Makin' Whoopie With Maken-Ki!

Haruko from Maken-ki Fanart
by Jackson Thom

If you were looking for some high brow anime that would touch your soul, let me stop you right there.  Maken-Ki is not the one.

Last week, I said, I'd be reviewing my favorite ecchi (or fan service) animes, starting with Maken-Ki, which is definitely one of my faves.  It comes in at number five.

So, the story revolves around a the main character Takeru, a girl-crazed boy, who's just transferred to the formerly all girls school, Tenbi Academy.  He's beyond excited at this fact, because due to the fact that it was previously an all girls school, the ratio of boys to girls is fantastically in Takeru's favor.

On his first day of school, at Tenbi Academy, he walks with his childhood friend Haruko, who he hasn't seen in years, but has since developed into an exceedingly buxom and beautiful girl.  There's immediate chemistry, but neither will openly admit to it.

Kodama From Maken-ki Fanart
by Jackson Thom

Once Takeru arrives at the school, he suddenly realizes that it's  not just a school it's a training ground for young people to hone a magically elemental fighting power, to some day battle an evil unknown enemy.  This offers many changes for some exciting clothes shredding duels, which are fully sanctioned by the school, and overseen by a committee, called Maken-ki, which makes sure all of the duels remain fair.

Of course, Takeru, along with Haruko become members of Maken-ki, along with a couple others, and thus, Takeru's harem begins.  He also begins living in a dorm room of his own, that quickly becomes the home of three other girls, including Haruko, Kodama, who initially doesn't like Takeru, and another girl, Inaho, who claims that Takeru is her fiance.

The truth behind the plot of this story, is it's not really much to keep you mind occupied.  The real reason to watch this show, or any ecchi harem anime, is for the boob and panty shots, and there are plenty of those.

I only watched the first season, which is the only one that is dubbed, the second season is only in sub-titles, and I can tell you the animation is great.  They ecchi is delivered, along with the sexual chemistry between several of the characters, each revolving around the main perverted character Takeru.

There are steaming bath scenes, there are pool scenes, there are the aforementioned cloth shredding battle scenes, as well as one single episode dedicated to a french maid restaurant, where many of the main characters get part time jobs.  If you're looking for ecchi, this one delivers.

There are a couple minor blemishes on the show, however.  The main one being that there is really is no story.  The students are all preparing to battle some strange nemesis, which you do get to see later in the first season, but for the most part, there's no real payoff, so there's nothing to watch the show for, other than the boob and panty shots.

I'm not saying that's at all a bad thing, it just might be nice to give a crap about what's going on a little.

The other minor downside here, is many ecchi animes show the boob and butt shots coming into contact, somehow accidentally with another person.  This show, however, rarely does that.  There's the occasional smothering of boobs in face, but often the show revolves around Takeru, and another perv boy he befriends ogling the girls from a distance.

I'm not saying this is a let down.  I'm just saying some contact would be better.  But for the most part, Maken-ki delivers as one of my favorite ecchi animes.

If you want to know more about it, or its adaptation from the manga, check out Maken-ki on Wikipedia.

Next week, I'll review Freezing.