The original anime Akiba Maid War premiered its episode 1 and it was a thrilling and wild ride that exceeds expectations. The title of the episode is “Oink it Up! Starting Today, You’re an Akiba Maid!” which sounds cute and fluffy. From the title alone, some might have expected the series in general to be all “moe-moe-kyun” but these expectations were destined to fail as the episode delivered unexpectedly gory scenes, hilarious clumsy acts, intense climatic build-up, and a cute idol song to accompany the bloodshed as a cherry on top to round up this madness.
Nagomi Wahira and Ranko Mannen are the newly hired maids in a pig-themed maid cafe and they both have very contrasting personalities. Nagomi is a sweet and charming 17-year-old who finally gets to live her dreams of working as a maid in Akihabara. On the other hand, we have the stoic and serious 35-year-old Ranko who seems to be former military personnel based on her monotonous loud voice, strict movements, and serious facial expressions. This pairing isn’t odd by all means but I just find it ironic and funny that they depict such different stages in the life of a person. From a happy and hopeful kid to a dull and strict adult. They may have just met each other but we got an overview of their potential chemistry after being sent out on an errand with hints of them not making it out alive.
It may just be two minutes short but the gunfight scene at the end was the main highlight of the episode and it was absolutely insane. Accompanied by a cute idol song which just weirdly fits the entire spectacle, Ranko is swinging her guns like a maniac and is in the rhythm of the song while her enemies are waving their knives like idol lightsticks which looked like they were vibing with the background song and cheering for their demise. It’s also funny that the maids being shot and their downfall is on beat of the music. The whole fight scene was epic, brutal, and just above all mesmerizing. Meanwhile, Nagomi is just covered in blood, left bewildered while the massacre is ongoing which is similar to us viewers: speechless as our brain is still trying to comprehend what we just witnessed.
Now, the premiere may be a bit gory, but I think the whole series won’t just be maids killing other maids. The episode also left us with a few tidbits of lore, teasing us with a little bit of story behind all of this maid war. Overall, as an original anime, Akiba Maid War definitely sets its standards high up with the banger premiere of the series. We have been a bit spoiled when it comes to original titles this year (especially this last season), so it will be interesting to see how this fun and maniacal premise holds up as it progresses.
If you enjoyed episode 1 of Akiba Maid War, you can vote for it as the best anime in our weekly polls! The anime is currently streaming on HIDIVE.
© “Akiba Maid War” Production Committee