I’ve written more about this show this season than any other on both this blog, Twitter, and even on Discord, simultaneously praising, recommending, and freaking out about it. I can no longer imagine the fall season without Akiba Maid War charging right up the center and standing at the forefront. From start to finish, the characters and this ridiculous setting demanded my attentions, easily competing for both anime of the season and the overall year.
Since I’ve already admitted to blathering about this show far more than any other, I’ll keep this “review” on the shorter side. One can only praise so much before the words start pouring out your ears to lie forgotten. Simply put, AMW proved that no, anime is not dead (why do people keep saying that?), and what is old can be made new again. And again.
Perhaps most surprising was the ending and how hard the show went up until the end. The cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, followed by the near-180 in Nagomi’s character, almost killed me with the suspenseful comedy ricocheting off the back-to-back violence and dialogue. Black maid outfits and black pork will forever pair in my mind from now on.
What holds me back from giving Akiba Maid War that perfect score is a combination of newness and not completely loving the final moments of the show. I almost never give a work top marks close to the airing date since it usually takes time to see how memorable the work really is and how it measures up against others that follow. And as great as it was to see the time skip to present day Akihabara, one far more familiar to how I remember it, I wanted the writing out of a notable character to go hard all the way to the end. Go ahead and kill them off, but keep the cheesy homage in their honor! Don’t chicken out with some survival story no matter how silly it is. I fell in love with this show for never backing off the craziness and wanted that to hold true to the closing credits.
Rating: 2 dango
*Rating system:
- 0 dango – average and forgettable.
- 1 dango – very good in its category.
- 2 dango – excellent show that is worth a try.
- 3 dango – exceptional show one must watch.
Anime B&B 