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Nov 17 2009

Categories: episodic review
Tagged: mahoromatic

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えっちなのはいけないと思います!

I was thinking about what I wanted to post next in my Best of 00s features, and I penciled in “Mahoromatic.” Crap. Forgot about this OVA… now I have to burn material originally intended for that post here. Oh, well. I may have to go with plan B… anyway, I love this series. I have no problem writing posts about it. Mahoromatic has everything this blog stands for: good action, solid production values, great comedy, superb fanservice, touching moments, and epic meido (Pantheon-class!).

When this series originally aired, it was one of the first widescreen anime on satellite. It was big. It was Gainax’s (slash Shaft’s) next project following Best of 90s contenders Evangelion and Kare Kano and going parallel with this FLCL thing. How does a single animation team go from epic giant mecha mindfuck to epic shoujo back to epic mecha mindfuck without missing a beat? And then proceed onto fanservice meido harem action? I dunno. They even managed to keep the crappy ending for Kare Kano and FLCL that Eva featured (and Mahoromatic will feature). Amazingly, we thought Gainax would dominate the 00s. Instead, it would be five years before their next relevant anime. (Lesson to Kyoto Animation: don’t rest on your laurels. And don’t skimp on Mio fanservice. Fuko fanservice… please skimp on.)

So let’s briefly go back six years. I was in college. I had a crappy anime blog running this brand new “b2” software when everyone else was running Movable Type. It was a different time. I wrote 300 word reviews, including the final episode of Mahoromatic. There was no comment spam. I tell you– it was a different era. But back then, I wanted to be a bit different from the other ten or so anime blogs around (I’m telling you, it was different), so I decided to focus, almost pathologically, on meido (with some prodding from my friend Narg). Mahoromatic? Hanaukyo? Yoriko? Jiiya? It was a golden age for meido. So let’s just say that it didn’t exactly take a lot of convincing for me to write this post.

Our first shot of Mahoro in six years, and she’s not doing what she preaches. One of the great in-jokes is that Mahoro keeps saying, “Ecchi na no wa to ikenai to omoimasu!” (えっちなのはいけないと思います!) yet she’s the grand purveyor of fanservice for the series. Needless to say, the two-part Mahoromatic Tadaima Okaeri is off to a good start.

Now that’s a proper wardrobe for a meido.

(Reminds me of when Bart opened up closest, and it was just rows of the same red shirt. Only the exact opposite.)

Tadaima no Kaze was nostalgic. Gainax went with their old formula with Ayako Kawasumi singing, and Mahoro twirling in the sky. And I like twirling meido.

(Just realized that Mahoromatic was kinda like Star Wars. Out of all the seiyuu for the show, only Ayako Kawasumi still gets regular work, much like Harrison Ford. Suguru’s and Shikijo’s seiyuu are like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.)

Watching Minawa trying to wake Suguru… reminds me of Nagisa for some strange reason.

Oh gosh, are we going to have a second major ecchi hon-related house explosion this month in anime? I sure hope so. (In fact, I’d love to see a buddy comedy starring Suguru as the straight man and Tomoki as the bad influence.) Since Minawa is in this… and Suguru still has his collection of Sabra… I’m guessing that this takes place in the mid of season two, before the hot springs episode that started the finale.

(The hot springs episode was when Triomatic and Shikijo-sensei finally cede Suguru to Mahoro and featured a nice fanservice scene with Mahoro and Suguru getting tricked into bathing with each other. I guess another criteria for Best of 00s… I have to be able to recall inane details about the show six years later. And then when I gleefully started watching the next episode, I was confused. I thought that the fansubber rickrolled us– before YouTube!– with Cowboy Bebop instead of Mahoromatic.)

(It’s still fun to poke fun of the Gainax Ending, but years later and having read the manga, it actually was kinda close to the ending in the manga. The manga does time skip… space travel is involved… and it does seem like Cowboy Bebop.)

Love that smile. The only way it could be better is if a nakkid apron if involved.

Minawa looks like she is hypnotized by Mahoro’s happily wagging ass.

Tremendous ass bump. I feel like I’m watching a hip hop music video.

Disappointed we didn’t get her trademarked line! Also disappointed the cover of the gravure magazine didn’t feature an image from the Yoko gravure artbook.

I liked the recap… and with 270 days left, it means we’re somewhere in the middle of season two. Can we get a true ending for Mahoromatic for when she’s down to one final day? Does some deus ex machina save her? Or does she finally power down? I want to know. This is probably the greatest unvisited storyline… next to Nodame’s and Chiaki’s concerto.

(When she was standing in front of VESPER, I am reminded of the scene where she requests a bust size upgrade and gets denied since everyone in VESPER prefers the original recipe DFC. If we had to make a fantasy draft for “anime haremettes who have complexes over their bust size,” would Mahoro be the number one overall pick? Or would it be Shana? Or Kyonko?)

What, it’s on the omelet?! Cute! I also like the scowling Mahoro face.

“We’ve come to learn from you, Mahoro-san!”

Wait, they’re having a festival, and a meido cafe is going to be part of the festival? With Mahoro asked to consult? I mean… Gainax, you hit pinned the tail on the donkey with this side story. Now gimme ten more.

(I like the idea of Mahoro consulting… there’s just been far too few great meido lately. This year… I have Matsurika, who is as friendly as a heart attack… Maria, who I’m sure writes gender-confused fanfiction involving Hayate and the Twilight stars in her free time… and the meido on Needless. I guess I’m just disappointed there’s no meido in Bakemonogatari. Sigh.)

(In Mahoromatic Something More Beautiful, almost every episode involved a holiday or a festival. Warrants mentioning.)

Minawa is the Fuko of Mahoromatic. Not a compliment for either.

(The only good thing about Minawa is all the hawt Andou on Andou fanservice spreads that Gainax put out afterward. Wait, am I thinking out loud again?)

Just, for the record, Chizuko is wearing solid white today.

Love Mahoro’s timeless outfit… love the dual wield side ahoge… love the positive, cheery attitude. That’s what you want for a Meido of 00s contender. I should call it the 00 Meido Award… mmm… make it so!

“A meido’s spirit is in her uniform. A meido begins with her uniform and ends with her uniform.”

I wonder what exactly provoked Gainax to go, “Hey, let’s go revisit Mahoromatic!” I mean, why not Kare Kano? But I applaud their choice. Maybe this is why Mahoro was in Gurren Lagann, but Yukino was not.

(Mahoro’s description of a meido outfit reminded me of Jedi and their lightsabers, especially the part about the detailed and careful crafting by the user. A Jedi’s connection to the Force is in his lightsaber. A Jedi’s focus begins with his lightsaber and ends with his lightsaber.)

Minawa’s tripping finally leads to something good! Maybe we need to upgrade her to the Nagisa of Mahoromatic.

“I’m just trying to convey a meido’s heart to everyone.”

I like how their faces are just two large eyes and dots for noses/mouths. Is having a nose a bad thing in Japan?

(They’re all classy meido outfits… none of the French meido stuff as seen in He Is My Master. I feel conflicted. But… at the very least, shouldn’t Yoshitaka and Kuze from ef be involved as consultants as well?)

I liked how Triomatic thought that their meido outfits were boring and decided to upgrade them. A short skirt would be the Exia’s Seven Swords upgrade. The nekomini would be more like the GN Arms upgrade.

“A meido uniform, first and foremost, must display functionality and caution.”

By functionality, she means be able to defend against thermonuclear attack, house anti-air missiles, and have a cute, white apron. By caution, she means that nakkid apron is a no-no.

Or am I misreading things?

(Benedict Andou sitting next to Mahoro. Sigh.)

The animation quality really hasn’t gotten better since 2003… sigh. What am I complaining about? I thought that when Mahoro bowed and gave us a goodbye at the end of the Ecchi Special, it was the end. Now, six years later, she’s back for two more episodes? I’m delighted! Why else would I be pumping out a schedule-clogging three-thousand word post when I know I’ll be writing one for Bakemonogatari soon as well? It’s exactly how I felt when I played Final Fantasy IV: The After Years– wait, there’s more Final Fantasy IV? And it’s done with the same lovable sprite graphics even though the PS3, 360, and Wii can do 3D? Awesome!

Light blue and white stripes today… sigh. Still shaking my head at Kyoto and Mio.

Guess my favorite part of the Cowboy Bebop ending is that Shikijo-sensei never lost a beat. She’s still as dangerous to shota as ever. And do you think the world would end if she ever met Negima-sensei? And isn’t it weird that four years later, Ayako Kawasumi would be voicing a well-endowed shotacon, the greatest one since Shikijo-sensei?

“You’re the most dangerous one! You slutty meido!”

There’s more hatred here than between Nellie and Stephen Jackson.

(Remember the Clannad episode where everyone showed up at Tomoya’s house with food for him to eat? But he couldn’t decide on whose to eat, so he ended up eating everything? Oddly enough, the haremette not present that day… Nagisa! Well, Mahoro did that scene first, with everyone stuffing Suguru.)

I was just thinking that Minawa is going to trip and lather everyone in fake cake jizz.

(And you know this is going to lead to a bath scene where Mahoro shows off her melonpan complex. Sometimes, this shit writes itself.)

I really hope this leads to an alternate Mahoro ending. I really do. Come on, Nakayama-san, stop fooling around with Shina Dark and write a real ending. Don’t cheat us out of the “Days remaining… 0” scene.

Ryuga was Hosaka before Hosaka. He’s the original Curry Fairy. He’s like the Sleepy Floyd to Hosaka’s Baron Davis.

…
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… there was something that I wanted to write, but I forgot. Sorry.

Tag team prizefight… Shikijo-sensei and Mahoro vs. Yoko and Nia vs. Misato and Rei. Mmm…

(Come on. Why the suddenly white fog-induced shyness? There were numerous fog-less bath scenes in the original two seasons.)

“Ecchi na no wa to ikenai to omoimasu!” (“I think perverted things are bad!”)

Finally! It’s like waiting for Shana’s “URASAI!” or Zetsubou-sensei’s “I’m in despair!” Though when did Mahoro add Sohara’s karate chop to her arsenal?

(I’m so conflicted about Sora no Otoshimono. It is a mindless series, but there’s just so much hilarious fanservice. And there’s always two or three scenes each episode that makes me laugh… I dunno. I feel guilty watching it.)

Mahoro’s got a nice ponytail going. Yeah… as I mentioned before, the big irony is that Mahoro supplies most of the fanservice. In the pre-season two special, she refuses to do season two because of all the fanservice they made her do for season one. I’m telling you… back then, Gainax was unstoppable.

(Shaft too. Gainax and Shaft did a bunch of middling anime after this… This Ugly and Beautiful World… He Is My Master… and, then in 2004, Shaft was turned over to Shinbo and then changed into the Shaft that we all know and love today.)

We need to put a locker room next to both the Light Music Room and the Student Council Room. STAT.

Genius giving Mahoro a sexier meido fuku as a present. It’s like upgrading Setsuna F. Seiei from Exia to 00.

(Three thoughts… one, I’m looking forward to the Gundam 00 movie probably a bit too much. Two, I’m not looking forward to the Eden of the East movie enough. Three, I can’t believe I forgot about the K-On! OVA. Something else to look forward to in 2010.)

“Mahoro-san… sugoi…”

Suguru had a muted reaction to Mahoro. I wanted the typical Loony Tunes panting and eye pop. I think Shinji is one extreme with Simon on the other side… Suguru would be in the middle. He’s kinda the Blue Dog Democrat of Gainax leads whose names starts with an “S” sound.

(Sorry, I didn’t feel like spending a lot of time stitching. But you get the idea. Lower neckline, shorter skirt, thigh highs, dangerous red… sugoi indeed.)

Actually, kinda looks like the Sawa-chan Mk. II… if this K-On! OVA was real (and it isn’t), it better feature the Sawa-chan Mk. II.

(Doesn’t match Mahoro’s hair… and doesn’t suit her personality… but still.)

See, that’s the look Suguru should have had when he first saw Mahoro in her Mk. II.

Yeah… but does it facilitate the launch of breast missiles?

Wait, why didn’t I have any adventures in high school that involved a creepy oversexed teacher and two personal meido? I feel like I was deprived of something wondrous.

(I feel sorry for the two guy friends left behind. I liked how there were six female characters, and four of them had a thing for Suguru. The other two? One was clueless, and the other is a food-sexual. Also, at this point in Gainax history, their male leads have been the spineless Shinji, the prick Arima, and the whiny Naota. Let’s just say that if you told me then that Gainax would eventually come up with not one but two personable, fiery, manly male leads, I would not have believed you.)

Can I forgive Minawa for betraying Mahoro? Is Minawa even a remotely believable character capable of pulling off such deception? Back then, whenever an anime got a new season, they always seemed to introduce a new character. Oh look, it’s Minawa! Oh look, it’s Kanako! Oh look, it’s Gan-chan! It’s like you couldn’t have a new season unless a new character was involved.

(Compared to now where any crappy show can get a second season. Oh look, it’s more Koihime Musou!)

A minimum of four of my readers are wondering right now, “Wait, you want a proper ending for Mahoromatic? Gimme any ending for FLCL!” Can’t argue with that. I guess I want to see Haruko go up against Krauser II. Now that is a prizefight.

(And I just want to remind you guys that you don’t have TV shows and movies compete for an Emmy or an Oscar. They’re different beasts and as such get different awards. There’s a different award spectacles for TV shows, for mini-series, and for movies. And, honestly, there’s just so few non-recap anime movies and OVA compared to TV series, I’m not sure if it means much.)

Minawa trying to be bad ass as she tries an Sawa-chan impersonation.

I liked how Minawa lost her meido bonnet, a la Indiana Jones. Though her reaction after she lost it, I’d imagine that’s what Noel is like when she loses Bolverk.

Mahoro jumping from telephone to telephone… ah, nostalgic as well. Did I ever make a “Mahoro and Ciel telephone pole jumping Olympics” joke before? Ah, screw it. I’m make one now. Seven years too late.

Mahoro had some great fight scenes, like the one against the perverted crab mecha. It involved a giant mecha crab that disrobed nubile young girls, but it never got Mahoro. I think it skipped Shikijo-sensei too, or she wasn’t there. My memory isn’t 100% perfect. Deal with it. Nor is my spalling. Dael with that too.

I think I remember this sequence from Shikabane Hime… but Mahoro some has nice hang time.

Ooo… got goosebumps… and then over. Bah. You don’t ever want to piss Mahoro off. Ever.

(I was hoping Gainax would have had a little fun with the mecha design… the little minions who got Minawa should have been the hands from FLCL… and wouldn’t it be cool if Enkidudu and Sayrune dropped down instead?)

Mahoromatic was one of the first great series of 00s. I really enjoyed every aspect of the show, and it’s easy to forget now, but the final battle between Ryuga and Mahoro, with Suguru intervening, was a touching moment. At the end, it had Mahoro flying back with Suguru with Kaerimichi playing in the background… I would put that against Simon getting his mojo back and rescuing Nia in terms of being a chill scene. I wouldn’t have had a problem if the series ended there. Or after the final hot bath visit. Nonetheless, it continued.

But, you know, with Mahoromatic and Hanaukyo (and to lesser extent, Sister Princess), that was when I really started to develop an identity with this blog. I was just getting my feet wet with this anime website thing back then, and I didn’t really have an identity (which, I’m sure, 100,000 anime bloggers are lacking right now… and that might be an underestimate)… but then meido thing… and I will always be a champion of meido.

Writing this post… it made me go back and read some of my old ones, and they were horrible. I guess this blog has come a long way, but I’m glad to see that Mahoro hasn’t changed over the years. It’s almost like a time capsule, sent to us from 2003. And that’s the way I want it.

(And, yeah, Gainax didn’t deviate from the Triomatic ED with [Mahoro] no Tsuku BOOGIE. Woot woot.)