Hand Maid May
Volume #1: Maid to Order
Volume #2 (coming some day...maybe)
DVD Features:
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Volume #1: Maid To Order
English Dubbed Version
Released: 2000
Version: DVD (Pioneer)
Approx. Rating: PG-13
Length: Approx. 100 minutes
English Cast: Lia Sargent (as May), Steve Stanley (as Kazuya Saotome), Georgette Rose (as Kasumi Tani), Bob Marx (as Kotaro Nanbara), Wendee Lee (as Sara), Ruby Marlowe (as Kei), Rebecca Forstadt (as Rena), Dorothy Melendrez (as Mami)
Japanese Cast: Maria Yamamoto (as May), Takayuki Yamaguchi (as Kuzuya Saotome), Mikako Takahashi (as Kasumi Tani), Yuji Ueda (as Kotaro Nanbara), Kyoko Hikami (as Sara), Omi Minami (as Kei), Rie Kugimiya (as Rena), Kikuko Inoue (as Mami)
As always, be warned that there may be SPOILERS in the review...
The story of Hand Maid May is typical robot girl anime. Basically, this is one of those shows with a bunch of cute chicks falling all over each other to get a guy. It's kind of like Tenchi without the nudity, but with a lot of panty shots.
The tale goes that a Cyberdoll from Cyberdyne Corp. is accidentally delivered to Kazuya, an engineering student at some university. He orders her when he's trying to install a piece of software from a friend / enemy that is actually a virus designed to destroy Kazuya's computer. It's rather complicated.
Well, he gets this little doll-sized maid named May and the adventures begin. We get stuff straight out of Chobits (unless Chobits stole it from this show!?) wherein May must be recharged by sticking a USB wire in an unspeakable place, kind of like having Chi getting "turned on." Also in a later episode on this DVD, there's a scene in which May almost overwhelms another Cyberdoll with her "amazing programming" which is much like Chi blowing the circuits of a bunch of other robots.
Back to the story though. His friend is some weirdo named Nanbara and he hates Kazuya because Kazuya is a popular geek whereas Nanbara is just a rich jerk. However, I like Nanbara because the guy is spastic crazy and does a lot of really funny stuff in the show.
The first four episodes are about May and Kazuya and their troubles as another representative from Cyberdyne comes to foreclose on May. Why? Because Kazuya hasn't paid the million or so dollars/yen he owes. Oddly enough, this lady, named Sara, hooks up with Nanbara and rather than doing the collection herself (except in the 2nd episode), she sends two other girls to do the dirty work.
That is the story for the 3rd and 4th episode in which we meet a little girl (Rena) and then a blue-haired busty chick (Kei) that is super-smart.
The Good Stuff:
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The story is very cute and has some good twists |
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The characters are endearing. |
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It's funny |
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The animation is colorful and fluid |
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I liked the intro. song and the soundtrack, for the most part. |
The Bad Stuff:
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There are a lot of panty shots in the first couple of episodes. They do tone that down a little for the last two episodes |
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Swearing is in there too, mostly from Nanbara and Sara. |
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Some bust jiggling that can be quite disturbing... |
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The intro. and ending have questionable content |
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Skanky inserts |
Dumb Stuff:
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Really annoying interface at the beginning. You have to beat the Nanbara test to view the show. Fortunately, they eschewed this for the 3rd DVD anyway. |
Some would argue that the wiring job of May and all those panty shots makes the show un-watchable. Others well point out that Tenchi and Ranma are much more sexually explicit. However, the latter two shows don't zoom in on busts and butts like May does...at least, not usually.
I enjoyed most of the show. Watch at your own discretion.
STORY: 
VIOLENCE:
(over-the-top slapstick)
COMEDIC FACTOR:
SEXUAL CONTENT:
(panty shots mostly, and some boob bobbing that reminds me of Dead Or Alive
on PSX)
LANGUAGE:
ACTION:
OVERALL SCORE:
Hand Maid May
English Dubbed Version
Released: 2000
Version: DVD (Pioneer)
Approx. Rating: PG-13
Length: Approx. 100 minutes
There are 10 "official" episodes, I think, of the Hand Maid May series. At least, that's what's implied when you're watching the series because it always has a fraction of a tenth. Oddly enough, they have another episode, "11/10" on this DVD. It continues to series a little more. But just so you know, the 10th episode ends the series just as well.
The first episode on the disc (#8) gets the viewer more knowledgeable about Kazuya and Kasumi. I liked it except for some stupid panty crap. The next two episodes are about a dangerous computer virus and they wrap up the series.
In them you learn about Kazuya's and Nanbara's futures and everything really pulls together story wise. Yes, the story is silly and not realistic, but few anime is.
Finally, the last episode has a baby in it that is found. It is quite a bit like the Tenchi Muyo OAV that was about one of Tenchi's cousins. It's amusing, but pretty pointless for the overall story.
The things to watch for in these episodes is "Commando Z," another nutcase with a great outfit, some great Nanbara scenes, Kasumi's mom and some more Cyberdolls. Also, you finally learn who that robot guy in the suit is that first appears in the 2nd episode of the series.
The Good Stuff:
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No changes really from the first DVD |
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They lost the stupid USB port business from May (for the most part) |
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The story is still interesting |
The Bad Stuff:
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There's still swearing. |
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There's still boob bobbing and panty crud. |
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And the inserts continue to suck |
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See DVD Vol. #1 is I missed anything |
Dumb Stuff:
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Why would robots be so interested in Kazuya? |
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And how does May win the contest in Episode #9??? What the!?! That is never explained. |
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What is wrong with Nanbara? He suddenly wants May...weirdness... |
It's fun to find out what happens to Kazuya and May. It is annoying that I skipped Vol. #2 (for now anyway), but because of that, I get to use my imagination more and it's fun to fit in the holes from what the characters say. For those that like shows like Chobits, I would recommend Hand Maid May. Not for the kiddies, though.
STORY:
VIOLENCE:
COMEDIC FACTOR:
(Watch for Nanbara and the bear-thing)
SEXUAL CONTENT:
LANGUAGE:
ACTION:
OVERALL SCORE:
(A good way to wrap it up)