First Impression – Shounen Maid
A sobfest disguised under a trap maid
After writing about two series with messy pacing, transition, and highlights for their first episodes, Shounen Maid is definitely a breath of fresh air for me. I saw the promotional poster and read the summary thinking this is going to be another Boku no Pico or Tenshi no Uta (which, ironically has the alternative name Shounen Maid Kuro-kun). How surprised I was when I finished watching the first episode because it was far from what I expected. Heck, it was beyond my expectation.
Despite of the humorous synopsis and promotional posters it offered at the beginning, Shounen Maid gives the impression of an emotional yet humorous slice-of-life anime the audience can definitely relate with. I swear, the first episode gives me more moral values than my 22 years of weekly church attendance. Its emphasis on family bond was too much, I ended up sobbing at the end of the episode. It has been a while since I saw an anime where they can pull this off smoothly without having to use flashbacks and all of that nonsense. Nope, they go straight to Chihiro’s death and gives no revelations or hints whatsoever regarding of his mother and her relationship with Chihiro. Maybe a silly letter which reflects his mother’s humorous yet hard-working personality and Chihiro imagining his mother’s back when she went to work, but that’s it.
And yet we still can see the points I mentioned above in the little things in the episode. We can see how important his mother is for Chihiro despite of his annoyance of her laid-back personality, and this can be seen from the constant imagination of his mother and the appearance of his old house that keeps flashing in his mind. A home, which represents family, is more than enough to tell us that Chihiro does treasure and miss his mother. He misses the place where he feels he belongs there. That’s why he was so happy when he got his room. Besides of his first experience of having his own room, he finally finds a place where he feels that he belongs there. Definitely not the best replacement of his old house, but it is definitely something that helps him to move on from his past life.
Despite of the void he feels after his mother’s death, Chihiro was able to hide it well. Indeed, Chihiro is one of those kids who grew up too fast due to, in his case, family situation. His maturity is even shown in the meaning of his name, which means a thousand fathoms. He understands everything problematic about his life, decided to have mental growth spurt, and stop acting like a child. But this didn’t stop him from breaking down when his mother died. After all, he decided to be mature for the sake of his mother. Now that his mother is gone, he has no need to act tough, right? Except that he only knows how to do that, so he feels lost.
Now this is where Madoka steps in. Madoka is an outgoing person who has a serious side when he works. Sounds oddly similar with Chihiro’s mother, right? This is why Madoka is a pivotal character for Madoka’s life already despite of his brief and unimpressive appearance. He is there to fill the void Chihiro’s mother left for her son. He’s there to make Chihiro feels comfortable again, making his nephew feels that he belongs in his new place. Of course, Chihiro cannot get adapted with his new life right away. That’s why Madoka is there, to make Chichiro feels like he has a home again and colors Chihiro’s life with unexpected encounters and moments he has never felt before.
That. Was. So. Gooodddd. It was so good, so amazing, I was so touched with it. I’m not going to go further about the story since I rambled too much about it, but the story started off promising. Of course, not only the story is good. The animation is OK, the typical slice-of-life animation (which means good animation). However, I love how they managed to slip things here and there to explain the story without having to narrate the things they want to emphasize on. Heck, even the comedy in the middle of sobfest event was perfectly OK and did not make the scene any less touching. The music was decent, but they definitely did fit for the scenes they were supposed for. The most remarkable scene for me was definitely Chihiro’s imagination of his old house. Simple, white-framed scene with soft color which always gives this indescribable feelings, accompanied with a soft background music that was able to bring out the homey ambience. I like it. Me gusta. It started strong, and I have a feeling it will stay this way until the end. I hope.
Preview: New maido!
I will never use HS again
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Very well done. Like you, I enjoyed how inviting it was. They just wrote some good characters and let them do the job the characters wanted to do, always good to see that.
But the selling point is the antics between uncle and nephew that will nicely underscore the growing bond; both of them need family.
This was a very pleasant surprise.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
the highlight will probably be the developing relationship between the two. I hope they ahed some light on other family members too such as grandpa
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, like a bunch of dramas of this variety, the story can get stronger and deeper the more characters they add, at least up to a point. Not to many, but not to few.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Something interesting is hatching!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Obviously, otherwise you’d not be into yaoi. 😛
But he does indeed look cute and delicious. Shotacat approved!
*secretly marks on the list…*
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
FYI, the source manga’s serialized in B’s Log Comics, aimed at older girls. It’s an offshoot of otome games magazine B’s Log.
So, B’s Log mostly contains work of the shoujo/otome variety (and sometime boys love) with emphasis on bishonen characters.
https://www.mangaupdates.com/publishers.html?pubname=B's-Log+Comic
The manga designs were adapted for anime by animator Ishida Kana, who also designed the characters of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Never read the original manga by B Logs, so I guess this is a good way to ptomote their magazine. And wow, mahouka? Totally don’t see the similarity between the art. The person really knows what he is doing
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I didn’t know what this was going to be before watching, but I enjoyed it. Another nice show to watch this season.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I like you more and more :>
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
This is an example of the “right show, wrong name”. It’s really not getting the interest it deserves because people take one look at the title and don’t even bother. What many thought would be a silly shounen-ai, is actually a pretty touching look at grief and how a child tries to adapt to the sudden loss of a parent while being thrust into a new home and a new situation and trying to adapt.
I really enjoyed this, and I’ll keep it on my radar.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I guess the title is a PR strategy to get the attention from the audience base of the magazibe, that’s why the title is BL-ish. Too bad many won’t watch it because of it sigh.