can make you feel pretty indifferent about whether youre having a good time or not. Although I do like the characters nothing within the The Royal Tutor truly made me anticipate the next episode with impatient passionate glee. I felt so apathetic about having to wait a week for new content or when the content finally did arrive Id watch everything else before really getting to this. The only thing that I was super fricking curious about was Heines past which was a small bit of a letdown because the morsels of clues left in the wake of one episode to the next made it sound like Heine would have a really badass history. Instead the truth was disappointing and anticlimactic. The animation itself is pretty much typical nothing extraordinary or breathtaking. Its clean and seemingly welldeveloped. I found the outdoors scenery to be more pleasant than the interiors. There are a lot more details that go into creating the environment and atmospheres amidst nature than within buildings. We see this with the mansion or palace as it just felt like an atypical reproduction of a European mansion that seems quite standard in anime with such structures. Within a local caf in town we get a similar situation. The caf does look to be quite large and it is nicely presented but it doesnt encapsulate the same sort of attention to details that the natural atmospheres do. Midway through the series we do get a whisper of a small plot thats being hatched to affect who will inherit the throne if and when the king passes on. This is something that felt extremely out of place to me for multiple reasons. Firstly it randomly just pops up at the finale of an episode or two and then isnt brought up again until a few episodes later. Secondly when it is brought up its only for a couple of minutes not nearly enough to make any sort of impact. It makes one last appearance during the final episodes and it honestly felt like the only reason it was tossed into the series to begin with was to add some tension and intrigue to the plot. Overall The Royal Tutor is a good fun average anime to check out. The cast is engaging and you cant help but feel for them in certain situations. The story is very chill and simple as is the animation and music. But if youre in the mood for something thats going to blow your mind or totally make your jaw drop then this anime is not for you. 6 tortes outta 10