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Jul 4, 2016
Shounen Maid is a TERRIBLY underrated show. I can get, however, where the reluctance to touch this show might be coming from, since 8bit produced it and the summary sounds like the premise to some terrible shotacon nightmare.
This is one of those (rare in this medium and industry, I am extremely sorry to express) 'don't judge a book by its cover' cases, though: Shounen Maid is basically a gen slice of life show centering around family, friendship and mourning. And it's done beautifully from beginning to end.
The show achieves the perfect balance between sweet, lighthearted comedic tones, and a more serious approach towards
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the emotional struggles of both MCs, both grieving and adjusting to new situations. I can honestly say I've laughed and teared up in almost every single episode.
There's no what one could call an overarching plot, since it's a more episodic in nature show, but there IS a natural flow of events and developments that lead to a satisfying and cohesive narrative evolution.
The side characters are all very enjoyable, and though some could use more screen time, they all still manage to be treated respectfully; at the end of the ride, there's no feeling that any one character could be disposed off and the show would remain basically the same.
The art is perhaps the weakest point of the work, and even then it's just because of how simple and commonplace the character designs could be, but they're truthful to the source material. The coloring is AMAZING: the lighting and shading is great and accompanies the tone of the narrative at all times, making the emotional moments all the more poignant, and the lighthearted ones all the more so. The use of CGI is spot on; I generally cringe at the inclusion of random CGI on shows like these because they stand out and not in a good way, they just look forced and cut the natural flow of the animation, but Shounen Maid uses it sparingly and with great criteria.
The sound is one of my favorite parts of this anime. First off: every voice actor does an amazing job. Fujiwara Natsumi is especially convincing in her role, bringing Chihiro to life outstandingly, being able to convey and portray a wide arrange of emotions delightfully, and making me forget I was actually listening to a grown up woman (which didn't really happen in the dub version, sadly). This is especially notable given that this is her first role! Also kudos to Makino Yui, who was just really fun and easy to listen to.
The opening was DELIGHTFUL. Simply DELIGHTFUL. The song itself was really catchy and fit the mood of the show while the lyrics were attuned to it, which for some reason doesn't happen very often. The ending is really fun and helps a lot towards immersing oneself in the illusion of Shounen Maid (the idols -who aren't main characters- get songs! Plural! And they're pretty good!).
The SFX and ambience sounds are all very well utilized, and the OST is absolutely enjoyable and does its job greatly.
All in all, Shounen Maid is a slice of life gem, and I would very much recommend it to anyone who's a fan of the genre but might be reluctant to give it a shot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 25, 2016
This is an anime that was FULL of potential. I started it without many expectations, but the first two or three episodes managed to raise them, and make me think of this as the possible gem of the season.
From summaries and reviews, one might be thinking Tanaka-kun defies mainstream narrative clichés, and that the overall product tends towards a certain general calm feeling.
The truth is: Tanaka-kun had the potential to be that. It had the potential to tell an entertaining, relaxing, non-stereotypical story, while having an upbeat general tone and characters.
Then it became... something else. There were a lot of harem hints, and a
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lot of moe that didn't really add anything of value to the story, and also a lot (A LOT) of unnecessary emphasis on the romantic feelings from one of the characters towards Tanaka.
Does this suck in general? Not really. If you're watching something from a romantic, moe, or harem genre, then you're expecting this. If you're not, and you've come here looking for some nice gen slice of life, or have been bought over by the first episodes, then you'll feel like me, which can be summed up as: :/
I feel like Tanaka-kun dropped the ball. It could've been something incredibly engaging and somewhat original, but instead it chose to be... basically the same as the 1000 harem, school life anime that came before it.
All that said, there ARE some episodes that are funny and entertaining, and some of the characters are GOLDEN (Miyano, Ecchan and Ohta). The art style isn't anything groundbreaking or particularly remarkable, but it accompanies the general atmosphere and feel of the story, and the coloring is really, really nice. The animation is okay most of the time. Just that. Okay. It gets below average, but never above. The sound is one of its best points, to me, since there are moments where really interesting things happen, diegetically. The opening song is really fitting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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