Ask John: Why Hasn’t There Been a Third “Onegai” Series?

Question:
How popular is the Please! franchise in Japan? Just recently the 10th anniversary blu-rays for Onegai Teacher and Twins came out in Japan and the first prints sold out pretty fast. Mizuho resin statues and pvc figures are numerous, and they all sell really well, the anime was well received, so why isn’t there a 3rd series in the franchise? Is the Please! franchise not popular enough in Japan to warrant a TV sequel or do I miss something?

Answer:
I don’t know for certain, but my best guess is that the absence of a third “Onegai” series is due more to disinterest from its creators than lack of demand. Furthermore, in a loose sense, the argument may be made that viewers recently did actually get a third installment in the “Onegai” series.

Screenwriter Yosuke Kuroda’s Onegai Teacher television series aired in 2002 and was followed by its 2003 direct sequel Onegai Twins. Earlier this year Kuroda and Onegai Teacher/Twins animation character designer collaborated on the production of the Ano Natsu de Matteru television anime series. Examination of “Ano Natsu” suggests that Kuroda may not have wanted to directly continue the “Onegai” franchise but, instead, develop a new, similar story. Not to divulge too many spoiler details, Ichika Takatsuki and her mecha companion Rinon parallel Onegai Teacher’s Mizuho Kazami & Marie. Onegai Teacher’s Hatsuho Kazami does have a parallel in Ano Natsu. Onegai Teacher’s Koishi Herikawa isn’t very different from Ano Natsu’s Kanna Tanigawa. Remon Yamano in Ano Natsu is obviously patterned after Onegai Teacher’s Ichigo Morino. In effect, Ano Natsu de Matteru may be called a loose conceptual re-make of Onegai Teacher. In the same way that Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari is creator Masaki Kajishima’s loose continuation of the Tenchi Muyo franchise under a different title, Ano Natsu de Matteru seems to be Yosuke Kuroda’s continuation of the “Onegai” franchise under a new name.