A short note: Ladies vs Butlers is one of quite a few XEBEC productions I've seen. And this has the best colour and animation I've seen, This is *strictly* one reason why it is a 7. Compare it with Mahou Sensei Negima to get what I mean. The story is kinda like a dunno-why-girls-jump-at-guy harem that never gets resolved. Watch it for enjoyment.
[Mood: Light for near-all episodes]
[Explained notable pickings:]
Ecchi: Lots of see-thru underwear and naked bodies, dun worry, there's lots of it. Not all episodes though, sometimes a lot sometimes none. [6-7/10]
Enjoyment:Well, to be honest, most of the laughs came with ecchi. There were a few touching moments to boot too, and it is quite well-rounded entertainment, but leaning to ecchi. [8/10]
Harem: Typical. Girls fall in love with same guy cause of soem cheap kindness or a favour done. No resolution done for any girls in harem except the 2 mains. [4/10]
Character varsity: A lot. Like someone mentioned in a review, count how many typical characters you can see in 1st episode and it'll probably exceed *a few*. Not to mention the rest. But... little character development spoils the characters.
[4/10]
Potential wasted: This is one controversial problem. What was the manga like? I dunno. But Asu no Yoichi the anime was great, much better than manga (I put it on hold aft a few chapters, couldn't continue). Cos this anime seems to trap itself in a harem net it couldn't untangle. Girls who fell in love with guy disappeared completely sometimes for a few episodes, then reappear. If it was like something like Princess Lover!, it could have much more potential. [7-8/10]
Story:6
Here and there. No plot at all. Seems to just show us school life at a Ladies-Maids-Butlers school and have harem thrown in. The ending was a big fluke, and the last episodes seem to culminate in a "trough", the opposite of a climax. Harem was hopelessly unresolved, which was pathetic. Some things were resolved, though, credits to that. Like the rivalry-love fight between he 2 main gal characters.
Btw some episodes seem focused on one character, while some were purposefully ecchi (to the point of being ridiculously funny). Tons of fanservice that derail main mood.
Art:9
Colour was very good, animation was very smooth, ecchi was expressed very well and so on. Scenery was good too, unlike Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (?), and shades were nicely done.
Only complaint about art is that it does not have a 3D concept and probably some characters seem pretty similar, facial expressions were not significantly memorable.
Sound:6
Didn't really take notice of ED. OP the lyrics were good and tune was catchy. Can't remember much of sound effects and bgm, although I'm quite sure they are not great (or else I should have remembered).
Character:6
Some characters that get introduced for 1 or more episodes get thrown away pretty often. Character personalities were pretty stable except last few episodes, where a very clumsy girl suddenly becomes strong and very steady (she's the *VERY* clumsy type).
Very little character development in any character, by the end I still wondered what is the main guy's character like. He seemed to be led on by various circumstances and was just using typical responses, so nothing special was noted about him other than the very cliche "kind". Plus his past has a lot of potential, but was not delved into. Wasted.
Enjoyment:8
Ecchi to the point where it becomes funny. Some touching moments and slower parts. Well, to be sure I was "mindlessly" enjoying myself. It was not about plot but I managed to successfully watch all 12 episodes, which is good already :D.
Overall:7
Watch it if you are feeling down or something. Dun try watching for a plot or serious anime. I put it on hold before, once.
