Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful

Japanese Title: Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono
Also Known As: Mahoromatic 2
Genre: Romance/Drama
Format: 14 Episodes
Allegiance: GAINAX
Director: Yamaga Hiroyuki
Vintage: 2002-2003
Intelligence Agency Report by: Orax
Mahoro, Earth’s greatest warrior, continues to live in retirement serving as a maid to Suguru Misato. The peaceful days never seem to end until they hear rumors about some new robot that looks just like a helpless little girl. It also doesn’t help that Ryuga is also prowling around. Has he come back to stir up trouble? Will Suguru’s friends ever leave him alone? Will Shikijou-sensei ever move on to older men? Will Suguru be able to cherish the little time he has left with her?

Field Agent Report by: Orax 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
7.00
8.25
9.00
8.25
8.50
Overall 8.00
(not an average)

Mahoromatic 2 continues the story of Mahoro and company right from where the first season left off. Viewers of the first series will find it easy to get themselves into Mahoromatic 2 as it preserves the same atmosphere and feeling. Retained are both the comedy and ecchi that littered the first. If you loved the characters before, you’ll like them even more as they certainly will impact you even more than the first ever did.

Combining romance, action, ecchi and a good plot into one anime can be hard, but GAINAX is able to pull it off… to some extent. The insertion of new characters and a focus on Suguru’s classmates keep things interesting for the beginning of the series, but the middle episodes are nothing short of boring. However, once you’ve passed though that, the wait will have been worth it.

As the dreaded day approaches, witnessing Suguru’s and Mahoro’s longing to spend just one second longer with each other is absolutely charming. The last few episodes have the atmosphere of a fleeting, blissful harmony that’s too precious to break. As Mahoro’s time become more limited, her interactions with Suguru will grasp your heart and will force some kind of positive emotional reaction from the viewer.

Unfortunately, the last episode unveils a drastic change of mood and atmosphere that is easily recognizable from the outset. Without spoiling anything, the biggest problem with it was that it forced too much information in such a short period of time. As a result, most of this information is hard to swallow. It’s an abrupt change and basically presents a “love it or hate it” situation. Personally, I’m leaning more toward the favorable side.

The ending aside, this series was more powerful than the first and offers a definitive conclusion to the Mahoromatic saga. If you’ve seen the first season, there is no excuse for not finishing this series and experiencing the drama that unfolds.