Hand Maid May
Oh my my my, Hand Maid May initially stuck me as one of the strangest anime I’ve ever seen. Kazuya Satome receives a pint-sized robot in a package. The robot’s name, appropriately enough, is May. This is the work of his self-described best friend and worst enemy, the shameless self-promoter Nambara. One particularly pithy reference I once consulted described anime as “hyperkinetic”, and Hand Maid May is the absolute epitome of this. The entire show bounces around at an astounding rate; if you follow this show without taking an occasional break, you’ll get whiplash.
The ending has just a touch of weirdness, with some time travel involved, but incredibly the whole series is pulled together into a cohesive whole. An additional 11th episode is surreal beyond words.
Hand Maid May looks like a cheap production, which nonetheless does extremely well given its constraints. Fanservice is over the top, so people who like that sort of thing will probably be drawn to May, and people who find it a serious distraction from other elements of anime will probably be better off looking for a different show.
Beyond these visuals, May is, well, really odd. There’s no way around the oddity of this series. It’s a harem anime, alright, but the very first female protagonist we meet is a palm-sized robot. If any relationships weren’t meant to be, this is one of them; I admit that I found the combination of character and setting just a bit unsettling, and was happy when it was resolved. Other characters besides may herself are slightly stereotyped: there’s the young girl who’s really a brat, the genius that lacks common sense, a ramen-obsessed corporate lackey, a baseball-playing tomboy, and the previously mentioned geek that’s the object of all of their affections.
While the soundtrack doesn’t sound like anything that I would buy, it’s noticeable but not overbearing. The music adds just the right feel to the wacky people and scenes that it accompanies, another strong plus for this series.
Overall, May’s worth at least a rental to see if its bizarre taste is something you can acquire. Go on, try it, you might like it! As much as I hate to admit it, I did.
Information on other sites:
Buy Hand Maid May at Amazon.com