Shounen Maid | Worth Watching?
Shounen Maid, is a slice of Life Anime, that aired during the Spring season of 2016. With Just over 35k people knowing of it on MyAnimeList, you can definitely consider this as one of the underrated Anime of 2016. However, I can see why people turn away from this Anime as it can be considered a shounen-ai, which doesn’t appeal to the everyday watcher.
Episode Count: 12
MyAnimeList Synopsis:
“After the sudden death of his mother, elementary school student Chihiro Komiya is left with no home and no family. But this changes when he encounters a rich and frivolous stranger who turns out to be his long-lost uncle, Madoka Takatori. Madoka offers to take Chihiro in, but upon arriving at his uncle’s high-class mansion, the young boy is greeted by a plethora of dust and garbage. As Chihiro’s neatfreak instincts kick in, he sets about cleaning the entire residence.
Shounen Maid is a lighthearted comedy that follows Chihiro as he finds himself dressed in a frilly uniform (handmade by his uncle), receiving a salary, and working as maid of the house.”
Worth Watching?
That’ll depend on how the Anime makes you feel, being that this Anime can be considered a shounen-ai, it may not appeal to you. However, I do think that you should watch it and give it a try because I believe it’ll be something that you will be enjoy watching regardless genres Shounen Maid could be listed under.
Art
The art is normal, the art alone doesn’t make the Anime standout because it looks like something you’ll see on an everyday basis. However to compensate for the ‘normalcy’ of the art, it provides in colour and overall feel. There is something about how the colours work that give this happy vibe, to the whole dynamic. Rating: 7/10
Soundtrack
The intro the Anime is really catching and something nice to listen to. I believe the intro was one of the better intros to the 2016 season, for that genre. In fact, I liked the introduction so much I even have it downloaded on my phone. The outro likewise, is also a good listen to, however I thought there wasn’t much to ‘give’ in the outro. It was a very normal outro. Rating: 7/10
Character Design
Now we’re getting on the better side of the Anime. I thought the characters and how they interacted in the Anime was really good. The characters brought a nice comedic touch to the Anime, it gave you something to smile about. What I also thought was nice was that you could actually read the different emotions each individual character showed, there was never a thought in my mind where I asked “How is this person actually feeling right now?”. Each character was given a defined role in the Anime, whether that be for comedic, serious, and playful purposes. Rating: 7.5/10
Story
The story is what I believe is the shining jewel to the Anime. The story itself was really well written and really well executed in the Anime. The story showed that like all things, whether good or bad, you have to move on or find ways to cope with the growing pains. This example was representative of the two main characters, Madoka and Chihiro. The story plays out their growing relationship over this one person who is dear to both their hearts, Chihiro’s mother, who is also Madoka’s sister.
The story mainly focuses on the struggle and resolve both characters find in each other when coming to grips that they both lost the one person they loved. How in every action they do, it reminds them of her, the story describes that yes, memories are here to stay and that they will always be a part of their lives, but it also shows the importance of family and finding that resolve.
What I also thought was cool, was that in all that they were able to throw in some very funny moments and also little side stories that just overall add to the Anime and benefit it greatly. Rating: 8.5/10
To conclude, I believe this Anime is worth the watch. It’s a very beautiful Anime and is of the most benefit when you want to kill time or have nothing to do. I would also love to see this Anime be known more, it’s definitely something that everyone is able to watch, I personally love it.
Stamp of Approval earned,
– OOCentral