Synopsis: “Hitoyoshi, a high school kid who lives alone, hears a knock on his door. He opens it to find a strange girl offering to be his maid. She has beautiful black hair, graceful manners, and…a dark past as an assassin. But despite her deadly background and lack of household skills, Hitoyoshi takes her in. As she adjusts to her new life, she begins to experience emotions she’s never felt before.”
Behold! Another seasonal slice-of-life romantic comedy series. You are Ms. Servant‘s episode one is an introductory episode, showing our main characters, how they meet, and establishing the mechanism by which they will interact. The story unfolds when Ms. Servant is sent to Hitoyoshi’s place by her former master for work, and Hitoyoshi is too kind to turn her away despite not actually needing an assistant, much less an assassin. For connoisseurs of the slice-of-life genre, this is a pretty standard way to start a show. It’s not boring, but not the first thing you’d recommend to your friends unsolicited. That being said, I was particularly intrigued by the show’s opening animation sequence. You are Ms. Servant’s opening is extremely stylistic and experimental with its use of photo-realistic props, manga cut-outs, and mocaps — visual styles that might not work for a full episode or show. I am a big fan of this kind of stuff, but it also unfortunately set my expectations high for this slice-of-life entry of a show.
You are Ms. Servant’s animation in episode one is inconsistent. There are character close-ups with a light level of detail and extra attention given to blush and facial muscles. But during the knife-throwing sequence — the sole action scene in the episode — my expectations were not met. I don’t need something to be moving all the time in every scene, but if a character does a flip, I want to see the whole thing, not just spinning knives that remind me of a custom cursor-loading animation. Even simple scenes of people talking felt unsatisfying, with lip flaps not appearing and simple repetitive movements overstaying their welcome as the camera lingers for what feels like just a touch too long.
All of that said, these complaints about animation are not deal breakers for me — this show isn’t God’s gift to anime. I do think the premise of an assassin-turned-housekeeper with themes of found family is a solid one. I like the contrasts between the characters, like the gap between a taller lady who excels in dexterity and skill but can’t mop a floor, and a shorter “normal” guy who has bags of trash on the floor but still manages to keep a basket full of perfectly folded towels in the bath. The Katsuta Sauce as a recurring bit is the fun kind of weird that stands out against the already odd premise of the show. Some of the pun-based comedy can be predictable, but I anticipate that it will fade away over time as we learn more about the characters and can rely on their personalities and interactions for better jokes and punchlines. There are already signs that both characters have some baggage to work through, which should give the series some character development and opportunities to take on a more serious tone.
The cast announcements for the show tell me that there are more characters that will be introduced, and I look forward to seeing how they interact and play off of our lead pair.
Despite some of the wonky animation, You are Ms. Servant’s episode one still has me invested enough to continue watching it and see where these characters go and grow.
