Review: PRETEAR

Spring is finally springing forth at last, and with it comes a month of magical girl manga here at the Manga Test Drive.  Our first title isn't one of the best known titles, but it's got some really interesting things going for it.

PRETEAR (Shin Shirayuki-hime Densetsu Puritia), written by Junichi Sato and art by Kaori Naruse.  First published in 2000 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

Himeno went from near poverty to riches beyond their dreams when her father married a cosmetics magnate.  The only problem is that her stepmother and stepsisters antagonize her at every turn, to the point that Himeno feels like a stranger in her own household.  Her sad reveries are interrupted by seven strange men who declare her to be the Pretear and that they are her knights.  By magically fusing with these young men, she can gain elemental powers which she can use to fight the strange monsters that are stealing the life force from the world.  Himeno now has to juggle her family issues with her duties as a magical girl, even with the Princess of Disaster lingering on the sidelines.

Review: A TALE OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY

It's quite rare to see a shojo maid manga.  Maids tend to be there to assist the heroine, not be the focus of the story.  I guess that's technically true for this one as well...look, let me explain below.

A TALE OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY (Shirinai Kuni no Monogatari), by Natsuna Kawase.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Rosemarie is the princess of a small but impoverished kingdom of Ardela, where even the royal family has to work part-time selling goods to tourists at their castle to get by.  To improve their lot, Rosemarie is to be married to Prince Reynol of the far more advanced kingdom of Yurinela.  Rosemarie has heard nothing but bad things about this prince, so to find out more she poses as "Marie" the maid and joins Reynol's household.  As the two grow closer, Rosemarie starts to worry that she can't reveal her true feelings without offending him and ruining everything.

Review: THE MAID I HIRED RECENTLY IS MYSTERIOUS

That's not to say that modern maid manga can't be horny either.  They just tend to be a little less obvious about it.

THE MAID I HIRED RECENTLY IS MYSTERIOUS (Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii), by Wakame Konbu.  First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2021.

PLOT:

Somewhere in the countryside, a young man lives alone in a large house with a beautiful new maid.  He can't quite pin down why he finds her so fascinating.  Is it her excellent cooking? Her ability to guess his every need?  Her somewhat revealing uniform? Her exotic purple eyes? 

There's only one sensible explanation: she can't be human.  She must be some sort of demon or something!  That's why he can't stop thinking about her everyday!  It can't possibly be that he's attracted to her!  Clearly, the best response is to confront her with this truth, along with overly honest confessions of how much he thinks of her and how he wants her to stay with him forever.  That'll show her!

Review: HANAUKYO MAID TEAM

 The peak of maid manga came at the beginning of the millennium, when literally any doofus could make a ecchi manga, throw some maids in it, and call it a day.

HANAUKYO MAID TEAM (Hanaukyo Maid-tai), by Morishige.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2003.

STORY:

Tarou didn't know what to expect when his dying mother bid him to go to his grandfather.  He didn't expect his grandfather to be fabulously wealthy with a giant mansion full of horny maids to cater to his every need.  He definitely didn't expect said grandfather to leave everything to Tarou.  Now he has to learn how to navigate his life with an army of maids who create a lot of chaos in their attempts to manage every detail of his life.

Review: MY MAID, MISS KISHI

With spring on the horizon, it's time for some spring cleaning.  That makes it the perfect time of year to look at a few of the many maid manga out there, such as this recent digital offering from Kodansha.

MY MAID, MISS KISHI (Maid no Kishi-san), by Kano Kashiwagi.  First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

Kiichiro Hayase is the heir to a corporate conglomerate.  He's young, handsome, wealthy beyond measure, polite...and hopelessly klutzy.  That's why he relies upon his personal maid, Miss Kishi, to manage the little details of his everyday life.  Miss Kishi is as capable and reliable as he could ever hope for, but he begins to wonder why he's never seen her smile.  Thus, Kiichiro takes it upon himself to show his gratitude by finding a way to please Miss Kishi.  How do you find a gift for a maid who wants for nothing, isn't impressed by fabulous displays of wealth, and never seems to change her expression?