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REVIEW: Mahoromatic (manga)




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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 2:31 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed both the anime version and the manga version of Mahoromatic. Overall, I felt the manga did a better job. The whole Vesper/Saint/Keepers(Management in the anime) relationship was much more clear in the manga.

Despite the endings being similar, the manga ending is far better (my oppinion, of course). I really didn't like Suguru in the anime ending, but he was a badass in the manga ending. And, like you said, it included more of his friends.

In addition, the fact that Matthew spoiler[looks like identical to Mahoro] makes no sense in the anime, but is thourougly explained in the manga. Same situation for spoiler[ Mahoro coming back to life in the ending. In the anime she pops out of nowhere, but in the manga it is clear what happened].

While the filler episodes where about equal in the anime and manga, I really didn't care for the Bomb Incident in the anime version. I liked it much more in the manga because you meet spoiler[Shikijo-sensei's little sister]. The anime version of the incident was, IMO, stupid. For the rest of the filler events, the anime was just fine.

For what it matters, I read the manga before I saw the anime.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 9902
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:46 pm Reply with quote
I found 370/Minawa and her "sister" 369 had much worse fate in manga: in anime those two were spoiler[androids like Mahoro], but in the original manga they were spoiler[cyborgs -- think Gunslinger Girls or SaiKano]. I felt sorry for 369 when spoiler[she got "disposed"] in anime, but later when I read the manga I almost cried after learning that she was spoiler[an engineered human being]. Anime cry
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18455
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:59 pm Reply with quote
dormcat wrote:
I found 370/Minawa and her "sister" 369 had much worse fate in manga: in anime those two were spoiler[androids like Mahoro], but in the original manga they were spoiler[cyborgs -- think Gunslinger Girls or SaiKano]. I felt sorry for 369 when spoiler[she got "disposed"] in anime, but later when I read the manga I almost cried after learning that she was spoiler[an engineered human being]. Anime cry


Actually Minawa was spoiler[basically a cyborg] in the anime, too, even though she was referred to as spoiler[an android] initially. Go back and watch the episode in the second season where the Vesper doctors/scientists are looking at Minawa's X-rays in the wake of spoiler[the rescue of Mahoro and Suguru from the Management facility] - ep 11, maybe? Granted, this comes through more clearly in the manga, but it is strongly implied in the anime. In fact, the anime only implies some other things that the manga states outright, such as the fact that spoiler[Mahoro is really just an aspect of Matthew], but it did skip being bogged down by the very detailed explanations. And I definitely found Mahoro's confrontations with Feldrance to be much more satisfying in the anime.

As for the emotional appeal, there's one place in the anime which always has me completely in tears (the last half of the first season's final episode) and at least three of other places which bring me close to tears. The equivalent scenes in the manga did not carry even close to the same impact for me, nor did any other scenes.
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2310
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:09 pm Reply with quote
Man, this thread has more bars than a slot machine.

From Key's reaction it looks like GAINAX can break out of its "boy-coming-of-age-in-a-really-@#$%ed-up-fashion" mold and still hook in the audience like it always does. However, I still want to shy away from encounters of the Chobits kind (I know they're not the same, but they're similar enough)

Maybe now people can stop needlessly criticizing the reviewers for not doing full series reviews and start focusing on more glaring issues, like the fact that Key smells. Wink (Ha! It's funny, see?)
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:52 pm Reply with quote
[quote="Key"]
dormcat wrote:
I found 370/Minawa and her "sister" 369 had much worse fate in manga: in anime those two were spoiler[androids like Mahoro], but in the original manga they were spoiler[cyborgs -- think Gunslinger Girls or SaiKano]. I felt sorry for 369 when spoiler[she got "disposed"] in anime, but later when I read the manga I almost cried after learning that she was spoiler[an engineered human being]. Anime cry


Actually Minawa was spoiler[basically a cyborg] in the anime, too, even though she was referred to as spoiler[an android] initially. Go back and watch the episode in the second season where the Vesper doctors/scientists are looking at Minawa's X-rays in the wake of spoiler[the rescue of Mahoro and Suguru from the Management facility] - ep 11, maybe? Granted, this comes through more clearly in the manga, but it is strongly implied in the anime.

To be honest, I couldn't figure out what was going on with Minawa or why they had to spoiler[transfer her to Saint] in the anime.

I think the manga explained the Keeper's spoiler[androids/cyborgs] better. The anime gave me the impression that she was supposed to be spoiler[ an android rather than a cyborg (which is why she wanted a heart) and it never even mentioned all the atrocities the Keepers committed with their cyborgs/androids.]
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 12:06 am Reply with quote
HitokiriShadow wrote:
I think the manga explained the Keeper's spoiler[androids/cyborgs] better. The anime gave me the impression that she was supposed to be spoiler[ an android rather than a cyborg (which is why she wanted a heart) and it never even mentioned all the atrocities the Keepers committed with their cyborgs/androids.]


Not directly, but it did strongly hint at it, as I mentioned above - again, go back and look at what they're saying about the X-rays in ep 11 of the Something More Beautiful series.

For Joe Mello: Mahoromatic is not even remotely similar to Chobits beyond the "non-human girl who can mostly pass for human" premise, so no worries there. As for the "series review" thing, that first came up a few months ago in the main anime forum, and I've been thinking about it ever since. If people seem to like this "using the last volume as a retrospective on the whole series" approach that I'm trying then I'll do more of it in the future.
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Godaistudios



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2075
Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:56 pm Reply with quote
I personally think that the manga is the better story overall - while I do agree with you that the spoiler[Feldrance confrontation ]was better in the anime, it was only one aspect of the whole. I thought the manga told the better story and that it was more consistent and less convoluted than the anime - especially the ending.
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DrizzlingEnthalpy



Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 255
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 6:31 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed both versions overall, but in general one thing that I prefered about the anime was that it toned down its unrealism a bit (the panty thief and bomb in a school aren't very realistic elements) and added more about Mahoro's past work at Vesper.

I disliked both versions of the ending. The only thing that was better about the manga's ending was that spoiler[you find out what happened to the other characters over the course of twenty years instead of just discarding them completely.] I have yet to watch the last episode/read volume 8 without crying.

Still, I definitely enjoyed Mahoromatic and it is to date the only maid series that I actually like.
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