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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Unevaluated | Forbin | # | ||||||
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Hmmm, I didn't think it was as bad as stretch puts it, the S&M Student is a bit over the top, the rest is not bad, It's not a girls bravo but it's not an AVOID. Last updated Sunday, January 20 2008. Created Sunday, January 20 2008. | ||||||||
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(All episodes watched): Someone (I don't remember their name) put it best at another website: "My first impression was: cheap Hayate no Gotoku ripoff." "At the end, my impression was: halfway decent Hayate no Gotoku ripoff". That was pretty much the same path my own attitude to Kimiaru took, though it took me more than one episode to come around. The title and premise of this series invite a comparison to He Is My Master, which isn't particularly risky since that wasn't the greatest show. But as I watched the first episode it soon became clear that this one is uncomfortably similar to Hayate no Gotoku! as well, which is quite dangerous because that is an excellent show. Whose idea was it, I wondered, to air this modest copy while HnG was still running? Every aspect of Kimiaru seemed to pale in comparison. The characters were nowhere near as colorful and amusing, and the jokes are nowhere near as funny. There seemed to be little that was particularly original here, and what there was tended to be of average or below average quality. One radical difference between Kimiaru and HnG which quickly becomes evident is that whereas HnG takes a commendable (and unusual) hands-off attitude to fanservice, Kimiaru wallows in it. Just watch the ED sequence in which each female character is stripped to her 'undies. And, believe it or not, Kimiaru is actually funny enough that I don't feel particularly dirty after watching an episode (like I did early on). I think this is enough of a difference between the two shows that I can forgive this one's not particularly original premise. Another difference is that much to my surprise, Kimiaru isn't completely episodic, rather the characters do some developing and certain issues are carried on from one episode to another. Kimiaru also gets steadily funnier, I think; the "prime numbers" gag in episode three was great fun--that's the last excuse I'd have thought of when caught in an embarassing situation. I especially enjoy the parodies of other popular anime like Death Note and Initial D. I was much too hard on this show early on. At the end, the cast has developed such a pleasing personality that I'm genuinely sorry to see them go. The conclusion, involving making peace with Ren and Mihato's abusive father, and a developing romance between Ren and one of the women in the house (which I found pleasantly unexpected), was surprisingly satisfying. Not brilliant, but better than I had expected. Whereas it doesn't look like there will be any "conclusion" to Hayate no Gotoku anytime soon, KgAdSgOd (what an abbreviation!) handles it well. It was a mistake for me to think that one good show should monopolize a basic premise, since sometimes imitations are as good or better than the original. The best indicator of how my attitude towards this show has come around would be this: I wish they'd make another season! An ecchi Hayate no Gotoku--fairly funny, and in general satisfying, too Last updated Wednesday, April 09 2008. Created Friday, January 11 2008. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Japanese Series Web Site | http://kimiaru.jp/ |
| Wikipedia entry for anime & novels | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimi_ga_Aruji_de_Shitsuji_ga_Ore_de |
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