ANIME REVIEW | Reclaiming Sweet Humanity With "You are Ms. Servant"
There’s a reason why I often watch anything from director Ayumu Watanabe. He has a real knack for creating stories about people seeking their true selves. Whether it was a restaurant manager rekindling his writing passion in After the Rain or siblings seeking their destiny beyond Earth in Space Brothers, Watanabe does a phenomenal job with making these characters feel real through their desires. The same can absolutely be said about his adaptation of Shotan’s manga You are Ms. Servant, whose main character attempts to do the ultimate self-discovery.
You are Ms. Servant begins with high school Hitoyoshi Yokoya (Toshiki Kumagai), who lives on his own for reasons not yet revealed. His lonesome life changes when a nameless woman (Reina Ueda) comes a-knocking, asking if she can be his maid. However, the woman’s skills may involving cleaning, but it’s more of the assassin kind that she masters at. Reluctantly, Hitoyoshi agrees, and the woman quickly shows…she is downright terrible at the job. Despite her cold-killer background, the woman often fails at even keeping a water bucket from spilling.
But there’s something about the woman that makes Hitoyoshi want to keep her around. Perhaps it’s because she’s somehow linked to his own mother, or because she often has this look of defeat that makes him just want to give her a head pat. Whatever the case, Hitoyoshi keeps the woman around, dubbing her Yuki after deciding on giving her a name. Alas, even though she wishes to be done with the killing business, Yuki often finds people from her past wanting to put her in the obituaries.
One would be forgiven if You are Ms. Servant sounds like a show from the mid-2000s. In fact, anyone watching would think it is one, especially with its lightly-toned animation style from Felix Film (Aharen-san wa Hakarenai). Even its story beats sound slightly borrowed from the likes of GAINAX’s Mahoromatic and Madhouse’s Kamen no Maid Guy. Thankfully, even with its all of these similarities in tow, You are Ms. Servant still finds a way to stand out from other maid-based anime.
Where it shines is in the relationship between Hitoyoshi and Yuki. They may be master and maid, but the more they spend time together, the more they start to feel like family. Anytime something comes up — be it minuscule or major — these two are there to help one another with everything they can muster. Although Yuki is certainly capable of taking care of herself (again, trained assassin!), there are some things that she still needs help with. And the biggest of all: acting like a regular human.
It’s in this aspect where You are Ms. Servant shines ever-so brightly. At first, it’s the simple taste of tonkatsu sauce that awakens something Yuki hasn’t experienced in a long time: joy. She becomes so obsessed with the sauce, that she even dreams of it, overtaking her former nightmares of her past job. That tonkatsu sauce isn’t just Yuki finding a slice of happiness for the first time, it’s also her first step towards reclaiming her humanity.
The addition of Hitoyoshi’s little sister Riko (Hikaru Iida) also helps with Yuki’s towards normality. Clothes shopping, cooking together, going to school (yes, she found a way to sneak in as a student), and the simple act of talking whilst looking above the well-lit night sky slowly show more humanistic sides of Yuki. Every day spent with Hitoyoshi, Riko, and even the new family dog Agemochitaro (Eriko Matsui) is another day closer towards being a regular person, with her past traumas slowly fading away and replaced with the love and care she’s been lacking for most of her life. Of course, that doesn’t mean she can’t escape from some of her past habits or — in one case — fellow assassins.
Enter Grace (Lynn), who attempts to refuel Yuki’s assassin side. She even goes so far as to kidnap Hitoyoshi, threatening to kill him if Yuki doesn’t fight her. But the real fun of the situation happens after the so-called battle. In a way, Grace didn’t drag Yuki back to the dark side; Yuki dragged her into the light! As a result, not only has she stopped trying to target Yuki; her whole dang personality changed because of her failed attempt!
Again, this is what director Ayumu Watanabe is so good at! He takes these characters who haven’t had the best lives, only to mold them into the people they should be. Both Yuki and Grace could’ve stayed stone cold killers, but thanks to having the Yokoyas in their lives, they’ve discovered something far more important than a pay check. In a big way, they’ve become someone that they always should’ve been, something that was robbed of them when they were far too young to fight for it. And how You are Ms. Servant has it happen is both beautiful and soul-warming.
As the show goes on, Yuki slowly throws down her weapons and picks up her heart. It’s still fragile, as her past history has given it one undeserving beating after another. But thanks to Hitoyoshi, Riko, and even Agemochitaro, the maid is regaining her human side. She may still slip up with her chores or — in one case — chase down a purse snatcher with superhuman speed, but acting clumsy is another aspect of being human, so you can’t fault her too much on that.
In the end, You are Ms. Servant once again shows the strengths of Watanabe as an animation director. His talents to bring heart, silliness, and drama to everything he touches shine brightly in the story of Hitoyoshi and Yuki. It’s still a long road towards recovery for the former assassin, with many a dangerous eye still seeking her out. But with enough happiness from Hitoyoshi, a full bottle of tonkatsu sauce, and a couple of warm fluffy towels, Yuki will certainly be more than just Ms. Servant; she’ll become the woman she’s always wanted to be.
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You are Ms. Servant can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-8 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
