Happy Lesson: Mom-Ageddon, Volume 1

No one ever accused the anime genre of being tame and polite, but even in this no-holds-barred world Happy Lesson: Mom-Ageddon goes too far. This five-episode collection finds orphaned teenager Chitose Hitotose in the most peculiar position of living with five of his most beautiful teachers, all of whom insist on being called "Mom." Yet these women behave in a decidedly non-maternal fashion, engaging in fetishist dress-up that devolves into having young Chitose imprisoned in weird S&M games. At one point, the school nurse ties up Chitose and dribbles hot wax on his backside; later on, the athletic coach crushes Chitose's head between her oversized breasts. Complicating matters are his sisters, who inexplicably live outside of this odd domestic arrangement: his younger sibling in particular engages in borderline incestuous behavior and wants to share Chitose's bed as if they were newlyweds, while his older sister has no problems putting him into a leather harness. The lone joke here is that Chitose does nothing to demand this kind of attention and is often trying (usually in vain) to flee from it. Although rated 15-up, the plotlines involving sexual shenanigans between adults and a minor make this emotionally (and artistically for that matter) stunted Japanese/English dual-language anime a poor choice for older teens or adults. Not recommended. [Note: Happy Lesson: Mama-Palooza, Vol. 2 and Mama-Lama-Ding-Dong, Vol. 3 are also newly available.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)