Mayo Chiki! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Just returned from a screening of the romantic (harem?) comedy Mayo Chiki, new from Sentai Filmworks. It was initially a sub-only release (copyright 2012) that was later dubbed (2014), and it is the new dubbed version that we got screened for us tonight at Alamo Drafthouse. I was doubtful of Mayo Chiki at first, and some of the initial conceit of the show reminded me a little too much of MM! but nevertheless it was surprisingly entertaining with very likable characters, even if the premise seems a little fanciful and far-fetched. It relies on a tried and true anime trope, namely the female character dressed as a boy but who's obviously a girl (to the audience) but this is later revealed as a huge surprise to the other characters out of the blue. I speak of "The Butler" to the richest, prettiest girl in school. A "Family Butler" who hails by the name Subaru Konoe (近衛 スバル Konoe Subaru?), pictured right, and is voiced by Genevieve Simmons, who also voiced the titular character in Mysterious Girlfriend X. She is the loyal, fanatically devoted servant to Lady Kanade Suzutsuki (涼月 奏 Suzutsuki Kanade?), who is not only Subaru's master but also her childhood friend, and also, as Kanade later reveals rather opaquely, teasing at a "Yuri" relationship, Kanade's "first love" as well. Because Subaru is regarded as male by the rest of the student body, the rest of the student body wants to know if main character Kinjirō Sakamachi (坂町 近次郎 Sakamachi Kinjirō?) is the "uke" or "seme" in their "obviously yaoi" relationship. See, Kinjiro accidentally walked in on Subaru in the boy's bathroom stall and caught sight of her very girly panties and shapely feminine rump. The truth revealed, Kinjiro is sworn to secrecy by Lady Suzutsuki, who playfully sets him and Subaru up, playing matchmaker of sorts. But she muddies the waters a bit by flirting with Kinjiro herself and hiding Kinjiro's budding relationship with Subaru by pretending to be actively dating Kinjiro herself, to throw Kinjiro's snooping kid sister, Kureha Sakamachi (坂町 紅羽 Sakamachi Kureha?), off the trail. However, by episode 4, Kanade playfully kisses Kinjiro, leaving him even more befuddled.
The craziness of this story is made possible only by the fabulous wealth of the Suzutsuki family and their unique arragements with their hereditary, nepotistic servants. But if you can just simply accept this conceit, the story is actually quite engaging on an emotional level in very surprising ways. It reminds me a little of the recent FUNimation release "Good Luck Girl" in terms of overall mood & feel. I do like this show and it is a potential future buy, but probably not as a bleeding edge new release. I have other priorities in the near future, like Part 2 of Attack on Titan, etc. I'm glad I attended this special advanced screening and will definitely put this title in my "consider buying" note in my iPhone.