Kimi Ga Aruji De Shitsuji Ga Ore De

Perhaps I’ve been watching too many animes, so much so when I first watched Kimi Ga Aruji De Shitsuji Ga Ore De (wow! What a mouthful. Feels like a tongue twister, huh?), it somewhat reminded me of Hayate No Gotoku. I’m sure when I mentioned that crazy over-parodied series, many anime viewers would instantly come to think of that poor boy becoming a butler for a very rich milady. Yeah, that’s what this series has too. But that is just where the similarities end.

 

Also known as They Are My Noble Masters (now, this title is much easier to pronounce, don’t you think?), this 13 episode anime series is another one of those romance-comedy genres and those who like ecchi and fanservice stuff, should enjoy this one too. Makes you think that there are lots of rich people in Japan, huh? Filthy stinking rich. It’s like they print money as their hobby. But that’s unrelated stuff.

 

Now as seen in the first episode, we are introduced to this teenager kid, Ren Uesugi, who is running away together with his elder sister, Mihato, from their abusive father. After all these years of being beaten up, Ren has managed to finally sum up his courage to leave that torture house once and for all. Of course arriving at the big city, the siblings have to fend for themselves now. Though their main goal is to live happily together, they need to find a job first. And if you’re thinking that this brother-sister relationship is the incest type, think again. You’ve seen too many of such shows if you’re really hoping to see their relationship like that. They share quite a good relationship and as always, the bigger sister always takes care and on the look out for her little brother. Though sometimes I feel that Mihato indirectly ‘controls’ him.

 

It seems luck isn’t on their side as the duo reunites at a spot after spending a day trying to get employment but to no avail. Ren notices a beautiful and popular orchestra conductor, Shinra Kuonji, performing through a television screen display of a store. Soon night falls and the siblings camp right in the middle of the park while eating instant noodles. Hey, they’re broke. They resume seeking any jobs the next day when Ren stumbles upon a girl admiring her reflection of a store’s window and she has a little egg-shaped robot. She soon faints due to the heat and Ren quickly catches her. When Mihato arrives, that girl introduces herself as Miyu and since the robot, De Niro (not sure if he has any relation to that Robert actor. Maybe not) is too small to carry her, Ren gives her a piggy-back ride to her home. Her big home. Her really huge mansion.

 

To show her gratitude, Miyu has one of the mansion’s maid cook them up a delicious meal. Must be their first time tasting something this good. The maid cook is Benisu and because she’s the hot-headed type, you’ll instantly know that she and Ren won’t be getting along well. To cool things down, the head butler of the mansion, Tajiri Yasushi, or better known as Colonel, uses his hand beam to blast Ren away when he’s going to get violent. What the? He lands outside the garden only to find himself at the feet of the well-known conductor, Shinra. When Colonel comes to greet Shinra, Ren attacks him but once again fails. Due to Ren’s persistency (unconscious while standing up after the attack?), Shinra seems to be quite interested in Ren. Soon, Shinra decides to hire both of them as the mansion’s servants but will be given a 1 week trial.

 

So let me introduce to you the other wacky residence of the mansion. As Shinra is the eldest daugther of the family, she takes on the role of taking care and looking out for the rest of the family. While watching this anime, there are other animes which this series reminded me off. Like Shinra has an uncanny resemblance to Hime of Kaibutsu Oujo. Their stoic and cold characters are almost similar only difference is that Shinra has shown her antics and comical side and fetish for cute things. Yeah, she likes sexually teasing people she finds cute. She really does! And Miyu is her number 1 ‘victim’. You may call her sick, but I guess rich people are no different than ordinary ones. Plus, Shinra’s conducting of an orchestra brings back fond memories of Nodame Cantibile.

 

Miyu is the middle child and is dubbed a child prodigy. She’s actually older than she looks and earns additional income for the family with her many patented inventions. Because of this, she’s always indoors and rarely goes out of the house. Thus, she’s in charge of taking care of the mansion. Whenever I look at Miyu, she kinda reminded me of a more mature version of Nagi from Hayate No Gotoku. Heck, any and every blonde twintail girls will remind me so. Miyu too has her own weird fetish. She likes little boys! Shotacon! Ugh! Then the youngest daugther, the high school going Yume. To cut things short, she’s always being ignored. Attempts to get her sister’s attention, especially Shinra’s, always end in vain. Poor girl. Yeah, Yume somehow reminds me of Yuuna of Kage Kara Mamoru. Are all the characters here being ripped off from somewhere?! I mean, Ren’s angst does make him sound so much like Kenichi from Shijou Saikyou Deshi No Kenichi, don’t you think? And Mihato, though she’s as busty as Sawawa of Kaibutsu Oujo, she isn’t blur headed and has a dark personality in the sense that when somebody else (other than the masters of the household) gets to close to her beloved little brother, you’ll hear her dark sinister voice of ‘advice’ (or threat perhaps) to stay clear.

 

Now let me introduce the servants. As we know Colonel is the head butler, he’s an ex-army officer and his body is filled with ugly scars. But unlike that old geezer Klaus in Hayate No Gotoku, Colonel is more cool headed and tactful. And yes, his hand beam is a real thing. But a weird thing about him is that, at times you can find him admiring himself in the mirror as he claims that he’s the most handsome man in the world. "It’s a sin to be beautiful". *Shivering*. Benisu is the maid in charge of cooking and when Ren and Mihato heard first her name, they misheard it to be… let’s just say to be some part of a male’s anatomy. They can’t stop snickering, can’t they? So I guess, they just decide to call her Beni or Beniko for safety reasons. This short-fused maid also knows how to kick ass and is Shinra’s personal assistant. So whenever Miyu isn’t around to satisfy Shinra’s fetish, poor Benisu…

 

Next is Natose, who wears an eye patch on her right eye. Later in the series, you’ll find out that she’s not wearing it just for fashion but she is indeed blind in that eye! As the head security of the mansion and Yume’s personal attendant, this tomboyish martial arts fighter has an equally incredible huge appetite! She eats anything in large proportions and preferably meat. Finally there’s Chiharu Kiyohara, who is Yume’s other personal attendant and in charge of cleaning duties. At first, Ren thought that out of all the weird non-human-powers servants of this mansion are just plain bizarre and thinks Chiharu has got to be the normal one. Until Colonel tells Ren that Chiharu is a boy! OMG! He sounds so girly, looks so girly, but that’s a boy?! One obvious point of Chiharu is that, he’s always being ignored (okay, maybe obvious wasn’t the right word). Yeah, Yume is only second to him. People just seem to not remember him and leave him out of whatever things they do most of the time. Poor girl. I mean boy.

 

Episode 2 has Ren assisting various of the maids around the mansion as he learns and adapt quickly. But he’s still got a long way to go. Since Miyu has no personal attendant, Mihato is assigned to be hers and as usual, we get to see more teasing of Shinra on Miyu while we learn that Yume and Natose are pretty close. Sleeping together not because of anything yuri but rather Yume seems to confide all her problems and talks with her. It’s tough being ignored, huh? This episode also introduces other characters, all Yume’s high school buddies, when Ren is assigned to escort Yume to school. Let’s briefly go over them, shall we?

 

Another very rich girl, is the crude and training-mania, Ageha Kuki, who has an ‘x’ scar on her forehead. He has a loyal personal butler named Kojuurou Takeda, who is always at the receiving end no matter what he does. Uh huh. Even if he did something good and Ageha is going to reward him, his reward is a powerful punch into the sky! Isn’t that more of a punishment? But what the heck, passionate Kojuurou loves them! Then there is Keiko Inamura AKA Kei, who is Yume’s classmate and friend, but there is nothing much I know of her because she doesn’t make many or obvious appearances in the series. But the most disturbing one has got to be Anastasia Mistina. How disturbing can she get? Why, this girl can get stimulated by just about anything! From just piercing stares to the ray of the sunlight, she can experience orgasms right in the middle of the road!!! And she’s enjoying it! Sick girl! Thank goodness she does not make that many appearance in the series, even if she does, it’ll be a short one. Phew. Also, Mistina seems to be some sort of a masochist and wants other people to… Okay, let’s leave this girl here for now.

 

Anyway, as the day draws to a close, Ren gets to find out that Yume and her friends have lost a ferret belonging to the school and Ren happen to spot it earlier on in the mansion. He goes to great lengths trying to retrieve it. Urm… isn’t he a little violent and too pushy there? I mean, he grabbed the ferret which would definitely make all ferret lovers and SPCA come breathing down his throat. But during that process, Ren broke a priceless vase of the Kuonji’s. Though Ren has regretted his action, it is ultimately Shinra who will still make the decision. In the end, Shinra decides to hire Ren as her personal attendant after taking into account that he has been a hard working lad and that one-off incident shouldn’t overshadow it all. Hooray! Now for the new life. Or is it?

 

Episode 3 has Ren accidentally seeing Benisu in her trademark red undies in the toilet. This didn’t happen just once, but several times throughout the episode. Then we get to see Colonel’s version of Initial D in a limo when he along with Ren are on the way to fetch Shinra from her orchestra practice session. Awesome! We also see that the other orchestra members have their own problems and are confiding to Shinra for some advice, which she gladly obliges. Sometimes you wonder if she’s putting on a facade, because on the outside she looks and feel like a different person altogether, despite her sexual innuendo teasing. When the gang comes home, Ren finds out that Miyu once again has been violated by Shinra. She’s not shy of walking around in her undies, is she? Well, it’s her home. Miyu is fed-up with this day-in day-out and proposes some Kuonji style capture the flag game. In short, all the sisters have to take part (with their personal attendants as part of their team) and the winner is the one who captures the other 2 flags, and will be the head of the household and have and do whatever she wants to the losers for the entire day.

 

Of course Yume is having tea and thinks because she’s always been ignored, but in a surprise attack, Shinra starts attacking her first! Well, take out the weak one first, won’t ‘cha? Ren gets Yume’s flag and puts it at their base. Now all that’s left is Miyu. Benisu tries to take on Mihato but in the end, Benisu got tied up as bait (cue for fanservice!). During that distraction, Ren manages to grab Miyu’s flag and is heading for a homerun when De Niro tries to stop Ren with his horrible singing (really! That robot sound waves are damaging to one’s ears). Ren is struggling to put the last flag in when Miyu comes in between. She tries to seduce him by showing her slip. "Fear the panty flashing!". When it doesn’t work, Miyu tries to hit him but whatever tricks Miyu comes up with, as Shinra mentions, it won’t work because Ren is a bad loser. Finally, Ren puts the flag into the pole and Shinra’s team win. Miyu, prepare to be lavished by Shinra’s love. Oh, Yume can only dream to get some of that love. Speaking of Chiharu, he’s lost somewhere in the gardens as everyone has forgotten about him. I’m not sure what the final scene’s about because when Ren decides to take a shower, he finds Colonel naked in there first so much so a mosaic censor field comes up as his automatic defence mechanism. Haha. Colonel strips Ren naked as he forcefully makes Ren take a shower with him. Hopefully nothing yaoi.

 

In episode 4, Ren makes a mistake by making tea too hot for Miyu. So this has Shinra coming up the idea of the gang going to some southern islands for some relaxation. You should’ve guessed that this is another excuse for fanservice to see the girls in their swimsuit. Shinra once again has desires to take out her lust on Miyu by hiding her swimsuit and make her wear a one piece. As for Ren, he’s being taken by Colonel to some secret hideout which turns out to be a hidden butler training facility. WTF?! Colonel even lets him sign some contract agreement which is written in English. Anyway, Ageha is there and as usual places the usual harsh treatment on Kojuurou. I know the training seems absurd and going through all that just to make the perfect tea? Anyway, Ren nearly died but that was included in the contract he signed. But he’s determined to be the best butler. Also, we see Shinra and Miyu getting drunk and when Ren thought a naked Shinra wanted something from him, he is relief to find out she just wanted a stuff toy. In the end, Ren manages to brew the best tea. He earns praises from Colonel and Ageha can’t even resist it. So when he brews it for Miyu, it’s no surprise she compliments him. Also, Benisu and Natose were at a nearby casino the night before and it seems Benisu can’t get enough of her gambling habit. She’s on a winning streak. But you know how all that will end, if you’re too greedy. Yup, they lost it all and even more. Since this is part of the casino owner’s ploy, he makes a deal with them that they either have to pay it all up or pay it back with their bodies.

 

Episode 5 continues where the previous left off. Benisu and Natose are working their debts off in bunny outfits. It seems Shinra and the rest knew the duo were in trouble and is already there and could’ve nearly catch them in their pole dancing acts. Shinra makes a bet with the casino owner that if she wins, she’ll get the duo back, or else she and the rest will work under him. Shinra leaves it to Colonel, who will show how to solve things elegantly. In some roulette game, the casino owner things he’s got things under his control when Colonel uses some super powers (his hair turning messy alright) of his to turn the tables back to their favour (I’m starting to doubt that he’s human). How’s that for elegance? So the gang heads back to the villa and the next day, the usual fun in the sun. Benisu notices a little girl watching them from behind a tree. Soon, Beni and Ren went out shopping for ingredients but spot 3 guys picking on a little girl, the one Benisu saw earlier on. Though they claim the girl pick-pocketed them, they seem to get violent easily. Benisu went over to teach them a lesson but since they threatened to hurt the girl, Benisu has no choice but to give up. In exchange, Benisu and Ren became their hostage and are whisked away in the baddies’ car.

 

As the duo are being tied up in some dark basement, Benisu tells Ren of her sad past, how she was found and saved by Colonel in the streets and soon after got a job working as a cook at Shinra’s mansion. Poor Benisu has been through hard times of being used and abandoned. It’s no wonder she didn’t trust anybody that time. So when she met Shinra, she felt different, like as though she’s part of a real family. Back in present time, Mihato’s brother-in-danger sense is tingling because the thugs did beat him up and at the same time, that pick-pocket girl ran back to the villa to inform Shinra of her kidnapped subordinates. So Shinra and co gets ready to retrieve their men back that night. We get to see them pulling off cool stealthy assassin moves like Colonel’s signature hand beams and Mihato’s needle work. They really make those punks look like helpless babies. Serves them right. Mihato seems to give Benisu ‘that look’ for getting too close to Ren. Rescue operation over as soon as it started. As they head back, Benisu apologizes to Shinra but as usual, she teases her. When they reach home, it seems Yume is just getting prepared to save Benisu. Too late, girl. Later they watch the fireworks and Ren has his own fireworks when Benisu gives him another punch for walking in while she’s changing.

 

Episode 6 focuses more on Yume. At least this shows Yume isn’t totally forgotten. However, we get to see her ‘other side’. After Yume has forgotten to bring her bento and even wore her undies to school, she gets embarrassed and ultimately fed up of being treated as a child. That night, Ren goes into Yume’s room to find her sleeping on her table. But what is more disturbing is that Ren finds a notebook belonging to hers and its contents are really, how should I put it… shocking. Yume’s Note seems to resemble a lot like Death Note but without all the people dying. To cut things short, her journal tells of Yume and her sisters being mahou shoujo (magical girl) heroines saving the town from a menacing bear monster. Uh huh. Typical mahou shoujo storyline with Yume hogging the limelight with her sisters and other people praising and admiring her heroic acts. Just like Ren said, it’s a self-centred delusion. When Yume wakes up, she finds Ren next to her who tells her that he’ll go talk with everyone else to help Yume find her true personality. The next day, everyone gathers in the living room and give their suggestions for Yume. Mihato starts by asking if she has any hobbies and Yume replied picking mushrooms (?!). Then Mihato suggests about Yume being a bad girl delinquent and so she has Shinra, Miyu, Natose and Benisu demonstrate what it’s like to be a bad ass girl. Convincing but definitely not the type for girly Yume. As Shinra suggests to be herself, the topic somewhat deviated and Yume once again has been left out. Uh huh, Mihato did some vanishing act for Benisu whereby the former tells the latter how her part and role will disappear in 5 seconds. Yeah, Benisu just disappeared into thin air. Of course, by that time Yume has run off in tears. In her room, Yume is depressed as Natose tries to comfort her but to no avail. Ren then comes in and his sincere and earnest explanations gave Yume some hope. Natose then reassures how she’ll always stay by Yume’s side. Just as Ren was about to leave, Yume gives him a peck on his cheek and Natose soon follows. Wow. Being flanked by 2 chics kissing him at the same time. Back in Shinra’s room, she tells Benisu how they’ll soon get a new household member.

 

That person is Ageha as she arrives with her military convoy in episode 7. What a way to make an entrance. Not only that, she’s making modifications to the mansion like as though it’s her house. Why? Because she’s staying here for a while. Colonel explains that during Ageha and Kojuurou’s training, that guy accidentally got some fanservice shot of Ageha, lost concentration and injured himself. Thus he’s hospitalized as they speak. So why Shinra’s place? Well her dad thinks it’s the best place for her to learn self-restraint. I see. Though some of them are against it, but it seems Ageha has come prepared with bribes. Like it is confirmed that Shinra really does have fetish for little panda cubs! Lots of meat for Natose, ice cream for Yume, baseball tickets for Benisu and even little boys in shorts for Miyu, who was initially against it and even said how she won’t fall for her bribes. Can’t resist, huh? Even Colonel got some gold out of it. Since Shinra is infatuated with her new panda cubs, Ren has to personally serve Ageha for the time being. Because Ageha is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate, it’s no surprise to see assassins watching her and thinking that it’ll be easier for them to target her now. At the same time, Kojuurou is recuperating in hospital and is being surrounded and served by 3 gorgeous nurses! I can’t believe that lucky guy would prefer Ageha’s fist rather than those sexy nurses. I know lots of people who would gladly trade places with him. No, I’m not one of them, please.

 

As Ageha takes Ren on a daily routine of torture… I mean training, Mihato can’t help but worry for him but that guy is still determined as ever. Ren also gets to find out a little more about Ageha’s tough background. That night as the assassins move in, Ageha detects their presence and goes into gear. Of course by the time Natose and Ren finds out, Ageha has already disabled them. We learn that the assassins are being hired from a rival company to take her out. Just then, 1 of the assassins reached for his poison blow dart and aims for Ageha. Ren’s instincts kick in as he uses his body to shield her. However, Ageha is faster and grabs the dart with her bare hands and shoots it back at him. Ren is stunned by it all. Later when Ren has a chat with Ageha, he is upset that even though she is the same age with Yume, she’s been targeted by various parties. Ageha is touched and to show her gratitude, she swiftly kisses Ren on the lips! Unknown to them, Mihato is watching them and is very shocked by this. Ageha says to herself how this is her first kiss before (so is Ren’s) rushing away. Miyu spots Mihato crying in the dark and goes to console her. Looks like her little brother can never be hers forever.

 

Episode 8 sees Kojuurou being ‘harassed’ by the nurses and he still yearns for Ageha’s punishment! Well, pain is pleasure to him. Meanwhile, Miyu finds Shinra naked in bed with the panda cubs! Holy sh*t! Do pandas make better partners in bed? Other than that, as Ageha goes to school, she finds Kojuurou waiting at the school gates for her but it seems Ageha totally ignored him as she thanks Ren. This completely shocks Kojuurou. Back at home, we can see behind her smile, hides a deep vengeance which is obviously shown on her cooking. Dangerous. After school, Ren still finds Kojuurou waiting at the gates and comforts him by saying how Ageha has been training every day. When Ageha arrives, she tells Kojuurou to go home as she takes Ren away. More shock for Kojuurou as he wonders what is happening. Plus, she didn’t give him his usual punishment. Back at Shinra’s place, Ageha continues to give harsh training to Ren and later when Ren comes into Ageha’s room, he finds her in a seductive position. She is asking his proof of loyalty and nearly fell into her trap of being kissed but managed to escape in time. However, Kojuurou has witnessed it all outside the window. The next day, Ageha again asks Ren for his loyalty proof but since Ren is hesitant, she forces another kiss on him! Kojuurou can’t take it anymore as he goes berserk and attacks Ren. Ren tries to explain but Kojuurou isn’t listening. When Colonel takes them outside to cool their heads, Kojuurou thinks he’s going to get a deserved a punch from Ageha when she punches Ren instead. Ageha says that Kojuurou is not worth punishing. Shock! Kojuurou then wants a contest to see which of them is better, in which Shinra agrees. The best out of 3 matches include carrying heavy luggages to a spot (Ren won), serving one’s master with politeness (Kojuurou taking the win) and finally a quiz session. I’m not sure if this one is real or not because 1 of the questions was how did Ageha got her ‘x’ scar and the answer is from the Playstation 2 console… ?! Ren notices Kojuurou in pain and finds out he’s still recovering from his injuries but wanted to see Ageha badly. Ageha realizes Kojuurou’s determination and tells him that she’ll come home after he is healed, thus she wants him to go back to the hospital, in which Kojuurou gladly obliges. As we see Ageha by Kojuurou’s side in the hospital (she’s still not bent on giving up on Ren yet), everyone else is working Ren to the max after serving Ageha for too long and overlooking them.

 

Episode 9 has Ren being Miyu’s personal attendant as he learns more about her. There’s a scene whereby Miyu wanted to sleep naked with Ren by his side and Mihato on the other. I think Ren then got naughty thoughts and pressed her boobs. Of course Mihato was watching and goes into scary mode after giving him some sisterly advice. We also see De Niro’s perverted side (are robots capable of that?) as he’s trying to hook up with the rice cooker! Ren tries to subdue him but that ruckus has caused Miyu deciding to punish the duo (with some vegetable?!) as she chases them round the mansion. When De Niro’s battery runs out, Ren recharges it and in a way saves his life, in which De Niro is grateful after he is resurrected. Also, Ren finds out after watching a tv interview of Shinra, that her late dad, Banshou (sounds like banchou, meaning gang leader), is the most respected person in her life. When Shinra comes home, she isn’t pleased to see Yume and Miyu playing video games and proceeds to unplug it and tells them to think of their future. Miyu tells about hers that Shinra doesn’t need to tell her about it and throws a stack of money on the floor (must be from all those royalties) and leaves. Shinra thinks Miyu has turned into a delinquent. Benisu and Yume fantasizes a delinquent Miyu which includes being a hard rocker. Miyu sounds so convincing and like one here! Of course during dinner, Shinra and Miyu reconciled but it seems Yume once again feels left out and leaves the table while everyone is being happy among themselves. Natose notices this and tries to console Yume in her room. Yume bursts into tears as she hugs Natose and wonders why Shinra only looks at Miyu.

 

In episode 10, Natose suggests Yume to directly tell Shinra her feelings. When she enters Shinra’s room, she finds Shinra all over Ren! Anyway Yume asks her why she never embraced her like Miyu. Shinra apologizes that she never knew Yume felt this way and hugs her. Shinra is happy that Yume is seeking her love and thinks she must’ve over-reacted over the things she said in the past, during the night of their parent’s funeral. However, Yume doesn’t remember what she had said then which prompts Shinra to instantly get cold with her. Unless she remembers what it is, her apology won’t be accepted. So Ren tries to sooth things by saying everything will be alright if Yume just remembered what she had said then. During dinner, Yume is not present at the table and Natose doesn’t have her usual appetite. Natose goes to Yume’s room only to find her missing. She thinks Yume has ran away from home and reports this to the rest. As the others start searching for Yume, Shinra is acting stubborn. Ren is annoyed by her character and ‘advices’ her about the need to reconcile with her sister because they’re family. Even if this brought up painful memories of his own dad, but Ren too says that with such a jerk like him, he still hopes to get on good terms with him. Natose manages to find Yume in front of Chinese restaurant (run by Kei?). As they embraced, Kei tells them that there are better places to flirt. Ren soon catches up to them as the trio had a little chat at a park. Ren learns that Natose is from some Pacific island and a tsunami killed her entire family. That time she wasn’t able to protect her family and doesn’t want the same thing to happen to Yume and the rest. Yume’s encouragement and smile was the motivation which made her go on. As Yume thinks real hard, she finally remembers. It seems when Yume and Miyu were crying at the funeral, Yume notices how Shinra didn’t shed a tear and tells her off that is she some kind of robot before running away. Meanwhile Shinra tells Miyu that at that time she too wanted to cry but had to hold back her tears as she needs to be strong to look after her sisters. Miyu thinks Shinra was trying not to bring shame to the family. Soon Yume comes back but is greeted with a slap from Shinra. Though Yume apologizes in tears for being selfish, Shinra says such trivial matters doesn’t matter anymore and that slap was for making her worried. That night, Yume thanks Natose for everything as the latter thinks this family has become even warmer. From now on, Yume won’t be very much ignored but I still feel she doesn’t make an impact.

 

In episode 11, Chiharu has been saved by Benisu by a bunch of thugs. Ren seems to notice Chiharu’s good mood but couldn’t figure out. Until Mistina comes by in some dog outfit, that is. Oh no. It’s that girl. Her opening explaining lines went something like "My b*tch instincts tell me…". Uh huh. To sum things up, Mistina tells Ren that Chiharu may be in love. So Ren tells this to Yume and Natose who decide to be supportive of Chiharu. So when they gather Chiharu in Yume’s room, they wonder who the girl in question is. Yume thinks it’s her while Ren thinks it’s Mihato but it seems Chiharu is in love with Benisu! They didn’t believe him at first but Chiharu’s pretty serious about it. So they suggest for him to go out on a date with her and they ended up attending a baseball match. But as they’re talking, Chiharu notices how Benisu always mentions Ren and thinks she may like him as Benisu herself mentions how she’s a little attached to him. Heartbreak for Chiharu as he decides to give up pursuing Benisu. So back at the mansion, Chiharu tells Ren that he’s giving up on her and continues with his cleaning. That’s it. You won’t hear this topic again. So fast.

 

The rest of this episode sees the gang along with Ageha, Kei and Mistina heading to the park to watch the sakura bloom. We see each of them putting on some performance of their own like Natose’s American joke (didn’t get it), De Niro’s horrible singing, Shinra and Miyu’s cosplay act, and Ageha kicking a steel pillar into a head bust of Kojuurou (which made him happy) and a final kick to send it crumbling into pieces (which made him sad). While they’re at it, somebody is crying for help as 3 thieves have stolen a woman’s purse. The gang then proceeds to do some justice with the 1st thief being taken out by Miyu’s orders of De Niro’s rain of missiles. The 2nd thief was taken down by Ren and Kojuurou’s drop kick combo and the 3rd one was being taken by Colonel into a washroom to face his punishment. Ambiguous sounds… Soon everyone gathers to praise and take pictures of the heroes and heroines. When the gang walks home, Ren tells Mihato how he has found a place to call home and that he wants to stay like this forever. But that picture of the gang soon appears on the front page of a newspaper and it seems Ren’s dad is happy to know that he has finally found out where Ren and Mihato are. Oh no.

 

Episode 12 starts off with Shinra taking a dip near a stream. Ren finds out from Colonel that this whole mountain area was bought by Shinra. Wow. That proves how rich she is. Next she’ll own the moon. Back home, we see Colonel and Natose trading hand beams as part of their training. Ren almost got hit when he spaces out thinking he used to play catch with his dad. Later we see Shinra taking out her pervertness on Benisu, in which Shinra herself admits that she’s one. I guess if you’re the master of the house, you can say anything you want. Shinra soon leaves for her orchestra rehearsal. Shinra also hogs Ren for the coming few days as she has him read her busy schedule, much to Miyu and Yume’s dismay. During one of the rehearsals, Shinra’s mentor and ex-teacher, Michael Plushenko, was watching her performance but tells her that it was just okay. Though her performance wasn’t bad, it didn’t moved his heart like her earlier works. This statement causes Shinra to be deeply troubled. With Shinra a little down, Ren decides to cheer her up by going on a date with her, which she accepts. The duo had some fun as Colonel is watching them from a distance. Not because he’s a busybody but rather to protect any harm which comes to his master. Shinra nearly blew her cover when she got to loud playing an arcade game.

 

At the end of the day, Shinra is grateful to Ren for taking her out as Ren continues soothing Shinra with his true words of comfort. Until that is, he mentions how he understands her feelings. This causes Shinra to get upset because she thinks that there is no way she could understand them. She calls him a kid and feels that he has taken advantage of the situation by invading his master’s privacy. Shinra then calls for Colonel to take her to the rehearsal. Ren tries to explain things but Colonel tells him to go cool his head somewhere first before driving off. After all that, it’s like back down to zero. As Ren is walking home, he bumps into his dad, Iwao, who’s ‘glad’ to see him. Horrible memories start flowing back to Ren. We find out that Ren ‘killed’ his mother. How? She died while giving birth to him. That’s why I guess Iwao took out all his anger and frustrations on him and felt that due to Ren’s birth, he had to shoulder the burden of taking care of him. Ren throws the bottle of sake he bought for Shinra on the ground as he loses his cool. I remember Iwao also saying how Ren is no different than him, as he is a violent person. A short flashback of certain stuffs Ren handled ‘violently’, like that ferret’s case.

 

Episode 13 starts off with Ren back at the mansion as he enters Shinra’s room to serve her usual bottle coffee but finds her nowhere in sight. Because of his spacing out, he accidentally spills the drink on her musical scores. Shinra, who is also been pretty preoccupied and stressed out for her upcoming orchestra, comes in to see this mess. The next morning, Shinra calls everyone for a meeting and announces Ren is to be fired for interfering with his master’s work. Mihato too tells them she’ll quit if Ren is fired. Later when Mihato asks Ren if there’s anything that’s bothering him, he tells her that it’s nothing but in actual fact he’s thinking about the encounter he had with his dad the previous night. Iwao was telling him how he’s staying nearby at a hotel and even gives Ren his number and expected a call from him before walking away. Something about he wants to meet the new family Ren has settled in. Of course, Ren wants to protect Shinra and her family and wouldn’t allow him to come close. Back in present time, Miyu comes by to tell the siblings that there has to be something more to this because their family won’t just fire a family butler over trivial matters. After Shinra comes back from another tiring rehearsal (in which Michael still isn’t pleased), Yume tries to cheer her up but her intentions were seen through so she leaves. Then Miyu comes in and tries reverse psychology by saying how she’s not wearing any underwear and starts stripping! Of course this shocks Shinra who doesn’t like it because the fun is where Miyu is reluctant or by force. After Miyu advices Shinra to open up, Shinra remembers the time she had with Ren. The next day, she announces that Ren’s firing will be on hold. Everyone rejoices.

 

While Ren is sweeping outside the mansion one morning, his dad arrives. Iwao told him that he was awaiting his call last night and since he didn’t get it, he decides to come see for himself. In order to protect Shinra, Ren agrees to go over to the nearby park and talk things out with Iwao. Benisu and Shinra are watching from a distance. At the park, Ren begs for Iwao to go home but the latter knows Ren’s weakness and starts beating him up. Ren is paralyzed by this fear. Benisu comes to Ren’s rescue but finds him curling up in fear and his trembling voice saying how he’ll do whatever daddy wants. Iwao orders Ren to call Mihato and that the trio are all going home together. Ren is ready to obliged when Shinra tells him of his advice to her the other day, was it all lies? Iwao then tries to punch Shinra for interfering (that scum!) but Ren fights back this time as he believes a man should protect a woman. Before Ren could land the final punch, Shinra stops him and tells Ren he is part of their family. She also said something like Ren didn’t run away from home, but rather it’s his fate to come and serve her. Wow. That’s looking at it from a different perspective. Ren kisses Shinra’s hand and tells Iwao that he no longer needs him. The rest of the gang soon arrives as Shinra prepares to go to her concert. After Iwao gets beaten up by Benisu, he chats with Mihato by saying how Ren was the only person who was by his side and ever since they were gone, for the first time he felt lonely. Mihato agrees to let him see Ren on 1 condition that he changes for the better.

 

At the concert, Shinra tells her orchestra members to relax and have fun. Because of that, Michael is now pleased with her work and notes that this sound only belongs to nobody else but Shinra. After the performance, Shinra meets Ren backstage and to his surprise, Shinra swiftly kisses Ren! How many kisses does this guy get already? She tells him that this is his reward before going back onstage, leaving Ren in seventh heaven. Everything goes back to normal back at Shinra’s mansion but more livelier (Miyu forcing Ren to put on some boyish shorts?!). Ren must be one lucky guy in demand because the sisters are fighting over him. Just then, Ageha comes jumping down from her helicopter with a parachute and into Shinra’s living room (this girl sure knows how to make an extreme grand entrance). Kojuurou jumps down too but he is without parachute… Ageha’s purpose is because she heard that they’re having a competition to see who gets Ren and so she wants to join in too. Ah well, the more the merrier. During the final scenes, we see Ren, Mihato and a clean shaven Iwao, paying their respects at their late mom’s grave. Good thing Iwao has changed for the better. Also we see several pictures of the Kuonji household going on holiday trips with Ageha and Kojuurou tagging along doing extreme stunts (poor Chiharu always been left out from the photo shoot).

 

This series has been a fun ride and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Perhaps if they make a sequel out of this one, I’d gladly jump in straightaway and watch it. I have to admit that it is partly the fanservice parts which made the series funny and more ‘pleasant’ to watch. Hmm… Perhaps the DVD version will have uncut and uncensored scenes. You know, it’s part of the ‘motivational’ ploy to get viewers to buy the DVD if they want to ‘watch more’. With the drawing, art and animation catered to today’s Japanese animation standards and style, I’m sure most of us have no qualms or problems with it. At times, the drawing may give a rich and opulent atmosphere, like in the mid-intermission. But it’s not always as the mid-intermission sometimes become comical. I’m not sure about that sketch drawing at the end after the next episode preview showing De Niro and a cat. What does it mean?

 

The voice acting does fit the characters in the series nicely. Like Ren is voiced by Tomokazu Seki so that’s the main reason why his angst sounds so much like Kenichi from Shijou Saikyou No Deshi Kenichi, because he was the seiyuu for that character too. I was hoping Ayako Kawasumi to voice Shinra but instead it is Shizuka Itou, the one who did the voice of Hinagiku of Hayate No Gotoku and Wilhelmina of Shakugan No Shana. Can’t distinguish her voice. Likewise, Yuko Goto voices Miyu and as usual I can’t recognize her voice because she sounds different (or rather I forgot) from her previous roles like Asahina in Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu, Kaede in Shuffle, and Abiru in Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei. Other casts include Rie Tanaka as Ageha (Bianchi in Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn, Maria in Hayate No Gotoku), Kumiko Yokote as Benisu (Sophia in Raimuiro Senkitan), hitomi as Mihato (Primula in Shuffle), Yuu Asakawa as Natose (Motoko of Love Hina, Sakaki of Azumanga Daioh), Kazuya Tatekabe as De Niro (Jayan in Doraemon), Noboyuki Hiyama as Kojuurou (Ikkaku of Bleach) and Yousuke Akimoto as Colonel. There are other first timer seiyuus like Shizuka Minamori as Yume, Yuu Amamiya as Chiharu, Mahiro Chiaki as Mistina and Natsuko Tauchi as Kei.

 

Speaking of the seiyuus, the parodies which happen in the series are usually based on that particular seiyuu’s previous roles, as they parody dialogue lines and actions from that other anime. The fansubbers did quite a good job in prompting this when the parody happens. Quite informative actually. Because of that, there are dozens of other trivia here but not so much or excessive like in Hayate No Gotoku. The opening theme, Hizamazuku Made 5 Byo Dake! by Miyuki Hashimoto is quite lively and upbeat whereas the ending theme, Butler Switch On! by Yuko Goto is equally lively as well (the chorus kinda sounds funny). There are 2 versions for the ending credits animation. The first one are like card pictures of the characters shown in a slot machine-like way. But this version only lasts for 2 episodes and it is replaced with a more ecchi and fanservice one whereby the female characters in the series have their clothes gradually ‘erased’ by the ‘tiny’ guys in a car to reveal their undies. Yeah, I guess lots of people would prefer this one.

 

As Ren goes about with his new life, I’m sure with his loyalty to Shinra, he’ll get by lots of things one step at a time. Just like Hayate in Hayate No Gotoku. So if you’re thinking that rich and powerful people are all that high and mighty, this series would at least make some reservations about them. They’re just like ordinary people with their own quirky habits. Only difference is that they have more ‘greens’ than any normal people would. Which might in turn magnify their quirkiness. So would you prefer to have a kinky master or a very strict one? Well, since if you’re a servant, you won’t have the luxury of choice, wouldn’t you? Just as long as they pay and treat you well, that’ll be okay, right?