Anime Hajime Review: Mahoromatic - Something More Beautiful

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Mahoromatic – Something More Beautiful. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

The world is still fighting a secret war against the alien invaders. Humanity seems poised to claim victory in this conflict. And the pathway to peace wouldn’t have been possible without the aid of Earth's greatest soldier. The android turned house maid, Mahoro (voiced by Ayako Kawasumi).

Living out what's left of her power, Mahoro couldn’t be happier. With her days of combat behind her, she can, at last, fulfill her greatest dream. Her life has a new purpose when she is together with her dear Suguru Misato (voiced by Fujiko Takimoto).

Their time together has been eventful, to say the least. But it’s only been the two of them. That changes when they meet a runaway female android (voiced by Ai Shimizu). She claims to have escaped the dangerous organization known as Management. Despite the warnings of a trap, Mahoro and Suguru know they must help this girl.

Taking the name Minawa, she begins living with Mahoro and Suguru. Though a tad aloof, Minawa grows to care for her new home and family. Soon the trio finds it hard to imagine being apart.

Too bad saying goodbye will be inevitable. With each passing moment, Mahoro gets closer to shutting down. And the last vestiges of the war threaten to cut her time even shorter.

Series Positives

When starting Mahoromatic season two, something stuck out. From the final of the first to the premiere of Something More Beautiful only eight months had passed. In that time, someone secured a budget increase. The animation for this season was stunning.

It wasn’t a simple update. This was an overhaul. The difference was so jarring, I could’ve sworn the season one version I saw must have been a low-quality version. Nope. Season two used clips from its predecessor and they didn’t receive the face lift.

This was so much crisper. This was so much cleaner. This was so much more vibrant and pleasing to look at. That’s not to say the first season had bad artwork. Yet the uptick in visuals was a welcomed addition. One, I didn’t expect to see. When comparing the series, this is something the second season has a clear advantage in.

Minawa

With that, the animation was the only advantage Something More Beautiful had.

In my review of the first season, there were two things I said which will give perspective to this review. That and I could help but laugh after rereading them. The first I want to bring attention to is this.

Despite my issues with [Mahoromatic – Automatic Maiden], I am looking forward to watching the second season. I want to know what will be the ultimate fate of Mahoro and Suguru. That alone is what makes this [season] worth recommending.

I wanted this comment to illustrate my enjoyment of the first season. Yes, it had problems, but there was enough good to make it fun. Or at least there was enough good to make the idea of a follow up worth watching. It was something I hoped to extend to all Mahoromatic.

That’s not going to happen. Wow.

Mahoromatic – Something More Beautiful was awful. It was terrible. This continuation was nonsensical, tone deaf, and aggravating. It by no means captured the charm of season one. This season took what made the first descent and ran it into the ground.

I suppose even the most well-kept garbage dump will always smell like trash. What happened here?

Mahoro

Mahoro, thank God for Mahoro. She remained the sweet, merciful angel of this series. Every time she was on screen, she was a bitter sweet reminder of something far better.

Now season one was no masterpiece. Except it wasn’t this.

This season, to its limited credit, spent a lot of time with Mahoro. Like she was before, she was kind and lovely. She was never the failure. Of everything that went wrong, she did not cause them. In fact, most of the things that did go wrong were left for her to clean up.

By the end of the season, you’ll feel sorry for. Too bad it’ll be for all the wrong reasons. I doubt the series wanted me to sympathize with her the way it played out. She had to deal with so much crap it was unfair. Mahoro was to be a tragic character from the beginning. Did it have to be this way though?

At the end of every episode of the series, there was the countdown timer. It displayed how many days Mahoro had left until she shut down forever. There was no getting the wrong idea. That clock would find a way to get to zero. It was inevitable.

Yet I never had faith that this series would go through with it. I imagined something would come along to give us an ending that didn’t result in Mahoro’s death. She was, by a large margin, the best character of the show. Not to mention the last character who deserved such a grim fate.

The route season two decided to go down, I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t see coming. That’s not a positive. I didn’t see this ending coming because it was maddening. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Since Mahoro already proved her fighting ability, season two wasn’t as action oriented. A shame since, again, better animation. Rather this season focused on the few remaining days Mahoro had left. As the conclusion drew closer, she had to come to terms with her demons.

This was actually a nice part of the season. For a long while, Mahoro kept putting off something she knew she would have to face. When the time came, she didn’t run. Nor did she even think about running. She knew this was something she could no longer keep a secret. Whatever the consequences were afterward, she was ready to accept them.

When this happened, it became the only instance when Suguru was the character from before. You know, observant and rational. It wasn’t like his personality changed. It was more like he was inconsequential up to this point in the season. While he was around, he came off as secondary. That shouldn’t have been how things turned out. Albeit, this wasn’t this season’s biggest fumble. Besides, when it mattered he would do the right thing.

The relationship between Mahoro and Suguru never reached the level of season one. Granted, it wasn’t as if Something More Beautiful was void of their chemistry. There could’ve been more done to have their bond grown tighter. Unfortunately, this season couldn’t match what we saw before let alone improve on it. To make it more infuriating, if the season was being deliberate in choosing not to do this, that could’ve been fine. There was another element to this season that should’ve brought in a lot of fresh air. I’m referring to Minawa.

Here was a good addition. Someone who could’ve matched Mahoro. The connection that could’ve formed between the two offered endless possibilities. Imagining the sister-like relationship that could've been, makes me sad. Minawa was a chance wasted.

There were signs too. There were small tiny hints of Mahoro’s influence on Minawa. The way she talked. The way she acted. The way she thought. When they came out, they were adorable. Yet, these moments came way too late. And when they did come, there wasn’t much.

With Suguru sidelined and Minawa never becoming her own, Mahoro had to take on too much. She deserved better.

Series Negatives

I said there were two things from my first review that’ll give perspective to this one. Here’s the second.

There’s a season two. I’m interested in said season two. Yet I’m not confident the problems from [season one] got fixed.

I can’t claim I was right, despite the problems of the first season not getting fixed. For you see, had it just been that this would be a different story. Season two took the problems of the first installment and made them meaningless.

Okay, that’s not the entire truth. Saori Shikijo (voiced by Yumi Takada) returned and she was as obnoxious as she was before. It got to the point where the sound of her voice was enough to infuriate me. It meant every time I heard her, odds were something stupid was about to happen.

I went into detail about Saori in the last review. There’s no need to repeat. Needless to say, I didn’t care for then and I didn't care for her here.

But do you want to know the real kicker? Saori wasn’t the most annoying thing in this season. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either.

There were two things that destroyed Something More Beautiful. The first was the villains.

In the last season, Mahoro fought agents of the alien race known as Saint. Before I forget, there was something I failed to mention in my season one review. More to the point, I didn’t think about it since it wasn’t a problem until this season.

This series never explained its lore. Season two used a ton of terminology I was unfamiliar with. So, it didn’t help when Management came into the picture.

Get this. Management has controlled the world since the dawn of civilization. They were the ones responsible for shaping every significant historical event ever. For those of you keeping track at home, let’s run down what was happened in this series.

There’s a secret war against aliens. The public is unaware of anything. Mahoro comes from the shadow group, VESPER, to fight the invaders. However, the aliens and VESPER are trying to find a peaceful resolution. Except Management, another shadow group, wants to expand their influence. They beilieved it possible to extend their reach to an advanced alien species.

I’ll go ahead and say it. Mahoromatic went a bit overboard.

Besides, it’s laughable to think an entity like Management has existed for as long as it had. They lost any hint of credibility when they started worrying about things like capital. They should have had control over all the money. Why they needed to worry about funding anything is beyond me.

Also, when the President of the United States can undermine multiple millennia’s worth of influence, they were never a threat. Management served no point.

And this was only one factor concerning this series’ worse offense. It was the biggest factor, but that’s neither here nor there.

The Ending

I said season one had a typical Gainax ending. I won’t take that back. The first season did not have a good conclusion. But it was masterful when compared to this.

Something More Beautiful didn’t earn this ending. It spent so much time dicking around. The majority of this season was goofy, silly, and did not take itself seriously. It tried to be cute. It tried to be funny. It tried to be lighthearted. This season failed on almost all of these points across the board. Even if it hadn’t, this ending was out of place.

This series turned dark. It turned bleak. It turned apocalyptic even. The last few episodes were so hard to sit through. Then the actual finale was near unwatchable in how absurd it was.

F@#$ this ending.

I have nothing but contempt for what this season tried to pass off as the series conclusion. From my understanding, the manga version is vastly different. I can’t speak for it. Yet from what I can tell, it appears to be the superior.

Before getting anywhere close to this point, Mahoromatic season two was a disappointment. What it turned into was infuriating. With this being the result, I’m tempted to rescind my recommendation of the first season. I won’t and it’s because of the Gainax ending season one had. It was a definitive enough. You don’t have to move on to this monstrosity.

Final Thoughts

I can’t believe this is the same series I reviewed before. I don’t know if I’ve seen such a fall from grace. And season one was just okay, mind you. But still, what was this?

This season is a mystery to me. It takes one glorious step forward in visuals. Yet it craps its pants in near every other aspect that matters.

If you have the misfortune to have enjoyed the first season, I’m sorry. It’s best if you pretend season two never happened. Mahoromatic – Something More Beautiful doesn’t deserve to be skipped. It should be forgotten.

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