Mayo Chiki!
ChatterboxZombie | 29 Jan 2012 | tl;drI’m no dictionary or nothing but when I think about “Phobias” I think like, crippling fear. The total inability to withstand something, like that guy who was terrified of peaches. They’re not really something you’d take lightly but phobias have worked themselves into a bit of a cliche within anime. Throw in a dash of Butlers, a sprinkle of cross-dressing and a pinch of school comedy, and you’ve got the recipe for Mayo Chiki! Does this Silly title make a convincing performance, or could you spot the failure a mile away?
Kinjiroi has a lot of problems already. A deceased father, a pro wrestler for a mother and a sister who likes to treat him like a punching bag make up his family. Add the fact that he supposedly has Gynophobia (a fear of women), and the four-eyed sap doesn’t seem to have much going for him. At school he’s pushed aside as the entirety of the girls are infatuated with Konoe, the butler of the headmasters daughter. One bathroom blunder later, and Kinjirou discovers that Konoe is in fact a girl (big surprise). Under certain circumstances Konoe’s feminine Identity must be kept secret, and Kinjirou is persuaded (threatened) into silence. With a secret to share and person in common, the two grow and change as friends, with all the ups and downs such an awkward setup would presumably bring.
Crammed full with uninspired ideas, Mayo Chiki’s fascination with phobias, cross-dressing and butlers can at times prove overbearing and heavy. The events that take place are equally unoriginal, falling back on to typical cookie-cutter shaped episodes, like a trip to the beach, hot spring and school culture festival. But what Mayo Chiki lacks in unique plot strings it makes up for in good narrative performance.
Pacing is beautiful with characters introduced at a steady pace, relationships are fleshed out piece by piece, and the climactic scenes are always handled with subtle care and finesse. Couple it with an ending more satisfying than 80% of romantic comedy anime, and Mayo Chiki rounds off as a pretty enjoyable tale.
It doesn’t do anything new, but it does everything well.
Weaving into the enjoyable play by play of each episode is a neat cast. With Kinjirou as essentially the lone male character, he plays the role smoothly. Though his nosebleed-educing Gynophobia feels like a needlessly tacked on gag-button, he’s got a sense of humor to him, as well as often being the voice of reason to his female counterparts. Konoe makes for a melodramatic girl with a slight sense of duality in her split responsibilities. She can be both cute, and deadly serious, showing off an emotional range many roles quickly abandon. Filled out by some interesting romantic diversions like the sassy Suzutsuki and tsundere Usami, the show’s got a great, tight-knit cast.
With Five cute girls and some intriguing exploration into each, Mayo Chiki has a group of gals more appealing/in depth than some legitimate Harem Anime.
As with many anime Mayo Chiki has a divided attention between comedic crackers and cutesy soft-style romance. The comedy usually comes in the form of physical humor; Kinjirou getting suplexed into the ground or sexually toyed with by a cruel co-ed. It feels a little bit dumb at times, especially with all the blatant ecchi that gets thrown around on occasion but there is the odd moment of genuinely witty dialogue. These unexpected moments of tongue-in-cheek humor really create some hearty laughs, fitting the relaxed, self-aware feel of the show.
Though not exactly a show stopper, the lovey-dovey moments that arise so perfectly produce that casual romance that makes anime fans go all gooey for. Despite Konoe obviously being the dominant figure for Kinjirou’s attention, the other ladies manage to budge in with some great flirting of their own. The rich and regal Suzutsuki is a hilariously sadistic bitch, but brings all the class and sexiness of high-society with her. My personal favorite Usami literally blossomed from a meaningless side roll into a full-fledged love rival of her own, complete with adorable romantic pouting and pushing.
It’s a delight to watch as they all interact, but the romantic advances often come too suddenly from all different directions. For some this won’t be a problem, but at times Mayo Chiki’s Romantic themes can feel like a Schizophrenic cluster-fuck of affection.
Flowing consistent and colorful Mayo Chiki’s art style proves simplistic can be sweet. Sure character models can look scratchy but the animation is rock solid, the costumes are neat, and expressions and locals look beautiful at times. The school girls all gain attractive defining features of their own helping to diversify their looks, which is a backwards rarity in common anime.
Sound is good with some great voice work by Yuki Iguchi. Not many voice actresses can easily be a girl, trying to sound like a girl while trying to sound like a guy, but hey, she pulls it off pretty nicely. The in-episode themes are often catchy and touching thanks to some great piano playing, and both OP and ED are likely to wiggle into the collections of avid Anison fans.
They say to not judge a book by a cover and just as true you shouldn’t judge a cross-dressing butler by her tone. Mayo Chiki! gives a story that’s well defined, easy to enjoy and packed full of alluring characters. It leans a little too heavily on some tired genre formulas for sure, and it’s not the most dramatic or revolutionary story. However Mayo Chiki does a number of things well, leaping over some low hurdles to impress with great romantic vibes and comedy. Totally worth the watch, this is enjoyable, fun story telling at it’s casual best.
Don’t be afraid of the daily routine, it might just surprise you.
Written by ChatterboxZombie.
Well, you really made this hard for me…
When I said after the podcast that I can’t believe a positive review is in the works I was thinking about all the clichès and stereotypes this show blatantly exhibits.
You admitting to these right away painfully undercuts my argument :p
But to be honest (and in accordance to the last podcast): This _is_ a pretty nice roundup of the harem genre and to a lesser extent the butler-/maid-genre. I can see this being recommended to someone who’s new to the game.
It just hasn’t anything to offer beyond that and that’s probably where our opinions differ. The voice acting really was solid but the actors felt underused since characters very rarely broke out of their routines :/
In the end I have to file this one under “guilty pleasure” and it’s perfectly fine to have those.
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ChatterboxZombie Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Eheh, well I’m glad you were so eager to read it, for whatever reasons.
Dante and I like to joke a lot about how awful anime can be. But I’ve always believed that everything’s worth a shot, and
that people’re always going to have different opinions on different series.
There’s a lot you can say about a series that may not make any sense to another person, but It’s my job to describe an anime in the most honest and unbiased way that I can.
But you know what they say, to each his own.
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Yeah, the bottom line was: I came to a different conclusion. Nothing more than that.
In hindsight I shouldn’t have rubbed it in everyone’s faces. Sorry about that.
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