Hand Maid May

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I don't know why that is, but oh well…that's anime for ya!</div> <div> The fictional soap opera that May and Rena love to watch is called "Tornado Wind of Love". It deals with the romantic struggles between a couple named Mika and Yamazaki. It's not <I>The Young and the Restless</I>, and those two aren't exactly Doug Davidson and Melody Thomas-Scott, but according to May and Rena-chan, it's the best thing on television!</div> <div> Here are a few of Saotome Kazuya's favorite things, as stated by May: He likes tulips, the color green, the smell of erasers and rubber bands (?) and the tastes of milk and grilled eel. Two of those things I like. Don't bet your money on the grilled eel.</div> <div> In episode 5, May and Kazuya go to an amusement park with the best Power Rangers (TM) rip-off I've ever seen! They're only seen for a couple seconds, but once you see them, you'll swear you're watching another channel! Rip-offs are extremely common in anime culture. You'll be seeing fake duplicates of lots of popular characters, including: <I>Sailor Moon</I>, <I>Gundam Wing</I> (robots), and lots more. Just remember: Nothing beats the real thing!</div> <div> Here's a couple of things you don't know about Cyberdolls: The same "maid"  program controls all the cyberdolls; and cyberdolls can transmit information through their hands. </div> <div> May's motto: "Let's work hard tomorrow!"</div> <div> Another May-fact: She's powered up by a USB that's connected in her…um, well, I can't say -- I'm not shy, but I have a reputation!</div> <div> Nanbara mentions the word "honorifics" in one episode. "Honorifics" are the suffixes you use on the ends of peoples' names, as a sign of respect. Such "honorifics" are: "-desu",       "-masu", "-uesssu", and "-oiisssu". All I can say is that this system has too many "s's" in it!</div> <div> The word <I>seisuru</I> is Japanese for "to catch", or "to win". </div> <div> In one episode towards the end of the series, Kasumi and her school chum are driving on the road, and the stoplight has three colors -- red, yellow, and…blue. Peculiar, no? Well, in Japan, albeit they do have green stoplights, their signal to "go" can also be indicated by a blue  stoplight, instead of the common U.S. green light.</div> <div> One of Sara's cool features is that she has a built-in telephone in her hand! All she has to do is make the sign-language "Y" and talk to whomever she wants for as long as she wants. Wonder if she has call-waiting…</div> <div> Here's some more information about Episode 11: You'll see five new miniature May duplicates, which are all ordered by accident from CyberDyne on Saotome's computer. The five May's are incredibly precious -- the May in the yellow dress is a true lover of caramel, and she eats Rena's caramels to prove it! The May in the grayish-black dress is a kung-fu master, and she can whip Nanbara's flashy butt in an instant! All the colorful May duplicates are truly adorable, but they will never beat the real deal!</div> <div> As you've read, the lovely Kasumi is a kid's baseball coach. She loves her teammates, and teaches them all well. One of the teammates happens to be a semi-recurring character -- his name is <B>Masato</B>. He's a cool kid, who loves to tag along with the older people -- especially the females. In one episode, he is put on the spot by Rena, when he tries to decide which one -- Rena, Kei, or Kasumi -- is his "number one favorite girl". Masato remains indecisive to this day, but I think he will find his "number one" soon!</div> <div> Nanbara is (partially) famous for his slinky, snake-like dance moves and his slithering body language. You'll see it in every episode…and laugh! Even when he's angry, he dances! But all joking aside, Nanbara Kotaro is one of the funniest (and least dangerous) anime villains ever. Allowing the antagonist (in any story) have a highly visible sense of humor is very cool. </div> <div> One last vocabulary lesson: <I>Oniichan</I> and <I>oneesan</I>, <I>niisama </I>and <I> neesama </I>all mean the same thing. <I>Oniichan</I> and <I>niisama</I> both mean "brother", "bro", or "older brother" (of or of no relation), and <I>oneesan</I> and <I>neesama</I> mean "sister", "sis", or "older sister" (of or of no relation). The younger kids in <I>HMM</I>, like Masato and some of the other young kids/baseball players, use these terms to refer to their older peers, such as Kasumi and Saotome, as if they were their real older brothers/sisters.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=387 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>Hand Maid May</B></I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="1188b2a0.gif" border=0 width="139" height="298" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Hand Maid May</I></div> <div> Copyright ©2000 Pioneer LDC Inc.</div> <bR> <div> <U>Opening Theme: "JUMP~Meippai Dakishimete"</U></div> <div> Performed by: The P-Chicks</div> <bR> <div> <B>GENRE:</B> </div> <div> Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Robots</div> <bR> <div> <B>CHARACTERS:</B></div> <div> CBD May (CyberDyne Robotic Maid), Kazuya Saotome, Tani Kasumi, Ikaria (Doraemon Project Squid), Nanbara Kotaro, Sara, Rena, Kei, CyberX, Mami, Chigusa, Commando Z (a.k.a. Dotaro), and others </div> <bR> <div> <B>SYNOPSIS:</B></div> <div> A young computer expert goes on the adventure of a lifetime when his childhood enemy accidentally sends him a CD that orders a miniature maid doll, programmed to serve and to please its master. This doll, named May, is a real, walking and talking doll, that gets her "master" in a heap of commotion and fun.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Welcome to the dollhouse! The <I>robotic </I>dollhouse, that is. If you like sexy robotic maids that will do anything you ask them to, then…get some therapy! But seriously…no, wait…therapy first. Okay, enough kidding around! Let me introduce a series dealing with how one computer junkie meets up with the finest robotic maids on Earth (every <I>Battlebot's</I> dream)! </div> <bR> <div> The name of this anime is called <I>Hand Maid May,</I> a very short series about the life of a college student and his adventures with an assortment of robotic maids. Our hero's name is <B>Kazuya </B><B>Saotome</B>, a devoted computer "freak" that loves to invent and create the latest in computerized robots. His current project: A robotic squid! That's right, y'all, a robotic <I>squid</I>. Well, at least I'm interested! Anyway, this project is called the "Doraemon Research Project" (also known as the "Squid Robot Project"), in which he toils over a heavy-duty computer to create a robotic squid that can do everything -- tell time, say "Good morning", and stuff like that. The name of the squid is <B>Ikaria</B>. </div> <bR> <div> As the story progresses, our hero Kazuya tries his best to make Ikaria perfect, but fails often (38 times!!). Kazuya worries about his messy apartment house, his invention, his computer, and paying his rent. But before anything else can happen, his childhood enemy pops out of nowhere and gives Kazuya-kun (out of fairweather friendship) a CD that he (Nanbara) said will help his computer run better than before. Unfortunately, this CD has a virus program on it, ready to destroy the first computer it lays its data on. When the CD is deployed on his system, Kazuya types so rapidly, that he beats the virus (yay!), but accidentally, an order from an internet robot supplier company called CyberDyne was placed for a robotic maid doll (awwwww…or is that a good thing?). It's a bad thing (awww), because the doll that Saotome orders is too expensive for him to purchase. The good thing, however, is that this doll helps him out like he's never been helped before. The name of the doll is <B>CBD May</B> (or you may call her just "May"), and she is one of CyberDyne's cutest (and tiniest) robotic maids ever!</div> <bR> <div> That's just a mere taste of what action goes on here. Let's meet our characters:</div> <bR> <div> First, we have the computer junkie, <B>Saotome Kazuya</B>, and he's around 20-ish, give or take two years. He's a true devoted computer enthusiast (a.k.a. "geek"), and he loves to invent and create new robotic models, which he has virtually done all his life. He's a second-year student at the Ochanomisu Industrial College, studying technology/electronics, and the inventor of Ikaria. He's a shy guy, but very kind. Some say he's a pervert (but that's his weakness -- women!), and some think he's the coolest person around (he blushes like crazy!). He lives in a small apartment in the Kasumi Inn building, and the daughter of the owner is his neighbor and friend…</div> <bR> <div> …her name is <B>Tani</B> <B>Kasumi</B> (who woulda thunk?). Kasumi is very beautiful, caring, sweet and kind, but she can also be very sneaky, envious, curious, and an eavesdropper. She is the owner's daughter, and she loves collecting the rent money from her tenants in any way she can (especially from a guy named <B>Shikishima</B>, a crazy, but often mentioned character who hasn't paid his rent in 6 months). Kasumi and Kazuya-san have a wooden ladder hooked up on their balcony floors, which makes it easy for them to travel back and forth into each other's apartment (it's a special ladder, too…that's how they met!). In her spare time, she enjoys coaching a kids' baseball team (which is very common in Japan, since baseball is a major sport there). She also enjoys sticking her tongue out at people every chance she gets!</div> <bR> <div> Saotome Kazuya's enemy (who belongs in an asylum for the fashionably incorrect) is the loud and flamboyant <B>Nanbara Kotaro</B>. How can I explain this guy? Watch the series, and you'll certainly find that I'm right about him. Nanbara is very obnoxious, loud, vain, self-centered, and wild, and he tries everything in his power to make sure that his childhood rival, Kazuya-san, doesn't end up successful like he is. Nanbara is also a robotics and technology enthusiast, but he hasn't had an idea pop out of his head in years (too much hair gel in his head), so he thinks that stealing Saotome's ideas is the only solution. Nanbara is extremely rich, and drives a fancy car and lives in a glorious mansion. His fashion sense, however, is something you'll never find in stores. He's always dressed in a purple suit, a white ruffled shirt, and shiny white shoes (just think of him as the anime version of the Artist Formerly known as Prince -- minus the erotic music, high heels, Diamond, Pearl, Apolonia, and everyone else). Everything he does, he thinks he's the man. And when anything goes wrong, he blames it on our hero, Kazuya-kun. Basically, he's a revenge-hungry loser who will do anything to make sure that Saotome's life is miserable; his biggest act is when he gives Kazuya a CD in which he says will make his computer run more efficiently. Was he lying? Of course he was! The CD is infused with a virus program that will put Saotome's computer in major jeopardy if he doesn't type fast against it! </div> <bR> <div> Fortunately, Kazuya beats the virus, but accidentally, he enters a company web site called CyberDyne, and because of his fast typing, he accidentally ordered a robot maid called <B>CBD May </B>(you can call her "May", no need for the pleasantries!). May is an incredible example of technological advancements -- at only 10" high, she can cook, clean, wash, do your shopping, change television channels with her hands (!), and everything in-between -- now that's service! May is an extremely sweet and kind and respectful girl; a tiny female robot who pack a load of power! She always aims to please her master Kazuya -- even if she has to go out in public, which Saotome doesn't want her to do (but if she didn't, she wouldn't have been chased by cats, or trampled by bicycle wheels, or any of that fun stuff!). Still, May is a wonderful robot girl who has dreams of growing large, and being in love with -- yup, Kazuya.</div> <bR> <div> As we know, Kazuya-kun is a struggling student, and he doesn't have the yen to pay for the expensive and useful May. So who's the repossessor? A lady by the name of <B>Sara</B> is. She's a voluptuous and gorgeous lady who works for CyberDyne as a customer service representative (and what a representative she is - yowza!). Sara is a very trim woman, but her love for ramen noodles (from all over the culinary world) can be contradictory to that fact! She will happily slurp the delicious ramen noodles from her bowl in an instant -- and from <U>your</U> bowl, if you're not observant! She's a Hiroshima native who, in fact, is a CyberDyne robot herself. Sara and the bossy, flamboyant Nanbara team up in pursuit of the ever-busy Kazuya and May to: Repossess May, and to make sure that Kazuya pays up or puts out (May, that is!).</div> <bR> <div> Our crazy villains and our struggling heroes meet up with more new CyberDyne robots (who are the size of humans) on their adventures. Here they are:</div> <bR> <div> First, we meet up with a youngster named <B>Rena</B>, who believes she's as grown up as…well, a grown up. She's a cute, pink-wearing girl, who collects adorable dolls (and once kidnapped May and Ikaria), and cries louder than a fire truck siren (she can be rented out, folks)! Crying is a bit of a special power in Rena, who does have a bit of magical robotic doll powers. Okay, I confess, she can break the Richter scale with her weeping, and change stoplights with a snap of her fingers. But those are cool powers, especially if you can't do it yourself! Anyway, Rena is a bit fickle, obnoxious, and troublesome in a number of the episodes. She can also be bossy and get her way whenever she can. If she doesn't, she usually goes in a corner and wears a giant hamster-shaped hat and sulks her little pink boots off! Besides acting immaturely, Rena loves to be playful, and she also loves to watch daytime soap operas with May (get the kids hooked at an early age!). She's the new robot girl in town, so watch out!</div> <bR> <div> We next meet <B>CBD Kei</B>, a new Cyber robot doll with an IQ of over 50,000 (and the voluptuous body of Raquel Welch!). She is programmed to know advanced calculus/physics, and she can read human behavioral patterns like a pro -- she can tell what your next move is…30,000 moves ahead! If she can beat Gary Kasparov in the game of chess, then I will call her "your robotic majesty"! Anyway, Kei uses scientific theories, formulae, and properties in everything she does. Think of her as your personal weather woman, accountant, physician -- you name it! Kei wears large-framed glasses and has bright blue hair, and she's as helpful and sweet as can be! But it didn't start out that way -- she was originally assigned by Sara and Nanbara to seduce Kazuya, and to then steal May and use her for "in-depth" research. But she backed out at the right time, and she's now one of the new, lovely houseguests in Saotome's apartment.</div> <bR> <div> The next Cyberdyne cutie we meet is named <B>Mami </B>(pronounced "mah-mee"), and she's a housekeeping wizard! She's a beautiful, bubbly blonde in a green dress, who loves to rollerblade. Mami is capable of doing everything May does…just six times better! She was sent to Saotome by his father to take care of him…and boy, does she do one heck of a good job! She is extremely sweet and helpful, and she always says the words "Ara, ara" before most of her sentences, or by itself ("Ara" is the English equivalent of "Oh, my!"). Mami is also a stickler at games and quizzes: She first tries to get everybody along by doing a "marriage interview" (a play interview where two people get intimate after a questionnaire), and by doing a "theme-park game" (this is where Mami won two amusement park tickets from winning a lottery game; gave one to Kazuya-kun, and let the other ladies battle for the second ticket -- May ended up winning). Mami is full or surprises, and if she knew you were coming over to Saotome's pad, she would have baked a cake! </div> <bR> <div> Now, on to the robotic testosterone side of the characters: An often seen, but never heard character is the CyberDyne robot called <B>CyberX</B>, who, in actuality, is Saotome Kazuya's futuristic descendent. He's a human inside a stylishly-dressed robotic body, and he is "programmed" to watch over our heroes (in almost all the episodes), and to make sure that all is well. Besides helping out CyberDyne and Kazuya-kun, he <I>loves</I> drinking milk. And who doesn't? It does a (robotic) body good!</div> <bR> <div> Another futuristic descendent seen in the series happens to be Nanbara Kotaro's descendent. You say it's Prince? Unfortunately, it isn't. Nanbara's descendent is called <B>Commando Z</B>, but you may call him <B>Dotaro</B>. He's everything Nanbara is, and more -- which is a bad thing, right? Of course it is…but not in their eyes. Commando Z is the President of CyberDyne, and he looks like something out of a Saks Fifth Avenue comic book (if they sell comic books!). Nanbara and Commando Z like to criticize each other on everything - their looks, who's mostly. Dotaro is here to make sure that his ancestor doesn't get his colorful behind in trouble -- and to make sure that CyberDyne doesn't take a dip!</div> <div>  </div> <div> Well, there you have it -- a cast full of colorful humans (and robotic ones) that make up this rather short anime series (only eleven episodes). Each episode is full of laughs, and full of lovely robotic females! Watch responsibly, everyone, if you get your hands on the series…the fan service and <I>ecchi</I> (“profanity”/”sexual content-related”) factor in this series is <I>very</I> high. Luckily, May's cuteness and the flow of the show makes you overlook that. The eleventh episode is a special holiday episode, and everyone looks so festive in their little garb (you may judge Kazuya-kun's yellow sweater for yourself). The theme song is peppy, and fun to bob your head to. This is an alright anime series…all I wish is that <I>Hand Maid May </I>was 12 or 14 episodes longer. The story line went a little too quickly for me. But the concept is quite cute, and May is the most adorable robot maid I've ever seen! I would buy her…but unfortunately, I have to worry about my own Kazuya-like life (minus Kasumi, the ladder, and Ikaria). </div> <bR> <div> Think of this series as Fran Drescher meets <I>Pinocchio</I> in a world of technology. That's <I>Hand Maid May</I>…one heck of a doll!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>EPISODE GUIDE:</U></B></div> <div> 1/10: Hello!</div> <div> 2/10: Am I Really Being Helpful?</div> <div> 3/10: What Shall We Do?</div> <div> 4/10: Please Don't Look!</div> <div> 5/10: Until Today…Truly (Thank You for Everything)</div> <div> 6/10: More…more…</div> <div> 7/10: Don't Have Much Time Left!</div> <div> 8/10: I Really Want It!</div> <div> 9/10: Even so…I Believe You.</div> <div> 10/10: May's Everything</div> <div> 11/10: I Won't Give Up (The Christmas Episode)</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Anime Site"><U><B><U>^v^ BACK TO THE ANIME PAGE ^v^</U></B></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>