StoryWhen I decided to watch Moekan, I really had no idea what it was about, except that it was another H/Dating-sim game transition to anime. I skipped through one of the episodes quickly, and noticed that it contained (OH JOY) many maids, and I immediately was apprehensive. Once I watched the first episode, though, I had hopes that perhaps this would be more unusual than I thought. Well, I was right about that, but it didn't really end up being a good thing.
The overall problem is that the storyline is extremely convoluted, and you never really know what the focus is on. The narrator starts out explaining that on Moekko Island, combat maids are trained by a man named Takahiro. We are never told why there are combat maids, why they are fighting once they presumably leave the island, or what the larger picture is. Enter Rinia, an old model combat robot who Takahiro is very unhappy to have to train (under company orders, of course). Episode one focuses on Takahiro and his vehement dislike (and cruelty) of having to take care of Rinia, who he *seems* to have some sort of a past with. We are shown various flashbacks in the vein of Sai Kano, but by the end of the three episodes, we still haven't had this explained to us. By the end of episode one, however, I was fairly interested based on the flashbacks and such, and thought maybe it would be unusual.
Episode 2 changes this format and introduces a new character: Kazusa, who dresses more gothic (as in, what gothic people dress in Japan, not the States or Europe), and seems to be Takahiro's bodyguard. The episode almost completely focuses on her and her bonding to a dog.
Episode three changes focus yet again, this time on invading forces from the company, with lots of dramatic moments and hints at the flashbacks again, but still nothing is explained. The focus of the first two episodes is clearly a comedy of sorts, with two different bumbling girls who fall all over themselves for Takahiro, while the third seems to be a part of a larger plot that we don't understand.
So what is Moekan? A harem comedy? A dating-sim transition? A drama? A ham sandwich? I just have no idea, folks. Had this focused on just one topic, I think it would have been much better, but as it is, the flow is completely weird and the focus is far too scattered to make for an enjoyable watch. Granted, if you've played the game I guess you'd get more value out of this, but for me, it ended up being too weird and scattered. AnimationVisually, Moekan succeeds the most. You'll recognize the hentai/dating-sim transition type character designs right away, as most of the maids have HUGE oval eyes and trademark round pointy hair. The only character design I didn't like was Takahiro, who was supposed to be an older gentleman yet appeared to be a teenager with white hair and very stupid looking glasses. The colors used were especially pleasing, with reds and dark blues, or shades of orange when scenes overshadowed by sunsets were shown. I think the one thing that could have made it better would have been more attention to detail in the backgrounds. While they weren't terrible, they still seemed to be on a back burner comparitively. Then again, the characters themselves were shaded fairly simply as well, so I guess the overall detail and shading was a bit lacking compared to other things. In general, I appreciated the graphics the most out of everything else to choose from. SoundThe music is pleasant, but not fantastic either. Piano tunes dominate the OVA, and are usually light and in the background. They change from lighthearted to sad depending on the scenes, like they should. Occasionally some synthy tracks that definitely remind you of a dating-sim anime are thrown in for good measure. While these tunes are effective, they still are fairly forgettable and do nothing more than to serve the mood of the moment. I wouldn't listen to this soundtrack.
Voice actors were fine for everyone involved. CharactersThere were a plethora of characters, but each seemed to have a mysterious past that wasn't explained at all. Most of the faces and names seemed to blend together anyways, since they were mostly maids or generic workers. Rinia and Takahiro are supposed to be the two most important characters with the most character development, but we never really see the results of the development, which is frustrating. Near the end of the third episode, something large is revealed about Takahiro, but we don't understand what it means or what the implications are. If you played the game, maybe you would, but normal viewers don't, and this is a problem in my book. Saying "Oh, he's *such and such*" without explaining what that even means is a waste of saying it in the first place! Rinia's development moves towards her understanding her past (just like Takahiro), but like Takahiro, it still isn't revealed much. I suppose the only person who really seemed to develop was Takahiro in a small way, because he went from being a total ass to someone who smiled and seemed to care about the robots. Rinia was the catalyst, but again, we never really understood why. One final note is that Rinia has a very ... interesting character addition: an extra pair of hands that like to cover her breasts when she's naked. Yeeeaaahhh... that makes sense. OverallThe only reason I rated this so high (6, I believe, is high considering the numerous flaws of the OVA) is because of the animation style and visuals. Truly, Moekan is a treat to watch, but the scattered storyline and confusing characters overshadow the pretty pictures by far. Fans of the game would enjoy this, but unless you just really want to watch this because of the screenshots, I'd say go for something that makes more sense and has a better storyline in general.
Screenshots
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