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REVIEW: MAOYU Episodes 1-6 Streaming


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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 1:37 am Reply with quote
My biggest complaint in the series so far seems to be how the story just jumps around and barely glosses over events. Not even a "it's not following the mawhnguh!" but that own its own too much seems to be missing for a coherent narrative. Like, suddenly Maoh was alone for two months. Or, suddenly some dragon lord was defeated offscreen and in the past. It feels like it's doing a breakneck speed through whatever the script was, filling in 26 episodes in less than half the time.

That aside, it's nice when it does slow down and we get some nice fireside conversations between characters or a nice lecture on whatever scientific advancement Maoh is introducing now. But, is anyone else bothered by the non-detailed and blobby background art? It's like someone did the bare minimum in drawing and then it's just covered with filters to cause that unsharp look. If you like an impressionist approach, it'll work for you.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:05 am Reply with quote
^
Yeah, months do go by with nary a trace. It's like, Hero leaves on a journey and then bam, he's been away from Demon Queen for three months. Then bam, three more months have passed. It's also hard to believe that they are this much in love despite having barely interacted with one another at all. I would like to see tighter writing and more focus on the lead duo, as their relationship looks to be more of a business contract rather than a genuine romance.

Plot threads are introduced and dropped with reckless abandon. Hero went to find Mage, but whoops, she's forgotten about and his mission is now to sow discontent. It's like there's three or four different writers working on this, each with their own interesting ideas but incapable of getting along with one another. It makes for a very disjointed show. Don't get me wrong, each of the elements are great in their own right, but the show lacks a unified voice.

Nevertheless, it is a good intelligent show and I do agree that B+ is about right for it.
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danilo07



Joined: 25 Dec 2011
Posts: 1580
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:54 am Reply with quote
I find it weird that reviewer didn't mention that large focus of this show are bunch of lame and unfunny jokes.There is a line said on the show said by a small kid ( "Miss, your boobs look great.")which I was suppose to find funny,but it was just damn creepy.And the future of the show doesn't look so bright as the latest episode (the one not covered by this review) was mostly about how female characters want to f#ck Hero.That said the show is intelligent when it wants to be and I would have given B or B-.
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CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5528
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 5:43 am Reply with quote
I agree with the others' sentiments in that it just feels like it's skipping around, barely letting us know of things that happen, without really showing us how they happen. I gasped when, in the latest episode, someone commented how two years have already passed since the beginning of the series.

Episode 6 was really good with the very cool yet very smart battle, and I thought the story would stop with the time skips already, because they're starting to get jarring.

I still enjoy it nonetheless. It's smart, sweet and unconventional, yet very real. I like that it's subtle and very beautiful to look at, and while very odd due to lack of interaction, I still like the sweetness in the Hero-Maou relationship.

I could do with a lot less of fanservice, but at least I liked that the bedroom scene was turned into something sweeter and more mature of friendship and bonding rather than the silly "Who gets into Hero's pants?" ridiculousness that had been going on and that I hope never picks up again.

Overall, I'm hoping for the show to take some sort of direction because it just seems to be wandering aimlessly, though with the spoiler[new apparent villains] showing up in episode 7, I expect things to pick up with a more unified and clear direction, rather than jumping around between growing potatoes and selling innovative inventions
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Thallium



Joined: 06 Aug 2007
Posts: 40
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:37 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
But, is anyone else bothered by the non-detailed and blobby background art? It's like someone did the bare minimum in drawing and then it's just covered with filters to cause that unsharp look.



Me, for one. I was a bit surprised to see Carl compliment the background art, as i have the exact same view on it as you do.


I rather like the merchant/innovation part, I dislike the forced fanservice, and wish the story would become a bit more coherent, as well. It still entertains me though, so i am sticking around with this show.
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:43 am Reply with quote
One must note that the main premise of the show is economic growth, in this case, for the purpose of bringing an end to war. Such things do not happen in a short period and if things truly did slow down as much as you all rather wish they would in terms of timeskips, we would have quite the borefest on our hands. I can agree that many things seem to be going on in this world that perhaps aren't being explored due to the series following the annoying 26-episode model (because the Japanese are just that afraid to make anything that isn't an already-best-selling shōnen longer); however, it is essentially doing what is necessary for what it is, and to its credit, it's doing it very nicely.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:19 am Reply with quote
Gatherum, I thought this show was going to be twelve episodes long, not twenty-six.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2634
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:08 am Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
Gatherum, I thought this show was going to be twelve episodes long, not twenty-six.


Yep it's only one cour

Anyways I am not really sure how this series got such a high score. Perhaps it has a good premise but its execution is horrible. It rushes through events and you barely have time to care.

Perhaps if this could have been 2 cours it would have been better.
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:17 am Reply with quote
My mistake. It only furthers the point though. The series does not have the ordered episodes required to support the lengthy exposition that we are clamouring for. That it is delivering satisfactorily as it is, is testament to its merits.

Unfortunately, one can predict that the endgame will be awkward. This really should have been a twenty-six-episode series at minimum.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:29 am Reply with quote
I agree, it should be a two-cour series. Unfortunately that's not going to happen and so the show will not get the depth - both in terms of plot and especially characterisation - that it deserves and so desperately needs.
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:54 am Reply with quote
First couple episodes were somewhat enjoyable, but I dropped it like episode 5 or 6. They were just going on and on about dumb political stuff while I watched it for boobs and fighting demons and they went away from those things.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:04 am Reply with quote
^
Well mate, for all that you're incredibly shallow, at least you're honest.

I personally don't think Demon Queen should have displayed so much cleavage in episode one, it led some people to think that this show was going to be a boob show and it just isn't. It doesn't need acres of cleavage (or breast jokes for that matter) to work, but the fact that the show resorted to using them makes me wonder if perhaps the writers weren't confident that they could hold viewer's attention by other means (like plot and characters). Given RyanSaotome's remarks, I suspect their fear was not misplaced.
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getchman
He started it



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9134
Location: New Hampshire
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:18 am Reply with quote
i just figured that all that cleavage and bounciness was something Head Maid came up for with for the sole purpose of seducing Hero and convincing him to join up with the Demon Queen. Once he was convinced and dedicated to the cause, just reign them puppies back in
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:23 am Reply with quote
RyanSaotome wrote:
First couple episodes were somewhat enjoyable, but I dropped it like episode 5 or 6. They were just going on and on about dumb political stuff while I watched it for boobs and fighting demons and they went away from those things.


Our society is doomed. THIS is what the Continental Army died to protect.
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:27 am Reply with quote
Why else would I bother watching an ARMs show? They are the masters of fanservice after all.

At least they have Samurai Girls 2 lined up next season to make up for the lack of fanservice in Maoyu.
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