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Short Synopsis: Mahoro, a female combat android, had an excellent track record working for the military
organization Vesper. Due to her limited lifespan, she's decomissioned and taken out of combat, allowing her to expend her
energy at a slower rate while living a civilian life. She decides to work as a maid for Suguru. The two get along wonderfully,
but Mahoro constantly finds herself at odds with others in Suguru's life; the most bizarre of which being his lecherous high
school teacher. To complicate matters further, Mahoro's past comes back to haunt her, as adversaries from her days at Vesper
return with the intent to fight her. Through it all, Mahoro does her best to live as happy a life as she can, knowing that
she has less than a year before her lifespan ends.
Story: Mahoromatic looks like just another mediocre maid title at first, but that is far from the case.
About half of Mahoromatic's episodes are just fun little episodes that either help in character development or are just there
for fun; however, the latter half of the episodes involve Mahoro fighting various androids, one in particular. All of the
seemingly fluffiness of the series fades away by the end of the series. It's kind of hard to explain, but the story doesn't
disappoint.
Characters: Mahoromatic's characters are a colorful bunch! The main characters are pretty
interesting; there's Mahoro - the sweet and loyal maid with a heart of gold, and Suguru is kind of a nerd, but he's more kind-hearted
than dorky. And each of the other characters are endearing in their own way. And Miss Shikijo, Suguru's sex-crazed pedofile
of a teacher, is very memorable in the way that you can't block her out of your memory, even if you wanted to. All in all,
the characters are pretty darn cool.
Animation: All I have to say is this: Gainax. That's right, the guys responsible for FLCL, Evangelion,
and other great animes worked their magic on this series. The animation is very fluid. Characters move with the greatest of
ease and they look good while they're doin' it via good character designs. Colors are bright but not too bright. Overall,
it's just very well done.
Music: Mahoromatic's music is a mixed bag. The opening theme, for instance, is an enjoyable romp through
pleasant JPOP-y goodness. It's memorable, enjoyable, and fun; however, the ending theme is somewhat less charming. It's still
not bad, but it's not good. And it gets worse - the music in the episodes are downright forgettable. But there is one redeeming
thing about the episodic music: Mahoro sings. It's especially pleasant in the original Japanese. Overall, it's not bad.. but
it's far from good.
Dub: Ah, good times. Mahoromatic's dub is very good. None of the voices really get on your nerves, and
that is a definate plus. You've probably heard most of the voices on Mahoromatic from other animes. For instance, Suguru,
who is portrayed by Derek Stephen Prince, is the voice of Love Hina's Keitaro. And Mahoro is voiced by Ruby Marlowe, the voice
of Love Hina's Shibobu. The short version: the dub is very good.
Overall: Mahoromatic is a great example of an anime that has a ridiculous premise but is actually
not that bad. In fact, Mahoromatic takes the tired old maid genre and runs with it. It's not the best, or even extremely revolutionary,
but it is a good example of a good anime.
Seth's Ratings
Story: 8/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Animation: 9/10
Music: 7.5/10
Dub: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Final Verdict: If you don't mind the occasional ecchi moment and you don't mind a little humor with your android combat,
then there's no reason you shouldn't pick up Mahoromatic!
The Good:
+ The animation is great and characters move fluidly.
+ For a maid anime, it breaks the stereotypical mold.
The Bad:
- The music could be a lot better.
The Ugly:
* Could have more depth, but it's really up to the person how much depth they like.
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