Mahoromatic
Washi
Now, not everyone will approve of these kinds of anime, anime which are quite clearly geared toward delivering ecchi rather than intellectual content, or ‘content’ in general. I know KT doesn’t approve, because not only is it filled with fanservice, but, even more importantly, it was among GAINAX’s first folly into the ecchi/comedy genre. If you are a fan of GIANAX for its other great works, it’s rather disappointing to see the studio put out series that are comparatively crap. Well, fortunately, I’m able to watch a series without placing too much value on my expectations, or on its production context.
I watched the series on DVD recently, and while it’s no Gits:SAC, it was an enjoyable experience. I can often enjoy shows like this, because they require so little dedication from the viewer, and are rewarding in the way of entertainment. This show did have a lot of fanservice, but, really, most of it was very good, and worked to the advantage of the series. I was surprised to see that characters in Mahoromatic actually had NIPPLES, something the majority of anime seems blissfully unaware of. It was very obvious fanservice, which felt funny because a lot of anime tries to disguise sexual content, but it was less dirty/perverse than something like He is My Master , which gave it a better feel. There were two main characters involved in the fanservice side of things.
The first is Mahoro herself, who is, quite frankly among the sexiest characters I’ve observed in an anime. Well, perhaps sexy isn’t quite the right word, because she’s far from intentionally sensual or enticing (she even has a rather firm anti-ecchi stance), but she’s attractive due to her radiance, pureness, and innocence. She is a compelling decoction of soulful happiness, and fragile insecurity. Her charming seiyuu and fine physical form help too!
The other, whose physical form is a literal annoyance throughout the course of the show is Shikijo-sensei. This element of Mahoromatic is my only major complaint, and at time sit can really drag the show down. She represents the biggest instance of repetitive humour in the show, as her presence means one of two things 1) A disturbing love for her students, which isn’t even funny, or 2) A stream of breast-size related jokes which were funny ONCE. Shikijo was a one-trick pony, and an ugly, frustrating one at that.
The humour in the series is not fantastic, but it made me laugh at times with some very well-timed humour. Then there was the sentimentality aspect which came later in the show. Normally, in such a series I don’t like it when producers try to inflict an indigestible seriousness on the show, but in this case, it somehow worked out for the better. It was always a strange combination of actual plot, and fillery fun, but I enjoyed the transition towards the end of the show, which made it less of a throwaway item. There was also much more of a love-story weaved into it than I thought, in fact the romance element was hidden at the heart of the story the entire time. Although, it wasn’t a conventional, straight-forward romance, rather the love Mahoro and Suguru shared seemed endearingly platonic, and familial.
Ultimately the show was good fun, and I recommend it to anyone who has some time on their hands, or who isn’t too picky.
Glad you enjoyed the series. :) Mahoromatic Season 1 is one of my personal favorites because it has a lot of heart and is ultimately about the celebration of life. The ecchi fun is merely a tool to underscore the tragedy of Mahoro’s imminent demise. (Mahoro’s remaining days counter hits harder if they had great fun that ep.) I also recommend the OST with special mention to “Saigo no negai”. It’s likely to touch some soft spots. :)
first folly indeed. I think the word you were looking for was foray. >.>
Season 1 was great. Season 2.. well, it drags, especially when they reveal the nature of the second ‘android’ there, and the ending itself… makes absolutely NO sense. It feels like they stole the setting and storyline from Cowboy Bebop, and in the end you get a ‘pedorrific’ feeling from it. In other words, it’s creepy, even if they tried to make it a ‘happy’ ending. Even BGC 2040’s “Happy” ending was better than this, and that was a tad depressing. :P
If you want good memories of Mahormatic, stick with Season 1: “Something More Beautiful” is anything but.
I “enjoyed” Something More Beautiful a bit more than the first season. It had more of a plot than the less-than-paper-thin plot that the first season had going for it, and the ending did a lot of things right up until the part which makes no sense. I mean, it’s not even open to interpretation, it just flat-out doesn’t make sense; it was pulled out of their asses and nothing less. Other than that, most of the rest of the show was filler. And really, the primary focus of this series was to draw in horny fanboys with tits and ass — it had little else. Big thumbs down from me.
It’s all just the same harem BS. I wouldn’t have even given it the time of day if it wasn’t from GAINAX. Wish I hadn’t have.
And no, I’m not picky. I’m probably one of the least picky people in the anime fandom (let’s face it, anime fans are some picky little bastards), I just hate the cheap and boring humor that these types of series provide. Give me a comedy like Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Azumanga Daioh or Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu with amazing and memorable characters and comedy that actually tries, then we’ll talk.
This has been Ranting Wit’ KT. Good night and good luck. =)
shikijo-sensei was the only reason for me to keep on watching the show. that type of character is usually the case with most ecchi anime for me…
Well, Something More Beautiful DID have a plot - the first season was a typical harem, with the only plotline being ‘Time Mahoro Has to Live’, and the whole guilt she carried for what happened to Suguru’s father… which is why he was an orphan in the first place. The Second Season/Something More Beautiful tried to explain some of her past… to mixed results, since it seems to contradict her origins as per Season 1, and then they go Cowboy Bebop at the very end. If they’d left it with the prevous episode, I’d have been quite happy with it otherwise, drag or no drag. But the VERY last episode… well, it’s like NGE but without even the justification that Hideki Anno was depressed or that the world was ending because of stuff that happened outside of Shinji’s head.
>I “enjoyed” Something More Beautiful a bit more than the first season. It had more of a plot than the less-than-paper-thin plot that the first season had going for it
The plot for the first season is how Haesslich described it, and frankly, the absence of any more complexity was a good thing. The simplicity, and, to some degree, the absurdity, of the plot allowed for the focus of the show to rest with the characters and their relationships (By this I mean Mahoro’s and Suguru’s). Show’s like “Azumanga Daioh” have even less plot, yet they still work, as you said so yourself. I didn’t get the annoying harem vibe off this series at all, and it actually wasn’t a harem show (if it was I failed to see where the other romances lay). It was a traditional love story, with some eccentric twists.
And may I ask why you watched both seasons when you regreted having watched the first? >.>
I reckon I will watch the 2nd season when I have some spare time on my hands, just out of curiosity! I can deal with lame endings, espercially if it’s for a show I don’t care too much about.
Well, initially I hadn’t watched the second season, I only watched the first season and decided to forget the second. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to give the series a second try to see if my opinion on it had changed (don’t ask why). My opinion hadn’t changed, in face, it probably went down. But since I was curious to see about this “weird” ending the second had, I decided to go ahead and watch it for the first time.
And the difference between Mahoromatic and Azumanga Daioh, which indeed had no plot, is that Azumanga was funny and had good characters, Mahoromatic, well, it didn’t (except for Mahoro and the food expert girl, I liked them). =P
>And the difference between Mahoromatic and Azumanga Daioh, which indeed had no plot, is that Azumanga was funny and had good characters,
Well, you’re right there. Those are the reasons why I certainly prefer Azumanga Daioh to this!
The bathhouse girl/childhood friend had a crush on Suguru from the time she was little, up till now. Between her, Shijuko-sensei, and Mahoro, I’d consider that a small harem. :D And even if Rin WASN’T pursuing Suguru, the fact she was so… physically well formed… gave the show more elements of a harem show than are typically found in comedies.
I think the only female character that wasn’t after Suguru was the SAINT android. Mahoro, Shikijo, Rin (black hair, well developed, pigtails), Sakura (blue hair, family runs bath house), and Chizu (the food girl) all had a thing for Suguru.
I just finished Mahoromatic. Don’t watch the ending.
Oh Man! You folks are so shallow it’s hard to believe you could figure out how to turn on the DVD player!
Mahoromatic is about as deep and full as anything your ever likely to find in Anime. You are not expecting it so your not seeing it.
Things in life that are not pleasant but cannot be avoided such as guilt, regret, death and separation are what this story was about. It is also about how Mahoro chose to deal with these things.
The internal logic of this story is very strong but they have refused to make it obvious. You must learn it from context.
A question to start with: Why would Mahoro have only a nine year life span? Think about here ‘alien’ technology and how it was acquired if you need a clue. If you can figure that out your only six or seven major questions away from understanding the story.
Very Very ….
In Story on DVD very good than on cartoon book.
ahbh20000@yahoo.com