All things considered, AIC/Pioneer has the uncanny ability of taking
a theme and making it less nausiating. They did it with
Evangelion (through Dual), they did it with magical girls (Pretty
Sammy) and android maids (Mahoromatic). And now they've done it
with Love Hina through this series.
Ai Yori Aoshi is an example of the "romantic comedy" theme done right;
although for me it's a bit too dramatic in some cases. Kaoru
Hanabishi is your typical male lead who lacks personality; however he's
a college student, a photo club member, and hides a brutal past.
Enter, from said past, Aoi Sakuraba. Aoi practiced long and hard
to become Kaoru's doormat, and thinks of nothing else but him.
Kaoru's life changes slowly but surely as everybody else enters the
scene: Miyabi (Aoi's irate caretaker), Tina (representing "Fondle 'Em
Records"), Taeko (fanservice provider), Suzuki and Sato (train and
cosplay perverts respectively), Mayu (brat who hates the Japanese but
loves Kaoru), and Chika (Taeko's energetic sister with that "swim-class
suntan").
A more romantic, less violent, Naru-free Love Hina? Does the
"Kaoru - Aoi - Miyabi - Tina - Taeko - Mayu - Chika" team make a good
replacement for the team of "Keitaro - Shinobu - Motoko - Mitsune -
Mutsumi - Sarah - Kaolla?" Is it true that whatever any other
company does, Pioneer does it better? I don't know. But I
enjoy this series.
It's like "Seinfeld" meeting "Friends" at high school; a Japanese
high school. Or a famous US comic strip "Luann" if it was done in
anime. A show about the quirkiness of a set of teenage girls and
their homeroom teachers. None of them are saving the world,
hiding any magical powers (although Tomo wishes she does), nor being
part of some plot in a hentai series. A show about nothing?
Unlikely. There's also a lot of cultural jokes; with Osaka's
random info and what-not. The pacing may be slow, it's mainly
based on each of the four-panel comic strips. But this is the
show to watch if you're just into the comedic reactions of each
character's traits.
Now this is from the same people that had created Onegai Teacher and Love Hina. In fact, you'll notice the spitting images of Naru and Motoko running around wearing military uniforms and talking seriously. And as you read from my review on Ken Akamatsu's most popular work, you can tell that I'm not very happy with it. But somehow he proves that he doesn't just create shows about "attractive women beating the snot out of losers (and it's suppose to be funny)." Nope. This type of show has the type of dynamic about it that can't be forced.
Mao-chan, Misora, and Sylvia are the granddaughters of the Chiefs of Staff for the ground, air, and sea defense forces respectively. 8-year-old granddaughters I shall emphasize. Which means that they spend more time crying, looking cute, and being friendly with each other than protecting Japan from aliens. And these aliens aren't exactly the ones you'd find during Evangelion or some other psychological "Earth Vs. Alien" thriller. Nope. They're cute. They fall to the sky in "UFO catcher" capsules. And did I mention that they're cute?
It makes sense for the Japanese Defense Force to send cute kids to use their new-found powers against cute aliens. They'd end up looking like the Bush Administration if they went ballistic on them. But at the same time, this show is really beautiful. It reeks of such beauty for 15 minute each episode, that you'd hardly believe that it was done by the "Love Hina" guy.
That show, as well as the new manga being released by Del Ray; Magister Negima (aka Negi Magi). Very impressive!
This probably wins the award for the most blatant use of
maids. A show like this would never make it into the US unless
they explain to the audience that many of the characters herein are at
the right age and are purposely short. 12 plus 3 episodes, 15
minutes each (This show had been playing along Steel Angel Kurumi,
another maid-outfit-fetish show by the way.), this show is basically a
thinly-lined comedy. And comedy's what we need more of in the
world.
So here we have Taro, having nowhere to go after his mom dies and
heading toward his grandfather's address. What he ends up getting
is an inheritance of a large mansion, its wealth, and its "ruthless
service organization determined to comfort the world." This
becomes way too much for our poor hero, and his allergy to women comes
into play mainly forms around the triplets Ichigo, Ringo, and
Sango. Only Mariel, the female lead and a motherly one at that,
doesn't give him the rash that keeps on giving. Included in the
mix is the mad maid scientist Ikuyo, head of security and "Motoko
Aoyama fanclub" member Konowe, silent little Cynthia and her cruel
alter-ego Grace, and even more cruel rival Ryuka.
This is not deep. It's not suppose to be deep. It's suppose
to make you laugh. I recommend this show to anybody who likes
shows that don't make sense and yet makes you laugh.
Taro and his maids return. And it looks like they brung reinforcements: Yashima Sanae, the "black" security maid who's deeply in shonen-ai with her boss Konowe. And Shikouin, blonde beauty and leader of the "Red Standard" security maid division.
La Verite basically translates into "Reload" (the same story that's taking a different direction) as it continues to take bits and pieces out of the ongoing manga. The young Taro, his crush and head maid Mariel, his b**** rival Ryuuka, the clumsy inventor Ikuyo, the schizophrenic cutey mascot Cynthia / computer expert Grace, and the hard-boiled Konowe continue to have their little adventures. But Taro starts to wonder about Mariel's past. And, as he continues to dodge sexual assaults from the service maid triplets, the heart-breaking truth about Mariel is revealed.
It contains less "H" than its 15-minute-per-episode predecessor. But it still as a healthy dosage of panty shots and bathing nudeness. The episode where Ikuyo has everyone cosplay as famous Pioneer / Geneon characters should not be missed either.
I'm not gonna call Pioneer by its new name. To me they're
always gonna be Pioneer. Or atleast AIC. These are the type
of people that would do a show like "The SoulTaker" and would still fit
an onsen / bath scene or an Obon festival kimono / yukata scene
somewhere. At any rate, Hand Maid May is probably one of the more
senseless series that I had a chance to watch since... well... Tenchi
Muyo.
You have Nanbara and his insane, in-your-face attitude. You have
Kazuya and his absent-mindedness. May and Kasumi with their
girl-next-doorish competition over Kazuya's heart. Rena and her
lollicon brattiness, Sara and her insane lust for ramen noodles, Kei
and her "processing loop," Mami and her "are-are-are-are-are..."
A new bunch of lunatics, says the back cover.
Personally, I think it just sends the characters of El Hazard into the
current settings. And even though the series was senseless; it
had its serious moments when the characters stop being typecasted and
started trying to rescue each other.
This show's NOT Love Hina. It has what it takes to be on the LH bandwagon, but then it does an about-face with the male lead going, "This ain't funny anymore! Stop that!" The teacher-moms took a hint and a break before coming back to that "one big happy family" cliche. The show proves that you can only play the "slapstick card" for so long.
Chitose Hititose is basically the "anti-Keitaro." He's a lazy slacker who doesn't wanna be contained by the rules. Unfortunately for him his five teachers will accept none of that from him. Mutsuki Ichimonji is mom #1; a super-mom / perfect wife despite her near-dictatorous pressure for Chitose to do his schoolwork. Kisaragi Ninomai (mom #2) is a mix of Rei Ayanami and Ritsuko Akagi of Evangelion; thereby being the scariest character since Gendo Ikari of the same anime. Yayoi Sanzenin (mom #3) is the school nurse / spiritualist / sword-wielding psychopath cliche. Her character was probably upgraded from the manga. Uzuki Shitenno (mom? #4) is an art teacher whose age is in question. And Satsuki Gokajo (mom #5) is the P.E. teacher whose scariness is on par with Kisaragi's.
Fumitsuki Nanakorobi is the nerdishly attractive class president who has a crush on Chitose; as well as an uppercut that can send her perverted classmates flying. Minazuki and Hazuki are Chitose's foster sisters who don't do much to drive him up the wall like his teacher-moms do; but the later is an expert in eating. (...A lot. Like five times her own weight.)
I read the manga first. And it featured the clean-cut, straight-laced Susumu Arisaki instead of Chitose. Within the same timeline, mind you. I'm saddened to find that the anime doesn't follow the manga; with one of the five moms getting a chance to sleep with Susumu each night (Save your perverted thoughts for Stepmother's Sin!) and Yayoi not waving her sword around like a lunatic all the time. But it's a fresh take on the harem theme; surrounding some normal guy with troublesome foster moms instead of troublesome teenage/college girls.
It's apparent that Gainax has withdrawn from the Hideaki Anno style of
creativity and is starting to create mind-numbing, praise-worthy
works. Mahoromatic is an extremely fun piece of work; meanwhile
it
keeps you on the edge of your seat with its inclusion of hardboiled
sci-fi.
I mean... A combat android war veteran who decides to spend the
remainder of her warranty looking after the son of her superior?
As a
run-of-the-mill maid? And our male lead, Suguru, is considered by
fans
the "anti-Shinji." Yet what he does during these "hostage-taking"
moments is downright stupid. However he fills the role as
suprisingly
well and without being too weird. Ms. Shikijou is by far one of
the
most fun characters I've met in a long time. Her "annoyance
standards"
is that of El Hazard's Jinnai and Hand Maid May's Nambara; destined to
get under Mahoro's skin.
Extra points go to Bang Zoom Production for a great dub; where Mahoro's
been given a "Bringish" accent. (A cross between British and
English;
she's suppose to be a maid, you know.)
30 years after Char Aznavel makes his impression with the Second
Neo-Zeon war, the Crossbone Vanguard rears its iron-masked head.
And during Frontier IV's beauty pagent of all occasions. As chaos
ensues; one of the pagent contestants, the reluctant Cecily Fairchild,
surrenders herself to the Crossbone. She later on reveals herself
as Vera Ronah. Seabook Arno and his friends end up becoming
refuged with everybody else, and later on becomes the pilot of the
experimental Gundam F91.
Unfortunately this is the Gundam series that never was; starting out as
a 13-episode OVA and (overshadowed by Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories)
ends up becoming a cut-and-paste movie. But it is a pretty good
movie nonetheless. The hauntingly familiar "Star Wars Imperial
March" theme and the nicely done animation herein... This is one
of Yoshiyuki Tomino's finest when it comes to Gundam.
It's probably one of the reasons why SNK had went under for a
while. Or maybe it's the problem of making anime based on a
fighting-style video game. I seen the American version of the
Street Fighter cartoon on (ironically) the USA Network and I felt the
need to slap somebody over there.
However, Samurai Shodown had the potential that nobody realized.
They weren't just clowns from some samurai era trying to kill each
other with a bunch of bladed weapons. It was a sense of well
being that a few people couldn't let go. Most of these warriors
in "SamSho" were based on a mixture of fabled warriors from throughout
the ages.
Okay, so the story is actually filled with sap. And it was made
before the "golden age" of super-moves and SDM's from the King of
Fighter series. But I enjoyed it for what it is. And I
would've love to see that Ukyo Tachibana scene (which was clipped off
from the actual show).
M.O.E. (the people behind Hanaukyo Maids) probably enjoy making anime about maids that love their master and beat the crap out of anyone that comes near them. And this show, set in the old era of Japan, switches between fluff and hard-boiled. If Nakahito was any older, this series would otherwise be hentai. Lots of fanservice and "going off the straight path" ensues along with brutal battles and evil plot twists. And I thought the manga made before it was H'ed out and hard-boiled enough.
More rampant hints on lesbianism. Another healthy amount of panties and boobs. More of Kurumi getting the crap beaten out of her. The dog is cute, but what's with it anyway?
I found it sickening that ADV would promote the main Kurumi series
in THAT manner; introducing the voice actresses and actors like
nothing. And each episode was 15 minutes to boot. But when
I got the chance to watch the series, I instantly fell in love.
The "cute girl rubs against shy boy" theme never gets tiresome (if done
the right way). So then comes the "Encore" and another season.
Kurumi's "Encore" consists of Saki becoming a movie star, Karinka going
on a "date," Kurumi trying to be more ladylike (although I do like her
SD, squealing form better), and Nakahito becoming a target of wanton
attention from a bunch of Steel Angels. Hilarity ensues, and I'm
glad to have got the chance to experience it.
Rolan Cehack is your average soldier of the Moonrace. He's
highly respectful of his queen Diana (like all the other "Moonies"),
goes to Earth as one of three spies, and has the near-incredible work
of finding a job with the Heim household. So when a "coming of
age" ceremony gets rudely interrupted by some attacking Moonrace
fraction, his near-incredible luck saves him again as he finds the
Turn-A Gundam.
All heck ensues as he becomes the pilot of this fabled Gundam. He
ends up running damage control between those of Earth (whose technology
is reduced to the 18th century) and the Moonrace. And not only
that: He dresses up as a girl, fights alongside MS from the
Universal Calender, and puts up with the two Heim sisters. One
wants to be a pilot (Soshie), and the other (Kiel) is a dead ringer of
Queen Diana. Oh, what is a dark-skinned, white-haired lad with a
girl's voice to do?
Weirdness aside, this is Yoshiyuki Tomino's genuine work; showing his
people how an alternative Gundam world should be done.
Sprites for Genjuro Kibagami are from ActJapan / Mugen Sharp. Samurai Shodown / Spirits is copyrighted to SNK and its affiliates. Everything else is copywrited to their respective, and respected, owners. Beware of dogs with large, bloodied swords.