Genres: comedy, drama, magic, romance Themes: ecchi, fanservice, harem, magical girlfriend Objectionable content: Significant Number of episodes: 24 Vintage: 2003-10-14 to 2004-04-06
Plot Summary: His name is Kazuki Shikimori, 17 years old. He attends Aoi Academy, a school for elite magicians. Each magician has a set limit of spells, and performing more spells than the limit allows will cause the user to turn into dust. In this case, the number of magic Kazuki can use is far below the average in his school. Then one day, all of a sudden, three girls: Yuuna Miyama, Kuriko Kazetsubaki and Rin Kamishiro, appear before him. But of all the things that they are after, it is his genes. And for Kazuki, the girls’ appearances may also spell his doom, as he soon realizes that his magic count is decreasing ever steadily due to the fact that he can’t resist using magic to help them.
This show may have a bit of a bad rep with certain groups of fans, but it happens to be one of my favorites from ADV and JC Staff. The show is cute and fun. It may not be deep or intellectual, and it’s very predictable at times, but I loved every episode of it.
ADV also gave it a very solid dub. All the actors were well suited to their characters and portrayed them well. Blake Shepard and Jessica Boone, in particular, were great. Jessica’s portrayal of Yuna was spot on, and kept her fresh and entertaining, when she could have easily become stale and obnoxious. I think the only weak spot was Tiffany Grant, but only in the first few episodes. Somewhere after episodes three or four she grew into her character and seemed to become quite comfortable with it. From Volume 2 and on, her performances were quite good and there was just something very fun about hearing Tiffany play a sexually predatory high school girl…lol
If you were lucky enough to grab the singles for this show, then you got quite a wealth of extras. Not only did they include voice actor commentary on a couple episodes, but they also included inserts called Magical Times. These inserts not only gave you some insight into the series, characters and creators, but ADV even went as far to include little “spells” you can easily do with household objects. The singles release also featured a very nice chipboard art box.
It’s not a great series. It definitely falls more into the guilty pleasure category. If you like shows like Love Hina, or Ai Yori Aoshi, then you might enjoy Maburaho. Like most Harem-comedies, it does have it’s weaknesses, but it puts everything together well. The characters are very likable, and for once, you can actually figure out why all the girls want the nerdy looser. Like any Harem comedy, it does have it’s share of cliches, but it mixes in just enough changes to make itself stand out.
The only thing I can really complain about it, was the ending. It seemed to be a bit of a cop out. But the manga was still ongoing when this was made, so it ends quite differently. Unfortunately, ADV never finished publishing the manga here, and I doubt anyone else will ever pick it up.
Yeah the otaku harem haters usually like to bash this and UFO Ultramaiden.
Regardless of what they say, this was actually very popular for its time, back in the day, around these parts. This was one of the first titles that hugely benefited from Anime Network and one they attributed to becoming a “hit” for them due to AN.
I enjoyed it a lot back in the days and is one of the few harem type series I’d watch again. Most of them don’t have as much longevity for me.
I adore Tiffany Grant in this one. Like you said Tiffany in my view really helped make the seductress role steamy but also fun. I thought along with Jessica Boone she was the headlining act of the show. It’s one of my favorite roles of hers. Kim Prause and Blake Shepard were also really good.
This is also one of those shows that benefited from a singles release. Like I said, some of the actors needed a few episodes to get into their characters, and doing just a few episodes at a time allowed them to do that. The dub had some rough spots in Volume 1, but it was rock solid from #2 on. This show and dub wouldn’t have been of the same quality with a boxset release IMHO.
I think this and Ai Yori Aoshi are the only two Harem shows I can watch repeatedly without tiring of them. Most, like Magikano or UFO, I need quite a bit of downtime between viewings.
But I think what Maburaho did best was actually make you like Kazuki. Most Harem type shows, like Magikano or Tenchi, you watch it and wonder “Why do all the hot chicks want him?” But in Maburaho, you learn why. Kazuki is actually a very nice guy, who will do everything in his powers to keep those around him from being hurt. It even shows you that it takes some time for him to grow on the girls, especially Rin.
Cody, that’s Coffee’s prize for last year’s Anime Network Forum 3 year anniversary and Christmas contest. He won the ADV Crystal Ball and a choice from a few options - he picked Maburaho.
You know, I hate to toot my own horn. But my contest for Anime Network forum 3rd anniversary and xmas last year was awesome. I had so much fun writing the trivia.
I had a great idea for this year but there are difficulties and other challenges involved… we’ll see.
Cool. Maburaho was a good choice. The singles for the release are awesome! Have you listened to the VA Commentary with Jessica Boone and Monica Rial? It’s hilarious!
Like any Harem comedy, it does have it’s share of cliches, but it mixes in just enough changes to make itself stand out.
