One of the new Winter 2013 anime’s airing right now is Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, which follows the story of Mao and Yuusha as they work together to bring about an end to the war between demons and humans. Sounds like a typical story, right? Yeah, it kind-of is but it as a romantic comedy spin to it that allows the viewers to laugh at the antics that go on. Oh, and here’s the catch: The Mao is female and has a chest that would make most women feel sympathetic shoulder and back pain.

So, what’s not to like, right? Well, it seems the well-endowed Mao makes people think there is no story to this series. Most of the comments are, “Look at all that ‘plot’ this story has,” or something to that effect. Despite all the fan-service that one would expect (especially when you consider “High School DxD and its busty lead female character), there isn’t any. That’s right. There hasn’t even been a single panty shot the whole time or any “accidental” wardrobe malfunctions.

Another interesting twist to this is that there is an immediate love interest between Mao and Yuusha. The surprising thing about this is that, for once, there is a male protagonist that isn’t afraid of a woman. Aside from things that would make normal men a little hesitant, Yuusha is not afraid to hold hands or even boldly put his head in Mao’s lap. It seems like more studios are starting to animate stories where male protagonists actually have a backbone.

Mao and Yuusha get cozy.

Studio ARMS is behind the production of this story. Around since 2002, ARMS is behind other like “Elfen Lied” and “Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny.” They are also the studio that did “Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls” in 2010, and “Hagure Yuushano Estetica” in 2012. The movie sequel to “Hyakka,” “Samurai Bride,” comes out for the Spring 2013 season.

Looking at ARMS’ history, “Maoyuu” seems to be a bit out of their element since they tend to produce very ecchi series. This could be a sign that ARMS might be moving away from all that ecchi that seems to be coming from their studio. Of course, given the size of Mao’s chest, it’s normal to think that’s not the case. However, in the manga for this series, Mao was drawn with a very large chest there as well and her being described as such in the light novel.

Even though the story revolves around these two, there are other characters of note to mention. As with any story, there are secondary characters that help support the plot; however, none of them are as important as the Head Maid. She has an impish side to her that she is not afraid to use to her advantage but she sincerely supports the relationship between Mao and Yuusha. She has a compassionate side that she hides by being harsh where she needs to. In essence, as far as support characters go, it doesn’t get any better than her.

The Head Maid.

As for the animation quality, it’s a bit strange. It looks like it’s been crudely drawn but, upon closer inspection, they have basically managed to preserve the astheitic of the setting. Since “Maoyuu” takes place in a “medieval-type” setting, the backgrounds have been made to reflect that. All-in-all, it’s not a bad rendering of the setting. That being the case, it’s certainly not high-class, either. However, it’s more than adequate to keep fans from shying away due to poor animation quality and it doesn’t detract from its enjoyability.

All of this essentially leads up to this: If you’re expecting ARMS’ usual brand of gratuitous nudity, panty shots and borderline hentai scenes…you’ll be very disappointed. Thus far, ARMS has managed to keep the series true to the light novel and manga and is not going out of its way to turn this into an ecchi-fest. ARMS has managed to restrain its carnal urges and has preserved the original integrity of the story. Basically, it’s worth spending the time watching and it’s something to look forward to each week during its run.

Synopsis
Fifteen years have passed since the war between humans and demons began. The human army that charged through the gate into the demon world managed to take one of the demon clan’s vital strongholds, but left an opening for the demon clan to occupy part of the humans’ territory. Frequent skirmishes between humans and demons in the intensely cold southern kingdoms have caused everyone much suffering and confusion.