Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden

Publisher
ADV
Director
Hiroyuki Yamaga
Production
GAINAX, Shaft
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
12 episodes
Year
2001

Mahoromatic vol 2 (eps 5-8)

By John Huxley
10th Feb 05

Ready for more cliche-riddled, thigh-slapping romantic comedy with a twist of ballistic action? I thought so.

Cliches are underrated (no, I can't be bothered to find the accent on my keyboard). Think about it. Star Wars uses some of the oldest tricks in the book yet it's consistently voted one of the best films of all time. Even Neon Genesis Evangelion, for all its intricate pontificating, still relied on good ol' fashioned cliches to win the audience over. There's nothing inherently wrong with cliches; it's only when misused and abused do they become transparent and therefore detrimental.

Many would accuse Mahoromatic of abusing cliched scenarios - with a certain amount of justification, it would seem. The first episode on this disc will sound hauntingly familiar (boom boom!) to any self-respecting anime fan. For reasons too silly to mention, Suguru, his robotic maid Maroho and the rest of the gang must explore the school grounds in search of spooky going-ons. Sneaking around the abandoned corridors in the dark they scare each other with stories and urban myths of ghosts long dead, their so-called friends waiting around the corner, dressed in full ghost garb to capitalise on the situation. Of course, Mahoro being the level-headed android she is, quickly realises that there's more to these ghost stories than first meets the eye...

To be fair this is a particularly unoriginal episode that doesn't even provide much in the way of recompense - there's no action to spice things up and you may as well forget about character or story development. It's simply a dull episode that's over-reliant on cliches. Thankfully things are set back on track with the next episode which sees Mahoro chosen to perform a traditional Japanese dance for a seasonal festival. While the funfair/festival is a stalwart of anime romantic comedies, we're treated to a welcome dose of character development that prevents the whole ordeal from becoming too tiresome. The background story involving Suguru's father and Mahoro's past is perhaps the most intriguing element of Mahoromatic, a more dramatic side of the show that helps to give it a little edge. Unfortunately it's not prominent enough to really carry the entire series on its own, but it's a welcome diversion from the fun yet ridiculous humour that peppers each and every episode.

The last two episodes on this disc expand on Mahoro's background further with the introduction of an old nemesis from her days as a combat android. Posing as an ordinary teacher, he is in actuality a highly trained enemy assassin from a (bizarrely covert) intergalactic war. Suspecting that Mahoro is protecting Suguru from the enemy, he breaks the unwritten code of war and confronts Mahoro in a public place, endangering Suguru's fellow students and innocent bystanders. With plenty of plot development, a couple of neat action scenes and the introduction of yet another new character - Mahoro's talking pet/sidekick panther - these episodes are amongst the best the series has had to offer so far. Of course we're still subject to the same old silly jokes and gags, but it wouldn't be Mahoromatic without at least one reference to Mahoro's breast size per episode, now would it (the end credits notwithstanding)?

For many the constant barrage of ludicrous and often childish humour, sickly-sweet aesthetic and preposterous concept may be too much to bear, but if you're willing to overlook a few cliches here and there, you might find yourself enjoying Mahoromatic more than you think. It's certainly no Full Metal Panic!, but for a show of its very specific type (robotic maid), there's few better than Mahormatic.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 2.0 & Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, Japanese commercial spots, Japanese promo trailers, art gallery

Release information: UK: 2005, ADV

Notes: A blushing Mahoro adorns the front cover in her pink komono, a colourful but not particularly striking design. More visually arresting is the four page colour leaflet included inside the box that depicts a trio of would-be maids and a barely dressed Mahoro in the centre spread. If she were much younger this stuff would be barely legal! The extras on the disc consist of several Japanese TV commercials and promo trailers which interestingly advertise both the comedy and drama aspects of the show separately. Along with the art gallery and the regular ADV previews, this is a good release from ADV. Such a pity we've only got one volume left...

-- John Huxley 10th Feb 05

Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden Images