Natsuki_SanJuan

“Okaerinasaimase, Goshujinsama!” Simple words, yet it’s charming to see that greeting when you go inside a café with full of cute maids. They were dressed in black uniforms, a white aprons on the outside, and most importantly, their smile. They will escort you to your seats and will serve your meals. They serve Parfaits, Karage, Salads, and Omurice with a special message from them, written in ketchup. Customers will feel very special while you’re inside the café. When you exit the café, they will greet you again to see them next time. That’s the daily life of maid cafes and their masters. That’s what Ipictured this show. A slice of life comedy anime full of cute maids and their daily lives. That’s the part where I’ve been mistaken. WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK? After witnessing the unexpected airing of Pairipi Koumei from Spring 2022 and its Chinese dance, PA Works is back with another one of their anime originals. It’s been a long time since they made an anime original like the recently Aquatope of the White Sand. This time, they released something different. Something less likely we’ve never seen before. I found myself getting trolled by this show because it isn’t what I’m expecting. I didn’t read the synopsis nor see the trailer in the first place. At the very beginning of the show, it seemed different. You may think that the story is not supposed to be like that. The show introduced the main character, that is yearning to experience the life of being a maid and decided to work in a maid café in Akiba. Nagomi decided to work in a café called, “Oinky Doinky Café”, where they wear a pinkish uniform, and some of them wear a headband of pig’s ears. She later experienced her first day of the job until that night. Ranko began to shoot other maids with a dual-wielding pistol in front of her and witnessed the corpses covered in their blood. I didn’t expect that to happen and made me curious about what the heck is going on. I had assumed this will be another CGDCT anime by PA Works but apparently, it’s a show where maids are considered yakuzas, and killing amongst them is a normal occurrence. I thought it was supposed to be a slice-of-life maid show but I made a mistake. The next thing that happened is I found myself enjoying this show. The story is kind of a troll by making an idea about maids and maid cafes and turning them into some sort of bloodbath war. I’m not sure where to start, but I think all maid cafes are like running a ruthless business. Tons of slapping energy, action, and thriller slapped together into a show not just for comedy, but one-of-a-kind entertainment. I didn’t find myself bored every time I watch the ongoing episodes. What I like about the story are its uniqueness and creativity. The concept is interesting but shown in a subaverage way. Each episode has its own story when they found themselves fighting with other maid cafes for the sake of their café and lives. But when they all come in together, you’ll know that something will supposed to happen. Imagine a world where yakuza don't hang out in small offices, entertaining only people that owe them money, but instead, they run maid cafes... as cute maids. Sound ridiculous? That's because it is. That's also the plot of this show. In this world, maid cafes are part of syndicates, maids use knives, swords, and guns to kill their competition, and they do long stretch in prison. Yet somehow, they still attract and entertain otaku in their cafes. The comedy itself is very entertaining. I found myself laughing so much because of the execution of the punchline, where every maid got killed all of a sudden. The segments in this show are very witty like the boxing match, baseball match, poker match, rooftop scene, and many more. Although the story didn’t have complexity, it was engaging and most of all, full of violence. What I like about the characters are they full of energy. Some of them were annoying but you couldn’t help but laugh. Their interactions are entertaining even sometimes also absurd. The characters are also fleshed out, and most of them are interesting. Panda can be somewhat the funniest character in the series, alongside Manager. I thought that she was just a mascot while she was a maid too. The manager is way too crazy for the situation. She is sometimes annoying because she always sells her staff to war to earn profits. Even though, she’s also an entertaining one. I like the character development of Nagomi because even though she was forced to join the war, she didn’t quit. She wanted to prove to other cafes that Oinky Doinky members are not pigs. Ranko is probably the best character in the series because she is full of violence. I thought that she was just the cold-hearted one, but she’s the one who loves Oinky Doinky the most. She values her co-workers, especially Nagomi’s determination to solve the conflicts without acts of violence. The sounds are also good. It is well-suitable for most of the parts. Some parts sometimes look like a punchline because of the music, but they know how to put the music into some serious parts. The OP slaps hard and it sounded 90s electronic vibe. The lyrics are just the dialogue of a common maid to the customers, but the way they distorted and make it suspenseful is amazing. The dance at the end was good too and I didn’t expect that because of its nature. I didn’t listen to the ED that much but it sounded like the songs from Yakuza. The animation and art style are also good as expected from PA Works. Although the quality isn’t that perfect, it’s pretty suited for the show. The style can be very weird but also mesh super well. The art direction is also presented and they took their sweet time to animate every scene even the violent ones. It seems that they ran out of budget when they produced Paripi Koumei. It’s not a high-caliber, but a good one. Akiba Meido Sensou is certainly a strange show but certainly has left an impression on its viewers. I recommend it to those who want to be entertained and experience some strange violence. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s very creative. Chaotic, strange situations, insane, and stupidity in a good way, blended all in one show. Akiba Meido Sensou is definitely worth to see! Story: 8/10 Animation: 7/10 Characters: 8/10 Sound: 8/10 Entertainment factor: 9/10 Enjoyment: 9/10

Chief_AJ

“Violence isn’t the answer.” Akiba Maid War is one of the craziest animes I have ever seen, and if you think you’ve already been shocked by what this anime brings to you, it will go one step further to surprise you even more. It's a pretty tragic story of maids, but not just any maids, straight-up yakuza maids. I almost overlooked this anime, but I’m glad I didn’t because it ended up being the surprise of the season for me and with its solid characters and wacky, but interesting premise. It's a show that I would definitely recommend to many. Art: 7 The art style isreally grungy, but I think it personally fits the dark tone that this anime has, and with decently solid animation and music I think it all came together to form a pretty enjoyable watch. Characters: 8 I think the characters are kinda what sells the anime to me. The contrast of personalities between the protagonist Nagomi and the antagonist Nagi ended up being a really good thing for the story. When they delve into the background of these characters, especially Ranko’s, where you can then see similarities between the ideals, she and Nagomi have compared to the ones Nagi has. It all makes for a really good connection between the said characters. Then you have all the side characters who were also pretty good in their own regard, it just makes up a solid cast in general, and if I didn’t find Nagomi to be annoying for like half the anime, it probably could've gotten a 9 or 10 for me here. Also, Ranko is best girl. Story: 9 The premise of this anime is really insane, and I was really wondering if they could make a solid plot with it, and I am glad to say that they did. The anime ended up tying past experiences that some characters had really well with the tragic undertone the city of Akihabara had with its maid cafes. To be totally honest I was pretty hooked for like the last 4 episodes. It ended up telling a good tale expressing that “violence isn’t the answer.” Overall I give Akiba Maid War a solid 8 yakuza maids out of 10.