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

Talk about the surprise of the year.

When I came across Maid Guy, I was somewhat confused on how to approach it. Rather than comparing to a more traditional comedy like the other maid show I have reviewed here, it is best to look at it as a nonsense comedy. Those can be a hit or a miss, and with the combination of funny characters and outrageous jokes and situations any show can shine. Kamen no Maid Guy, despite a rocky middle, is such a show.

The show, while not have a massive character list, has enough to keep us entertained. Naeka Fujiwara is our main busty heroine. It is very common in anime to comment on big chest, and with Naeka, not only they do that, they have a breast joke at least once an episode. Thankfully her innocent yet fiery personality keeps her amusing. She is also a little stupid which is quite a refreshing change to have a dimwitted master helped by a capable maid rather than have the master an accomplished and rich individual. Her brother, Kousuke, is your ordinary obese Otaku and he is pretty much the guy that reacts the same way we usually do when one of the busty characters do something perverted. There is also Fubuki, the beautiful house maid. Quiet and serene on the outside and deadly on the inside. She is the voice of sense in the series and is the perfect opposite to the show’s real star, the maid guy himself, Kogarashi.

So what makes the maid guy character works so wonderfully? His character. I don’t recall in any anime, especially the comedy genre that has maids or school in it, a 7ft tall giant wearing a mask and has the creepiest smile. While Kogarashi is creepy, you can’t help but to come to like the guy for his shenanigans. Despite the results and beatings he gets, all he really wants is to help, just in a way that no normal human being can tolerate. Rikiya Koyama, his Seiyuu, did an amazing job with his voice and demeanor, making the character even more memorable, especially with his “kukuku” laugh. I have to say he is the most enjoyable character that I had fun watching since Norio Wakamoto’s Onsokumaru from 2×2 Shinobuden.

Not everything works perfectly, though. As some of the characters feel like a rehash. Elizabeth Strawberryfield is a shine example, as she has been Naeka primary rival in the show. While she is entertaining at times, she is cliche as she acts like any spoiled child prodigy, but at episode 8 there are signs that deep inside she is just a little girl with ridiculous dreams. There is also the obligatory lesbian that shows up and her obsession with the heroine, but with her, it’s too much too soon. What’s great is that the writers realized it too and thankfully there isn’t much of her after episode 7. Some characters are great, like the Fujiwara-boob club trio that salivate over Naeka’s boobs. I was even surprised that not only Kousuke doesn’t get his own episode, but the leader of the group gets to shine instead.

Another problem, that are much less troublesome, is the lack of the main premise in the middle of the show. While the first and final episode emphasize how much Naeka is the next successor to her family’s fortune, the show doesn’t create a true danger to her considering she has Kogarashi and Fubuki to protect her. Even when Kogarashi gets his own rival, they never fight and there isn’t a sense of closure. That can also be a sign for a second season, considering Maid Guy’s final words: “See you again!”. If there is ever going to be a second season, I wish more action in addition to the comedy. Boobs are great, but I’d like to see Kogarashi, despite his immense amount of senses, struggles against an equal foe.

Kamen no Maid Guy is for people who don’t take stuff too seriously and just want to have fun. While the first 3 episodes are fun, the 2 afterwards aren’t as funny and it seems to run out of steam quickly, but once episode 6 kicks in the series gets back on its feet and 9 to the end are a blast to watch despite the lack of a climax. I not only recommend the show, I believe it’s the best comedy anime that I have seen this year.

80/100

[ Episode 6: The Clumsy Maid Girl That Doesn't Look Back ]

Nothing like scaring a girl to death by inserting her the shocking images if she was flat-chested.

Secondary characters in comedy anime can either help a lot or ruin the entire pace and humor… Thank god this episode lacks any characters besides the 4 main characters (yes, that includes Kosuke). Thanks to that, this episode of Kamen no Maid Guy was simple and wasn’t confusing or felt rehashed in any way. Because of the simplicity, I can say it’s best episode of the show since the 2nd episode.

This episode is divided to two stories, but unlike the 11th episode of KimiAru, there is an actual connection between the two. First, Naeka is shocked to learn she is an excess weight when she tries to get in an elevator packed with people, so she declares a diet regime in the Fujiwara house, much to Kosuke’s dismay. This leads to Naeka’s decision to fast, which Fubuki agrees with her as it turns out she isn’t as nimble as she appears to be. It’s up to Kogarashi to convince the two girls that fasting isn’t the answer and it’ll lead to their biggest nightmare: SMALLER BREASTS!

The second story picks up when the first one ended, Fubuki feels sick after the fasting and from a prior cold. Naeka decides to help her, but as we already established by this episode, whenever she tries to help, chaos ensues. It’s up to Kogarashi to gather Fubuki the herbs she needs in order to recover. I won’t say exactly how that turned out, but you can expect it’s anything but normal.

This episode, despite the initial emphasis on Naeka, is centered on Fubuki. Throughout the episode there are notes that have the rules of a maid written on them. They explain the basis on how she complies to her masters completely, and also emphasize that, and I quote, “no one will remember her when she dies”. I also think the narrator of those notes is the same Seiyuu who does Kenpachi in Bleach, but I am not 100% sure.

The funniest scene in the episode was courtesy of our fat otaku Kosuke. At first he embraced the diet regime and as a result it showed excellent result with him not only looking thinner, but sounding like a hunk. It was even funnier to see his appetite hasn’t change despite that and it took a few coke bottles for him to revert to his original fat form. Kogarashi didn’t get that much screen time, but it was funny how he made himself light during the weigh-in. Everything this guy does is abnormal and in a way I see an Onsokumaru in him. Sure he is much kinder than the perverted blob, but when it comes to insanity and presence you can easily put them in the same league above everyone.

Despite the lack of Kogarashi, it was a simple and fun episode. Next episode is going to mark a new arc (In that kind of a show? wow.) so we’ll see how that goes.

7.5/10

P.S.

I decided to stop blogging To LOVE-Ru. I found the last episodes to be ridiculous and downright unfunny. I will still watch it and probably review it in the end, but as of now, Kamen no Maid Guy is clearly better.

[ Episode 4: Maid Ninpou, High School Girl Technique ]

Besides this sentence, this review will not include the words tentacle rape.

Secondary characters in comedy anime can either help a lot or ruin the entire pace and humor. I have to say the last two episode depressed me with the questionable additions of Miyu… er… Elizabeth and the Lesbian. The latter, unfortunately, had a prominent role in this episode. Thankfully, if you recall, I like the maid of Liz because of her goofy personality, and to make her stand out more, she has a sister who is a complete contrast to her.

Liz orders Shizuku (the peppy maid ninja) and Tsurara (the serious one) to try and eliminate Naeka once again. In order to do that they decide to snatch security videos that were installed around her house. Unfortunately, to their dismay (and to the Lesbian who tries hardly to see her big breasted idol naked), Maid Guy installed a virus that allowed him to project his voice to whoever penetrates the system and cause them momentary paralysis. The ninjas decide to go undercover and dress as school girls, but that doesn’t work very well as Naeka and her Kendo club easily notice that Tsurara is older than any of them. Shizuku tries to look for Naeka to find the Lesbian with the NBC (Naeka Boob Club) paralyzed as she notices Kamen no Maid Guy is crammed in Naeka’s locker. Before he managed to paralyze her again, Tsurara comes and prevents it. The two fight and although Tsurara makes an impressive effort, she is no match for Kogarashi and his 30 (!) senses. The scheme has been foiled again and as expected, Tsurara wants revenge like a typical bad guy.

What’s nice about Tsurara is how much resemblance she has to Mushashi\Jesse from Pokemon. They got the same hair color, the same bossy attitude, the same creepy expressions, all that’s left is just a longer hair and it’s perfect. But despite that, the dynamic between the two sister is what helped this episode being nothing more than just another episode. Naeka, Kosuke and Fubuki took a back seat this time and my least favorite character got most of the spotlight. I like the show a lot, but I still cannot stand those overly sexed girls who’ll smear themselves on a chick. At least in a show like Bleach the girl is actually funny and tells some sexual innuendo jokes or get punched for groping a boob, but this doesn’t happen hear.

Other than that, the pace was rather slow this time and it didn’t really feel anything has happened. If it weren’t for the two ninja sisters, I doubt if this episode would have as much as charm. Even the maid guy voice joke ran out of steam after the second time. Here’s hoping the next one will be better.

6.5/10

[ Episode 4: Thongs and Big Breasts ]

The maid with the awesome hair.

If you know how a sequence works, you bet the score I’m going to give the fourth episode of Kamen no Maid Guy is going to be 6.5. I expected it as well, but it turned out this installment was rather amusing even with a bratty new character.

Underwear thieves (don’t get me started on this one!) ravage Naeka’s house, but thankfully Kogarashi prevented them from doing any damage. One of them escapes with Naeka’s panties only to be stopped by a blonde young girl. The same girl turns out to be Elizabeth Strawberry (which is a clear pun on her strawberry panties) who seeks out Naeka and challenges her to a Kendo duel, but what appears to be a regular match turns out to be Liz’s ulterior motive to control the fortune of the Fujiwara family. Add in a cool haired assistant, band of crows and the eternally amusing Kogarashi and you got another fun episode.

For one, this is the first episode that involved actual battles. Besides the first two rounds, the Kendo match between Naeka and Liz was intriguing enough even if it wasn’t displayed in full. Kogarashi’s encounter with Liz’s assistant turned out to be as fast paced as it had a funny ending appropriate to the show’s humor. The panties are the main joke of the episode, and it’s hard for a guy like me to understand why Japan love panties so much? It’s like if you saw a napkin full of snot that has been used by a famous rocker, it might be cool, but it’s a little underwhelming in the big picture. Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, the main joke that cracked me up is when Liz offered Naeka’s panties to the crowd, the “Naeka Boob club” refused to accept them because they are only interested in her boobs. Say what you want about that trio, but at least they are true to their words. The joke turns better in the end when Kogarashi sends the crows in, which made it unpredictable and retained the show fresh despite retelling an old anime cliche.

In fact, the only bad thing I can say about this episode is Liz. It’s hard to like her, especially for me because she reminds me a lot of Miyu from Kimi Aru. She has the same pigtails as her, she is short and flat chested, she is a prodigy and she even has a voice that sounds A LOT like Yuko Goto (even though it’s not her). Only difference is that she is only 13 and yet she acts high and mighty and even though she gets her punishment for her behavior, she remains the same spoiled brat that gets whatever she wants. I am a little sad when Fubuki stopped Kogarashi from checking her panties because maybe then the girl will have some change of character, but I can let it slide. Considering the fact she has a relation to the Fujiwara family, she may become interesting later on.

Good episode, not without its flaws. By this point I can say this is the best fan-service show one can watch. It’s funny, the plots are quirky but understandable and Kogarashi’s presence can make even the gloomiest convict act like Mr. Rogers.

7/10

[ Episode 3: Don't Stop the Romance? ]

My maid guy senses are tingling!

I was right on the money when I said the quality of this show will go downhill slowly as the outrageousness of Kamen no Maid Guy slowly starts to run out of steam as this episode wasn’t as funny as the previous two episodes. That being said, it was a good episode, albeit cliched.

This is your standard “girl gets a love letter from a secret admirer” combined with “girl cannot love anymore because of a horrible turn of events”. It was quite funny that Naeka seemed so heartbroken when she held the letter in her room and reminisced the memories of her kendo Senpai whom she loved, so you bet something emotional happened between the two, only to find out, she “poisoned” his fried shrimp. I should know by now this series won’t be serious any time soon, but it was amusing. I like the fact that despite Naeka’s relation to a rich family, she is far from perfect as we learned that besides being hot tempered and dumb, she is also a terrible cook. The fact she isn’t the perfect lady makes the character look like a regular girl and make her more likable.

Kogarashi steals the show once again, but this time his role is minor as this episode revolves more about Naeka. This is the second episode he tries a potion on Naeka, but this time she drinks it and it causes her to become a sex vixen, literally. Fubuki had to tame her, Kogarashi and even Kosuke (who wouldn’t resist taking pictures of the two ladies grinding their boobs at each other… YURI!) to submission. I think this lady is a lot deadlier than Kogarashi. Kogarashi pulled off the ultimate joke as despite the “surprise” that suitor is actually a girl and not a guy and it is clear we are having another Tomoyo-syndrome (Card Captor Sakura reference people), it was nice he maid the room for the two of them, which add more sass to the joke that would be stale overall.

It was a good episode, but not remarkable. I just hope my score won’t go down by .5 anymore and it’ll remain in the 7-8 area.

7/10

[ Episode 2: Expert of loving HUGE Breasts ]

Massachu…setsu?

If there is one word I can describe Kamen no Maid Guy by is ridiculous. Don’t watch this show if you expect witty humor or clever characters, just nonsense. This episode proved to be quite ridiculous, even more than the first one, but the funny part is although the episode has the word “breasts” in the title and does rely on a few boob jokes, it’s not just a fan-service festival.

Naeka’s math grades are poor and her friends have a theory for that: math grades and breast size are inversely proportional, means the worse the grade are, the bigger the boobs. Naeka is upset about that, especially after her so-called friend say that if she fails the next exam, not only she won’t participate in Kendo, but her body will be sold to the male Kendo team. She seeks help from Fubuki, but she blushes as it turns out her bust size is as big as her (which is a surprise since they were smaller on episode 1, maybe it’s the clothes). The only one that can help Naeka is Kogarashi, that despite his scary demeanor, was actually a teacher in MIT. Tutoring, Energy drinks and even transferring data from his brain via USB Cable (who comes up with this crap?!) come to no avail. After all his harassing attempts rendered useless to Naeka’s procrastination, Fubuki steps up to help. By virtually shrinking her breasts, Fubuki think it’s counter the theory, as she tries to tape the mounds of flesh tightly. Unfortunately Naeka’s bust… busts throught it. Kogarashi tries something else and give her a breast plate (1 out of 5 reader have laughed during the last 2 sentences, I bet) to hold her chest, and it does work… for a short time until it bursts right during the test.

To call this episode crazy is like calling Lelouch a megalomaniac, can’t get more obvious. I do want to stress out that as ridiculous as this episode was, it was highly entertaining. I don’t mind nonsense as long as the jokes as funny, because there are times when there a gag after gag that don’t make any sense, I am looking at you Super Milk Chan! Kamen no Maid Guy at least ties a story up, silly premise notewhistanding. What funny is that the boob jokes are not what’s funny about the episode, but all the gags that relate to Naeka’s attempts to become smarter, although the final breast joke is funny.

Kogarashi himself is proved to be the smarter one in the Fujiwara household as he is the knowledgeable one. It is a nice twist that I am content with considering the brute image can dry up rather quickly. While Kogarashi’s image is seen in a brighter light, Naeka was portrayed as a desperate airhead with big boobs rather than a decisive and assertive girl that we came to know in episode 1. Fubuki will probably remain the same as she always is, but it was funny to see how the only person who can counter Kogarashi effectively is stupid because of her big boobs. To sum it up, although the two ladies treated him as a beast, they ended up being schooled by him as he is more competent than they were. Irony in its best!

By now I think Kamen no Maid Guy is the best fan-service show this spring season, mainly because of Kogarashi. If he wasn’t interfering with Naeka’s life, I doubt if the series would have as big as an impact. If the writers maintain the energy, we’ll have a winner.

7.5/10