Review for Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful - Volume 2 (Review)
Saturday, 3rd July 2010, 15:48

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Extras
The disc has static menus and a jacket picture, while each episode ends in a Satellite Poem.

Conclusion
I'm certainly enjoying this second series of Mahoromatic more than the first. The addition of Minawa to the cast has broadened the appeal, and added something of the moe factor to the show. I also feel that the comedy is working better this time around, and as something of the overreaching arc is revealed in this second volume, it turns out that there is a better balance between the comedy and the serious side of things as well. In Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden, we had about eight episodes of funny, and four episodes of serious, and it seemed like there was a sharp delineating line between the two. Not so in this second series, as even with the threat of the Management made clear, there is also still time for humour amongst the angst.

We start off this second volume where the first left off, in pure silliness mode, and we seem to be working our way through the holidays. New Years is a chance for the rivalry between Mahoro and teacher Shikijo to escalate, as they continue to compete for Suguru's affections, and surprisingly not all of it is down to comparing breast size. Next up is the Hiryu Dark Martial Arts Festival, not a major holiday to be sure, but an excuse for the town residents to have fun and let off steam, hitting each other with foam weapons. Of course, Mahoro having seen the real thing isn't all too enamoured of even fake, comedy war, and she starts off preaching non-violence to Suguru. Of course once she gets involved, all this is forgotten and she starts playing to win, and the ultimate challenge is to beat last year's winner. That turns out to be Shikijo again, and her Fist of the Nude Star technique. Mahoro's counter is hilarious.

There's more relaxation when Suguru's grandfather comes to visit, and back to the comedy holiday action when Valentine's Day arrives, with Minawa slowly learning about love, and winding up dressed as a penguin. But slowly in the background of these episodes, little hints of the more serious, overarching storyline are dropped, beginning first with the revelation that The Management still have a connection to Minawa, that Suguru's grandfather has a high up position in Vesper, and that Saint and The Management are both slowly marshalling their forces. Minawa's awkwardness and apparent emotional naiveté also turn out to have a bearing, as it turns out that the cyborg, like the Tin Man, is in search of a heart. It's something that the Management can use against her, and leads directly to the finale of the disc, where it looks as if Mahoro's idyllic escape from her past is up, and that Suguru learns the truth about her, before it all becomes irrelevant anyway.

The disc ends on a cliffhanger worthy of a vintage movie serial, all that's missing is voiceover man exhorting us to tune in next week, although the preview to the next episode does take the sting out of the tail a bit. I'd actually stop the disc after the end credits instead, and wait on tenterhooks for the final instalment, but I'm a bit masochistic like that. Mahoromatic - Something More Beautiful may not be the peak of the anime medium, but it's an enjoyable little sci-fi harem rom-com, that sticks to all the usual tropes, yet doesn't seem at all tiresome or hackneyed. In fact, it's a fair bit of fun to watch, and just what you need when you want to leave the brain in neutral and just coast through a disc.

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