Anime: Maburaho

Animated by J.C. Staff, which translates to retarded fan service. The director is also nobody special. Maburaho is yet another ecchi comedy with mostly random humour and events that occasionally tries to offer a bit more in terms of characterization. It ultimately fails but at least it tries; something most of its kind doesn’t even bothers with.

So what gives this time? The world in the series finds everyone with the ability to cast magic for a few thousand times during their lives before it runs out. The lead male is your typical harem dork with the unusual ability to use powerful magic a few times in his life, before he dies from it. As soon as it is revealed that he is the descendant of a long line of powerful wizards and that his offsprings will most likely also be powerful wizards, a bunch of girls rush to be impregnated by him as means to become famous and powerful thanks to his kids.

And here we are with a very good premise for endless consensus sex with multiple hot girls… before you realize this is a harem show where nothing of the sort happens. The lead once again is a chicken that runs away from the joy of his lifetime. Also, everybody is dead set to attack him for one reason or another when all he wants is to be left alone cowering in a corner. Not only that but he ends up wasting his precious magic on foolish occasions just so he can run away easier or even to save a girl who was after his semen… just so he can continue running away from her. Yeah, that makes sense…

The twist comes in the second half of the show where This is the part which actually turns the show into something worth watching as each girl is now offered emersion and colorization which is directly relevant to the main story. They become a step higher than your cardboard bimbos.

Other than that, the anime is your average harem, following the formula by the book. I can only just say that its excuse for sex is far more direct than in most others of its kind, as the girls literally want to be bedded from the very first moment they meet the guy and that makes even the fan service to rank in the bolder ones of the genre. The production values are average, without any real great backgrounds or music score. The characters look generic and the motions are rather stiff. Even the whole world being full of magicians is just like our own, as if it doesn’t matter how everybody can do supernatural things and some elements would be different. Bad use of its setting.

The ending also feels somewhat more conclusive than your typical open-ended one. It will feel like there is closure… but not the sexual one. It will just have managed to complete one major obstacle before opening three others. Weird but memorable.

It is far from being a good show and the characters still feel like they are just defined by their hair-colour and a fetish but the twist mid-way and the colorized cast makes it somewhat better. The fan service is also bold for its time too, although it won’t feel that great today. Nice try but not good enough to pass in my book.

The best and most unique harem anime out there, Maburaho puts anime like Ai Yori Aoshi and Love Hina to shame. This is because, unlike those two anime, this anime actually has a plot, and a premise for the "harem" aspect.

The animation isn't too great; especially the 2D backgrounds. The magic is ok, but pretty much every piece of magic looks similar. The character models are alright though.

The sound isn't anything special. The background sounds are ok, the magical sounds, etc. The OP/EDs arn't that good or memorable, and Shikimori, the male lead, sounds like he is 10 years old instead of 17.

The story is surprisingly interesting. Unlike most harem animes, there is a flowing plot that every episode will tie into, and unlike Love Hina and Ai Yori Aoshi, whose episodes are pretty random and seem to connect only very loosely, Maburaho actually flows from episode to episode. The magic angle is really interesting and sets it apart from other anime. Also, there are a few unexpected plot twists that will surprise anyone, including myself, who came into the anime not expecting much plot development. The ending is especially surprising.

The characters are, while a bit generic (stoic female swordsman; outgoing, busty and perverted older classmate; and extremely jealous girlfriend) all interesting and have their own motivations. Also, character growth actually occurs in this series, which also seperates it from other harem anime. The relationships between the main character and each of the girls is also interesting to see develop as they start to like him for more than his genes.

For those interested in harem/comedic anime I would say this is the best I have watched. I enjoyed this anime more than the average anime.

I barely finished this series, which was very enjoyable. If you are wondering if you should watch this series, please do, it is worth your time.

Story:
The story is about Shikimori Kazuki, a 17-year-old high school studeny of Aoi Academy who has special genes, genes from his ancestors who have been some of the greatest magicians in history. They originated from Europe, and from Japan, making his genes good for a child with tremendous power for whoever has his child. So three girls: Yuuna Miyama, Kuriko Kazetsubaki and Rin Kamishiro are all after him. Yuuna wants to marry him, because he made a promise to her. Kuriko just wants his genes, and Rin is ordered by the "main family" to marry and take Kazuki's genes. However, there is another girl to whom Kazuki is involved with, her name is Hayase, a childhood friend.

Sound:
The sound was okay. The beginning song is "Koi no Mahou" by Ichiko, and it was okay. You can't complain. Overall, the sound could have been a lot better. The smooth transition and type of music that there was, was also very well done, but could have had improvements.

Animation:
The animation overall was very good. Along with the story and everything, the graphics and everything in the series was very good. There were not weird kind of graphics or anything. So the animation was very good.

Character:
The characters are Shikimori Kazuki, Yuuna Miyama, Kuriko Kazetsubaki and Rin Kamishiro. Yamase is also there, being a very important, but minor character. Kazuki is a very indecisive, clumsy, but thoughtful and selfless person. He cares for others and tries to keep his promises no matter what the outcomes are. Yuuna calls her the "wife" of Kazuki and is very persistent, making sure no one gets close to Kazuki. She is very caring and very protective, and she tries to live happily with Kazuki no matter what. Kuriko is a "high-class" individual who is very wealthy. She is strong-willed, and tries to get what she wants. Her strives to obtain Kazuki's genes are well defined. She will try to get Kazuki's genes at all costs. Rin is a character who was ordered to obtain Kazuki's genes. She is very tranquil and tries to hide things from others. Hayase is a minor chracters, but plays a very important role. She is Kazuki's childhood friend, and she is very outgoing and tries at all costs for Kazuki to not use his magical abilities, since he can only use them 8 times in his life.

Value:
The value is very considerable. I will always keep this series with them and is worth to keep and watch in the future. All the aspects of this series are well-defined and well-developed.

Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed this series. Although it took me about a week to watch it, I was successful because it was that good. I really recommend this series.

If you like romance, life desires, comedy, choices that will affect tte lives of others, and the everlasting goals of people's lives, then this series is for you. This series may not be the best and perfect series of all time, but it does meet your standards to what a good anime series really is.

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on feedback, whether it is a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

Maburaho has an excellent premise; A world where everyone can use magic. Sadly, this premise is never expounded upon, with the series relying on the typical harem/comedy/ecchi clichés and one-dimensional characters to fuel a story that could have been infinitely more fascinating had the creators taken the road less traveled. Maburaho has more in common with mediocre harem anime such as Yumeria rather than greats like the Tenchi Muyo! OVAs. Maburaho is extremely predictable, and the few unpredictable surprises that it has are more annoying than they are interesting.

The animation is pretty standard for a harem anime. The women are drawn attractively, with exaggerated, Barbie-style body structure, unique facial features, and in most cases, large, puffed-up, neon-colored hair. Except for the main male lead, the other male characters basically look like they act, with their emotions written on their sleeves. Characters move smoothly enough for 12fps, though there are quite a few still-frame panning shots. The backgrounds are well detailed, but bland, with your standard classrooms, houses, and courtyard drawings with little imagination given the possibilities the series’s premise allows.

The opening song is a catchy little soft rock song with a female vocalist. Pleasant enough, but easily skippable, as is the ending music. Background music, sound, and seiyuu were not noticeably good or bad, doing their parts, but never moving outside the norm for a harem anime.

A little more about Maburaho’s premise. In the world of Maburaho, everyone can use magic. By magic, I mean flying, throwing fireballs… basically whatever the writers can think up, as the series puts no constraints on what people are able to do with magic. The catch is that a person can only use magic so many times before they turn into dust. Thankfully, this number is known. Most people can use magic in the double digits. Those at the Aoi Academy, where the story takes place, can use magic thousands of times. Kazuki, unfortunately can only use magic eight times.

The story is a simple one: Kazuki, while his own personal magical abilities are limited to eight times, has the genealogy of some of the greatest magicians that ever lived. Therefore, it is assumed that his children will be extremely powerful. This leads to a never-ending quest by his school, with three girls in particular getting the most attention, to get Kazuki’s “genes”, which means… exactly what it sounds like.

One thing I don’t understand is why, with so much to work with, do the writers follow the same old formula? Why, in a world where anyone can use magic in an infinite number of ways, are the characters in Maburaho, for the most part, limited to flying around, becoming invisible, and throwing fireballs at people they’re mad at? Anytime something out of the ordinary happens, it is dealt with in the least interesting manner.

For instance, we meet a ghost that has been around for hundreds of years. Do the characters ask her what it’s like being basically immortal? What were the events of hundreds of years ago really like? No. Instead, she simply becomes a semi-transparent member of the cast who hangs onto one of the women, and calls her “mother”. None of the characters ask the important questions, because to do so would require writing above that which a 3rd grader could write.

The characters are little help, filling in their respective clichés, each with their own singular personality trait in place of a real personality. Kazuki follows the harem guidelines, being hounded by multiple gorgeous women, and rejecting every one of them as if they had rabies. This would have been all well and good if the women were only interested in cuddling or kissing, but, in my experience, when a beautiful women comes out and tells a man that she wants to have passionate sex with him, a different head than the one on his shoulders takes over, and that’s all she wrote. I can understand a little squeamishness early on, but after several months of hounding, you’d think Kazuki would relax a little.

Yuuna plays the “real” love interest, as a girl from Kazuki’s past who is happy he is the one whom her household has commanded her to marry. Her trait: Getting mad at Kazuki whenever any of the other women make a pass at him. Then there is Kuriko, the high-powered, huge-breasted blond bombshell, and Kazuki’s sempai. Her trait: She plays the vixen, attempting to acquire Kazuka’s genes by any means necessary. Finally, there is Rin, the sword wielding… well, that’s it. Her trait: The quiet, reserved, and arrogant one, who finds the idea of bedding an inferior man like Kazuki repugnant. Will she ever develop real feelings for him? Is water wet? Is the sky blue?

In the end, Maburaho is plagued with problems. The comedy isn’t very funny, the drama isn’t very moving, the ecchi is too muted (no nudity), the magic is too bland and unimaginative, the characters are cliché and one-dimensional, and the story is the standard for harem anime, with very few twists to set it apart from the plethora of other harem anime titles out there. On top of all of that, there are occasional, plot related problems, such as inconsistencies in the storyline, as well as in the characters actions, and characters acting in ways that make it hard to sympathize with them later.

It’s not very bad, and it’s not very good. Maburaho is the definition of an average harem anime. Unless you’re a huge fan of the genre, I’d suggest sticking with the greats, such as Love Hina, Tenchi Muyo!, and Ah My Goddess!, and leave the unimaginative schlock like Maburaho up on the shelf until everything else is exhausted.

Make an average guy the main character, add a lot of girls who are in love with him, throw in a dose of ecchi/fanservice, make the scenario taking part on a planet where magic is used by everybody and you have a series which is mediocre, but still appealing to a lot of viewers.

Is that really all you can say about Maburaho, or is there something else?

In my opinion there is a lot more to this show than just these few ingredients the creators used. Maburaho has not only good visuals and audio, it also doesn't come too short on the story and character part.

The animation is done very well. The design of the characters has a lot for the eye, as has the design of the backgrounds, colourful and detailed. Attention was paid even for the little things. The movement is natural and doesn't feel awkward, the special effects like explosions are spectacular. Overall it looks like the series had a higher budget than such series mostly have, otherwise it wouldn't be possible to maintain such a level of animation without having a lot of recap episodes. In fact it only has one partly recapped episode, much less than e.g. Chobits.

The audio is in my opinion an important point in a show and adds a lot to the mood and impression. Maburaho didn't dissapoint me in this point. Starting off with the opening, Koi no Mahou, and ending, We'd Get There Someday, both done by Ichiko it was enjoyable the whole time. The opening is fast and catchy and fits to the beginning of the anime. The ending on the other hand is slow and has a romantic feeling, which reflects on the drama/romance parts of the anime. The background-music and sounds are used pretty well throughout the show. The sound of a clock, the voices and sounds in the background, the tunes when using specific elements. It all has its own place in the anime and makes it more charming. A minus point was the frequent use of the opening and ending theme in the series itself. In many important scenes it was either of the two tunes which is being used. A bit different to the original, but still clearly recognizable. A bit variousness wouldn't have harmed the series.
The voice acting is good as well. Kazuki's voice was done by Daisuke Sakaguchi, who has a lot of experience as the average loser guy. He already did the voice for Kazuto from Narue no Sekai, Tasuke from Mamotte Shugogetten and on a funny sidenote Ai Shiomi from Psychic Academy which bears a lot of resemblances to Maburaho. So It's no wonder that he made Kazuki sound perfect for his character.
The rest of the cast was mostly done by unknown seiyuus. Still they all did a good job on their characters, that shows the fact that they all have roles in currently airing animes.

The plot itself, though missing really new ideas, is not bad. The magical background is nice and provides some interesting ideas which are executed much better than in Psychic Academy from where Maburaho seemes to have borrowed those. The drama/romance aspect in this series is really great most of the time. Especially the episodes 7, 12 and 21-first half of 24 are outstanding. Most of the other episodes have their share of drama and romance too, even the filler episodes. What I disliked in Maburaho is the heavy overuse of comedy and fanservice. A lot of scenes were ruined because of unnecessary jokes and to the end of the series one did grow tired of them, especially all scenes which involed Yuuna and her jealousy. I didn't have anything against the jokes and a bit fanservice is nowadays almost necessary for a series. But at times the creators of Maburaho overdid it. Other than that the show has a nice pace and some twists keeps it interesting for the whole 24 episodes. The end es silly, it's not really bad, just silly. But since I expected something worse than that it was actually quite ok for me, although I missed some further explanations and wished some things were done another way.

Most of the characters are likeable. Development was there for all of them, even some of the side-characters had their share. The main characters are a bit stereotypical, like some other things it looked like their personalities were borrowed from some other series in this genre.

There is the loser main guy, Kazuki, who actually has only one flaw and that is the number of times he can use magic. Other than that he is a nice guy, not perverted and tries always to help other people. Then there are the 3+1 girls which are interested in him.
The girl he made a promise with, Yuuna. She started off quite nice at the beginning. A nice and stong personality combined with the ability to assert herself. But after episode 12 she is just annoying most of the time. A lot of scenes are ruined because of the running gag with her jealousy and she doesn't get much developement anymore. A bit dissapointing in the end, I expected a bit more of her.
The strong-willed, determined and agressive Kuriko, whose only interest in the beginning is to get Kazuki's genes, is another one of the girls. She has a lot of development and is an interesting character. Her behaviour was spoiled at the beginning, but she had her reasons. The episodes where she played the greatest roles were good, though I wished she had a bit more screen-time in the last two episodes.
Then there is the shy kendo-girl Rin. She also had her share of development. A bit strange was the fast change in her attitude at the beginning. But later on it was better that way.
The last girl was the childhood friend Chihaya. In my opinion the most likeable one of the girls, especially when compared to Yuuna. She was something inbetween a side- and a main-character. She had a lot of development for the few episodes she was playing a part in. Too bad she didn't have more screentime.

Overall I liked this anime. Its strongest points were the interesting idea which was executed very well, most of the characters, the visuals and audio and the drama/romance part which was great and provided some outstanding episodes (by the way, the 12th episode gives a reason why you should always watch the credits and preview). The end could've need some improvement like some other things in the end. One tiresome thing in the second half of the anime were the jokes, but these were easy to endure. The level of fanservice could've been a bit lower as well, but since it wasn't as bad as many other newer series in this point I can easily overlook that.

This anime is interesting for people who liked other animes from this genre like Love Hina, Ai Yori Aoshi, Mahoromatic and some others. Also if you have seen Psychic Academy and didn't like some points in it like the characters or the shortness of the story, you should take a look on Maburaho, it's in many points much better.

Just the average harem-series with a few surprises, but they still don't make it a good series.

Maburaho is on first sight a pretty funny show and the first few episodes are indeed pretty wacky and funny. Unfortunately, the jokes are getting old, the characters get boring and the quests/problems they encounter are mostly repetitive, even though they look quite original.

Animation: Regular ecchi comedy

Mostly big breasted, cute girls together with a lot of ecchi scenes. Bath-scenes, accidentally falling on top of each other, seducing scenes and all such are not uncommon in this series. This results in a lot of decent looking animation, but also a few chibi-scenes and comical detoriation at times.
Overall the animation looks pretty good, although near the end they seem to be a bit less creative and seem to be getting tired of the series since they revert more often to comical detoriation than in the beginning when they kept it funny.

Sound: Nice music, decent voiceactors

The OP/ED songs are nicely. While the OP is pretty upbeat, it's a nice fit for the genkiness of the series. The ED is a nice romantic song which emphasizes the romance in the series and sounds pretty good too. Although neither of the songs are really good for listening to outside of the anime, they're enjoyable enough for the anime itself.
The BGM and the SFX on the other side, are done fairly okay and also the voiceacting is mostly done pretty well. Kazetsubaki's voice is perhaps the nicest of them all because of her quite mature voice which fits the sophisticated girl quite well. Yuuna starts off as the regular high-pitched voice, but although one gets used to her, near the end that voice was getting on my nerves. Kazuki on the other hand, has a voice which fits him very well, but the fact that he has an annoying voice (nasal and very unspirited, just like the character himself) might give you the feeling that you want to punch the poor guy. And last but not least, Rin, who has a pleasant voice for her character, which seems to fit with both the agressive scenes as the softer ones.

Note that the ED in ep 24 happens halfway the episode, leaving room for an epilogue. This final ED song is sung by all the voiceactors together, resulting in quite some odd thing.

Story: Ecchi, comedy, and some romance ecchi with a few little twists.

From the start it's waiting for how Kazuki will end up after having only 8 attempts for his magic until his body will burn up, so most people will watch the series waiting to see how he manages to stay clear for the entire 24 episodes, but the series manages to twist things around a bit so things won't become too boring or predictable. I have to give them props for that because they use a few tricks and twists which I didn't expect them to use. Unfortunately, the series relies too much on the wacky comedy and ecchiness to have a decent story. Most of the times it's just Kazuki being deceived, seduced or the girls trying to win him for themselves. While that can be fun, with the 3 main girls and the pathetic main character, things become repetitive real quick and that makes the series become boring and after 12 episodes, you wish that they finally show something new again.
The do have some creative episodes inbetween, but although they are creative, unfortunately they still keep the 'making Yuuna jealous' in there, which really becomes boring after having seen half the series.

Characters: Stereotype and not all that great

The characters are not really that great. They are quite the stereotype people: the loser (Kazuki) everyone seems to love, the dedicated cute girl (Yuuna), the agressive lover (Kazetsubaki) and the shy, violent type (Rin). Being a romantic ecchi-comedy, one can easily understand that the 3 girls all fall in love with the loser and that the characters evolve according to those rules. Other than that, they don't really change much, so I wouldn't say this is a real romantic series. Aside from the few romantic scenes, the series completely focuses on the ecchi and comedy-parts.
But are the characters itself so good that they don't need to change? Well, not really. Kazetsubaki is perhaps the nicest one, since she holds up her own character although one can see her changes. Rin doesn't really get too much screentime though. She usually gets used as filler material, except for a few episodes where they actually do something with her, but most of the time she's only around to fill the screen, which is a pity. (Note that she looks like Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi at times, which is pretty cute for a girl in a getup like her ;) )
Yuuna starts off pretty well as the nice, cute girl but eventually - especially near the ending - she becomes nothing but a comedy-aspect, completely holding no value at all for the series.
What about Kazuki himself? Most of the time he's only a spineless character, except when he feels he needs to do something. Is Kazuki a good character? He is. Is he likeable? Not really ... since he practically has no character at all. While most losers in anime have at least a decent sense for making a decision, or at least become brave to fall in love with someone and make a firm decision, Kazuki never manages to do even that.

After all that, is Maburaho even watchable? Yes, it is! Despite the repetitive jokes and the pretty pathetic story, the series is still funny at times and has indeed some good jokes every now and then which can make you laugh if you can enjoy ecchi/comedy.
For the rewatch value, there probably isn't one. Since the jokes already grow old while watching it the first time.

When to watch? When you feel like you can enjoy some fairly light comedy series with quite some ecchi/harem-ideas pushed inbetween. Don't expect a good story, but rather watch and enjoy it - and wipe it afterwards because it probably won't ever be watched again.