[ Episode 2: Engagement Canceled?! ]

Rito seems to attract falling objects.

If you don’t like fan-service show, chances are you are not going to like to LOVE-Ru at this point, especially after you hear the subject of this episode. Me, on the other hand, have trouble hating the main character, Lala, because I find her the most adorable female character I have seen in a long time. I think that without Lala or her crew, LOVE-Ru will lack charm, which is the only reason why I don’t degrade it like the other shows in the genre.

Rito is not excited about the fact Lala is part of his life and he is even more worried when Zastin, the flamboyant commander from the previous episode, bursts in Rito’s room and tells him he and Lala are engaged. The most surprising discovery was the engagement was set the moment Rito touched Lala’s boobs, no joke. Rito realizes his life will only go downhill from here, so he manages to scheme out information about recalling the engagement. Rito learns the only way to do so if he touches Lala’s boobs again before tomorrow night. Even though Rito attempts are to no avail, it’s all the more complicated when he finds out that Lala is going to join his class…

If you liked what you read in the last paragraph chances are: A. you love boobs and B. you will watch shows with the stupidest premises. It’s a little ridiculous how a short scene that was mere coincidence for the two lead characters has sprout an entire episode. I expected an episode where the Rito was trying to fend Lala off who wants to touch him, but in the end he is the one who wants to touch her. Lito shows more character this time around as he really wants to save his relationship with Haruno without harming Lala’s feelings. Even if he is a good guy, it’s noteworthy that he is the unluckiest male lead in an anime. First the guy gets teleported naked to the girls locker room with Lala while his love interest is watching, and then gets slapped to the face! He is also the source of physical humor, as this is the second episode in a row a plant has smashed on his head, and now he got hit by a damn car. Last character I saw getting hit by a car was Gintoki in episode 1 of Gintama, and it’s no surprise that he survived, but man for a 16 year old boy, Rito is a beast. He is not the best lead in the genre, but his accidents makes him at least more likable than, say, Kanokon’s Kouta.

Takehito Koyasu made the episode funny in my humble opinion. I know I may sound as his fanboy, but his character, Zastin, showed the most versatile personality. I thought in episode 1 that Zastin is going to be the authority figure who symbolize menace and destruction and he is not a force to be reckoned with. Episode 2 showed us that Zastin is actually a lot goofier than any of the characters in the show. Rito even managed to trick him into telling how to waive the engagement, which shows that despite his demeanor, he is not that bright. Takehito himself voices the character in two different ways, menacing and friendly, similar to what he did in Majin Tanei Nogami Neuro, and while this anime wasn’t up to cut, he at least made this episode of Love-Ru fun.

While I like Zastin, I can’t say the same about Mikan. In anime, and even in American cartoons as well, there is always the little sister or brother that acts 4 times his age in order to feel superior to his elders. Mikan acts that way when she puts down her brother every chance she has. She also the only one who notices Rito’s awkward behavior, which doesn’t necessarily state her intelligence, but the other characters’ ignorance. Little kids should act playful and innocent, not judgemental or know-it-alls, and the mangaka thought it’s okay to make the kid the only character who realizes everything. It is almost as cliched as a good guy who powers up before he dies in order to turn the table on his opponent. ALMOST.

Lala and Zastin are entertaining to watch and the goofy accidents Rito is being pulled off into makes to LOVE-Ru fun. For those who don’t like fanservice shows, please remove 2-3 points from my score. Nothing has changed to dissuade you from thinking it’s just a juvenile vile show for a less sophisticated crowd. Like I said, I agree, it’s pretty stupid. That being said, it’s at least fun enough for me to keep watching it.

7/10

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
OP: “Special Life!” by KOTOKO
ED: “Wakugai!! (ワクガイ！！)” by Yoshiki Fukuyama
Production: Madhouse
Kamen no Maid Guy

[ Episode 1: Nice to meet you, Master! ]

I don’t think I can come up with any line that can make this show make more sense, in the good sense of the word.

Maid shows. They can be fun like Kimi Aru, or dull like He is My Master. Either way you look at them, their premise is quite generic even if the show is good. No matter how funny something like Kimi Aru can be, people are still not going to bother watching it because of its simple premise. Thank god for something like Kamen no Maid Guy that actually brings a breath of fresh air to this tired genre. It has oodles of fan-service and ecchi, but thanks to one of the coolest and creepiest leads in a long time, it’s worth at least to watch this hilarious first episode.

Brought to you by studio Madhouse, the studio responsible to some of the best modern-day classics like Trigun, Death Note and Beyblad… really? They did Beyblade?! Oh my god you have got to be kidding me! Besides that, I have to say the animation is simple to their fares, but it’s very pleasant and not underwhelming like most comedies.

Naeka Fujiwara is our heroine. This busty teen is a kendo artist and also the heir of the Fujiwara fortune. Despite her prestigious family tree, she likes to live her life as humble as possible with her otaku brother Kosuke. To her misfortune, though, her grandfather is not content with their living conditions in their neglected house and decided the two need help. He hires two maids to help the siblings, one is the feminine Fubuki, a lovely maid who Kosuke immediately thanks his grandfather. The other maid, the one who suppose to fit to Naeka’s assertive nature who is a big fan of samurai folklore, is Kogarashi.

He is a 7ft muscle tower who has sharp shark teeth and wears a maid costume. Not a butler one, a MAID costume! Kogarashi’s aggressive nature isn’t to Naeka’s liking as he tends to examine her body and go through her undergarments every chance he has, in order to assure his master’s body will become better. Despite her hatred, what Naeka and Kosuke don’t know is that Kogarashi wasn’t hired to assist Fubuki in the house chores, but to be their bodyguard and protect them from any assassins who can put an end to their life and the Fujiwara legacy. I have to admit that I am intrigued by the premise of the show and how Kogarashi’s role fit into this. It is a comedy show, but it’s nice how the writers came up with a reasonable excuse to why Kogarashi is needed.

The gags are the driving force of Kamen no Maid Guy, and there are already a ton just in this episode, besides of Kogarashi’s analysis of Naeka’s body in a perverted yet refined method. Some of the more notable ones that involve Kogarashi and Fubuki preventing a girl from giving Naeka a drink that for their notion might be poisoned. The sudden shock on the girls while witnessing a giant knife piercing the container is funny, as is whenever he tries to eliminate any guys who try to get near her, thinking they might be assassins. Another funny joke that I liked is when Naeka doesn’t wake up in the morning, Kogarashi takes extreme measures by jamming a water pipe in between Naeka’s giant melons and turning on the valve. Hilarity ensues! If you like nonsense humor, by all means you are going to love this anime!

Not many big names are in this anime, most notable is Rikiya Koyama, taking the lead role of the barbaric beast Kogarashi. What’s funny is the fact the guy voices Captain Yamato from Naruto Shippuuden, an entirely different character when it comes to the tone and behavior. He also voices Shinigami-sama in the stylish new action show: Soul Eater. Wow, I have to say the guy is incredibly diverse. The OP is charming for a KOTOKO song, which is rare for me because I have never liked her that much, especially after the annoying Onegai Teacher song. This one reminds more of a Puffy song than her usual style. The ED sounds like its sung by Hironobu Kageyama of the DBZ craze, but it’s actually sung by Yoshiki Fukuyama. It’s worth mentioning that he is part of Hironobu’s band, JAM Project, coincidence? Even so, the song is surprisingly cryptic and has a dark tone it, especially the chorus. I love the swirling symboling in the background while featuring a fluid animation Naeka and Fubuki running away in terror from what appears to be Kogarashi.

Overall, Kogarashi is a beast, and the characters even treat him as such trying to paralyze him with a special whistle. Even so, thanks to his presence, Kamen no Maid Guy had a great first episode. However, I am concerned about what’s coming up next. The shock factor implemented by Kogarashi can easily lose steam in the coming episodes. As of now, however, I like the characters and the animation enough to keep blogging this one, all thanks to Kogarashi and a nice pair of breasts, hehehe.

8/10

[ Episode 25: Resonance -Echo to Eternity- ]

It took me a while to stop laughing before writing up this entry. Honestly, I was astounded by this episode and the finale. I can’t accurately put into words just how ridiculous everything was in this episode. I had feared the POWER OF LOVE was going to be used in the past two episodes but I had no idea it’d be this insane. What was the point of some of the things in here? Why did Nozaki have to sacrifice himself? It seemed pretty pointless to me. What the hell was that fight between Gio and Ostrum? Why did they suddenly start fighting upside-down with their legs like idiots? What was the purpose of using Garnet to stop Jin and Toa when all they had to do was make a sword of the POWER OF LOVE to get past her? Is it just me or was Mother/Thanatos suddenly realising ’she had been alone for too long’ far too convenient? I suppose the POWER OF LOVE was too much for her to bear.

Don’t get me started on the ridiculous numbers game either. 6 BILLION dragons? Then later on it was 19,999,999,999 BILLION? LOL! Why even show Kazuki trying to do something when all it did was FAIL? I just don’t get it. Thanatos left to contemplate on the concept of love and Gio went god knows where at the end. Everyone else is doing alright, Machina and Akira are happy that everyone is happy (their appearance is probably one of the only things I liked about the episode) and Jin and Toa will be together forever. Oh yeah, did I mention that Toa’s Stigmata was removed thanks to the POWER OF LOVE? Oh yes, it’s true. It’s damn true.

[ Final Thoughts ]

You know, by the time I saw the train starting to wreck it was already too late. I had already put in the time to watching this and felt that it would have been pointless to just stop watching. If I could time travel right now I’d go back to that point in time and shoot myself in the head. Honestly, Dragonaut started out with a great cast and beaming with potential but somewhere along the ride it just went bad. There are just too many things I can mention that contributed to this but it doesn’t really matter at this point and you can easily see them by looking back at my entries because I didn’t hesitate to point them out. What did I like the most about this series? Garnet. No it wasn’t JUST because of her huge chocolate boobs either. It was because her personality and demeanor suited my tastes of powerful women and her design was the most interesting in the entire series. It was a pity that her character wasn’t used for bigger and better things which were hinted at and then totally forgotten earlier in the series. I also liked the music so picking up the soundtrack is something I must do later.

So, the question is: Would I recommend this series? Oh yes I would. If you’re looking for some giggles and don’t mind sacrificing time you won’t ever get back, then this is definitely up your alley. Do skip all of the Kazuki scenes though. He’s one of the worst characters ever made and is made of FAIL and jokes.

Of course if you like breasts then I wholeheartedly recommend this without a doubt. Just don’t hurt yourself admiring them.

[Overall series review: 55/100]

Series Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Genres:
OP: [perfect blue] by Jazzin’ Park
ED: [Rain Of Love] by Yukari Fukui
DRAGONAUT 公式ホームページ

[ Episode 1: Resonance - Joined Hands - ]

Jin and Toa are looking to be the cutest couple in a while. Additionally, I must be in heaven because I see breasts everywhere. ^__^

Jin is so far an interesting guy but I’m really into Toa and Garnet. Toa’s display of her superhuman abilities were just awesome. I’m interested in knowing more about her being a Communicator. For some reason I thought of Gundam SEED/Coordinator when I first heard it, lol. Jin is going to be one lucky bastard if he manages to get her affections. Not that he isn’t already lucky as he did survive an explosion in a plane that must have been at least 10,000 ft in the air. Anyways, Garnet is just freaking awesome. Yes, I’m talking absolutely fucking hot, purple/pink haired, busty and brown beauty who happens to be the antagonist being voiced by none other than Hirano Aya. Who would have thought?! I’m going to enjoy seeing her character each and every time she appears. Overall, the cast is great especially with Minori providing Toa’s sweet and lovely voice, Aya voicing the sizzling sexy antagonist, and the rest of the SOS-Dan being lending their talents to the characters.

As for the OP, it is just awesome. Along with the OP for BLUE DROP this is among the best so far. I expect CLANNAD and Shana’s to be in the same group. I’m going to enjoy watching this series as it has had one of the best starts of the season. I’m not a critic of GONZO either so their involvement in this doesn’t bother me at all. And I think I’m going to enjoy seeing so many breasts at least once a week from Dragonaut. Now I’ll hand it over to Youko.

Youko: Splendid show it was, and most premieres are never so splendid. First of all, it really sucks hard that Jin lost his entire family in that accident, which startled me a bit. They must’ve been 10,000 of feet high and falling from that height is just… well damn.

Toa is much more interesting than what we knew from the trailer, which was practically nothing but a soft, sweet voice. Now we know she even has superhuman physical traits as well. Nice. Now I do wonder just what in the hell these monsters are, but I’m fairly certain that will be explained later.

Other than the episode itself, the OP is magnificent. I very much love it so. Also, the seiyuu and their roles are damn awesome. A little bit of Aaya (a fucking hot-ass pink-haired busty woman antagonist?!) and Gotou, and even Minorin. But wow Nana is game too (goth girl). I should’ve expected this seeing as how the character design is the same person responsible for Witchblade (Uno Makoto), but wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many mune every 5 minutes.