MM! SS! – 01 & 02

MM!SS! 01 & 02 (DVD/BD Extras)

Well, I knew that each of the MM! Blurays/DVDs would be bundled with a short special, but I had expected more than 5 minutes of screentime, and this is after combining the lengths for both of the mini episodes. Well, I guess in the end these mini-specials did what they were supposed to do; provide some more fanservice that the TV series ever did show us. The episodes were just random little cute moments and a lot of panty shots and such, nothing else.

The first special pretty much focuses on how Mio’s fierce fear of cats kicks in while she’s with Yuuno, which results in a frantic Mio bawling her eyes out when the cat pounces on top of her. Of course, there was fanservice in there as well, and now we know that a hug from Yuuno seems to have “healing properties” (…) that managed to calm down Mio.

The second special was even more mindless and dull, with Mio randomly posing in front of a camera in her lingerie, and to top it off, a scene at the end where the perverted nurse is starting down a photo she was editing, which was a photo of Yuuno in very skimpy attire.

Yea, either ways, the DVD/BD specials weren’t really even worth watching, unless you like random fanservice that is. There are supposedly 6 of these specials, and if the rest of the specials are similar to these two, I’ll most definitely be feeling as disappointed as I am now after watching them. Why couldn’t they just combine all six, and made something much better? Sigh…

Overall Enjoyment: 2.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post. Warning, Screenshots are most likely NSFW.

MM! – 12 (Final)

Episode 12 Final –  A Christmas Wish – クリスマスの願いごと (Kurisumasu no Negaigoto)

This episode was standard for the most part, but the little curveball at the very end really threw me off. That being said, Xebec did a rather decent job with wrapping up the story in a good manner, bringing us a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to MM. Based on the preview from last week, I had expected this episode to have healthy amounts of fanservice, random gags, and Tarou-centric jokes, which were all in this episode as expected. The more serious twist at the end involving Mio’s seldomly celebrated birthday was unexpected though, and did leave the show off on a “warm, fuzzy note” that definitely fits the holiday spirit at this time of the year.

For the vast majority of the episode, the story focused on Mio, Tarou, Yuuno, and everybody else trying to grant wishes for people that had requested it via their “Christmas version” of Tanabata. In the end, the entire cast is split into two groups, with each group helping out a bakery that had requested help. Of course, it ends up that the bakeries are right across the street from each other (and thus, competitors). Good ol’ Michiru-sensei decides to make Tarou the prize, which got everybody quite motivated to beat each other (haha, didn’t see that coming :P). The bakery-centric story was the usual fluff, with plenty of gags and jokes to go around. After the “almost kiss” scene between Mio and Tarou via pocky eating, we get crazy stuff happening such as Yuuno and Noa doing some fanservice “rabu love” advertising, and even our two traps are called out for a performance. All in all, the first half of the episode gets crazily hectic, with plenty of laughs to go around.

What was a little sneaky on Xebec’s part was the inclusion of the story involving Mio’s birthday in the last 8-10 minutes of the episode. Considering how this episode had been standard fare (for MM, at least), with tons of random gags and such, I liked how the rest of the episode took a more balanced approach between drama, character development, and humor. Mio, in all her excitement, accidentally sold off goods that were meant for a little girl’s birthday, so she frantically tries to get the stuff for the party organized in time. However, as they were singing the birthday song for the little girl, Tarou actually noticed Mio singing “Happy Birthday” to herself.

Afterwards Tarou pretty much sacrifices himself by insulting Mio, so that she would chase after him and be distracted while Yuuno, Tatsukichi, and the rest of the group prepared a last minute surprise birthday party for Mio. The key moment here was that, even when Mio was threatening Tarou to oblivion while under her foot, he somehow actually managed to overcome his masochism, and ignore it enough to get back on track with his distraction antics. A little subtle moment there, but it certainly did show us that Tarou can overcome his masochism when necessary, which is a rather important little fact to note. That being said, kudos to Tarou for having the guts to fake out a confession, only to replace it with a “flat chest” joke. If Mio had caught Tarou after that joke, Tarou would probably have hit a new level of pleasure regarding his masochism =.=;

All in all, the ending was satisfying in the sense that we got some nice Mio character development, as well as a rather pleasant way of wrapping up the story (for now). The show does leave off on a very open ended note, with no real conclusion brought to either Mio or Yuuno’s relationship with Tarou, and lets not even start mentioning the side characters like Tatsukichi and Noa. Tarou still suffers from masochism, Mio still has her superiority complex, and Yuuno still has her fear of boys. None of the problems really get resolved, but this show still was fun to watch because of it’s rather charming characters. The first half of this show was significantly better than the second, though, with a great balance of character development, seriousness, and humor really making the first half shine. The second half, on the other hand, was practically all random gags, and it wasn’t until this final episode where we got some nice development. Either ways, MM turned out to be a rather fun show to watch, and I certainly wouldn’t mind a second season to wrap up any loose ends and such.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

P.S. I think this episode had this show’s first, and only, blatant panty shot. Considering how the studio is Xebec, I’m rather surprised that it actually took this long for one to show up.

Screenshots and new ED theme are later in the post.

MM! – 11

Episode 11 – Lost Memory – 失われたメモリー (Ushinawareta memorī)

With next week’s episode being the finale for this series, why is it that Xebec decided to make this episode almost feel like filler? I seriously didn’t expect that they would make Tarou lose his memories this episode, but I guess the tiny bit of character development we got out of it was worth it. I’m still a little unsure about why they’re trying to setup a love triangle between Mio, Tarou, and Yuuno, mainly because Mio hasn’t had enough character development to warrant being involved in the triangle. Yuuno, as always, shows her love for Tarou quite blatently. I guess you could say that Mio’s relationship development with Tarou is a little more subtle, but even then I feel like it’s lacking.

That being said, this episode did make some decent use out of the whole “Tarou memory loss” situation, with some great gags here and there. Seeing Tarou’s mom and sister taking advantage of his memory loss (and claiming he impregnated them lol) got a good laugh out of me. In fact, the fact that everybody seem to be either taking advantage of Tarou not remembering anything, or ruining Tarou’s self esteem, was rather entertaining to watch. Even Yuuno took advantage of Tarou’s memory loss, by claiming that they were actually lovers xD. That was rather surprising, yet funny at the same time.

What I’m a little disappointed about is how this show, although it has had a huge focus on the Tarou x Yuuno relationship in past episodes, seems like it’ll be finishing off next week with almost no Yuuno involvement at all. Instead, it looks like another Tarou x Mio date. While I wouldn’t mind the whole date scenario if Mio and Tarou seemed like they could be a legitimate couple, as of now their relationship doesn’t feel as if it’s been developed upon enough. There have been a lot of hints at Mio’s underlying feelings towards Tarou, and this episode did confirm that. Yuuno’s demands towards Mio (where she wants Mio to say what she truly feels about Tarou) pretty much confirms that Yuuno sees Mio as a rival in love.

There was one aspect to this episode that has made me suspect that Tarou might actually like Mio, as opposed to Yuuno. Consider this a wild guess, but seeing as how Tarou (without his memories) simply saw Yuuno as a cute and kind girl, as opposed to Tarou’s speechless reaction to Mio, where he actually outright states that he wants to remember more about her, might  have been the author’s way of hinting at which direction the relationship will go. Or maybe I’m just over interpreting things, but the stark difference in his reaction to both girls does have me a little suspicious. Either ways, the finale for this series next week might turn out interesting; hopefully, it does a good job with wrapping up all the loose ends in the plot, though I kind of doubt it.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 10

Episode 10 – Miss Sadistic Arashiko – サディスティック嵐子嬢　(Sadisutikku arashi ko jou)

Well, once again we have an episode devoted to the love triangle between Mio, Yuuno, and Tarou. I can’t say that I believe that Mio is genuinely in love with Tarou, which kind of dampens the whole love triangle aspect, but besides that, this episode was rather cute. Seeing a jealous Yuuno trying to win Tarou from Mio through sadism was certainly an unexpected twist, though now that I think about it, makes a lot of sense. The jokes weren’t the best I’ve seen from this show, but they were still pretty funny. Unfortunately, this humor centric episode didn’t really progress relationships or anything, but it’s not like I was expecting anything more than entertainment, and in that aspect this episode did well.

After Yuuno saw Mio and Tarou holding hands together last episode, I was wondering as to exactly what the consequences would be. It turns out that Yuuno thinks that she needs to be sadistic, like Mio, in order for to win over Tarou. While Yuuno’s reasoning makes sense, I still found the whole situation a little absurd. True enough, Yuuno went as far as taking some special training classes to train her sadistic tendencies (lol). That pays off a little with her policeman cosplay really dealing a heavy blow to Tarou.

Of course, Mio is not going to be beaten at her own game, and ends up winning the “who can be more sadistic” contest between her and Yuuno. Poor Tarou; he had to suffer (aka enjoy xP) double dosage of sadism, both from Mio and Yuuno. I found the jokes pretty funny, though nothing unpredictable. Seriously, when I heard that there was going to be a “silent” part, where they had to invoke Tarou’s masochism without talking at all, I was expecting better than a simple “oh, texting doesn’t count as talking” solution. =.=;

Minor complaints aside, this episode was rather amusing, though I would also count it as filler. There wasn’t really any relationship development this episode, only a confirmation that Yuuno likes Tarou, and Mio may have feelings for him as well. Aside from that, nothing much else really happened (though I got my dosage of entertainment for the day =P). Next episode looks rather promising, with what seems to be more drama and serious conflict that previous episodes. Or maybe I’m just being delusional, and the next episode is actually a comedy episode as well =.=;

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 08 + 09

Episode 08- B&L’s Style Romance! -　BでLな変愛模様 (B de L na hen-ai moyou)
Episode 09 – The Splendid Plot of MFC – MFCの華麗なる陰謀 (MFC no kareinaru inbou)

Well, the past two episodes to this show were rather…er, odd is probably the best word. It’s not like this show wasn’t strange enough, but the stuff that happened in episode 8 with the hypnotism still managed to take me by surprise. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny though ヽ（´ー｀）┌  The random antics with Tarou’s odd transformations (some which I don’t even know how to describe properly…) was amusing, and the few scenes where they tried to insert more legitimate moments, such as when Yuuno was genuinely trying to help Tarou get over his love of Tatsukichi, weren’t too bad. In the end though, the episode did feel a bit like filler to me, with no real progress relationshipwise. The only major thing worth noting would probably be Yuuno taking the initiative in trying to save Tarou.

Tarou’s random transformation into loli-form, butler-without-pants form, and eventually the “I love Tatsukichi 4ever” form (lol) was hilarious. I knew that there had to be a catch for “curing” Tarou’s masochism, but I hadn’t thought it would be turning him gay. Poor Yuuno, being forced to watch Tarou slowly become a depraved hentai.

The fact that Yuuno even had the courage to try and help save Tarou, even with her androphobia, is definitely character progress in my book. Her actions were rather cute, and really shows how much she cares for Tarou. Of course, Tarou the oblivious person he is, does not understand at ALL that Yuuno was implying that she loves him. Typical dense male anime lead character, eh? When Mio smacked him for not realizing, the first thing that came to my mind was that he deserved being hit at that moment.

Episode 9…well, let’s just say I was a little surprised at how they characterized Mio. Since when was Mio deathly scared of cats? This episode focused on some developments between Tarou and Mio, and the fact that they were holding hands together at the end of the episode definitely indicates so. However, the way in which it happened was so… odd yet funny. I just couldn’t take the whole situation seriously, with Mio wailing like a baby when a cat confronted her, and ending up with Mio clinging to Tarou.

I did laugh  at the revelation of the MFC (and facepalmed at the same time), because I had actually suspected that there was a Mio fanclub, but didn’t think they would go as far as to kidnap Tarou, only to release him after going all googley-eyed from a scolding from Mio. Mio was cute to watch in the episode, but it felt like she was acting completely out of character at a ton of moments in the episode. It was, quite frankly, a little awkward seeing Mio act in such an abnormal (for her) manner.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post. Warning, there are a lot of screenshots =P

MM! – 07

Episode 07 – A Midsummer’s Love Triangle　- 真夏のトライアンクルラブ？ (Manatsu no toraiankururabu?)

Of course, we finally get the obligatory fanservice-filled beach episode, with a bit of DBZ parody in the mix. This episode did have it’s moments of hilarity, but I’m kind of disappointed in where this show seems to be going, especially considering last weeks’ episode. I feel like this episode is returning to simple mindless humor, which isn’t exactly bad, but I liked how in last week’s episode they showed some semblance of character and relationship development. Alas, that is not the case with this week (and from the looks of it, next week’s episode as well).

There were still plenty of cute moments and a ton of gags in this episode, as usual. Mio is doing her usual “train the pig Tarou” of the week, this time via usage of baby crabs (which is quite an odd choice, now that I think about it… =.=; ). As usual, it doesn’t quite work out well, with an effective beating from Yuuno once again triggering his masochism.

What took me by complete surprise was how Yumi seems to be trying to seduce Tatsukichi. I don’t remember this show ever implying a relationship between them, which is leaving me quite baffled. I did laugh at the scene though, considering how Tatsukichi was blushing like crazy, and completely embarrassed. Yumi’s quite aggressive when it comes to that kind of stuff, eh? (´･ω･`)

Edit: apparently, their relationship was mentioned back around episode four. I don’t remember the moment, so mistake on my part (x.x)

Noa’s appearance is what really made this episode crazy, with stuff ranging from pulling up a house from the ground, to drinking a potion that increases one’s female “characteristics”, to even forcing Tarou to go into hentai mode to counter Yukinojo’s “loli mode”. Seriously, the gags ranged from very cute, such as Yuuno’s embarassing “I called you (Tarou) Honey~, so call me by my first name too”, to downright absurd yet hilarious, such as Yukinojo’s loli mode vs Tarou’s hentai mode.

The DBZ parodies are pretty ridiculous, and blatantly similar to the original TV series, to the point where I’m wondering why there haven’t been any lawsuits against Xebec yet. Maybe this is just my American mindset working against me. ヽ（´ー｀）┌

We did get some cute moments between Tarou and Yuuno towards the end of the episode, but besides that, nothing much really happened. This episode pretty much reverted back to the style of some older episodes, with some mindless humor mixed in with some absurd occurrences. I was a fan of how this show had changed up over the past two or so weeks, so I’m kind of disappointed it’s going back to how it was before then. Noa’s appearance was pretty much the catalyst for all the absurdity this episode, and I’m guessing based on the next episode preview, next week’s episode will be kind of similar.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 06

Episode 06 – My Mayhem-Filled Home – 騒乱だらけのマイホーム (Souran darake no maihoomu)

Besides the somewhat fanservicey moments between Tarou and Mio, this episode was actually pretty good. It seems like Tarou is slowly building up a harem of sorts, but the nice thing is, Tarou and Yuuno are actually getting some great relationship development. The characters are surprisingly portrayed well, which really makes these relationships feel less forced. Yuuno and Tarou make such a cute cute couple, especially how it’s a very straightforward relationship without any stupid drama or ridiculous complications.

The first half of the episode was nothing special, with the standard “training time” with Mio, this time with her dressed up as a military officer. Kinky as it may sound, there were some actually funny (as well as eye-brow raising) moments through that first part.

The rest of the episode, with the obsessive antics of Tarou’s mother and sister, was where all the good stuff happened. After they got jealous of Yuuno texting Tarou all the time, they plotted to devastate her (in a humorous way, of course). Their plan, which involved plastering posters of buffed men in Tarou’s room, and filling it with trash, was hilarious to watch, especially Yuuno’s reaction to all of it.

What I loved about the second half of the episode, though, was all the development given to Yuuno and Tarou’s relationship. Their relationship is really cute, and feels much less contrived than I thought it would turn out. I actually feel like they make a good couple, which is a surprise considering how a lot of love relationships in anime nowadays has very little time devoted to proper development.

Considering the premise of this show (about a masochist main character), MM has turned out to be quite a good show. All the main characters have some very weird problems, but this show actually goes through the trouble of properly fleshing them out, as well as attempting to solve them. There are some great genuine moments in this show so far, and especially between Tarou and Yuuno. I keep getting surprised by this show, if only for how it goes beyond my expectations, and creates a charming set of likable characters. Next week’s episode looks like it’ll involve a love triangle, which looks like it could be entertaining.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.2/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 05

Episode 05 – 「天才少女の暴走パニック！」　（Tensai shoujo no bousou panikku!)
The Genius Girl’s Runaway Panic!

Lol, I can’t believe that this entire episode was a parody of Dragonball Z. And when I say parody, I mean blatent parody. Who knew pervert hentai power could be so powerful xD. The sheer amount of laughs this episode gave me made my day, but in the end, the episode wasn’t exactly the best episode so far. The parody was great, but everything else (eg plot, character development, etc) wasn’t very good.

The episode started off rather normally, with Mio’s typical attempt to cure his masochism. The episode quickly degraded into a parody of dragonball though, with references to “hentai energy” and hentai kamehameha all over the place xD  I was literally laughing my ass off when I saw Tarou turn “hentai super saiyan”, complete with the shiny aura and gold hair xP. Seeing how he did it (by calling up Mio with some “keywords” xP) was hilarious as well.

The newly introduced loli character this arc, who is also apparently a genius, was pretty easy to figure out, especially during that serious scene towards the end of the episode. With the parody nature of the first half of the episode, the second half proved to be a complete contrast (and thus, really didn’t fit in) with the episode’s overall tone. The entire situation felt really forced to me, which is never a good sign.

In the end, the episode was fun to watch, but was a filler nonetheless. Nothing really happened this episode besides the intro of a new character (… and learning of the wonders of hentai energy lol). Considering how this is a Xebec show, I’m still rather surprised by the lack of fanservice. Hopefully this show will get back to how it was earlier, with it’s comedy and decently executed character development.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.9/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 04

Episode 04 – そんなこんなでカップルバカップル(Sonna konnade kappurubakappuru)
With This and That, The (Stupid) Couple

I’m actually pretty surprised by this episode. Tarou continues to prove that he’s not some pushover harem main character, and actually has some sensibilities and standards (…well, as much standards as a masochist guy could have). It is kind of frustrating that the date was completely setup, so we actually have no idea just how serious Mio is being about the date; the question as to whether it is all just a setup, or Mio’s actual feelings kept hidden away, really was bugging me more a good portion of the episode. This episode’s drama was definitely unrealistic, but at the same time, it was pretty well setup.

When Mio suggested that she makes Tarou fall in love with her so that, maybe, the “power of love” could cure his masochism, I almost fell off my seat; seriously, that was the most funny and ridiculous idea I’ve heard from her yet. Tarou obviously thought the exact same thing, but I bet even he was unprepared for the onslaught of moe, cuteness, blushing, and outright embarrassing moments that would follow.

With all the masochist gags, such as the Tarou tug of war between Mio and Yuuno, the episode was rather entertaining. However, amidst all this, Mio pulled off some moves that seriously made you wonder if she just might be able to get Tarou to fall for her. Knowing the entire date was fake is painfully obvious (especially with those texts/calls from Michiru sensei), which made the serious climax towards the end of the episode surprisingly decent.

Somehow, the entire situation ended up having Tarou set to marry Mio LOL. The proposal idea had to be the most random moment in this entire series so far; I was literally going “omg, did that just happen??” during the scene. Seeing Mio in a wedding dress was actually quite nice, but the ensuing drama definitely felt a little forced.

After Mio proposed that they kiss (like real lovers would), Tarou actually surprised me by putting down a foot on this mock date and all. He may have overreacted a bit, but Tarou actually admirably set his standards, and was obviously disgusted at the lengths Mio would go for this mock date. The very fact that he’s not being stepped all over or controlled by all the girls around him definitely differs from much other anime leads.

The drama with Mio’s fever and Tarou frantically bringing her to the hospital could have been solved with a simple call for an ambulance, but I guess there would be less drama that way. Either ways, this episode surprisingly developed both Mio and Tarou as characters, and was surprisingly well executed. Xebec has quite a reputation for making fanservicey anime, so seeing MM! and it’s serious plot right, I’m a little stunned to say that the anime is actually pretty decent. With this and Denyuuden, Xebec has been surprising me recently, though I’m wondering if that will continue.

Pretty much, this episode was a funny episode with some forced melodrama, but overall well done and well thought out.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.1/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

MM! – 03

Episode 03 – A Dog Fight For You – 「君のためのドッグファイト」 (Kimi no tame no Doggu Faito)

For a Xebec series, I had expected this show to be much more fanservicey and blatant than it actually has been so far. Although the masochism is a little extreme at points (I was literally facepalming when I saw our main protagonist being literally boiled alive), but the very fact that each character has problems also allows us for to watch as they progress towards solving their issues. Of course, there’s still plenty of over the top comedy along the way, but in the end, I’m finding the character development in this show surprisingly decent, though sometimes cheesy at the same time.

The first half of this episode is rather light hearted, with a lot of humorous moments between Tarou, Yuno, and Arashiko’s newly introduced childhood friend, Yumi. The episode gets serious rather fast though, with Yuno running into her previous upperclassman boyfriend Yoshioka, who via violently assaulting her back in middle school, is actually the one responsible for Yuno’s androphobia.

It was completely obvious that he was going to be portrayed as the total, completely unforgivable 100% evil bad guy, so seeing Tarou trying to teach him a lesson (…but failing miserably), was admirable. What was more notable in this episode was the development between Tarou and Yuno. His attempts at helping Yuno with her androphobia, although kind of crude, got the message across to Yuno. It was nice to see how she was also trying her best to overcome her androphobia, and Tarou’s support was definitely a lot of help in that.

Even with masochist jokes and odd plot developments, MM has been turning out into a surprisingly solid show for Xebec standards. There are some huge lapses in animation quality that other bloggers have noticed, but besides that, this show has a strange mix of facepalm worthy comedy, and a serious plot, that manages to keep things interesting.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.9/5

Screenshots are later in the post.