(13 episodes)
What’s it about ?
Adaptation of a slice-of-life manga series.
Characters
Chihiro is a poor 10-year-old kid whose mother has just died. He thought she was his only family, but it seems she was merely estranged for her family (obviously for having him). Which is why, a few days later, his rich uncle comes to pick him up…
Madoka, his mother’s younger brother, is delighted to bring his nephew to his own big house, and THANK GODS this is way less creepy than it sounds. He just seems lonely, and had much affection and respect for his sister. Interestingly, while he clearly doesn’t need to, he does have a job as a costume designer.
Shinozaki, Madoka’s secretary, handles a lot of duties for his slob of a boss. He draws the line at cleaning more than the study where they work, though. The rest of the huge mansion is a complete mess.
Since Chihiro is defiant of Madoka, and doesn’t want to feel indebted to a family his mother clearly wanted nothing to do with, they come to an arrangement : Chihiro will handle domestic duties in exchange for room and board. Also, Madoka got him to wear a custom-designed maid outfit, because he though it’d be funny and Chihiro didn’t protest too much.
Production Values
Thankfully, no fanservice whatsoever.
What did I think of it ?
The synopsis was rather worrying, but this seems to be an inoffensive little comedy about parenting (although one’s not quite sure who’s a parent to whom). The manga certainly doesn’t seem to have raised warning flags, and further episodes look like they’re going to add in age-appropriate love interests for both of our leads.
On the other hand, while it’s pleasant enough, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about it. In a busy season where there are tons of average slice-of-life comedies, I may have to cut this one within a week or two to make my schedule more sensible.
