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Hand Maid May Box Set DVD (Hyb) + Extras CD-ROM (Limited)
Kese Smith - Feb 10 2005 Rating: "Okay." You've seen the premise before, but the series is still sweet Guy is a geek. Guy gets robot girl. Robot girl falls in love with him. Other females fall in love with him. Hilarity ensues. Yep. You've seen the formula by now. But there's a reason it's so often repeated- it works. This is not an outstanding series, and it is short (11 episodes) but it's pleasant to watch. The dubbed voices (yes I watched this particular series dubbed) are fine. There's plenty of eye-candy and fan service for the guys. And there are no real shockers in the plot. Even so, it's an enjoyable couple of hours to watch the series. For $30 bucks I'd buy it again. Timothy P. McKann - May 8 2005 Wingzero586@aol.com Rating: Wonderful! This is funny When I first bought the DVD collection at the Anime Mid Atlantic 3, on the first volume you're in Nanbara's room you had to choose the right password to proceed to the main menu. In the first 4 episodes of Hand Maid May, she was a 1/6 scale cyberdoll. Episode 5, was her last time she was a 1/6 scale cyberdoll and was reprocessed by Sara because Kazuya did not pay for her. But thanks to Cyber X, who helped Kazuya special order her for his research, Kazuya got to see May again, this time she had gotten a lot bigger then before. There were some funny parts I liked, (Episode 1). Kasumi threw a potted plant at Nanbara because, he was spying on her. And some neighborhood kids were drawing on his car. (Episode.6) Dr.Hell slipped on a banana peel, because someone left it on the floor. He didn't know it was Kei, who left it on the floor. She was inside the room and heard him outside in the hall. My favorite characters in the series are: Kazuya, Cyber X, Kei, and May. Another cool thing about this series, the character's I liked were that their voices were done by, Steve Cannon, Lia Sargent, and Ruby Marlowe. Also, the soundtrack has all the themes to the show. So in closing, add this one to your collection. You will see what I mean. Jesse Hausler - Feb 5 2006 Rating: Wonderful! The ultimate feel-good anime In retrospect, I have no earthly clue as to why I bought this. I guess it stems from my attraction to low price tags and some unconscious liking for robot girls. Whatever the reason, I am EXTREMELY glad that I bought "Hand Maid May"! It goes down in my book as the best "feel-good" anime ever made. What really makes this show shine is its cast of memorable and endearing characters. The protagonist is Kazuya Saotome, a good-natured computer nerd with a heart of gold. Living right across from him is Kasumi, the kind, sweet, and bodacious "girl next door". Then there's Kazuya's best friend and worst enemy, the clever but hopelessly self-absorbed Kotaro Nanbara. Finally, we have the title character: the pint-sized computerized cutie named May. From this central cast of four, a very sizable cast (for a 13-episode series) springs up. They are flawed characters, but that's part of their charm. After all, who wants to watch perfect people? :) One of the things I like best about HMM is that is seems so well-structured; I get the feeling that the writer/s knew what direction they wanted the show to take from the get-go. As you go along, you really start to care about these characters, and you want everything to end up okay in the end. As for comedy, Nanbara is pretty much the show's one and only source of comic relief, but he's all they need. The man is the living embodiment of lunacy, and he'll have you laughing your anus off. Now for externals: the animation is really top-of-the-line, and the upbeat, bouncy music matches the feel of the show well. The opening theme, "Jump!", is particularly awesome. There is just enough fanservice to make us guys feel happy (down there... in the pants) without it adversely affecting the quality of the show. The English and Japanese voice actors were both great, although I have a slight preference for the dubbed version. Lastly, the extras were excellent: character profiles, clean opening and ending animation, and more. Of course, no show is perfect, and "Hand Maid May" does have its little downfalls. First, it gets sickeningly sweet at times. It's not as bad as some shojo stuff I've had the displeasure of watching, but it DOES get pretty darn sugary, so you've been warned. Next, they almost tried to introduce too many characters in too short a space. The last two of the main cast in particular were just plain unneccesary; they should have been one-epidsode characters that didn't make a reappearance. It worked out in the end (luckily), but suffice to say that too many cyber dolls almost ruined the bunch. Anyway, those two things are the only things I can find worth criticizing. I had just finished watching "Kite" (a VERY depressing anime) when HMM arrived in the mail, and I was still pretty down in the dumps. After an hour or two of "Hand Maid May", though, I felt good as new. Better than new, actually! This show isn't groundbreaking, it isn't mind-blowing, and it isn't going to change your view of the world, but you WILL walk away from watching it with a smile... and sometimes that's all you really need. I give "Hand Maid May" five stars; buy it from RightStuf while it's cheap! (P.S. Funny as it is, the "Nanbara's Room" thing on the first disk gets real old, real fast. To skip it, select the one on the very bottom-right.) |
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