Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful

Something More Beautiful is basically the sequal series/ second season of Mahoromatic. What we have is basically Mahoromatic with more odd characters, more dirty fantasies from the ever-insane Ms. Shikijou and ever more dramatic storylines with comedy sprinkled all over the place. No big surprises there. The animation quality is just about the same as the first season, so I don't think I really need to say anything more about that. The music in the show is also the same, down to the style of the opening theme and ending theme, except that I liked the season 2 opening tune a lot better, and I really don't like the ending theme to this series at all.

The new character, Minawa, isn't the most interesting of characters. She's just too quiet and soft-spoken and has that typical clumsiness that goes with personalities like that, although I will admit that the sheer amount of mayhem her clumsiness results in are rather amusing at times. I'm happier to see that Ryuga is still around, though, having decided to keep his job as a teacher at the school Suguru attend. As the leading representative of the alien organization Saints, his interactions with Mahoro and her panther sidekick Slash amuse me to no end.

To put it shortly, what's here is pretty much the same stuff going on as what went on in season 1, with this new, mysterious human organization taking over where the Saints left off to keep the suspense at the same level. The comedy is pretty much about the same things, but with Minawa's clumsy actions thrown in. The ecchi levels are about the same, lots of boob-shots and nudity of the not-quite-full-frontal variety. However, the ending really threw me for a loop when it arrived. I won't spoil it for you, but I suggest you brace yourself, because it was really jarring and I certainly didn't see it coming. I'm not saying it is bad, but there might be people who won't appreciate it.

Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden

Mahoromatic is a fun little anime. Nothing too serious, but at the same time it has it's share of drama & sci-fi action. I started watching it because I've enjoyed what I seen from studio Gainax puts out, so I was sure I'd enjoy it, and also because this is something else my friend randomly lent me. The series begins with Mahoro, finished with her duties as a battle android for a secret organization known as Vespa. She is asked by her superiors an important question that will decide her fate. Will she continue to work for Vespa, or will she leave and live her own life how she chooses? The main reason she is posed with this question is because her life span is about to end in less than 300 days. She decides to leave Vespa and go work for a young boy named Suguru, whose mother passed away shortly after his father died, and he has been raising himself for the last 2 years.

Through my group of friends, I seen bits and pieces of a lot of anime shows are centered around a main character being a maid and Mahoromatic is, in my opinion, easily the best "maid anime" out there (it's also so far the only one I've seen all the way through). Mostly because it doesn't follow the standard of most other maid anime. There is the typical "oh master, let me wash your dishes and cook your dinner" and "please take care of yourself, I'd die if anything were to happen to you", that personifies this genre, but that's not what you'll remember when the show ends. This series is hilarious. It features buckets of ecchi humor, and sexual jokes...lots of sexual jokes. The first half of the series is mostly character introduction, but the story picks up in the last few episodes. The first half of the series is also more comedic, while the latter half becomes more serious and action oriented, almost to point that feels like a slightly different show. This series isn't for everyone, but if your in the mood for a really silly, romantic anime, this one is right up your alley.