Ranked #721

Mahoraba ~Heartful days~

When I was younger, people often treated mental illnesses as if they were a joke or an excuse. People suffering from depression were often called lazy, schizophreniacs were shunned, more serious cases of mental illnesses were put away - out of sight, out of mind. Because of these beliefs, and because of some atrocious acts which were sensationalised through national media, all mental illnesses became tarred with the same brush. It's only in the last few years that society has become more accepting and understanding of the suffering caused by mental illnesses on the part of those suffering from them, and those who care for, and about, the sufferers.

You may think this is a bit of a serious note to begin a review of a comedy anime, but it has a point to it. See most forms of visual entertainment still protray certain forms of mental illnesses to be something dark or evil. Granted they may be caused by some traumatic event(s), but that doesn't mean being crazy is necessarily a bad thing (take it from one who knows).

With this in mind, I'll begin the review.

Mahoraba is a rare anime, and an absolute gem. The story is about Shiratori Ryushi, an aspiring children's book author, and his encounters with the people who live in Narutakisou, the apartment block where he has moved to while he attends art school. Most especially the story is about the relationship between him and his cousin, Aoba Kozue, and this is the key part of the story (I'll explain why in a second).

At first glance the story looks to be the same as shows like Love Hina, but looks can be deceiving. This show is so much more than that, and the dimensions that are added to the story are rooted in the fact that Aoba Kozue suffers from a serious mental illness - she has Multiple Personality Disorder, brought on by a traunatic event in her childhood. Aoba Kozue is, in effect, five main characters at once.

What I liked most about the story was the fact that it approached the subject of mental illness in a far more sensitive manner than most other shows - anime or otherwise. The story allows the characters to develop their relationships with each other, and shows how they cope with the fact that someone they care about suffers from such a serious disorder.

The art style is very clean and colourful, but what I especially liked was the way they inserted 4 koma manga into an anime (you'll find one in almost every episode and they're highly amusing). I also liked the way the childrens story (which becomes a main theme of the show at the end), is depicted.

The sound is of a very good standard. The music is very complementary to the show,and the sound effects are used very well. The characters voices don't grate on the ears (unlike a certain Oribe Aoi from Myself;Yourself).

The main reason why this show is so likeable, other than the story, is the characters themselves. Once you're familiar with the characters you'll realise that this is no Love Hina by any measure - this is better. The two (or six) main characters are likable enough. Ryushi isn't as much of a loser as Keitaro, and Kozue is way nicer than Narusegawa. The other characters in the show are just as likeable, and have their own personalities, likes, dislikes, etc. Not one of the characters is boring in this show ( I have to admit that my two favourite characters are Konno Natsume - one of Kozue's personalities who sprouts flowers out of the top of her head when she's happy, and Erika Vermillion - the masochistic head of the Occult club of which both Kozue and Tamami are members).

This anime won't appeal to everyone. I found this to be a funny, sweet, and above all sensitive comedy about caring for a person with a mental illness, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It may not be realistic in certain ways, but I don't think it was ever meant to be. I found many of the scenes to be extremely funny, and the scripting is very well done for a show like this. The dialogue between the characters is often highly amusing, and this, coupled with some of the "insane" antics the residents of Narutakisou get up to meant this show was never boring.

It's nice to finally see a show where mental illness is treated with sensitivity and humour instead of the typical "he/she is crazy and trying to take over/destroy the world", or "must kill Makoto and/or Sekai", etc. read more

When watching an anime series, above all else, there are really only two important distinguishing qualities that make good anime great: storyline and character. What makes Mahoraba absolutely a joy to watch is the cast of dynamic characters who we learn to love throughout the series. The characters in Mahoraba are very unique but genuine. They each have their own quirks and faults and as the story progresses, we learn a little more about each of them. It's funny how in the first few episodes, everyone tends to pick their favorites. I did the same thing, and there were even a few that I didn't particularly like at first. However, as I learned more about all the characters, I found towards the end that I loved all of them for their silly faults.

Mahoraba can be arguably a romantic comedy (less romance, more comedy), but I would rather say it's along the lines of a "slice of life." Interestingly enough, the anime didn't follow a story, but rather the characters in the story. Afterall, it's the characters in Mahoraba that make it Heartful Days. Each episode is filled with laughter and wisdom. We learn more of each character, and, in a way, learn more about ourselves. Although the anime has a loose storyline, it still feels amazingly coherent, so overall, it doesn't take anything away from the anime at all.

The majority of the story is focused around Aoba Kozue, the cute young landlady of Narutaki-Sou. Although she is not the main character of the story, she is very unique and important to all the members of Narutaki-Sou including Shiratori, the main character and new tenant of the apartments. As the story progresses, we learn more of Kozue especially of her personality disorder. However, the way it is presented, Kozue's disorder doesn't seem like a burden, but rather a joy. Perhaps in some ways she may seem very naive at times, but her ability to make the best of everything and smile makes us smile as well.

The art and sound is nothing out of the ordinary. Generally, most will find that all of the characters are very cute (especially when eating umeboshi). The artwork it self is very pleasing to the eyes, and the silly 4-panel manga portion typically in the middle of an episode are often hilarious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. If you like unique virtuous characters that make you laugh, I'd definitely recommend this anime. In any case, I would say, give it a shot. You won't regret it.
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Basically, the reason you never heard of it was because it's nothing special, you're not missing out... so feel free to skip this. It's like below luke-warm. I personally find it pointless. I think it's for children so if you're the intended audience you may enjoy it. But by all means there are anime aimed at cihldren that own this show.

Episodes
The first 4 eps make you think there's a plot which seems interesting and "original" though chlidsh but then it doesn't develop into a story or anything thus, no story. So it ends up being episodic : slow-paced and just plain boring at times. There's no peak, peaking, hill, a mound, anything. This show is just flat, flat as the loli's characters' && or did they have some, i dun rememeber. probably not cuz they loli. but anyways NO STORY.

And for some reason there's like wannabe ecchi, wannabe perverted stuff put in sporadically and it takes away from the atmosphere. But seriously, this anime is NOT ecchi, it has no fan-service...

To break it down more specifically:
it generally follows this formula: main character wakes up, goes to art school, his teacher takes him into a closet and does who knows what to him, goes home, one of the girls ask him for help, he helps them after being blackmailed or being forced to, then an unwanted party in his room, repeat. in other words, boring...

It's episodic light-hearted filler and it's just not that entertaining. I suppose a couple episodes are good as far as "amusing" enough.

Comedy, like everything else, is light, fluff, not that funny. The jokes fell flat on their faces half the time despite how "cute" some of them are and I don't think anything made me laugh really or anything. Eventually the jokes are predictable, uninteresting. I got the sense that they were trying too hard to be funny sometimes, the forced thing where it feels like they're emphasizing the joke in some desperation to make you notice the joke more though I already processed it and found it not funny.
I think some of comedy involves bullying the main character who is obviously a guy (Well I didn't laugh.). It's just dumb, lame, unfunny, irritating, frustrating, pointless especially when it's for no decent reason. Actually this may be in every episode, it's pretty annoying to watch. But honestly it's nothing compared to the infamous Love Hina.

As for the romance, pretty much none since it's light-hearted fluff. I didn't care if what's his face and what's her face got together.

Characters
They remind me of love hina characters. You can have love hina characters on one side and mahoraba characters on the other and you can just connect one to another (on the characters' looks/personality/tendencies). But anyways unlike those loathsome, irritating love hina characters, mahoraba characters are likable. But really, I don't care for them that much. They were all different though at the same time a little stereotypical. Well, the main "girl" character is an interesting character which has to do with that interesting plot I mentioned earlier, which they didn't utilize and actually take it somewhere. Each character is "out" there, with some strange personalities/tendencies/etc and they are quite possibly disturbing if you take them seriously. in other words most of the characters have some form of mental illness, which isn't something you can really joke about. Something about it just seems off... I suppose the only exception is the male lead who is a doormat. Just flat, superficial, whatever... type impression.

the main character is pretty worthless. he doenst really have any shining qualities. whenever he helps anyone, it's always out of reluctance. also, he gets pushed around by always letting people party in his room. i wonder why he still lives there, he claims to be happy because he's making memories, whether theyre good or bad. but so far, it seems not much has been going well for him. It just seems funny (laughing at the show) how its theme/goal is contrdicted by the characters.

SOUND
It's fitting like the opening which goes with the show. The BMG is okay, actually it gets annoying after a while.

Animation
Eh, it fits. Everyone is drawn chibi style and look like they're 12 or younger, and they're not. It's just cute. The use of the storybook thing was a good effect though.

It's forgettable and I couldn't care for it much.There's just better light-hearted, cheer-upper, happy, comedy, slice of life anime out there so... watch any of those. like gokujou seitokai

on a random note, from my memory I tihkn this show is/was less boring than honey & clover not that I'm saying watch this instaed of that or this is better. just to give a positive point, not that it's hard to be less boring than H&C read more

Honestly I look at this entire series as the Cutest case of multiple personality disorder ever.
It's a light hearted .. and truely funny and endearing tale of a boy who wants to write childrens books .. and the crazy people he lives with.
If you want to focus on the 2nd main character and her personalities .. thats great .. each one of them is great in a crazy way .. :D

But honestly if your looking for a accurate portrayal of MPD... then go read a medical journal ...

Antipanda Highly Recommends this series for a good laugh and some really interesting characters. :D

9 - out of - 10 read more

There are many different things that make a show stand out, and for that same reason there can be just as many different opinions for a given show. As for me, I'm a sucker for intriguing, well-developed characters that stick around in your head long after you've finished the show, and Mahoraba just happens to offer such characters.

On the surface, Mahoraba is a story of the main character Shiratori Ryushi's stay at the Naritakisou apartment, the real focus of the show is on its dynamic gang of side characters. While it is easy to present a bunch of easily likable characters that offer some additional dimensions to a show, Mahoraba takes those characters and use them as the foundation upon which the show is built. In that sense, Mahoraba can be considered a true "people's story". Each character is developed, episode by episode, and the story naturally with it. Rather than being the device through which the plot is progressed, the characters themselves are the plot, the story, the show. Therefore, while the show's story itself may not be as groundbreaking as those found in other genres, it is the ride itself, not the destination, that is the most enjoyable about the show.

The pitfall of such a series, of course, is that it could be easily dismissed as "boring" and being a "show about nothing" (see also: Aria, Sketchbook). At first, I myself found Mahoraba's 26 episodes to be an intimidating lot to tackle. So many slice of life shows of such length end up losing its momentum too quickly and becoming redundant after the 13 episode mark, and finishing the rest of the show becomes an arduous task. Mahoraba takes the opposite approach, starting somewhat slowly, with a narrow focus on the two main characters Shiratori and the landlady Kozue, with the side characters acting more as comedic relief and background scenery. However, as the show progresses, the side characters are revealed in greater depth to the viewer, and more and more entwined unto the story, and that's where the show really reaches its high point. Kozue becomes the key character who brings forth and ties together the characters' tales, and entwines them into a coherent knot. At the end of Mahoraba, you don't feel like you've watched anything life-changing, or even memorable for that matter. However, upon looking back at the series, you do realize that Mahoraba takes you through each resident of Naritakisou as if you were living there yourself, and the twenty six episodes feel as though they've passed by seamlessly, even though you can't seem to recall anything happening at all.

Mahoraba is a slice of life story in the most literal sense. The show chronicles the lives of its characters, past and present, utilizing the two main characters and something of a storyline to do so. And just like in real life, though the details of your encounter with someone may be quickly lost, the memories of them, what they represent and the emotions they evoked, linger in your mind long after, and that's why Mahoraba still stands out in my mind, even long after I've watched it, and will continue to do so. read more