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Do you remember the characters in your school textbooks? Perhaps you have fond memories of doodling in the margins and augmenting the illustrations.

Well, just when we were thinking that study guides in Japan in recent years were all looking a little bit same-y, some clever marketing person (or, more likely, about 100 clever marketing people) has come up with a one-step technique for designing these educational guides. It doesn’t matter whether it’s history, philosophy, social studies or English – just put a smart, cute anime girl on the front cover!

Like this geography study guide for national university entrance exams.

▼ Let’s give her a globe to hold!

Or this English self-study book using the characters from anime and manga series Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai.

▼ “When you ask your parents to buy you a study guide and this is what they get you…”

One student took to Twitter to post this photo comparing a study aid from the past with a present day version.

▼ “In 100 years, this is how much study guides have changed.”

This next collection also includes a study guide featuring characters from a popular series.

▼ The second book is a practice book based on the series Student Council’s Discretion, but notice how the chemistry, biology and moral philosophy books that surround it also employ the anime girl front cover trick!

Yep, it seems like anime covers are unstoppable.

▼ “Anime front covers on textbooks are everywhere these days.”

And not everyone’s happy about that.

▼ “They try to make you buy them with their anime covers, but DON’T BE FOOLED guys, they’re still study guides!“

Anime-girl-decorated study guides are available in all good Japanese bookstores (and the bad ones too).

Source: Naver Matome
Top image: Twitter