There's something about Please Twins that keeps you from being able to tear your eyes away. At first glance, you would think that a story about finding out who your twin sister or twin brother is would be something reserved for daytime TV. Please Twins takes this situation and turns it on its head. The result is more entertaining than you'd initially think, and makes for an enjoyable ride.

Please Twins is basically like an animated Japanese-style PC game. Think Kanon, Air, or any other of those games (and anime) that you may have seen the art for. For the uninitiated, this means bright, colorful art, soft-spoken, but appropriate music, and beautiful, well-defined character designs. Along these lines, Twins dares to buck the trend of a lot of current shows and goes with very tasteful and subdued character designs. It's actually pretty refreshing to watch a recent show like this and not have to deal with a gauntlet of gigantic boobs and excessive bouncing with every slightest step the characters might take. That's not to say the show is devoid of fanservice. If it's your thing, you'll probably find enough to make this show to your liking.

A pseudo-sequel to 2002's Please Teacher!, Please Twins diverges a lot from its predecessor in terms of subject matter. Where Please Teacher! dealt with an alien high school teacher marrying her student, Twins has a more plausible plot. As far as what's similar, viewers will see familiar locales characters from Please Teacher!. Fans of that show will probably be happy to see Mizuho in the show, everyone else will be scratching their heads at the various in-jokes that involve her.

While this show doesn't deal directly with aliens like Please Teacher!, it might as well with the scenario that's been put together. Self-employed, single, living alone high school student Maiku Kamishiro has his world turned upside down when not one, but two young girls show up at his house, each claiming to be his twin sister and carrying the same photograph of them as children. Conveniently, neither of them have a place to return to, so they just decide to live with Maiku. You might wonder why they didn't just go the extra step and say that Karen and Miina are both from space too. Not like it would have made a difference in the long run.

Please Twins is paced surprisingly well, and does a good job of keeping the subject matter fresh between episodes. Twins smartly moves quickly past the somewhat weak premise it starts on to get to the real drama. It's more about the events that happen between all the characters after they come to live under one roof than flashbacks. This fact is even more appreciated when you consider the fact that the show is only 13 episodes, and the last thing you want to waste that on is back story. This disc even manages to bait you nicely for the next episode.

Unfortunately, the dub just doesn't come off well. Miina and Karen sound too much like they are forcing "cute" into their voices. Maybe it's a side-effect of trying to make them sound like high schoolers, but I just couldn't get used to the roles. Maiku's performance was passable, though his voice actor probably could have had a bit more fun with Miina's fantasizing than he did. The Japanese actors came off as much more convincing and natural to my ears.

Vol 1 is available in a standard disc-only release and a nicer disc + box combo. The artbox edition includes the Please Twins soundtrack, a snazzy postcard album adorned with art from the show, and a sturdy green box (with more art). The DVD extras are good. Four music videos set to Please Twins image songs, a promo video, and a couple commercials. The music videos were a welcome addition.

Overall, Please Twins makes for an enjoyable investment of your anime viewing time. Please Twins features great art, animation and music. With a plot and characters that keep you hooked episode to episode, this series is a good choice to add to your library.