Anime Review: Maid-Sama!
**this review is Spoiler free!!**
Back when I first started watching anime, I was very into Shoujo rom coms. I watched From Me to You, Lovely Complex, Ouran High School Host Club, My Little Monster, and so on. As the years went by, I’ve started to prefer modern rom-coms such as Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and Love is War, which have more substance and don’t necessarily follow those common shoujo tropes. And while I do think I prefer more substantial serious shows, sometimes you just crave that classic Shoujo fluff. And that’s exactly what Maid-sama can provide.
A quick summary of the plot: Misaki Ayuzawa is the class president of her high school, which used to be an all boys school up until very recently. There are still very few girls compared to boys at the school, and Misa makes it her mission to keep the girls protected and comfortable in such a male-dominated environment. However, because her family is very poor, she has a part time job to make ends meet. Misa works at a maid cafe, but she wants to keep it a secret, because she fears that her male classmates might not take her seriously as president if they know.
Now, I know I’m late to the party with this one. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! aired in 2010, which is honestly pretty late compared to some of the ones I mentioned earlier that aired in the early 2000s. However, I believe it perfectly captures the stereotypical situational comedy and dramatic romance of classic shoujo.
While I don’t love the main male love interest as much as some other people do (he’s a tad too possessive for my taste), there are some aspects of his interactions with Misa that I think are really important. Misa is immediately established as being extremely capable, hardworking, smart, and a natural leader. She is not a damsel in distress in any way. But what I like about Usui is that he recognizes that Misa can’t do everything all by herself, even if she thinks she can. It’s okay to ask for help!
Maid-Sama is also just hugely, genuinely funny. The cast of characters are all loveable and different, from the class delinquents who become loyal members of Misa-chan’s fanclub, to all of Misa’s interesting and mature coworkers. I would highly recommend this show if you’re looking for something lighthearted and romantic.
Thanks for reading!
-threecheersforinking