Kaichou wa Maid-Sama: Review

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! (The Class President is a Maid!) is a shojo manga series series by Hiro Fujiwara. There are eighteen published volumes under the Hana to Yume Comics in Japan.

The premise behind this manga started with the change in the system of a school. Seika High School was once an all-boys school that was once known because of their problematic students. Now that it has turned into a co-ed school, it is still a horrendous environment for girls. A girl named Ayuzawa Misaki decided to take the matters into her own hands as she struggled to train, study, until eventually, she becomes the first female student council president. While being the president, she has gained the reputation as an uptight; men-hating dictator; and a shining hope for the teachers and the female student body. Despite her men-hating nature, she secretly works at a maid cafe to support her family. All is going well, until the most popular male student, Usui Takumi, discovers her while wearing a maid outfit. Usui Takumi takes an interest in her after discovering her little secret.

The part where it got me hooked was the irony. The fact that she is known as a person who dislikes men but works at a maid cafe where the customers are usually male. When Takumi discovered Misaki's secret, at first, I thought that Takumi's intention was blackmail. When I've read other stories with similar scenarios, that is usually the result. I was quite surprised that this was not the case. As the plot starts moving forward, it is revealed through their interactions that Misaki is not really someone who hates men, it's just that her circumstances forced her to. On the other hand, Takumi is not as cold as everyone thought him to be, he is just indifferent and won't be shaken by the many girls surrounding him. The relationship development is very slow though. There are no apparent romantic interactions for the first tens of chapters. For me, the slice of life aspect of the show is what is dragging the development to be so long.

Aside from the fact that Maid Latte is where the main female lead, Misaki, works, it ha

s no significant contribution to the plot. Other than it being her workplace, and the comedic aspects it can bring; it has no bearing whatsoever to the overall plot. The comedic aspect of the manga is what is making bearable to read for the first tens of chapters. Just like what the aforementioned statement just indicated, the genre "slice of life" is heavily evident in the show. One of the disadvantages of having a slice of life genre is that sometimes, the main plot doesn't get prioritize. This means that yes, per chapter is interesting but the whole story is just a huge mess.

Misaki as a main lead is quite interesting. Her two distinct characteristics draws a line from each other; they mesh together quite well. Even thought those characteristics are the opposites (her tyrant side and her submissive maid side), they make her who she is. I like her dedication. That side of her that does not want to be carried like a princess. She wants t be able to stand properly with her man on equal footing. It's just that, she is a stereotypical tsun-tsun (tsundere). That makes her pretty annoying. Personally though, I do not really like tsunderes. I think that they are too demanding and too in-need of attention. Also, there are some plot holes within her character. I get it that she's poor, but can't she maintain a clean house? This is contradicting with her personality at school where she gets super angry whenever she sees a place that is unclean. Kind of a neat freak like Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan.

Takumi is every shojo manga reader's dream man. He is perfect. As a character though, he is not the best. The fact that he is perfect makes is so that there is barely space for any character development. Also, I don't like it that he is evidently heads-over-heels for Misaki. I personally prefer romance stories that portray how they fall in love in such a sweet, slow, and logical manner. I do not believe in love at first sight.

The supporting characters were a let down. They were okay in the first part of the story. As the story goes on, they just lost their flavor. Some are just too illogical, some are too smitten, and some are simply just idiots. I enjoyed watching the scenes with the three idiots though.

Overall, I give this manga the following scores:

Character: 8/10

Story: 9/10

Story Execution: 7/10

Art: 8/10 Average: 8/10

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