Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden

Let me start this review by asking one qn: Is this anime overrated? All the reviews other than mine has at least a 8 overall score... which is way too unbelievable. Story:7 Great content, extremely bad presentation style. I loved the first ep, as there were lots of expectations for a combat android maid, and a guy who showed some backbone against some criminals hijacking a bus. But after that, tons of fanservice, unnecessary scenes, unexplained stuff and too-realistic jumps between the present and flashbacks plagued the series. Sometimes, I even wonder which are flashbacks and which are not. Even worse, the ending parts of this anime wasa mess. After Mahoro set off for "the final fight", we get tons of unnecessary explanations about some things (like history of S??), more than an episode of flashbacks, some unrelated fanservice and tons of things unexplained. Unexplained scenes remind me of Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou while tons of unnecessary, or rather "filler" scenes remind me of Bleach. Those extra explanations and scenes could have been put to much greater relevance if it was used in some other places, instead of after "the final fight" part started. That much said, it wasn't as if I didn't enjoy the comedic moments and the content featured. It was more of bad directing and scriptwriting... not to mention a bad closure. Animation:8 Interesting, with manga drawings and drawings presented along with the animation. Reminds me of FLCL. In this series, it was used quite well, and had more impact than normal animation. Colours used were a bit dull but still quite good. Art was more or less consistent and fighting scenes were animated well. Sound:6 I didn't like the OP and ED, so I watched only the OP a few times and ED 1 time in full. The OP was not bad... but I felt that the later half of the song was a bit of a jump from the first part. This probably happened cos this is an extract of 1.5 mins from a full song. The ED sounds like a promotional song for Mahoromatic, and didn't add much value to the series. In addition, variety of bgm was little, and in a lot of scenes there was only dialogue, no bgm or sound effects, which decreased the mood. Voice acting was fine. Character:7 Character discussion is a bit controversial. The main 2 characters were quite well done in terms of character development, but seemed a bit fragmented. There was little integration of the two, and each person's past only belonged to him/her. Other than the 2 main characters there was hardly any character development elsewhere. Character interaction is a bit controversial too. After the initial introductions relationships between the side and the main characters didn't grow much. There wasn't much change in relationship[ development. Even between the main 2, I couldn't see critical interaction like yearning or a more intimate relationship. Though, Mahoro did change over the series, towards the main guy. Enjoyment:5 Satellite Poemer was quite unique... and I enjoyed it. The previews were usually of little consequence. And I like the storyline, but the story presentation style pulled down the contents. I was struggling to pull through the "filler" scenes. Overall:6 Can't say I enjoyed this series. I was thinking "this must be a good series" after seeing the high scores of the reviews presented. Strangely, after I read 2 reviews in detail, I thought the scores do not justify their comments.. Maybe it's just me, but I advise the viewer to skip unnecessary scenes like fanservice. Some just reduce the excitement level.

"I've got one weird grim reaper lookin' over my shoulder." Have you ever watched an anime that you got really emotionally attached to and thought was a masterpiece but then it slapped you with an ending so abhorrent that you wanted to drive a garlic smeared stake through your heart? Yes/No? Well, that's pretty much the whole 'Mahoromatic' series in a nutshell. Also, as you might have already worked out, I will be reviewing both the first and second seasons of this anime. All right, let's do this. 'Mahoromatic' has a very interesting premise and story, to say the least. The heroine is a combat android, Mahoro,at the end of her operational lifespan (a little over a year remaining to be precise) who decides to retire and live as a normal human being. She has been working all her life for an agency that fights off alien invaders with high tech weaponry, androids being one of those. Now that draws you in because first of all, you want to know more about her past. Secondly, it gives the series a bittersweet tone because it constantly reminds you that her time is running out and sooner or later, she'll be dead. Enter Misato Suguru, the protagonist. Nothing special about him to be honest. Average lanky teenager living in a messy house. But there has to be a catch for the story to work right? There is. Mahoro starts working for Suguru as his maid through her agency. Lo and behold, the story is established. From that point on the two have various adventures as Mahoro's counter gets ever closer to that dreaded "day 0". That being said, there are a lot of twists in 'Mahoromatic'. A LOT. I personally enjoyed it because it makes the anime unpredictable and keeps you on your toes all throughout. You might try to figure out the story ahead of the episode you've just viewed but trust me, you won't. I applaud the writer's courage to not be afraid to step out of the status quo with the story and surprise the viewers. As for the characters themselves, they're very original and likeable. Mahoro is a shining example of morality and chivalry. To supplement that, she's extremely strong and the fighting scenes featuring her are a true spectacle. Suguru is a bit of a weakling, but will arise to the challenge like a true man when the need arises. We also have a horde of supporting characters like Slash (Mahoro's support mech who always comes up with some hilarious shenanigans), Hamaguchi (closet pervert), Kawahara(closet pervert's sidekick), Rin... Saori Shikijo (no comment). Needless to say the cast is diverse and largely original. The art might not be flawless but it's up there. The characters and backgrounds have been carefully drawn but the pièce de résistance in 'Mahoromatic' are the fighting scenes. More specifically, Mahoro's fighting scenes. They are godly. Michael Bay would be very impressed if he ever sat through the 1st and 2nd seasons of 'Mahoromatic'. Explosions, bullets swirling through air, epic hand to hand combat... I live for this shit! Likewise the sound department is an another strong point of this anime. Apart from the flawless and I mean fucking FLAWLESS voice acting; I'll have you know that Mahoromatic features authentic laughter. Yes, people laughing whilst talking, trying to hold laughter in etc. People talking over each other! No shit? Yes, no other anime does that. Every anime has characters talking in a sequence so it appears unrealistically perfect, i.e characters always know when to start speaking so they don't interrupt each other. No such problem here. The OST is fairly solid too and features some emotionally engaging music so a solid 10 points for the sound department. And now we come to the enjoyment section and also full circle to the first statement I made in this review. Yes, the ending is absolutely horrible. I wanted to give this anime a full 10. A masterpiece. In fact, 95% of my way through this series I still believed that this was going to be the 11th anime I've given a full score to. Nope. Not a chance, and this is the reason why I've lowered the rating for the story from 10 to 8. Don't get me wrong though, 'Mahoromatic' is enjoyable and features a very original plot, original characters and it is an anime that will draw you in from the very start but the ending ruins everything. Everything that this series has worked hard for is ruined in the last episode of the second season. The dreaded episode 14. "I've got one weird grim reaper lookin' over my shoulder." Remember this? Yeah, it pretty much sums up what you'll feel like after watching the last episode of this anime. So please if you ever watch 'Mahoromatic', stop at episode 13 of the second season. It'll give you a more satisfying ending, ironically. Overall, 9 points.

PROS: Great action scenes Has more depth then one might expect at first glance Likable characters CONS: The pervy teacher will undoubtedly annoy some people STORY: I really liked the story, it moved at a great pace except for the last few episodes before the finale witch I thought prolonged the final battle for to long. I would have also liked to get to know the supporting cast better.ART: I have no complaints about the art. Overall I think it is very well done. SOUND: This shows dub absolutely perfect. I can't imagine them with different voices, Bridget Hoffman's performance as Mahoro was a pleasure to listen to. Derek Stephen Prince's voice was a perfect fit for Suguro The music wan't bad at all butt most of it wasn't very memorable for me CHARACTERS: Suguro was probably the most surprising character, I was impressed when he stood up to others he had no chance against with no hesitation. Mahoro was a very interesting character, I thought it was impressive how she enjoyed her life despite her violent past. ENJOYMENT: I really had fun watching this anime and hope to see it again someday. OVERALL: Mahoromatic is a great anime with well thought out characters and a deep story.

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