Akiba Maid Sensou

Attachment 1986

"Akihabara is the center of the universe for the coolest hobbies and quirkiest amusements. In the spring of 1999, bright-eyed Wahira Nagomi moves there with dreams of joining a maid café. She quickly dons an apron at café Ton Tokoton, AKA the Pig Hut. But adjusting to life in bustling Akihabara isn't as easy as serving tea and delighting customers. Paired with the dour Ranko who never seems to smile, Nagomi must do her best to elevate the Pig Hut over all other maid cafés vying for top ranking. Along the way she'll slice out a place for herself amid the frills and thrills of life at the Pig Hut. Just when Nagomi's dreams are within her grasp, she discovers not everything is as it seems amid the maid cafés of Akihabara.

Source: HIDIVE"

Genre(s): Yakuza, Crime, Comedy, Slice of Life

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1,2

Well, with a title like "Akiba Maid Wars", what did I expect? Strong Black Lagoon vibes here with some of the edge taken off. Literal maid(gang) wars preceded with masculine trash talk and followed by guns, blood, and one-liners, all resting atop the sweet image of your typical cynical maid cafes. I'm largely over hyper violence in media, so the spectacle of it didn't phase me, but the absurdity and cartoonishness did elicit a response, so kudos to P.A. Works for that. The characters are more distinct than fleshed out, but that's a good building block to develop from, and they are fun to watch.

I'm not sure who this is for, but P.A works have always been somewhat experimental, and so far this is looking like its going to be worth the watch.

Also a shout out to any anime that is set in the pre-smartphone era.

3

Okay, we're there now. This is a good show. The first two episodes, while entertaining, were missing just a little something for a solid recommend, but this underground maid boxing/mma episode put those fears to rest!

Between the figurine plotline, the fixed fights being impossible for Ranko, and the conflict of what it takes to be a maid all being consecutively subsumed in the usual madcap mobster motifs and bravado all boiling over into the usual bloodbath, the pacing and content density was spot on. This may be a highlight of the series down the road, but this episode had it all, I would argue. Get to watchin!

Episode 3 had great fight animation, better than most shounen shows, in fact. Ranko is one of the baddest ass female characters of many years.

6

This is a better yakuza story than most yakuza series; or at least more entertaining.

Seeing Ranko not take action during the beatdown made me forget that she lives by a strict code, and Nagomi only happens to be her charge.

This is my favorite show this season, which is a high bar to clear with Chainsaw Man, Kage no Jitsuryokusha, Utawarerumono, and SpyXFamily.

Ranko is the best, and the situations are ridiculous. The humor is crazy and unique, and the action is surprisingly well done.