From one look at the cover and name you know what you're getting into with Doki Doki School Hours. Cute characters glitter the packaging, bright colors play with your senses, and the overall kooky personality shines through in just about every way. Some time ago I had the opportunity to check out the first volume of this school-age comedy and have to admit to being under whelmed. The show felt very similar to Azumanga Daioh in every conceivable fashion but it just didn't pop as much. With that in mind did the rest of the series improve my initial opinion? It's unfortunate but no it did not.

Roughly ten years ago Doki Doki got its start as a four panel manga created by Tamami Momose who also had his hand in Momoiro Sisters. It wasn't until 2004 that the anime was finally serialized and broadcasted on Japanese televisions. It's a shame really. I venture to guess that if Doki Doki had been released before the far more successful Azumanga Daioh we would have had a fresher experience. However, things being what they are that isn't the case and we're left with a series that remains wholly derivative through to the end.

The twenty episode program focuses on a teacher at Okitsu High School. This 27 year old woman, Mika Suzuki, is about as bright as they come, gifted, and adored by her students. Unfortunately for Mika she also happens to be very short in stature; and we're talking really short. Though she's nearing her 30's Mika has the body of a small child and lives at home with her parents. As you'd imagine this is a disastrous combination for anyone looking to get more respect out of their pupils!

Almost immediately when the show begins we are introduced to the eclectic classmates that make up Doki Doki's continuous saga of misadventures. Quite honestly this ragtag bunch of misfits may seem outlandish and odd at the outset of the series but as you get to know them you'll realize that they are very stereotypical. So many high school comedies with a band of students use shining examples of these personalities.

Most of the jokes that Doki Doki employs uses the student's personalities as the punch line. For instance with a lesbian, homosexual, narcoleptic, old man, and narcissistic ensemble being lead by a 27 year old trapped in a six year old's body you just know that there are going to be some funny moments. And to be honest, there are plenty of those.

The build up in most episodes leads to a satisfactory conclusion and the gags are often very funny. Sometime they revolve around spoofs of other programs and other times they are just a byproduct of decent writing and successful dialogue. The only problem is that throughout it all the show begins to recycle jokes and gimmicks. With an episodic show like Doki Doki you want to have fresh material at all times because revisiting the stereotypes or jokes surrounding its characters really gets old after a while. I personally got very tired of the "ha-ha's" that resulted from Mika's size and disposition before too long.

For all of the times that Doki Doki's jokes are actually successful there are almost an equal amount of moments when their not. The show will build up a scene only to have the gag fall flat on its face and leave a deadpanned silence lingering in the air. I may have laughed quite a few times during these twenty episodes but for the most part I sat in utter boredom as one failed joke after another bombarded me.

That's really the problem with Doki Doki; the ups and downs. There are so many low points and only a few high points from start to finish that it is invariably frustrating as a viewer. What elements that are present here, which weren't stereotypical, are only marginally successful during the twenty episodes. You'll always have a nagging feeling that you've watched some of the skits before and the lackluster jokes just don't click as well as they should.

If you're in the mood for a new comedy series that you haven't seen before you could do far worse than this one. The cast is often fun and there are many jokes in between that are inspired. However the show carries a generic air about it and finds itself swallowed up in the comedy genre. The tried and true high school formula feels at home here though it's just very, very used and repetitive.

Doki Doki School Hours is presented with the broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 full frame and offers some decent picture quality. The artwork is very simplistic but is accompanied by some great animation that looks wonderful. The image is very clean as well with no apparent grain or cross-coloration though at points there are some trace amounts of aliasing that make their way onto the transfer. The color palette and overall style match the personality and humor of the show well; which is to say things can be someone bland looking.

The show comes with the two stereo tracks and sadly enough a 5.1 mix isn't available. As it stands though the DVD offers some decent quality with a slight use of directionality with the audio. Both the English and Japanese language selections are relatively the same in terms of what they offer, though I preferred the show with the original language and subtitles. The voice acting for the series matches the premise well and the music was offbeat enough to catch my attention.

The five discs in this collection offer very little in the way of bonus material. Basically all you can expect to see as you peruse the discs are some clean opening and closing animations and character profiles. It's disappointing to only have these inclusions but given how Doki Doki isn't the best or most original show out there I suppose it's not very surprising.

Doki Doki begins promisingly enough. The characters and premise are enjoyable and some of the humor seems fairly original. As the show progresses though you'll realize that every personality here slips into a stereotype, the jokes become less and less amusing, and the humor is repetitive. The show starts stronger than it finishes but along the way there is enough here that may entertain some out there who are looking for a fun little high school comedy to supplement Azumanga Daioh. In that regard Doki Doki School Hours is a success but I can't recommend anything beyond a light rental.

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