MM!

Title: MM! Genre: Comedy, Romance Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: The story centers the life of Taro Sado going through high school. He came to realize his masochist personality and attempts to conceal this from his crush. To fix it, he enrolled in his school’s “2nd Volunteer Club”.

Review: Long time awaited review of the not-so-amazing MM!. Looking back at my first look I realized that I gave this anime quite a bit of praise at the beginning of the season. Now I don’t take too much back, but there were aspects that made me reconsider how good this anime really is. I was very happy that they introduced some sort of storyline instead of leaving it to fetishes to do all the talking. Actually having a background story for each of the characters gave solid character development points to the series. Though I have to say that the characters weren’t very original. True, I don’t see love of masochism in other anime (at least not blatantly) I have seen the violent tomboy, cute yet violent friend, crazed fangirl, and best friend that seems to make very few guest appearances.

In terms of story, MM! did a lot better than most comedies. That’s probably because it actually had one. I don’t mean to the overall trying to cure Sado’s masochism, but the underlying romances and friendships. I laughed at the awkward moments, turned my head down at the intense fetish rolls, and heart pumping romantic quarrels. Probably my most favorite character was Yuno. Her background story was heart breaking, but her innocent attitude made the series a lot sweeter. A part of me hoped that the ending tied of any loose ends between Sado and Yuno, but sadly I didn’t quite get what I wanted. That isn’t to say that the series ended… no wait, it did end pretty poorly. I was thankful that the final episode wasn’t a filler/comedy that had no significance as many seem follow. Unfortunately without a season two announced I can’t feel the satisfaction with the ending.

The art style was superb. I really liked the coloration and lighting effects. The best had to be the hair. Not so much the design as the coloration. The designs were simple in anime terms. However, the gradients that basically gave everyone’s hair two tones looked awesome. Even the ‘action’ scenes were pretty entertaining. The facial expressions of both comedic and dramatic fit well with the style.

The music wasn’t too shabby either. The opening was a fast rock Japanese/Engrish mix. The lyrics were well chosen for the anime and written in such a way that it expressed comedic wit. There was quite a few fan service scenes, which were nice to look at as well. The opening also served as a great method of introducing characters. It showed the individuals’ personalities and role in the anime. The ending was equally as good. It had a great visual effect and some choreography as well. But most of all it was about the girls. A few more fan service shots, catchy tune, and you’re golden.

Final statements: Overall MM! wasn’t the best anime out for the Fall 2010 season, but it did have its charm. Some of the jokes were fresh, and it was miles ahead of some of the comedies I have seen. Small bits of story here and there gave it the extra buff it needed to become a preferred watch. I do hope there is a second season, since nothing was actually resolved in the first season, but a few changes should be made. For one, create even more of a story. The little moral message given throughout season one just wont cut it for another 12 episodes. Also new characters introductions wouldn’t hurt to keep the anime from becoming stale. Possibly more romance too if possible…?