Home :: DVD :: Anime & Manga  

Action & Adventure
African American Cinema
Animation
Anime & Manga

Art House & International
Boxed Sets
Christian DVD
Classics
Comedy
Cult Movies
Documentary
Drama
Educational
Fitness & Yoga
Gay & Lesbian
Hong Kong Action
Horror
Independently Distributed
Kids & Family
Military & War
Music Video & Concerts
Musicals & Performing Arts
Mystery & Suspense
Romantic Comedies
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Special Interests
Sports
Television
Westerns
Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden - Combat Maid (Vol. 1)

Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden - Combat Maid (Vol. 1)

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $26.98
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A fantastic tale that skillfully mixes tragedy and comedy
Review: (Normally I don't put up reviews, but in this case I feel I must, if nothing else than to counter the apparently soul-less Amazon Editorial by Charles Solomon. Who the heck is this guy?! all his reviews I've read so far are so blatantly opposite of the truth it borders on plain stupidity - but enough venting, on to the actual review.)

Mahoromatic is a very depth-fill series that centers around the relationship of Mahoro and Suguru Misato. Unknown to Suguru, his father served alongside Mahoro as a commander in a secret government organization that has been defending the planet from alien invaders - wacky plot? No, the key to this series is that it is able to take what on the surface may be absurd situations and turn it into strongly heart-felt moments. Though overall the tone of the series is comedic, there is constant underlying tragedy as slowly each episode counts down to the number of days Mahoro still has remaining. The show plays out in a rollercoaster ride of stomach-hurting laughs, and throat-lumping misty eyes. Gainax has achieved an incredible balance between the gut-busting banter of Mahoro and Shikijo-sensei, and the repenting whispers of Mahoro's "..I don't want to die." It is difficult to provide a truthful review without revealing too much information, but suffice it to say that the story's extremely memorable characters will reside with you long after the last episode is done. My only wish was that Gainax could have chosen a less heart-breaking ending...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life is but a Dream...
Review: ...and dreams should be grand. The folks who pan this series for being too ecchi or geared towards teens completely missed the boat, and should stick to pre-packaged, pre-chewed pap like Pokemon. Here's the deal (SPOILER WARNING! SPOILER WARNING!) Mahoro is a combat 'droid, with little over a month to live. The leader of her group, Vesper, gives her a choice: Remain a combad droid and die in a month, or life as she chooses... for as a normal 'person' she's only got 398 days. She's screwed either way. She chooses to work as a maid for Suguru Misato, to attone for something she did in her combat days. Just get the whole 2 seasons, folks, and ignore the naysayers -- they wanted pre-chewed toyetic garbage. Mahoromatic is a very well done story that can be delightfully funny, and heart-wrenchingly painful, sometimes at the same time. Mahoro herself is far, far more beautiful inside than her body is. She is the soul of an entire race, which now also knows ours, having lived, for a brief, gorgeous year, as a human.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life is but a Dream...
Review: ...and dreams should be grand. The folks who pan this series for being too ecchi or geared towards teens completely missed the boat, and should stick to pre-packaged, pre-chewed pap like Pokemon. Here's the deal (SPOILER WARNING! SPOILER WARNING!) Mahoro is a combat 'droid, with little over a month to live. The leader of her group, Vesper, gives her a choice: Remain a combad droid and die in a month, or life as she chooses... for as a normal 'person' she's only got 398 days. She's screwed either way. She chooses to work as a maid for Suguru Misato, to attone for something she did in her combat days. Just get the whole 2 seasons, folks, and ignore the naysayers -- they wanted pre-chewed toyetic garbage. Mahoromatic is a very well done story that can be delightfully funny, and heart-wrenchingly painful, sometimes at the same time. Mahoro herself is far, far more beautiful inside than her body is. She is the soul of an entire race, which now also knows ours, having lived, for a brief, gorgeous year, as a human.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Funny, dramatic and powerfully complex
Review: Heads-up warning: this series earned its 16+ rating with flying colors. Moreso than any previous Pioneer (Geneon) DVD series.

That aside, introductions go well. These first four episodes are the beginning of a bizarre ride involving intergalactic war, horny junior-high schoolers, one very perverted hottie teacher, and how & why an android designed for war becomes a house maid. Sound convoluted enough? Good...

I find nearly all of the characters so far to be quite enjoyable. I'm saying nearly beacuse the perverted teacher leaves me a bit turned off. For me, the less seen of her, the better. I have to knock a star of this series on account of her, Sorry. She is funny though.

We first meet Mahoro, the retired combat android. She handles her existence quite lightly and shows no fear, often revealing that she had indured much more hardship in battle. Though she became a maid, she often asserts her opinions when she deems necessary (dirty thoughts?). It's also revealed that her reasons for becoming a maid are not simply to take on a humble lifestyle. Suguru Misato doesn't seem to be much different from Mahoro, even though he is human and has never seen combat first-hand. He is not a super hero, but he exihibits excellent leadership skills under pressure. He also has a lot of brotherly respect for all of his peers, treating even Mahoro as an equal. This is a breath of fresh air for me. Even though their social positions elicit an obvious superior male ruling over a subservient female. Their actions contradict that every step of the way.

Their band of friends round out a somewhat stereotypical cast, but not too poorly. Many of their quirks are interesting and funny. From a raging food-addict to the jealous "other guys" there is definate energy about them. One gets the feeling that these friends have been together for a while and will be willing to help each other out in times of need.

This looks like it's going to be a series that will pull no punches. There will be no scene too perverted (well.. kind of), no pun untapped, and no emotion left alone. Every episode ends with a morbidly somber countdown timer right before the credits. All indications show that this story, as funny as it is, may not be as uplifting as it seems.

That being said, to anyone not willing to accept that, I advise you avoid this series and go watch Disney's "Little Mermaid", no matter what Hans Christian Anderson origionally wrote.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Funny, dramatic and powerfully complex
Review: Heads-up warning: this series earned its 16+ rating with flying colors. Moreso than any previous Pioneer (Geneon) DVD series.

That aside, introductions go well. These first four episodes are the beginning of a bizarre ride involving intergalactic war, horny junior-high schoolers, one very perverted hottie teacher, and how & why an android designed for war becomes a house maid. Sound convoluted enough? Good...

I find nearly all of the characters so far to be quite enjoyable. I'm saying nearly beacuse the perverted teacher leaves me a bit turned off. For me, the less seen of her, the better. I have to knock a star of this series on account of her, Sorry. She is funny though.

We first meet Mahoro, the retired combat android. She handles her existence quite lightly and shows no fear, often revealing that she had indured much more hardship in battle. Though she became a maid, she often asserts her opinions when she deems necessary (dirty thoughts?). It's also revealed that her reasons for becoming a maid are not simply to take on a humble lifestyle. Suguru Misato doesn't seem to be much different from Mahoro, even though he is human and has never seen combat first-hand. He is not a super hero, but he exihibits excellent leadership skills under pressure. He also has a lot of brotherly respect for all of his peers, treating even Mahoro as an equal. This is a breath of fresh air for me. Even though their social positions elicit an obvious superior male ruling over a subservient female. Their actions contradict that every step of the way.

Their band of friends round out a somewhat stereotypical cast, but not too poorly. Many of their quirks are interesting and funny. From a raging food-addict to the jealous "other guys" there is definate energy about them. One gets the feeling that these friends have been together for a while and will be willing to help each other out in times of need.

This looks like it's going to be a series that will pull no punches. There will be no scene too perverted (well.. kind of), no pun untapped, and no emotion left alone. Every episode ends with a morbidly somber countdown timer right before the credits. All indications show that this story, as funny as it is, may not be as uplifting as it seems.

That being said, to anyone not willing to accept that, I advise you avoid this series and go watch Disney's "Little Mermaid", no matter what Hans Christian Anderson origionally wrote.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent story, but heed the 16+ rating!
Review: If you haven't burned out on meek men/"special" women anime (Steel Angel Kurumi, Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Cutey Honey), then you'll LOVE this one. Just do me one favor, if you're a parent reading this review. Normally, the "ratings" on anime shows or movies can be skewed toward the side of caution, for mild nudity (bathing, showering, cultural stuff) or mild violence. On this series, however, PLEASE heed the 16+ rating! After viewing this series, I would put the rating at 18+ (NC-17, in some cases) for explicit nudity, graphic sexual depictions, and war violence. Despite the beautiful artwork and absolutely ADORABLE drawings of Mahoro, this is NOT for children or young adolescents.

Onward to the review:

Mahoromatic-Automatic Maiden grabs your attention at the very beginning. You'll instantly care about Mahoro, the combat android, as she attempts to make her way in the world by working for Suguru, the young protagonist of this piece. You'll feel for her as she struggles with her past--and events that directly impacted Suguru, unbeknownst to him. You'll laugh (and cringe!) as she interacts with Suguru's friends and his oversexed, needs-to-be-TOTALLY-arrested-for-unholy-sex-offender-like-fantasies homeroom teacher! And you'll absolutely LOVE "Slash", Mahoro's assistant battle mech. (My favorite line? "Yea, whatever; who do you want me to Kill?" said in a tone of utmost eagerness!)

Like in most Meek Men/"Special" Women anime, there's a hidden time bomb of a tragedy that looms over this couple. You'll only get a kernel of it in this first DVD, but it's a very important kernel. This series is cute and bittersweet at the same time. Give this series a try--you won't be disappointed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent story, but heed the 16+ rating!
Review: If you haven't burned out on meek men/"special" women anime (Steel Angel Kurumi, Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Cutey Honey), then you'll LOVE this one. Just do me one favor, if you're a parent reading this review. Normally, the "ratings" on anime shows or movies can be skewed toward the side of caution, for mild nudity (bathing, showering, cultural stuff) or mild violence. On this series, however, PLEASE heed the 16+ rating! After viewing this series, I would put the rating at 18+ (NC-17, in some cases) for explicit nudity, graphic sexual depictions, and war violence. Despite the beautiful artwork and absolutely ADORABLE drawings of Mahoro, this is NOT for children or young adolescents.

Onward to the review:

Mahoromatic-Automatic Maiden grabs your attention at the very beginning. You'll instantly care about Mahoro, the combat android, as she attempts to make her way in the world by working for Suguru, the young protagonist of this piece. You'll feel for her as she struggles with her past--and events that directly impacted Suguru, unbeknownst to him. You'll laugh (and cringe!) as she interacts with Suguru's friends and his oversexed, needs-to-be-TOTALLY-arrested-for-unholy-sex-offender-like-fantasies homeroom teacher! And you'll absolutely LOVE "Slash", Mahoro's assistant battle mech. (My favorite line? "Yea, whatever; who do you want me to Kill?" said in a tone of utmost eagerness!)

Like in most Meek Men/"Special" Women anime, there's a hidden time bomb of a tragedy that looms over this couple. You'll only get a kernel of it in this first DVD, but it's a very important kernel. This series is cute and bittersweet at the same time. Give this series a try--you won't be disappointed.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Even Gainax can flop.
Review: Mahoromatic is a pleasant anime with an interesting premise, but while I like surprises, the payoff on this one was just wrong. Most fans familiar with other similar series will enjoy most of the early episodes. It has lots of fan service, and a good dose of slapstick humor. The premise is simple, a battle android whose batteries are set to run down is given a choice: 37 more days as a battle droid, or a little over a year with her weapons removed, and an early retirement with honor. Mahoro, believing she has a debt to repay, chooses the latter. She becomes the maid to a 14 year old who has lost his father and mother. She believes by doing so she can make his life easier and perhaps help absolve her own conscience.

Attention: Spoilers ahead!! If you are going to insist on buying this series, don't read any further. For the rest of the fans, if the series still seems worth it after you read this, you do always have the option of skipping the bad ending. I'm not going to go into great detail here. Like you might expect from these type of series the male lead always falls for the lead female. It matters not thats she's mechanical, magical, spiritual or otherwise. This anime is no exception to that rule the male lead does indeed fall in love. What sets this apart is that what was intended as helping by Mahoro, as paying back a debt to a father, precipitated one of the worst outcomes imaginable. Had Mahoro known how it would turn out, I'm sure she would have never even gone near the boy in the first place.

Here's the spoiler: Instead of affecting his future in an upbeat, positive manner. Then leaving him at the end of her time with some great memories. She unintentionally causes him to grow up to become a cynical, half-mechanical (cyborg implants for his profession), revenge killer. Who, if he's not killing androids, apparently spends his time drinking and whoring.

I don't think for a minute this was the intended ending to this anime. I believe (based on the countdown timer they put after each of the TV episodes), that this series was originally intended to go at least one more season. What I think happened was that it may have gotten unexpectedly cancelled. The animators then hurriedly crafted this horribly cynical ending. Maybe their own impending unemployment, prompted them to change the face of a much lighter series. Many questions go completely unanswered, and several loose ends remain from the horrible ending. I suspect there's little hope those questions will ever be resolved.

I watched the dubbed version, which does right by most of the voices. I believe this version will contain both tracks, so if you don't like the English, rest assured the Japanese version will sound OK.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Premise and the Payoff!
Review: Mahoromatic is a pleasant anime with an interesting premise, but while I like surprises, the payoff on this one was just wrong. Most fans familiar with other similar series will enjoy most of the early episodes. It has lots of fan service, and a good dose of slapstick humor. The premise is simple, a battle android whose batteries are set to run down is given a choice: 37 more days as a battle droid, or a little over a year with her weapons removed, and an early retirement with honor. Mahoro, believing she has a debt to repay, chooses the latter. She becomes the maid to a 14 year old who has lost his father and mother. She believes by doing so she can make his life easier and perhaps help absolve her own conscience.

Attention: Spoilers ahead!! If you are going to insist on buying this series, don't read any further. For the rest of the fans, if the series still seems worth it after you read this, you do always have the option of skipping the bad ending. I'm not going to go into great detail here. Like you might expect from these type of series the male lead always falls for the lead female. It matters not thats she's mechanical, magical, spiritual or otherwise. This anime is no exception to that rule the male lead does indeed fall in love. What sets this apart is that what was intended as helping by Mahoro, as paying back a debt to a father, precipitated one of the worst outcomes imaginable. Had Mahoro known how it would turn out, I'm sure she would have never even gone near the boy in the first place.

Here's the spoiler: Instead of affecting his future in an upbeat, positive manner. Then leaving him at the end of her time with some great memories. She unintentionally causes him to grow up to become a cynical, half-mechanical (cyborg implants for his profession), revenge killer. Who, if he's not killing androids, apparently spends his time drinking and whoring.

I don't think for a minute this was the intended ending to this anime. I believe (based on the countdown timer they put after each of the TV episodes), that this series was originally intended to go at least one more season. What I think happened was that it may have gotten unexpectedly cancelled. The animators then hurriedly crafted this horribly cynical ending. Maybe their own impending unemployment, prompted them to change the face of a much lighter series. Many questions go completely unanswered, and several loose ends remain from the horrible ending. I suspect there's little hope those questions will ever be resolved.

I watched the dubbed version, which does right by most of the voices. I believe this version will contain both tracks, so if you don't like the English, rest assured the Japanese version will sound OK.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: i've herd good things
Review: this anime is looking good but i dont know if i wont to buy it i know this is a re-view but.. i think of this like a message bord so if u here any more good thing about this tell me ok by puting another review on this bord thx


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates