Please Twins!

Please Twins! (おねがい☆ツインズ), is an anime television series, scripted by Yousuke Kuroda and produced by Bandai Visual, which was later adapted into a light novel and one-volume manga series. It centers on a family of three teenagers in high school all living together who are unsure which two of them are related to each other due to a reference from an old photograph. The Please Twins! anime series is a spin-off sequel to Please Teacher!. It first aired in Japan on the WOWOW satellite television network on July 15, 2003 and finished with a total of 12 episodes plus a later OVA episode released on DVD. The series was later adapted into a light novel in 2004, which spanned a total of two volumes and, soon after, into a short one-tankōbon manga version (authored by Japanese mangaka Akikan), which was serialized in MediaWorks's Dengeki Daioh magazine in September 2005.

Plot
Please Twins! is a story mainly revolving around three high school students: Maiku Kamishiro, Karen Onodera, and Miina Miyafuji. The three were drawn together by a photograph of their childhood home which later makes all of them seek out the house in the picture. However, the picture only has two children - a boy and a girl. Hence, only one of the girls, Karen or Miina, is related to Maiku. The only other identifying feature of the pair in the picture is that the boy and the girl have eyes of the same unusual color; a feature that furthers the ambiguity as all three of them have the same eye color.

The main concern of the male lead, Maiku, is that he is in love with both of the girls, and he does not know which one is his twin. In addition, the two girls are in love with Maiku, forming a love triangle that can't be resolved until the truth of their relationship is known. The three main characters, mostly the two female leads, are in a predicament of wanting to discover their past versus the risk of losing a romantic relationship.

The events of the story are set after Please Teacher! and characters from the series appear in supporting roles throughout Please Twins!.

Setting
As with Please Teacher!, the setting of the series is Lake Kizaki, located in Nagano, Japan, and the region and its surrounding locations are featured prominently and accurately across the series. For instance, in one episode, characters travel to Karuizawa, Nagano located on the Nagano Shinkansen and Shinano Railway line. The shopping center, staircase, and Church Street all are located 2 kilometers north of JR Karuizawa Station off the main road. The track that Miina and her childhood friend run on is said to be in Ueda, Nagano, also on the Nagano Shinkansen and Shinano Railway lines just south of Nagano City. The time it takes place is following the Please Teacher! series, which did not occur before 2009.

Main characters

 * Maiku Kamishiro (神城 麻郁)
 * The main protagonist of the story, Maiku tends to be very secretive and stoic. He treats the two potential relatives harshly frequently calling them idiots and bossing them around, however we find out later in the series he does this to avoid getting hurt by people he cares about. Later, he warms up to them a bit more but still maintains a tough exterior. He is a computer programmer and student in high school. At the beginning of the story, he is living alone but is soon joined by Miina Miyafuji and Karen Onodera after they each trace their copies of the photograph to the house.
 * The main protagonist of the story, Maiku tends to be very secretive and stoic. He treats the two potential relatives harshly frequently calling them idiots and bossing them around, however we find out later in the series he does this to avoid getting hurt by people he cares about. Later, he warms up to them a bit more but still maintains a tough exterior. He is a computer programmer and student in high school. At the beginning of the story, he is living alone but is soon joined by Miina Miyafuji and Karen Onodera after they each trace their copies of the photograph to the house.


 * Miina Miyafuji (宮藤 深衣奈)
 * Miina tends to have a hyperactive personality and is generally outgoing. Eventually, she develops feelings for Maiku but is afraid to act on them since she might in fact be his sister. She outwardly expresses herself as happy-go-lucky, although she is actually hiding things about her past.
 * Miina tends to have a hyperactive personality and is generally outgoing. Eventually, she develops feelings for Maiku but is afraid to act on them since she might in fact be his sister. She outwardly expresses herself as happy-go-lucky, although she is actually hiding things about her past.


 * Karen Onodera (小野寺 樺恋)
 * Karen is usually a very shy and timid girl who is even prone to passing out (called "The 'nyu's," for the syllable she utters before eventually passing out) when a situation gets too intense for her to handle. She frequently calls people by a title, such as calling Maiku, "Mr. Maiku", or "Maiku-San" in the Japanese version. Like Miina, she also develops feelings for Maiku, though she doesn't act on them for the same reasons as Miina.
 * Karen is usually a very shy and timid girl who is even prone to passing out (called "The 'nyu's," for the syllable she utters before eventually passing out) when a situation gets too intense for her to handle. She frequently calls people by a title, such as calling Maiku, "Mr. Maiku", or "Maiku-San" in the Japanese version. Like Miina, she also develops feelings for Maiku, though she doesn't act on them for the same reasons as Miina.

Supporting characters

 * Haruko Shidō (四道 晴子)
 * Haruko is Matagu's younger sister and is usually very bubbly and hyperactive. She has a very immature personality and while she acknowledges that her brother is a pervert, she seems completely oblivious to such mature matters.
 * Haruko is Matagu's younger sister and is usually very bubbly and hyperactive. She has a very immature personality and while she acknowledges that her brother is a pervert, she seems completely oblivious to such mature matters.


 * Kousei Shimazaki (島崎 康生)
 * One of Maiku's close friends who becomes a bit too friendly with him. He is bisexual and can be seen trying to flirt with Maiku to an extent that when Maiku needs money, he actually tells Maiku that if he stayed with him for a night, he would give as much as Maiku wanted but instead Maiku punches him as the result of many of their conversations. Surprisingly, he harbors deep feelings for Tsubaki Oribe.
 * One of Maiku's close friends who becomes a bit too friendly with him. He is bisexual and can be seen trying to flirt with Maiku to an extent that when Maiku needs money, he actually tells Maiku that if he stayed with him for a night, he would give as much as Maiku wanted but instead Maiku punches him as the result of many of their conversations. Surprisingly, he harbors deep feelings for Tsubaki Oribe.


 * Tsubaki Oribe (織部 椿)
 * She is the vice president of the student council and usually has a very serious personality. Intelligent and outgoing, gifted with a busty figure and possessing a more mature personality than the 'twin' girls, she is a source of concern for Karen and Miina as being an obvious rival for Maiku's affections. Her attempts to interest Maiku in a relationship, however, are met with Maiku's tacit plea for just friendship. It is not until she confers with (the much older and wiser) Ichigo that she realizes that Maiku cannot engage in any casual romantic relationship due to both his obligations to his new-found 'family' and his own forcibly matured, responsible nature. This causes her to gain a higher degree of respect for Maiku, and to focus her attentions on the one person she once thought too forceful in expressing his affection for her, Kousei. Her brother died at a young age and to fill a void, she latched onto Kousei, then Maiku.
 * She is the vice president of the student council and usually has a very serious personality. Intelligent and outgoing, gifted with a busty figure and possessing a more mature personality than the 'twin' girls, she is a source of concern for Karen and Miina as being an obvious rival for Maiku's affections. Her attempts to interest Maiku in a relationship, however, are met with Maiku's tacit plea for just friendship. It is not until she confers with (the much older and wiser) Ichigo that she realizes that Maiku cannot engage in any casual romantic relationship due to both his obligations to his new-found 'family' and his own forcibly matured, responsible nature. This causes her to gain a higher degree of respect for Maiku, and to focus her attentions on the one person she once thought too forceful in expressing his affection for her, Kousei. Her brother died at a young age and to fill a void, she latched onto Kousei, then Maiku.

From Please Teacher!
Some of the Please Teacher! characters return in various supporting roles.


 * Ichigo Morino (森野 苺)
 * She has changed a lot since the events of Please Teacher!. She has become the president of the student council and somewhat perversely enjoys getting dirt on other students. Ichigo usually avoids male companionship though, in fact, she has normal desires in this regard. This is partly due to a unique disease where she was put into a "standstill", a form of metabolic stasis similar to a coma, for six years, which stopped her aging process. The disease can be triggered by psychological stress, hence her deadpan, phlegmatic personality is a counter to prevent its onset. In effect, she appears to be a grade schooler when in fact she is 23 when the story begins. Teacher Mizuho Kazami was entrusted with knowledge of Morino's situation by her fellow student (and Kazami's secret husband) Kei Kusanagi during the events shown in Please Teacher!, and has maintained the confidentiality of Morino's disclosure to Kei. Ichigo, herself, informed her friend Koishi of her unusual illness in order to prevent a serious misunderstanding from wrecking Koishi's close friendship with Kei Kusanagi. Herikawa has maintained the confidentiality of this disclosure ever since. However, in the Twins series, there were no mention of her standstills. In the novels Morino and Matagu Shido have a history, which Morino dislikes and guards against. Morino has a married younger sister named Ringo.
 * She has changed a lot since the events of Please Teacher!. She has become the president of the student council and somewhat perversely enjoys getting dirt on other students. Ichigo usually avoids male companionship though, in fact, she has normal desires in this regard. This is partly due to a unique disease where she was put into a "standstill", a form of metabolic stasis similar to a coma, for six years, which stopped her aging process. The disease can be triggered by psychological stress, hence her deadpan, phlegmatic personality is a counter to prevent its onset. In effect, she appears to be a grade schooler when in fact she is 23 when the story begins. Teacher Mizuho Kazami was entrusted with knowledge of Morino's situation by her fellow student (and Kazami's secret husband) Kei Kusanagi during the events shown in Please Teacher!, and has maintained the confidentiality of Morino's disclosure to Kei. Ichigo, herself, informed her friend Koishi of her unusual illness in order to prevent a serious misunderstanding from wrecking Koishi's close friendship with Kei Kusanagi. Herikawa has maintained the confidentiality of this disclosure ever since. However, in the Twins series, there were no mention of her standstills. In the novels Morino and Matagu Shido have a history, which Morino dislikes and guards against. Morino has a married younger sister named Ringo.


 * Matagu Shido (四道 跨)
 * Matagu is a senpai to the main characters and tends to come off as an incestuous pervert though is otherwise good natured. His appearances tend to be for comic relief. In Please Teacher!, he is known as a quiet and lonely guy who does not have a chance with women but he is much different in Please Twins!.
 * Matagu is a senpai to the main characters and tends to come off as an incestuous pervert though is otherwise good natured. His appearances tend to be for comic relief. In Please Teacher!, he is known as a quiet and lonely guy who does not have a chance with women but he is much different in Please Twins!.


 * Mizuho Kazami (風見 みずほ)
 * She is employed as a teacher at the school where all the characters attend. She is in fact a half-human alien, formerly of the Galactic Federation's elite Resident Observer Corps, who first arrived on Earth to observe humans and their development, but also to learn of the Earthly half of her heritage. She was forced to leave Earth under duress, and was stripped of her status as an Observer due to her romantic involvement with her secret husband, Kei Kusanagi. Illegally aided by her mother and younger sister, she surreptitiously returned to Earth to be re-united with her human spouse. She can be somewhat ditzy, but also very open-hearted, compassionate and sociable. In a somewhat nostalgic replay of the situation that led to her and Kei being discovered by the former Headmaster, Miina and Karen are forced to hide in the very same sports equipment locker. Marie locates them and Mizuho transports herself to it covertly, and then proceeds to counsel the two girls on the true nature behind Maiku's seeming gruffness towards them, and that it screens genuine kindness and affection for them. Her half-alien nature is never mentioned in the Twins anime. However, it seems in the OVA that her marital relationship with Kei is at least open among his close circle of friends, into which it is implied that Miina, Karen and Maiku have been inducted courtesy of a summer vacation party.
 * She is employed as a teacher at the school where all the characters attend. She is in fact a half-human alien, formerly of the Galactic Federation's elite Resident Observer Corps, who first arrived on Earth to observe humans and their development, but also to learn of the Earthly half of her heritage. She was forced to leave Earth under duress, and was stripped of her status as an Observer due to her romantic involvement with her secret husband, Kei Kusanagi. Illegally aided by her mother and younger sister, she surreptitiously returned to Earth to be re-united with her human spouse. She can be somewhat ditzy, but also very open-hearted, compassionate and sociable. In a somewhat nostalgic replay of the situation that led to her and Kei being discovered by the former Headmaster, Miina and Karen are forced to hide in the very same sports equipment locker. Marie locates them and Mizuho transports herself to it covertly, and then proceeds to counsel the two girls on the true nature behind Maiku's seeming gruffness towards them, and that it screens genuine kindness and affection for them. Her half-alien nature is never mentioned in the Twins anime. However, it seems in the OVA that her marital relationship with Kei is at least open among his close circle of friends, into which it is implied that Miina, Karen and Maiku have been inducted courtesy of a summer vacation party.


 * Marie (まりえ)
 * Mizuho's diminutive assistant and companion. A quasi-organic systems link to the operating system controlling Kazami's cloaked and submerged starship and its' transporter functions, he has been nicknamed "Fushigi-chan" ("Little Wonder" in English) by Karen for his ability to materialize almost anywhere, often after being summoned without any seeming communications device employed. 'He' makes occasional appearances in the neighborhood, at school and the protagonist's shared residence. As 'his' master Kazami does with "Pochy", 'he' enjoys eating "Prech", a snack food based on the real-life snack Pretz, for which he has an insatiable appetite. The anime establishes that, Marie's existence is publicly known and accepted (despite 'his' other-worldly appearance and demonstrated abilities such as levitation) by several of the school's students as being a part of the local UFO folklore surrounding the area, thanks to the events of Please Teacher!. It is commented by Mizuho that Marie is a frequent visitor and overnight guest at the Kamishiro residence, and is seen 'sleeping' on the same futon with the 'twin' girls.
 * Mizuho's diminutive assistant and companion. A quasi-organic systems link to the operating system controlling Kazami's cloaked and submerged starship and its' transporter functions, he has been nicknamed "Fushigi-chan" ("Little Wonder" in English) by Karen for his ability to materialize almost anywhere, often after being summoned without any seeming communications device employed. 'He' makes occasional appearances in the neighborhood, at school and the protagonist's shared residence. As 'his' master Kazami does with "Pochy", 'he' enjoys eating "Prech", a snack food based on the real-life snack Pretz, for which he has an insatiable appetite. The anime establishes that, Marie's existence is publicly known and accepted (despite 'his' other-worldly appearance and demonstrated abilities such as levitation) by several of the school's students as being a part of the local UFO folklore surrounding the area, thanks to the events of Please Teacher!. It is commented by Mizuho that Marie is a frequent visitor and overnight guest at the Kamishiro residence, and is seen 'sleeping' on the same futon with the 'twin' girls.

Cameos from Please Teacher!
During the series, many of the Please Teacher! characters make cameo appearances.


 * Kei Kusanagi (草薙 桂)
 * A senpai (a term roughly equivalent to mentor or senior in school) to the main characters, he has a few speaking lines in the Twins series. Kei has the same extraordinary disease as Ichigo which caused him to be in a "standstill" for three years, so when the story begins he appears to be 15 when he is actually 18. He was covertly married to Mizuho Kazami in the original series but their marriage appears to be common knowledge in this series.
 * A senpai (a term roughly equivalent to mentor or senior in school) to the main characters, he has a few speaking lines in the Twins series. Kei has the same extraordinary disease as Ichigo which caused him to be in a "standstill" for three years, so when the story begins he appears to be 15 when he is actually 18. He was covertly married to Mizuho Kazami in the original series but their marriage appears to be common knowledge in this series.


 * Koishi Herikawa (縁川小石)
 * Koishi is, at the time of this series, a high school student, good friend and former love interest of Kei Kusanagi. Her parents own Herikawa Groceries and she assists there. As such, she becomes Miina and Karen's manager after the two of them obtain part-time jobs at the store, thanks to Ichigo's machinations and her long time friendship with Koishi, who was entrusted with the knowledge of both Kei Kusanagi's and Ichigo's rare disease, and still maintains the confidentiality of their true calendar ages. Koishi does not seem particularly distressed that both of her classmates are in fact much older than her; in the OVA it is implied that she is romantically involved with her technology teacher, Mr. Yamada, who is considerably older than she is.  She was also most of the time behind the counter, out of camera sight, and is reported to be studying for university entrance exams.  She had only one, brief, camera shot in the final episode, along with Kaede Misumi. In the OVA, she has a conversation with Miina where she encourages the latter to pursue a romantic relationship with Maiku.
 * Koishi is, at the time of this series, a high school student, good friend and former love interest of Kei Kusanagi. Her parents own Herikawa Groceries and she assists there. As such, she becomes Miina and Karen's manager after the two of them obtain part-time jobs at the store, thanks to Ichigo's machinations and her long time friendship with Koishi, who was entrusted with the knowledge of both Kei Kusanagi's and Ichigo's rare disease, and still maintains the confidentiality of their true calendar ages. Koishi does not seem particularly distressed that both of her classmates are in fact much older than her; in the OVA it is implied that she is romantically involved with her technology teacher, Mr. Yamada, who is considerably older than she is.  She was also most of the time behind the counter, out of camera sight, and is reported to be studying for university entrance exams.  She had only one, brief, camera shot in the final episode, along with Kaede Misumi. In the OVA, she has a conversation with Miina where she encourages the latter to pursue a romantic relationship with Maiku.


 * Hyosuke Magumo (間雲 漂介)
 * A brash student with dyed blonde hair, Hyosuke aspires to attend college at Tokyo University and become a professional statesman, much like his brother. Currently going out with Kaede.
 * A brash student with dyed blonde hair, Hyosuke aspires to attend college at Tokyo University and become a professional statesman, much like his brother. Currently going out with Kaede.


 * Kaede Misumi (水澄 楓)
 * Kaede tends to be a rather shy girl most of the time. Her physical characteristics include that she is one quarter Irish, tall (for a Japanese) and with red hair and freckles. Currently going out with Hyosuke.
 * Kaede tends to be a rather shy girl most of the time. Her physical characteristics include that she is one quarter Irish, tall (for a Japanese) and with red hair and freckles. Currently going out with Hyosuke.


 * Masami Yamada (山田 正臣)
 * A quiet male teacher whose hobby is creating human-powered planes. He is in a secret relationship with Koishi.
 * A quiet male teacher whose hobby is creating human-powered planes. He is in a secret relationship with Koishi.


 * Natchan
 * Known as the little girl during the summer (both in this anime, and prequel) who finds a boy (Maiku/Kei) who she quickly becomes attracted to. Soon after, she finds out the person she falls in love with already has a love interest. Her dog is then pulled on the neck by the leash when she staggers away broken hearted.
 * Known as the little girl during the summer (both in this anime, and prequel) who finds a boy (Maiku/Kei) who she quickly becomes attracted to. Soon after, she finds out the person she falls in love with already has a love interest. Her dog is then pulled on the neck by the leash when she staggers away broken hearted.

Anime
The Please Twins! anime series, scripted by Yōsuke Kuroda, directed by Yasunori Ide, and produced by Bandai Visual, premiered in Japan on the WOWOW satellite television network between July 15, 2003 and October 14, 2003, consisting of a total of 12 episodes. An OVA episode continuing the story was later released on DVD on April 23, 2004. The series has been licensed for North American distribution by Bandai Entertainment. Two pieces of theme music were used for the episodes: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Second Flight" by Kotoko and Hiromi Satō, and the ending theme is "Asu e no Namida" by Mami Kawada.

Light novel
Please Twins! was later adapted into a light novel, authored by Gō Zappa and illustrated by Taraku Uon and Hiroaki Gōda. It was published in Japan by MediaWorks in 2004. It was later licensed for North American distribution by ComicsOne and published in two volumes in 2005.

The light novel covers several different events that did not occur in the anime and omits some events altogether. While the basic story stays intact, there is one large difference: the identity of Maiku's sister in the novel differs from the anime version.

Manga
The series was later adapted into a short one-volume manga version, authored by Japanese mangaka Akikan, which was serialized in MediaWorks's Dengeki Daioh magazine in September 2005. The manga has since been licensed for North American distribution by ComicsOne and published in 2006. The manga introduces another character in the last two chapters, Hanna Miasa, who provides the explanation for the photograph, and Maiku's, Miina's and Karen's background and relation ties.

CD drama
There is also a CD drama spinoff of the "Onegaiverse" called Onegai Friends.