Forum - View topicMaburaho?
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CSousuke
 Posts: 75 |
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What's your take on this show? I must say, I am a man who enjoys his shoujo. I was cruisin Cox On Demand, and I came across this show, so I decided to give it a try, and I haven't looked back. Many factors are appealing to me. Very unique story line, never seen any anime with a plot like that (although I bet there is). The characters were very interesting too. I especially like Rin Kamishiro (the "outcast" of the 3 girls).
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jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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Maburaho isn't shoujo though. It's actually harem (which is usually meant for a male audience), and I think that it's not that different from other harem or ecchi series. I found it very similar to Zero no Tsukaima, at least the first season.
I liked the first half of the series. I thought it was funny that everyone was after Kazuki because of his "magical genes" but somehow the second half wasn't that interesting. |
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Alestal
 Posts: 605 Location: Dallas, Texas |
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I kick myself for buying the last couple of volumes together! |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16983 |
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I assume Jetz you mean spoiler[after Kazuki died saving Yuna right?] I must say after that point I got a little disappointed myself. I had always hoped they'd also explain why he has such special genes more then they did. I was hoping for some nice back story action but didn't get much of that.
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kakitamike
 Posts: 183 Location: Akron, OH |
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It was a fun little diversion, though nothing i'd watch a second time. I like magical themes, and i'm always fond of Jessica Boone's voice. But the plot stuff in the final few eps kinda killed it for me.
A little off subject, but is there any harem show where the guy isn't totally scared/awkward around the girls? I mean, i get that that's usually the schtick by which the comedy insues, but I feel like it's just getting old. This was brought on by watching the first episode of Sekirei and realizing that Rin Tsuchimi from Shuffle is the most masculine lead in a harem anime I've seen. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16983 |
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Right off the bat the first title that comes to mind is He Is My Master. It's about as 180 degrees from the normal shy/awkward male lead as you can possibly get. |
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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Awful. Invent a time-machine just to go back and warn yourself in the past not to waste a second watching it kinda awful. And I'm a guy who loves old-school male-oriented ecchi comedies. The major issue with this series is it runs like the writers backed themselves into a corner with a certain device, and lacked the skill to get the show back on track. And in an ecchi comedy, it honestly shouldn't take much skill to stay on course. A lot of anime pull sudden 'tone-shifts' at the end, but 'Maburaho' goes from 'get those gene's the old-fashioned way' comedy to awkward melodrama in unwelcome fashion, smack in the middle of the series. Certain characters suddenly acquire entirely new personalties, and everything gets a bit emotional. Beyond that, the ecchi comedy phase was decently uninspired to start with, neither amusingly risque or particularly funny. If a person is looking for throw-away fantasy-drama material, 'Maburaho' might warrant a look. If your expecting a risque harem comedy that matches the billing, unpleasant surprise ahead. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6921 Location: Kazune City |
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I have to agree with goodpenguin; as a fan of both ecchi comedy and overblown melodrama, Maburaho was immensely disappointing to me. It was one of those "watchable if you're not constantly reminded of how much money you spent on it" series, so if it's available to you on-demand, you may as well finish what you started. The problem with Maburaho is that it baits viewers with a premise teeming with potential (girls have a reason to obtain a guy's genes the only way they know how, temptation/seduction ensue, possibly pregnancy fetish fodder), but it just doesn't deliver on the ecchi front. I've got nothing against shows like Love Hina where the guy gets comically abused by the harem girls. But in this case, the girls should actually want the guy to get aroused when he sees them changing or gets a peek up their skirts. But no, the same old abuse ensues, without any comedic or storyline justification to back it up.
Then the dramatic second half comes along, and Maburaho fails to live up to titles like Trigun or even Kiddy Grade when it comes to drastic mood changes. (Some may disagree, but imo Shuffle! also did a better job.) I found some moments to be moving and even tear-worthy, but then the ending pretty much invalidates all of that with its spoiler[Kazuki gets magically duplicated so all the girls can get a piece of him] trick. I hate to kill somebody's enthusiasm for a series they've discovered, but that's my take on it. Yours could easily be different, and like I said, if you can watch Maburaho via an ultra-cheap collection or rentals or VOD or borrowing from a friend, go for it. However, there other better ecchi/magic/fantasy series out there. I recommend two others that were also released by ADV, Yumeria and Magikano. EDIT: As for non-wimpy male leads in series like this...well, I don't classify Shuffle! and similar ero-game based anime as "harem anime," but the leads in KEY game series aren't bad. That would be Yukito Kunisaki of AIR, Yuuichi Aizawa of Kanon, and Tomoya Okazaki of Clannad. As for traditional harem comedies, Kaoru Hanabishi of Ai yori aoshi isn't as wimpy as most of his compatriots. And looking back in time, Tenchi Masaki of the Tenchi Muyo franchise is somewhat more manly than the protagonists of shows that followed in its wake. |
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jetz
Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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I completely agree. I assume you're referring to spoiler[Yuna's] personality change. spoiler[She was actually very likable during the first half, but when the second half came she became easily jealous, probably because she thought that since Kazuki saved her life, then he must like her a lot and he does], but that doesn't mean she should be like that. I found her very annoying. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 8016 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I laughed a lot watching it and got to really like the characters, so I'd call it a good series myself. It's a harem comedy though which are by their very nature cliched and highly predictable so I tend to avoid them if I'm specifically looking for laughs and have extremely low expectations for them. One of highlights of the series was Tiffany Grant's Kumiko Kazetsubaki.
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