MAHORABA
Don't get her angry; you wouldn't... well, you know...
Review by: M.H. "Mr. Hyde" Torringjan
Length: 26 episodes
Genre: Romance, comedy
Watched: 26 episodes, subbed
In real life, there are a number of things that one must remember when delving into the world of dating. Rule number one, don't date a carney. They smell, and they're creepy. Rule number two, don't date your relatives within at least five generations. It's creepy. Rule number three, don't date anyone who has any form of psychosis. She'll creep you out. This series could have easily gone on my shit list for breaking two of these rules almost right off the bat, but while I was watching it, the lighter side of the series began to grow on me and ended up saving it from being shoved onto my "bad" pile.
Plot summary: Shiratori is a new student at an art school in Tokyo (can we say, "burger-flipping academy?"), and he needs a place to stay. So, he returns to Narutakisou, an apartment complex from his childhood inhabited by a set of eccentric boarders (and *no*, they're not all hot girls) and run by an incredibly cute landlady, Kozue (who appears to be in her early teens and just happens to be Shiratori's second cousin), who appears to be normal. Until you frighten her, at which point her personality changes, becoming one of four other people, all of whom are weirdos. Can Shiratori live with the non-stop parties, the clashing personalities, and the stress of becoming a children's book artist all at the same time?
Artwork: This may be a major drawback for many people, as the art style tends more towards the chibi side of the spectrum. The art itself is fairly sharp, with a nice range of colors and original character designs. The backgrounds are nicely done and blend fairly well. Even while the story cuts for an aside in the form of a children's book that Shiratori is writing, the simplistic art demonstrates a highly refined quality that makes it look pretty nice. The production companies, J.C. Staff and SquareEnix (surprisingly enough) made this look very nice, so don't let the disturbingly large eyes and faces trouble you for very long.
Music: the music was designed specifically to fit the mood of the series, and complements the light feeling very well, although it's nothing spectacular musically speaking. The airy voices and bouncy tunes fit the series nicely, and wouldn't sound too bad on a CD, but probably not for too long. The opening and closing tracks are nice, but nothing really fantastic.
Characters: There's very little continuing plot (other than that Kozue's crazy), so the characters are what drives this series, as well as the humor. Shiratori is the straight-man of the series, always getting drawn into the wacky hijinks and getting lassoed into the odd jobs. He is also far too nice for his own good (as evidenced by his role of straight-man), and peacefully puts up with almost anything (whereas I would have eventually slapped someone). He has a crush on his second cousin, Kozue, the landlady. She is a proper, cute, and sweet little girl who always goes out of her way to make everyone happy. Although she often appears oblivious and far too optimistic, she does show brief flashes of insight that tells me that there's more going on in her head than the vapid-but-oh-so-cute smile lets on. However, when she is stressed, she undergoes a radical change as her other personalities take over, wreaking havoc and causing mayhem until she collapses and returns to normal. Whenever Kozue is surprised, Saki comes out to play, an aggressive tomboy who'd rather beat your face in than tell you her feelings. Whenever Kozue is frightened, Nanako arrives, a childish girl who's even more oblivious than Kozue normally is and who loves her "Big Brother" Shiratori. Whenever Kozue is hurt, Chiyuri emerges, a fantastic cosplay queen who insists on dressing everyone she can get her hands on who tries to resist (although Shiratori gives her some problems). Finally, whenever Kozue is made sad, a shy, reticent, and depressed Natsume shows up to perform a magic show (and who else to reach the shy, depressed girl than our nice-guy hero, Shiratori?). While they have this high-laugh-potential gimmick waiting around for the entire series, they pull the trump card surprisingly infrequently, which prevents it from getting old as so many good ideas do. The other residents of the apartment complex are Momono, the noisy, beer-guzzling next-door neighbor who insists on using Shiratori's apartment to house her parties. She can be manipulative and bossy, but she also has a soft side when the occasion calls for it. Asami and Ayoko are a mother-daughter pair who are living in the apartment complex and trying their best to make ends meet by selling paper flowers by day. Ayoko is constantly tired, hungry, and generally unmotivated, while her daughter Asami is a hard-working go-getter who ends up looking after her mother more than the other way around. Tamami is Kozue's childhood friend who wants to protect her from anything bad and has mastered the art of the ominous air. Haibara is a silent old man who constantly walks around with a hand-puppet dog, Johnny, on his hand, which does the talking for him. He's more of the strong and silent type, an aspiring mystery writer, who spends most of his day fishing by the pond. Also, the minor characters are every bit as quirky, and serve as a great complement for the regulars.
Plot: As mentioned earlier, there is little in the way of continuing plot, but the episodes themselves are interesting and entertaining, and demonstrate the characters' personalities very well. Special props go to the writers for interspersing moments of seriousness in between the humorous wackiness without breaking the general feel of the series or the flow of the characters' personalities. The only thing that I have to question is the familial relationship between Kozue and Shiratori (I was not aware that Tokyo had all of a sudden become a major immigration center for West Virginia). Although this was mentioned at the beginning of the series and was used as a convenient explanation as to why Shiratori ended up at that particular apartment complex, it brings up issues (which, granted, may only exist in my mind) that could have easily been left out. Then again, maybe they meant Haruka-Michiru cousins...
CHICKS!! While the chibi character design is enough to put some people off, there are some brave souls who venture onward and go past the veneer of cuteness to the important issue of how desirable are the characters? Ladies and gentlemen, I am one of those souls! Kozue has all the cuteness and all the sweetness necessary to make her a top-of-the-line chick, although there is the minor problem of the multiple personalities. Frankly, I'd rather not be walking along and suddenly get slapped on the head by the girl I'm dating. She has a nicely developed figure (she's got an hourglass figure you could boil an egg by and a rack that you usually don't see outside of California) that could easily help you see past the sometimes less-than-alert personality. Plus, think about your competition! It's her second cousin! You've got it in the bag easily! Momono has an even better-looking figure than Kozue, with more pronounced curves and jaw-dropping breasts (that she's not all that afraid to show off). And what may be the seller for many of you out here, she drinks like an Irishman (although it has to be light beer for her to keep her figure)! Not since Misato have we seen a woman drink so much and look so hot! And remember, if you drink with her, she can only get more hot as the night goes on!
Overall: Psychological disorders are nothing to laugh at, most psychologists say. I say they're a bunch of straight-laced losers who need to get a frickin' sense of humor. This series was a good laugh and told an okay romance story. While the series wasn't fantastic, it was an enjoyable watch with a light mood and fairly consistent comedy. If that sounds like what you're looking for, go ahead and give it a shot - you've got nothing to lose but nine hours and seven CD's.
In a nutshell:
+ Nice artwork
+ Decent comedy
+ Didn't resort to breast gags
+/- Fair-to-middling soundtrack
- No continuing plot
- If you can't keep it in, keep it in the family...
Final score: 8/10
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