May 31 2011 03:00 AM So now that all the blu-ray episodes are out, I decided to finally finish this show. MM! is really an underrated gem of the Fall 2010 season. It certainly doesn't have the greatest story around...if you can even call the story a story...but the show certainly had a number of moments.
There's nothing creative or original about this show. The masochism act/love-triangle story has been done countless times. While not so much as the traditional school-life harem show, and considering the recent series, Working!!, has had a similar premise (androphobia) I wouldn't say this show is "refreshing" either. But what makes this show "different" from many other shows recently is the execution. This is a bittersweet issue since you know it's going to be bad, and if you can't come to terms with that or set that bias aside, then the show ends up being a miserable experience. However, if you can ignore that bias, then this show can actually be a bit more interesting. While I'm personally biased because I think Mio's sadistic/tsundere character is an interesting twist, it doesn't change the fact that this show can be quite funny at times.
Animation is very high quality coming from XEBEC. Having also done the "beautfiul" Motto To Love-Ru recently, it's nice to see XEBEC finally stepping up their animation quality after the hideous Kanokon and Ladies x Butler early last year. Not to mention consistent animation quality. MM! demonstrated a solid consistency in this department unlike a number of shows in Fall 2010.
Music wise wasn't exactly the greatest thing ever, but rather interesting, catchy, and good to listen to as a TV size...full song not so much. Seiyuu wise, Jun Fukuyama as Tarou is great considering most of the roles he has been filling as of late are abused characters. Ayana Taketatsu as Mio was also perfect in my opinion. While other veteran seiyuus could have easily taken up this role, I really liked seeing a newer seiyuu get some spotlight. It's just a shame that this show was cast away by many after the first episode and undervalued by those that finished it.
Enjoyment? While it took me forever to finish this show (partly because of waiting for someone decent to sub this), I certainly enjoyed this compared to most shows from Fall 2010. While shows like Yosuga no Sora, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, and OreImo obviously trump this show, this is a nice laid back show. I had a few issues with where certain pieces of the "plot" was placed such as the wedding dress episode but overall it was a relatively fun ride. I really enjoyed the final 2 episodes when Mio started to develop feelings for Tarou. While obvious that this would eventually be the case, the execution was nice and "bawww" type drama.
Overall, it's really unfortunate to know that this series will remain unfinished due to he recent passing of the author of the light novels. It was a really fun show and it's unfortunate that we'll never be seeing a continuation since it just wouldn't make any more sense to cliffhang a show with an already weak plot. While this show certainly lacks a solid story, I'm sure that we were only getting to the beginning of the "good stuff" from the light novels given how the series was going. Really sad to see this series kick the bucket as is.
Preliminary Score: 6/10
Final Score: 7/10 R.I.P. Matsuno Akinari
