After certain events in the past, Sado Tarou becomes a masochist. He realizes that he has a problem. Therefore, in high school, he decides to go to the school’s volunteer club for selfless help in search of understanding. There he meets the beautiful Isurugi Mio, who sets her sights on curing Tarou of his masochism. What the boy doesn’t yet know, however, is that the other member of this club is Yuuno Arashiko. The girl who, at his previous school, was the direct cause of him acquiring this affliction. He also has no idea about her difficult past, which in turn caused her androphobia….
Table of Content
MM! (2010) – Audiovisual design
Video
The animation of MM! was handled by the now-defunct (unfortunately) Xebec studio. On the drawing side, it doesn’t really stand out. Quite standard for a series from 2010, there was a lot of coloring with gradients (something I never liked too much), but in close-ups the faces and eyes of the characters had a lot of detail. Animation is a separate matter – in this field Xebec has rarely failed, and this is no different. The backgrounds were quite pleasant, although rather simplistic in many locations.
Audio
MM!, by contrast, shines in the audio layer. The songs used in the opening and endings were great, and the soundtrack contains quite a few tracks that will make their way onto my playlists. The icing on the cake are the voice actors. Here we have a plethora of stars of that period (many of whom have remained in form to this day and are still at the top). Who are we talking about? Hayami Saori in the role of my favorite heroine – Arashiko. Fukuyama Jun in the role of the main character. Taketatsu Ayana in the role of one of the main heroines (Mio). In addition, Satou Rina, Tanaka Rie or Ohara Sayaka. These names are hardly necessary to introduce to anyone who follows the anime a little more closely.
MM! (2010) – Plot and Characters
Introduction
I don’t remember why I skipped this title when it premiered. Probably after reading that the main character is a masochist, I lost interest. Now I’ve come back to it, because I really appreciate the Xebec studio and I want to catch up on older items they were responsible for.
A quick look at the plot and characters
Sado Tarou being in high school, slowly begins to realize that his masochism is a growing problem. He enlists with him in the school’s volunteer club for selfless help. There he finds a beautiful blonde, Isurugi Mio. Due to the fact that no one takes her club seriously, she decides to help Tarou without a second thought. She begins to use various shock therapies on him, as she has set her sights on curing him of his masochism.
The more she tries, the more she fails. Whole situation in MM! is complicated by the fact that the other member of the club turns out to be Yuuno Arashiko. The girl who awakened in the hero his affliction. To make matters worse, she herself suffers from androphobia. That is, a fear of men. Mio notices that she can kill two birds with one stone and exploits the weaknesses of both of them to help them in this way.
It turns out that the plan is starting to work. Unfortunately, not quite to Mio’s expectations. Tarou and Arashiko quickly become friends with each other. However, this doesn’t mean that androphobia, brought on by a traumatic experience in her past, simply passes. Her unconditional reflex after any physical contact with a man is an extremely strong blow from an individual of the opposite sex. It is not hard to guess that Tarou benefits from this, as being hit by a beautiful girl gives him incredible pleasure.
Other remarks
MM! contains endless references to other series. From classics such as Kidou Senkan Nadesico (also created by Xebec by the way), to Dragon Ball, To Heart, and the general world of Super Sentai. Most of these were used in comedy scenes.
Although MM! is primarily a comedy, it also doesn’t lack a few more serious themes or even a bit of romance. ドM theme doesn’t turn me on, but that didn’t stop me from having a great time with this title. The comedy scenes entertained me to tears in places. The drama themes were interestingly woven in. However, the most unsatisfying part was the leading of the romance. MM! has a very open ending. In fact, the whole thing was begging for a season two. At present, the chances of that are pretty much nil. In any case, it makes me guess which heroine would win the battle to win Tarou’s heart. It would probably not be my favorite heroine.
Evaluation and summary
I do not regret a single minute spent watching MM! As is usually the case with series created by Xebec – the very atmosphere and style of characterization encourage you to watch more episodes regardless of the main plot of the series. It will certainly not be a title for everyone, however, I recommend giving it a chance. Especially if other series of this studio appealed to someone. My rating: 7.5/10.
Which translation do I recommend to watch MM! (2010)
- ANE – an option far from perfect, but still the best available. Unnecessarily overused vulgarities in places where the characters simply shouted. In addition, I heard a few questionably believable sentences, but the whole rather watchable.
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