Tough Guys and Maids

This probably isn't going to be that long of a post, but I figured I should get myself to write about something, or I'm just going to crawl back under my proverbial rock and do.... nothing.

You may have noticed that lovely picture to the left, which shows a picture of a guy and an uncomfortable looking girl. They're the main characters from an Anime that just wrapped up, and I really wish they'd kept going with it, given the vast amounts of unknown story that they never touched. I haven't looked around online to see if there was going to be a follow-up series or not, but the last episode sort of looked final. The funny thing is, I avoided this Anime for a while because the title sort of implied that I'd be watching a series of derogatory shows about girls. This would be due to the show's title "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" which sorta implies things in western cultures. No, I will not be going into that. However, I have to admit that I had this Anime pegged wrong.

One night, in a fit of desperation, I decided to give it a shot, and loved it. The show introduces you to one Misaki Ayuzawa, who has against all odds become the Student Body President at her High School, which up until 2 years before had been an all boys school. This means that only 20% of the students are girls, and the boys would make things difficult if not for Misaki, who spends a great deal of her time whipping the boys into shape. After school her life is further complicated by the fact that she and her family are pretty much destitute, so she's taken a job at a Maid Shop. It's a cafe that has their waitresses dress as maids; basically fan service. I don't really understand the attraction, but it probably has something to do with fantasy tendencies... *shrugs*. Again, culture difference I think... perhaps not...

Into the picture wanders the unwanted Takumi Usui (he'd be the blond) who up to this point has been randomly puttering through life with no particular direction. He's cute, smart and not someone you want to piss off, which of course makes him a girl magnet. Except for Ayuzawa, who basically pegs him for the worst sort of pervert. When Usui discovers Ayuzawa's secret job, things get REALLY fun!

What really makes this show are the characters. Ayuzawa who is determined not to rely on anyone, especially not a guy who she sees as the worst sort of male chauvinist pig. There are reasons for this that get pointed out in the Manga version, that aren't even touched on in the Anime. At the other end of this is Usui, who becomes fascinated with Ayuzawa fairly early on. He's never seen anything like Ayuzawa before, and can't help messing with her. Ayuzawa... well, she's got issues, such as not being terribly familiar with her feelings. Lets just say that Usui knows exactly what he wants, and is having a lot of fun chasing the quarry. Not exactly chasing, more along the lines of presenting her with every opportunity to realize that he loves her, and vice versa.

Usui is... just cool and a great deal more adult in some ways than he should be at that age. Just to turn things on its ear, it's the guy who is in touch with himself and knows what's happening. Ayuzawa knows right from wrong, and stands firm on what she sees as right. She's also a mean fighter, and doesn't always see when she's going to be in trouble. Thankfully Usui is usually there to haul her ass out of the fire.

This was a fun Anime all the way around, made with a lot of humor, seriousness and absurdities galore. My only complaint is that you learn virtually nothing about Usui's background, which is sort of odd in this type of Anime. Usually they show both sides of the relationship, and a lot was implied in the ending sequences that was never touched on. Aside from that, this was such a fun romp, and I really hope they decide to pick up the rest of the story sometime.

So much fun. Must find other shows like this.