MAO

Episodes 1-3

Let me pitch an anime to you: A girl who doesn't realize her own power accidentally stumbles back in time. Here, she encounters fearsome supernatural creatures—but it's okay, because she also meets a boy who destroys them. Although she also soon learns that she's got the power to destroy them, too, that'll be later. Anyways, the boy has connections to a very powerful, supernatural version of a common house pet. Anyways, the two team up to take down the creatures. Also, the show is named after the boy. Also, the show is made by Sunrise.

If MAO were made by literally anyone but my queen, Rumiko Takahashi, it would be legally actionable. Not since Kikyo sealed him to a tree have I seen so much taken from InuYasha all at once. The joke I've been telling my friends is that MAO feels like Takahashi's response to a studio turning down an InuYasha remake in the same vein as what Ranma ½ and Urusei Yatsura got—as though this is her saying, “Fine, if you won't remake InuYasha, THEN I WILL.” (To reiterate: This is a joke, the MAO manga predates the Urusei Yatsura remake—the first of the two remakes to come out—considerably.)

The parallels obviously exist at the macro level—in the broad, overarching story—but also in the micro details that help build the show's world(s). Despite the supernatural boy being the main girl's obvious love interest, there's also a boy in her class in the modern day that her friends are trying to set her up with. While the girl is off in the past, her grandpa tells her school that she's incredibly ill. The first bad guy our main duo properly team up to fight uses threads as a weapon. MAO feels more like InuYasha than Yashahime did—not that Yashahime left the bar in a high spot, but still.

With all that being said, yeah, I'm enjoying MAO thus far. The vibes are immaculate, the mystery has a solid hook, and the characters seem charming so far. Something that struck me in the third episode, in particular, is how well this series would've lent itself to a Ranma or InuYasha-like structure, where the series gets super elongated by a bunch of (largely episodic) filler, with mixed levels of quality. One interesting way that MAO sets itself apart from InuYasha is how much more it leans into the horror and mystery of not just the situation the protagonists find themselves in, but also the supernatural elements of their world(s) overall. In an alternate reality where this show came out in the 90s or early 2000s, it could've made for a really good supernatural mystery-of-the-week series. Sigh. Not all the time, certainly, but sometimes I miss filler in anime. And this thought reminded me of that, since it reminded me that Ranma has, in my opinion, some of the overall best filler in all of anime. But, I digress.

This is all to say the atmosphere of MAO is darker—though interestingly, also not necessarily gloomier—than most other Takahashi series (and I say “most” because of Mermaid Saga). And if this is going to continue as a mystery series first, an action series second (and, in all likelihood, a romance series third), then I think this'll really help emphasize that. And to reiterate, I think that'd be great for MAO because it would help to solidify its unique identity apart from InuYasha. Takakashi's always been pretty good at building up the mood—I'd say that, and character writing are generally her two biggest strengths. And if what we've seen so far is any indication, then MAO is no different in that regard.

Another cool thing helping to set MAO apart is that its world of the past is the Taisho era—so, around the turn of the 20th century (1912–26). Historically, this is a really fast-moving time for Japan, and I'm shocked there's not more anime that utilize it. So, I'll be curious to see how—or whether or not—Takahashi makes tangible use of her setting this time around. And I say “whether or not” because one of the biggest shortcomings of InuYasha, in my opinion, is how rarely it took advantage of the historiocity of its setting by referencing specific people, events, places, topics, and so on.

So, in a nutshell, so far so good. It's obviously very InuYasha-esque, but it has at least some things that set it apart, which'll hopefully only grow in relevance as the series continues. If you like InuYasha, you'll probably like this one, too. Similarly, if you've been watching MAO and haven't seen InuYasha—I know it's a bit long, but there's a good chance you'll enjoy it. Plus, it might be nice to know what everyone's talking about, seeing as how InuYasha's name has been inescapable in literally every conversation about this anime that I've seen (and rightly so).

Rating:

MAO is currently streaming on Hulu.