Have you ever watched an anime that you got really emotionally attached to and thought was a masterpiece but then it slapped you with an ending so abhorrent that you wanted to drive a garlic smeared stake through your heart? Yes/No? Well, that's pretty much the whole 'Mahoromatic' series in a nutshell. Also, as you might have already worked out, I will be reviewing both the first and second seasons of this anime. All right, let's do this.
'Mahoromatic' has a very interesting premise and story, to say the least. The heroine is a combat android, Mahoro, at the end of her operational lifespan (a little over a year remaining to be precise) who decides to retire and live as a normal human being. She has been working all her life for an agency that fights off alien invaders with high tech weaponry, androids being one of those. Now that draws you in because first of all, you want to know more about her past. Secondly, it gives the series a bittersweet tone because it constantly reminds you that her time is running out and sooner or later, she'll be dead.
Enter Misato Suguru, the protagonist. Nothing special about him to be honest. Average lanky teenager living in a messy house. But there has to be a catch for the story to work right? There is. Mahoro starts working for Suguru as his maid through her agency. Lo and behold, the story is established.
From that point on the two have various adventures as Mahoro's counter gets ever closer to that dreaded "day 0". That being said, there are a lot of twists in 'Mahoromatic'. A LOT. I personally enjoyed it because it makes the anime unpredictable and keeps you on your toes all throughout. You might try to figure out the story ahead of the episode you've just viewed but trust me, you won't. I applaud the writer's courage to not be afraid to step out of the status quo with the story and surprise the viewers.
As for the characters themselves, they're very original and likeable. Mahoro is a shining example of morality and chivalry. To supplement that, she's extremely strong and the fighting scenes featuring her are a true spectacle. Suguru is a bit of a weakling, but will arise to the challenge like a true man when the need arises. We also have a horde of supporting characters like Slash (Mahoro's support mech who always comes up with some hilarious shenanigans), Hamaguchi (closet pervert), Kawahara(closet pervert's sidekick), Rin... Saori Shikijo (no comment). Needless to say the cast is diverse and largely original.
The art might not be flawless but it's up there. The characters and backgrounds have been carefully drawn but the pièce de résistance in 'Mahoromatic' are the fighting scenes. More specifically, Mahoro's fighting scenes. They are godly. Michael Bay would be very impressed if he ever sat through the 1st and 2nd seasons of 'Mahoromatic'. Explosions, bullets swirling through air, epic hand to hand combat... I live for this shit!
Likewise the sound department is an another strong point of this anime. Apart from the flawless and I mean fucking FLAWLESS voice acting; I'll have you know that Mahoromatic features authentic laughter. Yes, people laughing whilst talking, trying to hold laughter in etc. People talking over each other! No shit? Yes, no other anime does that. Every anime has characters talking in a sequence so it appears unrealistically perfect, i.e characters always know when to start speaking so they don't interrupt each other. No such problem here. The OST is fairly solid too and features some emotionally engaging music so a solid 10 points for the sound department.
And now we come to the enjoyment section and also full circle to the first statement I made in this review. Yes, the ending is absolutely horrible. I wanted to give this anime a full 10. A masterpiece. In fact, 95% of my way through this series I still believed that this was going to be the 11th anime I've given a full score to. Nope. Not a chance, and this is the reason why I've lowered the rating for the story from 10 to 8.
Don't get me wrong though, 'Mahoromatic' is enjoyable and features a very original plot, original characters and it is an anime that will draw you in from the very start but the ending ruins everything. Everything that this series has worked hard for is ruined in the last episode of the second season. The dreaded episode 14.
"I've got one weird grim reaper lookin' over my shoulder." Remember this? Yeah, it pretty much sums up what you'll feel like after watching the last episode of this anime. So please if you ever watch 'Mahoromatic', stop at episode 13 of the second season. It'll give you a more satisfying ending, ironically.
Overall, 9 points.
