Publisher: Tokyopop
Purchased: Rightstuf
Maria Holic is a story about a girl who dislikes boys so much she was willing to transfer to an all girls school to get away from them. Our "heroine", Kanako Miyamae, not only dislikes boys(they literally give her hives on contact), she loves girls! Upon reaching her so-called paradise, she encounters a snarky maid followed by her retainer Mariya Shidou. Mariya welcomes Kanako to the school and through skillful conversation uncovers Kanako's dirty secret. Before parting ways, Mariya manages a sneaky kiss on Kanako. Oddly, Kanako notices some hives. What in the....?
Having set up a meeting later, to tour the school with Mariya, Kanako sets out in search for her. After running across Mariya and her maid in the closet she notices that Mariya is not all she seemed to be. In fact, Mariya is not even a girl. Mariya is a guy! A cross-dressing guy! He's also mean and cruel!
Having accidentally revealed Mariya's secret, Kanako finds herself suddenly roommates with Mariya. It looks like things are going to get interesting.
A quick preface: I picked this bundle up on sale a while ago. Almost a year? I did not read it right away since I had other literary obligations(The Lord of the Rings trilogy). This group of books has also been out for a very long time, though; since 2011 in fact.
This story is almost exclusively a comedy. Kanako wants to hook up with tons of girls and has terrible nosebleeds any time something even remotely interesting happens. There is a story line but it does not really matter that much. It is just mostly small arcs that make up a greater narrative. There is some fourth-wall breaking as well which adds a bit of spice. Story elements range from stuff like a monstrous school bag(literally), and ridiculous card games, to a perverted priest, and even a twisted dorm-mother who refers to herself as God.
We have a decently rounded cast of lovable girls. Well, they aren't all girls but....anyways. Kanako, our protagonist, is a total screw up at everything she tries to do. She is also barely relevant to the overall plot and is almost entirely superfluous. She exists mainly to get different stories moving and to give the reader a laugh. Mariya is a total psycho. He is cruel and calculating. He goes out of his way to screw up Kanako's life with hilarious results. The cold-hearted maid Matsurika, servant of Mariya, is every bit as brutal as Mariya. Perhaps, even more at times. The lovely Sachi who has just about everything anyone could ever need in any situation ever. Nanami Kiri, who has no idea how to interact with other human beings. Yuzuru Inamori is the darling ace of the Archery Club and is very sensitive about her friends. There are others too but I don't want this to drag on all day.
I suppose I should talk about the art some. Well, I had no real issues with it. The characters were cute enough and the scenes depicted enough for me to be able to easily follow along with the story. If I had one issue with the overall presentation it would be the panel placement and editor's notes. At times, the text would be close to the spine of the book that it was difficult to read without getting a brighter light and spreading the book apart. The editor's notes, while a lovely feature, also fell prey to this problem here and there. Despite this, it was still an overall good experience.
Conclusion
For something I bought on a whim, it sure made me laugh. I have a twisted sense of humor at times and this series felt right at home. The story moves in seemingly random directions and has some awesome creativity. The characters all had a place and none of them really felt forced. Overall it was a mostly-complete experience. It is a shame there wasn't a volume 7.(See afterword for details!)
Recommendation
I really liked this series. Sure, it's another Slice of Life in a school setting, of which there are many, but that just means it's better when it's good. I laughed a great deal and felt my time was absolutely validated. Also, the maid. Oh, the maid. She was so wonderfully cruel.
Afterword
When I bought this it was listed as the whole set(or so I remember). I thought that this was going to be the entire series but as I drew nearer towards the end I realized that might not be the case. Things were not really resolving in any way so I was a bit concerned. Well, I did some digging on the matter. Turns out, there is, indeed, a volume 7. It was released literally about the time I finished volume 6! What luck!
I do feel bad for the fans of the series who had to wait 5 years and change for the next volume. I stumbled into this late and lucked out on someone else picking it up. Do not let this discourage you from jumping in. It's a fun read regardless if it is currently finished/localized or not.
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