Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama (TV)

Being a Gainax title with young girls in sexy maid costumes and the word "goshujin" in the title, there are things one can expect to see -- fanservice, ecchi humor, fanservice, and ecchi humor. While there are these elements in here, the humor isn't funny and the fanservice is bothersome.

The blackmail premise of the series is pretty weak, but then sometimes you have to swallow that in order to get on with the situation comedy. So Izumi and Mitsuki-chan are now servants to Yoshikata-kun, who has an otaku fetish for various costumes, specifically maid outfits. Further, he can make said uniforms. Then Anna-chan becomes a maid because at first she's "in love" with Yoshikata-kun, but then falls in lust with Izumi-san. All of this is just dressing for ecchi humor to follow.

Most of the stories have Mitsuki-chan somehow involved in some plot to get her oneechan and Yoshikata-kun in some contest or other. Everything follows a pretty predictable pattern with nothing really that funny. The only funny part was episode Pochi, and that was episode 4. He does something to Yoshikata-kun that is very, very wrong, and oh so funny. After that, I don't remember laughing once. Even Pochi's anticts quickly grew old on me and not funny at all. Izumi's and Mitsuki-chan's father's lustful advances on his daughter were not funny, nor was their mother's methods of stopping it. Anna-chan's constant shoujo-ai moves on Izumi weren't funny. The series wasn't funny, only amusing at times.

I wish I could write a better review, but sadly this series is just "blah." I read some of the manga and though it was funny, which is why I looked forward to seeing the anime. But the anime writers just couldn't overcome having such a strong personality in Izumi come off as a credible victim of blackmail. In order to make a comedy anime work, the audience has to at least connect with the characters or the premise of the story. Then, the jokes have to be actually funny and not, "well it is an ecchi moment and ecchi is always funny." It ain't.

Bottom line: Not really that interesting, barely amusing, and only one real laugh. Not bad enough to say "avoid," but certainly not good enough to rent. As such, I give it a "watch," but only if you don't have anything else to watch.

Last updated Monday, February 27 2006.

I once read a comment by a respectable reviewer who claimed that Gainax and Studio Ghibli were the only two anime producers who could be relied upon to turn out original, high quality shows without exception. Being an aficionado of fanboy oriented anime, Gainax has always been my definite favorite of the two, and I had high hopes for He Is My Master. Unfortunately, this show turned out to be rather disappointing and unexceptional, which I fear is liable to do some serious damage to the reputation of Gainax as a whole.

For one thing, this show just didn't seem all that funny to me--I got this impression right from the first episode. Numerous episodes passed without a single laugh-out-loud joke--this is basically a "smile show". At least for the most part it didn't get outright tedious (though it walked the line in a couple places). There was a good deal of fanservice, but fanservice all by itself isn't automatically funny! There ought to be a trophy awarded for the most clever and original use of it--that might motivate anime makers to do a better job, instead of just using it as a cheap substitute for skillfully written plots and jokes. I really am serious, because if they are skillfully handled, what could be more hilarious than nudity and suggestive behavior?

I can't claim to understand exactly why "character development" is important to a well-balanced anime, but I think I can identify instances in which it is lacking--this would be one of them. Looking back, I don't really detect any distinct change in the personalities of Izumi or Mitsuki. The problem which drove them to run away from home in the first place was pretty nonsensical, so they didn't really have any skeletons in their closets. Izumi seemed quite headstrong to me, yet suddenly declared she wasn't going to run away from her problems anymore--huh? Mitsuki was having a great time all along, so she didn't have any particular problems to overcome. Anna was a two-dimensional lesbian who never had any greater goal than to fondle Izumi. Then there's Pochi, the mind-of-a-pervert-tr­apped-in-an-alligato­r's-body. The makers of this series seemed to have high hopes for him, but he struck me as more weird than funny (though he did have his moments). And, of course, there is Yoshitaka, who didn't show the slightest sign of being anything other than a total jerk until the end of episode ten. I got a not altogether good feeling that the series would try to wrap up by having Yoshitaka and Izumi fall in love. But can a show be a fanservice fest up until the last couple episodes, and still pull a plausible romantic ending out of a hat? I hoped the show's makers were just playing with my mind, and would go for a humorous, bawdy conclusion.

Initially, there didn't seem to be much of an ongoing plot to the show, and around halfway through I shelved the remaining episodes for several months. Towards the end, however, some curious twists were introduced and I became genuinely intrigued to see where things were going to go. And then there was the final episode... To make a long story short, I don't exactly get it. I think this was supposed to be a more funny than touching ending, but I'm left more confused than amused. Is Yoshitaka an a--hole who only pretended to have changed? Is Izumi pleased or dismayed with the way things worked out? Which events were planned in advance and which were coincidences? I realise the makers of this show expect the viewers to possess at least a little intelligence, but a really well done conclusion wouldn't be so ambiguous. At least I'm not the only one who thinks Pochi looks like a hippo!

I don't regret watching He Is My Master, and I may even watch it again someday. I didn't notice any problems with the artwork or animation, and the music was satisfactory. But I can't see paying serious money to buy or rent it. INSERT CLEVER CLOSING REMARK HERE

Drama : Low
Comedy : Med
Action : Low
Scifi : Low
Ecchi : Med

2 Episodes Watched.

I'm not sure what to make of this anime so far. 2 Episodes and the story really hasn't gone anywhere other than Yoshitaka is a big pervert. In fact I can't even figure out how the title of the Anime plays yet. Usually the title means something but He is my master doesn't mean crap so far.

Defintely for those who are into Loli-con. But this isn't FLCL for sure.