Hanaukyou Maid-tai

First off I will say I orginally planned on watching this because I knew there was a newer version where it was apparently remade. It was my plan to watch this and then it's remake to see how much it had improved but in the end after watching this I couldn't even begin to think about watching a remake because of how mediocre and unentertaining this was. Not to mention each episode was incredibly short and there were two extra episodes not accounted for that I had to watch.
Story- Okay this is starting to become a very generic story line where boy inherits manner with ... maids money yadda yadda etc nothing new to anybody. We have our main character who's grandpa died and left him with a huge fortune and manner full of maids to "service" him at all times. An invariable paradise for any other man but unfortunately for our main character (who looks a lot like Brock from Pokemon) he gets an allergic reaction whenever women touch him; this is so played out nowadays to the point it is even funny anymore. So the series then proceeds to follow this average weak childish man boys daily life after inheriting the manner. Suffice to say he develops a crush on one of his maids, the only girl who apparently doesn't give him an allergic reaction (and once again so played out til the point it is ridiculous), and his attempts to I guess some would say swoon her. IDK at any rate the story was fair enough for me not to drop the series.
Art- This is an old series but still I felt as if it was drawn well, what made me angry though is that main character seldom had his eyes open (just like Brock from Pokemon) and this made me think that the artists were being lazy and in turn took away from my appreciation for the art.
Sound- There was no real amazing sounds here to look for which disappointed me. I didn't even like the intro or closing to the anime which makes up around a quarter of each episode and as per voice acting I kind of felt not too impressed by their choices except for a few choice maids but that's a secret I'll keep for myself as to who they were.
Character- This anime failed miserably at character development I understood the characters and what they represented the second they stepped on screen and the worse part their was no real development or changes in character throughout the entire anime. This disappointed me too, at least if you're going to give me a generic story at least impress with unique character aspects.
Enjoyment- I did not enjoy watching this the only reason I finished watching it is because I only drop an anime if all the episodes cannot be found.
Overall- I was disappointed I do not suggest this anime to anybody unless you are into generic plots, old timey art, and crappy character development.

Tarou Hanaukyo, a typical nebbish, becomes the heir of his insanely wealthy grandfather and must move into the family mansion inhabited by hundreds of identical maids, who bathe him, rub their breasts in his face, and wait on him hand and foot.
This crude, grotesquely drawn comedy can think of nothing to do with the Maid permise other than sheer numerical overkill.
The few maids with distinct personalities and appearances, who guard the house with sci-fi technology, are boring stereotypes.

You will enjoy this anime if you have an enormes Maid Fetish !!!

Well, this was my first Harem anime and it was actually quite surprising at what I was watching, it was a lot better than i had expected, the humour was good with the many embarrassing situations that the maids get Taro into.

I also particularly liked the side story of Taro and Mariel, but since I can't give much away, I would recommend this anime, although be warned its rated 15+ for female nudity and some mild language.

I found the characters, which all had their own different traits to be a very good plot line also, with Mariel being the maid of maids, the three ... sisters, Lemon Melon and Maron as the seductive types and etc.

This Anime gets a 4.5 from me which is equal to 9 out of 10 on here. A must see for all Harem and Bishojo lovers out there.

P.S I did not watch this for the Bishojo, I enjoy seeing boys and young men being teased in such manner. :)

"Hanaukyou Maid-tai" is a surprisingly entertaining Ecchi flick. And by "entertaining" I don't mean it in the "it's so bad it's entertaining" sense like those terrible Onegai series. It's still a bad show, but it does at least have some redeeming qualities, which is a lot more than what you can say for other ecchis.

Ecchi and Comedy. That pretty much sums up this anime. Those two are also two of my least favourite genres. Ecchi... well, not much to be said here - I dislike it for pretty much the same reason many other people dislike it, and it's no exception when it comes ... to the ecchi elements in this anime, except that a lot of the time I was able to overlook it for some reason. The comedy... I have to say, though I'm really not a fan of this type of comedy, "Hanaukyou Maid-tai" really had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. I don't know why, but for the most part, I actually quite liked this series, or at least more than I expected to. There's not much of a continuous storyline, it is more of a collection of mini adventures focusing upon the different members of the cast... but that's ok, because aside from the comedy, the characters are probably what makes this anime so charming. Apart from the really annoying generic maids (with their extremely annoying voices), a lot of the characters are actually genuinely likeable, like the main character Taro, Mariel, Cynthia/Grace etc.

Unfortunately, "Hanaukyou Maid-tai" does lack consistency, and the last couple of episodes are a real let down especially. The jokes in those last episodes feel contrived and the series is brought back down to the normal level I expect for an ecchi. At the end of the day, nothing was really resolved in the anime, which is a major disappointment for me. Still, it's sufficiently entertaining such that it didn't feel like I had to forcing myself to keep watch it, unlike the majority of say, "Martian Successor Nadesico". It's unfortunate that the show is marred by the ecchi in it. But without it, perhaps this anime wouldn't be what it is - perhaps it took comparisons with the more shallow characters to bring out the better one. They could have at least left the better characters out of the pr0n scenes though, which would have allowed me to decouple the good and the bad parts more in my mind :-/

~ Review ~

Anime Information
Anime Production : m.o.e
Director: Yasunori Ide
Episodes: 12 episodes + 3 OVAs (Total 15 episodes)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Harem, Maids, Romance, Slice of Life
Duration: 14 min. per episode
Original Run: 8 April 2001 – 29 June 2001

... Synopsis :
After losing his mother, 12-year-old Taro journeys to Tokyo to live with his grandfather. But he gets the biggest surprise when he discovers that his grandfather’s home is a huge mansion with hundreds of beautiful maids ready to serve him. Making matters worse (at least for Taro, but not for our viewing) is that not only does he inherit the Hanaukyo mansion, he gets the services of all of the maids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A sudden change in his life, can he manage it?

Storyline: [7/10]
Basically, this anime talks about Tarou Hanaukyo’s life after he lost his mother in which he was told by his mother will to live with his grandfather. Without ever knowing who his grandfather, Tarou set his journey to stay in his grandfather house as a final tribute to his mother. But Tarou was shocked after learning that his grandfather was a wealthy man and his house is not even a house. It is a mansion in the middle of forest somewhere in Tokyo. Tarou also learn that his grandfather was already long gone and left him a video stating that he is now the head of the Hanaukyo family and inherited not only his entire fortune but also his home with many personal maids that would serve him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Honestly, if you’re not really a true anime lover then you will quickly feel the boredom in this anime. This anime storyline is flat course. Furthermore, this anime is also a slow pace anime. You can barely feel the climax and anti-climax in this anime. No significant confict that arise. If there is any conflict then it will be finished in that episode. For me, it eliminates all the meaning and importance of the conflict in this anime. In terms of drama, just a few episode that I find have an interesting drama but alas, the drama itself was also wrapped with a less attractive way. Finally, this anime does not have something that really stick in the minds of the watch. And that’s what makes this anime could quickly turn into boring anime.
One of the advantages that this anime has is a comedic side with the right portion through entire episode. The comedy itself was a fresh comedy. This kind of comedies can make you smile and laugh while you watch this anime. The concept of anti-master/enslaved-maid that this anime bring is also one of the advantages this anime has in his time.

Art: [6/10]
The whole character of both men and women, both the main character and supporting character have a cute and sweet character. They also have a cute and funny facial expressions.
The weak point of this anime is almost all the character in this anime does not leave strong impression for me. No special uniqueness is given to all of the character except for the clothes and the color of their clothes.
For an anime who release in 2001, this is a common so-so art anime in his time.

Sound: [6/10]
I can only say that both OP and ED fill with OST befitted in their time. You can enjoy it but don't compare it with anime OST nowadays.

Character: [7/10]
This anime, generally, gives each character a standard personality for main character. Tarou with happy-go-lucky, kind, hardworking and cannot-see-people-suffering personality, Mariel with mature and motherly sense personality, Ikuyo with witty personality and a natural prankster and Konoe with strict attitude and silent type. A bit let-down for Tarou to have this women-touch allergy. For an anime with ecchi/harem theme, this is really no good.
But for this 2001 anime to have a bi-personality character, Chyntia dan Grace was a great plus this anime have in his time. Chyntia is a pure and innocent kid. A kid with cheerful, easy-going and playful personality. Basically, Chyntia is a common kid in her age. Grace is genius kid. A kid with serious, hard-going and a bit tsundere personality. Basically, Grace is a polar opposite of Chyntia.

Enjoyment: [6/10]
Well for some anime watcher, you’re going to run into trouble in finding some little pleasure in watching this anime. Flat course storyline with a slow tempo progress anime. But despite it all, in a few episode of this anime episode gives some common knowledge and words of wisdom. Each story in this anime episode contain life lessons meaning in the end.
For me, this anime shows us a 12-year-old boy’s journey into manhood. How does a boy become a man? How can a boy who for all his life just became the master for himself, must now become the head of the huge, wealthy and respectful family? What kind of leader he become? And what kind of master he become for all his maids? This anime is filled with many life lessons.

Overall: [6/10]
Fan service is so-so. The comedies is in the right portions, but the drama is almost have no bite at all. This anime tempo was also slow and each episode has a different set of story so in the end, this anime doesn’t have a clear purpose and something is missing on the ending. This anime has a tendency to quickly turn into a boring anime.
Interesting point is to see changes in the main character, Tarou Hanaukyo in personality and life. During the whole episode, we can see Tarou began gradually learn and understand some of the realities around him. Tarou learn to respons to situations with a cool head attitude. Sometime Tarou also said some words of wisdom and wise remarks that take him closer to maturity and the more worthy to be the head of the Hanaukyo family. Another interesting point is that this anime bring a concept of anti-master/enslaved-maid which is quite a populer issue in that time.

Personal message and opinion:
I like anime with a life lesson in it and even more with maids themed anime combine with ecchi/harem theme. For me, I quite enjoy old anime and the fresh comedy inside this anime. Although, to be honest, I watch this anime quite rarely. But nonetheless, I am grateful to have this anime and this anime became one of my most valuable anime that I ever got. In the end, for me it’s a good anime to watch.
And..
Do you know about the rumors that this anime once was originally planned for more than 12 episodes? Do you also know about the rumors that this anime once was having financial trouble? Did you know that in fact this anime once was a highly awaited anime? Did you also know that in fact this anime get a remake? You know for an anime to get a remake then it proves that that anime was a successful anime. For an example, just take a look for Dragon Ball and Hunter x Hunter who get a remake. Well, I leave back to you guys to decide if this anime worthy to watch or not!

Your single parent mother has just died and now your poor excuse of a life is coming to an end. Luckily for Tarou Hanaukyou, his previously-unknown grandfather heads a huge organization with seemingly endless resources. Tarou soon finds his way over to his grandfather's estate, supposedly in Toyko(?), where he is immediately overrun by literally hundreds of maids waiting for his orders. These maids are not just ordinary maids, these are specialist maids who handle everything from cleaning and construction to security and cyber-warfare; oh, and they also are trained to take Tarou's grandfather's perverse orders.

Hanaukyou is a light, ecchi, not-so-ordinary slice of life. You'll ... find a bit of comedy, a very slight amount of action, and a lot of nonsense. Considering the outrageous nature of the premise, the series doesn't try very hard at making it seem feasible; the series prefers to just shove more fan service in your face. Stay away from this series if you need real action, real drama, or any depth whatsoever.

Animation:
Admittedly, this is a dated look; unless you've been watching a lot of 90's or earlier works you will cringe when you start this. The appearance is pretty cheap overall; there are lots of hand-blobs and other shortcuts that you don't see often now a days. Expect plain backgrounds and limited shading. There was also a very noticeably wrong scene earlier where a helicopter was shown flying backwards.

The actual character styling isn't that bad, apart from Tarou appearing asleep with his eyes all the time. All the important characters are distinct except for Ichigo, Ringo, and Sango (who are only distinguishable by their uniform color and VA).

This is definitely an ecchi series, though modern shows like High School DxD are pretty close. This is almost as revealing as Yosuga no Sora (though much less sexually suggestive) and much less suggestive than B Gata H Kei or Kiss X Sis. Assuming the DVD version, expect full frontal nudity shots on multiple occasions with no censoring. You have been warned.

Sound:
The series starts off with a very appropriate sounding and fairly catchy OP, which was purposely made for the anime based on the lyrics. The ED is less catchy and features random 3D girls for an unknown reason. I think it worked better in Lucky Star than here. The BGM is noticeably aged but does include some memorable melodies. Overall, the sound quality is a tad low, and some sound effects are way overused.

As for VAs, the main maid, is voiced by Rie Tanaka; this is really the only reason why I even bothered to pick this up. She gives her a surprisingly mature tone relative to all the other maids. The performance was average overall.

Story:
In this version of Hanaukyou the story is very random. While sequential, each episode is wildly different in theme. There really isn't much of a main story line to form a coherent backbone, and so there really isn't any motive for watching multiple episodes together other than the very short 15min running time per episode. Basically, expect Tarou to slowly get acquainted with his new surroundings and servants, as various maids' antics keep everyone busy.

As for plot development, there really isn't any rising action or climax in this show. I didn't even realize when the original season stopped and the OVA started. The only series I can think of to compare this to is Princess Lover. And to be honest, that crazy series is actually more believable than this one. Hanaukyou just never feels palpable, and it doesn't help when they introduce seemingly random elements such as a private blimp or the world's most powerful computer, which apparently runs on GOTO statements (as a programmer I was quite offended when a computer hacking situation was depicted as a version of Space Invaders).

Character:
Though there are hundreds of mains that apparently serve Tarou, these maids obviously serve in different ways. Based on the series, Tarou only interacts on a daily basis with a handful of them. Some of these interactions are playful (you can expect some background info on these) while others are more carnal. Tarou has a big problem with the latter type as he is apparently allergic to women; he has a mysterious gift that causes him and his clothes to change between different shades of color. This is true except for his main maid Mariel who not only can touch Tarou but can also miraculously cure him of his symptoms. You'd guess that the series is trying to guide something to happen but don't be fooled, there is virtually zero romance in this work. It's all lighthearted; including when Tarou gets kicked and flies 500 meters.

I almost forgot to mention that Tarou is as wimpy and hopeless as male protagonists come. Other than being "nice", he has no redeeming characteristic; he's allergic to girls, physically and mentally weak, and has barely any semblance of personal willpower. I assume this is not supposed to be a role model for Japanese dudes.

Value:
I was expecting a bit more depth from this work. If you really really want the ecchi parts, then stick with this series. Otherwise... if you're looking for cute maids and some drama check out Kaichou wa Maid-sama! If you're going for more of a harem-type try out Princess Lover. If you're going for the innocent little boy aspect I'd try the Negima series instead. All in all this wasn't a complete disaster, but there's definitely more relevant/realistic works out there.