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「ずるすぎるよ鮎沢、碓氷のアホ！」 (Zurusugiru yo Ayuzawa, Usui no Aho!)
“That’s So Unfair Ayuzawa… Usui You Idiot!”
For a final episode, the writers sure had me second guessing exactly how far along Misaki and Usui’s relationship would get. Most of the episode was about their participation in a lover’s trial game where the grand prize was a “super premium ticket” for the closing festivities at night, so things could have gone whichever way depending on what the prize actually was. Before long, the two of them were completely absorbed in the game itself and things turned into a more lighthearted affair when Misaki started dominating every event with her left hand. With the added stipulation that they can’t let go of one another’s hand and Usui leading Misaki because of it, the time they spent together did come off as a real date. It was cute on various occasions and didn’t stray too far from their normal behavior, which included Misaki’s embarrassment over being chopstick-fed ramen, an event that ultimately turned into a competition among themselves. Given the endless teasing by Usui throughout, I was more or less suspecting that the two of them would grow closer from all of this and things would end off open-endedly. I was mistaken though.
Quite honestly, I would have been completely fine with it if that were the case. After all, the episode started off with Usui feeding Misaki takoyaki and placing cat ears on her head, and led to him putting a necklace on her as proof of their participation — scenes that were unbelievable cute for obvious reasons. There was a bit of subtle fan-service as well, such as Misaki unbuttoning her shirt to make sure the necklace was visible and reluctantly opening her mouth to be fed. Never once did Misaki given any verbal indication that she was enjoying herself, but it was clearly written all over her face the entire time. I don’t ever recall Usui showing that he was having so much fun either. After he popped a balloon with Misaki’s “help”, it was a bit unsettling to see him blushing so much. There just wasn’t something right about a guy like him turning bright red, which goes doubly for Kuuga after the Yumemishi live performance. In the latter’s case, I was actually surprised to hear not one, but three different Yumemishi insert songs performed by Nojima Kenji, namely “Natsukoi Monogatari”, “Yume no Hana”, and “Akane”. In addition to that, he gave indication that Sakura did indeed turn him around by nursing him while he was hospitalized and even had Misaki believing as much too. Kuuga’s real shining moment though was bluntly throwing out the idea that Misaki’s been making Usui wait for a reply all this time to his advances.
Dressed up in Romeo and Juliet-like outfits that they got from their super premium ticket, Misaki’s feelings of guilt for stringing Usui along all this time took a pretty awesome turn for the better. Starting with her bluntly throwing out the question and him responding that it’s not fair to make him repeat himself, Usui smoothly kept the act going for a while until he eventually apologized and backed off. As a result, Misaki finally reached out and started confessing that he’s confused her to no end and that she’s been wanting to hold hands with him ever since the lover’s trial ended. It wasn’t a very direct confession, but did catch Usui off-guard and drew a reaction where he thought he “broke” her. Seeing as they were both suppressing their true feelings all this time, I was a bit taken back by their first mutually consented kiss together that followed suit. This huge step forward in their relationship even had a “formal” confession by Usui to go with it, which was befittingly met with a very unconvincing “Usui, you idiot” in return. I agree that that it was pretty cruel of Misaki to respond in such away instead of confessing her feelings, but this is the girl who started the series detesting guys, so that was a huge confession in its own right. Overall, it was a very cute ending that was much better than I was anticipating.
Epilogue
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Final Impressions:
As an adaptation of a shoujo manga, this series provided exactly what I was expecting from a romantic comedy. I always draw a fine line between this kind of shows and what I refer to as a “romantic drama”, as the latter is generally more focused on getting to the end result. In the case of Kaichou wa Maid-sama, the interesting relationship between the man-hater president Misaki and the superhuman perverted alien Usui was never about them hooking up as an official couple and living happily ever after, but the bumpy road getting there. That’s the clear distinction I make when I classify as series as either a romantic comedy or a romantic drama, and I find that aligning expectations accordingly always helps in the enjoyment of each. Had the two of them hit it off early on, there wouldn’t be much of a story left to go on and the series’ main focus would be gone.
As much as characters themselves, one of my personal highlights was having Fujimura Ayumi in the starring tsudere role. Alongside her, Okamoto Nobuhiko continued to reiterate that he can do cool ikemen roles just as well as goofy harem ones seen in Asu no Yoichi. Together, they were a lot of fun to watch and really cute at the same time, which was perfect for this type of genre. Story-wise, the late introduction of Hinata did serve as a nice catalyst to their relationship even though it didn’t quite follow the manga, so I feel J.C. Staff’s decision to do so was justified as far as the anime is concerned. I still would’ve like to see more of Usui’s backstory in light of everything that was hinted at in the ending sequences, but I’m suspecting it might have sidetracked the story a fair bit and taken away from the lighthearted mood they were going for in this adaptation. If a sequel is ever produced, I definitely want to see that subplot revisited though.
As I’ve mentioned several times in my posts already, this series reminds me a lot of Special A because it also involves a superhuman male lead who can’t get a strong independent girl to realize/accept his feelings for her. In comparison, I’m actually leaning towards Maid-sama being the better of the two due to its plethora of goofy characters and wider variety of lighthearted avenues that can be explored. This includes all the other girls at Maid Latte, our three idiots, Misaki’s friends, and of course the cross-dressing Aoi. We can’t forget Aoi as he’s the youngest of the bunch yet always says it like it is. Ultimately, it’s the stars of the show and the more liberal use super-deformed stylistic touches for the comedy that I took more of a liking to. However, for anyone looking for a good romantic comedy, both are worth checking out. In Maid-sama’s case, you also have good production values by J.C. Staff, so you can’t really go wrong with this series. Just don’t come in expecting a romantic drama and you should enjoy the ride most of the way. It definitely has its “throbbing moments”, which is on top of the fact Misaki looks amazing in her maid outfit. 🙂
I actually prefer Maid-sama to Special A as well. Not like that’s saying much; I got bored of Special A really really fast.
The story for this show was pretty predictable and generic, which had me bored at quite a few points in this series.
I still love the characters though. Seeing how Misaki and Usui changed throughout the series was definitely one of the highlights to this show, and I’m glad I kept up with the series.
I wonder what happens with Hinata, Misaki, and Usui… Maybe I should consider picking up the manga… 😛
The manga starts off well, but sort of drags in the middle(from ~chap 20 to chap 33 or so), but then it starts getting back to its roots by diving into Usui’s past and furthering their relationship. It’s real good stuff.
Yeah! Ended with the kiss I wanted to see most. Here’s to hoping for a continuation with the whole Usui’s real identity thing.
Usui is, bare with me now, the Edward Cullen of the anime world. Takumi is everything that guy wishes he could be. Usui is charming, strong, smart, cultured, says things that can make a girl squeel; and this post is being written by a guy.
Though the anime’s artstyle doesn’t hold a dime to the manga, I do love the animation and well.. come on, gotta love the voice acting.
LOL really? I always thought that but in the other direction. That Edward Cullen/Twilight in General=All the unrealistic perfect dude/shoujo manga love story just with Caucasians+Native Americans.
…Twilight even has the retarted love triangle that we love so much where the heroine always ditches the “good guy”. ~:D~
you should be left in the middle of the desert with a bottle of motor oil for mentioning something twilight related.
I really love this series so I’m positively overjoyed to see the anime receive high marks in storytelling, animation, fluffy love, and fun.
I dearly hope Maid-sama gets licensed and/or dubbed, and even more so that it gets a second season. <3 Thanks SO MUCH for following it all the way through, Divine!
Why would you want a series that ends well to have a second season so you can (eventually) see it flop as they ruin it the second time around? This isn’t Naruto. It doesn’t have to be 200+ episodes long. Good stories are best kept short and with impact.
I don’t think that having a second season would ruin it. For the most part it followed the manga just flipped around some of the events on the timeline. If a second season continues on the story provided by the currently running manga then I see it being successful. That of course rely’s on the premise that the mangaka continues to write a great story.
at last i can now download all hahahahaa
I agree, the anime finished with a good episode tying off the knot that is the relationship between Misaki and Usui. Although I felt that this exact scene in the manga felt more three-dimensional than the anime…but that’s just my opinion. It was a lot of fluff, misaki’s tsundere moments, and, as you said, made it a good romantic comedy.
Although I also want another season for Kaichou wa maid sama to see how the later chapters Show Spoiler ▼
are portrayed in motion.
Also, thanks a bunch for your commentary and summaries on this anime Divine 🙂
I sadly gave up on this series mid-way. The all too perfect Usui in every episode was really starting to get annoying, an image of the perfect guy every girl would love. Sure that sounds kind of backwards as it’s the the opposite in practically every show, I suppose it just doesn’t work quite as well when a dude watches it from the other way around. The show was also plagued with Misaki getting “rescued” every single time without fail by Usui. It looks like Usui’s back-story (the only thing of interest before I gave up) wasn’t explored in depth at all, which is too bad.
People actually argued this wasn’t a romantic comedy? Is that even possible? Kare Kano is a prime example of Romantic Comedy and Romantic Drama.
“People actually argued this wasn’t a romantic comedy? ”
LOL what who?…if this isn’t within the romance-comedy genre…I don’t know what is anymore.
Ahh Kare Kano, I wish they had animated the whole series. I’d love to see super angsty Arima in action + the Tsubasa/Kazuma chapters. I really loved those. :C
Disappointed that they didn’t end with the hot springs episode =P
Double post, but I didn’t enjoy Nojima Kenji’s singing. I did like him in Honey and Clover though (even better than the original Kamiya Hiroshi)
Good, fluffy fun all the way through. :] I’m kinda wondering if there’s gonna be a second season seeing as how they still have a lot of material they could work with. What’s usually the criteria for approving a second season?
now I want to wait for a second season…. we need to know Usui’s past!!!
nonetheless, I really enjoys it 🙂
Also did anyone noticed the CVs for the two leads were also in the sacred blacksmith? it is like having these two fight over in two different shows… which of course is very nice to see 🙂
Divine would recommand anything similar romcom manga. I loved the series. I too felt we could have found out more about Usui past as hinted in the first opening/ending not sure. I would like to see a sequel. I think this anime was great even though it did kinda sidetrack from the manga.
Great to see that this series had a happy ending. I’ll miss Misaki :'(
Sad this series is ending. One of the better shoujo adaptation and not really generic.
OT: I want Misaki to cut her hair.
Still waiting for the subs but I know how the story goes anyway. I suspected early on that they’d end with this chapter. Can’t wait to see how its portrayed in animation though.
Glad to see that the anime follows the manga relatively closely and they didn’t have to make up their own original ending. Its satisfying enough and doesn’t really call for a second season. I wouldn’t mind a second season but since this is a Shoujo with 26-episodes and a well rounded ending…following the old pattern I highly doubt there will be.
Cutting her hair wold make her uglier. Her design is the best the way it is – not too sort, not too long making her look like a guy would completely screw the series for me.
And manga was 100 times better. Anime was a disappointing, especially it became so after the butler arc where JC Staff started messing with the original just like they always do.
Before butler arc it was 9/10
After butler arc it became 3/10
So overall 6/10
Manga tops this in so man ways.
LOL by cutting her hair, it doesn’t necessarily mean I want it to be shorter or manlier, I actually wish she were more girly. I like the length, though it’d be better with some sort of styling. The way its drawn kind of looks like a mess and isn’t my taste in general. Although, I’m not SO fussed because I know it matches the character’s personality.
Yeah mangas are almost always better than the animes, but what are you going to do with the time restrictions and whatnot? I did read the manga quite a long time ago…so maybe I haven’t noticed some of the discrepancies… not that I really care as long as it ended satisfactorily, it being canon was the bonus.
And while this anime wasn’t exactly my favourite of this season, I still enjoy it for what it is. No use comparing the two since “manga>anime majority of the time” is pretty much old news.
I like this anime cause the plot is not TOO farfetched, even if Usui seems a bit too superhumanly perfect at times. For me, there are still a few loose ends (what about poor Hinata? Doesn’t he deserve a happy ending too? And we still don’t know why Usui lives alone in an unfurnished apartment…you get the drift) Hope there’ll be a second season!
kwms manga is much better than the anime, just glad i read it after finding out about it through the anime!
final episode could have been better, but it ended at a pretty good point =]
Does anyone know the name and artist for the second song the UxMishi sings? I actually like it a lot. Please help. Thanks.
great, is there a season2 for this? hahaha
OmG! Please disregard and delete my last question. Thank you Divine.
It’s finally over. In a sense i’m tremendously happy about how they’ve concluded the story but at the same time sad that its all over too. Hopefully there will be a 2nd season.
This episode alone had so many screen shot worthy moments its insane~ Misaki taking a bite of the food Usui bought, him putting the necklace on for her, the ramen eating competition, balloon bursti…. heck i could go on and on….
I loved how at the end after Usui had apologised and stopped teasing Misaki that she literally just let all her feelings out. Certainly came as a shock to Usui at how she started rambling non-stop bout him but the end result was a sight so unbelievable cute and beautiful that i was literally *fist-pumping* going YES!!!
There certainly were certain ups and downs and regarding this show but that applies to every single anime out there. I’ve enjoyed the ride that was KWMS, so much so that i’ve been turned into a huge fan of it and even started collecting the manga. I can safely say that this series has easily shot to the top as my fav romantic comedy series ever.
PS: On a end note, i’m hoping that they would come out a DVD special episode or something, with the episode focus being on Misaki’s birthday since we’re given a strong hint of it already in the ed sequence. Now that would really round it off superbly as well~
Misaki doesn’t look happy and Usui looked uncomfortable at the end…
I dunno, but I actually liked how the series ended. It was light-hearted and…cute.
was it just me or did they power through the last episode at the speed of light?? lol anywayz I WILL MISS MAID-SAMA T_T
I got exactly that vibe…it was at 2x speed 😛 ,they could’ve taken some time from the OP/ED and smooth some scenes a bit.
I believe it was a fairly good adaptation of the manga and mostly stayed close to it. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, although I doubt there will be a 2nd season….
Damn, Misaki, must you always be that cute every week all the way till the end?
Maid-sama is a well done romantic drama. JC Staff seems to be doing quite well in this genre, after scoring another hit with Toradora last year, as well as Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile. Though Maid-sama was definitely more funny with its gags and had less angst to worry about.
A second season will be most welcome, mainly because we still know absolutely nothing about Usui. At least they have their first official kiss to tie things up for this season.
Final P.S. for this series: LOL at the Sanbaka being reduced to Pac-Man critters.
https://randomc.net/image/Kaichou%20wa%20Maid-sama!/Kaichou%20wa%20Maid-sama!%20-%2026%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
Is there a manga reader here? I was wondering seeing that necklace i really got a vibe that it was a small little lie that it was a participation sign and just an excuse for him to get her accept that necklace.
Or am i just seeing things?
I don’t really get your question, but I will jsut summarize the necklaze thing from the manga:
First of all, do you remember the fortune teller thing from episode 24? It actually happend at this festival, by some old men or whatever.
When Usui and Misaki got to the trial run, Usui told them they will participate, and he told Misaki it’s a good chance to find out if they REALLY don’t belong together, as the fortune teller fortold. He paid 500 Yen and they got this necklace, it’s needed as a sign that they are participants. Misaki shouted something about it being too much money wasted, so Usui put the necklace on her, saying it would fit her more than him, and that now it’s not a waste, “isn’t it”? Misaki then said: “Idiot Usui, why you always do-” and is interupted by Usui saying: “I know. I always do things, that you hate … right?” while giving her his hand, which she takes, extremly blushing.
I guess thats it about the necklace.. Hope your question was answered
Concluded just the point I predicted.
I got my Kazehaya (Kimi no Todoke) moments from Usui today. XD
Uwaah, Maid-sama! ended wonderfully, with such a sweet almost-confession and mutual kiss that did NOT get interrupted by fireworks this time!
Normally, I don’t like shoujo series like this (I hated Special A), but Usui’s teasing and Misaki’s deredereness kept me watching the series all the way. This series was really good with its comedic moments as well. I demand a second season!
The score is Usui: 1 and Hinata: 0 YEAH!!
I absolutely loved this series! I’m really really hoping for a second season!
I think this series is a lot better than Special A, too. But I still much prefer Hinata to Usui. Damn.
i wanna know about the last ep that Uxmishi was singing. I cant find those song title at all. Do you guys know? one of the song line was ‘let the flowers bloom’
Did you actually read Divine’s post? The song titles are stated there.
A nice end. Is the manga still going on, I may start to read that. If the manga is still continuing I hope the do more seasons if not that is fine to.
Love this episode <3
Nice ending but I hope to see a new season very soon ^o^
Usui you are the best !!!!!
last episode..i will miss kaichou wa maid sama,Usui&Misaki
great episode,now should go read the manga..
The progression of the story was INCREDIBLY slow, but then, the only other shojo anime I seen in my life was Ouran, and even that was a genre breaker as well, so maybe I’m not familiar with the elements inherent in shojo. That was the only flaw to me, and everything else about Maid-sama! makes it a perfect cartoon romance! Now that it’s ended, I must say that it’s much better than I had anticipated.
Well that was a nice way to wrap things up. Kinda wish Usui and Misaki would have gotten to this point a few episodes back, but hey thats usually how theses type of series go. (Everything becomes clear and known at the end) The series overall was fun to watch
I really enjoyed how the final episode was put together, and the Yumemishi performance wasnt to bad. The superhuman Usui did annoy me but I couldnt miss the Moe time with Misaki, I think it would have been interesting story wise with Kuga pointing out that Usui “endures” Misaki behavior much earlier so many viewers could have another look at Usui instead of Mr super performer, as I did.
i don’t think it was rushed, i liked how it ended. it’s nice to see that dumbfounded look in usui at last. lol.
So Lovely! SECOND SEASON~
Misaki is too cute! The fanservice shot of her eating was priceless! Loved every second. I always looked forward to each episode just to see Misaki blush~ MOE!!!
Great episode to end the series (but hopefully just the season). I wasn’t very happy with that little bit they through in at the end though. “Oh look everythings perfect, but wait, maybe it’s not…”
I think instead they should have gone with something about Usai’s past and mom which is clearly where the show should go if it continues.
I was impressed again and again by this show, they really took it to another level, and I’m so glad I watched.
Just finished the final episode. I agree with Devine and prefer Maid-sama over Special A. This finale lived fully to my expectations despite the fact that I have read the manga. God I’m going to miss this series so much every week…
This series had so much of an impact on me, I had a weird dream of their life together when they were adults. Unfortunately, it was not pleasant ._.
Good for those who haven’t read the Manga.. You’ll never get to see the bad part of the story. I envy you…
JC Staff has had some great Shojo adaptations in recent years, but this is probably their best. I can’t comment on the manga, because I haven’t read it, but I’m amazed that JC Staff could take such episodic material and hold a viewers interest so well.
I think the key to their success, other than great artwork and directing, was the decision to cast Ayumi Fujimura as Misaki. Nabari no Ou was a pretty mediocre show, but had one of the best collections of voice acting talent I’ve seen in a while. And even among the likes of Jouji Nakata, Rie Kugumiya, and Suwabe Junichi, she stood out as the “tough girl” type playing Raimei Shimizu. She’s got enough talent to cover a variety of roles, but in the same way that Rie Kugumiya’s talents are tailor made for Tsundere roles, Fujimura is at her best when doing a “warrior” role.
And from the very start, it just felt right with the Misaki character. Especially early on, when it seems like she’s constantly in battles, both figurative and literal. But as if that wasn’t enough, Fujimura displayed some real talent for tsundere and deredere stuff, and showed a great ability for comedy. Just about every time she went into “super hard working mode” with the “rararara!” type sounds, I couldn’t help but crack a huge smile. In a show where the main character unintentionally charms so many men, its was critically important that the main character charmed the audience just as much. Mission accomplished. I hope she gets noticed for this work and it leads to more major roles in top shelf productions.
I could nitpick with this show. It had loose ends. They teased us with Usui’s past, so much that it feels like a huge mistake to leave it out. Hinata’s story is unresolved. The show left me wanting more, too much more. So much that I’d probably remember this show less fondly if a sequel never arrives.
But I still loved this show, and recommended it to everyone I know. If nothing else, for how awesome Misaka’s character was, and also for the chemistry she had with Usui. I have to give Nobuhiko Okamoto a ton of credit. He made a Shojo-steriotypical “perfect man” character not only tolerable, but fun and even likable from a male perspective. That’s not easy to do.
felt like usui was playing an eroge. MISAKI GET’D
this really has been enjoyable and misaki is probably the best tsundere Ive seen in a long time. Considering this is a Shoujo series elements like these actually make kaichou a lot more unique than other shows.
i really love maid sama cuz 8ts really kilig and straight 2 d point ang story………………………i love usiu so much!even though hes just an anime i love him soooooooooooooo much!1111 talaga ang maid sama 4 me…..i wish they wer alwayz on d tv…..echos masyado c misaki dhil nagpapakipot pa.sa lhat ng anime na nkita ko,this is d most kilig ever!,.compared 2 all other animes…..i wish 8ts always on d tv.hindi ko alam kung bkit ako gnito.i think im crazy na.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!bsta no matter wat happens love ko ang maid sama forever and ever amen!
shit im sooooooooooooooooo in love with usui!i cnt replace him1hes d type of guy dat s straight to d point oooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gosh!i love 8 sooooooooo much!i wish 8 would have an official website.y s dis happening 2 me?my frends say i should not idolize like dis!but i told dem dat f only o culd creata a website i would do dis asap!duh!!1111bsta ni love maid sama111dugaerihvbudfhjvbuhreiuy!love yah!
HIIIIIIIIIIII MGA MAID SAMANNATICS!WATZ UP?
i love maid sama!i dont know y dis is happening 2 me!but 8t-s alright,i love 8!
hey is this anime already ended ??? come on it cant end we need moreeee