Hand Maid May
What if Hugh Hefner and Bill Gates joined forces?
Review by: Craig "Maid-Lovin'" Norris
Length: 11 episodes
Genre: Romantic comedy
Watched: 1-11 subbed
In the past few years, the concept of female androids in the service of human males has become a genre unto itself. I, for one, like the idea. And that’s why I was so excited when I got my hands on Hand Maid May. After cutting my teeth on such shows as Tenchi Muyo, I was hoping for something that did a little more than dwell on the ‘one guy with one chick for every day of the week’ idea. While Hand Maid May relied heavily on it, it did try other things, and for the most part succeeded.
Plot synopsis: College student Kazuya Saotome receives a computer disc from his self-proclaimed rival, Nanbara. The trusting Kazuya believes the disc contains a secret website, but in actuality it is infected with a computer virus. When the disc is inserted into his computer, Kazuya is accidentally taken to the website of Cyberdine Company and places an order. It is not long before he 
finds out what he ordered. It is a maid. A Cyberdoll maid named May, who is about twelve inches tall (I shall call her... Mini-May). During the course of the series other Cyberdolls appear, most of whom were dispatched by Cyberdine to repossess May from Kazuya, who can’t pay her fee.
Artwork: The show is filled with bright colors, which adds a lot to the visuals. The artwork itself is decent, with most of the character designs being simple. The illustration of computer parts is very true to life, which adds some believability (that is, if you can believe a talking squid). While not revolutionary, the animation is technically sound when it needs to be, and really cute just about everywhere else.
Music: The soundtrack really fits in well with the show, and is enjoyable during the course of the episodes. I don’t know if I would ever listen to it on its own, though. The theme song is typical catchy j-pop. The only other song that stands out in my mind is Nanbara’s theme, just because it’s such a radical departure from the rest of the songs. Plus, it’s just fun, which is a good word to describe the whole shebang.
Characters: Since most of the canon characters are robots, the issue of back-story is conveniently circumvented (they were built, left the factory, and now they’re here, the end). However, each has her own unique personality. May is helpful and enthusiastic, but also modest and neat. Kei may look straight out of the country in her sun dress and straw hat, but she is actually hyper-intelligent. However, sometimes she can sound like a real airhead, which presents an interesting dichotomy. Rena has the personality of a spoiled child, but once she meets Kazuya she learns to respect others, and becomes great friends with Ikaria, Kazuya’s AI prototype that looks like a blue squid, of all things. Ikaria and Rena make a great pair, often saying some very strange and random things. Sara is very businesslike and determined, but gets easily distracted by such things as ramen noodles and, in later episodes, Kazuya. Mami is the perfect cook and housekeeper, but presents herself as being very absentminded and oblivious, usually saying, “Ara ara” before, after, and sometimes in the middle of every sentence.
As for the human characters, their histories may be explained even less. All we know about Kazuya and his landlady’s daughter, Kasumi, is that they met a year or so ago and they kind of like each other. All we know about Kazuya’s rivalry with Nanbara has been tainted by Nanbara’s vindictive point of view, but seems to be a typical “you’re better than me so I must despise you” excuse. However, personality-wise they are all very enjoyable. Kazuya is a bit of a departure from the typical shy student inundated with nubile chicks, in that he sometimes loses control, leering and drooling at whoever might be exposing the most skin at the moment. Kasumi is energetic and outspoken, except when it comes to her feelings about Kazuya. She is very athletic, and coaches a kids’ baseball team. If I had a coach that looked like her, I probably would have stayed in little league a lot longer. By far, the most entertaining character in the show is Nanbara, who continually raises the bar on over-the-top. His highly distorted 
and exaggerated facial expressions and arbitrary gyrations had me absolutely howling on several occasions. He’s pretty much there for slapstick humor and is a tremendous failure at everything he sets out to do in life, so as you laugh you can’t help but feel a little sorry for the poor doofus. The variable personalities in the show play well off each other to create some very entertaining and memorable scenes.
Plot: Despite being only 11 episodes, the show does toy around with some actual plot, especially towards the end. The first half is all about Sara and Nanbara trying to take May away from Kazuya. The second half deals with a mysterious computer virus that infects and destroys Cyberdolls, with May holding the key to its destruction. Though the plots aren’t as developed as they could be, they are well balanced with the fanservice, comedy and sentimentality.
CHICKS!: Apparently, it is an unwritten rule in anime that all computer chicks have to be either spectacularly hot or inhumanly cute. This show has both examples. May is sweet and affable with a fantastic body, which one appreciates all the more in the second half of the series (further explanation would require spoilers). Sara, though gorgeous in her skintight outfit, normally doesn’t call attention to her figure. In later episodes she develops a crush on Kazuya and blushes furiously near him, creating a cute/hot double-edged sword 
that cuts right through me. Kei is normally concealed conservatively by her dress, but occasionally she opts for more revealing garments and we can see that her intelligence is matched by her physique. Her thick-rimmed glasses complement perfectly, making for a very sweet helping of eye candy. Mami has a sweet face, but for the most part nothing can be seen of her from underneath her billowy dress. However, it does not take too much imagination to figure out that she as well has a quality build to offer. Rena, though underage, is cute and fun. The way she pouts is hysterical. Kasumi, the lone human chick, is an overflowing reservoir of fanservice. Panties, cleavage, bath scenes, you name it, Kasumi offers it up to grateful ecchis everywhere. The variety and quality of chicks this show has to offer should be considered nothing short of legendary.
Overall: Hand Maid May is a respectable addition to the “robo-girl” sub genre. It ranges anywhere from cute and funny to deeply sentimental, and manages to pull the mix off quite well. It’s also got a heaping helping of fanservice which gets a little gratuitous at times, but shouldn’t be a major deterrent to less hormonal audiences. Part of me wanted there to be more episodes, but another part knew that it really had nowhere else to go. So, for anyone who wants romance, or cheap laughs, or both, Hand Maid May is definitely a title worth considering.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Vibrantly animated
+ Nanbara insanity
- Little character development
- Plot is out of focus at times
Rating: 8/10
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